Fantagraphics Blog Eric Reynolds

With only one issue left to put together, I knew going into MOME 22 that I had to make a last-ditch effort to fit in a few cartoonists that I'd been meaning to reach out to for while. Count Chuck Forsman on that list. I've been enjoying Chuck's Snake Oil comics and others for a few years now, and as such was thrilled when he jumped at the chance to do something for the final hurrah. His story, "Francis," highlights one of Forsman's unique talents: a pitch-perfect ear and eye for the 1980s. Which is a bit weird for someone who wasn't…

  At Comic-Con in July, we'll be debuting the 22nd and final volume of MOME (that's one-half of Zak Sally's beautifully elegant wraparound cover of the issue, above). It's a bittersweet thing for me, but I couldn't be happier about how the last issue — at 240 pages, about twice as long as any previous issue — turned out, so when Mike Baehr suggested I do something for Flog about it, it seemed like a no-brainer. And when I decided the best way to do so would be to post some teaser images from the issue, it took me about half a second…

  Meanwhile, attendees of Lollapallooza 2008 are still looking for the comic book signing.  Via Showbiz Imagery & Chicanery , thanks for the tip to Grottu.

  Over on Flickr, I've uploaded over 100 pics from my recent visit to Stockholm, Sweden, to attend the Swedish SPX Festival. I want to thank our hosts, especially Johannes Klenell of GALAGO and Kristiina Kolehmainen of the Stockholm SERIETEKET (that's "comics library" to you Yankees), for a wonderful trip. Five days in Sweden, hanging out with old pals like Dash Shaw (greatest roommate a guy could ask for), Gabrielle Bell, Brett Warnock, and others? It would have been impossible not to have a great time. Came home with a huge pile of great-looking comics (see the photo set for…

  I'm excited to head off tomorrow for my first trip to Scandinavia. I live in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, a Scandinavian hotbed where seemingly everyone on my block is named either Thor or Bjorn, and Norwegian and Swedish flags hang on every few houses. So I'm excited to be able to tell my neighbors I made a pilgrimage to the homeland. But I'm even more excited to attend my first-ever Swedish SPX, courtesy Johannes Klenell and the fine folks at GALAGO, and pal around for a few days in Stockholm with the great Dash Shaw. If you're gonna be there (and if you are, here's the…

In a recent spring cleaning at Casa Reynolds, I unearthed these original PEANUTS strips I created in the late-1970s at the tender age of 8 or 9. I apparently thought I was really onto something with the no pants gag. Or perhaps it just reveals something about my id that I'd rather not consider. Either way, I bet the folks at BOOM! are now kicking themselves for not adding me to the creative team of their new PEANUTS graphic novel. 

Yesterday we got in a few advance copies of Johnny Ryan's new book, TAKE A JOKE. I had a blast putting this book together with Johnny, I think it's by far his best collection yet in just about every way: the work itself, the sequencing, the production and printing, etc. It collects the last four (and strongest) issues of Johnny's ANGRY YOUTH COMIX (issues #11-15) as well as a slew of short pieces, mostly from VICE Magazine but also HOTWIRE and elsewhere. It's an unrelentingly dense frisson of discomfit and guffaws like only Johnny seems capable of delivering anymore.  While putting the book together, deciding what to include…

Things You Might Find on Gary Groth's Desk, Part 1 of a series: A hand, by Sal Buscema!

   Last week, Amazon.com temporarily reduced the price of our $125 Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons to a ridiculously low $30. Several prominent folks, including our old pal Neil Gaiman, tweeted and/or blogged about it, and at one point on Monday night, the book had risen to #16 on Amazon's sales charts for ALL books, and to #1 in the bargain books category. Somehow, this led to the following actual, real email exchange about the comic strip Dilbert. A week later, the debate rages on. In other words: Just Another Week at Fantagraphics Books. Kim Thompson wrote: That Bargain Books section is…