Fantagraphics Blog Kim Thompson

Somewhat belatedly, a portfolio of candid photographs by rovingphotojournalist Lynn Emmert. Captions by her husband (me). Now that is one fine lookin' booth. And then I woke up in a cold sweat, as the memories came flooding back. Kim Thompson and Frank Stack, separated at birth. Natalia Hernandez, more adorable than three Zooey Deschanels, next to one of her daddy's comics. Speaking of whom… Partying like it's 1982 (San Diego Comic-Con premiere of Love and Rockets #1, if you'll recall). It's always sad to see older cartoonists who have become so jaded they can't muster up any enthusiasm when meeting…

The Starstruck spin-off series Galactic Girl Guides is one of the most legendary of the "lost" comics orphaned by the collapse of Tundra/Kitchen Sink in the 1990s. When the plug was pulled, artist Linda (Castle Waiting) Medley was about halfway through the projected four-issue series, written by Starstruck co-creator Elaine Lee. There are few cartoonists who could go toe-to-toe with Starstruck artist and co-creator Michael Kaluta for sheer illustrative gorgeousness and maintain the exquisite graphic quality of that world, but as the pages below show, Medley was one of them. Why are we showing you these (aside from the fact…

(click to enlarge) We are in the final stages of assembling this mammoth collection of Bill Griffith's non-syndicated-Zippy work (i.e. from undergrounds and alternative comics), and we cannot for the life of us figure out where the story "Toadette Dignity" might have appeared (see above for the first of two pages). Bill finished it in 1975 with the intent of publishing it in Arcade but it did not in fact appear in Arcade. Bill is sure it got published somewhere eventually but has no idea where that might be. First person to correctly identify where it was published gets a…

Hair fresh from my shower, I walk into the Fantagraphics office, still in my robe. Gary has convened a meeting and is complaining vociferously about misuse of an intern, who was apparently given a job to perform above normal intern capabilities — or who had screwed up a job as a result, I'm not quite sure which. He starts quizzing me about it, and in fact I suspect it was me who gave this intern (note to current and past interns: it was none of you) a huge interview-transcribing job that is the issue, but I deflect the interrogation by…

Ah yes, I remember that. 1976 or 1977. My family had just moved from Munich, Germany to Montpellier, France, and my Mother, my brother, and I were cooling our heels in our usual summer vacation spot of Copenhagen, Denmark while my Father was setting up our new Montpellier digs. (That would be the same Montpellier that currently serves as home base for Lewis Trondheim and Jason.) WIth ample time on his hands, my Father, who was (and is) an avid photographer, had just discovered the age-old trick of photographing someone multiple times in front of a black backdrop to create…

I walk into the production portion of the office, holding a slab of cheese which I'm halfway through eating. Gary is sitting at a computer terminal discussing a book with a designer, holding his own halfway-eaten slab of cheese (or perhaps it's sitting in the chair next to him). I remember that the last time we crossed paths in the office both of us were eating cheese, and this spurs me to ask him if he's still working on the same piece of cheese. It comes out as "Same one?" and I worry briefly that Gary won't understand the question…

  Eric Verhoest et Thomas Spitaelsont le plaisir de vous inviterà l’inauguration deTrafic par Joost Swarte Vernissage en présence de l’artiste,le jeudi 8 septembre 2011de 18h00 à 20h30_ Eric Verhoest en Thomas Spitaelshebben het genoegen u uit te nodigenop de opening vanTrafic door Joost Swarte Vernissage in het bijzijn van de kunstenaarop donderdag 8 september 2011van 18u00 tot 20u30   Rue Ernest Allardstraat, 27Bruxelles 1000 BrusselBelgiumTel : +32 2 514 91 52 Fax : +32 2 346 16 09sablon@galeriechampaka.comwww.galeriechampaka.com (Apologies to Tom Spurgeon for swiping his title.) That is one classy invitation, too. I doubt the fact that the show's title is the same as the…

Colorist Hubert is working away on the next Jason book, Athos in America, a Low Moon-style hardcover of all-new short stories scheduled for release around the end of the year. Meanwhile, I'm revving up my translatin' jets. Here's a sneak peek at a particularly intriguing (we think) page from one of the stories, still virtually wet from Hubert's virtual brushes.

(click for larger version) We were very sad to learn of the death of F. Solano López, the great Argentine cartoonist whose many contributions to Fantagraphics over the years included the graphic novel Ana, the Jim Woodring-penned Freaks adaptation, and many, many pages of delightful X-rated comics for Young Witches and Sexy Symphonies. I will be penning a full obituary/appreciation of Solano for TCJ.com over the weekend; in the meantime, courtesy of Jim W., here is a bona fide Solano López oddity, the first page of an aborted adaptation of the 1959 movie The Wasp Woman created by the Freaks…

Let me be clear here: Every word that follows is accurate. I answered the phone at Fantagraphics, and it turned out to be Ernest Borgnine. The main cause for his call was to check on an order, but he also talked a little about comics, and generally about how important it was to follow your dream. I wanted to tell him how much I loved The Wild Bunch, but he waved off any talk of his movies. "What a nice guy," I thought after I hung up, and went to tell Gary Groth. But I found Gary tearfully working on…