Fantagraphics Blog

It's today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Commentary: At Manga Worth Reading, Johanna Draper Carlson comments on our recent manga publishing news, saying "I’m expecting great things." • Interview: At The Comics Journal, part 3 of Matt Thorn's Moto Hagio interview from TCJ #269 • Interview: On KBOO Community Radio's "Words and Pictures" program, host S.W. Conser welcomes Dame Darcy for a half-hour chat • History: At Comics Comics, Jeet Heer gives a brief overview and critical commentary on Fantagraphics anthologies throughout the years: "Any complete history of Fantagraphics will have to tell the story of how they slowly learned…

 

   … and he's got the pictures to prove it! More details at the MoCCA site.

Now arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: Unlovable Vol. 2 by Esther Pearl Watson 416-page two-color 5.75" x 5.75" hardcover • $22.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-314-9Add to Cart • More Info & Previews Loosely based on a teenager’s diary from the 1980s found in a gas-station bathroom, Unlovable is the remarkable story of Tammy Pierce, as filtered through the pen of Los Angeles artist Esther Pearl Watson. This second and concluding volume picks up where the first volume left off (winter break) and finishes Tammy’s tragicomic sophomore year of high school in 1985. Tammy has built a devoted following over the…

J.R. Williams has been killin' it on his flickr "blog" with a new series of comic and horror-inspired paintings. Don't forget to also check his original art page at comicartcollective.com.

Yes, Gary Groth talks Manga! What's next, Jim Shooter talking Fort Thunder?! Deb Aoki conducts the interview for about.com, further fleshing out the story of our forthcoming initiative to bring Moto Hagio and Shimura Takako to American readers. Choice quote: "Due to my almost complete ignorance of the manga publishing industry and the editorial strictures that guide it, and my pitiful lack of guile in these matters, I was insufficiently aware of how timid and craven our editorial choices should've been."

Just a few of these today: • This week's "I, Anonymous" from Steven Weissman • Commemorating the birthday of jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke with some Jim Flora art • A bit of Kirby-ism from Derek Van Gieson

A healthy helping of Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: At The Manga Curmudgeon, David Welsh writes "So you’re among the legion of people who are grateful to Fantagraphics for their recently announced manga initiative, to be curated by Matt Thorn. Who isn’t? I know I am. And you may want to express that gratitude by buying something that Fantagraphics has published. If your comics interests rest primarily in titles from Japan, you may not have sampled other works published by Fantagraphics, so here are some books for your consideration." • Review: "Amazingly, I was sucked in by the whole…

With panelists including Paul Hornschemeier, Anders Nilsen, Jeffrey Brown, John Porcellino and other familiar names, this event at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago exploring "the stubborn work ethic of Chicago’s comic scene" seems like a no-brainer. It's all free and open to the public; full schedule and more info here.