Fantagraphics Blog

The Hollywood adaptation of Jean-Patrick Manchette's novel The Prone Gunman, from which Jacques Tardi adapted the graphic novel that we named Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot, has lined up Taken director Pierre Morel, according to The Hollywood Reporter. So the producers didn't take Kim Thompson's suggestions, but the film's a big step closer to reality. Mostly this was just an excuse to repost my Photoshop goofery featuring the film's star, Sean Penn.

And now a message from Gene Deitch:  A new 2013 (cheaper) edition of the 2003 (expensive) book of my 1940s jazztoons is coming out in a more reasonably priced (and neatly printed) edition by Fantagraphics, who are determined to get you to buy it.   Not only is this new edition cheaper, but is e – x – p – a – n – d – e – d with lots of rediscovered drawings, previously seen only by moldy old souls who played those black, breakable 10 inch 78RPM phonograph records, which required steel needles to follow wiggly shellac grooves, producing a hissing and clicking sound which…

We're so excited about the arrival of advance copies of Crockett Johnson's Barnaby Vol. 1, we all busted out our cameraphones for these snapshots! Eric Instagrammed this one:  This one's by Jen, of Jacq's desk: Good gravy this book's a beaut! Boasting art direction by the one and only Daniel Clowes and comprehensively collecting the first two years (1942-1943) of Johnson's beloved strip between flexi-bound covers, it's one of the last items to cross off the list of "uncollected great American comic strips." And it's finally almost here! You'll be able to get your hands on a copy in late March or early…

The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008 features 148 contributors from 23 countries on five continents, and six of those contributors happen to be from Ohio: John M. Bennett, C. Mehrl Bennett, John Byrum, endwar, Bill Howe, Joel Lipman, and Reid Wood! The Nelsonville Public Library recently launched an exhibition of 27 prints from Last Vispo! The exhibit was arranged locally by Athens visual poet endwar (Andrew Russ), who has been writing visual poetry since 1990 and publishing some via his IZEN imprint. The exhibit also includes seven large prints of minimalist visual poems originally created for exhibits at Neopolis…

Wednesday just got weirder with a side of thrizzle with another hit from Fantagraphics available at comiXology. Michael Kupperman's second all-comics collection of surreal slapstick and crazy non-sequitur goofiness Tales Designed to Thrizzle Volume 2! Including an a full issue's worth of never-before-published, brand new Thrizzle material and a newly colored version of issue #5! Featuring: America's favorite mustachioed physicist/writer double team of Twain and Einstein (solving new crimes and barreling through exciting new adventures), the crime-fighting team of Snake and Bacon ("Sssssssssssss!") in Reservoir Dogs 2, the crusty Quincy M.E., and the true story of the first lunar landing,…

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. The Complete Crumb Comics Vol. 3: Starring Fritz the Cat (New Softcover Ed.)by Robert Crumb 128-page black & white/color 8.5" x 11" softcover • $19.99ISBN: 978-0-93019-375-1 "…[S]ince I'm going off the deep end anyway, I'll add The Complete Crumb Comics, Vol. 3: Starring Fritz the Cat ($19.99), from Fantagraphics, so I can…

The most checked-out book of Online Commentaries & Diversions:  • Review: Prison Pit Book 4 by Johnny Ryan is getting the hits this week. Gene Ambaum of Unshelved writes, "This reminds me of nothing as much as the violent, disturbed drawings I’ve seen in some middle-school boys’ notebooks. Next year, I’m going to tell [my daughter] it’s like a mind-map for her male classmates. If she believes me, I hope we can put off conversations about her dating for a few extra years." • Review: Mark L. Miller of Ain't It Cool News enjoys Johnny Ryan's latest Prison Pit Book…

Just arrived and shipping now from our mail-order department:  Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 2 by Michael Kupperman 176-page full-color 7.25" x 10" hardcover • $24.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-615-7 See Previews / Order Now   BARGAIN COMBO: Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vols. 1 + 2 Gift Set Price: $49.98 $39.98 Hot on the heels of his acclaimed Mark Twain’s Autobiography 1910-2010 comes Michael Kupperman’s second all-comics collection of surreal slapstick and crazy non-sequitur goofiness, all from the pages of his beloved comic book series Tales Designed to Thrizzle. Tales Designed to Thrizzle Volume Two features two of Kupperman’s recurring duos: America’s favorite mustachioed physicist/writer…

Just arrived and shipping now from our mail-order department:  7 Miles a Second by David Wojnarowicz, James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook 68-page full-color 9" x 12" hardcover • $19.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-614-0 See Previews / Order Now 7 Miles a Second is the story of legendary artist David Wojnarowicz, written during the last years before his AIDS-related death in 1992. Artists James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook unsentimentally depict Wojnarowicz's childhood of hustling on the streets of Manhattan, through his adulthood living with AIDS, and his anger at the indifference of government and health agencies. A primal scream of a graphic…