Fantagraphics Blog FantaBlog

Not too long ago Legendary Larry Reid asked me to put together an exhibit of HUMBUG art and artifacts for the Fantagraphics Bookstore.     The show opens March 7th 2009 and it's going to be fantastic, if I do say so myself… seriously, the work is so good!     If you're a fan of comics or art or history then you'd be a fool not to check it out!     Anyway, I spent the better part of this morning going through original artwork by the likes of Will Elder, Al Jaffee and Arnold Roth… and Russ Heath (see above image).     Heath didn't do…

Now (as currently seen on Ribs's blog): Then (preliminarily): Coming in Fall/Winter. Serialized weekly right here.

In case you missed this part of our Humbug exhibit announcement yesterday: Don’t miss a special performance and book signing by cult cartoonist Dame Darcy on Saturday, March 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Darcy will perform with her three-piece acoustical combo and sign copies of her wildly popular Victorian gothic comic book series Meat Cake, as well as her new graphic novel Gasoline. This event coincides with the colorful Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentation throughout the historic neighborhood. Listing Information Saturday, March 14, 6:00 to 9:00 PM Dame Darcy Music performance and book…

The Southampton Press has a really nice feature on Jules Feiffer up this morning, complete with pictures of him with his dog and cat! 

DAZZLING REVIVAL OF HARVEY KURTZMAN’S TIMELESS SATIRE MAGAZINE HUMBUG AT FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKSTORE & GALLERY. Exhibition and Book Launch of New HUMBUG Anthology On March 7 in Seattle. Four years after founding notoriously seditious MAD magazine for EC comics in 1952, celebrated American satirist Harvey Kurtzman and his crew of incorrigible cartoonists joined fledgling publisher Hugh Hefner to produce two issues of the equally irreverent Trump. When economic setbacks forced Hefner to cancel the new title, Kurtzman and collaborators Jack Davis, Will Elder, Al Jaffee and Arnold Roth pooled their limited resources to self-publish 11 issues of Humbug, skewering American popular…

I'm really not trying to drag this out… but I will. What we have here are a couple of nearly-panoramic-photo-collage-things I put together to try and give a sense of the fervor behind the Buenaventura booth at Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Angoulême when Dan Clowes, Chris Ware & Adrian Tomine were signing and sketching for fans. I'm not sure if it was any krazier than San Diego Comic-Con but the degree of passion and devotion on display was exciting, worrisome and definitely European. During San Diego Comic-Con it's not uncommon to see excited, overweight children trying to run…

Douglas Wolk reviews SUPERMEN! in this coming Sunday's New York Times Book Review. If you can't read this scan, that's because I don't want to be an accomplice to the death of print; go buy a copy, already!

Drew Friedman will be in San Francisco this Sunday for an exhibition of his "Old Jewish Comedians" artwork and a discussion of the work, as a part of the Peninsula Jewish Community Center's Festival of Jewish Humor.  

This special airing on Feb. 25th on the history channel features Frank Thorne as the official documentary "artist" and will no doubt make Jacob Covey regret not asking Mr. Thorne to contribute to Beasts!