9 Things to Do in Comics, Theater, Art and more

Detail from the cover of LEON: Protector of the Playground by Jamar Nicholas. He’ll be at Amalgam comics on Saturday. (Jamar Nicholas)

The Art of Swimming @ Headhouse Café | December 6-17
The latest installment in Tiny Dynamite’s A Play, A Pie, and A Pint series is the premiere of this one-woman play by Lynda Radley about 1920s celebrity/athlete Mercedes Gleitze. Stars Lee Minora, with live music by Daniel Ison.

Finding the Hidden City @ Philadelphia City Institute Free Library | Wednesday, December 6
Authors Nathaniel Popkin and Peter Woodall and photographer Joseph E.B. Elliott debut their new book Philadelphia: Finding the Hidden City, exploring rarely seen aspects of well-known Philly locales, like the Metropolitan Opera House, the Divine Lorraine Hotel, Reading Railroad and more.

Philadelphia Assembled @ Perelman Building | Through December 10
An art project centering on the themes of “radical community building and active resistance.” This Saturday, December 9, Black Quantum Futurism and the Reentry Think Tank lead a tour of the exhibition, followed by a forum on “intransigent issues like reentry after imprisonment and gentrification.”

Ntozake Shange @ Parkway Central Library | Thursday, December 7
Poet and author Ntozake Shange — her latest is called Wild Beauty: New and Selected Poems — appears in conversation with Poet Laureate of Philadelphia Yolanda Wisher.

Art Auction @ Space 1026 | Friday, December 8
Bid on pieces by local (Adam Wallacavage, Andrew Jeffery Wright) and nationally-known (Charles Burns, Tim Kerr) artists and help keep venerable art institution Space 1026 up and running.

The Fools’ Descent Tarot Artparty @ Benna’s Cafe | Friday, December 8
Artist Jeremy Eric Tenenbaum’s The Fools’ Descent — a “chain” of tarot cards telling “four charmingly tragic stories” — will be in display and for sale. Also: Tarot readings, music, food and more.

Star Wars Found Footage: Sci-Fi Explosion x Video Pirates @ PhilaMOCA | Friday, December 8
A collision of comedy and nerdery concocted by Chris Cummins (Sci-Fi Explosion) and Eric Bresler (Video Pirates). Plus live music by Wookiedelphia. “Expect oddities, rarities, and a ton of Jar Jar Binks. And maybe a Porg or two.”

Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror 3-D / Dracula vs. Frankenstein @ Lightbox Film Center | Saturday, December 9
As you can probably tell, this screening of rarely seen drive-in movie classics is a collaboration with Exhumed Films, a beloved and reliable source of horror film events in the city. (Preceded by a screening of the final four films from Exhumed’s 24-Horror-thon.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUgIN8YlWXY

Handmade: Indoor Holiday Market and Philly Small Press Faire @ Fleisher Art Memorial | Saturday, December 9
A chance to do some atypical holiday shopping and support local artists. Buy handmade arts and crafts by Amy Miller, Wind and Waves Soaps, Laneita Nelson, Noelle Egan and tons more. And on the small press side of things: zines, comics and books by Pat Aulisio, Steve Teare, Beth Heinly, Box Brown, Cyn Why and more. It’s a long list.

Jamar Nicholas @ Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse | Saturday, December 9
The Philly-based comics creator shows off his popular, all-ages graphic novel, LEON: Protector of the Playground.