Fantagraphics Blog

(click image to enlarge) The indefatigable Gilbert Hernandez has already turned in his cover to next Fall's Love and Rockets: New Stories #6, featuring "Killer" in a pose and milieu that long-time LR fans will find familiar (and which picks up from the storyline in #5). That issue's stories will also tie into the life-of-Luba graphic novel "Poison River," albeit in an unexpected way.

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. As TCJ.com's Joe McCulloch notes in his "Conflict of Interest Reservoir," "Oh wait, we’ve still got $100+ of good-looking Fantagraphics books to cover." Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman 112-page full-color 7.25" x 9.25" hardcover • $22.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-623-2 "When it comes to splurging, I’m going to be topical: Steven Weissman’s surreal,…

Just in time for the presidential debates and November election season, Fantagraphics and comiXology are proud to release the brand new Barack Hussein Obama for digial download. Steven Weissman's surreal view on the time and the powerful man in the world is too funny to be true. This book represents a whole, fully-realized parallel America, a dada-esque, satirical vision that is no more cockeyed than the real thing, its weirdness no more weird, its vision of the world no more terrifying, where the zombie-esque simulacra of Joe Biden and Hillary and Newt and Obama wander, if not exactly through the…

We just had to share this adorable poster that Gilbert Hernandez designed for APE: the Alternative Press Expo, going down this coming weekend, Saturday, October 13th and Sunday, October 14th at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco, CA! I have to confess, I didn't even recognize the poster as Gilbert's artwork at first… I mean, the ape's boobs aren't nearly big enough! (I kid, I kid!) Marketing Mix Master Mike Baehr took this shot of the original art — whatta perfect primate! Don't forget — you can meet Gilbert, along with his bros Jaime and Mario Hernandez, this weekend…

This week it is time for terror in an uncomfortable way what only Hans Rickheit can create. All 161 pages of Folly: Consequences of Indiscretion is now available via comiXology to haunt you. This volume is a steam punk descendent of the counterculture comics of the '60s, and is as wildly imaginative and richly artistic as it is subversively sexual and violent.  This digital edition includes an exclusive story, "Sigmund Freud," a tribute to Jack Kirby which does not appear in the print edition! Originally distributed into the world as Xeroxed pamphlets, these "underground comix" reflect the true nature of…

Just arrived and shipping now from our mail-order department: You'll Never Know Book 3: Soldier's Heart by C. Tyler 128-page full-color 12" x 10.25" hardcover • $29.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-548-8 See Previews / Order Now BARGAIN COMBO: You'll Never Know Books 1-3: The Complete Trilogy Price: $74.97 $59.98 In one of the most eagerly-anticipated graphic novels of 2012, Soldier’s Heart concludes the story of Carol Tyler and her delving into her father’s war experiences in a way that is both surprising and devastating — and rather than trying to summarize this episode and thus possibly spoil it for readers, we prefer to…

Just arrived and shipping now from our mail-order department: Ralph Azham Vol. 1: Why Would You Lie to Someone You Love? by Lewis Trondheim 96-page full-color 8.5" x 6.625" hardcover • $14.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-593-8 See Previews / Order Now Within his tiny village, Ralph Azham is considered an insolent good-for-nothing layabout, a virtual pariah — particularly since he was supposed to be a Chosen One. (Things didn’t work out.) Yet his odd azure coloration and a few unique abilities (he can predict births and deaths) suggest that there may be more to him than meets the eye. And when the terrifying…

Just arrived and shipping now from our mail-order department: 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" hardcover • $39.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-445-0 See Previews / Order Now BARGAIN COMBO: Order this book with its companion volume and save 20%! The Lost Art of Ah Pook + Observed While Falling – Gift Set Price: $69.98 $55.98 In 1970, William S. Burroughs and artist Malcolm McNeill began a small collaborative project on a comic entitled The Unspeakable Mr. Hart, which appeared in the first four issues of Cyclops, England’s first…

 The freshiest, just cleaned kitten of Online Commentaries & Diversions: • Plug: TIME Magazine talks about You'll Never Know Book Three: Soldier's Heart by C. Tyler. "The book is as much about empty spaces–in history and on the page–as it is about the details she can fill in." See it in print next week! • Review: Dal Tokyo by Gary Panter is listed in The Times of UK as one of the essential books for Chris Ware. Ware says "Gary Panter is the William Blake of comics; a true poet who sees and feels what the rest of us can't,…

   Tuesday, October 9th • Portland, OR: Dr. David Seaman will deliver the lecture "From the First Vis Po Anthology (BC—Before Christ) to the Last Vis Po Anthology (AA—After Apple)" at Gallery 214 on the campus of the Pacific Northwest College of Art. They are currently hosting an exhibit featuring work from The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008! (more info) • San Francisco, CA:  Daniel Clowes and Dave Eggers take the stage at Litquake, San Francisco's annual literary festival! The two will discuss the vagaries of the creative process, their favorite comics, books, and movies, and anything else that…