For the first time ever, Fantagraphics will be exhibiting at the Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival! Come visit us this Saturday, December 3rd from 12:00 - 9:00 PM for a wealth of debuts, artist appearances, and the great Gary Groth manning the table!

Gary will be joined by a truly all-star cast of artists for our first BCGF:

1PM: Josh Simmons
2PM: Kim Deitch
3PM: Dash Shaw
5PM: Jack Davis
6PM: Michael Kupperman
7PM: Al Columbia

And even more of our artists will be exhibiting at the show, including Gabrielle Bell, Ben Catmull, Charles Forsman, Drew Friedman, Sammy Harkham, Tom Kaczynski, John Kerschbaum, Victor Kerlow, Joseph Lambert, Mark Newgarden, Jesse Moynihan, Gary Panter, Zak Sally, Leslie Stein, and Jon Vermilyea... PHEW! Pick up their books from our table, and then seek these artists out at their own!

Bring a big bag, because you'll also wanna pick up our excellent debuts at the festival!

• Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture by Jack Davis
• 500 Portraits by Tony Millionaire

• Action! Mystery! Thrills! Great Comic Book Covers 1936-1945 edited by Greg Sadowski
• Jason Conquers America by Jason

Where can you find all this awesome? Fantagraphics will be in the downstairs section at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church [ 275 North 8th Street ], at tables 31 & 32:

And finally, make sure you don't miss our artists in these panels!  These will all take place at Union Pool  [ 484 Union Avenue # A ], and the panels are free and open to the public:

1:30 PM // JACK DAVIS Q+A

Legendary cartoonist Jack Davis made his mark producing horror and war stories for EC Comics, before finding his métier in satire as one of the original (and longest running) artists for MAD Magazine. As a prolific illustrator, Davis defined the caricatural style of the 1960s and 1970s—and beyond. In this rare public appearance, Davis will discuss his career with Fantagraphics co-publisher Gary Groth and illustrator Drew Friedman.

[ Jack Davis fans, please note: he will also be appearing on Friday, December 2nd at the opening of his exhibit at the Scott Eder Gallery! Don't miss it! ]

2:30 PM // GESTURAL AESTHETICS

6:00 PM // THE LANGUAGE IN COMICS

The recent embrace of graphic novels by the publishing industry has led to misguided attempts to evaluate comics according to the standards and conventions of literary fiction. The writing in comics occupies a more peculiar place, with its own constraints and opportunities. John Porcellino, Gabrielle Bell, and David Sandlin will discuss the particular demands of writing within a visually-driven form in this conversation moderated by novelist Myla Goldberg.

So, get ready! And we'll see you in Brooklyn this Saturday!

Two weeks to catch up on!

• Percy Gloom changed his Facebook profile picture to this portrait I hadn't seen before

• Andrei Molotiu posted a big batch of sketchbook drawings to his blog

• A new image from Ben Catmull's current project

• Matthias Lehmann shares a few pieces from his current art show and some photos of the installation

• Dig Paul Hornschemeier's new logo for the Comedy Bang! Bang! (formerly Comedy Death Ray) podcast/comedy show

• A newly-drawn splash page (along with the original version from 15 years ago) by Tim Lane for the upcoming 3rd issue of Happy Hour in America, along with some musings on craft

• Sergio Ponchione's Professor Hackensack returns to discuss matters scientifical in the new issue of Linus

• Kevin Huizenga's jaw-dropping comic from Kramer's Ergot 7 is now up at the newly-revived What Things Do; Kevin offers some notes and commentary on it at his New Construction blog; also, a possibly new Glenn Ganges glimpse

• A recent drawing by Renee French, who it should be noted seems to have moved her more extemporaneous sketches and photos over to her new Posterous blog

• A sneak peek of something by Josh Simmons

• Anders Nilsen is working on some collaborative paintings with Sonnenzimmer for an upcoming exhibit — more glimpses at Anders's blog, more info here

• Hey, I know those dogs! It's Robert Goodin's Idget & Toaster fending quite well for themselves in the zombie apocalypse in a panel from Rob's story in the banned-in-Canada anthology Black Eye

• Tony Millionaire posts Drinky Crow's first published appearance , from 1993

• Unexplained illustration by Johnny Ryan

• Nate Neal draws Hans Rickheit's Cochlea & Eustachia

• Eleanor Davis draws Aphasia from C.F.'s Powr Mastrs for the Picturebox fan forum — see the amazing hair salon mural she did with David Mack too

And more Things to See from the past week:

• At Jason's Cats Without Dogs blog, sketches, illustrations, movie reviews and a great series of posts on his cartooning heroes, some of which may surprise you

• Steven Weissman's latest "I, Anonymous" spots on his Chewing Gum in Church blog

• A new print by John Hankiewicz

• Artwork, dolls, prints, and hey, they're on sale in the latest Dame Darcy blog update

• Drew Friedman spotlights recent illustrations and pays tribute to some of his favorite fellow cartoonists at his blog

• Vintage Jim Flora artwork and illustrations at the Jim Flora blog

• Sketches by Mark Kalesniko for his new graphic novel Freeway at his blog

• A recent current-event sketch by Steve Brodner

• A Mome outtake page and lots more drawings by Derek Van Gieson at his These Days I Remain blog

• New sketch, new illustration by Tom Kaczynski

• New Trubble Club!

... And by that, I mean, I had three Burgerville Northwest Cherry Chocolate Milkshakes in the two days we were in Portland, Oregon for the 8th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest. They even put espresso shots in my milkshakes. God bless Burgerville.

The calm before the Stumptown storm!

So, WOW! Thank you so much to everyone who came by our booth at Stumptown this year! Mike and I had a blast! Hate Annual #9 flew off the racks, with Jason's latest Isle of 100,000 Graves also selling out quickly.

We were thrilled to be joined by editor Patrick Rosenkranz. While we weren't able to make his panel on the underground comix movement, we could tell from the fans attending his signing that it must've went great! One fellow came by with a huge stack of Zap Comix in hand, including a rare copy of the first printing of #1!

Speaking of successful panels, T. Edward Bak had several of his attendees dropping by the booth, grabbing fistfuls of Momes! Here he is, showing some of his original artwork. Mike pointed out that you can always tell which issues of Mome T. Edward is in by looking for the black pages on the fore edge! (And yes, we had to consult Google to figure out what the sides of a book are called.)

Mome contributor Jeffrey Brown was signing with our booth neighbors Top Shelf, and leaned over for a chat with T Edward. Note: this happened on the next day from the other picture posted above; it's not like T Edward brought two sets of clothes. He's not Lady Gaga.

[Speaking of Jeffrey, here's one of my favorite overheard quotes of the weekend -- girl, on cellphone: "Hello? Mom, I gotta call you back. I'm standing in front of Jeffrey Brown."]

[My second favorite overheard quote of Stumptown comes from our own Customer Service Representative Ian Burns, who was trying to unload his leftovers from lunch: "It is really hard to give away meat in Portland."]

Speaking of Mome, we're always delighted to have the multi-talented Andrice Arp join us. Not only was she signing copies of Mome (including Volume 15, which features her cover art), but she also brought mini-paintings and a totally awesome flip-book she designed, inspired by the A-ha video for "Take On Me." Yeah, that's right.

And finally, editor Jacques Boyreau joined us, engaging customers with his collection Portable Grindhouse. Jacques is always great to talk movies with, and a former French film critic even stopped by to discuss cult classics! And who's that to the left in the pic above?  Why it's Monster Parade artist Ben Catmull!

Ben had his own table this year at Stumptown, featuring his award-winning 2001 comic Paper Theater, and some freakin' insane letterpress prints, both of which you can acquire straight from the gentleman himself.

The biggest buzz of the weekend was over the move from the old location (The Lloyd Center) to the much-larger Oregon Convention Center. And yes, while I missed the windows and nearby park of The Lloyd Center, I've really only got one word: Burgerville.

You can check out lots more pics from our Stumptown adventures on the Fantagraphics Flickr page here. And the fun don't stop, as Mike and I are now gearing up for TCAF! Hope to see you there!

Join us this weekend for the 8th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, Oregon! It's their first year at the Oregon Convention Center, and we'll be there Saturday, April 16th and Sunday, April 17th, with some of our amazing artists and editors, and both new books and favorite titles. Marketing maestro Mike Baehr and I are looking forward to seeing everyone!

Get your hands on early copies of these Fantagraphics titles:

• Love From the Shadows by Gilbert Hernandez
• 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente by Wilfred Santiago
• Hate Annual #9 by Peter Bagge
• Isle of 100,000 Graves by Jason

And we've got an exciting signing schedule in store for you, with a couple of our acclaimed Mome artists, and a couple of our incredible editors:

Saturday, April 16th
1:00-2:00 PM          Patrick Rosenkranz
2:00-3:00 PM          T. Edward Bak
4:00-5:00 PM          Jacques Boyreau
5:00-6:00 PM          Andrice Arp

Sunday, April 17th
2:00-3:00 PM          Patrick Rosenkranz
4:00-5:00 PM          T. Edward Bak
5:00-6:00 PM          Andrice Arp

You can also get your books signed by artists Ben Catmull and Jeffrey Brown, who will be signing at different tables at the show, and swing by the Profanity Hill table to say hi to Fantagraphics' own Jason T. Miles!

And in celebration of the latest issue of Hate Annual, we'll be doing some fun giveaways, thanks to our friends at AmericaWare, who've just debuted a collection of Peter Bagge t-shirts! Just come by the Fantagraphics table for your chance to win a shirt featuring the loveable Lisa! You know you wanna be BAD!

(And if you live in Seattle, you can check out t-shirts from Bagge, Woodring, Wolverton and Blanchard at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery!)

Where can you find us at Stumptown? Why, at booth #304!

And while at Stumptown, be sure to take in some panels featuring Fantagraphics artists and staff!

Saturday, April 16th

11:00-11:45 PM // Process in the Periphery: Natural History and Narrative Explorations in the Biography of Georg Wilhelm Steller: A presentation of artist T Edward Bak's current work-in-progress with an examination of challenges in illustrated historical exposition.  (Room A104)

12:00-12:45 PM // Sex, Drugs & Insurrection: The Underground Comix Movement: During the underground comix era artistic freedom was a non-negotiable starting point. Audacity, iconoclasm, and experimentation became the new standards for success. Comics this raw and explicit had never seen print before. This presentation is not for the young or squeamish. Presented by Patrick Rosenkranz (Room A106)

2:00-2:45 PM // Comics as Journalism: Mike Rosen, editor of Oil and Water, moderates a discussion about using comics as a form of journalism, tackling stories in ways that traditional prose journalism doesn't. Join Shannon Wheeler, Sarah Glidden, Matt Bors, and Steve Duin. (Room A105)

3:00-3:45 PM // How To Publicize Your Comic: Fantagraphics Director of Publicity & Promotions, Jacq Cohen, goes over the step-by-step process of creating a publicity plan for a comic and gives pointers on how to promote yourself and your book. (Room A104)

3:00-4:45 PM // Teaching Comics: College-level comics courses are a fairly new phenomenon, but the schools offering them have already met with great success. Join educators Brian Michael Bendis (PSU), Patrick Rosenkranz (PNCA), Trevor Dodge (CCC/PNCA), and Nicole Georges (IPRC) in a panel hosted by Dark Horse executive editor Diana Schutz (PCC) as they share their experiences in the comics classroom and bring you up to date on courses now available nationwide. (Room A106)

Sunday, April 17th

2:00-2:45 PM // Douglas Wolk: Page One: We'll look at some great opening pages of comics, and discuss how they instantly establish a look and feel for what comes after them (including some Fantagraphics titles!). Hosted by critic Douglas Wolk.  (Room A104)

6:00-10:00 PM // Stumptown Comics Fest Afterparty: See the Stumptown Cartoonist Show, featuring artwork by Andrice Arp and many, many other artists, at Pony Club Gallery (625 NW Everett Street #105).

We'll see you there!

• A little holiday treat for Venture Bros. fans from Stephen DeStefano

• Here's just one piece of artwork that Ben Catmull has for sale — see his blog for more, plus details

• Page 1 of Kevin Huizenga's Fight or Run? #1 looks even better in mauve duotone

• Richard Sala has some nice photos of the Penguin Classics edition of Dickens's Great Expectations with his cover illustrations, plus an old Blab cover illo

• Lilli Carré presents the masthead illustrations she's done for The Believer's comics section, plus another illustration at her Kettle of Fish blog

• A Christmas comic and downloadable print-your-own gift tags from Laura Park

• Andrice Arp fabric pattern

And more Things to See from the past week:

• Early strips, illustrations, outtakes and film reviews by Jason at his Cats Without Dogs blog

• Steven Weissman's latest "I, Anonymous" spot on his Chewing Gum in Church blog

• A new print at John Hankiewicz's Clip Joint blog

• Sketches by Frank Santoro at the Cold Heat Comics blog

• Illustrations by Marco Corona at his Il Canguro Pugilatore blog

• Nature sketches with running commentary by Debbie Drechsler at her Just Around the Corner blog

• More sketches for Mark Kalesniko's forthcoming graphic novel Freeway (now up for pre-order!) at his blog

• Paul Hornschemeier's latest t-shirt design available in the Forlorn Funnies Shirt Shop on his News and/or Head Lice blog

• A series of illustrations at Splog!, the Sergio Ponchione Lost Objects Gallery blog

• Drawings, sketches, photos from Renee French

• Daily drawings and animation production artwork from Dash Shaw at The Ruined Cast blog

• Sketches, portraits, caricatures & commentary by Steve Brodner

• An eyepopping 2006 portrait commission by Johnny Ryan (I'm underselling it)

Ben Catmull reads from Monster Parade this Saturday evening at Comic Relief in Berkeley! More info here.

Ben Catmull has produced a series of beautiful debossed letterpress prints, which are now available for sale on Etsy at very reasonable prices. Ben also told us at APE that he's working away on the eagerly-awaited Monster Parade #2.

Periodic clips & strips, just under the wire (for the Pacific time zone anyway) — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources:

• From Wilfred Santiago, a cartoon drawn for our 30th anniversary back in 2006

• A glimpse of Ben Catmull's current work in progress

• From Jason: A 1981 cartoon; a couple of cover illustrations; a Mjau Mjau back cover painting; and I think "T.W." is Tom Waits

• Steven Weissman's Truman Capote strip re-redux

• Richard Sala presents selections from his Comic Art Collective offerings, including Peculia pinups and this 1991 illustration

• The last page of Marco Corona's "briganti" story

• The latest installment of Tim Lane's Belligerent Piano

• Speaking of thieves: a detail of Jim Flora's The Big Bank Robbery, circa mid-1960s

• Lilli Carré presents a still from an animated loop drawing in progress; also, she announces that her short film Head Garden is part of a film program at Chicago's Lincoln Hall tomorrow/tonight (Sept. 1)

• The fifth installment of Gabrielle Bell's San Diego Comic-Con Comicumentary features her ex Michel Gondry, nudity, and awkwardness

• More AMC Pacer studies by Mark Kalesniko for Freeway

• Paul Hornschemeier's latest t-shirt design for his Forlorn Funnies Shirt Shop

• A happy/sad Lewis comic by Laura Park 

• From Renee French: mitt guy, a stage, the cover to something called Tag K

• Hans Rickheit's Ectopiary page 39

• "The Devil Doll" part 4 page 4 by Derek Van Gieson, plus another Moomin parody strip

• Tom Kaczynski draws comics scholar Isaac Cates, who returns the favor; Tom's also been writing a series of thought-provoking essays on comics on his Transatlantis blog, well worth reading

• As seen on Boing Boing, it's Jon Adams's cereal-mascot mashup; plus a new Truth Serum strip

This looks good — a comics reading featuring Ben Catmull & Renee French from the Fantagraphics stable alongside 4 other well-respected indie-comickers: Trevor Alixopulos, Rina Ayuyang, Josh Frankek & Lark Pien. Tomorrow evening, at Pegasus Books in Berkeley. Via Ben's blog.

Your daily art blips:

• Kevin Huizenga ponders the philosophy of domestic architecture

• Part 8 of Steven Weissman's "This Already Happened" at What Things Do

• It was hard to pick just one of Paul Hornschemeier's three contributions to the Game Over 3 art show at GRSF to feature here

• Ben Catmull provides a status update and glimpse of the eagerly-awaited-by-me Monster Parade #2

• "Things to See" Prose Corner: A very short Twain & Einstein (& Oscar & Felix) story by Michael Kupperman