Fantagraphics Blog

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. (And keep those clicking fingers warmed up because this means they'll also be available from us via mail-order starting tomorrow!) Jason Conquers America by Jason et al. 32-page black & white/color 6.75" x 10.25" comic book • $4.99 "A $5 pamphlet-format thing with some previously unpublished strips and other material…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: Lou Reed's work in his collaborative Poe adaptation with Lorenzo Mattotti, The Raven, helps him rank #64 on Whitney Matheson's 100 People of 2011 list at USA Today Pop Candy • List: Comics Worth Reading's Johanna Draper Carlson names her top 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2011, with Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 1: Race to Death Valley by Floyd Gottfredson in the #5 slot: "I was astounded to discover that once upon a time, Mickey Mouse comics were really good! And exciting!… Plenty of good background material puts it all in context…

Critic and writer Ken Tucker counted down his Top 10: The Year in Music on NPR's Fresh Air, a list which included 9 albums and one book, Kevin Avery's Everything Is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson: "Nelson, who died in 2006 at age 69, was part of the first generation of rock critics, instrumental in bringing attention to musicians including Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, New York Dolls and Warren Zevon. The book is both an anthology of his best writing and a tragic recounting of a life that shut down too soon." The book has previously…

Laura Park shows you the humane way to kill an apple and then a delicious thing to do with its carcass in another tasty-sounding and hilarious recipe comic at Saveur! [Follow our Tumblr blog for lots more Things to See every day.]

Bill Griffith: Lost and Found – Comics 1969-2003 by Bill Griffith 392-page black & white/color 8" x 10" softcover • $35.00ISBN: 978-1-60699-482-5 Ships in: December 2011 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Order this book and receive this FBI•MINI comic shown at left as a FREE bonus! Click here for details. Limit one per customer while supplies last. Bill Griffith is best known as the creator of the Zippy daily comic strip, currently running in over 300 newspapers nationwide, but Zippy was conceived as an underground comix character before he became embraced in the main- stream, and Griffith himself was…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:    • List: USA Today's pop culture maven Whitney Matheson starts counting down her People of the Year at Pop Candy, with Jim Woodring kicking things off at #100 ("This year the artist constructed a seven-foot-long fountain pen that even Lloyd Dobler would be proud to own") and Leslie Stein coming in at #78 ("She had me at the talking guitar: The Brooklyn-based cartoonist's Eye of the Majestic Creature provided a joyous reading experience") • List (Audio): Jim Woodring's Congress of the Animals and Johnny Ryan's Prison Pit Book 3 are among the books discussed…

Not only is Wilfred Santiago’s 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente on Sports Illustrated’s "The Year in Sports Media" list at #34, the magazine had Wilfred provide some commentary of his own, in cartoon form. Click the image above for a closer look at the scan, provided by Wilfred.

Thank you so much to everyone who braved the chilly weather to attend the opening of "Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly" at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery last weekend!  The festivities kicked off with a harmonious performance from local choral group Choir of the Sound, featuring Fantagraphics photojournalist (and wife of our own Kim Thompson), the lovely Lynn Emmert!  They performed a Walt Kelly original, as well as a Christmas classic, before heading out to spread holiday merriment along the streets of Georgetown! More musical accompaniment was provided by the trio Sawsome, who performed a delightful set…

Find your fancy and save 50% at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery with our current Google Offer, where $20 gets you $40 of graphic novels, alternative comics, classic comic strips and more. With an inventory that includes every Fantagraphics Book in print, cherished classics, out-of-print publications and new releases, you’ll be sure to find material to tickle your funny bone and your cranium at this iconic shop. Makes a great last-minute gift, too! There's less than a day left to purchase the Offer, so get on it! (See offer page for limitations, terms and conditions. Offer NOT applicable to online purchases.)

It's a quiet week for events, no surprise there! But there's always something going on for Fantagraphics, and lots of exhibits are still up and running if you're looking for something to see! Wednesday, December 21st • New York City, NY:  It's your last chance to see the exhibit "Being American" at the SVA Visual Arts Gallery, featuring pieces by satirical illustrator Steve Brodner! (more info) Saturday, December 24th • Brussels, Belgium: It's also your last chance to see the exhibit at the Librarie Multi BD, spotlighting Jason, and his work with Fabien Vehlmann on Isle of 100,000 Graves! The…