Fantagraphics Blog

MONTE SCHULZ TOURS WEST COAST IN SEPT.-OCT. TO PROMOTE THE RELEASE OF THE NEW NOVEL, THIS SIDE OF JORDAN     This September, Fantagraphics Books will publish This Side of Jordan, a novel by Monte Schulz. To support the release, the author will tour thirteen cities on the West Coast in September and October:   Fri., Sept. 25, 8PM • Southern California Writers Conf., Irvine, CA Mon., Sept. 28, 7PM • Chaucer's Books, Santa Barbara, CA Wed., Sept. 30, 7PM • Mysterious Galaxy Books, San Diego, CA Thurs., Oct. 1, 6PM • Laguna Beach Books, Laguna Beach, CA Sat., Oct. 3, 5PM • Skylight Books, Los Angeles, CA…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions starts with a bang: • Review: "…[A]n astonishingly rich and convincing picture of uncertain, developing human relationships. Besides the masterful storytelling, [Locas II: Maggie, Hopey & Ray] is notable for superb black and white artwork. Panel by panel and page by page, it's a delight to watch darkness crowding into open space, while supple linework dances freely in its allotted territory. This is a landmark in comics literature." – Publishers Weekly (starred review) • Review: "From Wonderland with Love is an excellent introduction to the part of the Danish comics scene that tries to push…

West Coast Blues By Jacques Tardi & Jean-Patrick Manchette NOTE: BECAUSE OF OUR CONTRACT WITH THE LICENSOR THIS BOOK CANNOT BE SOLD OUTSIDE OF NORTH AMERICA. IF YOU RESIDE ANYWHERE OTHER THAN THE U.S. OR CANADA PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO ORDER IT FROM OUR WEBSITE; YOUR ORDER WILL NOT BE PROCESSED. A SAVAGE NOIR THRILLER REUNITING A MASTER CRIME NOVELIST AND A SUPERLATIVE FRENCH CARTOONIST George Gerfaut, aimless young executive and desultory family man, witnesses a murder and finds himself sucked into a spiral of violence involving an exiled war criminal and two hired assassins. Adapting to the exigencies…

The Squirrel Machine By Hans Rickheit AN ANACHRONISTIC PARABLE FOR THE CONVULSIVE ELITE What is the squirrel machine? Is it a rodent ensnarement device? A mechanism for concealing one’s guarded harvest? An anachronistic fable? A meaningless diversion? Set in a fictional 19th Century New England town, the narrative initially details the relationship and maturation of Edmund and William Torpor. But the two brothers quickly elicit the scorn and recrimination of an unamused public when they reveal their musical creations built from strange technologies and scavenged animal carcasses. Driven to seek a concealment for their aberrant activities, they make a startling…

Rock Candy: The Artwork of Femke Hiemstra By Femke Hiemstra Dutch artist and designer Femke Hiemstra has a unique style and vision that evokes the work of Robert Williams and Mark Ryden, but with a less cynical worldview that invites the viewer to enter the magic spaces she creates. Rock Candy is the artist’s first retrospective and fully spotlights her talent, whimsy and wit in a deluxe package certain to catapult her to the forefront of the Pop Surrealism movement. Hiemstra’s paintings and illustrations are united by a meticulous attention to craft that gives life to her dark, lush, fairytale…

The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book By Joe Daly Set in sun-drenched Cape Town, South Africa, The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book — featuring two full-length stories, “The Leaking Cello Case” and “John Wesley Harding” — is stuffed to the gills with mystery, suspense, action, adventure, conspiracy theories, cool cars, and excellent weed as Dave and his freeloading pal Paul, well-meaning stoners in the tradition of Cheech & Chong and Harold & Kumar, thwart criminal malfeasance even as they ponder the larger questions, such as, “What steps can I personally take to help protect the Earth and the species that…

Prison Pit: Book 1 By Johnny Ryan Prison Pit is an original graphic novel from the pen of Johnny Ryan, best known for his humor comic, Angry Youth Comix. Prison Pit represents a marked departure from AYC or his Blecky Yuckerella weekly comic strip, combining his love for WWE wrestling, Gary Panter’s “Jimbo” comics, and Kentaro Miura’s “Berserk” Manga into a brutal showcase of violence, survival and revenge. Imagine a blend of old-fashioned role playing fantasy games like Dungeons & Dragons crossed with contemporary adult video games like Grand Theft Auto, filtered through Ryan’s sense of humor. The book begins…

Love and Rockets: New Stories #2 By the Hernandez Brothers The Hernandez Brothers are back with the second eye-popping volume of Love and Rockets: New Stories, your annual 100-page dollop of all-new L&R material. In the concluding 50-page half of Jaime’s outrageous, acclaimed, full-on superhero mash-up “Ti-Girls Adventures,” our protagonist, rookie do-gooder Boot Angel, learns more hard lessons about becoming a superheroine. Eventually, just about the entire cast gets together in a big family reunion that unexpectedly takes place in Maggie’s tiny, messy one-bedroom apartment. Sandwiched between the concluding chapters of Jaime's story, Gilbert turns in two mind-benders of his…

Giraffes in My Hair: A Rock 'n' Roll Life By Bruce Paley & Carol Swain A UNIQUE TAKE ON THE SUMMER OF LOVE GENERATION, THROUGH THE EYES OF AN ACCLAIMED GRAPHIC NOVELIST AND HER PARTNER, WHO LIVED IT Bruce Paley turned 18 in 1967 during the Summer of Love, putting him on the front lines of the late-1960s youth movement. Paley’s tumultuous journey took him from being a Jack Kerouac-loving hippie in the 1960s, on the road with his 17-year-old girlfriend, dropping acid at Disneyland, living in a car, and crashing with armed Black Panthers at the infamous 1968 Democratic…