Fantagraphics Blog

Following up on last week's post about the Usagi Yojimbo plush toy from Dark Horse, our own Jacob Covey alerted me to this series of polystone statues of Usagi characters soon to be available from RokuToys. They have exclusive editions with some nifty features — the interchangeable horn on Gennosuke is a particularly nice touch. Jacob says and I agree, "It's nice to see so much Usagi product getting made lately."

  Seattle's great Northwest Film Forum will be screening the documentary NEW BROW from Jan. 15 thru Jan. 17. View the trailer here. The film features a number of folks close to Fantagraphics' heart, notably Robert Williams and our own Larry Reid. 

January 3, 2010 – SEATTLE, WA. The Georgetown Art Attack welcomes the New Year with a celebration of contemporary art and entertainment on Saturday, January 9 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Please join us to toast one of Seattle’s most colorful and diverse creative communities. Among the presentations on January 9: The 2nd Anniversary of Seattle Uncorked at Georgetown Studios with an array of wines from 18-20 wineries from Family Wineries of Washington, live music by The Pink Torpedoes, and Street Skillet Food dispensing fare outdoors from their vintage Airstream kitchen; An exhibition by Rick Simpson, Ninjagrl Nicole Linde, Kate…

One of the funnest parts of editing the CRITTERS anthology lo these many years ago (1985 to 1990 if you're counting — gah, two, two and a half decades ago!) was working on the great "Gnuff" stories by my old buddy Freddy Milton. I was always sorry that there was not enough demand for these charming, neo-Barksian adventures to graduate to their own books, and of course by now those original CRITTERS comics are nigh impossible for find. Well, thank God for the internet! Freddy, who is now a respectable retired gentleman of leisure (although he still cartoons up a…

Another exclusive 2010 sneak peek at Robot 6: 3 pages from Megan Kelso's Artichoke Tales, coming later this year.

Robot 6 presents a series of previews of 2010 releases; among them, an exclusive 3 page sneak peek of Weathercraft by Jim Woodring, coming this Spring.

It's a new year and we've got a hangover. No, not an alcohol-induced one — a hangover of past years' books in our warehouse taking up room that we need for our incredible slate of 2010 releases. Help us blow them out by taking 20% OFF everything on our website (including our already-discounted clearance items) starting now through January 8, 2010! Just use the coupon code HANGOVER when you check out and you'll receive 20% off everything in your order. (If you prefer to shop by phone, just mention this offer when you call — 1-800-657-1100 or 206-524-1967 outside the…

Whew, what a year! Online Commentary & Diversions returns next week. • List: Comic Book Resources continues listing their Top 100 Comics of 2009, with Johnny Ryan's Prison Pit: Book 1 at #75 ("A huge kick to the solar plexus, not just in terms of the way-beyond-NC-17 level of gore and bodily fluids on display, but also the sheer wealth of no-holds barred imagination and utter sense of play that's on every page. The craftsmanship on display is just as striking as the violence." – Chris Mautner) and The Squirrel Machine by Hans Rickheit at #56 ("Few artists in comics…

I know a lot of people (including me) who are going to want this plush Usagi Yojimbo toy when it comes out from Dark Horse in May. Stan Sakai sketch ganked from Robot 6.

The U.S. Postal Service honors Bill Mauldin and his creations Willie & Joe with this first-class stamp, available March 2010. And Hank Ketcham's Dennis the Menace gets his own stamp as part of the "Sunday Funnies" pane going on sale in July, along with Mort Walker's most famous creation, and hopefully that's a Dan DeCarlo Archie drawing. (Can anyone knowledgable out there confirm it?) (Via The Comics Reporter.)