This past year, I had the distinct pleasure of attending a Halloween party that was also attended by Bruce Bickford. If you went to college and ate mushrooms, Mr. Bickford probably provided you with a visual stimulant (his clay animation insanity was featured prominently in Frank Zappa’s Baby Snakes concert documentary). I couldn’t bring myself to talk to Bickford at the Halloween party and he didn’t really look too approachable…not to mention he was the only one not wearing a costume! But my friends and I all contemplated what we would say to him (“Dude, we used to get baked and watch your stuff.”) Though he lives south of Seattle, he is still very reclusive. But the Fantagraphics Store & Gallery has him for one night, May 12 at 6 p.m.. They’ll be featuring four of his short films, as well as a recently completed line animation. Rad.