Fantagraphics Blog

Jason has been honored in his native Norway with his own postage stamp! It's one of a series of 4 featuring artwork by contemporary Norwegian cartoonists in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the first comic to be published in Norway, as Jason explains on his blog. If we can just get the USPS to follow suit with some Love and Rockets or Eightball stamps, it might save them from bankruptcy!

The new issue of Booklist contains a review of Gil Jordan, Private Detective: Murder by High Tide by M. Tillieux, excerpted below: "Many fans have long known that there’s more to Franco-Belgian comics than Tintin and Asterix — and those who didn’t know will be delighted to learn it…. Dapper private detective Gil Jordan is the star of these funny adventure stories, aided by ex-burglar assistant Crackerjack, eccentric friend Inspector Crouton, and no-nonsense secretary Miss Midge. 'Murder by High Tide' sets an antiques dealer’s death at an irresistible location, on a tidal causeway leading to the decrepit Tower of the…

If you work at Fantagraphics long enough, you will invariably learn to marvel at the way that our fearless co-leader, Kim Thompson , has his hand in virtually everything that happens here. His ability to multitask is a source of endless conversation and awe. He juggles projects as easily as he does multiple languages. How does he do it? Well, thanks to this recent discovery in our archives, we now know the answer, and it turns out he owes it all to former Marvel Comics Editor Mark Gruenwald :     

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Another brilliant adaptation of a Jean-Patrick Manchette crime novel by Jacques Tardi. If you liked West Coast Blues, well, you absolutely will love [Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot]. If you are a crime fan and haven’t read that work yet, you really must as for whatever reason, it is something that tends to get overlooked. Yes, Tardi’s art style is completely unique and can take a little adjusting to if you’re only used to conventional American / UK styles, but give it a go because he brings gritty crime to brutal,…

(Photo via Theo Ellsworth) Larry's brief tribute has emboldened me to talk a little bit about Dylan Williams. I'd been reluctant to say anything here about Dylan's passing since my personal contact with him has been almost entirely as a customer of Sparkplug. I mostly know Dylan through people I work with who were close to him, and through his work as a publisher, which stands on its own as a tribute to his integrity, ethics, and love of the art form. Even knowing him second-hand I can't think of anyone I admire and respect more in this crazy business….

If you could color me excited I'd look a lot like the image above: the great Ron Regé Jr. is finishing up his new book The Cartoon Utopia, which (fanfare) we are publishing (tentatively planned for a late-2012 release, schedule TBD), and is looking for a little financial help to enable him to really buckle down on it. Slide him some cash and he will reward you with a drawing or somethin'.

This giant inflatable sculpture was created from a design by Jim Woodring by Pete Hamilton and company at Designs in Air, whose other work also has a decidedly Woodringesque flair. Via The Woodring Monitor.

(click for larger version) Word has slipped out and is spreading around the Twittersphere like wildfire, so we thought we'd make it official: following our wildly successful edition of A Drunken Dream and Other Stories by Moto Hagio, we will be publishing Hagio-sensei's The Heart of Thomas (Thomas no Shinzō /トーマの心臓 ), edited and translated by Matt Thorn, next year. The book is planned to be a $35.00, 8" x 10" 480-page hardcover, black and white with 16 pages of duotone (as seen above), and is currently scheduled for August 2012, subject to change. We'll be posting more information about…

  Cartoonist and comic book publisher Dylan Williams lost his battle with cancer on Saturday. The alternative comix community lost an effective and passionate advocate. Many Fantagraphics staff members feel the painful loss of a close friend. All of us at Fantagraphics offer Dylan's family and many friends our sincere condolences. We encourage you to visit the Sparkplug Comic Books website and order their wonderful comix in tribute.

(Click here for a larger image; click here for an alternate version!) Fantagraphics Books Presents: MICHAEL KUPPERMANTHE TWAIN IN THE MEMBRANE TOUR Celebrating the release of MARK TWAIN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY 1910-2010 "Here Mister Kupperman," he said, thrusting a manuscript into my hands. "Publish this, and let the world read of my adventures."  My name is Mark Twain, and I write these words to you in the good old days of August 2010. "What's that," you say? "Didn't you die a hundred years ago, you old coot?… The truth is I never died, but the same old rumors got exaggerated and then…