Re/Read: Love and Rockets: The Covers

   Re/Read is an occasional column by Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery curator Larry Reid looking back at books you may have missed or merit more attention. This time we’ll discuss the alluring imagery in Love and Rockets: The Covers by Los Bros Hernandez. The colorful covers of early Love and Rockets comic books by Gilbert, Jaime, and Mario Hernandez foreshadowed profound changes taking shape in both the comix medium and American society as a whole. The work often reflected the artists’ experiences in their native Oxnard, California. They illustrated issues of cultural diversity, gender roles, sexual identity, and youthful alienation…

What’s in Store: 40 Years of Comics As Art

  Fantagraphics Books commemorates its 40th anniversary with a series of talks, exhibitions, book signings, performances, and parties celebrating four decades of publishing the world’s greatest contemporary cartoonists. The impressive record of accomplishment and immeasurable influence of this Seattle-based enterprise are chronicled in the new book, We Told You So: Comics as Art, An Oral History of Fantagraphics Books. The festivities begin with a panel discussion on Fantagraphics’ first 40 years on Friday, December 9, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the elegant Folio library, located at 384 Marion Street in downtown Seattle. Moderated by Fantagraphics publisher and co-founder Gary…

Digital Releases: New Love and Rockets and more!

Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for Love and Rockets and heralds in a collection of one of punk rock’s best artists—all on your tablets and personal reading devices! Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez are back with brand-new stories in Love and Rockets Vol. IV #1! You get Maggie and Hopey! You get Princess Animus! You get Fritz and Pipo! You get it all! The punk friends and family drama begins again right here—catch the first issue of the new ongoing series on comiXology today.           Also, to continue celebrating the return this series, we’re…

What’s in Store: Free Comic Book Cake

Celebrate Free Comic Book Day at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this Saturday, May 7. We’ll be passing out free copies of a Love & Rockets sampler ahead of this summer’s reboot of the classic comic as a quarterly series. Come rediscover the beloved book that launched the alternative comix movement. Speaking of beloved…           We’ll also indulge in this delicious cake commemorating Lucy Knisley’s graphic memoir Something New, documenting her recent nuptials. We took to calling this creation the Leaning Tower of Lucy, narrowly averting wedding cake disaster on a number of occasions. The experience allowed…

Today’s Massive Bulk of Digital Books

Is your personal reading device plugged in? Good, because it’s going to need all the juice to handle our digital offerings this week! First up is our next grisly gathering of EC stories by Reed Crandall. The High Cost of Dying and Other Stories captures Crandall’s fine line detail and collects stories such as “The Silent Towns,” a Ray Bradbury story about the last man and woman on Mars; “Carrion Death,” a stark horror story about man struggling through the desert with a corpse handcuffed to his wrist; and “Sweetie-Pie,” about a ghoul who sets up roadside hazards to procure…

What’s in Store (Comix Are for Lovers Edition)

   As Valentine’s Day approaches, nothing says love like comix. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is your gateway to romance, filled with exquisite gifts at affordable prices. We suggest the latest installment of Love & Rockets from Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez – always a sensual pleasure. For something more suggestive, check out Lust, featuring lurid personal ads from The Stranger, lovingly illustrated by Ellen Forney.    Those rejecting the contrivance of this Hallmark holiday may find solace in the heartbreaking hilarity of Esther Pearl Watson’s Unlovable series or the charming allure of Jordan Crane’s The Last Lonely Saturday, available in limited…

Previews: Fantagraphics Releases for August 2009

As seen in the pages of Previews, these are the books and comics slated for release by Fantagraphics Books in August, 2009. Please note that all details, including cover art, prices, specs, contents, and release dates are preliminary and subject to change. THE COMPLETE PEANUTS 1973-1974 by Charles M. Schulz Introduction by Billie Jean King 8.5 x 7, HC, 344 pages, BW, $28.99 ISBN 978-1-60699-286-9 Celebrate life with THE COMPLETE PEANUTS! Fantagraphics is proud to present the release of the 12th volume of the most recognized comic strip of all time! Charles M. Schulz’s American masterpiece has defined the way…

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery Early 09 Schedule

Mark your calendars: An exciting offering of diverse exhibitions, performances and signings are on tap in the coming months at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle. These and other lively events will keep the space jumpin' into the summer. Esther Pearl WatsonUNLOVABLEOpening reception and book signing Saturday, February 7, 6:00 to 9:00 PMExhibition continues through March 4, 2009(more event info) HUMBUGOriginal art, artifacts and ephemera from Harvey Kurtzman's classic humor magazine.Public preview Saturday, March 7, 11:30 to 8:00 PMExhibition continues through April Fools Day, 2009 (more about Humbug) Dame DarcyMusic performance and book signingSaturday, March 14, 6:00 to 9:00 PM…

Interview – Jaime Hernandez, 2007 Comic-Con International (audio)

On Friday, July 27, 2007, at Comic-Con International in San Diego, moderator Gary Groth was joined by the Hernandez Brothers for two featured spotlight panels on their work and the 25th anniversary of Love and Rockets. We are pleased to bring you this audio recording of the interview and Q&A with Jaime. (Click here for the interview with Gilbert.) Click here to download the audio file (19.5 MB MP3) or stream it here: {audio}images/stories/artists/interviews/01%20SDCC%20Panel_%20Jaime%20Hernandez.mp3{/audio} Related books (click covers for complete product details) {product_snapshot:id=864,false,false,false,left} {product_snapshot:id=810,false,false,false,left} {product_snapshot:id=1440,false,false,false,left} {product_snapshot:id=738,false,false,false,left}

Amor Y Cohetes – Exclusive Preview

The Seventh and Final Volume of the Love and Rockets Library {product_snapshot:id=1458,true,false,true,left}To a very great extent, Love and Rockets is synonymous with Hoppers’ Maggie & Hopey and Palomar’s Luba & Carmen & Heraclio & Tonantzin… but there was always more to L&R than that. Amor Y Cohetes finally collects together in one convenient package all the non-Maggie and non-Palomar stories by all three Hernandez Brothers from that classic first, 50-issue Love and Rockets series — a dizzying array of styles and approaches that re-confirms these groundbreaking cartoonists’ place in the history of comics. The book leads off with Gilbert’s original…