Fantagraphics Blog

It's Steve Ditko's 80th birthday today, and we'd like to take the opportunity to make the following announcement:

COMING IN JUNE 2008… STRANGE & STRANGER: THE WORLD OF STEVE DITKO

Fantagraphics Books is proud to announce the June 2008 release of the first critical retrospective of Steve Ditko, the co-creator and original artist of the Amazing Spider-Man.

In the wake of the astonishing success of Sam Raimi's three Spider-Man movies, Steve Ditko's status as a driving force behind the pop culture icon has been revealed to an audience the world over. But, in the context of Steve Ditko's 50-year career in comics, his creative involvement with Spider-Man is merely the tip of the iceberg.

JIM WOODRING'S IVORY TOWER ART OUTLET is offering a slew of new paintings and drawings for sale at great prices. So great, in fact, that my wife and I just decided to buy this one for each other for Christmas: Jim Woodring is cooler than Santa Claus.

I'm very pleased to be a part of the AIGA speaker series at my alma mater next Tuesday evening. I'll be talking about my adventures in graphic design and giving helpful advice on what I've learned through costing my employers thousands of dollars via production screw ups. (My personal low: Typing the wrong contact information on every single page of an international sales catalog while, apparently, the copy editors slept.) Tips on nepotism, back-stabbing, and charming self-deprecation to follow in the Q & A portion. If you're in the area please come out. I'm begging you. [Note: Eric, please stop…

The Forbidden Planet blog reports that Igort will appear on the "Clear Spot" program on Resonance FM at 8 PM (presumably UK time) tomorrow, discussing his personal themes and techniques. Check the above links for more details.

Mark Todd has a great looking exhibit opening tomorrow at La Luz de Jesus in LA. Shake the artists hand and enjoy his Marvel homages. I love his weird The Thing egg (or origin story if you will). [For now I can't get images to load. Damned Blogger.]

The Pain artist Tim Kreider and Escape from "Special" author Miss Lasko-Gross are amongst those signing at Jim Hanley's Universe on Friday night in Manhattan. Here's the skinny: The Fog of War (November 2, New York, NY) 8:00-10:00pm, Alex Robinson, Tim Kreider, Mike Dawson, and The House of Twelve signing at Jim Hanley's Universe in New York City. Alex Robinson will be showing off and signing his Lower Regions. Mike Dawson, Chris Radtke, Cheese Hasselberger, Miss Lasko-Gross, Kevin Colden, and K. Thor Jenson will be out to support the troops as the House of Twelve Goes to War, and Tim…

The Comics Journal #286 Our cover this issue spotlights Paul Gravett's extensive and fascinating conversation with one of Britain's national treasures, Gemma Bovary author Posy Simmonds. It's a career-spanning discussion ranging from Simmonds' early days as a compulsive comicker to her career at The Guardian, her children's books, all the way to her forthcoming graphic novel Tamara Drewe. (Click here to read a lengthy series of excerpts from the interview.) Join Shaenon Garrity for a chat with one of the finest writers currently working in genre comics, Wonder Woman scribe Gail Simone. The two discuss Simone's controversial "Women in Refrigerators"…