Fantagraphics Blog FantaBlog

Shortly before Christmas, we had a Fantagraphics holiday party hosted by yours truly and Mrs. Truly. I forgot to take any pictures, which is a shame, because a splendid time was had by all. Most of the Fanta staff was in attendance, with the noticeable exception of Ms. Kristy Valenti, although her presence was most certainly felt, thanks to a gift delivered via partner-in-crime Gavin Lees (apologies in advance for the crappy photo evidence):  Kristy created a Fantagraphics-themed custom version of the ol' CLUE board game, featuring representations of most of the Fanta office staff and set in the palatial mansion of…

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D. By Dash Shaw One part MOME collection, one part authorized IFC Channel spinoff, the first quarter of this jacketed hardcover collects the work — storyboards, scripts, character designs, etc. — that Shaw has created for a series of original shorts for IFC.com. The latter 3/4ths collect his acclaimed short stories from MOME, as well as several little-seen stories from elsewhere, and a new 20 page story. The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D. is Shaw’s first book since his breakthrough graphic novel…

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: Mome Vol. 17 – Winter 2010 By Various Artists; edited by Eric Reynolds The acclaimed anthology continues with the concluding chapter of Paul Hornschemeier's third graphic novel "Life with Mr. Dangerous" (following his acclaimed books The Three Paradoxes and Mother Come Home), which has been running in MOME since the first issue. Meanwhile, Bottomless Belly Button creator Dash Shaw and MOME regular Tom Kaczynski collaborate on a mind-bending science-fiction story, "Resolution," where "reality" exists as a virtual world and people live through their avatars. Olivier Schrauwen delivers a surrealistic gem titled…

Hey looky, the cover art for Nate Neal's graphic novel The Sanctuary, coming in August/September 2010. Mayhap you remember this amusing promotional video for the book from a few months ago.

Your first order of business is to head to whatthingsdo.com right now and gape at the jaw-dropping array of entirely free comics on view from Jordan Crane (including all 3 issues of Uptight in their entirety, The Last Lonely Saturday and much much more), Sammy Harkham, and Ted May. Oh heavens this is BIG, people.

As we've mentioned in passing previously, The Metropolitan Museum of Art "Inside the Museum" poster by John Kerschbaum has been turned into a jigsaw puzzle, which is now available online from The Met Store. They're a hot seller in the gift shop according to this TV news report! Don't forget we still have a few copies of the original poster to give away as part of the Amazing Petey & Pussy Super Bonus Comics & Poster Pack!

This appears to be a needle-felted Christmas ornament of C.F. from Prison Pit: Book 1. Creator unknown — posted by Johnny Ryan without explanation on Facebook. UPDATE: Oh, of course, Johnny's talented and crafty wife (and former Fantagraphics employee) Jenny made it! Nicely done, Jenny. More at Johnny's blog.

Online Commentary & Diversions will return next week. Have a great holiday! • List: From Alan David Doane of Comic Book Galaxy's not-technically-a-best-of end-of-year roundup: "…[O]f course Fantagraphics continued to make life better with its ongoing Complete Peanuts collections, and their Strange Suspense: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 1 was also one of the treasures of the year, filled with tons of the master's weird and wonky comics." • Review: "…I enjoyed the hell out of this book. … Not only did Portable Grindhouse remind me of ye olden days, it also gave me quite a laugh. You won’t believe…

Behold our official offering for Free Comic Book Day 2010: Are you ready? Because your life is about to change! Perception as you know it will cease! Fantagraphics proudly presents Jim Woodring's Weathercraft! Every other free comic book will pale in comparison to our powerful and supernatural print-barge for both the enlightened and perplexed masses. Marvel at the toothy preview of Jim Woodring's first original graphic novel, do your detective work with exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews, and gasp at rare out-of-print images, comics and transmissions, all from Jimland! Beware! Manhog lurks near… Final cover art may vary. Stay tuned here to…

Christmas Eve Eve Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: We published 6 of John Seven's top 10 "Decade's Best: Comics – Archives & Collections": The Complete Peanuts, Explainers by Jules Feiffer, the two Fletcher Hanks books, Humbug, Locas by Jaime Hernandez, and Supermen! The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941 • Review: "The packaging… is brilliant and the actual product is no less magnificent. The quality that Fantagraphics put into [Portable Grindhouse: The Lost Art of the VHS Box] is top-notch. The card and paper stock could not be more perfect. The high resolution pictures and scans of each…