Fantagraphics Blog

Paul Hornschemeier knows we're all eagerly awaiting new material from him, and while he's been working away at Forlorn Funnies he's accumulated a bunch of odds and ends that don't fit in other publications, so he's created a new outlet for them: Bygone, a new self-published series slated to come out 3 times a year. "What's inside? Some of the contents will be from upcoming projects, projects that fell through the cracks, discussions of various processes, and interviews with nonexistent people. There will be scripts, short stories, gags, enlarged arms, and links to secret things you otherwise won't get to see….

It's so fitting to have our book launch for Bread & Wine at The Strand since the book's sub-title is "An Erotic Tale of New York"! So, get ready for a sensual evening on Thursday, August 15th at 7:00 PM as Samuel R. Delany and Mia Wolff take the stage to discuss this graphic autobiography — a true story from celebrated science-fiction writer, professor, and theorist Delany, on his relationship with a homeless man who was selling books on the street in Manhattan. This tender and intimate memoir first came out in 1999, and has since gone out-of-print.  We're thrilled…

Nudnik Revealed! by Gene Deitch 128-page full-color 12.25" x 9.25" hardcover • $29.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-651-5 Ships in: August 2013 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Inspired by a real-life incident — getting his tie caught in a moving Moviola editing machine — Gene Deitch, cartoonist, animator, memoirist, renaissance man, created Nudnik, his Everyman character, a cross between Candide and Godot. The star of 12 Paramount-produced animated shorts that ran in theatres as an opening to the main movie in 1964 and 1965, Nudnik was one of Deitch's most creatively personal and commercially successful creations in a long career of innovative and successful work,…

Oh shit, guys. Simon Hanselmann is having a sale on original art, comic covers and his infamous Truth Zone comics. Simon states, "I am currently offering (scamming people with) the originals of truth zone episodes 1-69. they are $120 in Australian dollars…" Not to be the bearer of bad news but since his Tumblr posts went up, pages are starting to go so don't think you can just go out and have a pint first and expect that page you want to still be there (you know, the one of the Crittys, where Simon drew you and bagged on Nick…

Certain books have a gravity just by their presence, and things are just a bit more weighty around the office since we got our advance copies of Janet Hamlin's Sketching Guantanamo: Court Sketches of the Military Tribunals 2006-2013. Hamlin's artwork is the only official visual record of the legal hearings of suspected terrorists, including those accused of being responsible for the attacks on 9/11, taking place at the offshore military installation that houses the world's most controversial prison. These drawings are history, and this is the first time they have been published together, along with commentary and background from Hamlin and…

  Fantagraphics cartoonist and Seattle man-about-town, Peter Bagge has a new graphic novel coming out from our Candian cousin, Drawn & Quarterly. The Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story documents the the story of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger,a noted nineteenth century birth control activist, as well as an educator, a nurse, and mother. Sanger's life takes on a whole new vivacity as Bagge creates an adoring, fast-paced biography of this trailblazing woman whose legacy is still incredibly relevant and inspiring.     And Bagge is TAKING OVER TOWN HALL! Get your tickets now for Thursday, Sept 26th, 2013. Bagge's newest Fantagraphics book is coming…

“Flora was one of those rare beasts: a killer illustrator/designer who could trigger powerful brain-invasive joy with thought-provoking art and unexpected design.” — Gary Panter “There was one Flora cover in the record cabinet when I was growing up, and I was almost afraid to play it — maybe because the art came from a mad party in the Twilight Zone, or because nothing in the grooves could possibly have the energy and crazy glee of the cover. These manic little masterpieces belong framed on the wall in the Flora wing of a modern art museum.” — James Lileks “Jim Flora is the…

The High Fidelity Art of Jim Flora edited by Irwin Chusid & Barbara Economon 180-page full-color 11" x 10" softcover • $34.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-655-3 Ships in: August 2013 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Since the 2004 publication of The Mischievous Art of Jim Flora, the once-forgotten illustrator has gained recognition as one of the foremost pioneers of a raucous, cartoonish style of commercial art that defines the Mid-Century aesthetic. Two follow-up volumes, The Curiously Sinister Art… (2007) and The Sweetly Diabolic Art… (2009), captured Flora's largely unseen fine art works, spotlighting a variety of themes such as architecture, cats and dogs,…

Here's your first sneak peek at a printed copy of the new annual issue of Love and Rockets: New Stories! 50 pages of new Gilbert! 50 pages of new Jaime! What else do you need to know?? "When can I see more?" Okay, read a 10-page excerpt here, and be on the lookout for more previews. "When can I get it?" Pre-order your copy at the same place and be among the first to read it in late September or so; pick up a copy and get it signed by Jaime at Autoptic in Minneapolis; or wait until October when it's in stores — the…

  That's right, just BEST. Okay, okay, the alt-weekly newspaper actually sang our praises as the Best Local Publisher. Brian Miller mentions some of our heavy-hitter cartoonists and that "Among an important sector of literate Americans who favor comics and graphic novels, the name [Fantagraphics] is as recognizable as Boeing or Starbucks. Which is not to say it's ever gone corporate, or ever will." illustration by Joshua Boulet from Seattle Weekly