Edited by Eric Reynolds & Philip Nel; Introduction by Chris Ware; art direction by Daniel Clowes
320-page black & white (with some color) 11" x 6.75" hardcover • $35.00 ISBN: 978-1-60699-522-8
The beloved comic strip is finally given the Fantagraphics treatment. Barnaby’s deft balance of fantasy, political commentary, sophisticated wit, and elegantly spare images expanded our sense of what comic strips can do.
Due to arrive in about 4-6 weeks. Click the thumbnails for larger versions; get more info, see more previews and pre-order your copy here:
Most Seattlelites recognize the cartoons of Steven Weissman since he's been drawing I, Anonymous for the Seattle Stranger for quite awhile. In this weekly letter column, he pens the diatribes of the angry, bitter, self-loathing and oblivious. Last month's was a favorite of mine, a huge fan of the C-word, handled with the utmost care (see above). Weissman's love of duotone, gray shading and dot-matrix-heavy shading makes his drawings perfect for print and they look hella fine on the web too. Weissman was sweet enough to answer some questions about how he approaches the weekly illustrations.
Q: Do the letters appear on your doorstep in a huge sack just steeped in vitriol?
A: [Art Director] Aaron Huffman sends me a letter sometime between Wednesday and Friday each week after Stranger associate editor David Schmader or some shadowy 'they' pick the letters.
Q: What is your process like for a weekly drawing based on someone else's ideas?
A: I've usually scanned the letter once by Friday. I'll print it out on Sunday night, underline key phrases and make a couple of sketches. By Monday morning, I have a pretty clear idea of what I'm drawing.
Sometimes the Seattle-specific letters can be puzzling (I'm in Los Angeles), but I can only think of one where I was completely stumped, and all I remember about that one is my solution being some guy eating a toaster waffle.
Q: Have you ever been contacted by the people who wrote the letters or the ones who figured out they were the subject?
A: I've sold drawings to people related to the letters before. They make great gifts for friends recovering from messy breakups (35% of I, Anonymous letters are breakups). Original art is also a great way to say "I'm sorry I gave you V.D."
• New York City, NY: Get ready for Old Comics, Old Freaks, Old Jews, and LOTS of fun with graphic humorist Drew Friedman at the Soho Gallery for Digital Art. Host Danny Fingeroth will ask this master cartoonist and satirist about his life and career, and Drew will unveil previews of new, unreleased work, including his "Legends of Comic Books" series! Get your tickets now before this sells out! (more info)
• San Francisco, CA: Remember I See What You Say: Visual Stories and Narrative Art, that dreamy exhibit I told you about featuring work by Lilli Carré and Mome-veteran Eleanor Davis? Well, today they'll be holding their public reception at the Cartoon Art Museum, and while Lilli and Eleanor won't be there themselves, it's a fun chance to see their work while meeting lots of other nice artists and writers, like Lemony Snicket! (more info)
Our artists will be partaking in programming throughout the weekend, so check out their panels!
Saturday, April 27th
12:00-12:45 pm // Meathaus Reunion: Becky Cloonan, Brandon Graham, Farel Dalrymple and Dash Shaw: A reflective spotlight on Meathaus luminaries, Becky Cloonan, Brandon Graham, Farel Dalrymple and Dash Shaw whose work has appeared in various Meathaus anthologies since 2002. These artists have each maintained their own strong modern stylistic identity receiving both critical and commercial acclaim. Marc Arsenault (Alternative Comics) will introduce the panel with a look at the SVA art groups and graduates that led to the creation of the Meathaus comics collective. (Room B114)
1:00-1:45 pm // Angels and Demons: The Mythology of S. Clay Wilson: Mythology may be the key to understanding the work of highly influential underground cartoonist S. Clay Wilson, from the self-mythology that Wilson invented and polished over the years as a dashing and dangerous figure, to his personal inner landscape where his archetypal characters dwell when they arena gracing the pages of Zap Comix, Thrilling Murder, or Insect Fear, to the body of language and lore passed down from his hillbilly ancestors. With Patrick Rosenkranz. (Room B117)
2:00-2:45 pm // Two-Faced Artist Lives Double Life in Single Body!: The joys and perils of straddling the worlds of fine art and comics with cartoonists Jon McNaught, Julia Gfrörer, and Daniel Duford, moderated by Chloe Eudaly. Join us for a conversation with our panel of artists, each of whom are experienced in the realms of fine art and comics. We'll explore how they came to work in two seemingly disparate mediums, how their work in each converges with, diverges from, and influences the other, and the the sometimes arbitrary or artificial distinction between the two. (Room B117)
5:00-5:45 pm // Dylan Williams Tribute Panel: Share some time with the friends and colleagues of comics' best friend as we all recount our favorite stories about the late Sparkplug publisher's life and celebrate his philosophy and work as an artist, scholar and publisher. Time permitting, we will also attempt to make sense of his passion for unsettling any and everyone who dared point a camera at him at festivals like this one. Panelists include: T Edward Bak, Julia Gfrörer, Tim Goodyear, David Lasky, Tom Neely; moderated by Milo George. (Room B114)
Sunday, April 28th
1:00-1:45 pm // Submissions Do's and Don'ts: Jen Vaughn (Fantagraphics), Jamie Rich (formerly Oni Press), Bob Schreck (Legendary Comics), Allison Baker (Monkeybrains Comics), and Sina Grace (Image/Skybound) will share their experiences slogging through the submissions pile, everything from finding a diamond in the rough to bartering with the mailman to stop delivering submissions. Your questions? Answered! Your comics published? We'll see. (Room B114)
2:00-2:45 pm // Dash Shaw's New School: Dash Shaw is a cartoonist and animator whose graphic novel New School debuts at Stumptown from Fantagraphics Books. In this spotlight presentation, he will screen and discuss his animations, including his Sigur Ros video and Sundance short Seraph, and show slides of the process behind creating New School as well as some of his other comics. Moderated by Fantagraphics' Jen Vaughn. (Room B111)
4:00-4:45 pm // DIY Publishing: For many micropublishers, making good books is easy; it's the marketing and the selling that's hard. Panelists Tom Kaczynski (Uncivilized Books), Zack Soto (Study Group), Chloe Eudaly (Reading Frenzy), Jason Leivian (Floating World Comics), Keenan Keller (Drippy Bone), and moderator Milo George will look at different printing processes and their costs and compare notes on production/distribution issues including pricing and sustainability. (Room B111)
5:00-5:45 pm // Spain Tribute Panel: Spain Rodriguez, legendary underground cartoonist, tore his way into hearts of readers like the beloved motorcycles that grace the pages of his comics. Patrick Rosenkranz, Jen Vaughn, Eric Reynolds, and Charles Brownstein take you though the wild days of Spain's work from his groundbreaking ZAP anthology contributions to adapting the life of Che Guevara. Get acquainted with this revolutionary cartoonist and his award-winning work. (Room B117)
So, stop by the Fantagraphics Booth this weekend at Stumptown, Booth Q1 right down the aisle when you first walk in!
The Oregon Convention Center is located at 777 NE ML King Blvd, several blocks away from the Lloyd Center Shopping Mall, and conveniently located next to a Portland Tri-Met MAX Line stop for accessibility.
Edited by Eric Reynolds & Philip Nel; Introduction by Chris Ware; art direction by Daniel Clowes
320-page black & white (with some color) 11" x 6.75" hardcover • $35.00 ISBN: 978-1-60699-522-8
Ships in: May 2013 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now
Before authoring one of the most beloved children’s book series of all time — Harold and the Purple Crayon — cartoonist Crockett Johnson created the comic strip Barnaby for over ten years (1942 to 1952). Its subtle ironies and playful allusions never won a broad following, but the adventures of 5-year-old Barnaby Baxter and his fairy godfather Jackeen J. O’Malley was and is a critical favorite.
Fantagraphics introduces the wonders of Barnaby to a new generation of children and parents alike. Co-edited by Johnson biographer Philip Nel (Dr. Seuss: American Icon) and Fantagraphics Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds, with art direction by graphic novelist Daniel Clowes (Ghost World), this five-volume Barnaby series will collect the entirety of the original newspaper strips from 1942-1952. The first volume collects all the strips from 1942 and 1943.
Barnaby revolved around a precocious five-year-old named Barnaby Baxter and his fairly godfather Jackeen J. O’Malley. Yet O’Malley, a cigar-chomping, bumbling con-artist and fast-talker, was not your typical protector. His grasp of magic was usually specious at best, limited to occasional flashes, often aided and abetted by his fellow members in The Elves, Leprechauns, Gnomes, and Little Men’s Chowder & Marching Society.
Barnaby’s deft balance of fantasy, political commentary, sophisticated wit, and elegantly spare images expanded our sense of what comic strips can do. With subtlety and economy, Barnaby proved that comics need not condescend to readers. Its small but influential readership took that message to heart.
"I think, and I’m trying to talk calmly, that Barnaby and his friends and oppressors are the most important additions to American arts and letters in Lord knows how many years." – Dorothy Parker
"One of the best comic strips of the 20th Century and one of the most beloved older strips for a generation of devoted adult comics fans, Barnaby had become in the last decade and a half the great unsigned strip collection." – The Comics Reporter
Get ready for a special presentation from Special Presentation, which is a monthly comedy series in New York City featuring, special... uh, performances.
Well, tonight's presentation is extra-special because it features our own Michael Kupperman! Join Michael tonight, Monday, April 22nd, at the UCB Theater in New York City as he presents what's sure to be a thrizziling A/V presentation at 8:00 PM. Reserve a ticket online here!
464-page two-color 6.75" x 9" softcover • $35.00 ISBN: 978-1-60699-557-0
A long, dense, sensitive, and minutely observed autobiographical masterpiece recalling the summer of 1984, when the artist, a rebellious, punked-out 17-year-old, hitchhiked her way across Italy. 2011 Angoulême prize winner.
Due to arrive in about 4-6 weeks. Click the thumbnails for larger versions; get more info, see more previews and pre-order your copy here:
The annual Stumptown Comics Awards nominees have been announced. Here on out, it's a down-and-dirty voting contest so we have a few recommendation on who you should vote for (Spoiler: our books) and the fact you should ask your mom and her intense network of friends.
Noah Van Sciver is up for Best Cartoonist for The Hypo. His emotionally charged drawing style added depth and charimsa to the beleaguered story of Abraham Lincoln long before he was a president.
Lilli Carré is up for two awards for Best Colorist and Publication Design for Heads or Tails. Carré recently was a Lynd Ward Prize honoree for 2013 for the same book. Filled to the brim with sweet, whimsical short stories that leave you shivering, this one-woman book of tales delivers for either side of the coin.
No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics (edited byJustin Hall) is up for Best Anthology and is a head-to-toe shoe in. Collecting four decades of queer comics, it not only entertains but educates.
So go on, GIT, and vote for our books. You have until NOON on MONDAY Thank you.
It's the end of the fucking week — and what a fucking week it's been, especially in Chuck Forsman's home state of Massachusetts. We swear it's only coincidence that on our schedule for today is this sneak peek at the final cover art and an excerpt of an upcoming graphic novel about a pair of lawless young people walking a violent path together.
Our collection of Chuck's acclaimed minicomic The End of the Fucking World (a.k.a. the more bookstore-friendly TEOTFW) is due out in July. In its serialized form, TEOTFW was named to multiple Best of 2012 lists and earned praise like this:
"The most beautiful piece of Americana made in years. Every page Forsman draws is a minimalist masterpiece. Huge and heartbreaking. A modern triumph disguised as an episode of Peanuts." – Matt Seneca
"The awkwardness, the urgency, the sense of discovery, the sense of revulsion - it's all true, even if you've never stuck your own hand in a garbage disposal." – Sean T. Collins
"Great stuff." – Frank Santoro
"[TEOTFW] exemplifies what exactly it is I love about comics. It's lo-fi yet stylistic, subtle yet visceral — a version of Bonnie and Clyde bled through the lens of Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park." – Spandexless
"This is a crime comic disguised as a slacker-road-trip comic, and Forsman delivers its methodical hum eight pages at a time with an astounding precision." – Comic Book Resources
"[TEOTFW] pulls you in like no other comic this year. Stunning in its simplicity and brave in its subject matter." – MTV.com
Our 19-page excerpt comprises the first two issues of the series; read it here.
Every great once in awhile, like a giant locust swarm happening on the same calendar day as a solar eclipse, Ivan Brunetti offers a page of original art for sale. This time it is the page below (detail above) from The New Yorker, the December 21, 2009 issue.