Fantagraphics Blog

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…

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition by Virgil Partch, one of mid-century America’s most influential humorists. Vip: The Mad World of Virgil Partch celebrates the legacy of this notorious cartoonist. A display of art and artifacts from the book opens Saturday, February 8 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Virgil Partch burst onto the pages of the nation’s magazines with his captivating cartoons virtually overnight. His irreverent observations inspired a new breed of post-war comedians and cartoonists. Known by his signature, “Vip,” his work adorned books, advertisements, album covers, beer cans, cocktail napkins, and other accoutrements of…

Conor Stechschulte's debut book The Amateurs is off at the printer. Dig the beautiful watercolor cover art… the comical silhouettes… the sparkling river… the taint of gore… What could have happened? Pre-order the book (out in May) and find out… 

Fantagraphics and comiXology continue to bring you the thrills and chills via techonological frills with Sucker Bait and Other Stories illustrated by the amazing Graham Ingels (written by Al Feldstein). 25 classic horror stories involving swamps, maniacs, and dismemberment by the artist so good at gruesome, grisly depictions of the endless corruption of flesh and nature he earned the nickname "Ghastly." And as with our other EC comics, you can also try out a few stories for just 99 cents! That's not EVEN a dollar like the picture states below (but let's get real, pennies are worthless — unless you've…

Today is the centennial of the birth of William S. Burroughs, and as part of the official "Burroughs @ 100" celebration we're offering limited-time savings on our momentous art book and memoir by artist Malcolm McNeill detailing his troubled collaboration with Burroughs — 25% off each volume, or 1/3 off when you order them together! Author James Reich recently talked to McNeill about Burroughs at the International Times, so go give that a read once you've taken advantage of these deals: The Lost Art of Ah Pook Is Here: Images from the Graphic Novel by Malcolm McNeill 168-page full-color 10.25" x 13.25"…

Visitors to the Gregory Benton signing on Saturday, February 22 are in for an unforgettable evening as Fantagraphics Bookstore and Georgetown Records host an in-store performance by celebrated blues musician Jeremy Spencer. An original member of Fleetwood Mac, Spencer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. He played on the band's timeless early hits like "Black Magic Woman," "Albatross," "Oh Well," and countless others. He frequently fronted Fleetwood Mac, channeling legends like Elmore James and Elvis during their raucous live shows. Check out vintage Jeremy Spencer in Paris on New Year's Eve 1968. Spencer will…

On Saturday, February 15th, noted author Pat Thomas will engage in a lively discussion of the soundtrack that accompanies the Black Power movement with his award-winning book, Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975! Join him at the appropriately-named Revolution Books in Los Angeles at 3:00 PM! He'll be joined by special guest Rickey Vincent, author of Party Music: The Inside Story of the Black Panthers' Band and How Black Power Transformed Soul Music (Chicago Review Press). Together, they'll examine the culture and politics of the Black Power era of the late 1960s, as these books explore…

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.   Sucker Bait and Other Stories (The EC Comics Library)Illustrated by Graham Ingels; written by Al Feldstein et al. 216-page black & white 7.25" x 10.25" hardcover • $28.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-689-8  "Even sixty years on Ingels grisly pages still hold the power to shock and delight in equal measure. Not for the faint of heart, but anyone…

Here's a clearer view of the box art for The EC Comics Slipcase Vol. 1, coming in April, featuring the artwork of Jack Davis, Harvey Kurtzman, Al Williamson, and Wallace Wood on the outside and their respective EC Comics Library volumes inside. Nice, right? That's gold ink on there, as befitting the quality of the material inside and the luster of our unique and impeccable presentation. For those of you who plan on replacing your standalone copies of each book with the box set (since we're not able to offer empty boxes), might we suggest "paying it forward" by donating your duplicate books to a good…