Authors signing at the Fantagraphics tables at NY Comicon include:
• Dash Shaw will premiere his new 700-page graphic novel, The Bottomless Belly Button, at NY Comic Con and appear all three days. One of the most anticipated graphic novels of 2008, The Bottomless Belly Button is a comedy-drama that follows the dysfunctional adventures of the Loony Family. After 40-some years of marriage, Maggie and David Loony shock their children with their announcement of a planned divorce. The announcement sparks a week-long Loony family reunion at Maggie and David's creepy (and possibly haunted) beach house, with each family member stumbling blindly around one another, often ignoring their surroundings and consumed by their own conflicts.
Shaw will also sign copies of MOME Vol. 11: Summer 2008, which will debut at the show and features a new story by Shaw.
• Leah Hayes, hot off the heels of a tour with her band (Scary Mansion) that included a SXSW showcase in Austin, TX, will appear Sunday at NY Comicon along with the her first graphic novel, Funeral of the Heart. This stylistic tour-de-force feaures a series of short stories illustrated on scratchboard. Hayes creates a world of unease and ambiguity populated by obsessive characters, forlorn animals, and mysterious, inanimate objects; odd occurrences, unnerving deaths and unconventional but genuine love bind these characters and their stories together. Entirely hand-crafted, this unique mix of cartooning and writing will be a surefire favorite of 2008.
• Craig Yoe, the editor/visionary behind Fantagraphics' ARF series, will premiere his latest volume, Comic Arf, at New York Comicon and sign copies at the Fantagraphics tables on Saturday and Sunday. Comic Arf assembles a slew of oddities, rarities and more from a Who's Who of comic legends including Art Spiegelman, Seymour Chwast, Patrick McDonnell, Mort Walker, R. Crumb, Bil Keane, Johnny Ryan, Jaime Hernandez, Mike Mignola, Bill Griffith, Kaz, Gene Deitch, Joost Swarte and more, along with old-time greats like Dudley Fisher, Arch Dale, Walt Kelly, and others. On Sunday at 3PM, Yoe will moderate a special ARF panel in the programming area with fellow ARFstists Glenn Head, Al Jaffee (!), and Dave Calver.
• Paul Karasik, editor of the 2007 smash hit I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets!: The Comics of Fletcher Hanks, will sign copies of his book at the Fantagraphics tables on Saturday as well as participate in a comics event on Friday night at 7PM at Williamsburg's Desert Island Comics, along with fellow cartoonist Mark Newgarden (We All Die Alone). Karasik and Newgarden are collaborating on a book-length edition of their landmark essay, "How to Read Nancy" and will talk about this and more.
• Miss Lasko-Gross will sign copies on Saturday and Sunday of her 2007 debut graphic novel, Escape from "Special" and show off previews of her second graphic novel, A Mess of Everything, to be published in late 2008 by Fantagraphics.
• Michael Kupperman will appear Saturday afternoon to sign copies of his comic book series, Tales Designed to Thrizzle.
• Kim Deitch will appear on Sunday to sign copies of his books and comics, including the graphic novel Shadowland and the comic book series, Stuff of Dreams. He will also give a talk on Sunday at 3PM.
• Glenn Head will be onhand Sunday to sign copies of the first two volumes of his acclaimed Hotwire anthology.
NEW BOOKS!
In addition to the above mentioned titles author events, Fantagraphics will also be debuting several other new titles at the show, including:
• Castle Waiting #11 by Linda Medley
• Amor Y Cohetes: A Love & Rockets Book by Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez
• Mome Vol. 11: Summer 2008 by various
• Most Outrageous: The Trials and Tresspasses of Dwaine Tinsley and Chester the Molester by Bob Levin
• The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8 by Thomas Ott
New York Comic Con is held at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan. The Javits Center is located at 655 West 34th Street.
Open to the Public:
Friday, April 18 — 3:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Saturday, April 19 — 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Sunday, April 20 — 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM