Fantagraphics Blog

Sweet merciful Jebus do we have an ever-lovin' load of books coming out in the next couple of months — about a dozen of 'em, if all goes according to plan. The advance copies have been pouring into our office and we've got lots of preview photos and videos to share with you. We'll present one book a day here on Flog but if you're impatient you can head over to our Flickr page and gorge yourself on the first 5 sets right now, with many more to come shortly. Today we're presenting The Wolverton Bible, which features hundreds of…

Unlovable Vol. 1 By Esther Pearl Watson Loosely based on a teenager’s diary from the 1980s found in a gas-station bathroom, Unlovable details the sometimes ordinary, sometimes humiliating, often poignant and frequently hilarious exploits of underdog Tammy Pierce. This remarkably touching and funny graphic novel tells the first-person account of Tammy’s sophomore year in 1985, from the first day of school to winter break. Her hopes, dreams, agonies and defeats are brought to vivid, comedic life by Watson’s lovingly grotesque drawings, filled with all the eighties essentials — too much mascara, leg warmers with heels and huge hair — as…

We need to make room for all the great books we have coming in 2009! We've just put 30 semi-recent books on sale at least 33% off in our new Clearance Sale section. And that's just for starters — we'll be adding dozens more items in the weeks and months to come! We've also reorganized our sale items into three new categories: the aforementioned Clearance Sale; Closeout Deals, where we're blowing out our last remaining copies of dozens of items at up to 75% off; and Dents & Dings, with great deals on lightly-damaged merchandise. These sales are ongoing, but…

Due to some computer hardware issues beyond our control, we're currently unable to submit any orders for shipping, so any orders placed today or tomorrow will be delayed a couple of days. You can still place your order, but please keep the delay in mind before selecting a rush shipping option! We apologize for any inconvenience. We'll let you know when things are back to normal.

The comics blogosphere does not rest for Super Bowl weekend: • List: Brick Weekly has 4 "Top 10 Comics of 2008" lists on which Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw and The Portable Frank by Jim Woodring appear multiple times • List: The Comics Reporter asked readers to "Name Five Favorite Single-Issue Alternative/Independent Comic Books" and lots of folks chose Fantagraphics stuff • Review: Fictions looks at Maggie the Mechanic by Jaime Hernandez • Review: Rob Clough says Where Demented Wented: The Art and Comics of Rory Hayes is "a stunning retrospective that seems remarkably fresh today" • Blurb: USA…

Tomorrow, February 3rd, Alexander Stewart and Lilli Carré will get to use the lobby at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art as a studio for 8 hours, from 11am till 7pm! They will have a multi-plane animation stand set up, and will be doing stop-motion animation for a new film as well as working on other things. They will also have a bunch of drawings and animation artifacts to look at. If you are in Chicago, stop on by! Museum of Contemporary Art 220 East Chicago Avenue,Chicago, IL 60611 While there, check out Carré's new graphic novel, The Lagoon, at the MCA Store.

"In my opinion, Walt Kelly had only two peers in the pantheon department, Winsor McKay and George Herriman." – Garry Trudeau Walt Kelly's PogoOriginal Strips 1948-1972 Friday, February 6, 5-8pmExhibition reception in conjunction with White River Junction's First Friday CCS is proud to exhibit work by one of the greatest cartoonists of the 20th century. With Pogo, Walt Kelly (1913-1973) combined unparalleled brushwork, honed from years as a Disney animator, with superb storytelling acted out by an endearing cast of characters. Borrowing from various dialectical sources and his own fertile imagination, Kelly invented a unique and charming backwoods-patois to fit his…

NPR Music has the story: Harvey Pekar Makes His Opera Debut. Scroll down on the left to hear a must-hear interview with Harv by R. Crumb…

Zippy's Pittsburgh and More: The Art of Bill GriffithAt The ToonSeum, February 7 to March 31, 2009 PITTSBURGH — The ToonSeum, Pittsburgh's museum of cartoon art, presents Zippy's Pittsburgh and More: The Art of Bill Griffith, February 7 through March 31, 2009. Zippy's Pittsburgh and More is an exhibit of Griffith's original comic art, with several strips featuring Pittsburgh landmarks as settings. "Our location at the Children's Museum has a certain surreal quality that lends itself well to Zippy," said ToonSeum Executive Director, Joe Wos. "Giant inflatable ice cream dinosaurs, twenty-foot cranes made of old gas station signs, and of course…