Fantagraphics Blog

On The Comics Journal website, Gary Groth writes: "In June, Fantagraphics Books will publish a collection of Norman Pettingill’s work. Comic fans may remember that Robert Crumb published some of Pettingill’s cartoon drawings in Weirdo in the mid-’80s. The idea of publishing an entire book collecting Pettingill’s work was first broached to me by Johnny Ryan, a Pettingill fan (and the cartoonist behind Angry Youth Comics and Prison Pit), a few years ago. The John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is the repository for most of Pettingill’s work, and agreed to help us put together a book. Johnny…

Your daily allowance of Fanta-related cartoon art: • The Awesomenomicon posts 17 of Popeye's "Greatest Hits," saying "Of course we're all familiar with Popeye the Sailor Man and his penchant for fisticuffs, but unless you've read his origins in Segar's Thimble Theatre strip, you have no idea how truly dynamic and visceral his unique brand of cartoon violence could be. … Thankfully Fantagraphics has spent the last several years publishing those handsome oversized collections of Segar's Thimble Theatre, from which I have assembled this small repository of Popeye punching things. • More "Buongiorno" from Marco Corona • More "Abstraction House"…

Another day's worth of Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "…[Portable Grindhouse] is a nice book to have on the shelf, particularly for folks who love movies and are interested in how design has changed over the years. If you still spend time wandering around video stores looking for the weird and wonderful, check this book out." – Syung Myung Me, Kittysneezes • Review: "I love this book. I'm probably biased because I was a newave cartoonist and I was lucky enough to have two pages included (78 & 79) in this little slice of comix history. … The overall…

In light of our publishing announcement yesterday, the editors of The Comics Journal website have wisely chosen today to present the first in a four-part online serialization of Matt Thorn's feature interview with manga-ka Moto Hagio from TCJ #269.

Reminder! 1: Buy Chocolate Cheeks 2: Take a picture 3: Join YIKES! Friendship on Facebook 4: Post your picture 5: Get a free gift from Steven Weissman not unlike the print shown above! More deets (well, the same ones, stated differently) at Steven's blog.

Response to the news about our new manga line has been overwhelming. Series editor/curator/translator Matt Thorn speaks out on his blog, providing a bit of background and a few more details about the two inaugural releases, Moto Hagio's A Drunken Dream and Other Stories and Shimura Takako's Wandering Son Vol. 1. Be sure to bookmark Thorn's blog for ongoing updates on the project. Meanwhile, The Comics Journal's Dirk Deppey, who was instrumental in bringing the project to fruition, uses his ¡Journalista! pulpit to reveal much more information and background about the line. Both links are must-reads for anyone interested in…

Northwest fans of fine art and low brow culture alike are in for a treat this Saturday, March 13. Get your geek on at the Emerald City Comicon, and visit the Fantagraphics booth for a look at a carload of brand new books. Meet stellar cartoonists including legendary Love and Rockets co-creator Gilbert Hernandez. Take a break from the convention madness to greet the lovely and talented Los Angeles artist Camille Rose Garcia at Roq la Rue Gallery. She'll be signing her timely new book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and ever-popular The Magic Bottle from Fantagraphics Books this Saturday afternoon….

Get ready for the HOTWIRE comics slide show! That’s right, the Eisner and Harvey nominated anthology comic is about to chew up the scenery live. Presented by HOTWIRE editor Glenn Head and Carousel host R. Sikoryak. Featuring these great artists performing their comics for your delectation: Danny Hellman, Sam Henderson, Michael Kupperman, Tim Lane, Jayr Pulga, David Sandlin, Chadwick Whitehead, plus Head and Sikoryak. This show is sure to offer both spontaneous cartoon funk and the slickest of production values. Live comic entertainment at its best! MoCCA Thursday, March 25, 2010. 7pmAdmission: $5 | Free for MoCCA MembersMuseum of Comic…

After years of development, Fantagraphics is unveiling a new line of manga. Kicking things off in September 2010 is a collection of short stories from the mother of shōjo (young girl) manga, Moto Hagio. Next, is a multi-volume series from the GLBT manga-ka Shimura Takako. Each book will be released in hardcover form, keeping the original "right to left" manga style for a deluxe, yet authentic reading experience. The first book, entitled A Drunken Dream, is a collection of literary short stories by Hagio falling into multiple genres, created between 1971-2007. This tome travels through several of Hagio's most revolutionary…