We love all of our books but are especially happy for the creators of the Eisner-nominated books. You can vote until June 12 online. If you haven't read all of them, check 'em out individually or via our list!
Best Short Story: "Moon 1969: The True Story of the 1969 Moon Launch," by Michael Kupperman, in Tales Designed to Thrizzle #8
Still no sure which to read? Heidi MacDonald, Cal Reid and company discuss the nominations on the Publishers Weekly podcast. Meanwhile, Chris Sims, Matt D. Wilson and more of War Rocket Ajax discuss the nominations, although I'm not sure how long the podcast will be up at this link.
Some of the nominations gather in our mail room. See you in JULY!
And this Saturday, May 11th, Portlanders can see it for themselves as ASIFA Portland and the Art Institute’s Inkwell Animation Club present Michel Gagné: An Insanely Twisted Animation Saga!
Gagné will give a special presentation about his life in the pop-culture art world from 1:00 to 4:00 PM at the Art Institute of Portland [ 1122 NW Davis Street ]. Tell him we say hi!
Thank you to everyone who visited Fantagraphics at the Emerald City ComicCon earlier this month! It was good times! Our local legend and store empresario Larry Reid manned the booth all weekend long, fueled by coffee and his lifelong love of comics.
Peter Bagge drew this adorable sketch of a cosplayer as Miyazaki's Kiki! Speakin' of Pete, we've still got a few of the exclusive t-shirts he designed for ECCC at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, while they last.
And here's the lovely Ellen Forney with our also-lovely booth volunteers Bella and Lilian. We can't keep her memoir Marbles in stock!
Whoops! Gary caught the paparazzi (me) in the act! Moving along...
We swung by the Prism booth where No Straight Lines-contributor Ed Luce was all smiles! We were happy to see some signed copies of Life's A Bitch from Roberta Gregory, and the new second edition cover of Henry & Glenn Forever& Ever #1 by Mome-veteran Jim Rugg.
Speaking of Mome-veterans, it's always a good day when T. Edward Bak is in the house. Look how hard he's working at the Floating World booth! Why, this photo is not staged AT ALL!
There were tons of other awesome people we saw, but Mike got distracted by the 25 cent bins, and I got too busy stalking Gillian Anderson. You can check out more photos from ECCC on our Flickr and Instagram accounts.
If you saw a book that you're kicking yourself for not picking up at the con, it's most likely still available at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, located 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.
See you next year at Emerald City ComicCon! (Scully...! Call me!)
Yes! We are all set-up and ready for you to come buy some comics from us at Booth 510 at the 11th Annual Emerald City Comicon! We'll be joined by our wonderful guests:
We've got our exclusive limited-edition Peter Bagge t-shirt in stock, featuring our anti-superhero, Buddy Bradley! Get yours while supplies last, along with a debut copy of Peter Bagge's Other Stuff, not due in stores until May!
Buy the book, and the tee is yours for only $10! Or just get the tee for $15!
In fact, all our t-shirts are on sale for a mere $15, including our highly-sought-after Love & Rockets t-shirts!
So, be sure to come see us at Booth 510! We're right by the superhero stuff... no, literally...
Fantagraphics is in the North Lobby this year for a change, near the photo ops area, and across from our friend, local artist Augie Pagan (Booth 506).
Residents of the Pacific Northwest are in for a pop culture bonanza this weekend at Emerald City Comicon. The action begins on Friday with an appearance by the legendary Peter Bagge, signing from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at booth 510. Fans in attendance will be the first in the country to get advance copies of Peter Bagge's Other Stuff, as well as the exclusive Buddy Does Emerald City tee shirt at a premium price. Bagge was largely responsible for creating the atmosphere that attracted dozens of aspiring cartoonists to Seattle in the 1990s. Come celebrate that legacy with us.
The action continues on Saturday at 11:00 AM with comix scholar Bill Schelly signing copies of his three volumes on the late Joe Kubert, who we lost last year after a stellar career that began at the age of 12! Bill has an amazing grasp of comix history and is a wonderful conversationalist. Featured guest Peter Bagge returns to the booth from 1:00 to 3:00 PM, followed by Ellen Forney, signing copies of her runaway bestseller Marbles and other books. Cartoonist and archivist Michel Gagné rounds out the entertainment from 5:00 to 6:00 PM.
Come meet our knowledgeable staff and mingle with pop culture personalities like Carrie Fisher, Patrick Stewart,Gillian Anderson, Adam West, Burt Ward,Wil Wheaton, and countless others. See you in Seattle at Booth 510. Cheers!
The fullest mailbox of Online Commentaries & Diversions:
• Interview: Alex Dueben interviews Richard Sala about Delphine on CBR . "The main story, which is depicted with ruled borders, was always linear. But I allowed myself more room with the main character's inner life. All of that -- the memories, dreams, fantasies, wishful thinking -- all of that is depicted in panels with soft, cloud-like, non-ruled borders. And so I was able to add to the character's inner life -- his thoughts and fears and confusion -- as I went along." And,edit to the article, we also have The Hidden and The Grave Robber's Daughter available at comiXology.
• Interview:Wilfred Santiago is interviewed by Christopher Borelli about Bull on Parade for the Chicago Tribune and Michael Jordan's 50th birthday. "[Santiago] said a graphic novel seemed like a perfect medium for exploiting athleticism, then added: 'But also, Jordan, as a figure, never seemed that interested in satisfying people. Which is interesting to me.'"
• Plug: Tom Spurgeon on the Comics Reporter talks about TCJ 302, edited by Gary Groth, Kristy Valenti and Michael Dean. "There's an amazing Roy Crane section in there that's as good as you can imagine practical advice from a practical-minded comics craft master being. The Sendak is hilarious and sad." Spurgeon gives a review for TCJ 301 as well. "Publishing Groth's big interviews in print like this is an effective use of one of comics' most versatile thinkers and aiming a very good and only intermittent writer like Kreider at something as odd yet Journal-appropriate as the entirety of Cerebus seems to me fine editorial planning."
• Review:Page 45 reviews 7 Miles a Second by David Wajnarowicz, James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook. "Romberger painfully captures the frailty of forms and tenderness of touch, but equally the delirium of David’s mad fucking visions and dreams. Marguerite Van Cook’s colours are virtually toxic…This is not a beautiful book; it’s an ugly book, a brilliant book, a Last Will & Testament which I hope you will hear," writes Stephen L. Holland.
• Interview: James Romberger interviews Tom Kaczynski about Beta Testing the Apocalypseon the Hooded Utilitarian. Kaczynski made a list, we love those: "Overall I can cite 3 primary ways I use color in the book. 1. Color as a naturalistic element (as lighting, depth, etc.) 2. Color as pure design element. 3. Color as information."
• Review: Julien of the D&Q Bookstore is excited to read Moto Hagio's The Heart of Thomas. "Like the other Magnificent 49ers (the legendary first wave of female comic artists), Hagio's work is fearlessly avant-garde and visually stunning. Over her fruitful and now slightly less under-translated career, she has set the bar for all manga artists to follow, up to this day, and not just shonen-ai or shoujo mangaka."
• Review:Publishers Weekly loves Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 2 by Michael Kupperman. "Kupperman deploys a stunning arsenal of art styles to bring home the laughs, from stilted woodcut art to a kind of Tintin lite…Kupperman is pretty much his own genre of humor now."
• Interview: Gary Panter was interviewed by Nick Gazin on VICE on Dal Tokyo, creativity and other fun. Gazin describes the book, "…trying to follow the story like it was a traditional comic is hard it feels like we're seeing the inside of Panter's brain. We go where he wants to take us and the landscape reflects his current mood and interests. Not everybody can do whatever they feel like and make it as interesting as this book."
• Plug: Jeff Kinney from Diary of a Wimpy Kid reminisces about his father and their shared love of Carl Bark's duck comics at Disney Dads. Kinney says, "I consider [Carl Bark's comics] to be the best form of storytelling I’ve ever read. My father always made sure to leave the comics page open in the newspaper in the morning so we kids could read them. I think that without my father, I wouldn’t have ended up on the career path that I’m on.
• Review: Johanna Draper Carlson reviews Young Romance edited by Michel Gagné on Comics Worth Reading. "It’s neat to read these long-ago tales of girls acting out of jealousy or determining how to make the right love decision in such an easy-to-hold hardcover with restored coloring. I love seeing more of this forgotten period of comic history, particularly since it was so widely popular and yet so ignored these days," writes Carlson.
• Plug: Jim Hanley's Universe blog creates The Definitive Love & Rockets Reading Guide and Full Bibliography by Jeffrey O. Gustafson to whet your appetite for our Love and Rockets Companion and Reader. "Featuring mature, character based stories, the quality in art and story of the work of [Hernandez brothers] represent the high-water mark of independent, creator-owned comics, indeed comics period."
• Plug:Peter Bagge 'hates' on Beavis and Butthead in this month's MAD magazine, reported by Paste.
• Plug:Noah Van Sciver continues the funny at Denver Westword with the 10 biggest buzzkills at a concert. Read this and laugh or maybe recognize the horrible person that you are.
Mingle with local comix luminaries at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this Saturday, January 26 from 4:30 to 6:00 PM as the store plays host to participants in the Graphic Artists Guild annual Graphic Novel Panel, sponsored in part by Fantagraphics Bookstore and Emerald City Comicon. The party at the store is free and open to the public.
The stellar line-up includes David Lasky, artist of the sensational new graphic biography The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song; Ellen Forney, whose recent memoir Marbles: Mania, Depression Michelangelo & Me was named by the Washington Post as the Best Book of the Year; cartoonist, game designer, and comix archivist Michel Gagne; and well as Fantagraphics friends Phil & Kaja Foglio, Allen Gladfelter, Stefano Gaudiano, and Mark Monlux. A special guest is the store's current featured artist Jim Woodring! We also anticipate visits from our colleagues Ryder Windham, Edd Vick and others. Complimentary refreshments and snacks will be served. This'll be great fun!
It's the perfect weekend plan! So, join us on Saturday, January 26th for the Graphic Novel Panel2013, held by our friends at the Seattle Graphics Arts Guild!
The day begins at 10:30 AM with a panel on "How to Make Your Own Mini-Comic," led by beloved local cartoonist David Lasky, who will guide you through the book-constructing and storytelling process.
And then at 1:00 PM, learn the ins and outs of the Graphic Novel with a panel of local artists including our own Ellen Forney and MichelGagné, along with Lasky, Stefano Gaudiano, Phil & Kaja Foglio, Allen Gladfelter, moderated byMark Monlux.
And then join us for the after-party at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery from 4:30-6:00 PM. Discuss what you've learned, share your comics, and have a drink with the panel!
This event is open to the public, and you can get your tickets here for either the class, the panel, or the whole darn day of events! Tickets are not needed to attend the after-party.
The Graphic Novel Panel 2013 takes place at the Seattle Design Center [ 5701 6th Avenue South, Plaza Building, Suite 370 ]. The Plaza Building entrance is on Orcas between 5th & 6th. Suite P370 is on three floors up from street level. Take the elevator to first floor, then glass elevator to third floor. From the Atrium Building cross the sky bridge to Plaza Building, take glass elevator to third floor. Free parking!
And you better know where the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located: 1201 S. Vale Street in Seattle's Georgetown district. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM.
We'd like to thank everyone involved in making 2012 a spectacular success at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. Gifted artists, authors, musicians, and curators coalesced to create a stimulating cultural atmosphere at the space.
Thanks to artists Peter Bagge, Gabrielle Bell, Jeffrey Brown, Nathan Bulmer, Charles Burns, Art Chantry, Jack Davis, Michael Dougan, Ellen Forney, Camille Rose Garcia, Ruth Hayes, Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, Tom Kaczynski, David Lasky, Tony Millionaire, Gary Panter, Joe Sacco, Noah Van Sciver, Chris Ware, and Jim Woodring; authors Jim Demonakos, Susan Kirtley, Mark Long, Pat Thomas,and Nico Vassilakos; musicians Geneviève Castrée, Zachary David, Dennis Driscoll, Lori Goldston, Kyle Hanson,and Molly Nilsson; guest curators J. Michael Catron, Max Clotfelter, Michel Gagne, Ben Horak, Cathy Hillenbrand, Tim Miller, Kristy Valenti,and Jen Vaughn; bookstore interns Lillian Beatty and Lillian Morloch; bookstore staff Janice Headley and Russ Battaglia, as well as our retail partners at Georgetown Records.
Most of all we want to thank you - our wonderful patrons - for your enthusiasm and support over the past six years. Cheers!
