For those of you in Seattle, this is a very interesting weekend. For fans of rising cartoonist talent, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is the place to be this Sunday, July 13 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. It will be your chance to meet Eleanor Davis and Esther Pearl Watson. This is part of Georgetown Art Attack weekend, July 12-13, 2014.
Filed under Comics, Fantagraphics, Fantagraphics Books, Georgetown Art Attack, Seattle
Inio Asano is a Japanese manga superstar. He is known for such works as “Solanin,” which was nominated for the 2009 Eisner and Harvey comics awards (and which was made into a feature film in 2010). For 2014, Asano’s manga classic, “Nijigahara Holograph,” is published in an English translation by Fantagraphics Books.
Butterflies signal impending doom as children confront a dark entity in a nearby tunnel. Years later, these same kids must confront themselves for how they responded to an unknown terror. “Nijigahara Holograph” is a complex supernatural thriller, like something out of a David Lynch film. It is due out in February 2014. For more details, visit of friends at Fantagraphics Books here.
Filed under Comics, Comics News, Fantagraphics Books, Inio Asano, Japan, Manga, news
If you want a graphic novel you can become hypnotized by, then look no further than Jim Woodring’s latest, “Fran.”
Without question, Jim Woodring is one of our greatest cartoonists. What he creates is right in the thick of what we all dream for in the world of graphic novels. He reaches that ideal of one creator with a singular vision. The world of Frank and Fran is Woodring’s surreal take on early animation.
Whether intended or not, those cartoons from the silent movie era pack a surreal wallop. Woodring has been conjuring up his own special magic for quite some time. He’s at the point where his creations have established, and even surpassed, the object of their homage.
In this latest book, Woodring delivers an extended romp that finds Fran and Frank on their wildest and most dangerous adventure yet.
As Comics Grinder dutifully continues to review books, the pile of options can get high, but never so high as to not acknowledge Jim Woodring and the mighty publishing house that is Fantagraphics Books.
This has been a challenging year for Fantagraphics with the loss of its cofounder, Kim Thompson. But fans love this publisher so much that they provide their support when needed. After a successful Kickstarter campaign that will allow for getting back on track, we can expect Fantagraphics to continue to publish the great work they do. “Fran” is emblematic of that work.
Visit our friends at Fantagraphics here.
Filed under Comics, Fantagraphics Books, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels, Jim Woodring
Fantagraphics Books Publisher Gary Groth invites you to invest in the FB spring season and be a part of the company that has published “the best cartoonists in the history of the world.” Check it out here.
No kidding, Fantagraphics Books is responsible for putting alternative comics on the pop culture map. Think of such great talents as Jim Woodring, Los Bros Hernandez, Daniel Clowes, Peter Bagge, Chris Ware and Joe Sacco, and you are thinking of FB artists.
The Fantagraphics 2014 Spring Season Kickstarter campaign begins today and runs for 30 days: November 5 thru December 5, 2013.
Jaime Hernandez’s “The Love Bunglers,” part of the FB Spring Schedule
As any publisher of comics will tell you, the business can experience some rough patches. For Fantagraphics Books, the loss of its Co-Publisher, Kim Thompson, in June of this year, was greatly felt. In practical terms, Mr. Thompson left a roster of books he was editing still in progress, not ready to meet the upcoming schedule. This takes a big bite out of the next line-up of books. To make up for the loss in upcoming revenue, Mr. Groth is taking it to the people with a $150,000 Kickstarter campaign. Visit the campaign here.
Filed under Comics, Fantagraphics, Fantagraphics Books, Kickstarter
If you’re in the Seattle area this Saturday, October 12, do yourself a favor and stop by the Fantagraphics Bookstore for a big Jim Woodring event. Jim Woodring debuts his latest graphic novel, “Fran.”
Press Release Follows:
“Bread & Wine: An Erotic Tale of New York” is a curiously disarming story about love. There is sex but there is also love. The matter-of-fact quality of this graphic novel reassures us in an offbeat and mysterious way. It is the story described by the great contemporary writer Samuel R. Delany and interpreted and drawn by fine artist Mia Wolff. Because this is a graphic novel we get a unique perspective on events. Ms. Wolff reveals some things left unsaid and emphasizes other things left understated. This 64-page hardcover book is now back in print, published by Fantagraphics Books which you can view here.
Samuel R. Delany has been in the literary spotlight since the publication of his work, “The Jewels of Aptor,” in 1962, at age 20. Author, professor and literary critic, Mr. Delany’s work includes science fiction novels, memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society. This graphic novel, originally published in 1999, springs from a memoir and stands alone as engaging and insightful. Much has been written about Mr. Delany’s relationship with Dennis Rickett, a homeless man near Mr. Delany’s New York apartment on the Upper West Side. For such a celebrated author, who often writes on issues of class, one can only wonder what Mr. Delany was thinking as his relationship with Mr. Rickett blossomed. But, read carefully, and you’ll find some answers. The short answer is that it all boils down to honest affection.
For a book that promises an erotic tale, there are even more scenes that speak to the great divide between the two men which they will either struggle with or overcome. All signs appear to point to a relationship that continues to grow. We are free to give shape and meaning to our lives as we see fit. For this book, Mr. Delany weaves lines from the great German Romantic lyric poet, Friedrich Hölderlin. His poem, “Bread and Wine,” is freely quoted throughout. It is a poem about the inevitable failure of reconciling the classic past to the present. Perhaps it is there that Mr. Delany reveals himself most naked and raw. An appreciation for the finer points in life make the present all the sweeter. As written in “Bread & Wine,” towards the end of the poem: “Bread is a fruit of Earth, yet touched by the blessing of sunlight, from the thundering god issues the gladness of wine.”
“Bread & Wine: An Erotic Tale of New York” is available now. Visit our friends at Fantagraphics Books here.
Kim Thompson portrait by Daniel Clowes
Seattle in the ’90s was in full control of the youthquake: Subpop gave us grunge and Fantagraphics, with Gary Groth and Kim Thompson leading the way, gave us alternative comics.
When you look at how comics are now held in high regard, among those you can thank for that is Kim Thompson. I met him once at a party held in his home. Yes, it’s true, he’s a quiet man. So am I and, well, so are most people to some degree. What sets Mr. Thompson apart from all the early supporters of alternative comics is that he was in a position, as co-publisher at Fantagraphics to really make a difference.
Kim Thompson helped foster the careers of some significant players in the game: Chris Ware, Daniel Clowes, Peter Bagge and Los Bros Hernandez to name a few. And he was a scholar on the subject of comics. In the last few years, he translated the works of such notable cartoonists as Jacques Tardi, Joost Swarte and Jason. At 56, he died much too young.
Filed under Comics News, Fantagraphics, Fantagraphics Books, Seattle
Tom Kaczynski is sensitive to the fact that consumer culture seems pretty much a lost cause and any attempt to reverse course would appear to be futile at best. It’s the stuff of great comics and Kaczynski has an excellent handle on it. “Beta Testing The Apocalypse” brings together, thanks to Fantagraphics Books, an impressive collection of social satire with a distinctive voice. I hate to throw in the term, “snark,” in this review since it’s too easy and sort of misleading. Kaczynski’s humor is, at times, acerbic, with an attitude, I suppose, but it’s much more than that. This book collects eight comics, the majority having appeared in the Fantagraphics anthology, MOME. Read as a whole, the author’s vision comes through as heart-felt, witty, and maybe even, perhaps, genuinely concerned. Oh sure, it’s all in good fun. I’m just saying this stuff will get under your skin.
Have us Westerners crossed a line of no return? We worship cars. We allow ourselves to be herded like cattle to our office cubicles. We create myths about the great dream to own a house. Well, you get it. The readership for this type of satire already gets it. Where Kaczynski shines is in the details. His characters are numb and they know it. The world is too much with them, as Wordsworth says in his poem, and they have given their hearts away. In “976 SQ FT,” Kaczynski gives us a hipster couple, having recently abandoned suburbia, who mock their new “urban” neighborhood as nothing more than a few blocks sliced and diced by a highway overpass, a bridge, and an avenue. They cope with the nonstop construction of new condos. They think they’ve managed to get a handle on an increasingly artificial environment until one day, the joke is on them.
Wordsworth goes on to wish, in that same poem, to just be a pagan. But can such silly near-sighted humans ever get it right? In “Million Year Boom,” an ambitious young man takes a new job that will find him living on a corporate campus for several years. Hired as part of the new marketing team, he is less than impressed with the current company logo that looks like it was lifted out of a clip-art file. However, the company is stuffed with investor capital and the energy of start-up idealism is too much to resist. It’s not until he comes to see that the company’s goal is sort of crazy, that he hesitates. The allergy he’s developed from one of the company’s new species of plants is not a good sign either. But then again, when he thinks it over, a corporate return to the wild could be the sort of crazy that he’s always hungered for.
Kaczynski’s characters are often attempting to push back and find that something that is pure and real. “The New,” throws into bed conflicting beliefs in the authority of first world and third world states. Architecture is seen as a possible solution to the many ills of one struggling nation. Sex and power are confused with the potential of building something “great.” The end is near for everyone when architecture turns into a cosmic portal to unspeakable horror.
So, no, there is no snark here. It is wry humor, told and drawn with a deft touch. Never overburdened or overwraught, what we have are naked apes with too much technology, and too much time, on their hands.
“Beta Testing The Apocalypse” is published by Fantagraphics Books. Visit our friends at Fantagraphics Books here.
Filed under Comics, Fantagraphics Books, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels
It is always a delight to talk with fellow cartoonist and friend, Marc Palm. In this interview from Stumptown Comics Fest, in Portland last weekend (April 27-28), we joke around a bit, although both of us were pretty weary by then, as the festivities were drawing to a close that Sunday. Among the various places you can find Marc, try HERE.
Marc Palm is a cartoonist based out of Seattle. He is involved with the ongoing comics anthology, INTRUDER. And Mr. Palm will be busy this Saturday, Free Comic Book Day, over at Fantagraphics Bookstore in support of FREAK COMIC BOOK, a Fantagraphics mini that he’s a contributor in. So, if you’re in the Seattle area, you’re going to be busy too checking out your favorite local comics shops including, of course, Fantagraphics Bookstore.
From the Press Release:
“Fantagraphics Bookstore will issue an exclusive 16-page Freak Comic Book mini featuring a stellar cast of local alternative artists. Edited by Intruder contributor Marc Palm, the book includes new works by Max Clotfelter, Kelly Froh, Eroyn Franklin, Tom Van Deusen, Ben Horak, Darin Shuler, David Lasky, Aidan Fitzgerald, Pat Moriarity, John Ohannesian, Max Badger, and James Stanton. As May 4 is also Star Wars Day – (“May the Fourth Be With You”) – the mini concludes with touching tributes to Yoda by Peter Bagge, Ellen Forney, Jim Woodring, and Kazimir Stzrepek. Freak Comic Book is limited to 100 copies. Many of the contributing artists will be in attendance to sign their work.” FBI informant — with Max Badger Woodring, Jim Woodring, James Stanton, Peter Bagge, Ellen Forney – Cartoonist and Kazimir Strzepek at Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery.
The new Fantagraphics catalog is out and chock full of comics goodness. Take note of a very special offer: Your chance to own some very special mini-comics!
The press release follows:
By now you’ve probably received your 2012 Fantagraphics Ultimate Catalog of Comics in the mail. It’s jam-packed with our 2011 releases, a few upcoming 2012 releases, and a bunch of backlist stuff. It also details our exciting FBI•MINI mail-order bonus program, more about which below. And, of course, there’s a handy order form for ordering everything!
If for some reason you’re on our email list but not our snail-mail list, contact us to request your free copy, and if you just can’t wait and/or want to have it on your computer or mobile device, we’ve also made it available as an 11.5 MB PDF download.
And now a special announcement from Kim Thompson:
I always was very fond of the mini-comics format — take two to four 8 1/2 x 11 sheets, fold them once, staple, and voilà! You have an adorable little 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 comic book for mere pennies. But I could never really figure out what to do with this old-school, low-tech format.
Until now!
For this catalog season, we have created 21 “FBI•MINI” booklets (most in this format, although there are a few oddities), as premiums for customers who order books directly from us. They are available free with the purchase of their “matching” book or books — or for those customers who’ve already bought those books but are desperate to get the FBI•MINI, free with the purchase of $50 worth of any other Fantagraphics mail-order merchandise.
We’ve put together some pretty amazing stuff. For instances, there are four foreign FBI•MINIs featuring material that is being released in English for the very first time: an eight-page David B. story from the 1990s, an eight-page full-color Sibyl-Anne story by Raymond Macherot, a twelve-page collection of Joost Swarte‘s very earliest, most underground-y work — the stuff that didn’t make it into Is That All There Is? — and most amazing of all, 21 pages of an abandoned Manchette/Tardi story that has only been printed once in an obscure French collection, and never in English. That’s 49 page of prime European comics available here for the first time.
There are four sketchbook collections (an amazing gathering of Jim Woodring work preparing for Congress of the Animals, an intricate set of sketches and more by Stephen DeStefano for Lucky in Love, a collection of Kim Deitch‘s legendary pencilled conceptualization drawings… and a hilarious blurt of Prison Pit character doodles from Johnny Ryan).
There’s a non-Segar Popeye strip from the Segar era that didn’t make it into our Popeye series (since it wasn’t by Segar)… a collection of terrific “coming attractions” pages from Golden Age comics to go with Greg Sadowski’s upcoming Golden Age covers collection… a dozen great “Humorama” drawings that didn’t quite get into the Humorama book… a striking facsimile of a Maurice Tillieux original Gil Jordan page, complete with watercolored color indications on the back… and a never-before published Joe Sacco strip.
Plus 16 pages of Alex Toth art from the Setting the Standard era, but here reproduced in crisp black and white from the original photostats… Tony Millionaire‘s hilarious illustrated essay on failing to secure a TV gig for Billy Hazelnuts, complete with a preview of his upcoming Billy Hazelnuts Volume 3… a collection of the legendary Ivan Brunetti Nancy strip try-out… and 12 gorgeous full-color pages of scary Richard Sala faces.
And we’ve also got some obscurities, such as 12 pages of Bill Griffith comics that got axed from his epochal Lost and Found, a never-before-reprinted Critters-era “Nilson Groundthumper” story by Stan Sakai, and some truly Jurassic-era comics from Peter Bagge and Los Bros. Hernandez.
If any of these catch your interest (and if you’re reading this surely at least one of them will) you can click right on any of them to a more detailed listing on our website — or just click right here and all 21 will pop up for you to peruse.
Click here to see all the newest releases from Fantagraphics Books.
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NOTE: Sales and special offers for Fantagraphics mailorder do not apply at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery unless otherwise noted, and vice versa.
Filed under comic books, Comics, Fantagraphics, Fantagraphics Books, graphic novels, mini-comics
