Digital Madness!

We’re especially excited about this week’s digital releases, which feature new reprints, old favorites, and an Argentine debut! More rage per page! More slaughter for your dollar! Real Deal, a self-published independent comic book created by Lawrence “Rawdog” Hubbard and H.P. “R.D. Bone” McElwee, in finally collected in all its glory. Combining classic Mad magazines with Blaxploitation films, Real Deal is full of convicts, hustlers, drug addicts, and murderers and straddles the line between satirizing and showing the harsh realities of urban life. The entire collection can now be found on comiXology.         The Longest Day of…

R. Crumb: Early Works 1965 – 1967 opens September 10

   Fantagraphics Books launches an exciting series of events celebrating its 40th anniversary with “R. Crumb: Early Works, 1965 – 1967,” opening Saturday, September 10 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. This important exhibition features over thirty previously unseen original drawings and arcane artifacts, which demonstrate the development of the artist’s signature style. The show remains on view through November 2, 2016.    Robert Crumb is widely considered America’s greatest living cartoonist. His work was recently featured in the Seattle Museum’s “Graphic Masters” exhibition alongside Dürer, Rembrandt, Goya, Hogarth, and Picasso. The seminal work on display at…

SPX 2016: The Debuts

I wouldn’t want to spend a hot summer day in any other hotel and convention center, than the North Bethesda Marriott and Convention Center, because that means it’s time for the premiere Small Press Expo (SPX)! We’re kicking off our month-long lead up to SPX with our Debut Books, because they’re the reason we have these comic conventions in the first place. American Blood – Ben Marra Born from the crucible of 1980s trash culture and exploitation entertainment and focused like a laser through the prism of Marra’s brain comes this nasty brew of revenge, power, and passion. It is a…

What’s in Store: Get Some Crumb

    Make plans now to attend the opening of R. Crumb: Early Works, 1965 – 1967 on Saturday, September 10 at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. This important exhibition features over two-dozen previously unseen original drawings and artifacts, which demonstrate the development of the artist’s signature style. The show remains on view through November 2, 2016. Call the bookstore for information on nearby hotel, hospitality, and transportation options. You still have ten more days to see the Seattle Art Museum’s stunning exhibition, Graphic Masters: Dürer, Rembrandt, Goya, Hogarth, Picasso, R. Crumb. Don’t miss this amazing show, on view through August…

What’s in Store: Fantagraphics at 40!

   Fantagraphics Books begins our celebration of 40 years publishing the world’s greatest cartoonists with an exhibition of the world’s greatest cartoonist. R. Crumb: Early Works, 1965 – 1967 documents the artist as he develops his signature style with original drawings, comix, and related ephemera. Most of these works have never been displayed publicly, so you’re in for a treat. The show opens on Saturday, September 10 and continues through November 2, 2016. The 40th year festivities continue on Saturday, October 8 as Seattle native Charles Burns discusses his graphic masterpiece Black Hole. This arresting story is set a short distance…

Usagi Yojimbo Now Available Digitally!

Stan Sakai’s epic tale of the ronin rabbit began at Fantagraphics three decades ago. Starting today, you can now read the first seven volumes of Usagi Yojimbo on your tablets! Usagi Yojimbo has garnered the reputation of being one of the greatest comic book series of all time, with Stan Sakai earning multiple Eisner Awards to date. Full of suspense, humor, horror, and most importantly, adventure, all of these books are now available for $9.99 on your personal reading device: Book 1: The Ronin Book 2: Samurai Book 3: The Wanderer’s Road Book 4: The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy Book 5:…

Look at ALL these digital releases!

If you like reading comics on your tablet, today is a big day. We’ve got books by the late, great Jack Davis, modern classics by Dame Darcy and Dash Shaw, and new collections and graphic novels from Spain and Argentina. The Living Mummy and Other Stories collects Jack Davis at his most eye-poppingly terrifying and gleefully gruesome. These vintage EC stories feature everything a horror fan could ask for — vampires, ghouls, revenge — all leavened with the pun-laced humor of scripter Al Feldstein and illuminated by the virtuoso brushwork of Davis himself. Find The Living Mummy on comiXology and…

Jack Davis 1924–2016

Jack Burton Davis Jr. (b. December 2, 1924, Atlanta, Georgia; d. July 27, 2016) defined mid-century humor cartooning with his inimitable, rubbery style, which ably satirized any genre. Incredibly prolific, the Navy veteran’s instantly recognizable comics and illustrations graced assorted EC comics, advertisements, TV Guide covers, film posters (such as the one for It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World). He also provided art to his alma mater the University of Georgia until his passing. Davis was one of the original artists behind Mad magazine, and was a contributor and ownership partner in other Harvey Kurtzman-edited humor magazines, like Humbug…

Digital Hip Hop and More Backlist Titles

All good things must come to an end and today marks the digital release of the final monthly issue of Hip Hop Family Tree. Ed Piskor’s monthly examination into hip hop music is coming to an end today, but not going out without a bang. Issue #12 features a collaboration between Rick Rubin and LL Cool J, the arrest of KRS-One, and Run DMC heading out on tour. Find this milestone issue on comiXology. A few more books from our backlist have also found their way on comiXology, and they include: Beasts and Priests by Jim Blanchard Jack Davis: Drawing…

What’s in Store: Peter Bagge’s Neat Stuff!

Join us at Fantagraphics Bookstore on Saturday, August 13 for the debut of the Complete Neat Stuff by legendary Seattle cartoonist Peter Bagge. A limited number of advance copies of this two volume, slip case edition will be available for the artist to sign between 6:30 and 8:00 PM. Neat Stuff includes early work by Bagge introducing a cast of iconic characters that would populate his comix for decades. The Bradleys became a template for the dysfunctional American family, influencing the work of artists like Matt Groening, Mike Judge, Dana Gould, and countless others. This book collects the classic comix…