Fantagraphics Blog

The Pacific Northwest has become the center of a growing movement of handcrafted small press publishing. “Short Run Small Press Fest” is one of the country’s leading gatherings of self-publishing communities. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery curator Larry Reid has selected two dozen artists to represent this movement in “Marathon: A Short Run Art Show.” This show of original drawings, prints and publications opens on Saturday, November 9 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. The exhibition continues through December 11, 2013. The Marathon title implies the epic effort often required to create a career in comix. To illustrate this concept, Reid has…

A gender-swapped class production of Romeo and Juliet… what could possibly be more fraught for a couple of gender-questioning junior high schoolers? Maybe shopping for underwear for their changing bodies? That's the territory Shimura Takako sends her heroes Nitori-kun and Takatsuki-san into in the new volume of Wandering Son, with their idiosyncratic cast of friends, rivals, mentors, teachers and families adding to the drama, embarrassment and laughs. In our free downloadable excerpt of the complete first chapter, see what the kids are up to on the first half of their summer vacation. The book should be out right around Christmas or New Year's,…

Hip Hop Family Tree (Vol. 1) by Ed Piskor 112-page full-color 9" x 13" Flexibound softcover • $24.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-690-4 Ships in: November 2013 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now The lore of the early days of hip hop has become the stuff of myth, so what better way to document this fascinating, epic true story than in another great American mythological medium — the comic book? From exciting young talent and self-proclaimed hip hop nerd Ed Piskor, acclaimed for his hacker graphic novel Wizzywig, comes this explosively entertaining, encyclopedic history of the formative years of the music genre that changed global culture….

Ed Piskor's first volume of the graphic novel that takes place in the past and is down with the beats, Hip Hop Family Tree, is available to read digitally on comiXology. The lore of the early days of hip hop has become the stuff of myth, so what better way to document this fascinating, epic true story than in another great American mythological medium – the comic book? From exciting young talent and self-proclaimed hip hop nerd Piskor, acclaimed for his hacker graphic novel Wizzywig, comes this explosively entertaining, encyclopedic history of the formative years of the music genre that changed global culture….

The Comics Journal Library Vol. 8: The EC Artists edited by Michael Dean 240-page black & white/color 10" x 12" softcover • $28.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-608-9 Ships in: November 2013 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now The Comics Journal Library series is the most comprehensive series of lavishly illustrated interviews conducted with cartoonists ever published. To celebrate our republication of the legendary EC line, we proudly present the first of a two-volume set of interviews with the artists and writers (and publisher!) who made EC great. Included in the first volume: career-spanning conversations with EC legends Will Elder, John Severin, Harvey Kurtzman, and…

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. Impossible Tales: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 4 by Steve Ditko; edited by Blake Bell 240-page full-color 7.25" x 10" hardcover • $39.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-640-9 "I think [Ditko's] a foundational mainstream talent, and one of the interesting ones like Johnny Craig in that a lot of his influence is felt more…

Thursday, October 31st • San Francisco, CA: Kick off Halloween with Ben Catmull! He'll be signing his gorgeous new book Ghosts and Ruins at Mission: Comics & Art starting at 5:30 PM. (more info) Friday, November 1st • Tacoma, WA:  Our Marketing, PR, and Outreach Maven Jen Vaughn will be part of the panel "Drawing for a Living: Making Money as an Artist" at Pacific Lutheran University from 2:00 to 4:00 PM! This event is totally free, with no reservations necessary. (more info) Saturday, November 2nd • Tacoma, WA:  And Jen Vaughn returns to Tacoma for the Jet City Comic…

So many new readers of all ages discover Stan Sakai's wonderful, multiple-award-winning, now-classic Usagi Yojimbo as the years go on that we keep having to go back to press — twelve times on Book 1: The Ronin now! Read the rabbit ronin's first adventures in this compact softcover, sporting the new trade dress designed by Jacob Covey a few years back. Fresh copies in stock now and in stores soon!

Things will be getting naughty in San Diego when Monte Schulz brings his latest novel Naughty to town! Join him on Friday, November 22nd at 7:00 PM as he presents a story of love, deceit, and insanity, and how our lives are too often directed by the inexplicable vagaries of fate. Inspired by the true story of Iva Kroeger and her husband Ralph, indicted for the murders of Mildred and Jay Arneson in 1962, Naughty culminates in a sensational trial that captivated the Bay area. Mysterious Galaxy is located at 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, Suite #302, in San Diego, just…

It's no trick! It'll be a treat to spend Halloween evening with Ben Catmull! Kick off a spooky Thursday, October 31st at Mission: Comics & Art starting at 5:30 PM. Catmull will sign his gorgeous new book Ghosts and Ruins. With a rendering style suggestive of Edward Gorey's gothic masterworks, Catmull ingeniously imagines haunted dwellings and the circumstances of their otherworldly occupants. With just the right touch of humor to balance the terror, Ghosts and Ruins is sure to please fans of Edward Gorey or Tim Burton, and makes a perfect gift book for the ghost story fan in your…