Fantagraphics Blog Blog

Delve into the peculiar mysteries of the Unifactor as Seattle artist Jim Woodring unveils the secrets behind his brand new graphic novel Congress of the Animals, released this month by Fantagraphics Books Inc. Congress of the Animals is the highly-anticipated follow-up to last year’s Weathercraft, and in 2010, Woodring was awarded the Stranger Genius Award for literature. Join us at the Elliott Bay Book Company at 7:00 pm on Thursday, June 30th as Woodring himself takes us page by page through his latest creation, with explanations and anecdotes on his first full-length graphic novel to star his signature character, Frank….

[In this installment of our series of Editors Notes, Kim Thompson interviews himself (in a format he's dubbed "AutoChat") about Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot by Jacques Tardi and Jean-Patrick Manchette, now available to pre-order from us and coming soon to a comics shop near you. – Ed.] Okay, if I already have West Coast Blues, why should I buy Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot? My promotional tagline for Sniper is, “For those who thought West Coast Blues wasn’t violent enough.” Seriously? West Coast Blues was pretty brutal. Sniper mops the floor with it. It was…

This weekly strip by Snake ‘n’ Bacon and Tales Designed to Thrizzle creator Michael Kupperman runs weekly in the Washington City Paper and here on the Fantagraphics website.

[In this installment of our series of Editors Notes, Kim Thompson interviews himself (in a format he's dubbed "AutoChat") about Sibyl-Anne Vs. Ratticus by R. Macherot. This was originally serialized in two parts on Flog! The Fantagraphics Blog. – Ed.] Okay, Sibyl-Anne is being released kind of as the other half of a matched set with Gil Jordan, which I know you’ve been a fan of since you were a kid. I assume this is another childhood favorite you’re finally getting a chance to… No, actually, as a kid I was never a fan of Macherot’s work. Never collected the…

This weekly strip by Snake ‘n’ Bacon and Tales Designed to Thrizzle creator Michael Kupperman runs weekly in the Washington City Paper and here on the Fantagraphics website.

[In this installment of our series of Editors Notes, Kim Thompson interviews himself (in a format he's dubbed "AutoChat") about Gil Jordan, Private Detective: Murder by High Tide by M. Tillieux, with a special contribution by the book’s translator, Jenna Allen. Thanks to Janice for assistance with images in this post. – Ed.] Tell me about Gil Jordan. He and I were born at the same time. Literally. The week I was born, the first issue of Spirou magazine to run Gil Jourdan was the issue on the stands. I only realized this after decades of being a huge fan…

Cartoonists Paul Hornschemeier and Eroyn Franklin Present New Books on June 18 at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle. June 7, 2011 – Seattle, WA – Two of the country’s most gifted young cartoonists will debut their recent publications at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, June 18 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Paul Hornschemeier, from Chicago, presents Life with Mr. Dangerous and Seattle’s own Eroyn Franklin debuts the highly anticipated Detained. Eroyn Franklin’s Detained explores immigrant detention centers in Washington State. Each side of the book is a continuous panorama that follows two immigrants as they navigate Seattle’s former…

This weekly strip by Snake ‘n’ Bacon and Tales Designed to Thrizzle creator Michael Kupperman runs weekly in the Washington City Paper and here on the Fantagraphics website.

[The Comics Journal intern Brittany Matter put together this series of discussion questions about Monte Schulz's novel The Last Rose of Summer for use in book clubs. This is intended for those who have read the book and contains spoilers. – Ed.] Synopsis: The second book in Monte Schulz’ Jazz Age trilogy (the first, This Side of Jordan, was released in 2009; the last, The Big Town, will be released in 2012), The Last Rose of Summer examines the relationships among three women under the same roof in late 1920s Bellemont, East Texas: Maude, Marie and Rachel. Marie and her…

Iconoclastic cartoonist Jim Woodring will be touring the Northwest in June behind the release of his latest masterpiece, Congress of the Animals. Woodring will appear in Minneapolis, Portland, and Seattle to sign books and illuminate the allusions in his second full-length graphic novel. In Congress of the Animals we are treated to the pitiful spectacle of Woodring's signature protagonist Frank losing his house, taking a factory job, falling in with bad company, fleeing the results of sabotage, escaping in an amusement park ride, surviving a catastrophe at sea, traveling across hostile terrain toward a massive temple seemingly built in his image, being…