Fantagraphics Blog

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Interview: The Minneapolis City Pages talks to Zak Sally about the "2nd Annual Report," a big old hootenanny celebrating and benefitting his small press imprint La Mano which took place at Eclipse Records in Minneapolis last week (which we found out about too late to Flog, dang it): "La Mano is what it is, the stuff I love. A celebration of stuff that people make and create by hand. Last year was great, and if every year there could be a sort of one spot where all that stuff is able to happen in, I'm…

You know the old saying: "If you remember the 60s, you weren't there." For me this cliché also applies to most of the 80 and 90s. Rampant grunge nostalgia has given rise to no fewer than a half-dozen recent or soon-to-be-published books on the subject. As a peripheral player in Seattle's proto-grunge punk scene, I've been asked repeatedly to recount the specifics of my misspent youth to a cadre of eager young "rock historians." Hell, I'm lucky if I remember what happened last week, much less 25 years ago. Thankfully we had Peter Bagge to chronicle the entire era. His…

Our fearless leader Gary Groth will be traveling to Australia next week to participate in the GRAPHIC festival at Sydney Opera House. Gary will be presenting a special "Focus on Fantagraphics" talk on Sunday, August 8, at 11 AM, giving an overview of the company and its mission from the early days of The Comics Journal through the present day. Apparently there's currently a 2-for-1 deal on tickets for the session if you use the code "comic" when booking online or by phone at (02) 9250 7777. If any of our antipodean friends have any suggestions as to where in…

  Robert Pollard has a new art exhibit in NYC on August 27/28. Its open to the public, so come on down! As writer Rick Moody put it in his introduction to Fantagraphics' TOWN OF MIRRORS: THE REASSEMBLED IMAGERY OF ROBERT POLLARD, "The visual art of Robert Pollard … is uncanny, moving, strange, and it summons a dark melancholy…. We are lucky to have these riddles to ponder and unlock." THE 45 SPACE in New York will host "The Public Hi-Fi Balloon," an exhibit of collages by Robert Pollard incorporating pictures, words, and sound on August 27 and 28, 2010. Pollard, whose…

Brother Mario made a surprise appearance with the rest of the Hernandez clan for their Love and Rockets signing on Friday morning, which I only managed to capture with my crummy, crummy cameraphone. Moto Hagio was joined for the second half of her signing by Carol Tyler, who brought flowers swiped from outside the convention hall. Andrei Molotiu and Stephen DeStefano made their first Comic-Con signing appearances with us. Andrei, though best known for his work with abstract comics, is also a whiz with the representational sketch, as he proved in my sketchbook. Stephen obliged another fan with a 'Mazing…

Moto Hagio signed in for her second day at our booth with a drawing of her cat Leo, who also stars in her most recent Japanese release. It's a bit hard to tell here, but the line for Hagio-san goes all the way around the side of the booth. She's accompanied by translator/editor Matt Thorn. Joining Hagio-san for the first half of her two-hour signing was This Side of Jordan author Monte Schulz. Hagio-san drew many beautiful sketches for appreciative fans! Apparently this practice is rare at Japanese comics conventions, but Hagio-san was happy to do it.

As the con started getting busier on Friday, you might notice a few gaps in the photo coverage: Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s was a late-arriving con debut and, before too long, a con sell-out. Our annual visit with Matt Groening is always a highlight of the show. See ya next year, Matt! The only other celebs I spotted at the booth on Friday were Luigi & Mario here. We knew Prison Pit Book 2 would be a hit; we didn't anticipate being down to our last 2 copies by 4:30 on Friday! Thanks Johnny Ryan…

I thought I could keep up with Online Commentary & Diversions while at Comic-Con. Ha ha ha ha ha. • Coming Attractions: At Robot 6, Chris Mautner takes a look through the 46 (!!!) upcoming books listed in our Fall/Winter catalog (note: listed release dates may no longer be accurate and are all subject to change) • History/Profile/Review: "What A Drunken Dream reveals is an author whose childhood passion for Frances Hodgson Burnett, L.M. Montgomery, and Isaac Asimov profoundly influenced the kind of stories she chose to tell as an adult. … For those new to Hagio’s work, Fantagraphics has…

Peter Bagge makes his return to Reason Magazine with part 1 of a brand-new three part, 12 page comic biography of author and critic Isabel Paterson. Hooray!

From ROLLING STONE.