Fantagraphics Blog FantaBlog

Fantagraphics' veteran Jeremy Eaton continues to draw his mashup characters or Jumbles since his show last fall in Seattle. Luba and Olive Oyl is one of our favorites, good thing that iconic Luba hammer exists for the sake of Olive Oyl's shoes (created by Gilbert Hernandez and E.C. Segar respectively). Jeremy's posted more than a few of his 'jumbles' online so check it out today! And try to name all the characters jumbled together below. 

Here's some more wisdom for ya: Don't miss the art show The Pen-Ultimate Arnold Roth: 60 Years (and Counting) As a Freelance, currently on display at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York City! Over 45 original Arnold Roth cartoons are hanging now, highlighting his work from publications such as Sports Illustrated, Esquire, The New Yorker, Playboy, Punch, Southampton Review and many more. For Roth, every drawing represents an artistic challenge as well as a narrative one. “I try to give myself little problems,” he said. “Brubeck, years ago, was on a symposium and somebody asked him,…

The book's at the printer, we're reviewing the proofs and it's officially official, so here's the cover art for Peter Bagge's Other Stuff, coming in April. Collecting Pete's collaborations (with Alan Moore, Dan Clowes, Adrian Tomine, R. Crumb, etc.) from the back pages of Hate, along with other short subjects from Hate Annual and elsewhere, it's your handy one-stop must-have volume of Bagge miscellanea. Soon you won't have to go rummaging through your longboxes and break the hermetic seal on your mylars to read classics like "Shamrock Squid" and "The Hasty Smear of My Smile" or revisit with Lovey, Murry Wilson…

Today Fantagraphics and comiXology present Happy Hour in America issues 1-4 by Tim Lane. Featuring installments of Belligerent Piano, Folktales and experimental comics reminiscent of that old-timey newspaper comic strip. Lane's characters drive a cool highway until they gotta stop for gas and a quick diner breakfast but pulse and threaten to suck you into your tablet. If your shave kit consists of Brylcreem, burglarly and murder then these tales might mirror some hard-knocks in your life. Originally distributed through John Porcellino's Spit and Half Distribution, these tricked-up juke box and train-jumpin' tales can be yours for $2.99 a piece….

Geneviève Castrée enchanted store visitors with a musical performance back in December, and now she'll be back to enchant us again with her graphic novel debut, Susceptible, on Saturday, March 9th! Susceptible [out in February from our friends at Drawn & Quarterly] is a devastating graphic novel about the heartbreaking loss of innocence when a child is forced to be the adult among grownups. Goglu is a daydreamer with a young working mother, a disengaged stepfather, and a father who lives five thousand miles away. Drawing, punk rock, and the promise of true independence guide Goglu to adulthood while her…

(not final cover) The living will forever be obsessed with death and those who have started on that grand adventure before them. This Fall, Fantagraphics presents two books to capture the imagination and haunt each and every night by the young and talented Julia Gfrörer and Ben Catmull. Black Is the Colorby Julia Gfrörer September 2013 $9.99 Paperback • 72 pagesBlack-and-white • 6" x 9"ISBN: 978-1-60699-717-8 The push and pull, ebb and flow of the water calls out to all men. In this harrowing new graphic novella, Black Is the Color, Julia Gfrörer delicately hatches away this sailor-at-sea story until…

Co-editor Crag Hill brings his magnificent collection The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008 home to Moscow, Idaho for a signing on Wednesday, February 6th! Join Crag at Bookpeople of Moscow [ 521 S Main Street ] at 7:00 PM for this launch celebration! There will be a no-host bar, and copies of the anthology will be available for sale and signing. 

Yes, some artists do still send in their original artwork for scanning — case in point, Leslie Stein, who shipped us her lovely pages for Eye of the Majestic Creature Vol. 2, all neatly organized in three portfolio binders which are safely ensconced in our flat files (nestled alongside those bundles of Barnaby clippings) awaiting their turn on the scanner. Looks like we're well on track for the book's scheduled release in August! Since critics (correctly) called Vol. 1 "a treat," "phenomenal," "great," "a joy from cover to cover," "irresistible," "a triumph," "such a pleasure" and "one of the best graphic novels of the year," it's…

It was a problem-free evening at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery as Jim Woodring presented his brand-new book Problematic: Sketchbook Drawings 2004-2012 earlier this month! One of the first people in line was this awesome little girl! Jim's wife Mary tells us: "That cute little girl, now 8, has been a fan since the age of 4. Her favorite book for a long time was Seeing Things." Smart girl! Large-scale reprints of Jim's sketchbook drawings adorn our gallery wall… … while the original Moleskines are in a case below, some featuring his amazing 3-D pop-outs! Admittedly, I didn't take a…

Thursday, January 24th • Minneapolis, MN: Join Tom Kaczynski for the launch of Beta Testing the Apocalypse, with special guests Zak Sally and Derek Van Gieson, as well as Vincent Stall, Dan Wieken, and Peter Wartman! (more info)   Friday, January 25th • Paris, France: An exhibition of original artwork from Fuzz and Pluck makes its debut at the Librairie Les Super Héros, including a reception with Ted Stearn himself! (more info)   • New York City, NY: And an exhibit of paintings by Gary Panter launches at the Fredericks & Freiser gallery in Chelsea. (more info)    Saturday, January 26th • Seattle,…