Fantagraphics Blog

We have to show off the office copy of Nancy Loves Sluggo that landed on our desk this week. Just check out that beautiful spine! This third volume of Ernie Bushmiller's popular daily comic strip collects his work from 1949-1951, an era many regard as Bushmiller's finest. We're looking at a late November release for Nancy Loves Sluggo, so it's time for you to put in your pre-order if you haven't already. This would make a great gift for the classic comic strip aficionados in your life!

Vaporby Max 120-page color 7" x 9.75" hardcover • $24.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-460-3 Ships in: December 2014 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Disgusted and appalled with the today’s noisy and noisome world in which all is spectacle and surface sensation, Nick flees into the solitude of the desert. But even as he manages to recover some sort of spiritual balance thanks to an ascetic regimen of fasting and meditation, Nick is seduced by the most spectacular and mesmerizing spectacle of all time: The procession of the Queen of Saba. In Vapor, the award-winning Spanish cartoonist Max (best known for his 2006…

Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: Return to Plain Awful (The Don Rosa Library Vol. 2)by Don Rosa 216-page full color 8.5" x 11" hardcover • $29.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-780-2 Ships in: October 2014 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now "Jumpin' jacksnipes!" Duckburg's richest tycoon is on the hunt for legendary square eggs — and he's bringing Donald, Huey, Dewey, and Louie along! It’s our second complete, chronological book of Duck adventures by internationally celebrated fan favorite Don Rosa — following in the footsteps of Disney legend Carl Barks with his own distinctive style! Famed for his prizewinning Life and Times…

"…[An] essential purchase for any collection that values comic-strip reprints … [T]he inventive wordplay, idiosyncratic swamp patter, and goofy slapstick are all in full effect right from the start, as is the broad cast of loony critters that would eventually number upwards of 500 distinct characters. Due to run 12 volumes, this collection completes the holy trifecta, along with Charles Schulz’ Peanuts and George Herriman’s Krazy Kat, of comic strips whose influence cannot be overstated." – Ian Chipman, Booklist "…[T]here’s simply no denying Kelly’s mastery: he evokes full characters with nothing but a few choice words, and the sprightliness of…

This week's triumphant trio of Online Commentaries and Diversions: Review: Gast by Carol Swain "Like the similarly peripatetic cartoonist Ben Katchor, she draws from, and at, unusual angles, beckoning the eye to travel across the story-world’s space to unusual nooks and crannies, dirty floors and empty skies." – Sean T. Collins, The Comics Journal   Review: Megahex by Simon Hanselmann "It would be easy to dismiss Megahex as another stoner comic. But there’s so much lurking beneath the seemingly superficial surfaces – questions about friendship, loyalty, love, drug addiction, sexual identity, and hopelessness." – Gareth Branwyn, BoingBoing   Review: An Age…

Just arrived and shipping now from our mail-order department: The Complete Peanuts 1991-1994 Gift Box Setby Charles M. Schulz 688-page black & white 8.75" x 7.125" x 3" hardcover • $59.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-774-1 See Previews / Order Now A boxed set of the twenty-first and twenty-second volumes of The Complete Peanuts, designed by the award-winning graphic novelist, Seth. Shipping shrinkwrapped, with volumes 1991-1992 and 1993-1994 packed in a sturdy custom box designed especially for this set, it's the perfect gift book item.

Just arrived and shipping now from our mail-order department: The Complete Peanuts 1993-1994 (Vol. 22)by Charles M. Schulz 344-page black & white 8.5" x 7" hardcover • $29.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-773-4 See Previews / Order Now Even the most devoted Peanuts fan will be surprised by revisiting Schulz's last decade of work. Schulz's cartooning has never been more expressive, and his sense of humor never more unencumbered by formula or tradition. In one sequence, the gang waits… and waits… for a school bus that never comes. Another shockingly showcases Charlie Brown hitting a game-winning home run — off Roy Hobbs's great-granddaughter? Then,…

Our next Comics Journal Library book, Vol. 9: Zap The Interviews is in our hot little hands, and it is a thing of beauty. Densely packed with interviews, categorized by artist, and filled with illustrations, photos, and ZAP cover art, Zap The Interviews is the perfect companion to The Complete Zap Comix, though it also stands equally well alone. Either way, this is a must-have for any underground comix fan. Due out in December, Zap The Interviews is available for pre-order now!

  Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 29 at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery as we celebrate the publication of Sub Pop USA from Brooklyn publisher Bazillion Points. Longtime Seattle residents remember the humble beginnings of the legendary record label as a fanzine, cassette compilation, and broadsheet column by visionary indie music impresario Bruce Pavitt. His early efforts soon brought national attention to bands like Big Black, Sonic Youth, and the Wipers, while laying the foundation for an international pop culture phenomenon that gave us music by Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, and more. This collection of the first 8 years of Sub Pop includes art…

Just arrived and shipping now from our mail-order department: Set To Sea [Softcover Ed.]by Drew Weing 144-page black & white with color 5" x 6.25" softcover • $14.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-771-0 See Previews / Order Now The central character of Set to Sea is a big lug and an aspiring poet who runs up tabs at the local bars by day and haunts the docks by night, writing paeans to the seafaring life. When he gets shanghaied aboard a clipper bound for Hong Kong, he finds the sailor's life a bit rougher than his romantic nautical fantasies, but he learns to live…