Fantagraphics Blog

 I read that one of the crucial plot points of Marvel's big Secret Invasion crossover involved newly-elected President Obama bouncing Tony 'Iron Man' Stark from leading the Avengers and replacing him with mass-murdering psychopath Norman 'The Green Goblin' Osborn, creating some king of supervillain Illuminati and making Marvel the new Jack Chick. Shrewd move.  And now "Obama" is making another crass Marvel appearance in some kind of Spider-Man variant collectible bullshit issue. I'm loathe to link about it, but this Wonkette quote was too rich to pass up: "Who is that mysterious black person in a business suit who looks absolutely nothing like Barack…

Okay, yeah, I GET why the TMNT have a bad name. I do. But not all fans are looking to depict Raphael nude with towel, or Leonardo "brandishing his Katana." I feel very sick about this.

…and to buy: John Hankiewicz is offering three small drawings for sale. Actually there will probably only be two left by the time you read this.

Tim Lane presents a new page from a new story, "Hitchhiker." Read more about it on Tim's blog.

Johnny Ryan illustrates the cover of the Cinefamily January/Febuary program. See Johnny's blog for more info.

Paul Hornschemeier states:  Starting [January 5], and for the next seventeen weeks, I'll be contributing a weekly strip in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.The strip is in their "Tragic Strip" slot of their political section, and has been previously occupied by a slew of artists, including one of my major idols and influences, Heinz Edelmann. My contribution will feature Huge Suit (who made an appearance in Fantagraphics' 2006 Free Comic Book Day issue and is inarguably one of my more Heinz Edelmann-influenced characters). The strips aren't apparently going to be available online, but a clip is above. More details…

New sketchbook pages from Anders Nilsen. Above: the devil.

MOME contributor Jonathan Bennett has a fantastic, classic Sunday-style comic strip called "Beat of the Traps" in the new Kramers Ergot. John is a fantastic cartoonist whose work exhibits the craftsmanship of a master jeweler, but also has an existential soul a la Glenn Ganges or King Cat that its quotidian trappings often belie. He's really good. It turns out he also completed an additional page for Kramers of B&W dailies leading up to the Sunday payoff that the editor, Sammy Harkham, mercilessly rejected from the book. I like to picture Sammy laughing, with a cigar, as he gave Bennett the news. Anyway, luckily for us, Bennett has rescued the…

We get a lot of random magazines in the office, and one is Adult Video News, a kind of Variety/Publishers Weekly for the sex industry. From today's front page:  That's some choice copy, but they neglected to mention it could also double as a toy for H.R. Pufnstuff fetishists. 

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is pleased to announce the wildly popular BEASTS exhibition will be extended though February 4. Inclement weather prevented many from making the trek to Georgetown during the first weeks of the show. This extension will allow everyone to enjoy this delightfully ambitious display. Organized by Jacob Covey, this exhibition includes a diverse collection of colorful artwork by over 50 accomplished artists. (Click here for more information about the exibit.) Paul Constant’s enthusiastic review in The Stranger observes, “The broad array of talent is impressive… I could go on for hours.” In a comprehensive feature in the…