(not final cover)

The living will forever be obsessed with death and those who have started on that grand adventure before them. This Fall, Fantagraphics presents two books to capture the imagination and haunt each and every night by the young and talented Julia Gfrörer and Ben Catmull.

Black Is the Color
by Julia Gfrörer

September 2013

$9.99 Paperback • 72 pages
Black-and-white • 6" x 9"
ISBN: 978-1-60699-717-8

The push and pull, ebb and flow of the water calls out to all men. In this harrowing new graphic novella, Black Is the Color, Julia Gfrörer delicately hatches away this sailor-at-sea story until the reader drowns in imminent destruction. Gfrörer states, "Black Is the Color is my most ambitious single story comic to date, and I'm thrilled that Fantagraphics will be publishing it in a format that matches my vision for the work." Originally serialized at the Study Group web collective, Gfrörer's work is as seductive as the mermaids she draws beneath the waves.

(final cover may vary)

Ghosts and Ruins
by Ben Catmull

September 2013

$19.99 Hardcover • 88 pages
Black-and-white • 10.25" x 8.50"
ISBN: 978-1-60699-678-2

Continuing his expanding Fantagraphics catalog, Ben Catmull's chilling compendium of long-forgotten and still-occupied haunted houses joins his 2006 critically-acclaimed Monster Parade. "For Ghosts and Ruins I wanted to take my obsessions with ghost stories, abandoned architecture, and forgotten history and illustrated them with images full of shadows, atmosphere, and texture. I'm looking forward to see how people react to a book that approaches the horror genre not with adrenaline fueled sadism or tongue in cheek goofiness but with haunting meloncholy and a little deadpan humor," Catmull summarizes. This coffee-table sized collection is the perfect gift for the future ghost in your life, and fans of Edward Gorey and Tim Burton are sure to enjoy these sweeping landscapes that echo of loss, dilapidation and dread.

Coming September of 2013, make room on your bookshelf for Julia Gfrörer's Black is the Color and Ben Catmull's Ghosts and Ruins.

Co-editor Crag Hill brings his magnificent collection The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008 home to Moscow, Idaho for a signing on Wednesday, February 6th!

Join Crag at Bookpeople of Moscow [ 521 S Main Street ] at 7:00 PM for this launch celebration! There will be a no-host bar, and copies of the anthology will be available for sale and signing. 

Yes, some artists do still send in their original artwork for scanning — case in point, Leslie Stein, who shipped us her lovely pages for Eye of the Majestic Creature Vol. 2, all neatly organized in three portfolio binders which are safely ensconced in our flat files (nestled alongside those bundles of Barnaby clippings) awaiting their turn on the scanner. Looks like we're well on track for the book's scheduled release in August! Since critics (correctly) called Vol. 1 "a treat," "phenomenal," "great," "a joy from cover to cover," "irresistible," "a triumph," "such a pleasure" and "one of the best graphic novels of the year," it's safe to call this one "eagerly anticipated."

It was a problem-free evening at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery as Jim Woodring presented his brand-new book Problematic: Sketchbook Drawings 2004-2012 earlier this month!

One of the first people in line was this awesome little girl! Jim's wife Mary tells us: "That cute little girl, now 8, has been a fan since the age of 4. Her favorite book for a long time was Seeing Things." Smart girl!

Large-scale reprints of Jim's sketchbook drawings adorn our gallery wall...

... while the original Moleskines are in a case below, some featuring his amazing 3-D pop-outs!

Admittedly, I didn't take a ton of pictures that night since I was DJing before and after our Yo La Tengo debut, but as I was segueing into "This Here Giraffe" by the Flaming Lips, this woman walked in, dressed as a giraffe! Uncanny!

Jim's exhibit will continue to be on display at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery through Thursday, February 7th. Drop by to see it in person 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.

If you live outside of the area, check out more photos on the Fantagraphics Flickr page, and get yourself a copy of Problematic: Sketchbook Drawings 2004-2012!

Thursday, January 24th

• Minneapolis, MN: Join Tom Kaczynski for the launch of Beta Testing the Apocalypse, with special guests Zak Sally and Derek Van Gieson, as well as Vincent Stall, Dan Wieken, and Peter Wartman! (more info)  

Friday, January 25th

• Paris, France: An exhibition of original artwork from Fuzz and Pluck makes its debut at the Librairie Les Super Héros, including a reception with Ted Stearn himself! (more info)  

• New York City, NY: And an exhibit of paintings by Gary Panter launches at the Fredericks & Freiser gallery in Chelsea. (more info)   

Saturday, January 26th

• Seattle, WA: The Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery proudly hosts the after-party for the Graphic Novel Panel 2013, featuring special guests Ellen Forney, Michel Gagné, and Jim Woodring, along with many more artists! (more info) 

THIS IS NOT A TEST: Tom Kaczynski presents the launch of his brave and brilliant collection Beta Testing the Apocalypse on Thursday, January 24th at Big Brain Comics in Minneapolis.

He will be joined by fellow Fantagraphics alumni Zak Sally and Derek Van Gieson, as well as Vincent Stall, Dan Wieken, and Peter Wartman.

Join them from 5:00 to 7:00 PM for this special celebration! Tom says a commemorative red ink will be used in authorizing your books. 

Big Brain Comics is located at 1027 Washington Avenue South. After the event, there will be mandatory fun at the Downtown Grumpy's.

Get ready for a truly Super Sunday as we welcome Portland artist Aron Nels Steinke to the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Sunday, February 3rd!

From 1:00 to 3:00 PM, he'll be signing copies of his brand-new collection Big Plans, a collection of his awesome autobiographical mini-comics series, now compiled in a fine 360-page volume by Portland's Bridge City Comics!

Laugh-out-loud funny, chilling, and meditative, Big Plans collects Aron Nels Steinke's most intimate and relatable stories. With a unique sense of timing, these are incredibly readable comics that are hard to put down.

... nothing to see here! Just a few hundred Barnaby clippings to scan for our second volume. Bless you, Jon Barli . 

The amazing Esther Pearl Watson will be among the hundreds of artists exhibiting at the L.A. Art Book Fair, opening Thursday, January 31st at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA!

Non-profit organization Printed Matter presents this unique event for artists' books, art catalogs, monographs, periodicals, and zines. There will be art installations, and even a "Zine World," a super-sized subsection of the L.A. Art Book Fair, featuring zinesters from home and abroad, together with three zine exhibitions.

Here's a sneak peek at some of the zines that Esther will be bringing:

(That Garbage zine is a collaboration with her also-awesome husband, artist Mark Todd!)

This event is free and open to the public, and runs through Sunday, February 3rd. The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA is located at 152 North Central Avenue. 

Dash Shaw's animated music video for Sigur Ros entitled SERAPH is showing at Sundance this week. As part of the Film Festival Shorts, SERAPH is also promoted on the YouTube Screen Room Channel. Check out Shaw's animation and enjoy others like Catnip and What Do We Have in Our Pockets? Keep your eyes on the sky for a new Shaw animation coming soon along with his two new comics, New School and 3 New Stories.