Fantagraphics Blog

(click image to enlarge) I have yet to see the movie, but I'm guessing J. Edgar Hoover's obsession with Pogo didn't make the cut. Walt Kelly regularly poked fun at powerful political figures, but apparently the Pogo parody of the FBI director drove him around the bend. According to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act, Hoover ordered Bureau cryptographers to decipher the secret Okefenokee code. Remind me now. Who was the cartoon character here?  A delightful example of this historically significant strip line will be on view at Fantagraphics Bookstore in "Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly" opening December 10. The original…

Join our own Tony Millionaire at the third annual Feral House/Process Media Winter Solstice Celebration on Saturday, December 10th in Los Angeles!  Tony will be a guest among a whole host of amazing artists, authors, directors, and more. He'll be signing copies of his gorgeous new collection 500 Portraits, and according to his Twitter account, he'll be selling some original artwork, too! Just in time for the holiday shopping season! So, make plans now to join Tony from 6:00 – 8:00 PM at the La Luz de Jesus Gallery [ 4633 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles ].

We are proud and pleased to be publishing our first Nicolas Mahler book (a full-color hardcover, no less) this coming April: ANGELMAN. As a special blog bonus, we will serialize the first quarter of the book with the rest of our weekly digital comics, beginning this Friday… at the end of which, you will be so absorbed in Angelman's travails that you will have no choice but to pick up the book. Enjoy! Here is the title page of the book, to further whet your appetite. Between this and Jaime Hernandez's GOD AND SCIENCE, Fantagraphics' 2012 goal will be to…

Brooklyn! Prepare to get thrizzled! Join Michael Kupperman at Bergen Street Comics on Friday, December 9th as we celebrate the release of Tales Designed to Thrizzle #7! There is so much goodness in this new issue: there's an appearance from our old friends Snake ‘n’ Bacon! It's the debut of Quincy, M.E.! There's even a photocomic starring comedian Julie Klausner! And there's even more thrizzle to be had! So, get your copy and get it signed by Mr. Kupperman himself! The fun starts at 8:00 PM at Bergen Street Comics [ 470 Bergen Street, Brooklyn ]!

We're excited to announce that satirical illustrator Steve Brodner is part of an exhibit currently showing at the SVA Visual Arts Gallery in NYC. Tonight, Thursday, December 1st, they'll be celebrating with a reception from 6:00 to 8:00 PM! Titled "Being American," this collection was curated by Francis Di Tommaso who says, “The twenty artists in this show have twenty stories to tell about the experience of being American today. Though many would not normally exhibit in the same venue — the work of some is almost never seen outside of the printed page — they all have immediately accessible…

Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture – A Career Retrospective by Jack Davis 208-page full-color 10.25" x 13.25" hardcover • $49.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-447-4 Ships in: December 2011 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Jack Davis arrived on the illustration scene in the euphoric post-war America of the late 1940s when consumer society was booming and the work force identified with commercial images that reflected this underlying sense of confidence and American bravado. Advertising agencies were looking for new ways to tap a rich and expanding market, and there was a vast array of media that needed illustrations. Davis’ animated and exuberant…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Shimura Takako’s story of two adolescents—a boy who wants to be a girl and a girl who wants to be a boy—isn’t exactly fast-paced in terms of plot, but [Wandering Son] book 2 continues the excellent work of book 1 and raises the emotional stakes a bit…. There’s… a slowly unfolding pleasure to Shimura’s story. Sensitive to the plight of young teenagers and potentially transgender youth alike, she’s managed to create a compelling story without including much that, considered in isolation, is particularly dramatic, which speaks to the realism of her efforts." –…

So, our ol' pal Jacques Boyreau, he of the cinefantastic tomes PORTABLE GRINDHOUSE and the forthcoming SEXYTIME: THE POST-PORN RISE OF THE PORNOISSEUR (a collection of remarkably awesome movie posters from the Golden Age of adult cinema) from Fantagraphics, curated what looks to be an incredible art show in Anchorage, Alaska, of all places. I wanted to spotlight it on the blog, and figured the best way was to simply ask Jacques about. Here's what he had to say. I've been involved with Fantagraphics for a few years now…as author-editor and all-around-nuisance. I suspect a reason for my insistency is that…

176 years old and still going strong!

Celebrate the 5th Anniversary of Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery!“Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly” opens December 10. In 1970, Walt Kelly’s playful possum Pogo looked upon his polluted Okefenokee Swamp and uttered in despair, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” This line quickly became part of our cultural lexicon and cemented Pogo’s place in American popular culture. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery celebrates the publication of Pogo: Through the Wild Blue Wonder with “Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly.” This exhibition of original Walt Kelly strips opens Saturday, December 10 from 6:00 to 9:00…