Fantagraphics Blog

Most Seattlelites recognize the cartoons of Steven Weissman since he's been drawing I, Anonymous for the Seattle Stranger for quite awhile. In this weekly letter column, he pens the diatribes of the angry, bitter, self-loathing and oblivious. Last month's was a favorite of mine, a huge fan of the C-word, handled with the utmost care (see above). Weissman's love of duotone, gray shading and dot-matrix-heavy shading makes his drawings perfect for print and they look hella fine on the web too. Weissman was sweet enough to answer some questions about how he approaches the weekly illustrations. Q: Do the letters…

And it's another busy-ass week for Fantagraphics! Monday, April 22nd • New York City, NY:  The magnificent Michael Kupperman is doing a special presentation tonight at the comedy series Special Presentation, presented at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre East! (more info) Wednesday, April 24th • New York City, NY:  Get ready for Old Comics, Old Freaks, Old Jews, and LOTS of fun with graphic humorist Drew Friedman at the Soho Gallery for Digital Art. Host Danny Fingeroth will ask this master cartoonist and satirist about his life and career, and Drew will unveil previews of new, unreleased work, including his "Legends…

Join us this weekend for the 10th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest at the Oregon Convention Center this Saturday, April 27th and Sunday, April 28th! We're thrilled to announce that we'll be joined by special guests Dash Shaw, in town all the way from New York, and Portland's own Patrick Rosenkranz! Speaking of Dash, we're also excited to present the debut of his latest books, along with a few other exciting debuts! Such as… • 3 New Stories by Dash Shaw • New School by Dash Shaw • Castle Waiting Vol. 2: Definitive Edition by Linda Medley • Julio's Day by…

Barnaby Vol. 1 by Crockett Johnson Edited by Eric Reynolds & Philip Nel; Introduction by Chris Ware; art direction by Daniel Clowes 320-page black & white (with some color) 11" x 6.75" hardcover • $35.00ISBN: 978-1-60699-522-8 Ships in: May 2013 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Before authoring one of the most beloved children’s book series of all time — Harold and the Purple Crayon — cartoonist Crockett Johnson created the comic strip Barnaby for over ten years (1942 to 1952). Its subtle ironies and playful allusions never won a broad following, but the adventures of 5-year-old Barnaby Baxter and his fairy godfather Jackeen…

Get ready for a special presentation from Special Presentation, which is a monthly comedy series in New York City featuring, special… uh, performances. Well, tonight's presentation is extra-special because it features our own Michael Kupperman! Join Michael tonight, Monday, April 22nd, at the UCB Theater in New York City as he presents what's sure to be a thrizziling A/V presentation at 8:00 PM. Reserve a ticket online here! Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre East is located at 153 East 3rd Street in New York City.

Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life by Ulli Lust (translated by Kim Thompson) 464-page two-color 6.75" x 9" softcover • $35.00ISBN: 978-1-60699-557-0 A long, dense, sensitive, and minutely observed autobiographical masterpiece recalling the summer of 1984, when the artist, a rebellious, punked-out 17-year-old, hitchhiked her way across Italy. 2011 Angoulême prize winner. Due to arrive in about 4-6 weeks. Click the thumbnails for larger versions; get more info, see more previews and pre-order your copy here: http://www.fantagraphics.com/todayisthelastday

  The annual Stumptown Comics Awards nominees have been announced. Here on out, it’s a down-and-dirty voting contest so we have a few recommendation on who you should vote for (Spoiler: our books) and the fact you should ask your mom and her intense network of friends.  Noah Van Sciver is up for Best Cartoonist for The Hypo. His emotionally charged drawing style added depth and charimsa to the beleaguered story of Abraham Lincoln long before he was a president.   Lilli Carré is up for two awards for Best Colorist and Publication Design for Heads or Tails. Carré recently was a Lynd Ward…

It's the end of the fucking week — and what a fucking week it's been, especially in Chuck Forsman's home state of Massachusetts. We swear it's only coincidence that on our schedule for today is this sneak peek at the final cover art and an excerpt of an upcoming graphic novel about a pair of lawless young people walking a violent path together. Our collection of Chuck's acclaimed minicomic The End of the Fucking World (a.k.a. the more bookstore-friendly TEOTFW) is due out in July. In its serialized form, TEOTFW was named to multiple Best of 2012 lists and earned praise like this: "The…

  Every great once in awhile, like a giant locust swarm happening on the same calendar day as a solar eclipse, Ivan Brunetti offers a page of original art for sale. This time it is the page below (detail above) from The New Yorker, the December 21, 2009 issue. All proceeds will go toward the printing of a small print run of issue 4 of the Linework anthology, a kick-ass project Brunetti helps his students and former students put together. For more work, see Ho! The Morally Questionable Cartoons of Ivan Brunetti.    

Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life by Ulli Lust (translated by Kim Thompson) 464-page two-color 6.75" x 9" softcover • $35.00ISBN: 978-1-60699-557-0 Ships in: May 2013 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Back in 1984, a rebellious, 17-year-old, punked-out Ulli Lust set out for a wild hitchhiking trip across Italy, from Naples through Verona and Rome and ending up in Sicily. Twenty-five years later, this talented Austrian cartoonist has looked back at that tumultuous summer and delivered a long, dense, sensitive, and minutely observed autobiographical masterpiece. Miraculously combining a perfect memory for both emotional and physical detail…