{product_snapshot:id=1469,true,false,true,left} I had no idea what to do next. For fifteen years, while practicing law in Berkeley, I had been writing about cartoonists for The Comics Journal. It had become apparent early on that the more off-beat the cartoonist was in his life or art, the more I would be drawn to him. Once my bias had become clear, someone at the Journal would have another cartoonist for me: a schizophrenic and an alcoholic and a speed freak and a suicide and a misanthrope and one fellow whose career off-tracked when he became a woman. Their work was often grotesquely…
Drew Friedman Show Opens March 27 at Fantagraphics
“THE FUN NEVER STOPS!” WITH DREW FRIEDMAN AT FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKSTORE & GALLERY IN SEATTLE, OPENING MARCH 27. Drew Friedman is among the most notorious illustrators and cartoonists in America. According to Entertainment Weekly, “He holds a marvelously warped lens up to crusty politicians and debauched celebrities. A good-natured misanthrope with an obsessive style and a sardonic tongue, Drew Friedman is one of the country’s sharper political artists.” Friedman will appear in Seattle for the first time at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery for a book signing and exhibition of his original artwork on Thursday, March 27 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM….
The Clouds Above (Softcover Edition) – Exclusive Preview
{product_snapshot:id=1441,true,false,true,left}Jordan Crane’s all-ages classic is in paperback for the first time! This gorgeously packaged (yet affordable) children’s fantasy has become an instant classic since its original hardcover release in 2005, becoming a perennial bestseller for Fantagraphics in three hardcover printings. This paperback edition — a first — includes five new pages not included previously! On their way through the city to school, Simon and his cat Jack keep taking shortcuts that lead them through fantasy worlds of wooden monsters and insatiable appetites, just for starters. Will they make back home safely? This is undoubtedly one of the more handsome and…
Comic Arf – Exclusive Preview
{product_snapshot:id=1465,true,false,true,left}Another great Arf book for 2008, and it features one of the greatest comickers of all: Milt Gross! The Gross-ness starts off with a stunning cover painting done in the 1930s but, as they say, ripped from today’s headlines. It’s all about immigration: Uncle Sam grinds up a sea of immigrants and out come… classic comic strip characters! Milt Gross drew a 1920s comic that left the last panel blank for aspiring cartoonists. Editor Craig Yoe drafted a who’s who of contemporary cartoonists to complete Gross’s unfinished masterpieces. Art Spiegelman, Seymour Chwast, Patrick McDonnell, Mort Walker, R. Crumb, Bil Keane,…
Jessica Farm Vol. 1 – Exclusive Preview
The Creator of House Embarks on a Life-Spanning Epic {product_snapshot:id=1449,true,false,true,left}Hot on the heels of his first graphic novel, House, Josh Simmons’ Jessica Farm fuses serialized adventure, fantasy and psychological horror and stamps it with his signature macabre sensibility in this atmospheric new graphic novel. Like a Lynchian take on Alice in Wonderland, Jessica Farm opens with an exterior of what could be any Midwestern farmhouse: once inside, we track our titular heroine as she bounds out of bed on Christmas and goes about her morning routine, eventually breakfasting with her grandparents. The banality of the situation is subverted by a…
Interview – Hate Q&A with Peter Bagge (1997)
This interview was originally conducted circa 1997, and annotated in February 2008. Q: Why did you kill Stinky? A: Everybody has asked for me to bring Stinky back to the fold, but when I would think about it I couldn’t see Buddy allowing Stinky to be a part of his life again. Buddy’s an evolving character, while Stinky is one of those people who never changes, and it just didn’t make sense that Buddy would hang out with Stinky anymore. I had this story that began in Hate #26 where basically all of Buddy’s loser guy friends are brought together…
Fantagraphics Publication Dates for April-May 2008
These are release dates to the bookstore market. Release dates in the direct-sales (comic book store) market may occur a couple of weeks earlier. Dates are not final and subject to change; please direct press inquiries to Eric Reynolds. WEEK OF APRIL 9 The Clouds Above softcover edition by Jordan Crane Daddy's Girl by Debbie Drechsler The Education of Hopey Glass by Jaime Hernandez Most Outrageous by Bob Levin WEEK OF APRIL 23 Funeral of the Heart by Leah Hayes Willie & Joe: The WWII Years by Bill Mauldin The Complete Peanuts 1967-1968 (Vol. 9) by Charles Schulz Hall of…
Leah Hayes Hits New York & Austin with New Book & CD
Presenting FUNERAL OF THE HEART, the new graphic novel by LEAH HAYES and Scary Mansion’s debut CD, EVERY JOKE IS HALF THE TRUTH. WHO: Leah Hayes WHAT: Art Exhibition and Book Signing WHERE: Rocketship WHERE: 208 Smith St. WHERE: Brooklyn, NY 11201 WHERE: 718.797.1348 tel. WHEN: Friday, March 7, 8PM WHO: Leah Hayes & Scary Mansion WHAT: South By Southwest Music Festival Showcase WHERE: The Hideout WHERE: 617 Congress Ave. WHERE: Austin, TX 78701 WHERE: 512.443.3688 tel. WHEN: Wed., March 12, 10PM WHO: Leah Hayes & Scary Mansion WHAT: In-Store Music Performance and Book Signing WHERE: Austin Books WHERE: 5002…
Daddy’s Girl – Exclusive Preview
A New Edition of a Long Out-of-Print Fantagraphics Classic {product_snapshot:id=1442,true,false,true,left}Fantagraphics Books is proud to re-release one of the most powerful and moving books in its distinguished publishing history: Debbie Drechsler’s first collection of short comic stories, Daddy’s Girl. Originally published in 1995 and distributed only to comic book specialty stores, Daddy’s Girl was ahead of its time: Two years before The Kiss, Kathryn Harrison’s critically acclaimed story of her incestuous relationship with her father, Drechsler’s account of her abuse at the hands of her father, told from the point of view of an adolescent, is one of the most searingly…
Hall of Best Knowledge – Exclusive Preview
A Bold New Direction in Comics {product_snapshot:id=1444,true,false,true,left}Ray Fenwick has pioneered his own medium of storytelling, one best described as “typographical comics.” Hall of Best Knowledge is presented as a handsome, personal journal written by an unnamed voice, referred to only as “The Author.” Little is known about him; he makes occasional, derogatory references to a twin brother and younger sibling, but reveals little else. He clearly fashions himself a genius, writing with a faux-aristocratic air, and it is presumably his belief in his own genius that leads him to want to share his knowledge with the world. Each page features…
