Category Archives: Sorrento Hotel

Book Launch at Sorrento Hotel for ‘A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories’

David Lasky and Henry Chamberlain enjoy a hearty laugh at the Sorrento Hotel, 8 November 2014. What was so funny? Perhaps it was Henry's best joke ever!

David Lasky and Henry Chamberlain enjoy a hearty laugh at the Sorrento Hotel, 8 November 2014. What was so funny? Perhaps it was Henry’s best joke ever!

Let the word go out, loud and clear, that the graphic novel, “A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories” has officially launched! There was an intimate gathering at the Sorrento Hotel in Seattle, this Saturday, November 8, to celebrate the launch of Henry Chamberlain’s new book, a collection of some of his best work in comics. Do you like scary stories? Apparently many of you out there do. Well, this book has got you covered. Perhaps you like humor? Or a tour de force coming-of-age tale. Again, you’re covered. Covered. Covered. Covered. This book is your best bet as a gift for the holidays! Get it here.

Henry Chamberlain with a copy of A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories at the Sorrento Hotel

Henry Chamberlain with a copy of A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories at the Sorrento Hotel.

The Sorrento Hotel is truly a unique destination. If you’re staying the night, you are in for a treat. But, you can also stop by for an exceptional cocktail, fine dining, and some excellent pastimes, such as live music in the legendary Fireside Room. It was my pleasure to act as host as some friends gathered to help me launch my new book.

It is only fitting to have a book launch at the Sorrento Hotel as this is the setting for the title story in the book. I created this story when I stayed at the Sorrento Hotel to conduct one of my 24-hour comics experiments. The story that resulted is a spooky little gem involving a couple with supernatural abilities and a lot of issues to resolve. Since then, I have come to rely upon the Sorrento as an old friend that you can always trust to serve you well.

Pat Moriarity and Henry Chamberlain at the Sorrento Hotel, 8 November 2014.

Pat Moriarity and Henry Chamberlain at the Sorrento Hotel, 8 November 2014.

Truth be told, creating a work is only half the battle. The other half is promoting the work. Often, the biggest hurdle to jump is competing with all the distractions of life. And the most important thing to always remember is that the book’s creator must always remain that book’s most steadfast and loyal fan. People will come around. If the book is worth it, well, its creator will have never left its side.
Find out more here.

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Filed under Alternative Comics, Comics, Comix, David Lasky, graphic novels, Henry Chamberlain, Independent Comics, Indie, Pat Moriarity, Seattle, Sorrento Hotel

Comics in 2014: A NIGHT AT THE SORRENTO AND OTHER STORIES

Sorrento-Hotel-Seattle-Comics-Henry-Chamberlain-2014

“A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories” collects the work of a longtime cartoonist of the Seattle School, yours truly, Henry Chamberlain. We cartoonists grew up in the Generation X ethos of DIY, small press, and a pride for a certain alternative comics aesthetic. Make no mistake, just like alternative rock from the 1990s, there is something specific that is meant by alternative comics. To the point, these are comics that favor the offbeat and idiosyncratic. This spirit rings true today as it embraces an independent vision. Stay tuned. This collection will rock your world, very alternatively, in 2014.

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Filed under Alternative Comics, Comics, Generation X, graphic novels, Henry Chamberlain, Independent Comics, Seattle, Seattle School of Comics, Small Press, Sorrento Hotel

KICKSTARTER: A NIGHT AT THE SORRENTO AND OTHER STORIES is LAUNCHED!

A Night At the Sorrento Hotel Seattle Kickstarter 2013

The Kickstarter campaign has begun!

A NIGHT AT THE SORRENTO AND OTHER STORIES is a 200-page graphic novel that seeks funds for a print run. It brings together a variety of offbeat and urbane stories for the sophisticated reader. You’ve got everything from a man running for his life from a bear spirit to a quarrelsome couple with supernatural powers to a dog with an acerbic wit who has been launched into outer space. Plus so much more. View the campaign here. Thank you.

And for a more in depth look at the whole process of putting this book together, you can take a look here.

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Filed under Art, Comics, Comics Dungeon, graphic novels, Henry Chamberlain, History, Kickstarter, mini-comics, Phinney Neighborhood Association, pop culture, Seattle, Sorrento Hotel

A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories KICKSTARTER Campaign Launch is APRIL 2, 2013

WHT Sorrento Seattle

EDITOR’S NOTE: It is now launched and you can view it HERE.

This is an idea that has been gathering steam and now we’re about to embark on a special campaign.

This is my plan: to create a quality edition of a collection of short stories plus a graphic novel. This project is all completed and entitled, “A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories.” The stories come from three years of 24 Hour Comics Day challenges. I put them together during the challenge and then refined them over time. These challenges occurred in Seattle: at the Phinney Neighborhood Center in 2010 and 2011; and at the Sorrento Hotel in 2012. Each year has been generously sponsored by Comics Dungeon, one of the best places you can go for comics anywhere. All the staff there are knowledgable, friendly, and eager to help. The book includes the graphic novel, “Alice in New York.”

It all starts April 2.

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Filed under Alice in New York, Comics, Comics Dungeon, graphic novels, Henry Chamberlain, Kickstarter, Seattle, Sorrento Hotel

24 HOUR COMICS DAY: A Night At The Sorrento

A fine day and night’s work. Here is my comic for 24 Hour Comics Day, 2012.

A new day begins and new challenges and opportunities. I loved being here at the Sorrento Hotel and I look forward to coming back. I feel there is still more to learn and enjoy about this beautiful hotel. I’m just feeling very inspired. I’m an artist. I’m a writer. And, putting both of those passions together, I’m a cartoonist. Now I embark on developing “A Night At The Sorrento” further.

I will tell you now that “A Night At The Sorrento and Other Stories” will be a Kickstarter campaign. Stay tuned. I hope I can count on your support when the campaign launches.

24 Hour Comics Day is all about making the most of your time. So, go out there and make the most of your day.

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Filed under comic books, Comics, graphic novels, Henry Chamberlain, Kickstarter, Seattle, Sorrento Hotel

24 HOUR COMICS DAY: PAST THE WITCHING HOUR

We’re past the witching hour. It’s now a quarter past three in the morn’! Here’s more Sorrento observations. There probably are ghosts among us here at the Sorrento. I was told of one interesting story. A delivery man was talking to one of the staff up until that person walked through a wall. The delivery man never came back. Well, it’s a good tale, what can I say. On a lighter side, I like the mats with the days of the week on them.

I like the french press. I like all the little details. And I’m getting work done too! To all you readers out there, this is what a 24 Hour Comics Day is all about.

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Filed under Art, Comics, Comics Dungeon, Seattle, Sorrento Hotel

24 HOUR COMICS DAY: Further Down the Rabbit Hole

The trick to a successful 24 Hour Comics Day is to be a truly bad mofo. You’re into staying awake and drawing like crazy.

There is no easy way about it. You can’t cram for this. You can’t try to do this ahead of time. You just do it.

So, if you’re in a venue with a variety of possibilities, you stake your spot and go from there. I chose to spend a good bit of time at the Sorrento’s Hunt Club.

I also made sure to visit to legendary “haunted” fourth floor. There’s something about room #408. Let me know if you find out. Something happened in there, at least in urban legend.

And, of course, your feet get restless. You get itchy feet and need to wander about a bit. The soles of your feet are crying for stimulation, right?  I chose to try the nearby watering hole, The Hideout. Here are a few photos of the men’s room artwork. Pretty cool, huh? Well, definitely above average. Must be the local artist element at work.

Okay, back to work.

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Filed under Art, comic books, Comics, Comics Dungeon, Henry Chamberlain, Seattle, Sorrento Hotel

24 HOUR COMICS DAY: First Impressions

The Sorrento Hotel is a wonderful experience from the moment you walk in the door and you’re greeted at the front desk. I think the staff are very courteous and friendly and I find the Sorrento to be so full of character. I love my room. It has a nice view that provides me a catbird’s seat to new arrivals and the activity down below. There’s plenty of room to settle into and a big fancy desk to get to work on.

I’ll have to get some dinner soon. And I’ll settle into the Fireside Room later on and listen to some jazz. I have a good layout already under way with plenty of room for changes and additions, just the way it should be for a 24 Hour Comics Day. And thanks always to Comics Dungeon for their sponsorship. And expect an awesome book to come from all this. You can see some of my previous work here. A page from “The Dog Who Would Be King” was auctioned off this year at the annual Artist Trust Benefit Art Auction.

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Filed under Art, Artist Trust, comic books, Comics, Comics Dungeon, Henry Chamberlain, Seattle, Sorrento Hotel

24 HOUR COMICS DAY 2012: Gentleman Dandy

One very important element of preparing for a project in the comics medium is character development. And so here is one character I believe will be playing a role in my 24HCD piece.

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Filed under Comics, Henry Chamberlain, Seattle, Sorrento Hotel

THE SORRENTO HOTEL AND ITS FIRST YEAR: 1909

It is my honor to be a guest at the Sorrento Hotel for my participation in the annual 24 Hour Comics Day this weekend, October 20 -21, sponsored by Comics Dungeon. Here are some facts about what was going on when the Sorrento Hotel first opened, courtesy of the University of Washington. The biggest event in Seattle in 1909 was its first World’s Fair, the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition.

Seattle and The World in 1909

1909

  • Seattle’s population in 1910: 237,194.
  • Life expectancy is 48 for men and 52 for women.
  • By 1910 many Seattle homes and factories have electricity. However, electric home appliances won’t become available until 1911.
  • In 1909 women can’t vote. Washington women got the vote in 1883 but lost it in a State Supreme Court decision in 1890. In 1910 they were again given the vote, 10 years before the US Constitution was amended.
  • In 1906, there were 763 cars in Seattle. Speeds are limited to 4 mph downhill and 8 mph uphill. Vehicles are first licensed in 1909 although license plates won’t appear until 1915. Shell will bring the first gas station to Seattle in 1912.
  • The Sorrento Hotel, on Madison in Seattle, opens in 1909 – the first guest was President William Howard Taft.
  • L.C. Smith, who amassed his fortune from his Smith typewriters, starts plans in 1909 to build the 21-story Smith Tower to hold 600 offices on Second and Yesler in downtown Seattle.
Average US annual salary: $750Hourly wages: 29-45¢Milk: 32¢ gal. Eggs: 29¢ doz.Sugar: 6¢ lb.

Whiskey: $3.50 gal.

Average U.S. House: $2,650

The Nation & the World

  • Ernest Shackleton’s expedition finds the magnetic South Pole
  • Robert Perry and Matthew Henson reach the North Pole
  • National Association for Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded
  • First Federal legislation prohibiting narcotics (opium) passes
  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is established
  • 16th Amendment passes to introduce Federal income tax
  • Karl Landsteiner isolates the poliomyleitis virus
  • John D. Rockefeller gives $530 million for worldwide medical research
  • Nobel Prize for Physics is awarded to Guglielmo Marconi and Carl Ferdinand Braun for the wireless telegraphy (radio)
  • Henry Ford introduces his “universal” car, the Model T in 1909, priced at $850 and “available in any color as long as it was black”
  • Wall Street Dow Jones Industrial Average closes Dec. 31: 99.05
  • Shine On, Harvest Moon by Ada Jones and Billy Murray hits #1 in US
  • Ty Cobb steals home in World Series game
  • Wright Brothers test and deliver the first military plane to US Army, it seats 2, max speed 40 mph
  • Panama Canal’s first concrete is poured
  • Japanese forces begin a 36 year occupation of Korea
  • Construction of Navy base at Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor begins
  • Serbia mobilizes against Austria-Hungary
  • Italian school teacher/physician Maria Montessori, 39, publishes Motodo della pedagogia scientifica

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Filed under Comics, Comics Dungeon, History, Seattle, Sorrento Hotel