Fantagraphics Blog FantaBlog

Listen to your mothers: patience is a virtue. If you submit something to Fantagraphics at a convention over a weekend, do not start calling us on Monday morning to find out how much we liked it and to ask when your contract will go in the mail because we've likely been busy enough working a con and keeping up with our lives to have read your comic yet (we may have even brought home other comics that we also want to read, and we might not be able to read all of those by  Monday morning, either, go figure!). Do…

 … BIZARRO GARY! 

This story by Luc Sante, "The Book Collection that Devoured My Life," was something all too familiar to me and probably others reading this blog. If, like me, you've actually worried that your book collection could pose a physical threat to your children, you should read this.

Ye Olde Fanboygraphix & THE BEGUILING present two very exciting events in Toronto this month… First, fresh from the NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE Funny Pages and his trip to MoCCA this weekend, cartoonist JASON launches his new graphic novel POCKET FULL OF RAIN in Canada on Tuesday, June 10th at THE CENTRAL at 8PM (603 Markham Street, Toronto). And it's FREE!   Then, a week later, enjoy THE WORLD OF STEVE DITKO, a Canuckian book launch for Toronto author BLAKE BELL on Wednesday, June 18th from 7PM-9PM at the Lillian H. Smith Library (239 College St., Toronto). And yes, also FREE. Here's the full skinny from our pals at the Beguiling (almost certainly Canada's finest source for comics and graphic novels): The…

 Pitchfork spills the early beans on our very own Zak Sally's forthcoming debut solo LP and previews a track with a free streaming and downloadable MP3. And a picture of Zak in a gorilla suit. We are excited. This track rocks. Zak's band features members of Steelpole Bathtub and Cows, who also comprised his Wipers cover band, which you may recall from the videos we posted last fall when they played Zak's book release party for Sammy the Mouse #1. And did we mention Sammy #2 will debut at Comic-Con this summer?       

He was last seen headed down for the Book Expo in Los Angeles from Seattle. He never showed up at the con. Instead, the guy pictured above was working our booth all weekend. We don't know who he is. If you know Jason and have any information on his whereabouts, please contact Fantagraphics.  Here is a recent photo of him from our Christmas party last Dec. (with Jacob Covey on the right):     

Pocket Full of Rain and Other Stories By Jason This multifaceted anthology collects over 25 stories from the first decade of Jason's career, including his remarkable calling card, the novella-length thriller "Pocket Full of Rain," which has never before been published in English. Like a number of his initial stories, "Pocket" is actually drawn with realistic human beings instead of blank-faced animal characters — a true revelation for Jason fans. In fact, this book showcases three distinct styles: his earliest "realistic" drawing style (used to unsettling effect in some particularly creepy stories), an intermediate "bighead" cartoony style that still features…

The Complete Crumb Comics Vol. 11 (New Softcover Printing) By Robert Crumb MR. NATURAL COMMITED TO A MENTAL INSTITUTION!!! This freshly reprinted volume contains Crumb classics Dirty Laundry #2 (the ground-breaking Crumb/Kominsky jam), the last of the Arcade strips, full-cover covers for books, comics and LPs, and Crumb’s complete 40-page epic Mr. Natural serial from the pages of the Village Voice. In it, our hero, having given up on the "wise man" business, has sent away all his students and lives a quiet life. But during a particularly arduous meditation, he wrestles with the Devil, and at last achieves total…

  This Saturday and Sunday, June 7 & 8, Fantagraphics will be in NYC for the 2008 MoCCA Arts Festival, one of our favorite shows of the year, and we'll be bringing along a slew of new stuff and hosting round-the-clock signings. We're also sponsoring two events over the weekend, on Friday and Saturday nights. Here's your handy-dandy guide to all things Fantagraphics at MoCCA. You can be sure I'll post this again as we get closer, too. First up, you'll want to head out to Cobble Hill in Brooklyn on Friday for our very special Rocketship party, featuring an exhibition of original art and…

We are pleased to announce that the FREE signed bookplates that we offered along with selected books in our last Ultimate Catalog are now available to customers on our website! Bookplates are available with over 50 of our most popular titles, from cartoonists like Peter Bagge, Charles Burns, Dan Clowes, Kim Deitch, the Brothers Hernandez, Tony Millionaire, Joe Sacco, Jim Woodring and many more! Click here for the complete selection! The bookplates are uniquely designed for each book (that's the plate for The Frank Book above), and each bookplate is printed on acid-free cardstock and hand-signed by the author. Note…