Fantagraphics Blog FantaBlog

As the year draws to an end, allow me the indulgence of fawning over Fantagraphics. FOUR COLOR FEAR is a phenomenal book. The wonderful pre-code horror comics inside provide colorful context to a wider understanding of mid-century America. I'm a child of the fifties and these amazing comic books still speak to me in a meaningful way. Our country was caught in the grip of a Cold War with perceived enemies that threatened the end of civilization. As impressionable kids, there were daily reminders of this terrifying reality — and we all felt totally helpless. Maybe in some subconscious way…

Blake Bell wants your input in choosing the artwork to feature on the cover of The Bill Everett Archives Vol. 1 — see the 10 candidates on Blake's blog and then cast your vote on his Bill Everett facebook page. One randomly selected voter who selects the image that eventually goes on the book will win a free copy of the book when it's published! My vote is pictured above, though obviously I recuse myself from the contest.

If you want your order to arrive before Christmas, tomorrow (Monday, December 20) is the FINAL day to get your order in and you MUST select the 2nd Day UPS shipping option! Hop to it! Our handy Holiday Gift Guide will help you find lots of gift ideas for every interest and budget!

Here's this week's Weissman, plus links to other strips from around the web: — Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman (view at original size): — And elsewhere: Amazing Facts… and Beyond! with Leon Beyond by Kevin Huizenga: Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane: Ectiopiary by Hans Rickheit (get better soon, Hans): Lucky by Gabrielle Bell: Maakies by Tony Millionaire: Truth Serum by Jon Adams:

As some people know, I divide my time between Fantagraphics and non-profit radio station, KEXP, and yesterday, my worlds collided when my boss (the other one) played this on the radio: “The Devil and Maggie Chascarillo” by Memphis whiskey-rock* band Lucero (off their most recent-release 1372 Overton Park). I caught the chorus — "Maggie the mechanic, punk rock girl, lonely saint" — and immediately bolted up in my chair. It's not the first time Love & Rockets has inspired a band, and I'm certain it won't be the last. [* Yeah, I don't know what that is either. ] And…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions from HuffPo, Flavorwire, Omnivoracious & elsewhere: • List/Review: Critical Mob names Jim Woodring's Weathercraft one of the Top 10 Books of 2010. As a reminder, their review called it "the kind of Pilgrim's Progress tale that David Lynch might have conjured up if he were a cartoonist" (Lynch was a cartoonist, in fact) and "Woodring's best work yet. And for an artist of his caliber, that's saying something." • List: At Flavorwire, Desert Island's Gabe Fowler names Love and Rockets: New Stories #3 #9 of 10 of the Year's Most Buzzed About Comic Releases: "Lots…

At her Screened-in Porch blog, Carol Tyler gives us a glimpse into her working process, with this example page from You'll Never Know. Love the info on her sketch paper source.

Shimura Takako's manga Wandering Son (Hourou Musuko), which we are publishing in English starting next year, is being adapted for Japanese television, with the first episode debuting on January 13 on Fuji TV's late-night noitaminA programming slot. At the show's official website you can watch a series of three trailers (one, two, three) — I found a fansubbed version of the second one on YouTube which I've embedded here. It looks like a beautifully produced show. Here's the initial announcement as reported by Anime News Network, and here is their update on the most recent trailer. 

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition by Stan Sakai 1160-page black & white/color 2-volume hardcover 7.5" x 11" x 3" slipcased set • $100.00ISBN: 978-1-60699-154-1 Ordering Info & Previews Created in 1984 as a supporting character for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo has vaulted to the very forefront of iconic modern comics characters and is a perennial favorite amongst young boys and adult fans. Usagi Yojimbo chronicles the action-packed wanderings of a masterless samurai (a “ronin”) in feudal Japan — as told with funny-animals. (If PIXAR and the…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "[Megan Kelso's] first full-length graphic novel, Artichoke Tales, raises the stakes seen in her short stories and makes the relationships between three generations of characters one of simultaneous longing and resentment. […] This story is entirely about relationships, both familial and romantic. At the same time, it’s also about one’s relationship to one’s country, one’s religion, and one’s ethnicity, and the ways in which resorting to war to solve conflicts changes all of these relationships irrevocably." – Rob Clough, The Comics Journal • Review: "Jason’s work always jumps directly into the reader’s brain…