Fantagraphics Blog Jen Vaughn

No, no, not the Olympics but something just as awesome. Mome Vet Eleanor Davis recently recieved a GOLD Medal from the Society of Illustrators. The Society of Illustrators site gives more informatoin on the art show and medals. "The first of the two-part annual exhibition Illustrators 55 will be held at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators January 4 to January 26, 2013. The exhibit features works by leading contemporary illustrators worldwide, juried by a prestigious jury of professionals.  Sequential/Series work includes multi-image projects for which a sequence of images is necessary to fully convey an…

FINALLY! Jim Woodring and his throbbing universe lead character Frank into the digital realm at comiXology. Weathercraft is Woodring's first full-length graphic novel set in the world of his most beloved character, Frank — indeed, Woodring's first graphic novel, period! — and it features the same hypnotically-gorgeous linework and mystical iconography. As it happens, Frank has only a brief supporting appearance in Weathercraft, which actually stars Manhog, Woodring's pathetic, brutish everyman (or everyhog). What happens when we are stretched to our limit? Will we come out the other end a changed person (or hog)? A 2010 Finalist for the Los…

The sweetest tea of Online Commentaries & Diversions:  • Review: The Atlantic writes on The Heart of Thomas by Moto Hagio. Noah Berlatsky looks at it from every angle, "The boys' love genre, then, freed Hagio and her audience to cross and recross boundaries of identity, sexuality, and gender…Bodies and character flicker in and out, a sequence of surfaces, tied together less by narrative than by the heightened emotions of melodrama—jealousy, anger, trauma, desire, friendship, and love in the heart of Thomas." • Plug: David Brothers and Comics Alliance posts a preview of The Heart of Thomas plus a few…

We missed this in the holiday rush of making sure you got those beautiful Peanuts books but Saturday Night Live created a laugh-and-fart-out-loud parody of the beloved characters created by Charles M. Schulz. Hats off to Bill Hader's Al Pacino as Charlie Brown and Martin Short's Larry David as Linus. Also, a friend sent us this odd text-based adventure of a future society that learned how to be through a Peanuts filter. Walk around the world in your mind (live an hut made of baseball gloves)! Read a little bit of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang before immersing yourself.

Fantagraphics and comiXology release R. Kikuo Johnson's debut graphic novel, Night Fisher , which tells the intimate tale of young teens verging into the alien territory of adulthood.  The setting? First-rate prep school, S.U.V., and a dream house in the heights: This was the island paradise handed to Loren Foster when he moved to Hawaii with his father six years ago. Now, with the end of high school just around the corner, his best friend, Shane, has grown distant. The rumors say it's hard drugs, and Loren suspects that Shane has left him behind for a new group of friends….

  A home with a drawbridge awaits you, troubled merchant or peasant. Fantagraphics and comiXology release the fairy tale with a twist, Castle Waiting by Linda Medley, for digital download or 'magical reading'! Castle Waiting is the story of an isolated, abandoned castle, and the eccentric inhabitants who bring it back to life. A fable for modern times, it is a fairy tale that’s not about rescuing the princess, saving the kingdom, or fighting the ultimate war between Good and Evil — but about being a hero in your own home. Linda Medley lavishly illustrates Castle Waiting in a classic…

Happy New Year's! Here's to a great year of books and the next year and the year after that. We salute you and thank you for your friendship and purchases. Some of you sent in photos reading books from this year (and a few past ones). Cartoonist Zack Giallongo reads The Complete Syndicated Pogo Vol. 1: "Through the Wild Blue Yonder" by Walt Kelly. He's also surrounded himself with favorite things: banjos, dogs and crazy couches.   Cartoonist Chris Haley enjoys The Complete Syndicated Pogo Vol. 1: "Through the Wild Blue Yonder" by Walt Kelly. Writer Chris Roberson (MonkeyBrain Comics publisher as well) reads Spacehawk…

Yesterday, the Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery hosted Koyama Press's Nathan Bulmer (born-and-bred Seattlite). With Zachary David Jammin' signing and laughing in the background, it was a beautiful time with I must say, a lower age median than usual. Larry Reid, Janice and excellent new intern Lilly hosted a great time. Nate's mother provided tasty tiny cookies so you could like, totally five and the platters still looked full. Not one to cut in line just because I work at the company, I waited in line and undulated with the rest of the crowd to the music. My typical line at…

The most returned sweater of Online Commentaries & Diversions: • Interview: Tom Spurgeon of the Comics Reporter interviews cartoonist Carol Tyler about her You'll Never Know series about her father, WWII and family bonds. He starts of the interview right, "You've lived with these books for a very long time. How did it feel to get some closure on this work?". Click here for the answers and more. • Review: Comics Bulletin looks at You'll Never Know Book 3: Soldier's Heart by Carol Tyler. Jason Sacks states "You'll Never Know is a breathtaking graphic novel because Carol Tyler is honest…

While trampsing around the suburbs and backwaters of Texas, I happened to find the majestic Webb Gallery in Waxahachie for there lay a treasure trove of Esther Pearl Watson paintings. With fading painted trim in still vibrant oranges and teals matched with iron statues and odd toys from people long since dead, it reminds you of an open range and that mix of culture which is a side-step from Southwestern. Watson's paintings, unlike her Unlovable comics Fantagraphis printed, are deeply personal and autographical. As the daughter of the local color, Watson watched her father build several large-scale UFOs. Out on…