FANTAGRAPHICS ATTENDS NEW YORK COMIC CON APRIL 18-20
NEW BOOKS, AUTHORS HIGHLIGHT FIRST-EVER NY COMIC CON APPEARANCE
New York Comic Con, taking place April 18-20 at the Javits Center in New York City, is the East Coast’s biggest popular culture convention, and in 2008 Fantagraphics Books — the west coast’s biggest alternative comics publisher — will join the ranks of exhibitors for the first time. Publishers Gary Groth and Kim Thompson will be on hand all weekend, hosting round-the-clock signings for several authors and debuting several new titles at the show.
Authors signing at the Fantagraphics tables at NY Comic Con include:
• Dash Shaw will premiere his new 700-page graphic novel, Bottomless Belly Button, at NY Comic Con. One of the most anticipated graphic novels of 2008, 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 at NY Comic Con along with the premiere of 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 Comic Con and sign copies at the Fantagraphics tables. 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 4PM, Yoe will moderate a special ARF panel in the programming area with several special guests who have contributed to Modern Arf.
• 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 as well as participate in a comics discussion 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 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 afternoon to sign copies of his books and comics, including the graphic novel Shadowland and the comic book series Stuff of Dreams.
FANTAGRAPHICS NEW YORK COMICON SIGNING SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY:
3 – 5PM: DASH SHAW (The Bottomless Belly Button, Mome)
SATURDAY:
11AM – 1PM: CRAIG YOE (Arf!)
1 – 3PM: PAUL KARASIK (I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets!)
1 – 3PM: MICHAEL KUPPERMAN (Tales Designed to Thrizzle)
3 – 5PM: MISS LASKO-GROSS (Escape from "Special")
3 – 5PM: DASH SHAW (The Bottomless Belly Button, Mome)
SUNDAY:
11AM – 1PM: LEAH HAYES (Funeral of the Heart)
11AM – 1PM: DASH SHAW (The Bottomless Belly Button, Mome)
1 – 2:30PM: KIM DEITCH (Shadowland, The Stuff of Dreams)
1 – 3PM: GLENN HEAD (Hotwire Comix)
1 – 3PM: CRAIG YOE (Arf!)
3 – 4PM: LEAH HAYES (Funeral of the Heart)
3 – 5PM: MISS LASKO- GROSS (Escape from "Special")
4 – 5PM: KIM DEITCH (Shadowland, The Stuff of Dreams)
In addition to the above 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
For more information on the NY Comic Con, visit: http://www.nycomiccon.com/
For more information on Fantagraphics and its books and authors, contact Eric Reynolds.