Fantagraphics Blog Jen Vaughn

Between Midnight and Dawn: Midcentury Noir and Crime Film Posters from the Collections of Mark Fertig and Eddie Muller  You are cordially invited to a gallery talk with curator Mark Fertig, Saturday, March 7, at 7:00 p.m. Exhibition of posters continues through March 2 – April 11, 2015 at the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery and Permanent Collection at St. Lawrence University.   Film Noir 101 editor and curator Mart Fertig writes: Film noir flourished in Hollywood throughout the 1940s and 1950s, owing to a perfect storm of cultural, political, and industry-specific forces, including the disillusionment and pessimism lingering from the Great Depression; the popularity of…

Is it the impeccable draftsmanship and absolute mastery of drawing horses? Is it the scary beasts? The saucy threats from a wife to her husband? Or is it consistently amazing comics coupled with out-of-this-world production? Whatever it is, Prince Valiant Volume 10 1955-1956 by Hal Foster (a past 2012, 2014 Eisner nominee) hit the NY Times Best Seller list. Volume 8 hit the NY Times Best Seller's list this time last year. Volume 10 traverses the lands of Constantinople, Eastern Russia and Camelot in addition to wrapping up stories on the kidnapping of Aleta, Valiant's trusty wife, and hunger problems in Thule.    And we're…

 We just received word that two of our new graphic novels have received Society of Illustrator awards in the Long-Form category! Olivier Schrauwen's surreal look back, forward and beyond Arsene Schrauwen was awarded the gold medal while and Jaime Hernandez's The Love Bunglers, the apex of the love affair of Maggie and Ray, has received the silver medal! Haven't read these excellent graphic novels yet? See what other people are saying and buy a copy from our online store, your local comic shop or check it out at the library.  "His work, strange and surreal, bears the influences of many 20th Century comics, but with a distinctly…

We've mentioned it a time or two before but damn, if there isn't going to be an amazing good time at Kinokuniya next week on Wednesday, February 25th at 6pm.   Rocking you day and night (mostly night) with Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It editor Anne Ishii, known for her previous work on The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame: Master of Gay Erotic Manga, and designer extraordinaire, Chip Kidd, will be signing new copies (or the dog-eared one from your nightstand). Kinokuniya is straight-up an artist's dream:If you've never been to one of their US or international locations, get ready to…

 Recent hire, RJ Casey, hails from the town of Chicago but has been out Seattle-way for awhile as an editorial intern working with editor Kristy Valenti and is now working at Fantagraphics on foreign rights and FU Press. Please welcome RJ into our weird fold as we ask him a few questions.  What other jobs/experiences have you had in comics? What's your background in (non-comics?) I started a small publishing behemoth with Eric Roesner called Yeti Press. We've been wheelin' and dealin' comics, graphic novels, and anthologies since 2011. I also taught elementary school for five years in the suburbs of Chicago….

Wilfred Santiago's most recent dance in the comics world is on the basketball court with Michael Jordan: Bull on Parade. His kinetic and gorgeously painted graphic novel is sitting pretty for the second week in a row on the NY Times Best Seller's list. "This biography focuses on the public and private life of the superstar basketball player during his professional career…" Michael Jordan: BOP focuses on, as Santiago puts it, a fascinating figure who was never too interested in satisfying people, other than his own personal drive. Grab a copy before they are all gone!   Here's what some recent reviewers and…

What started out as a really cute way for libraries to get patrons to check out books sight-unseen has turned into a pop quiz for Fanta employees about our books. See a description of a book you like? Try to figure out what it is and then click on the link, order it and fall in love.  "Pretty….gross; loves brand names, make-up and hairspray!; Sometimes desperate but in a totally good way." "Leads a double life; likes mind-bending experiences; occasional non-verbal spells." "Has had a lot of schoolin'; owns a very small business; into medically-supervised lucid dreaming."  "Frustrated & looking…

Ever had a terrible boss? One who never appreciated you or gave you personal space outside of work? SWEATSHOP is all about it. Meet MEL BOWLING, and his team of overworked cartoonists helping him hack out a bad comic strip, Freddy Ferret. Real-life cartoonist Peter Bagge will be at Arcane Comics tonight at 6pm signing copies of Sweatshop. Complete with an art jam wall, you can immortalize one of your own bad basses or draw one of the bad jobs you've had yourself. Refreshments will be provided (Mel's drinking to that below).   In addition to the many cartoonist characters, Sweatshop also features a cosplayer, often called…

Wednesday is not only New Comics Day in the stores but also new comics day online and on your favorite digital reading device. comiXology has a swank-and-huge list of titles that came out today! Love & Rockets: New Stories #7 finds Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez writing and drawing at the top of their game. In Jaime's stories, Maggie and Hopey take a road trip to visit a 'sick friend' while Ray visits some old sick friends of his own. Gilbert offers a suite of stories, including a sweeping epic of derring-do in which Fritz as Morgan Le Fey teams up with Aladdin;…

This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new titles. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators and web-savvy comic shops are saying about them (more to be added as they appear), check out our previews at the links, and contact your local shop to confirm availability.       Love and Rockets: New Stories #7 by Jaime Hernandez and Gilbert Hernandez 100-page black & white 7.25" x 10.5" softcover$14.99 | 978-1-60699-770-3  "Jaime has always been brilliant at investing his characters with personality & emotion, and his illustration of Maggie speaks volumes….the latest edition of Love and Rockets: New Stories has a…