Next month's issue of Booklist will include two reviews of a recent releases by Fantagraphics creators, excerpted below:
Stranger Than Life: Cartoons and Comics, 1970-2013
by MK Brown
"Brown's cartoons were a mainstay of National Lampoon during its salad days of the 1970s… Remarkably, this is the first comprehensive collection of her distinctively daffy work. Although the visual and conceptual non sequiturs of her singlepanel cartoons are clever and diverting, it's her comic strips where Brown's unique brilliance really shines…Brown's drawings, with their bulbous figures and ornate rendering, are every bit
as unmistakable and memorable as her humor."
–Gordon Flagg
Nijigahara Holograph
by Inio Asano
Starred Review: "Anger, hopelessness, and betrayal run rampant-echoed by the eerie, ominous clouds of butterflies swarming the town-and fuel heartless violence. Though there are many moving pieces, the fluid time line; tight, stark, and realistic artwork; and clues carefully revealed through deliberately worded dialogue and purposeful character design work in perfect harmony to prevent ambiguity or confusion. Critically acclaimed Asano deftly twists this disturbingly compelling story, managing to shock the reader at every turn. Its intricacies are even more rewarding on the second read."
–Eva Volin