Fantagraphics Blog FantaBlog

At his blog, cartoonist/animator Stephen DeStefano has a sneak peek at his artwork for the upcoming graphic novel written by George Chieffet, Lucky in Love, to be published by Fantagraphics in summer 2010. Stephen's worked on everything from 'Mazing Man to The Venture Bros., which makes him a-ok in my book.

Unused Daniel Clowes artwork for Victor Banana's Split album, circa 1989 — see this and much more (cassette J-card!) at Blog Flume courtesy of Tim Hensley.

The second issue of hard-boiled detective comic STUMPTOWN opens with the female protagonist flirting with a physician. When Seattle-based illustrator Matthew Southworth needed a model, he turned to an unwitting Eric Reynolds. Southworth explains his choice of Reynolds as the inspiration for the fictional character: "I thought he should be handsome, patient, and friendly and for some reason, Eric Reynolds popped in my head. This despite the fact that we'd never met! Now that I know him a little, I realize he is indeed handsome, patient, and friendly, but he's not a doctor. No matter what he says. You have…

  FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS ANNOUNCES THE ACQUISITION OF STEPHEN DIXON'S WHAT IS ALL THIS?, A COLLECTION OF MODERN FICTION SEATTLE, WA, NOV. 20, 2009 —  Fantagraphics Books is proud to announce the acquisition of What Is All This?, a 900-page collection of previously uncollected short fiction by two-time National Book Award Nominee (1991, 1995) Stephen Dixon. The collection will be published in May, 2010 and mark the third entry in Fantagraphics burgeoning line of literary fiction, following Alexander Theroux's Laura Warholic (2007) and Monte Schulz's This Side of Jordan (2009). Along with Theroux, Dixon is the second National Book Award nominated-author to publish new fiction through Fantagraphics. "Stephen Dixon is…

Another whistle-whetting preview of PRISON PIT Vol. 2, coming next summer from Johnny Ryan… Mmm!

Preorder now!

Now available for preview and pre-order: The Great Anti-War Cartoons, edited by Craig Yoe. This book collects over 4 centuries of the best protest art, spanning the globe and the political spectrum. Images of outrage, irony, despair and hope prove that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword. Download an exclusive 10-page PDF excerpt containing the entire first chapter, "Planet War," right here. This book is scheduled to be in stock and ready to ship sometime in the next week or two and in stores shortly after that (subject to change). View a photo & video slideshow preview of…

Strips for you, strips for you, we've got weekly strips for you… Art appreciation in this week's The House of No by Derek Van Gieson… …"the mammajamma is IN" in this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan…. …and more diplomacy with Barack H. Obama in this week's strip from Steven Weissman!

Oh lordy, I felt like I was never going to get through this installment of Online Commentary & Diversions: • Interview/Reviews/Contest: The Seattle Geekly podcast visits Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery ("full of dangerous amounts of awesome") and talks to curator Larry Reid as part of their current episode's focus on "geek gifts"; plus reviews of Strange Suspense: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 1 ("If you're interested in the history of the comics genre, this is a must-have") and Hans Rickheit's The Squirrel Machine ("steampunk style mashed up with H.R. Giger… the art is amazing"). Plus, they're having a contest giving…

Long before Low Brow caught on, Fantagraphics Books published LOOSE TEETH, a pop surrealist masterpiece by Brian Sendelbach and Scott Musgrove. The only drawback to the comic book was that it was 10 years ahead of its time. Sendelbach continues to pursue a successful career in comics, while Scott Musgrove has become one of the most highly regarded painters in the Low Brow movement. His alluring renderings of crypto-zoological creatures can be found in THE LATE FAUNA OF EARLY NORTH AMERICA: THE ART OF SCOTT MUSGROVE. Fans of Fantagraphics BEASTS! franchise will find this book fascinating. Scott Musgrove will be…