Fantagraphics Blog

As you may know, we recently relocated our warehouse and shipping operation to a new facility. Our statuesque and erudite Warehouse Manager Nico Vassilakis has asked me to pass along the following message to you — yes, you — the public: Here's a fun thing to do. We're looking to beautify our new warehouse. And YOU can help. PLEASE DONATE your comic/artwork to the FANTAGRAPHICS WAREHOUSE. Any size, any style, anything goes. Everything accepted. It all goes up on our walls. Mail stuff directly to: FANTAGRAPHICS WAREHOUSE Attn: Permanent Gallery Museum 79 South Horton Suite 170 (the gate) Seattle, WA…

Chicago is a city with a rich comics tradition and next month the city's Museum of Contemporary Art celebrates four current innovators in the medium with a can't-miss gallery exhibit titled New Chicago Comics: "For the month of January, the MCA presents an exhibition of the work of four young, Chicago-based cartoonists and animators: Jeffrey Brown, Lilli Carré, Paul Hornschemeier, and Anders Nilsen. In their own unique styles each of these artists expands and challenges the conventions of a visual art form for which Chicago continues to be renowned: the comic book." The exhibit runs January 8-30, 2011. See more…

The latest treasures from our attic (literally) to be listed now on eBay: three incredible prints featuring artwork by master illustrator Frank Kelly Freas. Click each image to go straight to each listing or here to see all of them. These auctions end less than 72 hours from the time of this posting!

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: The Manga Critic's Katherine Dacey names Moto Hagio's A Drunken Dream and Other Stories the Best Manga of 2010 (after previously nominating it for Best Graphic Novel of 2010 at Flashlight Worthy) • List: Emily Pullen of fave L.A. bookstore Skylight Books names Stephen Dixon's What Is All This? as one of her Favorites from 2010: "I have a crush on this book: the cover, the paper, the heavy ink. Touch it. Read two stories. Try not to bring it home with you. Fail." • Review: "The Complete Peanuts 1977-1978 showcases an era…

I just read over at The Comics Reporter that the next issue of the great underground comix zine Mineshaft is coming soon. The issue features new work by R. Crumb and a host of others (see above), and cover art by Pat Moriarity, no stranger to suggestive covers with several of our Tijuana Bibles volumes under his belt. Go, subscribe!

Dang, the new ish of Maximum Rocknroll looks like an epic must-get, featuring interviews with Jaime Hernandez & Gary Panter and a whole mess more. (Thanks to Isotope Comics for the Twitter tip-off… "twip-off"? Ugh, no, scratch that.)

"Meaningless" is a one-panel comic written by Tony Groutsis and drawn by Gabrielle Bell, who describes it as "a brief fictional exchange between Anders Nilsen and Kim Deitch." Click through to see what they're saying.

Seems like the Crumbs aren't the only family of talented alternative cartoonists. Jim and Mary Woodring, together with their son Max, all have pieces in the Friends of the Nib "Medieval Thinkers" exhibition at Fantagraphics Bookstore this Saturday, December 11 — part of the store's festive fourth anniversary celebration. Of course the Deitch family – father Gene and siblings Simon and Kim — qualify as well. We're thrilled to include an original drawing by Kim Deitch in the exhibition. In addition, the event will mark the debut of the Kim Deitch File, a portfolio published on Zak Sally's La Mano…

(Click image to enlarge) We're not entirely sure if this recently-sold painting by Ashland, OR artist Teresa Sloven is an homage or appropriation of Charles Burns's artwork for Sub Pop 7. We do know that you can see the real deal at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. In addition to Burns original drawings and prints, we have a rare copy of the Sub Pop 9 cassette and zine on display. This amazing show ends tomorrow, December 8, followed by the Friends of the Nib "Medieval Thinkers" exhibition reception and fabulous fourth anniversary celebration on Saturday, December 11. Don't miss either.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: At Attentiondeficitdisorderly, Sean T. Collins names Megan Kelso's Artichoke Tales ("a thoughtful fantasy about the fallout of war") one of his Comics of the Year of the Day • List: Look how many of our publications were listed when The Comics Reporter asked comics pros to "Name Five And Only Five Comics Publications From 2010 You Liked" • Lists: Readers of Comic Book Resources have voted Jaime Hernandez #49 on their Top 50 Comic Book Artists, and Gilbert Hernandez and Daniel Clowes #49 and #48 respectively on their Top 50 Comic Book Writers…