Fantagraphics Blog

Next month's issue of Booklist will include reviews of two recent releases by Fantagraphics creators, excerpted below: Hip Hop Family Tree Vol. 1 by Ed Piskor "Hip-hop devotee Piskor was one of Harvey Pekar's last collaborators and here shows himself to be Pekar's true disciple as a chronicler of popular culture… Piskor's artwork seems equally indebted to the looks of golden-age DC superhero comics and Pekar's greatest collaborator, R. Crumb." -Ray Olson    VIP: The Mad World by Virgil Partch, edited by Jonathan Barli "His drawings (under his famous "VIP" signature) stood out not just for their immediately recognizable, wildly peculiar look (once…

John Severin produced some of the finest war comics ever drawn during his long, distinguished, and versatile career, and working in collaboration with other greats like Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder, his work in the genre for EC Comics is unmissable. Lucky for you, we've gathered all of that material together for the first time in a single volume under this handsome cover. Bomb Run and Other Stories is just off to the printer, is available for pre-order, and launches in July. Keep it tuned for more previews.

Ed Piskor made a real subtle modification to the cover art for Hip Hop Family Tree Two-in-One, one of our two 2014 Free Comic Book Day offerings available exclusively at comic shops on Saturday, May 3. See if you can spot the difference from the previous version! (Hint: we're not talking about the "mature readers" notice.)

We're excited to announce that our awesome "herstorian" Trina Robbins will be a special guest at the 2014 San Francisco Writers Conference! The conference begins on Thursday, February 13th, and runs through Sunday, February 16th. Trina will be speaking about graphic novels for teens and tweens on Friday at 4:30 PM, and about research on Saturday at 4:00 PM. Register now for the conference, and come here Trina talk about her comprehensive new collection Pretty in Ink: North American Women Cartoonists 1896-2013, her ultimate book, a revised, updated and rewritten history of women cartoonists, with more color illustrations than ever…

The Amateurs, the debut graphic novella by Conor Stechschulte, is at the printer for release this spring. One part Samuel Beckett, one part Laurel and Hardy, one part Texas Chainsaw Massacre, this is a story of escalating madness, mystery, slapstick, and violence unlike any you've read before. Our downloadable 8-page preview includes the horrifying prologue and introduces Jim and Winston, our protagonists who, after a strange night of sickness, arrive at work and are baffled to find that their butcher shop is as empty as their minds are of how to do their job. Pre-order now and get the rest of the story…

On Tuesday, February 11th, the NY Comics & Picture-Story Symposium will host a lecture from Conor Stechschulte, along with Christopher Adams, at 7:00 PM! Stechschulte will present a comprehensive look at the ideas and influences that lead to the making of The Amateurs, his debut graphic novella about a severed human head that still seems to be talking. Stechschulte will discuss the lessons he learned while making the book, and discuss how he's applied those lessons to his current comics work. He adds: "Other topics that may or may not be glancingly addressed: accidental dismemberment, the true sound a screaming pig…

Congratulations to Gilbert Hernandez and Ulli Lust, whose respective books Julio's Day and Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life have been nominated for the Slate and Center for Cartoon Studies Cartoonist Studio Prize for Best Graphic Novel of the Year! The judges call the two books "a deceptively simple story of one man's life from age 0 to 100, by the ever-inventive Gilbert Hernandez" and "Ulli Lust's fascinating, gritty memoir about German teens lost in Italy in 1984" and say that "each winner will receive $1,000 and, of course, eternal glory." Go, Beto & Ulli!

We are pleased to debut the final cover art for The Complete Peanuts 1950-1952 Softcover Edition! The acclaimed, award-winning series, in paperback, with a new design by art director Jacob Covey, and following the same release pattern as the original hardcovers: 2 volumes per year, with an annual slipcased 2-volume set. This first volume arrives in early Summer and you can pre-order now. (By the way, we premiered this image yesterday on The Complete Peanuts Facebook fan page, so you hardcore Schulz-philes ought to go give that a "like" if you want first dibs on stuff like this!) 

Forget these icy cold temperatures — Fantagraphics is heading to sunny L.A., baby! Join us on Sunday, February 16th for the 3rd Annual L.A. Zine Fest! It's gonna be HOT, in a figurative, if not literal, sense:  our own Ron Regé, Jr. will be presenting a multi-media presentation for The Cartoon Utopia, and the great Esther Pearl Watson will be hosting the excellent Zine Hut with her husband, artist Mark Todd! And for the real scorcher: Jaime Hernandez will be the Keynote Speaker! He'll be in conversation with Charles Hatfield, author and professor of English, CSUN, discussing his groundbreaking work…

Portland! It's finally your chance to see the debut feature-length film Tito on Ice by world-famous cartoonist and filmmaker Max Andersson!  After rave screenings in Seattle, Ottawa, and Vancouver, you can see how fantastic this is for yourself at the 37th Annual Portland International Film Festival this weekend!   Screenings are scheduled for Sunday, February 9th at 3:00 PM at Cinemagic, and on Sunday, February 16th at 1:00 PM at Cinema 21 (small theaters). To promote their Fantagraphics book Bosnian Flat Dog, Andersson and fellow Swedish artist Lars Sjunnesson toured the countries of former Yugoslavia with a mummified Marshal Tito…