Fantagraphics Blog

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Exuberantly expressive…, Santiago imbues his biography of famed Puerto Rican baseballer Roberto Clemente [21] with the furious energy of a Clemente triple. […] Santiago evokes the world Clemente lived in, from the dusty Puerto Rican streets where he played baseball with bottle caps and tree branches to his years as a perennial All-Star. The art is scratchy and abstract when it’s dealing with home and homesickness, and then hardens into the stuff of superhero comics whenever Clemente steps to the plate." – Noel Murray, The A.V. Club • Review: "…The Complete Peanuts: 1979-1980……

It's safe to say that Fantagraphics, and indeed the entire comics landscape, would not exist as we know it today without the efforts of comics scholar and archivist Bill Blackbeard. I never had the honor of interacting with the man, but his importance and influence reverberates throughout everything we do here, and not just the projects we had the good fortune to work on directly with him, such as the Krazy & Ignatz series he spearheaded. We are saddened by the loss and will strive to be worthy of his legacy. He is memorialized at The Comics Journal by R.C….

Details are slightly sketchy at this time, but there appears to be a new "Stinckers" (those vinyl stickers that Steven Weissman & Mats?! do) design or series of designs by Daniel Clowes for Meltdown Comics in L.A. Get down there and buy some — they're sure to go fast!

A great vintage photo of Peter Bagge & an unknown co-conspirator perpetrating some street art, shared by Kaz on Pete's Facebook wall. Pete, you scofflaw!

* Other People's Publications** Yeah, You Know Me.  It's sub-titled "A Love Story," but somehow Mister Wonderful still managed to depress the heck outta me. Such is the power of the one and only Daniel Clowes! Mister Wonderful was originally serialized in the New York Times Magazine back in 2007-8, and it was such an exhilirating weekly ride, that I'm glad someone collected it into a nice little hardbound book, complete with extra bonus material. If you didn't read the online strips a few years ago (I can't even imagine…), the "Mister Wonderful" in question is Marshall, an unemployed divorcé,…

The second printing of our smash hit Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s is in stores now, and the fine folks at Diamond Comics Distributors have posted 9 delightfuly grisly pages from the book on their Previews website. Grab a snack and check it out!

Tim Hensley and Richard Sala are among the artists donating artwork to "Kenji's Light of Hope," an online art sale beginning today with 100% of the proceeds being donated to the Igari Music Therapy Research Center, supporting their mission to provide music therapy to individuals with developmental disabilities and the elderly in the quake-stricken area of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The sale "is dedicated to Kenji, a young man with Down syndrome, who is a keen percussionist at Igari MTRC. Kenji's home was badly flooded during the tsunami, and he was rescued with his family after 3 days. Let's ensure that…

In recognition of yesterday's bunny-related holiday and creator Stan Sakai's recent Cultural Ambassador honor, we're offering Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition box set at a one-day discount of 25% off, today (April 25, 2011) only! If the Easter Bunny left some extra green in your basket you'll want to hop (yeah yeah) on this special deal!

Holy Moses, look at this magnificent Eleanor Davis-illustrated layout of spring-themed poems from yesterday's New York Times.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Stephen DeStefano is nominated for the 2011 Eisner Awards for his artwork on this book [Lucky in Love Book 1] and understandably so. […] His style on this book works so well, the feel and mood of the 1940's is dutifully established. The exaggeration in his cartoony style on this book especially with the characters is both hilarious and beautiful. From the linework, to the panel and page design, DeStefano just did an amazing job. Simply beautiful work here. The kind of work that leaves you lingering over every little line or design."…