Fantagraphics Blog Blog

[In this installment of our series of Editors Notes, Kim Thompson interviews himself (in a format he's dubbed "AutoChat") about Stigmata by Lorenzo Mattotti, now available to order from us and at a comics shop near you. – Ed.] So… Mattotti, eh? Yeah. I've long wanted to do a book by Lorenzo. For my money he's one of the most brilliant cartoonists in terms of sheer virtuoso draftsmanship who ever lived. I think among the current breed of Europeans he's rivaled only by Moebius and Blutch and I'd still rank him first. I was just biding my time. It's been…

[In this installment of our series of Editors Notes, Kim Thompson interviews himself (in a format he's dubbed "AutoChat") about King of the Flies Vol. 2: The Origin of the World by Mezzo & Pirus, now available to order from us and coming soon to a comics shop near you. – Ed.] Congratulations on King of the Flies Volume 1 being named one of the 10 best graphic novel releases of the year by Amazon.com. Thanks, that was a nice surprise. Not because I didn't think King of the Flies deserved it, but because I thought it had kind of…

Stan Sakai has crafted the adventures of his Ronin Samurai rabbit, Usagi Yojimbo, for more than 25 years. He has made Usagi one of the most recognizable "funny animals" or anthropomorphic characters in the comics universe through his unique storytelling and peerless craft. Usagi wanders through Edo period (1600s) Japan, running into the likes of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird) and Groo The Wanderer (Sergio Aragones). Sakai's work has been praised by the likes of Stan Lee and been awarded three Eisners for storytelling, overall talent, and lettering. Fantagraphics released a special commemorative…

Seattle cartoonist Jim Woodring, author of Frank comics and the acclaimed Weathercraft, has built a seven-foot-long pen-and-penholder, a giant version of the steel dip pen nib and wooden handle used by artists and calligraphers. The pen will make its debut in the Skinner Auditorium of Gage Academy of Art on Sunday, January 9 from 1pm to 4pm. The nib is sixteen inches long and made of brass-pated, hand-engraved cold-rolled steel. The handle is lathe-turned poplar, painted with black lacquer. The ink is a specially formulated acrylic blend. A vase functions as an inkwell. When this project was announced earlier this…

This week we mailed out copies of our Spring/Summer 2011 distributors catalog (designed and produced for buyers and sellers in the book trade) to members of the press. We are pleased to also offer it as a 7.4 MB PDF download. Please be advised that the information in this catalog is preliminary and still subject to change, including but not limited to book titles, prices, cover art, contents, specs, and especially release dates. (For instance, Ah Pook Is Here is already rescheduled from July to Fall 2011.) Inquiries from members of the press may be directed to Jacq Cohen at…

[The Comics Journal interns Andrew Davis and Chi-Wen Lee put together a series of discussion questions about Stephen DeStefano & George Chieffet's Lucky in Love Book 1: A Poor Man's History for use in book clubs. As these questions are intended for those who have read the book, please be warned that they may contain mild spoilers. – Ed.] Synopsis: At age 15, the only things on Lucky's mind are women, sex, movies, and, to some degree, the war. He fantasizes about being a hero, much like in the Tex Stengler films his friends and he watch. When he does…

Fantagraphics Bookstore Marks 4th Anniversary on December 11 with Festive Holiday Gala Featuring Music, Art, Comix and More! Since opening in December 2006, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery has become a treasured civic asset. In addition to feeding Northwest residents' insatiable appetite for challenging contemporary culture, the space has attracted visitors from across the country and around the world. Saturday, December 11 marks the bookstore's 4th anniversary, and to celebrate the occasion we're once again hosting the season's most festive party featuring amazing music, comix, art, and more! The evening includes solo music sets by Zak Sally and Mark Pickerel. Zak…

[In this installment of our series of Editors Notes, Kim Thompson interviews himself (in a format he's dubbed "AutoChat") about The Littlest Pirate King by David B., Fantagraphics' second Franco-Belgian kids' comic release, now available to order from us or at a comics shop near you. – Ed.] This is Fantagraphics' first full David B. book, right? Correct. We published the second issue of his Ignatz comic Babel (D+Q published the first one before wimping out on the whole Ignatz deal), and four of his short stories in Zero Zero and MOME (in fact, the three MOME stories will be…

Originally run as an experiment on Stephen’s blog starting in 2008, Monday’s Strip is re-presented here. This strip was written by visitors to Stephen’s blog and lettered by Siobhan DeStefano. Stephen’s graphic novel Lucky in Love Book 1: A Poor Man’s History (written by George Chieffet) was released by Fantagraphics in September, 2010.

Celluloid chaos is on tap as Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, in association with Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, present the final Seattle celebration of DESTROY ALL MOVIES!!!: The Complete Guide to Punks on Film on Saturday afternoon, November 13 at 2:00 PM. Editors Zack Carlson and Bryan Connolly will be joined by Fantagraphics Books' resident design genius Jacob Covey to sign copies of this exquisite, encyclopedic compendium of punk movies. The event features an ambient screening of clips drawn from the more than 1,100 films chronicled in the book. DESTROY ALL MOVIES!!! documents the punk movement as captured through the lenses of…