This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new titles. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators and web-savvy comic shops are saying about them (more to be added as they appear), check out our previews at the links, and contact your local shop to confirm availability.
"3 New Stories is a fascinating work, a book knocked me back on my heels with its tremendous inventiveness, playfulness and intriguing approach to the comics page." –Jason Sacks,Comics Bulletin
144-page color/black & white 7.25" x 10.25" softcover • $19.99 ISBN: 978-1-60699-622-5
"While this is an odds-and-ends compilation of a number of the creator of Hate's shorter works, it is by no means a "b-sides and outtakes" collection." –Benn Ray, Atomic Books
472-page black & white 5.75" x 8.25" hardcover • $29.99 ISBN: 978-1-60699-633-1
"Castle Waiting creates a vibrant fantasy world not unlike The Lord of the Rings' Middle-earth but with a focus on the lives of women.... Fun to read and look at, Castle Waiting will enthrall fantasy readers of both genders." – Time
144 page black & white with color 8/5" x 11" softcover • $19.99 ISBN: 978-0-930193-92-8
"Fantagraphics' Crumb project advances into wilder, woolier, scarier, more fantastic, and lewder and still lewder territory in [Volume 5]... This is definitely X-rated material — make that triple-X! — but it's brilliant, scabrously hilarious, absolutely basic to understanding the 1960s American counterculture, and authentically mind-blowing." – Booklist
This one-shot comic book features three all-new, full-color short stories that explore varied dystopian societies. From a Sherlock Holmes-style investigator who must complete his high school degree to filmed "voluntary" nudity to prison camps full of jaded children, Shaw pens each story with his signature style and unique spin, all in 32 pages.
"A former student of the genius artist-seer-cartoonist Gary Panter, Dash, it's fair to say, is something of a genius as well." — Chris Ware
"Dash Shaw is an utterly brilliant young cartoonist who has, in a few short years, advanced from the academic experiments of his earlier work... into a formalist genius whose skills encompass both a natural gift for color and a feel for subtle, indirect characterization." – Bill Howard, Only the Cinema
"Kaleidoscopic... Shaw has a deft touch... Like the very best illustrated fiction, Shaw's work moves between pathos and humor, between the fantastic and the familiar." – The Christian Science Monitor
This summer ends with a blast at Bumbershoot! The Northwest's foremost arts festival features the premiere of Fantagraphics Follies, showcasing diverse works from some of Seattle's most notorious cartoonists. Don't miss your favorite Fantagraphics artists appearing on stage in the lively variety show format of a late-night talk show at the colorful Labor Day weekend event.
The entertainment begins big with Jim Woodring demonstrating his prowess with a giant quill pen. Fine artist (and finer cartoonist) Eroyn Franklin puts on a shadow puppet show, followed by the hilarious comix comedy routine of Kelly Froh. Ellen Forneyplays Marbles before her stint on the couch, and Danny Bland reads In Case We Die. Peter Bagge's pop combo Can You Imagine? featuring Steve Fisk performs the role of house band as Fantagraphics Bookstore curator Larry "Letterman" Reid plays host. Big fun for all ages.
Some lucky dozens of you have already got your hands on advance copies of Dash Shaw's incredible new graphic novel New School on his ongoing book tour... If you haven't had a chance to fondle a copy, here's a couple of photos to ogle for the time being.
A powerful combination of 1990s nostalgia, family drama, speculative fiction, and experimental visual techniques, flavored with wonder and deadpan humor, New School is unlike anything you've read before. Library Journal and Paste both named it one of their most-anticipated books of the year, with the latter saying "In a few short years, Dash Shaw has proven himself a restless artist, committed to pushing what comics can do and what his own talents can accomplish... it's nice to see him return with two works, no less." (The other one is 3 New Stories.) And it's a big honkin' book.
Portlandians can pick up the book and see Dash this Thursday, May 2, at Floating World Comics; Seattleites, come on down to Dash's signing at Fantagraphics Bookstore on Saturday, May 4; Torontonians, catch Dash at TCAF May 11-12! Everyone else, the book'll be out in June. More previews are forthcoming; read our free 18-page excerpt and pre-order your copy right here.
The lucky seventh volume of Hal Foster's Prince Valiant is off to the printer for release in August and here's our final, fine-tuned cover art. From an investigation of black magic to a quest for Christian missionaries, from epic derring-do to lighthearted domestic comedy, this volume runs the gamut of what readers love Foster's dashingly-told, masterfully-drawn strip for.
This Saturday, May 4, head to your participating local comic shop for a FREE excerpt from this volume in our Prince Valiant: Free Comic Book Day Special Edition comic book! And we'll have more sneak peeks for you right here in the coming weeks. Of course, you don't have to wait until then to put in your pre-order.
* Other People's Publications ** Yeah, You Know Me.
This Saturday, May 4th, we're thrilled to present a signing with acclaimed artist Dash Shaw for his latest Fantagraphics titles 3 New Stories and his ambitious hardcover graphic novel New School.
We'll also have this new mini-comic available, New Jobs, published by Tom Kaczynski’s mighty imprint Uncivilized Books. This limited edition mini measures a mere 1/2 page, but packs in as much emotional resonance as the brick-sized Bottomless Belly Button.
A couple living in Bed-Stuy are going to have a child. To support the child, they need to get new jobs. It's a story any of us could relate to. My heart especially went out to the panel with a stack of stark bills piled on a table.
Dash will be signing with us from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, and will discuss his work and screen short animations, including Seraph, which premiered at the recent Sundance Film Festival. Hurry out here and get your copies of his new work while they last, especially this limited edition mini!
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in Seattle's Georgetown district. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone: (206) 658-0110.
Ben Catmull's eerie new book is at the printer a little early for release in July or August (with a debut at Comic-Con in San Diego), bringing you some much-needed chills and goose pimples in the dog days of summer. The author introduces the book thusly:
"Welcome to Ghosts and Ruins, a compendium of old, forgotten haunted houses, their strange histories, and the experiences of those brave enough to visit. It is highly recommended that you read this book alone late at night in the dark far away from civilization, preferably during a power outage."
Get ready to explore "The Buried House," "The Disgusting Garden," "The Secluded House," "The Lighthouse," the "Labyrinth of Junk," and "The Crawling House"; meet "Drowned Shelley" (that's her below), "The Woman Outside the Window," "The Sculptor," and the "Lonely Old Spinster"; and learn the secrets of "Wandering Smoke," "The Order of the Shadowy Finger" (their HQ is on the cover), and "Hair and Earwigs."
Stay tuned for more spine-tingling sneak peeks in the coming weeks!
“I fell madly in love with Cathy Malkasian’s beautiful Percy Gloom graphic novel a few years back, which was as beautiful as it was unexpected, so there is little to no way that I am not eagerly anticipating this follow-up. For those who like gorgeously-illustrated, melancholy and touching books: This is for you.” – Graeme McMillan, Robot 6
• Seattle, WA: It's your last chance to see Jen Vaughn's exhibit (with her best friend Nomi Kane) at Chocolati Cafe [ 1716 N. 45th Street ]. Not only is she an amazing Marketing/PR/Outreach Fiend, but she's a kick-ass artist, too! (more info)
Cathy Malkasian's second Percy Gloom graphic novel is another fable that the author brings to vivid life through her lush and detailed pencil renderings, surreal humor, absurdist characters, breathtaking landscapes, and luminous storytelling.
Kindhearted, Candide-esque Percy wakes up from a 200 year nap and finds himself in a strange new land. Searching for his mother, lamenting his long-lost love and soul-mate Miss Margaret, Percy meets bizarre, wise, naive, and sometimes dangerous characters, encounters inspired inventions, and forges friendships, discovering a few unexpected verities along the way.
Not to mention the singing goats and furniture parades.
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