SF cartoonist Harry Nordlinger is throwing a release party for his horror one-shot "Laser Quest" at Mission Comics & Art on Wednesday, Aug. 19. Here's what's confirmed — and what to check first.

San Francisco cartoonist Harry Nordlinger is throwing a release party for his new comic, "Laser Quest," at Mission Comics & Art, 2250 Mission Street, on Wednesday, Aug. 19. He announced it himself on r/sanfrancisco — "Come out if you're in the mission!!" — and if you like your nostalgia with the lights cut, this is the move.

The comic is the reason to care. "Laser Quest" is a 36-page black-and-white horror one-shot, out July 29 from Portland's Floating World Comics. The premise, per 48 Hills and Graphic Policy: a kid named Johnny shows up for a birthday party at a Laser Quest arena circa 2000 and finds a tribe of lost children who've been trapped in the fog-and-neon maze for years. Nordlinger — a projectionist at the Balboa who builds his stories out of dead malls and shuttered Chuck E. Cheeses — told 48 Hills the register is deliberate: "The peak empire is behind us, and we're now living in the waste."

The logistics, honestly. The venue is confirmed — 2250 Mission Street, 94110, (628) 289-5145, open noon–7 p.m. Wednesdays. What is not posted anywhere as of this week is a start time or whether there's a cover; the only announcement is the creator's Reddit post. Call the shop first. Don't take a time from me the organizers haven't published — that's the mistake that wastes your night.

Getting there: 16th Street Mission BART is two blocks north, and the 14 and 49 buses stop at the door. This is circle-the-block weeknight parking — take the train, grab the signed comic, walk it off with a burrito on the way back.