Fantagraphics Blog

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…

I snapped this outside my local Trader Joe's, which I know for a fact also happens to be Peter Bagge's local Trader Joe's. Peter, are you doing some holiday moonlighting we're unaware of? 

Jason Conquers America by Jason et al. 32-page black & white/color 6.75" x 10.25" comic book • $4.99 Available for sale and shipping to comic shops on December 21, 2011 Celebrating 10 years of Jason being published in the US, this comic-book-format one-shot is a Jason fan’s dream, with lots of previously unpublished Jason strips and artwork, an interview with Jason’s colorist Hubert, a checklist of all Jason’s books, a Q&A with the man himself, and a visual tributes gallery by several American cartoonists to the towering, taciturn Norwegian genius including Michael Allred, Kim Deitch, and Rich Tommaso. Video &…

Jason reveals a bit more about his current graphic novel in progress, including this panel. [Follow our Tumblr blog for lots more Things to See every day.]

Tim Kreider, who plies his trade as an essayist a bit more than as a cartoonist these days, has four recent unpublished pieces available to read and disseminate on his website: three on the Occupy movement and one on the end of the Iraq War. Access all three and read Tim's brief introduction here. Here's a good money quote: "It’s past time that the Right and the Left both noticed that our traditional nemeses — Big Government and Big Business, respectively — are literally the same people."

(click image to enlarge) Every so often I'm asked whatever became of Fantagraphics old delivery van, which was vandalized — I mean decorated — by masters of alternative comix during a 1991 signing at Fallout. (Crumb, Clowes, Bagge, Bros., Mavrides, Woodring, etc.) We spoke to the Georgetown owner last summer and he assured us restoration was underway. On Friday, Georgetown Records unearthed a cache of vintage Rocket magazines. The April '91 issue contained a sidebar on this rolling masterpiece.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: FEARnet's Joseph McCabe names Richard Sala's The Hidden to their Best of 2011: Books and Comics: "Sala's unique brand of creepy quirk combines Edward Gorey, Chester Gould, and Charles Adams with his own unclassifiable magic. The Hidden, from Fantagraphics Books, is his most ambitious work — an intimate apocalypse." • List: The SF Site's Rick Klaw ranks 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente at #4 on his top graphic novels of 2011: "In this emotionally moving biography, the Puerto Rican Wilfred Santiago magnificently chronicles the often tragic life of this icon…. Santiago expertly…