RIP Geoffrey Hayes

RIP Geoffrey Hayes On Sunday afternoon I returned from a weekend camping trip to a message telling me that the great children’s book author and cartoonist Geoffrey Hayes has passed away. I’ve been processing it since. He would have been 70 this year. Geoffrey was a wonderfully sweet, gentle man with a genuine enthusiasm for his work that was affecting. I didn’t know him well, but I did get to know him over the past several years when my daughter — and I — fell in love with his series of Benny & Penny books from Francoise Mouly’s wonderful Toon…

A Digitally Jam-Packed Week!

Whoa, what a week! Some highly-anticipated new releases plus a whole boatload of backlist favorites truly makes this a Digital Release Wednesday™ to remember. Let’s get started, shan’t we . . . Fante Bukowski Two catches up with the aspiring young writer one year later, while he’s attempting to establish himself in a new city’s literary scene, self-publishing his first zine, and coming to terms with his feelings for an old friend. Noah Van Sciver’s Fante Bukowski yearns for success as the great American novelist, but there’s just one problem: he still has no talent. Read this hot new sequel…

What’s in Store: Lightning Snake Launch Party

   Join us at Fantagraphics Bookstore this Saturday, June 10 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM as we host the publication party for Lightning Snake by Jason T. Miles from Cold Cube Press. This exhibition of original art and book signing coincides with the colorful Georgetown Carnival arts festival featuring art, music, and more from noon to 10:00 PM. Selector Dub Narcotic performs right outside the bookstore at 4:00 PM, followed by free concerts by Northwest rock stalwarts Mudhoney, Young Pioneers, Tom Price Desert Classic (with our own Martin Bland on drums), Thee Sgt. Major III, and many more. View the…

Fantagraphics at CAKE 2017

We’re big fans of CAKE, which is why we’re heading back for the 5th year in a row to the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo. Hosted at the Center on Halsted, this non-profit and volunteer-run organization is putting on a hell of a show. Come party with us June 10th-11th! Special Guests Gary Panter 401A Texas-born illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician, Gary Panter is a child of the ’50s who blossomed in the full glare of the psychedelic ’60s and, after surviving underground during the ’70s, finally made his mark in the ’80s as head set designer for the successful…

Digital Releases from Some Heavy Hitters

Whoa, what a week! We’ve got brand-new books from some of our best-sellers and crowd-pleasers, plus even more backlist titles at insanely low prices! One More Year continues to cement Simon Hanselmann as one of his generation’s defining graphic novelists. Megg the witch, Mogg the cat, and their friends Owl and Werewolf Jones are imbued with far more pathos and depth in One More Year, as Hanselmann’s protagonists never fail to surprise, delight, and horrify. You can now treat your tablet to this gorgeous new book through both comiXology and Google Play.         Jason is back! On…

What’s in Store: Art, Media, Music & More!

Join us for an evening of art, comix, media, and music this Saturday, May 13 at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. We’ll host a reception and exhibition of original art by cartoonist Cathy Malkasian. She will discuss her new graphic novel Eartha in conversation with Fantagraphics Books publisher Gary Groth at 6:30 PM, followed by a book signing. The event will also include the video installation Patience, Atlas. This dance performance documentary from Marion Walker is presented in association with Georgetown Records. The stop-motion video captures a dancer stranded in the waiting room where patience is…

Digital Purgatory

This week’s digital releases feature a brand new FU Press book and a variety of titles from your backlist wish list. Let’s do it! For the committed outsider, adolescence can be a nightmare. Purgatory by Casanova Frankenstein, a truly distinct and remarkable artist, may at first appear to be the tale of a classic case of teenage avoidance, but this is not a story about dysfunctional coping techniques. No, it’s a triumphant story of an individual who doggedly refuses to be atomized by the masses. Taken right from the artist’s raw sketchbook, Purgatory can now be yours through comiXology.  …

Fantagraphics at TCAF 2017

Canada’s crazy. Last year at TCAF we had to slow people down from trying to throw cash as us so quickly. That’s not a bad thing, we’re not complaining. I’ve just never been surrounded by so many intense happy comic fans, eager to get the latest titles from us. Since we’re bringing so many killer debut books with us this year, I hope the reaction will be just as excited as last year. Check out our lineup of artist signings and fresh new books to get you pumped for Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2017! Special Guests Gary Panter Texas-born illustrator,…

Sports and Monologues!

This week’s digital releases feature an artist with a several decade’s long career and the early work of a modern master. Let’s dive in! The Draw of Sport compiles, in art and text, more than 150 of nationally syndicated columnist Murrary Olderman’s favorite personalities from the world of sports. Each full-page illustration is accompanied by Olderman’s personal reminiscences of those illustrious stars. Amongst the many names you’ll recognize are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammed Ali, Yogi Berra, Wilt Chamberlain, Mickey Mantle, Vince Lombardi, and many more. Swing for the fences and get The Draw of Sport for your table today through comiXology…

What’s in Store: Cathy Malkasian Presents Eartha!

Please join us in welcoming Cathy Malkasian to Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, May 13 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. The artist will exhibit original drawings from her new graphic novel and discuss her work in conversation with publisher Gary Groth, followed by a book signing. The exhibition remains on view through June 7, 2017. Eartha is Cathy Malkasian’s fourth graphic novel — a metaphorical fable that resonates with contemporary themes. Malkasian’s drawing is notable for its rigorous draftsmanship, stunning landscapes and atmospheric depictions of nature. The gestural nuances of her characters and her sophisticated storytelling are all on…