Fantagraphics Blog Jen Vaughn

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2012: FANTAGRAPHICS and COMIXOLOGY ANNOUNCE DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT  Love and Rockets: New Stories #1-4 Available NowTo Help Celebrate30 Years Of The Hernandez Brothers’ Groundbreaking World July 14th, 2012 – San Diego, CA. / New York, NY. — Today in a wide-ranging panel celebrating the 30th anniversary of publishing the Hernandez Brothers’ groundbreaking Love and Rockets series co-publisher Gary Groth, president of the 36 year-old publishing house, announced Fantagraphics Books’ entrance into the digital age through a brand new digital distribution agreement with comiXology, the revolutionary digital comics platform with over 75 million comic downloads to date and a…

30 Years. Three. Zero. In 1982, Gilbert, Jaime and Mario Hernandez published their first comic with Fantagraphics, which debuted at that year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego. In 2012, Fantagraphics Books announces the best anniversary present you can give the comics making trio: a year of celebrating Love and Rockets. Jaime Hernandez remembers his first Comic-Con well. “The first time we spotted Love and Rockets some guy was already selling it for half-off.” Fellow professionals took an interest in the Hernandez brothers’ creation. “Chris Claremont walked up and joked that all the women on the cover should have ‘X’es on…

  Joshua Fry Speed: a man of charisma and friendship is the subject of Noah Van Sciver's second history lesson regarding Lincoln. Roommate and confidant to a young Abraham Lincoln, Speed plays a large role in Van Sciver's new graphic novel The Hypo. Find out more about the history of Speed on Van Sciver's blog and pre-order the The Hypo today!  

The new prepackaged Online Commentaries & Diversion:   •Commentary: The Huffington Post made it over to the Robert Crumb exhibit called "Crumb: From the Underground to the Genesis" at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville in Paris: "Never one to shy away from his love-hate relationship with women, Crumb invited the world into his most perverted fantasies, one which includes riding on his mother's boot."   •Interview: Zachary Hunchar of Technorati questions Pete Bagge about a long life in comics. "People expect their entertainment to be for free now," said Bagge. "Musicians compensate for it by performing live more…

  "Who was Miss Owens?" The talented and handsome cartoonist of upcoming book The Hypo, Noah Van Sciver, addresses some of the history in his graphic novel. Before Mary Todd, Abraham Lincoln was engaged to another! Find out more at Noah's blog and pre-order the book today.  

The greenest Online Commentaries & Diversion: •Review: Mark Frauenfelder of Boing Boing gushed about Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor Old Man. "[Carl Barks'] art is expressive and perfectly rendered. . . I think the best way to read Barks is via The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library, published by Fantagraphics." •Review: The New York Review of Books takes a look at Flannery O'Connor: The Cartoons. Barry Moser: "[Flannery O'Connor] also said that a story—or a linoleum print, if you will—has to have muscle as well as meaning, and the meaning has to be in the muscle. Her prints…

A new and improved website is ready to be feasted on by your eyes! Tim Lane, of Abandoned Cars and Hotwire, recently vamped his site, JackieNoName, which features original comics, as well as illustrations made for The New York Times and alt-weekly papers like the OC Weekly and Seattle Weekly.

 The rawest Online Commentaries & Diversions: •Interview: Christopher Irving questions the ineffable Pete Bagge on his vast body of work on NYC Graphic. Bagge says, "With the style of work that I do, I like it to look on the surface like it’s shallow and stupid, but when you read it, the context is really sweet. . ." Christopher Irving reports: "Part of what makes Pete Bagge such an effective writer is his ability to tap into personal experiences that are universal. . . being jilted by a lover, getting angry at traffic, or trying to hide something from your…

Get yer hot Online Commentaries & Diversions: •Review: The long-awaited Comics Journal review of Gabriella Giandelli's graphic novel Interiorae is online. Sean T. Collins: "As the rabbit floats from one [apartment] to another, a sort of soporific rhythm sets in, a familiarity with the emotional and visual palette that allows individual moments to stand out. It’s not just the weird or grand stuff . . . but thoughtful and attractive details as well."   •Plug: The Stumptown Trade Review is as pumped as Fantagraphics is have the all-ages graphic novel The Adventures of Venus by Gilbert Hernandez. "Luba’s niece [Venus]…