Fantagraphics Blog

"Fantagraphics has won numerous awards for this series and they deserve them all for creating such a wonderful archive of this American treasure. This series is a must have for any Peanuts fan and can be enjoyed by the whole family. I wouldn’t miss a volume.” – The Christian Science Monitor "The Complete Peanuts has framed Charles Schulz's enduring masterpiece about as well any lifelong fan could've hoped." – "The Best Comics of the '00s: The Archives", The A.V. Club "Highly recommended to any Peanuts fan." – Salon The Complete Peanuts 1991-1994 Gift Box Set (Vols. 21-22)by Charles M. Schulz 688-page…

This week's cinnamon-spice-and-everything-nice latte of Online Commentaries and Diversions: Interview: Blacklung by Chris Wright "I see Blacklung almost, as an expressionist play. I didn’t want these guys to seem like real people. At the same time there IS a human face behind every mask… Unless you put a mask on a dog, then it’s a dog face behind the mask." – Right Ear Left   Review: Snoopy's Thanksgiving by Charles M. Schulz "Now here’s something to be thankful for—the fourth in Fantagraphics’ growing line of seasonal-themed gift books collecting classic Peanuts material. Snoopy’s Thanksgiving, as the title indicates, is concerned…

Here's a sweet look at the poster for free convention Comic Arts Brooklyn coming up on Saturday and Sunday, November 8-9th! We'll have special guests like Olivier Schrauwen, Tim Lane (who busted out this poster) Dash Shaw, Marguerite Van Cook, James Romberger, Anne Ishii and more… DETAILS SOON.

   We have some amazing Halloween treats in store at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery: Vintage copies of mid-60s Creepy and Eerie. These issues are from the estate of the late Gary Arlington, famed EC comics collector and proprietor of the San Francisco Comic Book Company, widely regarded as the country's first comic book shop. (As seen in the photo below by Patrick Rosenkranz.) The magazines feature mid-century masters like Jack Davis, Wally Wood, Frank Frazetta, Alex Toth, Reed Crandall, Steve Ditko, John Severin, and more. Own a monstrous piece of comix history for only $8.95.    Speaking of history, don't miss…

This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new titles. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators and web-savvy comic shops are saying about them (more to be added as they appear), check out our previews at the links, and contact your local shop to confirm availability.     Bumf Vol. 1: I Buggered the Kaiser by Joe Sacco 100-page black & white 6.625" x 10.5" softcover • $14.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-748-2    "the artist is heading back to his underground roots, citing the influence of ZAP and Weirdo and promising an exuberant, satirical and confrontational read…It'll be interesting to see how…

The cover says it all, really. Charlie Brown's ever-hopeful vigil by the mailbox for that valentine from the little red-haired girl every February is a familiar story for any longtime Peanuts reader. In our latest stocking stuffer Peanuts gift book, A Valentine for Charlie Brown, we've collected Mr. Schulz's strips around that pinkest, most candy-coated of holidays. This book is slated to come out by the end of the year, giving you plenty of time to gift this book to that special "Sweet Baboo" in your life!

 This week we celebrate Peter Bagge, one of our cartoonists who has been drawing comics for 35 years. He was recognized on Monday by the United States Artists Fellows as a 2014 USA Rockefeller Fellow of Literature! The U.S.A. program is a "grant-making organization funded by philanthropic foundations and individuals to support creativity. The 16 women and 18 men were [chosen] by experts in their fields and were among 116 nominated artists living in the United States." Bagge also received $50,000! "U.S.A. Fellowships are awarded to innovative artists of all ages and at all stages of their careers, who are nominated for their commitment to excellence and…

Mickey Mouse is in the house! The advance copies of volume 6 in our Eisner award-winning Floyd Gottfredson Mickey Mouse series is here: Lost in Lands of Long Ago. Whether it's time traveling to the era of dinosaurs or solving ghostly mysteries, these collected tales from 1940-1942 are sure to entertain and delight readers of all ages. More previews are forthcoming, but in the meantime, you can place your pre-order now for a timely November delivery! And, if you're in the gift-giving mood, our next box set collecting Mickey Mouse volumes five and six will be coming out in November…

The Late Child and Other Animalsby Marguerite Van Cook and James Romberger 180-page color 8" x 10" hardcover • $29.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-789-5 Ships in: November 2014 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Hetty survives the bombing of Portsmouth by the Nazis in World War II, only to learn that her soldier husband — with whom she was in the process of adopting a young daughter — has been killed on the way back home from North Africa. She must then complete the adoption alone. A decade later, she gives birth to a bastard daughter, Marguerite. Now Hetty must go before a…

We know you've been waiting a long time for this book, Fanta fans, so let's get right into it. Here is our 19-page, 10.7 MB excerpt of Creeping Death from Neptune: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton Vol. 1, which starts off with not one, not two, but three rejection letters! The next dozen pages recount Wolverton's early life, interspersed with scans of the young artist's copy book drawings and photos of Wolverton from as early as 1910. Creeping Death from Neptune: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton Vol. 1 is available for pre-order and is slated for…