Fantagraphics Blog Blog

MEGAN KELSO CELEBRATES NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL AT THE THIRD PLACE BOOKS ON JULY 20   Fantagraphics Books and Seattle's Third Place Books are proud to present an evening with acclaimed graphic novelist Megan Kelso on July 20, talking about and signing her new graphic novel, ARTICHOKE TALES, which the NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW recently hailed as "surprising and wonderful,” and about which STRANGER Books Editor Paul Constant declared, “[it] feels like a series of expansions. The characters and their world grow to envelop the reader in a singular, charming way.” Kelso will be making a rare appearance in her hometown of…

For Immediate Release: FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS ANNOUNCES THE ACQUISITION OF SIGNIFICANT OBJECTS STORY COLLECTION SEATTLE, WA, JUNE 9, 2010 — Since its debut, Significant Objects, the bold online inquiry into the relationship between narrative and the value of everyday objects, has been the subject of speculation by everyone from NPR to litbloggers to The New York Times' Freakonomics crew. Some theorized about the project's hypothesis, others about its methods and results. Some just wanted to know: Will there be a book? This last question can now be answered: Yes! A collection of one hundred Significant Objects stories, seductively illustrated by top artists, will be…

This interview was conducted via telephone and transcribed by Comics Journal editorial intern Ian Burns and proofread by TCJ's Kristy Valenti and myself. Thanks to all! –Ed. IAN BURNS: One of the new features [in The Search for Smilin’ Ed] is this huge fold-out here, and I was wondering, now that there’s over one hundred characters in your own personal universe, does having it that large affect how you create new stories at all?  KIM DEITCH: Well, it certainly gives me a lot of advantage in terms of I’ve got all these characters and I can use them in stories,…

  KIM DEITCH AND MEGAN KELSO CELEBRATE THEIR NEW GRAPHIC NOVELS AT THE STRAND ON JUNE 24   Fantagraphics Books and New York's The Strand Bookstore are proud to present an evening with acclaimed graphic novelists Kim Deitch and Megan Kelso on June 24, talking about and signing their new graphic novels THE SEARCH FOR SMILIN' ED (by Deitch) and ARTICHOKE TALES (by Kelso).  Kelso will be making a rare return to New York since moving back to her hometown of Seattle, WA a few years ago. She will give a multimedia talk called "Big and Small": How do you…

Rejected New Yorker cartoons by Mome contributor Derek Van Gieson, added weekly. Visit Derek’s website for more of his work, and look for his accepted strips and illustrations in the pages of the New Yorker. {mosimage}

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery hosts an art exhibition and book launch party for Seattle-based cartoonist Megan Kelso’s new graphic novel ARTICHOKE TALES on Saturday, June 12 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. A graduate of alternative cartoonist breeding ground The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, Megan Kelso burst onto the comics scene in the early 90s with her provocative self-published zine Girlhero. She has since proved herself a master of the cartoon short story with Queen of the Black Black (1998) and The Squirrel Mother (2006), in addition to the weekly serial “Watergate Sue” published in the New York Times…

Come and meet the 'Insanely Great' Drew Friedman! Drew Friedman will be making a (medium) rare appearance/book signing in Hollywood to discuss, along with journalist/pop culture historian Ben Schwartz, (whose new book, The Best American Comics Criticism, from Fantagraphics sports an adorable cover by Friedman), his new hardcover anthology, "TOO SOON?", a collection of political and Showbiz illustrations covering the last delightful 15 years, and featuring a foreword by Jimmy Kimmel. As Howard Stern says "Everything he does is insanely great!" Also to be discussed will of course be Old Jewish Comedians, (Family is located conveniently across the Steet from Old Jewish Comedian…

Rejected New Yorker cartoons by Mome contributor Derek Van Gieson, added weekly. Visit Derek’s website for more of his work, and look for his accepted strips and illustrations in the pages of the New Yorker. {mosimage}

Courtesy of The Comics Journal contributor Gavin Lees comes this video of Jim Woodring's slideshow presentation of Weathercraft at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on May 22, 2010. Below, some still photos of the event. Jim signs copies of the book: Jim presents the slideshow to a rapt audience: Ellen Forney gets a boost to watch the slideshow (photo by Janice Headley): Back to the signing table: Jim’s Moëbius-strip comic on display: The new Anthologies shelf at Fantagraphics Bookstore, holding Mome, Weirdo, Kramer's Ergot, and many many more:

This interview originally appeared on Flog! The Fantagraphics Blog. –Ed. Tony Millionaire graciously agreed to answer a few questions about his new book Billy Hazelnuts and the Crazy Bird, due for release next month. This interview was conducted over email by our recently-departed Comics Journal editorial intern Jenna Allen and proofread by TCJ's Kristy Valenti. Thanks to all! –Ed. Jenna Allen: It's been four years since the first Billy Hazelnuts book. What other projects have you been working on? Tony Millionaire: The reason it took so long between Billy books was not that I didn't have an idea. I actually…