Fantagraphics Blog

See a nice juicy 10-page excerpt from Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition by Stan Sakai at Comics Alliance, whose David Brothers writes "Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition… is a release worth paying attention to. It often flies under the radar, but Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo has been one of the most consistently well-written and well-drawn comics over the past twenty-five years. Sakai has created a long-running series that doesn't need jumping on points or events to tell good stories. He simply creates classic tales, month-in, month-out."

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: What I Did by Jason 272-page black & white/duotone 6.5" x 8.75" hardcover • $24.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-414-6 Ordering Info & Previews A matching volume to 2009’s Almost Silent, What I Did collects three of Jason’s acclaimed 1990s graphic novels into a handsome, definitive omnibus format. "Hey, Wait…," which was the first of Jason's books to be translated to English, tells the story of two childhood friends. A dreadful event midway through the story changes their lives forever, and the story becomes the summary of lives lived, wasted, and lost. Jason's sparse dialogue,…

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: The Littlest Pirate King by David B. 48-page full-color 8.5" x 11.25" hardcover • $16.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-403-0 Ordering Info & Previews For decades they have roamed the seas, this shipload of undead pirates. They are desperate to die, but every time they try to dash their ship to splinters and end their miserable existence, a malevolent God scoops them out of danger. And so they have no choice but to continue to sail the seas, looting and killing. Until one day, having exterminated yet another ship of the living, they come across…

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: Little Maakies on the Prairie by Tony Millionaire 120-page black & white 12" x 5" hardcover • $19.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-392-7 Ordering Info & Previews Collecting 2 years of strips 2007-2009. More booze-soaked buffoonery, lyrical passages, violence, sentimentality, and poop jokes with Drinky Crow & Uncle Gabby. Lowbrow yuks and elegant cartooning from comics' true drunken master. "Tony Millionaire’s Maakies does not appear on the comics pages of daily newspapers, but lurks darkly instead in our nation’s alternative weeklies… "Uncle Gabby, a monkey, and Drinky Crow, an alcoholic crow, are characters of pure,…

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: Destroy All Movies!!!: The Complete Guide to Punks on Film Zack Carlson & Bryan Connolly, editors; Foreword by Richard Hell 556-page 8.5" x 10.75" flexi-bound softcover; two-color, with 48 pages of full color • $35.00ISBN: 978-1-60699-363-7 Ordering Info & Previews The most dazzlingly insane film reference book of all time, Destroy All Movies!!! is an informative, hilarious, and impossibly complete guide to every goddamn appearance of a punk (or new waver!) to hit the screen in the 20th Century. This wildly comprehensive eyeball-slammer features A-to-Z coverage of over 1100 feature films…

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: Castle Waiting Vol. 2 384-page black & white 5.75" x 8.25" hardcover • $29.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-405-4 Ordering Info & Previews With its long-awaited second volume, this witty and sublimely drawn fantasy eases into a relaxed comedy of manners as Lady Jain settles into her new life in Castle Waiting. Unexpected visitors result in the discovery and exploration of a secret passageway, not to mention an epic bowling tournament. A quest for ladies’ underpants, the identity of Pindar’s father, the education of Simon, Rackham and Chess arguing about the “manly arts,” and an…

Click for improved/additional viewing and possible artist commentary at the sources: • A John Pham sketchbook drawing posted by Jeaux Janovsky • Johnny Ryan painted this Le Merde "Burgerbuns" figurine for an art show at Super7 — more info at Johnny's blog • At Repaneled, Derek Van Gieson does one from Gilbert Hernandez and one from Jaime Hernandez • Look closely and you'll see that Carol Tyler hatched in the shadow of her bouquet on her Artists Alley table at Comic-Con in San Diego, as posted on her Screened-in Porch blog And more Things to See from the past week:…

For any Americans out there who remain ignorant of the cultural currency of Jacques Tardi and his creation Adèle Blanc-Sec in his native France and/or require proof beyond the recent Luc Besson film adaptation: our friend and continental correspondent Marianne Goldin, currently living overseas in France, sends along this photo of packages of Adèle Blanc-Sec brand sugar at the local market. Looks like there's more Tardi Adèle artwork on the indivudually-wrapped lumps, too. Kim Thompson comments, "Ha! Funny that she's possibly the least 'sweet' heroine in comics history. ADELE LEMONS would be more like it." I suppose it's appropriate inasmuch…

Pages from The Exquisite Book are now available as individual archival, bamboo-mounted prints: you got your Ray Fenwick, Lilli Carré, Esther Pearl Watson, Anders Nilsen, Jordan Crane, and Paul Hornschemeier, plus dozens more.  (Via Paul's blog.)

Lilli Carré provides the cover illustrations for a new W.W. Norton edition of Very Good, Jeeves! by P.G. Wodehouse. Lilli has the full wraparound as well as preparatory artwork and commentary at her blog.