Fantagraphics Blog

[In this installment of our series of Editors Notes, Kim Thompson interviews himself (in a format he's dubbed "AutoChat") about Sibyl-Anne Vs. Ratticus by R. Macherot, now available to pre-order from us and coming soon to a comics shop near you. This edition is so epic, we've split it into two parts, with Part 2 appearing tomorrow! – Ed.] Okay, Sibyl-Anne is being released kind of as the other half of a matched set with Gil Jordan, which I know you’ve been a fan of since you were a kid. I assume this is another childhood favorite you’re finally getting…

Well this seems apropos for the 6/9 edition of Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Fermentation and fog: That's the atmosphere in which Dave McKean's graphically charged Celluloid breathes and pants and gasps…. You ever wonder what Lynd Ward would've wrought in full color if he'd been doubly possessed by the god Eros and William Gibson's Wintermute?… Let's not dally with euphemism: McKean's vivid, wordless dreamscape isn't simply erotic, it's downright pornographic. But with a masterpiece like this, Dictionary.com's going to have to redefine 'pornography.'" – Wayne Alan Brenner, The Austin Chronicle

Good grief! We just received another shipment of Prince Valiant books and once again some of them got slightly marred in transit. Thus we are continuing to offer them to you at half off the cover price! This includes Vol. 1 (1937-1938), Vol. 2 (1939-1940) and the new Vol. 3 (1941-1942). As before they're perfectly readable — just cosmetically less than perfect. They're so cheap! Please help us get rid of them once and for all! Click the links above to order.

Wilfred Santiago posted this montage of photos showing progress on a gorgeous new painting of Roberto Clemente, subject of his graphic biography 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente, over at the 21 Facebook page. Can't wait for further progress. (ETA: You can check out a higher-res version on Wilfred's Flickr.)

Here's the second installment of Rain Taxi's videos of Jim Woodring wielding his giant pen at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis last weekend with an assist from Zak Sally. "In this clip, Woodring discusses the self-imposed rules he uses when inking with the mammoth instrument and completes the outlining process before removing the nib," say they. To be continued.

I had a great time at OCX last weekend. I'm too caught up in catching up to write any kind of report, except to say that the convention is tiny and splendidly run, Norwegians are all wonderful people, the weather was exactly like Seattle except the days were longer (the shots outside Jason's gallery opening were at something like nine o'clock at night as I recall) and any cartoonist who gets invited by OCX, go, just go! All photos by Lynn Emmert except as noted. Jason had a small art show opening during the convention, featuring priceless original art elegantly…

I've just been loving all these Fantagraphics fashion posts I'm getting to write lately!  Keep it up, designers!!! First up is this incredible pair of rare Roberto Clemente sneakers! Whoa. Here's the auction listing for 'em, and at that price, you better not be wearing them on the field! [ Thanks to Anonymous Works for the tip! ] Curious about that first pair, I dug around a little online, and came across these beauts, and some more information. Apparently, back in the 1970's, Clemente lent his name to this brand of Super Pro sneakers, sold exclusively in his homeland of…

  Sibyl-Anne Vs. Ratticus by R. Macherot 64-page full-color 8.5" x 11.25" hardcover • $16.95ISBN: 978-1-60699-452-8 Ships in: July 2011 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Sibyl-Anne and her fiancé Boomer live in blissful peace in the French countryside until the evil rat Ratticus, evicted from his previous residence, sets his eye on the quiet acre that the couple share with their friends (a porcupine, a crow, and a rabbit). After a hilariously unsuccessful attempt to infiltrate the quiet little community in drag (which leaves a member of the cast smitten, Some Like It Hot-style), the devious Ratticus engineers the…