Fantagraphics Blog FantaBlog

Los Angeles, brace yourself for the wonder of Ron Regé, Jr.'s Cartoon Utopia, coming March 1st to the gallery Dem Passwords in Los Angeles! Ron relates on his blog, "If you were to go way back in the archive of this blog, you would notice me talking about The Cartoon Utopia as of a set of concepts & ideas that I was creating art with, not simply the title of my book. The project started as a set of drawings that were displayed in solo art shows around the world." The utopia lives on! A year after the book's release,…

The best-seasoned pan that your friends accidentally cleaned with soap of Online Commentaries and Diversions:        • Review: Comics Bulletin looks at Charles Forsman's latest: "Celebrated Summer works as an excellent examination of what remains unspoken between close friends and what it means to feel trapped in your own skin." –Geoffrey Lapid, Comics Bulletin   • Review: Santa Barbara News Press in PRINT, baby reviews "Unexpectedly, almost secretly lovely, Celebrated Summer has a sadness and listlessness at its core that resonates much louder…Forsman gets in and out quickly, not making more of this tale of suburban apathy than needs making, which only makes his story that much…

The EC Comics Slipcase Vol. 1by Harvey Kurtzman, Wallace Wood, Jack Davis, Al Williamson, Al Feldstein et al. 832-page four-volume hardcover 7.5" x 10.5" x 4" slipcased box set • $94.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-728-4 Ships in: March 2014 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now   A boxed set of our first four books in our acclaimed EC Comics Library, which collects the best comics of the 1950s from the greatest mass market comic book publisher in history. Featured are: Corpse on the Imjin! by Harvey Kurtzman, et al.; Came the Dawn by Wallace “Wally” Wood, Al Feldstein, et al.; 50 Girls 50 by Al Williamson, Al Feldstein, et…

Tuesday, February 11th • New York City, NY: The NY Comics & Picture-Story Symposium will host a lecture from Conor Stechschulte, along with Christopher Adams, at the Kellen Auditorium in Parsons The New School at 66 Fifth Ave. (more info) Friday, February 14th • Los Angeles, CA: Spend Valentine's Day with Cannibal Fuckface and Johnny Ryan at Secret Headquarters for the book launch party for Prison Pit Book 5! (more info) • San Francisco, CA: "Herstorian" Trina Robbins will be speaking on graphic novels for teens and tweens at the 2014 San Francisco Writers Conference! (more info) Sunday, February 16th…

Next month's issue of Booklist will include reviews of two recent releases by Fantagraphics creators, excerpted below: Hip Hop Family Tree Vol. 1 by Ed Piskor "Hip-hop devotee Piskor was one of Harvey Pekar's last collaborators and here shows himself to be Pekar's true disciple as a chronicler of popular culture… Piskor's artwork seems equally indebted to the looks of golden-age DC superhero comics and Pekar's greatest collaborator, R. Crumb." -Ray Olson    VIP: The Mad World by Virgil Partch, edited by Jonathan Barli "His drawings (under his famous "VIP" signature) stood out not just for their immediately recognizable, wildly peculiar look (once…

John Severin produced some of the finest war comics ever drawn during his long, distinguished, and versatile career, and working in collaboration with other greats like Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder, his work in the genre for EC Comics is unmissable. Lucky for you, we've gathered all of that material together for the first time in a single volume under this handsome cover. Bomb Run and Other Stories is just off to the printer, is available for pre-order, and launches in July. Keep it tuned for more previews.

Ed Piskor made a real subtle modification to the cover art for Hip Hop Family Tree Two-in-One, one of our two 2014 Free Comic Book Day offerings available exclusively at comic shops on Saturday, May 3. See if you can spot the difference from the previous version! (Hint: we're not talking about the "mature readers" notice.)

We're excited to announce that our awesome "herstorian" Trina Robbins will be a special guest at the 2014 San Francisco Writers Conference! The conference begins on Thursday, February 13th, and runs through Sunday, February 16th. Trina will be speaking about graphic novels for teens and tweens on Friday at 4:30 PM, and about research on Saturday at 4:00 PM. Register now for the conference, and come here Trina talk about her comprehensive new collection Pretty in Ink: North American Women Cartoonists 1896-2013, her ultimate book, a revised, updated and rewritten history of women cartoonists, with more color illustrations than ever…

The Amateurs, the debut graphic novella by Conor Stechschulte, is at the printer for release this spring. One part Samuel Beckett, one part Laurel and Hardy, one part Texas Chainsaw Massacre, this is a story of escalating madness, mystery, slapstick, and violence unlike any you've read before. Our downloadable 8-page preview includes the horrifying prologue and introduces Jim and Winston, our protagonists who, after a strange night of sickness, arrive at work and are baffled to find that their butcher shop is as empty as their minds are of how to do their job. Pre-order now and get the rest of the story…

On Tuesday, February 11th, the NY Comics & Picture-Story Symposium will host a lecture from Conor Stechschulte, along with Christopher Adams, at 7:00 PM! Stechschulte will present a comprehensive look at the ideas and influences that lead to the making of The Amateurs, his debut graphic novella about a severed human head that still seems to be talking. Stechschulte will discuss the lessons he learned while making the book, and discuss how he's applied those lessons to his current comics work. He adds: "Other topics that may or may not be glancingly addressed: accidental dismemberment, the true sound a screaming pig…