Fantagraphics Blog

Author Monte Schulz will be bringing his captivating novel of the Jazz Age to the West Coast this Spring! The Big Town is the story of a failed businessman whose dreams of prosperity hinge on the secret proposition of a millionaire industrialist and a dangerous relationship he finds with a poor orphan girl chasing love in the great American metropolis. Come meet this engaging storyteller and get your copy of the book signed!  April 3rd Chaucer’s Books3321 State StreetSanta Barbara CA 93105 April 4th Skylight Books1818 North Vermont AveLos Angeles, CA  90027            April 10th Modern Times Bookstore Collective2919…

Now in stock in our warehouse and ready to ship to our mail-order customers: The Big Town by Monte Schulz 440-page hardcover • $29.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-503-7 See Previews / Order Now A novel of the Jazz Age, The Big Town is the story of a failed businessman whose dreams of prosperity hinge on the secret proposition of a millionaire industrialist and a dangerous relationship he finds with a poor orphan girl chasing love in the great American metropolis. Harry Hennesey’s hopes of success, both in his household and the world, have driven him to sell his home in an Illinois small…

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 Sincerest Form of Parody: The Best 1950s MAD-Inspired Satirical Comics by various artists; edited by John Benson 192-page full-color 7.25" x 10.25" softcover • $24.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-511-2 "Before there were knockoffs of MAD-the-magazine like Cracked and Crazy… there were a whole lot of knockoffs of MAD-the-comic-book, like Whack, Nuts, Eh,…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: Pitchfork gives the Listen, Whitey! companion album an 8.0, with Stephen M. Deusner writing "Perhaps the most powerful aspect of Listen, Whitey! The Sound of Black Power 1967-1974 — the album and the book, both representing many years' research by historian Pat Thomas — is how they portray a music in flux: Artists such as the Watts Prophets, the Original Last Poets, Shahid Quintet, and Marlena Shaw were only just realizing the potential for cross-genre synthesis and for radical political statement through music…. Thomas is interested in depicting Black Power music at street level…

San Diego Comic-Con is celebrating the 75th anniversary of Prince Valiant and the 30th anniversary of Love and Rockets. They're looking for quality tribute art and articles that are suitable for all ages for their Souvenir Book. Submission guidelines can be found at http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_souvenir_book.php. The deadline for submissions is April 20.

Fantagraphics is thrilled to announce that Peter Bagge will be a special guest at the 9th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland! Join us on Saturday, April 29th and Sunday, April 30th at the Oregon Convention Center [ 777 NE ML King Blvd. ].  Tickets are on sale now, so don't miss out!  And stay tuned to the FLOG for more details about our Stumptown weekend.  

Fantagraphics editor Jacques Boyreau presents the perfect "Sci-Fi Cheap Date" this Friday, March 30th at the Northwest Film Forum, in celebration of the 10th Annual Emerald City Comicon! Jacques, along with fellow curators Tim Colley and Darren Aboulafia, have concocted a SuperTrash mix of sci-fi-fantasy trailers, blistering 80s metal and provocative situations, including a meditation upon fire itself. This 90-minute program will delight nerds of all genders and possibly be worthy of taking notes. Trailers include Space Amoeba, Funky Forest: The First Contact, Xtro 2, Dark Breed, Screamers, Super Inframan and Alien Intruder.  Plus, it's your chance to meet Black Terminator! Prepare to have your…

Watch Daniel Clowes meltdown at Meltdown in Los Angeles! (Just kidding; we're sure he'll be fine!) Join Dan on Thursday, April 5th for this very special celebration of his new collection The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist, from Abrams ComicArts. The evening will be hosted by Blair Butler (of G4's Fresh Ink), and there will be an interview conducted by Mark Frauenfelder of BoingBoing, followed by a Q&A! The event starts at 8:00 PM, but get there early!  If you purchase one copy of the new book from Meltdown, you'll be granted two tickets to this event. An extra…

  The Sincerest Form of Parody: The Best 1950s MAD-Inspired Satirical Comics by various artists; edited by John Benson 192-page full-color 7.25″ x 10.25″ softcover • $24.99 ISBN: 978-1-60699-511-2   “What, me imitated?” When MAD became a surprise hit as a comic book in 1953 (after the early issues lost money!) other comics publishers were quick to jump onto the bandwagon, eventually bringing out a dozen imitations with titles like FLIP, WHACK, NUTS, CRAZY, WILD, RIOT, EH, UNSANE, BUGHOUSE, and GET LOST. The Sincerest Form of Parody collects the best and the funniest material from these comics, including parodies of…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Plugs: Cynthia Clark Harvey of the Phoenix New Times looks at "Noteworthy Graphic Novels by Women," including C. Tyler's You'll Never Know — "The first two installments of Tyler's wonderful trilogy, a memoir about her father's WWII soldiering and its effects on her family, were on best and award lists. I liked Book 1 and loved Book 2, leaving me on tenterhooks for Book 3…" — and Flannery O'Connor: The Cartoons — "…as I look at O'Connor's early cartoons, I'm sure I'll be thinking: What if she were working today? What if she'd been…