Fantagraphics Blog

We've uploaded over 100 photos from the 2010 Bumbershoot festival to our Flickr page, including views of the entire Counterculture Comix exhibit, Jim Woodring's appearance in the "MeTube" program, and Tony Millionaire's unforgettable talk. You can view the photos a few different ways, including a slideshow; even though it's a bit of a pain to navigate I recommend browsing the photos manually, choosing "view all sizes" for each and selecting to view the exhibit photos at original size for the greatest detail. Below, just a few highlights: Local TV celeb John Keister poses with his 1984 portrait by Lynda Barry….

In response to my previous Flog post Eric plopped the new issue of the Oxford American onto my desk yesterday morning and not only does it include comics and illustrations by Drew Weing and Josh Simmons as previously reported, it also has Dame Darcy, Michael Kupperman, Eric Haven, Josh Neufeld, Jeremy Tinder and other, less-familiar talents. Let's hear it for comics in lit mags!

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: Publishers Weekly's Calvin Reid and Heidi MacDonald run down some "Graphic Novels as Gifts" suggestions, including Norman Pettingill: Backwoods Humorist ("A wooden cover introduces the amazing outsider art of Pettingill, who crafted detailed postcards of wildlife and rustic humor") and A Drunken Dream and Other Stories by Moto Hagio ("Haunting stories of longing, memory, and love from the legendary manga-ka who changed the face of Japanese comics"). • Review: "When experienced animators turn to creating comics or illustrating children’s books, I usually find the results successful and quite satisfying. That’s certainly the case…

You can see Howard Stern's blurb for Drew Friedman's Too Soon? right there on the front cover, and this morning Howard plugged the book on his Sirius satellite radio show, captured on video and posted to Facebook by Liz Belmont. The upshot: "Very good. Love that guy. … I think Drew Friedman's my favorite artist. … I still to this day don't know how he draws like that. It's fabulous." Update: Now it's on YouTube and embedded below!

Question, video, and answer ("NOTHING.") courtesy Ben Schwartz.

Your cautionary tale of the day, from the New York Times. Speaking of Rusty, if you're in NYC, don't miss Chris Ware's art show opening this Thursday, Sept. 16, at the Adam Baumgold Gallery. 

  Right Thing the Wrong Way: The Story of Highwater Books October 1st-October 24th Opening Reception October 1st 6-9pm Fourth Wall Project132 Brookline AveBoston, MA 02215 For seven years (and one miscounted eighth anniversary party) Highwater Books was snobby, high-concept, iconoclastic, poorly-business modeled publishing company that ran itself into the ground. Highwater published books late, promised them and never published them at all and even withheld its books from distributors on principle. The company asked its artists to fold mini-comics and stand behind convention tables and sell their wares to a public that did not know what to make of…

Drew Friedman will be signing TOO SOON? at the Ocean County Library outdoor Book Fest in New Jersey on Sat., Sept. 25th — along with John Lennon's former lover May Pang and the editors of THE ONION, among many others! Saturday, Sept. 25, 11 – 3PM Ocean County Library Toms River Branch 101 Washington St., Toms River, NJ 08753 

 

Esther Pearl Watson is participating in a number of events in the coming weeks, beginning with a discussion of her graphic novel Unlovable along with a slideshow of process, inspiration and oddities at the Houston Public Library on Saturday, September 18th at 2:30 PM as part of Graphic Novel Day. Looks like a fun event: Then, Esther will be speaking at the West Hollywood Book Fair on Sunday, September 26th at 1:30 PM. The event is free of charge and features more than 300 artists and writers and 150 exhibitors.   Last but not least, Esther has some new work available through Webb Gallery.