Fantagraphics Blog Sonia Lei

Praise for 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente: "…Wilfred Santiago captures the physical grace of baseball and creates a story of visceral and emotional force… Santiago… has produced a rich and surprising work. The compositions and framing are intricate and varied… Santiago captures Clemente’s relentless vitality as a player, frames the story around the historical and religious traditions of Puerto Rico, and handles Clemente’s tragic death with restraint, all with a gimlet eye and the sensitivity of a true artist. It is a classic story given new life in this fresh, innovative telling." – Alex Belth, Sports Illustrated "…21's eloquence…

Guy Colwell, an American painter and underground cartoonist, has drawn comix reflecting on economic inequality, injustice, racism, and the prison system since 1972. Titled Inner City Romance, these comics were catalyzed by his experience in jail for draft refusal, and every issue is included in this new book collecting Colwell's work. Sadly, the issues that fueled Colwell's work and activism are as relevant now as they were four decades ago. We are pleased to reveal the final cover art for Inner City Romance for you—and to announce the book's availability for pre-order beginning today.

"…the talented Knisley offers a pointed juxtaposition to her earlier travelogue set in Europe. When her grandparents Phyllis and Allen decided to take a cruise ship to the Caribbean, the author (recovering from a recent breakup) accompanied them on the 10-day journey… A moving but also very funny meditation on time, age and grace." – Kirkus Reviews Displacementby Lucy Knisley 168-page full color 5.5” x 7.5” softcover • $19.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-810-6 Due to arrive in 2-4 weeks. Click on the thumbnails for larger versions; get more info, see more previews, and pre-order your copy here: http://www.fantagraphics.com/displacement

The next gorgeous, oversized Prince Valiant volume has arrived at our office, popping with lush color and medieval goodness. Just check out the red on that upper right panel! Classic and timeless, Hal Foster's epic, decades-spanning comic strip is given the care and treatment it deserves in these deluxe hardcovers. Volume 10 covers the years 1955 and 1956, and is due to be released in late January. Of course, you can pre-order this baby now, then sit back and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

This week's figgy pudding of Online Commentaries and Diversions: Review: Arsène Schrauwen by Olivier Schrauwen "Olivier Schrauwen's Arsène Schrauwen is one of the most complex, and simply best, comics released this year. " – Hillary Brown, Paste Magazine "In this crackpot graphic novel from the historically minded and utterly original Schrauwen, the Belgian cartoonist imagines a fanciful history that slips the bonds of reality almost immediately." – Publisher's Weekly "Cockeyed, adventurous, and truly bizarre, the first full graphic novel from the Belgian cartoonist sets out to dramatize the heartsick youthful folly of the artist’s dim but determined grandfather." – Sean…

This Tuesday afternoon, we've got our heads burrowed in our advance copies of Love and Rockets: New Stories #7. From the magical adventures of Aladdin to a Maggie and Hopey reunion, this is a hundred sweet pages packed with Beto and Jaime goodness. New Stories #7 arrives January 2015. Get ahead of the game by pre-ordering your copy now!

Noah Van Sciver is back with an all-new graphic novel—Saint Cole—and we've got an 8-page downloadable excerpt for you to read today! By page 2 we are treated to an immediate foreshadowing of the storyline, followed by an introduction of the main character, Joe—a 28-year-old pizza server trying desperately to make ends meet to support his girlfriend and their unplanned infant child. Saint Cole will be out in February, and we'll have more previews coming at you in the meantime. And, as always, you can pre-order the book ahead of its release date.  

Just arrived and shipping now from our mail-order department: Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make Itedited by Anne Ishii and Graham Kolbeins 280-page black & white 7" x 10" softcover • $35.00ISBN: 978-1-60699-785-7 See Previews / Order Now Big, burly, lascivious, and soft around the edges: welcome to the hyper-masculine world of Japanese gay manga. Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It is the first English-language anthology of its kind: an in-depth introduction to nine of the most exciting comic artists making work for a gay male audience in Japan. Jiraiya, Seizoh Ebisubashi and…

Just arrived and shipping now from our mail-order department: Foolbert Funnies: Histories and Other Fictionsby Frank Stack 224-page black & white 7.75" x 10" softcover • $24.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-808-3 See Previews / Order Now "Cult" cartoonist Frank Stack is best known as the artist behind Harvey Pekar's award-winning graphic novel, My Cancer Year (his art was featured in the American Splendor film), and as the creator of the first underground comic book, The Adventures of Jesus. Foolbert Funnies collects comics—inspired by Stack's pop culture-filled childhood and travails as a fine arts professor—that ran in National Lampoon and other publications. (For decades,…

Our half-height kids books celebrating Carl Barks' iconic duck family is back with a new collection of rip roaring adventures. This time, Donald Duck finds himself donning a sheriff's badge in order to ferret out the mysterious misbranding of cattle in Bullet Valley. And, as ever, Donald's intrepid and clever nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie are at his side, ready to help him when plans invariably go awry. The beautiful, bold cover design has been finished, and we're proud to show it off for you today! Sheriff of Bullet Valley is slated to be released Spring 2015, so keep your eyeballs…