Fantagraphics Blog

• Review: "A sweet bouquet of [Nell Brinkley's] images have been collected by Trina Robbins and Fantagraphics in The Brinkley Girls: The Best of Nell Brinkley's Cartoons from 1913-1940… [T]hese full-page cartoons provide a glimpse of the color and spectacle that newspapers trafficked in before publishers decided we were worth no more than our dwindling supply of classified ads." – Steve Duin, The Oregonian • Preview: "I can't imagine in a week this light on substantial comics offerings that you couldn't find a place in your backpack or on your car seat for the latest issue of Michael Kupperman's great…

Scheduled to be in comic shops today: Tales Designed to Thrizzle #5 by Michael Kupperman! Hit that link for our usual panoply of info and previews. If you know this title, you know you want it, so hustle on down to your local shop on your little Mama Cass legs (call first to confirm availability)!

On the Covered blog, our own Jason T. Miles takes a crack at a 1990s Steve Ditko monster comic. Click through for the whole thing:

Public confusion surrounding the overwhelming critical regard that the WATCHMEN graphic novel continues to be held in amongst those who haven't read the book but paid good money to see the feature film is rampant. "Wait, are comics for kids, or aren't they?" many have asked. Now that these people have seen WATCHMEN the movie, how do they erase it from memory and avoid wantonly dismissing the entire medium from which it sprung? We're here to help. Point them in the right direction with Fantagraphics Books' new "AFTER WATCHMEN, CLEANSE YOUR PALATE" program.. Please visit our homepage for more information on these…

Jordan Crane announced yesterday that he's just put Uptight #3 to bed. Here's a peek at a couple of pages to wet your whistle; if you missed it when we posted the astonishing cover art, go here now.

All last week and this week we're bringing you a sneak peek at our Fall 2009 – Winter 2010 schedule of releases! Today's excerpt from our latest book distributor's catalog includes the 3rd volume of Glenn Head's Hotwire Comics anthology; Almost Silent, a hardcover compilation of some of Jason's out-of-print work; Unlovable Vol. 2 by Esther Pearl Watson; and the midcentury Italian cheesecake of Bella Donna: The Pin-Up Girls of Kremos. (Note that all the info in this catalog is subject to change along the way to the books' release, including release dates, prices, cover art, book specs, etc.) Click…

Do I still blog here? Sometimes. Like today being the day that Mark Todd is releasing a 5 color screenprint via Tiny Showcase for just $25. It's up at 4:30PST. If $25 is too cheap for you, there's always the crazy beautiful print from Jordan Crane's cover art of the Beasts! Book One paperback…

• Review: "Supermen! is an interesting book. All these knockoffs of Superman have a certain creepy charm — like an off-brand children's entertainer — and there is some art, especially by Basil Wolverton and Jack Cole, that is literally decades ahead of its time." – Paul Constant, The Stranger • Review: "…Boody: The Bizarre Comics of Boody Rogers is a real revelation… Boody Rogers' stories… don't seem to follow narrative structure. They're like Robert Crumb crossed with Li'l Abner. And they are amazing. This is the book to get if you think you know anything about comic book history; it…

Our own Janice Headley stumbled across the following gem, which we're just going to quote wholesale from the Matador Records website: My Worst Memory of Playing with Yo La Tengo Bilinda Butcher, My Bloody Valentine I have a true memory of doom descending upon me during one of the shows we played together. We were in Seattle, around 1992. I'd been chatting to James in the dressing room and got all excited at the thought of Peter Bagge (of "Hate" comics creation) being at the gig, not to mention all the other "Seattle-ites," like Hole. Well, for a start I…