Fantagraphics Blog

The Easter bunny arrived early at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. Between now and Sunday, April 24 we’re offering a free copy of Usagi Yojimbo Color Special with each purchase of a Stan Sakai title. A real treat for comix fans of any age. There’s a misperception that Usagi Yojimbo is only for young readers. I confess I’ve fallen victim to this notion myself. Then I picked up the stunning Usagi Yojimbo Special Edition. I found myself thoroughly enthralled by Sakai’s seamless storylines and flawless artwork. For those unfamiliar with this sublime saga, Usagi Yojimbo is set in 17th century feudal Japan and follows the adventures of…

This interview was conducted by Fantagraphics' Eric Buckler. Thanks to Eric and Wilfred!

Wilfred Santiago has a striking cartooning style that he can mold to fit any of the diverse projects he has created or contributed to. He has worked on everything from Capes to XXX to the alternative In My Darkest Hour, his first graphic novel for Fantagraphics. His newest project, 21, is about one of the most inspiring individuals to ever play the sport of baseball: Roberto Clemente. Rob Neyer from ESPN.com said about the book: "Wilfred Santiago's 21 is brilliant and beautiful, challenging and lyrical…which seems exactly right, as Roberto Clemente was all those things and more." Santiago and Clemente are both natives of Puerto Rico.

ERIC BUCKLER: What is your personal relationship with baseball?

WILFRED SANTIAGO: As personal as any other sport. Growing up, you either did sports or you did not. You called a couple of neighbors and you played baseball, basketball or whatever.

It's been years since I played any sports at all, and it feels a bit weird not to have that today, so I got a kick out of "playing baseball" on 21.

BUCKLER: You are from Puerto Rico; what did legendary Puerto Rican baseball star Roberto Clemente mean to you as a kid, and how is he seen by Puerto Ricans?

SANTIAGO: As a kid, it was different. In Puerto Rico, he was more of a myth than anything else. Sure, 21 played great baseball, but it was his reputation as a good-hearted Christian that preceded his game: perhaps to the level of deity. And you get this sense, because that's all the adults talked about. I never saw him play; he had already died. For a time, I didn't get that I couldn't go to a game and watch him play, like he never left. But his image was almost everywhere: a coliseum with his name on it. I haven't been to the island for years so I couldn't tell you about his impact on the present.

BUCKLER: This book is a biography. How did you go about capturing what he was like when he was alive?

SANTIAGO: Dissection. Clemente was a private man. Once you go through the rudimentary written biographies and any available footage of the man, you can start shaping his presence.

There are two parts to Clemente: The athlete is one way on the field, and another way as a father and husband. Roberto doesn't have a secret identity per se. However, in order to write Spider-Man, you also need to depict his life as a regular teenager. Peter Parker in costume becomes someone else and so are athletes. And of course, the people that surrounded him, the period when he lived, these are things that shape all of us, which are the same things that shaped Clemente as a character. Many times you have to separate the myth from the person and sometimes you have to speculate within parameters. For example, it was a known fact that Clemente went to a certain restaurant, but you have to speculate about whether he had chicken or ribs.

While perusing the finery at the Georgetown Trailer Park Mall and imbibing in locally-brewed beer during this Saturday's Georgetown Art Attack, be sure to drop by Georgetown Records and Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. In addition to finding the world's greatest comix, the neighboring record store hosts a live ambient performance by Seattle experimental musician Rob Angus. I fondly recall Angus and his collaborator Jeff Grienke holding their own while opening for the Skeleton Crew — featuring legendary avant garde guitarist Fred Frith and cellist Tom Cora — in 1984 at my Graven Image gallery. In our current environment of forgettable and regrettable pop music, it's refreshing to…

Fantagraphics is excited to be taking part in the Second Annual Small Press Festival here in Seattle, a month-long series of events celebrating independent publishing that includes a show this Saturday, April 9th at the Richard Hugo House from 2:00 to 6:00 pm. Our office assistant Eric Buckler will be manning the table, so be sure to swing by and say hi! To help celebrate Seattle's vibrant book scene, we'll be featuring selections from local artists like Jim Woodring, Megan Kelso, Ellen Forney, Peter Bagge, Jim Blanchard and more! We'll also have a selection of half-price "damaged" books, chosen from…

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind – A Visual History from the Permanent Collection of Experience Music Project Edited by Jacob McMurray, Senior Curator of EMP 248-page full-color 7.5" x 9" softcover with DVD • $29.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-433-7 Previews & Ordering Info Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind visually documents the explosion of Grunge, the Seattle Sound, within the context of the underground punk subculture that was developing throughout the U.S. in the late 1970s and 1980s. This musical journey is represented entirely through the collection…

The 1968 Jim Flora painting Bell Island at Night has been turned into the latest limited edition art print to be offered by Jim Flora Art. It's a beaut — see all the specs and place your order here.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "…The Arctic Marauder [is] a gorgeous, sprawling tale that — thanks to translator Kim Thompson's finely tuned ear for tone — boasts chewy Vernian narration… Call it ur-steampunk — one of the works that laid the groundwork for a genre that would, just a few years later, fill bookstore shelves with soot, goggles and gutta percha. […] Tardi's arctic seascapes and undersea trenches are things to marvel over, as is his ability to evoke the eerie undulations of the Aurora borealis with just a few finely scratched lines. The Arctic Marauder is at…

The Small Press Expo announced a new batch of special guests for their 2011 show (September 10-11) today, including underground comix great Diane Noomin, whose upcoming collection Glitz-2-Go we'll be debuting at the show; and Johnny Ryan, whose upcoming third volume of Prison Pit will be on hand (as well as his new Angry Youth Comix collection Take a Joke). They join a lineup which already includes Jim Woodring for what's shaping up to be a great show!

In a recent spring cleaning at Casa Reynolds, I unearthed these original PEANUTS strips I created in the late-1970s at the tender age of 8 or 9. I apparently thought I was really onto something with the no pants gag. Or perhaps it just reveals something about my id that I'd rather not consider. Either way, I bet the folks at BOOM! are now kicking themselves for not adding me to the creative team of their new PEANUTS graphic novel.