FLOG! Entries for Mike Baehr - June 2010

Simon Pegg has good taste

mike

Our own Eric Reynolds forwarded me this link: The co-writer and co-star of the upcoming film Paul sports an Eightball #23 t-shirt in this short behind-the-scenes video (and presumably on screen during the film). Such a shirt was never produced commercially as far as I know, so this must be a custom job from the film's wardrobe department. Look for more Fantagraphics set dressing when the film arrives in theaters (release date TBA). And speaking of Fantagraphics set dressing, how about that new season of The IT Crowd?

Exclusive Werewolves of Montpellier preview at Techland

mike

Head over to TIME.com's Techland blog for an exclusive 6-page sneak peek of Jason's new graphic novel Werewolves of Montpellier, in stores today!

Daily OCD: 6/30/10

mike

Online Commentary & Diversions returns after a slow news day yesterday:

• Review: "Hensley’s clean art, drawn in a 1960s cartoon style (and complete with bright color pallete) is a bizarre mish-mash of the best in ‘60s teen book cartooning with the absurdity of an episode of The Monkees and the severity of indy comics. ...Hensley’s biting humor [is] either as spontaneous on the final page…or so well timed and planned that you don’t see it coming. In all honesty, I had trouble figuring Wally [Gropius] out — I expected a nostalgic pastiche with an edge, but what I got was an unpredictable and sometimes unsettling reading experience, literally not knowing what to expect from page to page. And that’s where Hensley excels, with a narrative sleight of hand, his seemingly innocent characters hiding more base and sinister motivations, using classic cartooning techniques to conceal a darker underbelly." – Christopher Irving, Graphic NYC

• Review: "...[W]hat really defines Billy Hazelnuts [and the Crazy Bird] is a genuine sense of excitement on the part of the author, as though, like the daughters he’ll eventually read the book to, Millionaire seems eager to discover what sort of adventures await his hero on the next page. ... Billy Hazelnuts is dark and weird and funny and strangely warm — it’s a book you wish you could have discovered at a much younger age. Thankfully, it’s pretty fun as an adult, too." – Brian Heater, The Daily Cross Hatch

• Plugs: "This gorgeous softcover collection of Dame Darcy's Meat Cake comic series is a thick slice of delicious Victorian romantic, horror, humor with just a hint of Southern gothic. ... So beautifully drawn and entertaining, Werewolves of Montpellier should make members of Team Jacob consider changing their name to Team Jason." – Benn Ray (Atomic Books), Largehearted Boy

• Interview: At The Comics Journal, Marc Librescu continues his talk with Gahan Wilson: "A lot of the reasons that [today’s] horror movies are so not entertaining or not much fun, and leave you with a very yuck taste, is that they’re brutal. And I think they’re brutal because the people who are making them are brutalized, basically, putting it right smack down there on the table. And they’re kind of a little fuggy, and that’s not good for an artist."

Rand Holmes documentary trailer

mike

Patrick Rosenkranz not only wrote our forthcoming book The Artist Himself: A Rand Holmes Retrospective, he directed a half-hour documentary about the Rand Holmes Retrospective art exhibit at the Lasqueti Island community hall in 2007. This short video presents highlights from the film. The complete film was originally planned to be included on a DVD bound into the book, but as the book expanded from 208 pages to 328, we sadly had to cut the DVD to keep the cover price from becoming prohibitive. We'll let you know if and when the complete film becomes available elsewhere.

New Comics Day 6/30/10

mike

Two new books wending their way into comic shops this week — read on for more info and the week's blog blurbs (now updated with The Comics Reporter):

Prince Valiant Vol. 2: 1939-1940
by Hal Foster

112-page full-color 10.25" x 14" hardcover • $29.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-348-4

"...[M]ore nuanced and detailed than ever before." – Joe McCulloch, Comics Comics

"Oh, these are so gorgeous it's not even funny. We're on an upswing in terms of the legacy enjoyed by Hal Foster's legendary creation -- people are reading it again, and enjoying it..." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

Werewolves of Montpellier
by Jason

48-page full-color 7" x 10" softcover • $12.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-359-0

"I’ve seen shorter Jason works featuring a werewolf character or two before, but a whole comic all about werewolves by him kinda blows my mind. See, he doesn’t draw his characters as humans, but as anthropomorphic animals, right? So the werewolves in this story are anthropomorphic cartoon cat men when they’re in their 'human' form, and when they’re in their wolf-man form they’re basically anthropomorphic cartoon cat men with shaggier hair. I’m sure I’m thinking too much about it; I’ve read a review copy already, and I’m happy to report one need not think too much about anything in here—it’s another fairly straightforward, bittersweet comedy from an artist who’s become something of a bittersweet comedy factory over the years. It’s a pleasure, from cover to cover." – J. Caleb Mozzocco, Newsarama

"New Jason – top o’ the list. The popular harassment this time around involves romantic werewolves (or at least a romantically-addled fake werewolf and the authentic lycanthropes he’s irritated) — sure to score big with the Twilight die-hard inside your head..." – Joe McCulloch, Comics Comics

"Every ten months or so, the Norwegian cartoonist Jason unleashes a new, brief, brilliant graphic novel on the world... This one involves a bored burglar who dresses up as a werewolf, and what happens when he encounters actual werewolves." – Douglas Wolk, Comics Alliance

"The idiosyncratic Norwegian cartoonist Jason delivers a tale about a burglar who dresses up as a werewolf...and the real-life werewolves who are less than impressed with his antics..." – Cyriaque Lamar, io9

"New Jason. I know of many people that look forward to these books in this format as much as anyone has ever anticipated anything in comics." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

Form your own impressions by checking out the previews for each book at the links above, and get the scoop on availability from your local shop.

The Artist Himself: A Rand Holmes Retrospective by Patrick Rosenkranz - Previews, Pre-Order

mike

The Artist Himself: A Rand Holmes Retrospective
by Patrick Rosenkranz

328-page full-color 8" x 10" softcover • $39.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-170-1

Ships in: July 2010 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now

Rand Holmes was Canada’s most revolutionary artist in his heyday, the star cartoonist at the Georgia Straight newspaper in British Columbia during the 1970s. His hippie hero, Harold Hedd, became the spokesman of the emerging counterculture as he avoided work, explored free love, and flouted drug laws. The Adventures of Harold Hedd spread across the globe in the wave of underground comix and newspapers of the era and Holmes became famous — or at least notorious. While his comic character was bold and blatant, the artist was shy and quiet, well on his way to becoming a complete hermit.

This book is an intimate and expansive account of a very private man who expressed his deepest feelings in the then disreputable medium of comix. “He didn’t talk much but he sure wrote a lot,” avowed his widow Martha. This biography/retrospective includes generous selections from his private journals and correspondence, family photo albums, sketchbooks, and personal anecdotes from his friends and colleagues. His artistic history began haltingly on the lonely windswept plateau of Edmonton, flourished in Vancouver and San Francisco, and concluded peacefully on Lasqueti Island, a remote backwater in the Straits of Georgia where he lived out his dreams of pioneering and homesteading.

Holmes’ life story is richly illustrated with drawings, comic strips, watercolors, and paintings that span his whole career, from the hot rod cartoons he drew as a teenager, dozens of covers for the Georgia Straight, pornographic cartoons for the sex tabloid Vancouver Star, to complete comic stories from Slow Death Funnies, Dope Comix, All Canadian Beaver, Death Rattle, Grateful Dead Comix, and many more. The full-length Harold Hedd comic novels, Wings Over Tijuana and Hitler’s Cocaine are reprinted in their entirety together for the first time. This unique collection of art documents a lifetime of work by one of the most talented artists of his generation.

Holmes died in March 2002 from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and his ashes are buried next to the Art Centre he helped build on Lasqueti Island. A retrospective exhibition of his original work was held five years later at the community hall.

Author Patrick Rosenkranz met Holmes in his salad days and remained in touch throughout his life. The Holmes family gave him complete access to their art collection and personal files, and encouraged him to tell the whole truth about Rand Holmes’ life and work.

Download an EXCLUSIVE 22-page PDF excerpt (9.5 MB) which includes the first 5 pages of the biography, the entire 7-page story "And Here He Is... The Artist Himself!" and the first chapter of "Harold Hedd in Hitler's Cocaine."

Video & Photo Slideshow Preview (view in new window):

Bonus Savings: To celebrate the release of Patrick Rosenkranz's new book, we're offering his two previous books of underground comix scholarship, Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution 1963-1975 and You Call This Art?! A Greg Irons Retrospective, for 25% off for a limited time!

Dave Cooper solo exhibit at Jonathan LeVine Gallery

mike

Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York City presents Mangle, an exhibit of paintings and drawings by Dave Cooper. It opened last Saturday and continues through July 24. Most, if not all, of the works in the show will be collected in the book Bent, which I believe is at the printer now for a September release. (Hat tip: The Beat.)

Paul Hornschemeier on The Late Live Show

mike

News from Paul Hornschemeier on his News and Head Lice blog, where there's more info:

"This Saturday at midnight I'll be over at Second City's de Maat theater, taking the stage with hosts Joe Kwaczala and C.J. Toledano for the second installment of the The Late Live Show, a live-on-stage-in-front-of-live-people talk show. We'll talk about... well, I have no clue what we'll talk about, but I can guarantee I'll make a poop joke somewhere in there. That's my promise of quality."

4 new Ignatz Series comics for Summer 2010 - Previews, Pre-Order

mike

We have four new issues of Ignatz Series series coming soon, available individually or get all 4 for the price of 3 in our Ignatz Summer 2010 Super-Pack! One of them comes with a special exclusive bonus, and to help you catch up on the stories, all back issues of these 4 series are 20% off for a limited time! Read on for details.

Grotesque #4
by Sergio Ponchione

32-page duotone 8.5" x 11" saddle-stitched softcover with jacket • $7.95
(part of the Ignatz Series)
ISBN: 978-1-60699-419-1

Ships in: July 2010 — Pre-Order Now

In the concluding chapter of Sergio Ponchione’s dreamworld masterpiece, the mysteriously omnipotent O’Blique and the inquisitive Professor Hackensack wrap up all the loose ends, as we see what happened to the three protagonists of the first issue, and what Cryptic City is now like after the cataclysmic events of #2-3. Oh, and we also learn the meaning of life — all in Ponchione’s wildly inventive, super-detailed graphics.

Click here to view 3 preview pages!

Video & Photo Slideshow Preview (view in new window):

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Interiorae #4
by Gabriella Giandelli

32-page duotone 8.5" x 11" saddle-stitched softcover with jacket • $7.95
(part of the Ignatz Series)
ISBN: 978-1-60699-420-7

Ships in: July 2010 — Pre-Order Now

In the climactic final issue, a tormented Angela finally finds her way into “The Forest” and final peace. We could tell you what happens to the other denizens of the apartment building whose lives we’ve been following throughout this 4 issue series, including a struggling couple, the kids, the Creature That Lives in the Basement and Feeds on Dreams, and his envoy the White Rabbit, but wouldn’t you rather find out for yourself?

Click here to view 3 preview pages!

Video & Photo Slideshow Preview (view in new window):

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Niger #3
by Leila Marzocchi

32-page duotone 8.5" x 11" saddle-stitched softcover with jacket • $7.95
(part of the Ignatz Series )
ISBN: 978-1-60699-421-4

Ships in: July 2010 — Pre-Order Now
http://www.fantagraphics.com/niger3

Peculiar happenings in the Burnt Spruce Forest take the spotlight away from the rapidly-growing Dolly. Answering last issue’s question, “What are those crackling and rumbling sounds emanating from Wingman’s nest?,” a rock suddenly sprouts wings! A meeting is convened among the birds and the theory is advanced that it’s a fossilized egg suddenly sprung to life. Back at Cesare’s nest where Dolly lives, a monstrous intruder once again threatens to cut short her brief life...!

Click here to view 3 preview pages!

Video & Photo Slideshow Preview (view in new window):

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Sammy the Mouse #3
by Zak Sally

32-page duotone 8.5" x 11" saddle-stitched softcover with jacket • $7.95
(part of the Ignatz Series)
ISBN: 978-1-60699-426-9

Ships in: July 2010 — Pre-Order Now
http://www.fantagraphics.com/sammythemouse3

Our hero Sammy finally gets a chance to sit by himself — but for only three pages! There's more disembodied voices telling Sammy what to do which is followed by the anger, frustration, cursing and free-floating dread you've come to love from this gorgeous, surreal, FUNNY-animal series. Where the heck is Puppy Boy? What's that shovel for? Why all the terrified glassy-eyed staring off into nothingness? You may or may not find out in Sammy the Mouse #3!

While supplies last, get a FREE limited-edition print with this issue! These two-color prints were hand-pressed by Zak Sally and are signed and/or embossed with the La Mano Press seal.

Click here to view 3 preview pages!

Video & Photo Slideshow Preview (view in new window):

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Don't forget, you can order all 4 of these issues together for $23.85 — that's like getting one for free! — in our Ignatz Summer 2010 Super-Pack!

Spoil yourself on Set to Sea

mike

On his blog, Drew Weing has posted 103 pages (so far) of his forthcoming graphic novel Set to Sea, so head on over there for a huge sampling of the book and tune in every other day or so for a new page. (Of course, we hope you'll also read the story in book form!) Drew is also a thoughtful commentator whose posts are always worth reading.

Things to see: 6/28/10

mike

Periodic clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources:

• Dash Shaw identifies this only as "scrap"

• Mark Kalesniko presents the original art for the cover of Mail Order Bride

• A short autobio strip from poor Noah Van Sciver

• From Renee French: beetle, trap, trap

• Page 30 of Hans Rickheit's Ectopiary; also, this is NSFW

• Why not go look at some Drew Friedman classics over at Golden Age Comic Book Stories?

• Get a daily dose of Dan Clowes at Fuck Yeah Daniel Clowes

• Anders Nilsen presents some things to consider

• Two great things that go great together: Eleanor Davis artwork on the cover of the next Elf Power record, as revealed by Pitchfork — via Drew Weing

• Debbie Drechsler draws a broken butterfly

Daily OCD: 6/28/10

mike

Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "...[T]he first volume of Mezzo and Pirus’s stunning King of the Flies [was] published earlier this year by Fantagraphics. ... Over just 64 pages, the team known as Mezzo and Pirus tell an impressively complex collection of ten interlinked short stories. ...Mezzo and Pirus are remarkably skillful, and create a deep and believable world. It’s meant as a compliment to say that by the end of this book, it feels as if twice as many pages have passed. ... With its bold style and thick lines, dark hues with splashes of garish colour, Pascal (Mezzo) Mesenburg’s forceful art is absorbing and weird." – Oliver Ho, PopMatters

• Review: "Woodring's wild and wordless story [Weathercraft] seems awfully lysergic, but his stunning symbolism and amazing line work is clever and crafty. Manhog, the creature starring in the strange story, is hardly sympathetic, but Woodring's imagery evokes amusement, bemusement and wonder." – Richard Pachter, The Miami Herald

• Review: "Regular, rectangular panels are the only thing conventional about Weathercraft, which follows the metaphysical mishaps of Manhog, a blank-eyed, snout-nosed creature who wanders naked through Woodring's pages, on a journey of self-realization disguised as a vivid, botanically inventive acid trip. ... But while the creatures and scenarios in Woodring's world are fantastical, they're drawn with the precision of a woodcarving, black-and-white space shaded with ever-present wavy lines. This precision is crucial, with no words to guide the story — as an exercise in purely visual storytelling, Weathercraft is both challenge and reward." – Alison Hallett, The Portland Mercury

• Plug: "Trying to explain Jim Woodring’s art is like describing an acid trip: One never gets the feeling across and inevitably sounds like a crazy person while doing it. ... His work is like Carl Barks’ Donald Duck comics twisted inside out by a black hole. Terrifying, disgusting, funny, silent and beautifully illustrated. See? It sounds crazy." – Casey Jarman, Willamette Week

• Profile: "Jason is perhaps the most unique visual stylists working in comics today. Each individual panel is a work of ligne claire pop art: flat, beautifully coloured and amplified for effect. The deceptively simple stories — often thrillers and off-beat romances — feature anti-heroes, guns, girls, historical figures, b-movie monsters, robots, and aliens. They’re a brilliant mix of silent pictures, film noir, La Nouvelle Vague, classic literature, crime fiction, sci-fi and pulp magazines." – Dan Wagstaff, The Casual Optimist

• Interview: At The Comics Journal, Marc Librescu talks to Gahan Wilson: "When you read about whatever the hell is going on in the art field, whatever the hell the 'art field' is, it’s written by critics and scholars — they’re both sort of the same thing. They’re commentaries, so they tend to emphasize definition and placement: This is chapter 3 of paragraph 7 of Book A. But that’s not the point. The point is that this thing is there and there’s this interaction that occurs, and [the viewer] is analyzing it. As far as the description thing goes, that’s for critics and that’s for teachers. It’s not for artists."

• Life imitates comics: The Comics Journal's Tom Crippen notices a similarity between a Peter Bagge character from The Bradleys and a real-life individual

• Reviewer: For The Wall Street Journal, Alexander Theroux reviews the novel Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross

Limited-edition Signed Maakies Drinky Crow poster

mike

Get yer limited-edition Maakies Drinky Crow poster signed by Tony Millionaire from I Love Waterloo!

Catalog No. 439 preview at io9

mike

io9 has a sneak peek at our forthcoming book Catalog No. 439: Burlesque Paraphernalia and Side Degree Specialties and Costumes, described as "a mail-order tome of electrical cages, creepy costumes, and other casual torture devices. DeMoulin [Bros.] marketed these gadgets to men's social clubs, who were all too happy to subject new recruits to shocking see-saws and detonating flower pots."

Alaska ahoy for T. Edward Bak

mike

Congratulations to T. Edward Bak for reaching his Kickstarter fundraising goal for his research trip to Alaska for his ongoing Mome serial and graphic novel in progress Wild Man. You can still donate through the end of the month and get yourself nifty pledge gifts like prints and original art, and maybe enable TEB to get some extra-nice expedition gear or something.

A Jason-inspired stage production

mike

Jason brings our attention to another example of his work inspiring other media: a 2005 stage show titled Psst! by Minneapolis dance and theatre company Off-Leash Area. Excerpts can be seen here (and above), and another clip can be seen here.

Jim Woodring video interview

mike

Dusty Wright of his eponymous Show talks to Jim Woodring against a backdrop of original Weathercraft art at Scott Eder Gallery during Jim's recent trip to NYC.

Set to Sea by Drew Weing - Previews, Pre-Order

mike

Set to Sea
by Drew Weing

144-page black & white 5.5" x 6.25" hardcover • $16.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-368-2

Ships in: July 2010 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now

The central character is a big lug and an aspiring poet who runs up tabs at the local bars by day and haunts the docks by night, writing paeans to the seafaring life. When he gets shanghaied aboard a clipper bound for Hong Kong, he finds the sailor’s life a bit rougher than his romantic nautical fantasies. He helps rebuff a pirate assault, survives a gunshot to the eye, and learns to live — and love — a Conradian life on the sea, all the while writing poetry about pirates, bad food, unceremonial funerals, foreign ports, and unexpected epiphanies. By the end of his life, he’s found satisfaction in living a life of adventure and finding a receptive and appreciative readership. What more could one ask for?

This is Drew Weing’s debut graphic novel, after honing his craft with numerous, lovingly produced self-published comic stories. Drawn in an elaborate crosshatched style that falls somewhere between Gustave Doré engravings and E. C. Segar’s Popeye, Set to Sea is part rollicking adventure, part maritime ballad told in visual rhyme. Every page is a single panel, every panel is a stunning illustration, every illustration a part of a larger whole that tells a story in the deft language of cartooning.

Download an EXCLUSIVE 13-page PDF excerpt (831 KB).

Video & Photo Slideshow Preview (view in new window):

Weekend Webcomics: 6/25/10

mike

This week's strips, back on schedule:

Don't worry, the kitty's unharmed in this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan...

...and the prez has a TV eye in this week's Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman.

First Look: jacket for The Sanctuary by Nate Neal

mike

Nate Neal reveals the jacket wraparound for his forthcoming graphic novel The Sanctuary, coming this Fall from Fantagraphics. Click for a larger view on Nate's Flickr page.