Fantagraphics Blog Blog

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…

Originally run as an experiment on Stephen’s blog starting in 2008, Monday’s Strip is re-presented here. Lettering on this strip 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.

[In this first of what will hopefully be a recurring series of Editors Notes posts, Kim Thompson interviews himself (in a format he's dubbed "AutoChat") on the subject of Fantagraphics' first Franco-Belgian kids' comic release, coming to a comics shop near you later in November. – Ed.] This is your first Blanquet book. Why pick this one? Honestly, it kind of dropped in my lap out of nowhere. I read it, I liked it, and I thought "Why not?" I've long wanted do publish a Blanquet book – we've published short stories of his in Zero Zero and Blab!… This…

Originally run as an experiment on Stephen’s blog starting in 2008, Monday’s Strip is re-presented here. 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.