Fantagraphics Blog

Johnny Ryan’s new comic for VICE would be pretty great even if it ended right there but there’s 6 more panels of that awesomeness. [Follow our Tumblr blog for lots more Things to See every day.]

Guess what classic… well, it seems almost wrong to call something this slickly designed and smartly edited and overall wonderful a "fanzine," but let's go with "fanzine" anyway… so guess which classic fanzine is returning after a five-year hiatus this Spring?

Perhaps you couldn't make it to our events in New York this past weekend, or maybe you had such an awesome time, you wanna relive it again through photos.  Well, my friend… this FLOG post is for you. photo credit: Jeff Wong Here's the man of the weekend, Mr. Jack Davis! (I love this photo; how could I not open with it?) photo credit: Jeff Wong Jack had an especially busy weekend, because not only was he a guest-of-honor at the 2011 Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival, but he also had an art show at the Scott Eder Gallery, and…

Come celebrate the festive 5th anniversary of Fantagraphics Bookstore on Saturday, December 10 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Holiday cheer galore! Opening reception for “Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly,” music by Sawsome (a female banjo and saw duet), complimentary refreshments, wandering Christmas carolers, and more! We can hardly believe it’s been 5 years already. This wonderful experiment in promoting comix culture has been an amazing experience. Make plans to join us on this momentous occasion. The party coincides with the lively holiday edition of the Georgetown Art Attack with open art studios, exotic shopping, diverse dining and…

The cartoonist Lilli Carré has an exhibit opening tonight at the Ralph Arnold Fine Arts Annex in Chicago, entitled… Lilli Carré, Cartoonist.  It's so apropos! But the exhibit also spotlights Lilli's animation work, as a series of short animated films she describes as “moving drawings” will be projected on the windows facing Sheridan Road.  Inside, you'll find a collection of Lilli's recent string drawing pieces, along with some books and comics. The free reception goes from 5:00 to 6:30 PM tonight, and you should be able to make an online reservation here.  Loyola University Chicago's Ralph Arnold Fine Arts Annex is…

Tales Designed to Thrizzle #7 by Michael Kupperman 32-page full-color 6.75" x 9.5" comic book • $4.95 Ships in: December 2011 (subject to change) — This comic will be available to order simultaneous to its release to comic shops. In this issue Quincy, M.E. makes his comic book debut, struggling through the fantastic landscapes of his own dreams in “Quinception,” in which St. Peter also gets his own comic book. Snake ‘n’ Bacon make an appearance in “Reservoir Dogs 2,” where the gang reunites for another caper. Twain and Einstein deal with some family issues, McArf the Crime Dog takes…

Wandering Son Vol. 2 by Shimura Takako 228-page black & white (with some color) 7" x 9.5" hardcover • $19.99presented in traditional right-to-left format; original Japanese title: 放浪息子 (Hourou Musuko)ISBN: 978-1-60699-456-6 Ships in: December 2011 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now In the second volume of Shimura Takako's superb coming-of-age story, our transgendered protagonists, Shuichi and Yoshino, have entered the sixth grade. Shuichi spends a precious gift of cash from his grandmother on a special present for himself, a purchase that triggers a chain of events in which his sister Maho learns his secret, and Shuichi inadvertently steals the heart…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "A lot of the conventions with which we are familiar from Pogo were birthed during this period, and most of the characters with which we are most familiar have already been fully realized during the initial Dell Comics run. Walt Kelly’s wit and charm is unmatched in the history of sequential storytelling, and is in evidence here fully developed. I’d get this book for Jimmy Breslin’s introduction alone. Go. Read this. You’ll charm the pants off of yourself." – Mike Gold, ComicMix • Review: "Fan/historian Bill Schelly who, like Roy Thomas is from…

In the inaugural edition of Jim Woodring's new email newsletter (which can be subscribed to at jimwoodring.com), he reveals the future (as yet unscheduled) existence of Problematic, a collection reproducing artwork from the many Moleskine sketchbooks he has filled throughout the years. A bit of this artwork was reproduced in The Comics Journal #301, and a bit more can be seen here.

Grab your doodle pad and follow along with Jim Woodring's simple instructions for drawing his beloved protagonist Frank, including his "chow flaps" and "rings of pulchritude," revealing the truth about Frank's "gloves" and "shoes" along the way. (Via our pals at Boing Boing.)