Fantagraphics Blog FantaBlog

So, our ol' pal Jacques Boyreau, he of the cinefantastic tomes PORTABLE GRINDHOUSE and the forthcoming SEXYTIME: THE POST-PORN RISE OF THE PORNOISSEUR (a collection of remarkably awesome movie posters from the Golden Age of adult cinema) from Fantagraphics, curated what looks to be an incredible art show in Anchorage, Alaska, of all places. I wanted to spotlight it on the blog, and figured the best way was to simply ask Jacques about. Here's what he had to say. I've been involved with Fantagraphics for a few years now…as author-editor and all-around-nuisance. I suspect a reason for my insistency is that…

176 years old and still going strong!

Celebrate the 5th Anniversary of Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery!“Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly” opens December 10. In 1970, Walt Kelly’s playful possum Pogo looked upon his polluted Okefenokee Swamp and uttered in despair, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” This line quickly became part of our cultural lexicon and cemented Pogo’s place in American popular culture. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery celebrates the publication of Pogo: Through the Wild Blue Wonder with “Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly.” This exhibition of original Walt Kelly strips opens Saturday, December 10 from 6:00 to 9:00…

Author/editor Kevin Avery continues his New York tour with a signing on Thursday, December 1st at the Barnes & Noble Park Slope in Brooklyn, NY! He'll be signing copies of Everything is an Afterthought: The Life & Writings of Paul Nelson. And it's a great opportunity to learn even more about the pioneering Rolling Stone critic Nelson as the discussion will cover Avery's other collection, Conversations with Clint 1979-1983: Paul Nelson’s Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood (Continuum Books). The event kicks off at 7:00 PM at Barnes & Noble Park Slope [ 267 7th Avenue, Brooklyn ].

Oh, New York City… I know you've already bought your tickets for this, right? RIGHT?! 'Cause holy hell, you do not want to miss this incredible event.  The legendary MAD Magazine cartoonist Jack Davis will be at the Strand Bookstore on Thursday, December 1st for a discussion and signing for Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture. How often do you get the chance to hear Jack Davis speak about his extensive and influential career?  And how often are we able to pair him on stage with our one and only Gary Groth leading the interview? You can either buy the…

The new Diamond Previews catalog is out today and in it you'll find our usual 2-page spread (download the PDF) with our releases scheduled to arrive in your local comic shop in February 2012 (give or take — some release dates may have changed since the issue went to press). We're pleased to offer additional and updated information about these upcoming releases here on our website, to help shops and customers alike make more informed ordering decisions. This month's Spotlight item is a new softcover edition of Swiss horror-meister's short story collection Cinema Panopticum; our anthology of Scandinavian cartoonists Kolor…

Oh, you know, just Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez doing a signing with their pal Matt Groening at Golden Apple Comics in L.A. in 1984 when Dave Stevens stopped by to say hi to them and Gilbert's hotcha gal Carol. ¡Ay carumba! (And is that a turntable under the V poster? Even cooler!) This got posted over at the Love and Rockets/Hernandez Brothers Facebook page way back in March and I've been too flabbergasted for the last 8 months to post it until now. But lo! Via a Tumblr blog called One-Chair Barbershop comes, unattributed and without context, this vintage photo…

Drew Friedman sat down with Mr. Media's Bob Andelman for a chat at the International Society of Caricature Artists convention in Florida a couple weeks ago (where Drew was keynote speaker). Come for Drew's Jerry Lewis impression, stay for the live drawing demonstration! [YouTube link]

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: At MTV Geek, Brigid Alverson names Wandering Son by Shimura Takako one of The Best Manga Series of 2011: "Wandering Son is a delightful, quiet manga about a girly boy and a boyish girl…. This is not your typical gender-bender manga playing a gender switch for laughs (and fanservice); it's a quiet, subtle story of a boy coming to terms with himself." • Review: "Believe it or not, music criticism was responsible for some of 2011's finest books, with Kevin Avery's impeccably researched Everything Is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul…

There are many ways to describe R.C. Harvey, but, as anyone who has accidentally dropped his nearly-1,000-page opus Meanwhile… A Biography of Milton Caniff on his or her toes can attest, "man of few words" is not necessarily one of them. (I say this as someone who read each and every word in Meanwhile… with delight and fascination.) So it should have come as no surprise to us when Harv, commissioned to write a set of elucidatory notes for the first Pogo volume and given no word limit (as is our jauntily laissez-faire method here at Fantagraphics), turned in a…