The Clouds Above (Softcover Ed.)
By Jordan Crane

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 unique packages in recent memory, with a brilliant graphic novel inside that justifies its elegant format. The Clouds Above calls to mind everything from Where the Wild Things Are to The Wizard of Oz to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, with its depiction of a fantastic world that lurks just around the corner from reality and that only children believe exists.

224-page full-color 6" x 6" softcover $16.99
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Via the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive blog. Doom's metal tongue is a nice touch. 

"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 Fun Never Stops!” exhibition features 17 portraits meticulously rendered in Friedman’s singular style. Included are political figures such as “McCain as Popeye,” “John Kerry’s Inauguration,” and “Really Rich Rudy” as well as pop culture icons like Frank Sinatra, Woody Allen, and Alfred E. Newman. In addition, Fantagraphics Books produced a limited edition silkscreen print featuring George W. Bush as Slim Pickens in the apocalyptic finale to “Dr. Strangelove.” Friedman’s portraits are alternately savage satires or reverential renderings – and frequently both, as in his series of “Old Jewish Comedians,” recently published in two volumes by Fantagraphics Books.

Friedman’s illustrious career has included comics work published in Art Spiegelman’s RAW, R. Crumb’s Weirdo and MAD Magazine, and frequent illustrations in National Lampoon, The New York Times, The New York Observer, among countless other publications. He was the recipient of the 2001 Reuben Award for newspaper illustration. Friedman’s work has been collected by Seattle’s Fantagraphics Books in The Fun Never Stops!: An Anthology of Comic Art 1991 - 2006, Old Jewish Comedians, More Old Jewish Comedians, and Warts and All.

“The Fun Never Stops!” begins with a reception for the artist on Thursday, March 27 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM. Admission is free to the public of all ages. The exhibition continues though May 6, 2008. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street (at the corner of Airport Way S.) in Seattle’s historic Georgetown industrial arts district. Open daily 11:30 until 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone: 206.658.0110.

Listing Information

DREW FRIEDMAN: THE FUN NEVER STOPS!
March 27 – May 6, 2008.
Opening Reception and Book signing
Thursday, March 27, 5:00 – 8:00 PM

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 206.658.0110

Open Daily 11:30 – 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM

When I heard the news of Dave Stevens' passing this week, at the much too young age of 52, the first two people I thought about were my pals Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez. I knew they were close to Dave so I sent them my condolences. Gilbert wrote me the following email, which I thought some of Dave's fans might enjoy, so he kindly consented to let me share it. R.I.P., Mr. Stevens.

Dave was always Dave. No matter where I saw him, at the premiere of THE ROCKETEER in Hollywood, or when he was mobbed by fans at GLAMOURCON, he would turn his head to me and ask "what do ya think? " Jaime and I met Dave at his studio in 1984. It was next to a gas station that was later used in David Lynch's LOST HIGHWAY. The studio that Dave shared with Bill Stout and Richard Hescox was a matress outlet by then. Right away we hit it off having similar interests, most notably the subject of curvy women. That's one thing he never outgrew. God bless him.

He was neurotic as any perfectionist when it came to finishing an art project, but when he delivered, he delivered. One of the few pieces of original art I own and cherish is the one he did for GIRL CRAZY #1, and not because he did it for free, either. Actually, he refused payment for it because he said he did it for fun. That was Dave and he lived for fun. That's the way I like it.

- Gilbert Hernandez, March 2008

All of the cool babies will be wearing Drool Buster bibs, created by Percy Gloom cartoonist Cathy Malkasian, for sale in her new Etsy shop. (Via The Wood Paneled Basement, the blog of Mome cartoonist Robert Goodin.)

This week's free preview is a downloadable 20-page excerpt from The Clouds Above, the all-ages classic from Jordan Crane which is being released in a new softcover edition this spring. These previews are exclusive to registered Fantagraphics.com users, so sign up and/or sign in to view. As a free bonus for everyone, the two images above, taken from the interior of the all-new cover flaps, are available for download as desktop wallpapers!

(As a reminder, 20/20 Club members receive these previews two weeks before we post them on the website... usually, except the past couple of weeks when we accidentally switched them around!)

We've put the entirety of Gary Groth's introduction to Explainers, the forthcoming collection of Jules Feiffer's Village Voice strips (due in June), here on the website for your reading pleasure. The feature includes a sideshow preview of 11 strips selected by Groth as standouts from the collection. Read it now!