Fantagraphics Blog

For Immediate Release: FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS ANNOUNCES THE ACQUISITION OF SIGNIFICANT OBJECTS STORY COLLECTION SEATTLE, WA, JUNE 9, 2010 — Since its debut, Significant Objects, the bold online inquiry into the relationship between narrative and the value of everyday objects, has been the subject of speculation by everyone from NPR to litbloggers to The New York Times' Freakonomics crew. Some theorized about the project's hypothesis, others about its methods and results. Some just wanted to know: Will there be a book? This last question can now be answered: Yes! A collection of one hundred Significant Objects stories, seductively illustrated by top artists, will be…

Clips & strips from the last few days — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources: • Michael Kupperman's cover art for the book Why Not a Spider Monkey Jesus? by A.G. Pasquella • Gilbert Hernandez fanzine art from 1981 as unearthed by Frank Santoro at Comics Comics • ComicsAlliance presents selections from the 1991 Amazing Heroes Swimsuit Special • From Jim Woodring, Frank, Fran and the skullfruit • Leon explores the mystery of Poffo's Hat in this Amazing Facts and Beyond with Leon Beyond by Kevin Huizenga • Another 1975 flashback from Bob Fingerman • This week's "I, Anonymous"…

Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: Library Journal's Martha Cornog names You'll Never Know, Book 1: A Good and Decent Man by C. Tyler as one of "12 Graphic Novels for Father's Day": "A newly single parent trying to understand her middle-aged self, Carol Tyler sets out to find the real human being and the real soldier behind her World War II veteran dad's familiar and taciturn persona. Her colorful, historically detailed art re-creates the wartime period expressively, and this first in a trilogy inspires curiosity and empathy for those who serve but don't talk about it much. Everything is…

  JIM WOODRING'S WEATHERCRAFT TOUR   Jim Woodring's WEATHERCRAFT tour kicks into high-gear this week with two events in the California Bay Area on Wednesday and Thursday. At each event, Jim will entertain audiences a fantastic slide show and discussion of the hidden meanings behind every mysterious idea and totem in WEATHERCRAFT. And in Brooklyn, on June 18, New Yorkers will have the opportunity to view all of the original artwork from the book, as well as many preliminary pieces that went into making it. 06/09/10 | 7:30PM • Berkeley CA •  PEGASUS & PENDRAGON BOOKSTORE 06/10/10 | 7:30PM • San Francisco CA • THE BOOKSMITH…

  This is a somewhat cheesy post, but hey, I'm desperate. I'm selling 300 Gasoline Alley Sunday newspaper tearsheets by Frank King from 1935-1950 on eBay and you should bid on them! I'm also selling a copy of COMIX 2000 from L'Association and a Crumb portfolio. Baby needs a new pair of shoes!  

Catching up with Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Over the last few decades, Jim Wood­ring has been drawing a series of wordless, blissfully cruel slapstick fables, set in a world of grotesque entities and psychedelic minarets: half unshakable nightmare, half Chuck Jones cartoon filtered through the Bhagavad Gita. Weathercraft… flows so smoothly and delightfully from each image to the next that it’s easy to ignore that it has its own idea of sense, which may not jibe with anybody else’s." – Douglas Wolk, The New York Times • Review: "For those who find the work involving enough, Weathercraft will…

  Via The Comics Journal: On May 27, 2010, editor Ben Schwartz and contributors R. Fiore (The Comics Journal, tcj.com), Brian Doherty (Reason), Sammy Harkham (Kramers Ergot) and Joe Matt (Spent) discussed the book The Best American Comics Criticism. This recording is courtesy of Skylight Books.

Back from a short vacation with this week's strips, normally posted on Fridays: Blecky is traumatized in this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan… …and Joe gets a manicure in this week's Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman.

I'm back from taking a couple of days off and catching up on things that I missed during that time, including the arrival of new comics in stores last Thursday (a day late due to the U.S. holiday), including: Tales Designed to Thrizzle #6 by Michael Kupperman 32-page full-color 6.75" x 9.5" comic book • $4.95ISBN: 978-1-60699-422-1 "The best alternative comic book series right now? It's certainly some of the funniest comics going, even if I have little to say other than apparently spout broad, positive clichés on its behalf," said Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter last week. Hopefully…

C. Tyler has a couple of great public appearances coming up in Cincinnati and environs over the next couple of weeks. First she'll be reading from her book You’ll Never Know Book 1: A Good and Decent Man at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Sunday, June 13 at 12:30, with a book signing to follow. Then, she'll be presenting a comics workshop for teens called "Rated G for Graphic" at the Clermont County Public Library's Ameila & Williamsburg branches on Monday & Tuesday, June 21-22. Space is limited — you can pre-register at the library website.