Fantagraphics Blog

There's a new Michael Jackson song called "Much Too Soon"? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! (Top image ganked from TMZ; link via Drew.)

(click image to enlarge) Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery curator Larry Reid takes a break from reading comix to be an interview subject in a documentary film about legendary Northwest rock photographer Jini Dellaccio. At the youthful age of 93, it's about time she got some recognition. Reid authored the introduction to Dellaccio's recent exhibition catalogue, and the documentary is being co-produced by Fantagraphics friend and neighbor Gabe Kean at Belle & Wissell. Note the cinematographer in the foreground is John Jeffcoat, director of the independent film "Outsourced," which was adapted into a new hit comedy show airing Thursdays on NBC…

• I'm going to go ahead and guess that the next panel says "NN" and going by the spot color that maybe this is a glimpse of the next issue of Ganges from Kevin Huizenga? Also new from Kevin: Fight or Run Post-its • Ray Fenwick Mascots originals for sale (including the abandoned original cover) • A short looped animation from Lilli Carré (video embedded above) And more Things to See from the past week: • Illustrations and other artwork at Matthias Lehmann's Bloc-Notes blog • Early strips, illustrations, outtakes and film reviews by Jason at his Cats Without Dogs…

Coming soon (and debuting this coming weekend at the Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Fest, where Johnny'll be) from our buds at the phoenix-like Pigeon Press: a softcover collection of Johnny Ryan's New Character Parade! Soon to join The Klassic Komix Klub and Comic Book Holocaust on your bookshelf. More info at Johnny's blog.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Profile: "Joyce Farmer is a surprise. The gentle, white-haired 71-year-old, whom you’d half expect to greet you at the door with a pan of steaming muffins, recently has emerged as one of the most provocative voices in the comics and graphic-literature landscape. Her debut book, the 208-page illustrated memoir Special Exits, chronicling the slow, freaky decline and ultimate death of her elderly parents, comes out next week from Fantagraphics carrying the enthusiastic endorsement of no less than R. Crumb. 'It’s a completely unique work,' he says. 'Nobody else will ever do anything like that…

Since opening in December 2006, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery has become a treasured civic asset. In addition to feeding Northwest residents' insatiable appetite for challenging contemporary culture, the space has attracted visitors from across the country and around the world. Saturday, December 11 marks the bookstore's 4th anniversary, and to celebrate the occasion we're once again hosting the season's most festive party featuring amazing music, comix, art, and more! The evening includes solo music sets by Zak Sally and Mark Pickerel. Zak was a founding member of alternative music legends Low and continues solo music endeavors while publishing great comics…

Flog exclusive (unless you're Drew's friend on Facebook)! Drew Friedman shared this new portrait of the great Will Elder, commissioned by Elder's son-in-law Gary VandenBergh (quite possibly related to the documentary on Elder he's directing). Click the image to embiggen it slightly.

If you're on our mailing list, the Fantagraphics Winter 2011 Catalog should be arriving in your mailbox right around now! If you're not on our list you can get your free copy by calling 1-800-657-1100 (206-524-1967 outside the U.S.) or by emailing us — or download it as a PDF (8.3 MB). It's 100 pages jam-packed with hundreds of new, upcoming, and backlist titles, including exciting exclusive items — A Century of Comic Strips, Comic Books, Graphic Novels and More!

Online Commentary & Diversions, back from the U.S. holiday: • Gift Guides: Rob McMonigal of Panel Patter goes through our new mail-order catalog (about which more soon!) to pick out his holiday gift-giving recommendations; The Beat and The Comics Reporter both post guides to holiday gift books with several of our books mentioned • Review: "Freakazoid producer Mitch Schauer's debut graphic novel Rip M.D. is a warm and spooky tale for monster kids of all ages. […] Drawn and inked in pitch-perfect EC Comics monster style, Rip M.D. pushes every one of my monster-loving buttons. The writing is witty, the…