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  Josh Simmons' latest, greatest and most terrifying graphic novel yet is about to hit the United States and he is taking Black River to the road. Black River stars a group of women, one man, and two dogs are making their way through a post-apocalyptic world in search of a city that supposedly still has electricity and some sort of civilization. Along the way, they go to a comedy club, take a drug called Gumdrop, and encounter gangs of men who are fools, lunatics, or murderous sadists. In other words, all manner of terrors.  You think the Hunger Games is scary? What if…

This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new titles. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators and web-savvy comic shops are saying about them (more to be added as they appear), check out our previews at the links, and contact your local shop to confirm availability.  Willard Mullin's Casey at the Bat and Other Diamond Tales by Willard Mullin and Ernest Thayer 52-page two-color 6.25" x 6.25" hardcover$9.99 | 978-1-60699-814-4 "Mullin defined the modern sports cartoon by combining representative portraiture, cartoonish doodlery, and editorial commentary – part news account, part personal observation, his cartoons celebrated sport for…

The award-winning and timeless collection of Love and Rockets stories gathered into the gorgeous book, Palomar by Gilbert Hernandez, was published more than a decade ago. But controversy at a high school library in New Mexico has given new life into the continuing dicussion, and sometimes battle, that surrounds comics when they attempt to break new ground and tackle themes which require context and analysis.  As Jen Vaughn pointed out in our original posting of the challenged book, one mother of a 14-year-old who had checked out the offending text from Rio Rancho High School library, took to the local TV station, KOAT,…

Harvey Kurtzman: The Man Who Created MAD and Revolutionized Humor in Americaby Bill Schelly 644-page 6" x 9" hardcover$34.99 | 978-1-60699-761-1 Due to arrive in 2-4 weeks. Click on thumbnails for larger versions; get more info, see more previews, and pre-order your copy here: http://www.fantagraphics.com/harveykurtzmanhc

The Complete Eightball 1-18 by Daniel Clowes 560-page full color 7" x 10.625" hardcover$119.99 | 978-1-60699-757-4 Ships in: May 2015 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Before he rose to fame as the author of the bestselling graphic novels Ghost World, David Boring, Ice Haven, and The Death Ray, Daniel Clowes made his name from 1989 to 1997 by producing 18 issues of the beloved comic book series Eightball, which is still widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential comic book titles of all time. Now, for the 25th Anniversary of Eightball, Fantagraphics is collecting these…

Collected Poemsby Alexander Theroux 672-page 6" x 9" x 2" hardcover$39.99 | 978-1-60699-802-1 Due to arrive in 2-4 weeks. Click on thumbnails for larger versions; get more info, see more previews, and pre-order your copy here: http://www.fantagraphics.com/collectedpoems

Just arrived and shipping now from our mail-order department: The Complete Zap Comix: Special Signed Editionby R. Crumb, Rick Griffin, Paul Mavrides, Victor Moscoso, Spain Rodriguez, Gilbert Shelton, Robert Williams, and S. Clay Wilson 920-page black & white with color 9.75" x 13.25" x 7.5" hardcover$750.00 See Previews / Order Now The Complete Zap Comix collects every issue of Zap — every cover and every story, and even the Zam mini comic jam among the Zap artists — in a multi-volume, slipcased hardcover set. It will also include the 17th unpublished issue with work by Crumb, Moscoco, Wilson, Rodriguez, Shelton,…

Grab your leather jacket and the nearest cat, and plop yourself down to enjoy this first look at our advance copies of Wuvable Oaf! The books are gorgeous to behold with their bright pink exterior, cover overflowing with cats, and featuring our most wuvable protagonist. The generous page size really lets you see every individual hair on Oaf's chest and shows off the bold linework of artist Ed Luce. And, just when you thought it couldn't get any better, we've also got a limited edition dust jacket and slipcased version personally designed by Ed Luce and our own Mike Baehr. It's the…

  The long held view of Fantagraphics Bookstore curator Larry Reid that the Pacific Northwest gave birth and momentum to the alternative comix movement provides the premise for a lively PechaKucha presentation by 10 regional cartoonists this Wednesday evening at Cornish Playhouse. Reid will be joined by veteran cartoonists Peter Bagge, Jim Woodring, Ellen Forney and David Lasky, along with emerging artists Eroyn Franklin, Kelly Froh, Max Clotfelter, Tom Van Deusen, Gina Siciliano, and Tatiana Gill. The PechaKucha concept involves each artist showing 20 images for 20 seconds each – an ideal format for narrative art presentations.   Reid maintains the foundation for alternative…

Let the chill of the early evening air fill your lungs as you head over to Challengers Comics + Conversation on Sunday, March 22nd to get all* your comics signed by Peter Bagge. His newest book is a collection of the DC comic, Sweatshop, which discusses seedy underbelly of the comic book industry. Originally published as a six-issue series by DC Comics in 2003 this is one of the best and most undervalued works of one of the key voices of his generation. This Sunday evening soiree starts at 6pm.  Sweatshop focuses on the unhappy, out-of-touch cartoonist, Mel Bowling. As the hand behind a…