Fantagraphics Blog

Just arrived and shipping now from our mail-order department: Barnaby Vol. 2by Crockett Johnson 376-page black & white/color 11" x 6.75" hardcover • $35.00ISBN: 978-1-60699-709-3 See Previews / Order Now Resuming our noble undertaking: The long-lost comic strip masterpiece by Crockett Johnson, legendary creator of Harold and the Purple Crayon, collected in full! Barnaby's deft balance of whimsical fantasy, timeless humor, and elegant cartooning will delight readers of all ages.

You love comics, we love comics, and Drew Friedman has taken his love for the medium and given it tangible form in 83 beautiful, evocative, full-color portraits (plus some spot illustrations) of the pioneers of the art and business of comics, with some words about each, collected in an oversized coffee-table art book titled Heroes of the Comics: Portraits of the Legends of Comic Books, coming this August. Our downloadable excerpt includes the Table of Contents, 2 pages from Friedman's Introduction, and 8 portraits (from funnybook progenitor and EC founder Max Gaines through Superman creators Siegel & Shuster) with their…

To kick off pride month, on June 8th the Cartoon Art Museum of San Francisco will be hosting the first annual Queer Comics Expo, also affectionately known as the Queer Comicon, presented by the Queer Cultural Center. Mingle with drag queens, watch comic demonstrations, and join in on conversations about the history and future of LGBTQ comics! This first annual event begins at 11 am, and runs until 5 pm, and will be a fun full day of celebration, achievements, and comics!  Celebrating the achievements made in queer comics will be headlining exhibitor, Ed Luce! Announced earlier this month at TCAF, Fantagraphics…

"A revelation. As in his contemporaneous animated cartoons, this Mickey is a feisty, wisecracking daredevil… Gottfredson’s charmingly old-fashioned drawings accentuate the gags and briskly propel the plotlines." – Gordon Flagg, Booklist "I have a feeling that [these] book[s], crafted with such obvious care, will earn Gottfredson a new legion of admirers." – Leonard Maltin "From the beautifully reproduced strips to the densely packed ancillary features, this must be the book that editors David Gerstein and Fantagraphics’ co-founder Gary Groth wanted for years for their own libraries. Their enthusiasm shows in the wonderfully designed package. This book is highly recommended for any…

All right all you film fanciers, illustration enthusiasts, and design doyens, get ready to feast your eyes on Film Noir 101: The 101 Best Film Noir Posters from the 1940s-1950s, the ultimate visual guide to the genre in a sumptuous oversized coffee table book! In our downloadable excerpt, read author Mark Fertig's Introduction and then feast your eyes on posters #101-92, starring Joan Crawford, Lawrence Tierney, Glenn Ford, Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Joan Fontaine, and many more, followed by Fertig's insightful notes on each film. Don't be a sap — pre-order today for delivery in August!

Friday, May 23rd  Brooklyn, NY: Legacy funnyman, Kipp Friedman, will be all over New York this weekend, starting with a reading and signing from his hilarious memoir, Barracuda in the Attic. He'll be at WORD, and so should you, at 7 pm. (More details) Saturday, May 24th   New York, NY: Friedman's going across the bridge to the KGB Bar on the lower East side to be in conversation with friend and author, Jay Ruttenberg for a Q&A. So if you missed him Friday, bring your copy of Barracuda and join us this Saturday from 7-9 pm for lots of laughs! (More…

Next month's issue of Booklist will include review of a recent releases by a Fantagraphics creator, excerpted below: The Love Bunglers by Jaime Hernandez Starred Review: "Skillfully merging tragedy and serendipity, Hernandez brings the [Maggie and Ray's] intertwining stories to a satisfying, if hard-won, culmination. The simplicity of Hernandez's page designs and the elegant economy of his drawing style belie the thoughtful sophistication of his storytelling… Although The Love Bunglers certainly isn't a jumping-on point for new readers, fans who've followed Maggie's exploits over the years will find it a heartbreakingly satisfying achievement that leaves the door wide open for further chapters…

Strange Suspense: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 1 – Paperback Editionby Steve Ditko; edited by Blake Bell 240-page full-color 7" x 9.75" softcover • $28.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-739-0 Ships in: June 2014 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Before the Amazing Spider-Man, before the mysterious Dr. Strange, before the black-and-white world of the Ayn Rand-inspired Mr. A, the legendary comic book artist Steve Ditko was conjuring all manners of horrors at his drawing table. In his first two years in the industry (1953 and 1954), Ditko drew tales of macabre suspense that were not yet hobbled by the imminent Comics Code Authority…

"I'm so excited by Fantagraphics bringing us a complete version of witzend… That's a bunch of interesting cartoonists doing work at the far frontier of their creative impulses that weren't given that opportunity a whole lot." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter "Witzend is a gem." – iFanboy "[Witzend's] salient point, that comic artists were entitled to more control and ownership of their own work, would eventually be recognized by the publishers of comic books, but it is hard to argue that witzend itself was a key factor in that development. Like so many other visionary endeavors, it may simply have been…

Get your glitter and your cowboy boots, Esther Pearl Watson is a-coming home to Texas. Specifically, the spacious Webb Gallery in Waxahachie (remember when we visited a few years ago?). Esther's got a whole new line of paintings created just for this show and the opening reception is Sunday, June 1st from 4-7pm. She'll also be signing copies of her brand-spanking-new book Unlovable 3 starring the most endearing Tammy Pierce. Live in Dallas or Austin? Waxahachie is one sweet easy road trip away.  Can't make the signing? Contact Julie at Webb Gallery ahead of time to order your copy of a sketched-in and signed Unlovable 3!…