Fantagraphics Blog

A few quick hits of Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Hornschemeier obviously draws a lot of inspiration from Chris Ware, especially in terms of color scheme and alternating between naturalistic and iconic styles. There's a different level of emotional impact in his comics, however, a certain distance that reminds me more of what Daniel Clowes or Art Spiegelman do in their work. … All and Sundry is less about the work itself and more about the artist as worker." – Rob Clough • Review: "…Zak Sally's collection of his Recidivist material and other works [Like a Dog] was positively…

Bagge fans will want to scamper on over to the Vertigo blog for the first sneak peek at his forthcoming original graphic novel Other Lives.

Paul Hornschemeier & Jay Ryan's tour continues tonight in NYC: Monday, Nov. 16, 6-8pmGiant Robot437 East 9th St.New York, NY

A new weekly batch of online strips? It's your lucky day! Looking for the bright side of global warming in this week's The House of No by Derek Van Gieson… …that is a cool trick in this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan…. …and a footnoted installment of Barack H. Obama funnies in this week's strip from Steven Weissman!

Online Commentary & Diversions with a hockey mask: • Review: "[Jacques] Boyreau’s new art book, Portable Grindhouse, is more than a stunning collection of VHS box art. Anyone with a sense of nostalgia for cruising the shelves at the local Video Depot will recognize old favorites alongside more than a few bizarre rarities within its pages, and if you don’t feel a sense of loss over the current state of DVD box art, you just don’t have any feelings. … Like the VHS boxes of old, Boyreau’s introductory essay is less a history of the VHS format and the culture…

Not to over-push Portable Grindhouse today, but jeez, how could I pass up the occasion?

Fresh off his wildly successful show in Manhattan, Robert Williams is celebrated as the Lord High Priest of Low Brow in the documentary film New Brow: Contemporary Underground Art. Shot by Justin Giarla of San Francisco’s Shooting Gallery, the film focuses on badass West Coast art and features all the superstars of modern pop (Ed. note: including an interview with Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery’s curator Larry Reid filmed at the store — the second voice you hear in the trailer — plus interviews with Blab!-published artists like Camille Rose Garcia, Shag and many more — you'll catch a glimpse of…

Now available for preview and pre-order, one of our most avidly anticipated books of the year: Portable Grindhouse: The Lost Art of the VHS Box by Jacques Boyreau. This lovingly assembled tribute to a bygone era compiles some of the supertrashiest, most eye-searing home video art and packaging of the VHS era, with an essay by Boyreau describing how the format altered pop culture forever, all slyly packaged in a facsimile VHS-style slipcase. Download an exclusive PDF excerpt of seven of the most glorious spreads right here. This book is scheduled to be in stock and ready to ship sometime…

Looks like the Strand Bookstore has been busily updating their YouTube page over the past week or so; among the recent uploads are a reading by smilin' Michael Kupperman from August 18, 2009 (playlist link) and Paul Karasik presenting The Fletcher Hanks Experience on September 16, 2009 (playlist link). Looks like they have embedding disabled so hit those links for all the fun.