Fantagraphics Blog

(not final cover) Now that we've announced our Spring/Summer 2012 schedule, authors Blake Bell and Dr. Michael J. Vassallo (a.k.a. "Doc V.") are starting to reveal details and post updates on their upcoming book The Secret History of Marvel Comics, which investigates and documents the seamy pulp underbelly of Martin Goodman's publishing empire. Blake is posting updates on the project at his blog; here's his introduction of his collaborator and here's the first in a series of behind-the-scenes looks at the production of the book. Doc V announced the project on his blog as well. They've also started a Facebook…

We're doing a special cross-promotion with our colleagues at Americaware, producers of fine t-shirts (and now hoodies!) featuring artwork by Northwest comics legends Peter Bagge, Jim Blanchard, Basil Wolverton and Jim Woodring. With every order you make with us you'll get a $5 coupon to use on an Americaware order, and with every Americaware order you'll get a 20% off coupon to use when ordering from us! You could get into an endless loop of savings! I personally have several Americaware shirts and lemme tell ya, they are niiiiice.

Fantagraphics invites you to help celebrate the release of Oil and Water tonight, Wednesday, November 15th at Bridge City Comics in Portland! Both Steve Duin, columnist for The Oregonian, and Eisner-winning artist Shannon Wheeler will be in attendance from 6:00 – 9:00 PM.  Get your copies of Oil and Water signed, and find out more about what happened when ten Oregonians traveled to the Gulf Coast in August 2010 to plumb the devastation wrought by the Deepwater Horizon spill.   This event is free and open-to-the-public, so be sure to drop by! Bridge City Comics is located at 3725 N. Mississippi…

[The Comics Journal interns Ben Horak, Kara Krewer, Janice Lee and Jennifer Williams put together this series of discussion questions about Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 2: Trapped on Treasure Island by Floyd Gottfredson for use in book clubs. As this is intended for those who have read the book and contains spoilers, questions about specific storylines can be found behind the jump. – Ed.]

BACKGROUND

Find examples of Gottfredson's use of black to navigate the eye through the actions in the comic.

These adventure strips contain some dark subject matter, including lynching, cannibalism, murder and death. How does this reflect the public's state of mind during the Depression era?

How does Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse inform contemporary Mickey? In what ways has Mickey changed or evolved as a character?

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Awards: Esperanza by Jaime Hernandez has been named by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association to the long list of nominations for the Over the Rainbow recommended reading list, one of only two (as far as I can tell from my quick skim) comics to be so included • Plug: Pamela Paul of The New York Times asks "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" creator Jeff Kinney about his favorite books from childhood: "…[T]he works that stood head and shoulders above the rest were Carl Barks’s ‘Donald Duck’…

The Beat presents 7 pages from Walt Disney's Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes, saying "This month’s release of the first volume of Fantagraphics’ Carl Barks reprints is call for rejoicing…. And these may be the seven of the greatest comics pages ever. Enjoy."

In this month's issue of Booklist you can find praise for three of our recent releases: The Complete Peanuts 1981-1982 by Charles M. Schulz: "These early 1980s episodes see Snoopy reunite with his brother Marbles (who’s baffled by his sibling’s WWI fantasies), Linus and Lucy plant a garden, and Peppermint Patty apply to a school for gifted children (she thinks they’re going to give her presents). But the strip’s fragile heart remains good ol’ Charlie Brown, who faces a crisis when liability issues bar him and his team from their baseball field. In a moving introduction to the volume, cartoonist…

Let's all go to the movies with Michael Kupperman! Comedian and Emmy-award winning Daily Show writer Elliott Kalan has devised the "Closely Watched Films" series, for "hardcore movie nerds and beginning cinephiles alike." And on Wednesday, December 7th, Kupperman will join him at 92Y Tribeca [ 200 Hudson Street, NYC ] for a look at the 1934 film The Scarlet Empress, starring Marlene Dietrich.  Together, they will discuss "rare bursts of Hollywood madness, von Sternberg’s Svengali relationship with Dietrich and whether historical accuracy is ever necessary." And based on Kupperman's latest, Mark Twain's Autobiography 1910-2010, I'm gonna say the answer…

Tattoo blog Tales of the Ink profiles one Laura Jane from Perth, Australia and her as-yet incomplete sleeve of Jaime Hernandez tattoos (and complete lack of pants): "To this day she continually returns to the comics, particularly the work of Jaime. He has a beautiful and simple outlook on life, and his work with only black ink portrays this perfectly." More angles at the link.