FLOG! Entries - October 2007

Beauty & the Geek

Eric

Happiness is your own art gallery.

Eric

Stay tuned for a more detailed announcement.

My Crazy Dad!

Eric

I have no idea who Luke Maxwell is, and I'd be hard-pressed to say he has any real talent for cartooning, but this comic strip, titled "My Crazy Dad!" is nonetheless one of the best comics I've read in while and I crave more. I've read it at least three times now since my pal Jason Grote first tipped me to it.

Blah blah blah

Eric

Been meaning to write reviews of things I like but just can't seem to stay on top of it, I can't write as fast as I read, and not enough things that I read engage enough to want to sit down and write about them. But Jacob's Cold Heat post inspired me to mention a few things, real quick-like...

Cold Heat Special by Jon Vermilyea - What Jacob said below. This special issue of the Cold Heat series is way better than any of the other issues, which frankly kind of mystify me (and my pal Dan Nadel's unabashed enthusiasm for it only makes me feel like some kind of lame dilletante for not getting it). But this is just a great comic book by Jon Vermilyea, accessible to just about anyone (and not contigent upon having any familiarity with Cold Heat), and the 16" x 23" silkscreened cover is so fucking attractive that I want to frame it. I'm not sure the art on the inside needed to be this big (11 1/2" x 16" or so), but the treatment is worth it for the cover, and the inside tells a genuinely charming story that would work at any size, and reminded me of some of Jaime Hernandez's or Jordan Crane's more fantastical work. I really liked it. If this had been submitted to me for Mome, I would have jumped for joy upon reading it.

Pinwheel by Mike Bertino - Speaking of Mome, this is an excellent "mini" that is weirdly reminiscent in formal approach to Emile Bravo's "Young Americans" from Mome 8, which is one of my favorite short comics of the year so far. I have no doubt Mike did this without ever seeing Bravo's story, though, and his approach is almost as impressive, if lacking some of the humor and sheer gut punch of Bravo's. The silkscreened covers on this are really handsome, too, and Bertino's drawing style throughout is slightly crude but effective and inviting. Which may all sound like faint praise but isn't meant to be: this is one of the best self-published comics of the year.

Vittle Chin by Max Clotfelter - I don't know a lot about Max's work but I like what I've seen, it's very old school humor stuff that reminds me of a lot of the great early-1990s humor comics by people like Dennis Worden, Pat Moriarity, J.R. Williams, Terry LaBan, etc. The world needs more funny comics, so Max is doing us all a public service here.

I Will Bite You by Joseph Lambert - This guy has done a slew of minis in the last year, and this just happens to be the most recent I've seen. It's simple though handsomely-crafted story about a kid who like to bite. It has a certain antiquated, early 20th Century feel, it's very evocative and the smiling rictus faces remind me of Al Columbia a bit. I think Lambert is a current student or recent graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies, and from here it looks like he's getting a good education.

Comic Art Magazine #9 - Hello beautiful, where have you been all my life? I'm not sure what I can say about this mag that hasn't been said, but it's been on my coffee table longer than anything else this summer/fall, and I keep returning to it. Every issue of this mag has been worth picking up since issue #1, but this one really is the strongest (and fattest) yet, especially in regard to the writing. Comic Art's weak link in the past was the writing; a forgiveable if not irrelevant concern given the sheer amount of eye candy in every issue, but this issue's text is solid, with contributions from great writers like Ben Schwartz, Tom DeHaven, Ken Parille, Jerry Moriarity and more. There are major features on Jesse Marsh, Kaz, Gluyas Williams, Abner Dean, and several other cartooning heavyweights. And then there's those covers by Tim Hensley. Be still my heart. The highlight for me was probably the Abner Dean piece; in one essay Ken Parille told me more about Dean -- one of all-time favorite cartoonists -- than I'd been able to piece together on my own in a decade of searching for info.

Cold Heat Special

covey

Whether or not you're a fan of the original run of Cold Heat comics I highly recommend picking up the new Cold Heat Special with Jon Vermilyea doing the artwork to Frank Santoro's writing. I don't have time to write up a proper review of the comic but suffice it to say that Vermilyea is a great young talent and you could do worse than to collect all his work before you can't Ebay it for less than an arm and a leg.

This particular CH story is by far my favorite--but then the style of Frank Santoro's airy art is somewhat lost on me (though it seems to have been received well by many others so you decide). This edition is a very different take. More traditionally polished, Vermilyea's lush backrounds and smart compositions are beautiful and for the absurdly low price of $10 you can get the limited edition (50 copies!) silkscreened cover edition from Picturebox.

[Large-format 11"x16" short comic.]

Fanta, D&Q, IDW and Checker team up in Nov.

Eric

NOVEMBER IS CLASSIC COMIC STRIPS MONTH!

We are truly living in a Golden Age of classic comics strip collections, and as such we're collaborating with CHECKER PUBLISHING (Flash Gordon, Little Nemo, Steve Canyon), DRAWN AND QUARTERLY (Moomin, Oh Skin-nay!, Walt and Skeezix), and IDW (Dick Tracy, Terry and the Pirates) to produce a cool, oversized promotional sampler that comic shops can distribute in November (cover pictured above). This full-color 11" x 17" tabloid showcases some of the very finest Gasoline Alley, Dick Tracy, Krazy Kat, Little Nemo in Slumberland, Steve Canyon, Terry and the Pirates, Dennis the Menace, Flash Gordon, Yellow Kid, Little Orphan Annie, Peanuts and Popeye strips. How can you go wrong?

Designed like an old-time classic newspaper comic strip supplement, Comic Strip Masterpieces will feature superb reproductions, including many stunning full-color Sunday pages! There will also be a "sequel" of sorts to the hugely popular Unseen Peanuts (an annotated spread of Peanuts strips from the upcoming ninth volume of Complete Peanuts that have never been reprinted since their original newspaper release almost 40 years ago), as well as biographical notes on the cartoonists, a checklist of classic comic strip reprints, and more. Reading Comic Strip Masterpieces will be like traveling back in time to an era when comic strips were actually good!

So badger your shop already to stock this! And for those of you unable to get to a comic book store, we're also making a PDF available for download RIGHT HERE. It's a 4.6 MB download, and nowhere near as cool as the actual printed sampler itself, so don't let this electronic version prevent you from getting a physical copy from your favorite retailer. Tell 'em Fantagraphics sent ya!

Watch Carol Tyler draw

Eric

This article about the University of Cincinnati's new comics courses also includes a great little promotional video of Carol Tyler drawing/teaching/talking comics with her students.

ABOVE: Carol Tyler (right) and Diane Noomin.

A Blogosphere Halloween

Eric

Beyond the Groovy Age of Horror has taken the only proper blogosphere course of action this Halloween: they've posted a new interview with our own favorite master of the macabre, Richard Sala.

Embroidered Johnny Ryan

Eric

Jenny Ryan embroidered this awesome cover for Nickelodeon Mag's "Comic Book" section this month, based on a drawing by her husband, Johnny Ryan. Very cool. From Jenny's Flickr page.

Fanta-ween

mike

Jimb-o-lantern by Eric Reynolds:

Cyril Root (from Richard Sala's The Chuckling Whatsit) by Rhea Patton:

J.R. Williams' entry in my Yoda sketchbook says it all:

Don't forget to send us your photos! Email them to mbaehr at fantagraphics blot blob or add them to our groups on Flickr or Facebook.

Groth dropped

Eric

This is almost certainly the most random Gary Groth name-drop of the day.

New Release: Palestine: The Special Edition

mike

Palestine: The Special Edition
by Joe Sacco

Fantagraphics Books is pleased to present, for the first time, the definitive, expanded, hardcover collection of Sacco's landmark of comics journalism. Palestine: The Special Edition is more than a new edition: consider it the "Criterion" Palestine. In addition to the original, 288-page graphic novel and introduction by the late Edward Said, The Special Edition includes a host of unique material never before published, including many of Sacco's original background notes, sketches, photographic reference, and much more. The book also includes a new, introductory interview with Sacco about the making of the book as well as a new cover and design. Palestine: The Special Edition will be a cornerstone of any serious comic collection. With the Middle East's role in contemporary world politics, Sacco's Palestine has never been more relevant or more valuable to a country desperate to understand this long-running conflict. Based on several months of research and an extended visit to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the early 1990s (where he conducted over 100 interviews with Palestinians and Jews), Palestine was the first major comics work of political and historical nonfiction by Sacco, whose name has since become synonymous with this graphic form of New Journalism. Sacco's insightful reportage takes place at the front lines, where busy marketplaces are spoiled by shootings and tear gas, soldiers beat civilians with reckless abandon, and roadblocks go up before reporters can leave. Sacco interviewed and encountered prisoners, refugees, protesters, wounded children, farmers who had lost their land, and families who had been torn apart by the Palestinian conflict.

320-page 8" x 11" black & white hardcover $29.95

Order Now!

Anders Nilsen's moleskin

Eric

Check out these online excerpts from Anders Nilsen's sketchbook comics. There's also more here.

30 Seconds of Spooky

In the service of Halloween (and brevity), Neil Gaiman and several other "personalities" read a tale of terror on the Public Radio this past Saturday.

Spooky!

* Giggle

covey

Since I designed the Fantagraphics "Complete Dennis" books, Devlin Thompson sent me the following image thinking I'd be amused. He was right: I really am.

There are so many things I mean to be posting and have no time for that this makes me feel guilty... but haw-haw guilty.

Mister Wonderful, Part 7

Eric

In Chapter 7 of Mister Wonderful, the action moves out of the cafe while Marshall just tries to hold on for dear life. I hope everyone is reading this strip, it's really been great. It's a slightly different strip for Clowes, and seems perfect for its NYT audience. The main character, Marshall, is already shaping into one of Clowes' most fully realized and endearing characters after a brief seven pages, and the subtle formal play between Marshall's interior monologue, the visual "action" (this week's simple "HA-HA"s hit like brick), and dialogue has been masterful and shows Clowes at the peak of his powers. I feel grateful that we're still only like a third of the way in.

The Power of Peanuts

Eric

Forbes' annual top-earning deceased celebrities list is out, and once again, Charles M. Schulz is near the top of the list, coming in at #3, behind #1 Elvis Presley and sandwiched between two Beatles (after John, ahead of George). I don't know why this thrills me every year, but it does. I mean, the Beatles and Elvis? Sure. But a shy cartoonist from Minnesota? The mind reels. Schulz really was the Beatles of comics.

There is one conspicuously absent name not on this list: are we to infer that the Beatles aren't the only celebs more popular than Jesus? (Just a little joke, America! Please don't burn our books.)

Flickr contest winner!

mike

Congratulations and thanks to Flickr user Besacalles of Bogotá, Colombia for being the 1000th person to add us as a contact and winning $25 worth of books!

Sharpen up your stabbiest pumpkin-carving knife and get rummaging through your closet for costume ideas — we'll be accepting entries for our Fanta-ween contest through Sunday, November 4.

Sacco heads to Minneapolis

Eric

After kicking off the release of Palestine: The Special Edition here in Seattle this weekend, Joe Sacco will be headed to Minneapolis in mid-November for his only other public event of the year. Our pals at Rain Taxi sponsor the Twin Cities Book Festival every year and this year are bringing Sacco along with several other writers.

JOE SACCO
Tuesday, November 13, 2007, 7:00 pm
$10 ($8 for Walker Members and Rain Taxi subscribers)
Walker Art Center
1750 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis

Celebrated cartoonist JOE SACCO visits Minneapolis for a special presentation co-hosted by Rain Taxi Review of Books and the Walker Art Center. Appearing in conjunction with the Walker exhibition Brave New Worlds, Sacco will offer a visual tour of his acclaimed approach to comics journalism, in which he combines the techniques of eyewitness reportage with the medium of graphic storytelling to explore complex, emotionally weighted situations in some of the most conflicted and war-torn regions of the globe.

Schulz on PBS tonight!

Eric

Set your DVRs immediately! Tonight is the night: PBS will air a documentary on the life of Charles M. Schulz. In "Good Ol' Charles Schulz," AMERICAN MASTERS presents an unexpected portrait of the man behind the most popular comic strip in history. The feature-length documentary premieres tonight, October 29, 2007, 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET on PBS.