Fantagraphics Blog

This year is a full blow-out at the Small Press Expo at Bethesda, Maryland. On Saturday, September 13th (11am-7pm) and Sunday, September 14th (Noon-6pm) prepare to be blown away by the sheer talent at SPX. Held at the grand Bethesda North Marriot Hotel and Conference Center (5701 Marinelli Road, Bethesda, MD 20852), Fantagraphics has lined up an impressive group of cartoonists to shock and amaze you! Stop by tables W57-61, RIGHT by the front doors for the best graphic novels and comics of the show.   Saturday Signing Schedule  11-12pm Tom Kazcynski + Jonah Kinigstein + Drew Weing12-1:30pm Jonah Kinigstein + Simon…

Gracing the cover for our newest volume of The Complete Peanuts is a rather morose-looking Peppermint Patty. This is volume 22 of our definitive collection of Charles M. Schulz's timeless work, with an introduction by CNN anchor and longtime Peanuts fan, Jake Tapper. Each volume collects a full two years of strips, daily and Sunday, in crisp black & white. The Complete Peanuts Vol. 22 covers the years 1993-1994 and will also be available in a box set with Vol. 21 (1991-1992). Pre-order your copy now for an October delivery!

  Monday, September 15th Rec rooms to reading rooms, hip hop has come a long way. And it's making a stop along its continuous way to the top at the Harvard Book Store. Master cartoonist and hip hop historian, Ed Piskor will be schooling the audience with a discussion on his two volume Hip Hop Family Tree series; covering history, legend, art, and the subtley obvious crossover between hip hop and comic books. This FREE event is co-sponsored by the Hiphop Archive & Research Institute at Harvard University, a permanent group that sponsors and facilitates the advancement of art and scholorship in hip hop through leadership and…

President Richard Nixon discovers a plethora of top-secret, otherworldly government facilities, with the primary focus being torture, homeland security, and riding giant wolves while naked except for a hood. We're basically horrified by the advance copies of Bumf Vol. 1: I Buggered the Kaiser we've received at the Fantagraphics office. There are literal piles of naked, writhing bodies. There is unapologetically crass humor. No one is spared. It is, in short, a most excellent book, fresh from critically-acclaimed comics journalist Joe Sacco. There is not much else to say. You're just going to have to read and assess this book for yourself.

This week's delicious figgy pudding of Online Commentaries and Diversions: Interview: Hip Hop Family Tree Vol. 2: by Ed Piskor "These bite-sized biographies of hip hop’s biggest names and slice-of-life reflections on its defining moments are routinely featured at Boing Boing, but to really experience these beautifully stylized vignettes in all their throwback glory you really need to check out the collected editions." – Geek Dad Review: "In this volume, you see the evolution from club following to recording industry. Names you recognize are put in a different light—Melle Mel, Kool Herc, Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, Ice T, Run-DMC, Rick…

Two Carl Barks books are better than one, we think you'll agree! With that in mind, here is the slipcase cover art for the fourth Gift Box Set of our Barks Library Books, Vols. 7 and 8: Lost in the Andes and Trail of the Unicorn. This quack-tastic box set will be out in stores by late October. Check out more info at the book page, where you can also place your pre-order.

   Saturday, September 13th Even though it'll be 80 degress, you'll want to don your trenchcoat and fedora (or trilby), and head to the Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery for a bit of cinematic mystery. We will be unveiling our newest exhibition featuring posters from the gorgeous, oversized book, Film Noir 101: The 101 Best Film posters from the 1940s-1950s, and author, Mark Fertig will be joining our smoke filled den to present a slide show talk, and sign books.  No one will argue that noir films, and posters of cinema past were true works of art; capturing the subtle thrill of a riddle yet to…

We are quite pleased to unveil the cover art for the next Sock Monkey book out from the inimitable Tony Millionaire, this time in collaboration with Los Angeles-based animation director Matt Danner: Sock Monkey: Into the Deep Woods. This 80-page illustrated children's book combines images and prose to tell new tales of Uncle Gabby the Sock Monkey and his plush friend, Mr. Crow. We'll have additional previews soon, and the book is available for pre-order now!

"The comic that PLUGS you IN!!" It has been a long time coming, but we have at long last finalized the proofs for the monumental, deluxe five-volume collection that is The Complete Zap Comix. We hope this 60-page, 23.5 MB excerpt, sampling the first dozen or so pages from each book, will temporarily whet your appetites for what's to come. Now it's full steam ahead with the production of this exquisite, comprehensive book set, and we anticipate it to land in bookstores by late November. It's not too late to start saving up couch coins and spare change in your…

The time has come to play at Bergen Street Comics! As part of the Brooklyn Book Festival, this comics signings of the new gods is a 100% endorsed Brooklyn Book Fest Bookend Event.   On Saturday, September 20th at 8pm join Fantagraphics' cartoonists Simon Hanselmann (Megahex), Eleanor Davis (How to Be Happy), Jesse Reklaw (Couch Tag) for one big shin-dig. Special guests also signing are Koyama Press' Michael DeForge and Patrick Kyle, 2-D Cloud's Matthew Thurber and Mark Connery plus Alex Degen. Geez, we should send some corn and have everyone get to shuckin' at a ballyhoo!   470 Bergen Street Brooklyn, NY 11217 www.bergenstreetcomics.com