Fantagraphics Blog Eric Reynolds

ZAK SALLY TOURS WEST COAST W/ BOOKS, GUITARS, ART & NATE DENVER Zak Sally (the cartoonist behind Recidivist, Sammy the Mouse, and the guy behind La Mano books) and Nate Denver (of Nate Denver's Neck, Total Shutdown, and the amazing Wait, You're Not A Centaur book/CD) are going to hop in a car together with a couple guitars and boxes of fresh books, then drive like hell up the west coast, stopping only to PLAY SONGS AND SELL BOOKS TO THOSE OF YOU WHO LIVE IN L.A, SAN FRANCISCO, OLYMPIA, PORTLAND, AND SEATTLE. THAT'S RIGHT: Zak will be attending the…

Here's two recent podcast interviews with STRANGE & STRANGER: THE WORLD OF STEVE DITKO author Blake Bell. First up is BlogTalkRadio and second is FanboyRadio.  If you like Ditko, you must listen. There are no shades of grey here. 

  

This killer illustration by Charles Burns ran in this week's New Yorker and I just had to scan and share. 

Move over MAUS, PERSEPOLIS, JIMMY CORRIGAN, PALESTINE, et. al. — there's a new, epic graphic novel forthcoming in 2009 that is certain to be the toast of the tastemakers. Picture a mash-up of Gary Panter's JIMBO and John Carpenter's ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, with a little bit of WWE Wrestling thrown in. It could only come from the pen of one man. No, not John LeCarre! Yes, that's right, can you smell what JOHNNY RYAN is cookin'? Let's just say it's gonna make 300 look like FUN HOME. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing your 2009 National Book Award Winner:     UPDATE: Oh, and…

  It seems everyone from the Seattle Times to the NY Times is singing its praises lately, so we will, too: All hail Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood. If you are visiting Seattle, schedule time to visit. And I'm not just talkin' about the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. Great beer, great food, great coffee, great comics, great music, great art, great buildings and more. Pictured above: a vintage Hat & Boots shot, one of Georgetown's most peculiar attractions. Below pics of the iconic Georgetown Pharmacy and of Rhea Patton in the Fanta gallery by my pal Kurt Schlosser.    

I enjoyed this interview with my old pal Jim Blanchard; it was one of the more nuts and bolts interviews with Jim that I've read. And plus you get to look at shit like this:  There's even scans of original art that Jim owns, from Clowes to Altergott. Oh, and that's a Billy Joe Shaver portrait by Jim, above.

  Tim Lane has a blog, and is posting a new weekly strip on it. Not familiar with Tim Lane? You will be soon. 

Let me tell you something: babies and blogging don't mix. Guess which takes a backseat? But I'll be getting back on track here soon. In the meantime, here's a special July 4th weekend treat for you, an original, unpublished comic strip by Chris Ware. I am not worthy.