Fantagraphics Blog

Weathercraft by Jim Woodring 104-page black & white 7" x 9.75" hardcover • $19.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-340-8 Ships in: May 2010 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now For over 20 years now, Jim Woodring has delighted, touched, and puzzled readers around the world with his lush, wordless tales of “Frank.” Weathercraft is Woodring’s first full-length graphic novel set in this world — indeed, Woodring’s first graphic novel, period! — and it features the same hypnotically gorgeous linework and mystical iconography. As it happens, Frank has only a brief supporting appearance in Weathercraft, which actually stars Manhog, Woodring’s pathetic, brutish everyman (or everyhog),…

It was our great pleasure to once again host hometown hero Peter Bagge at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery and to welcome the great James Sturm all the way from Vermont for a joint signing and book release on Saturday evening. Unfortunately some technical difficulties put the kibosh on James's planned multimedia presentation but it was a lively evening regardless, with a great turnout of fans and Seattle cartooning luminaries alike. Above: David Lasky chats with James, Fantagraphics' Janice Headley rocks the register, and Peter takes a breather. Check out some more photos on our Flickr page.

Friday evening means a new batch of online strips: Salem F.D. to the rescue in this week's The House of No by Derek Van Gieson… …Wedgie receives some "wisdom" in this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan…. …and this week's is by far the weirdest installment of Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman yet.

Daily clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources: • Paul Hornschemeier teases his contribution to Marvel's forthcoming Strange Tales 2, and does Denzel for the WSJ; also, he'll be at C2E2 tomorrow signing at the Chicago Comics booth! • Johnny Ryan posts this and more Prison Pit fan art by Matt Furie for The Boys Are Back in Town art show at GRSF — dear Johnny, how about a series of Cold Heat Special-style Prison Pit Specials? • Lumpy Noodle drops some Bible on you, courtesy of Steven Weissman • Fletcher Henderson, 1942, by Jim Flora…

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "When most people try to employ dream logic in their work they fail miserably but Jim [Woodring] is great at it. The closest thing to a peer he might have is David Lynch but even that’s a stretch. Jim Woodring is the only Jim Woodring and no one has done what he does except for him. … There’s not much point in trying to sum up the story of [Weathercraft]. There’s no text, the art is beautiful, and you’re totally consumed by the world he’s created and you exist inside it while you’re reading…

Craig Yoe talks about his book The Great Anti-War Cartoons at Politics and Prose in Washington DC at 7PM tonight — that's in 2 hours! More info here.

Krazy & Ignatz 1916-1918: Love in a Kestle or Love in a Hut by George Herriman 160-page black & white/color 9" x 12" softcover • $24.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-316-3 Ships in May 2010 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now When Fantagraphics launched our collection of Krazy Kat Sunday strips back in 2002, we picked up with the 10th and 11th years of the legendary strip (1925-1926) because another publisher had already collected the first nine during the 1980s and 1990s. But now, with that publisher long gone and their Krazy Kat collections fetching record prices (some over $100!) among collectors, it’s time…

Daily clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources: • What Things Do has started excerpting strips from The Pin-Up Art of Dan DeCarlo. • Johnny Ryan illustrates a short story by Gary Fairfull for Vice • Bill Griffith recently posted his "Top 40 List on Comics and Their Creation" on Facebook and it's been making the rounds; you can see the whole thing at Cartoon SNAP • This week's "I, Anonymous" spot by Steven Weissman • Tony Millionaire presents an all-tattoo Maakies this week • Street sketching with soprano soundtrack, by Frank Santoro • Sen. Mitch…

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Interview: At Graphic Novel Reporter, Peter Gutiérrez has a Q&A with Jaime Hernandez & Todd Hignite, author of The Art of Jaime Hernandez: "I was a little surprised to find out that my approach to sex in comics is different from the norm. I've always tried to treat it as naturally as somebody talking about having to buy groceries, and I guess it paid off. Who knew?" • Review: "As for this book, yes, it's completely lovely, gorgeously designed by Jacob Covey. Its contents are so damn delightful that within one week of finishing reading…