Fantagraphics Blog

Two of the most accomplished cartoonists in America, Peter Bagge and James Sturm, will speak and sign copies of their newly minted graphic novels at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, April 17, 6:00 to 8:00 PM.   Seattle’s Peter Bagge is the architect of the ubiquitous alternative comics genre. His compelling comic book serial HATE chronicled the exploits of Buddy Bradley and his gang of lovable losers through the rise and fall of the grunge era. Going beyond mere satire, Bagge’s observations helped fashion the aesthetics and attitudes of the only significant youth movement to emerge from the Pacific…

Our Free Comic Book Day offering this year, Weathercraft and Other Unusual Tales by Jim Woodring, is an absolute doozy! It features an excerpt of Jim's new graphic novel Weathercraft along with out-of-print and never-before-published "Frank" material, a centerfold of a previously unpublished Woodring charcoal drawing (like the ones in Seeing Things), and other surprises. It's an absolute must-have for any Woodring fan! Believe me — I've seen the proofs and I can't wait to get my hands on the final product. At the FCBD website, you can read an interview with the comic's editor, our own Jason T. Miles,…

A couple weekends back I sat down on a Friday night and read thru printed proofs of Tim Hensley's WALLY GROPIUS and was absolutely blown away. So much so that immediately afterward I emailed most of my coworkers to tell them how much I envied the pleasure that awaited them in reading the book in its entirety. I was so excited by a Fanta book that I was pimping it to my own coworkers. That's like telling your pregnant wife that, boy, she's really going to love that new baby that's on its way. Probably a bit unnecessary. But I couldn't help myself….

Nope, it's not a prank, a jape, a jest, shenanigans or even tomfoolery! Now through the end of the day on Monday, April 5, take 15% off your entire purchase by using the following coupon code at checkout: NOFOOLING And don't forget, we still have a large selection of backlist titles at great discounts of 1/3 to 1/2 off the cover prices in our Clearance Sale and Closeout Deals sections, plus a good assortment of 99-Cent Comics — and you'll get an extra 15% off the discounted prices during this sale!

Daily clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources: • At the Cold Heat blog, Frank Santoro (shown) and Ben Jones's layouts for the story in Mome 18 • Paul Hornschemeier's Green Day-on-Broadway illustration (and original line art) for his weekly WSJ spot • At What Things Do, the concluding half of "Look Out for Big Della" from White Flower Day by Steven Weissman • Too many creme eggs? How could I not post a fat bunny by Renee French? • Now that Jon Adams is going to be in Mome I should start featuring his webcomic…

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "The quality of [Gilbert] Hernandez's cartooning is unassailable. Part of the reason [High Soft Lisp] is so hard to quantify is his uncanny ability to shift focus on a moment's notice, effortlessly jumping from one character to another, suggesting whole thought processes and histories with just a handful of images." – Jason Michelitch, Comics Alliance • Review: "The sort of horror Columbia presents in Pim & Francie works even better without the trappings of recitation and the cause and effect on which they depend. This sort of dread-inducing fright functions without regard to the…

The hits keep coming to our signature Seattle showroom as Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery heats up with enough amazing art, crazy comix, and amusing music to keep everyone entertained.   Saturday, April 10 features music by our resident warehouse composers Martin Bland, Tom Price and friends in the dissonant Zinjanthropus, joined by the audio assault of Ajax in Ardent Vein. Outside, our annual Spring Cleaning Sidewalk Sale will be accompanied by the sounds of 20 eccentric marching bands from across the country in Honk Fest West. Defies description. Really. Don’t miss it. Oh yes, it’s also the infamous Georgetown Art…

We just announced that the just-arrived High Soft Lisp by Gilbert Hernandez is available exclusively to Fantagraphics customers with this signed bookplate as a FREE bonus: Well, we have a couple more Beto books now available with signed bookplates for the first time — the Luba omnibus hardcover: …and The Troublemakers: Not only that, we've restocked with a fresh supply of signature plates for the volumes Heartbreak Soup, Human Diastrophism, Beyond Palomar, and Chance in Hell. Gilbert was a trouper and plowed through a stack of these while he was in town earlier this month. Each bookplate is printed on…