FLOG! Entries tagged 'classics'

Daily OCD 11/29/12

TheJenVaughn

The first snowflake of Online Commentaries & Diversions:

• Review: Publishers Weekly enjoys Naked Cartoonists, edited by Gary Groth. "The litmus test for any collective work based on the idea of one page per artist is whether the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. . . [Naked Cartoonists] no trouble achieving that goal. . . Dan Piraro (Bizarro) deserves kudos for his strategically-located likeness of Garfield . . ."

• Plug: Elliot Bay Book Company shows off a copy of Naked Cartoonists from their store and Dave states, "Hilarious. Scary. Weird. And just plain bawdy. If this is wrong, I don’t want to be right."

• Review: Print Magazine (issue 66.3 June 2012) gingerly flips through the pages of Naked Cartoonists. "Does your Sunday morning routine consis of reading The Wizard of Id and thinking, Gosh, I wish it had more nudity? Then Fantagraphics Books has just the thing for you." While out-and-about obscenity is rare, "there are moments of genuine creepiness, as when Jeff Keane, heir to The Family Circus, drops trou along side his fictional self, Jeffy."

• Review: Speaking of nudish things, Slate takes the time to slog through Prison Pit 4 by Johnny Ryan. Noah Bertlasky states, "For those who find filthy, blotchy tactile ink clots, überviolence, or body horror even remotely appealing, you need to buy this and its predecessors immediately."

• Review (audio): The boys on the block (Comics Books are Burning in Hell) review violent comics so naturally Blacklung by Chris Wright is included. The book affected the reviewers since it's "basically Chris Wright drawing terrifying shit" and Wright's drawing style falls in between "Old newspaper comics, like E.C. Segar's Popeye and Roy Crane's Wash Tubbs and Usagi Yojimbo [by Stan Sakai]."

• Review: New York Journal of Books looks at Walt Disney's Donald Duck: A Christmas for Shacktown by Carl Barks. Mark Squirek writes, "What he was really doing was showing us the absurdity of human behavior. . . This is a book that can be enjoyed by everyone from six to eighty. . . This is classic art and storytelling from a master of the form. Carl Barks ranks right up there with Jack Kirby and Will Eisner. If you love the frustrated, quacking, crazed Donald from the cartoons of the forties, you have to read A Christmas for Shacktown."

• Review: The Christian Science Monitor unwraps Charlie Brown's Christmas Stocking by Charles M. Schulz. Rich Clablaugh takes another sip of cider and says, "The design of the book is marvelous, thick off-white stock printed in two colors – red and green of course. . .Charlie Brown's Christmas Stocking is sure to bring a warm smile to readers young and old. A yearly reading of this little gem can in itself become a new tradition for the Christmas season."

• Review: Westfield Blog looks at archival prints from Fantagraphics. Roger Ash recounts, "Popeye, Pogo, Charlie Brown, Mickey Mouse, and many other classic comic strip characters live on at Fantagraphics in outstanding collections. If you aren't reading any of these, you should be."

• Review: Forbidden Planet International writes about Rich Tommaso's graphic novel, The Cavalier Mr. Thompson. "What the Cavalier does very well is encompass the zeitgeist of an era and people vividly. . . or the most part you’re happy to be led through the rooms and ravines, over train tracks and down corridors as a gentle narration of tales from times gone by ensconces you comfortingly," says Zainab.

• Review: Glen Weldon writes a large article in the New York Times Book Review on our newest anthology on queer comics. "With No Straight Lines [editor Justin Hall] has produced a useful, combative and frequently moving chronicle of a culture in perpetual transition; to read it is to watch as an insular demimonde transforms itself, in painful fits and joyful starts, and steps out into a wider monde."

• Review: Graphixia looks at Jacques Tardi's It Was the War of the Trenches. Scott Marsden states, "Seeing Tardi’s portrayal of the horrors of trench warfare and his vision of the random senselessness and brutality that accompanies it reminds us to reflect on our (mis)conceptions of history, drawing attention to the fractal realities that are embedded in events that have been experienced internationally. . . it feels far closer to reality than the propagandized historical materials offered by the typical academic publishing industry. . ."

• Review: Rob Clough reposts his review of our Hotwire anthology, this time on High Low. "A book for those who read Ghost World or American Splendor and [want] to know where to go next."

• Review: Chris Ware is profiled on the NY Review of Books on Jimmy Corrigan through Building Stories.

Hidden Gems Sale spotlight: Otto Messmer

mike

Every day in July we're spotlighting books from our month-long Hidden Gems Sale, wherein we're featuring some of our under-the-radar backlist titles and encouraging you to try them by offering them at a nice discount of 25% off!

Today's spotlight features a great collection of classic comics starring an all-time beloved cartoon character, as drawn by his original creator, Otto Messmer.

Nine Lives to Live: A Classic Felix Celebration

Best known as an animated cartoon character, Felix the Cat has also had a tremendously successful run in his own newspaper comic strip. Now, gathered here is a generous sampling of many of his most important and entertaining adventures. Felix was created in 1919 by Otto Messmer for the cartoon Feline Follies (first named Master Tom, he was given a new, lasting name when he headlined his third cartoon, Adventures of Felix) and it wasn't long until Felix became the most popular cartoon character of the silent era. Wildly popular in the U.S. and England for years, well over 150 cartoons have been documented as being produced in the original series (and perhaps many more of which we have no record). Hesitating to make the jump to sound, the cartoons began to experience distribution problems and a decline in popularity. The original series ended its run in 1931. Begun in 1923, the comic strip outlasted Felix's screen career. Although credited to Pat Sullivan (as was everything else regarding the cat), the strip was produced under the constantly inventive direction of Messmer who did most of the pencils and inks on the strip until 1954. The strip began fading in popularity in the late 30's, but comic books revived public interest in the 1940's. Seeing several ups and downs from the 50's on — a TV series, various comic book original and reprint series — Felix's popularity endures to this day.

144-page full-color 9" x 11" hardcover
regularly $39.95 • ON SALE $29.96
Order Now

Hidden Gems Sale spotlight: Milt Gross

mike

Today's installment features a bona fide rediscovered classic by cartooning great Milt Gross:

He Done Her Wrong

First published in 1930, the famously wordless He Done Her Wrong is Milt Gross' graphic masterpiece, the result of his prior collaboration with Charlie Chaplin on the 1928 silent-era film classic The Circus. Sharing the same goofy, over-the-top comic mayhem that was Chaplin's trademark, and preceding the expressive, cartoony art style of MAD Magazine legend Harvey Kurtzman, all of He Done Her Wrong's hilarious slapstick, tragic heartbreak, heroism and villainy, character development, high emotions and raucous thrills somehow manages to take place, astonishingly, without a single word of text, or conversation, or even a footnote. The story follows the convoluted misadventures of a naïve frontiersman with superhuman strength exploited by a larcenous robber baron who eventually double crosses our hero and steals his girl. He Done Her Wrong is a classic comics work, legendary among aficionados, and arguably the 20th century's first graphic novel. Fantagraphics Books is proud to put this back into print in a facsimile edition, unabridged, with newly designed covers.

256-page black & white 7" x 8" softcover
regularly $16.95 • ON SALE $12.71
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Now in stock: Our Gang Vol. 3

mike

Our Gang Vol. 3
By Walt Kelly

Walt Kelly created dozens of Our Gang stories by the end of its 59-issue run in 1949, the year he quit comic books to switch careers a final time — as syndicated artist/writer on the immortal newspaper strip, Pogo.

In Our Gang’s third volume, Kelly begins to hit his stride by relying more on original ideas than following trite MGM scripts which had lacked in charm since the departure of producer Hal Roach in 1938. Keeping alive the wit that had been absent from the film series, this volume contains eight adventures of the mainstay offbeat personas as well as other whimsical characters, from mad scientists to eccentric animals. Suitable for adults and children alike, the work has been lovingly restored from the original comic books, giving Kelly’s art a renewed four-color splendor. With an all-new cover by Jeff Smith (Bone).

96-page full-color 7" x 10" softcover • $14.99
Add to Cart • Read More...

Hidden Gems Sale spotlight: John Benson (editor)

mike

Today's installment features a great collection of classic '50s romance comics compiled and edited by John Benson:

Romance Without Tears

A first-time collection of the best romance comics of the 1950s. These bright, naturalistic tales (originally published by Archer St. John and written by unrecognized comics master Dana Dutch) are about high school girls who may be inexperienced but definitely have minds of their own. Many of these stories are illustrated by Matt Baker, who achieved fame for his work on Phantom Lady and other sexy female characters in the '40s and '50s.

"With bold writing and smooth, graceful artwork, these tales are fun and visually compelling stories — not just relics of the past, but good comics that hold up." – Publishers Weekly

160-page full-color 8" x 10" softcover
regularly $22.95 • ON SALE $17.21
Order Now

Sneak peek video & photos: Our Gang Vol. 3

mike

Our third preview of the day is of Our Gang Vol. 3 by Walt Kelly. This book is due in July and is now available for pre-order! Watch the video above and click here for a gallery of preview photos.

Frank King's 1961 Xmas Card

Eric

I think is my favorite King card of them all, and the last one I have. Hope you enjoyed 'em!

Frank King's 1960 Xmas Card

Eric

Frank King's 1958 Xmas Card

Eric

Frank King's 1955 Xmas Card

Eric

Frank King's 1952 Xmas Card

Eric

A few years ago for Christmas, Mrs. Flog bought for me via eBay a collection of a half-dozen Christmas cards created and sent by Gasoline Alley creator Frank King to a longtime friend between 1952-1961. Yes, I have the greatest wife ever. Anyway, I thought I would share them, because King really went all out on his cards. Here's the earliest that I have, from 1952, it's an amazing little 5" x 7" self-published, three-page gem.

More to come...

First look: Krazy & Ignatz 1943-1944

mike

Just received today: the breathtaking wraparound cover, designed by Chris Ware, for the final volume in our Krazy & Ignatz series (that is, until we start re-printing the early Eclipse volumes -- more info on that in this previous Flog post). The book is due later this year. Click the image for a closer look.

See ya in the funny pitchers

Eric

The Northwest Film Forum, Seattle's non-profit cinematheque with two screens located on Capitol Hill, along with a little help from their friends at Fantagraphics Books, is presenting a trio of film adaptations of classic comic strips. These family-friendly versions of DICK TRACY, ANNIE, and POPEYE are sure to win the hearts of new young viewers. These films will be a treat for parents too; they revisit the peculiar results of the unlikely directoral assignments for John Houston, (ANNIE), Robert Altman (POPEYE) and Warren Beatty (DICK TRACY).

Also, all attendees of the series will receive a 20% off coupon to the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, where you can purchase collections of the original strips these films were based on!

POPEYE: MARCH 1 - 2, Saturday-Sunday at 1:30, 4pm

(Robert Altman, USA, 1980, 35mm, 113 min)

ANNIE: APRIL 5 - 6, Saturday-Sunday at 1:30, 4pm

SING-A-LONG WITH THE MOVIE SUNDAY AT 4PM! Sheet music will be given out!

(John Huston, USA, 1982, 35mm, 127 min)

DICK TRACY: MAY 3 - 4, Saturday and Sunday at 2, 4pm

(Warren Beatty, 1990, 35mm, 105 min)

All screenings will be held at:

Northwest Film Forum
1515 - 12th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 329-2629

Crumbling Paper

Eric

Crumbling Paper is an online archive of scanned Sunday tearsheets from the Golden Age of American comic strips that I hadn't seen before. I haven't had a chance to peruse too carefully yet, but the archive listed here makes me want to.

VIP

Eric

I don't link to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive site nearly as often as I could -- they seem to post absolutely stunning historical work on a daily basis and I highly recommend adding the site to your RSS feed. Today they added some classic comics from Virgil "Vip" Partch's greatest collection of cartoons, The Wild, Wild Women. You can never go wrong with some VIP. Why hasn't anyone (okay, us) done a VIP coffee table book yet?!

If you like what you see at the ASIFA site, you might consider supporting it.

Valenti on Blackbeard

mike

Our own Kristy Valenti has written a great profile of comic strip historian/archivist Bill Blackbeard (contributor to many of our classic strip reprint books, not the least of which is Krazy & Ignatz), part one of which can be read at the Comixology website.

Crumb & Schulz: expensive

mike

Via Spurge come some record-breaking auction results: Charles Schulz's original art for the Sunday, April 10, 1955 Peanuts strip recently sold for $113,525, and Robert Crumb's original cover of Mr. Natural #1 sold in the same auction for $101,575, the first time either artist has cleared 6 figures.

For about 0.025% of its sale price, that same Schulz strip can be had, along with 730 others, in The Complete Peanuts 1955-1956. Just saying.

Dedini at GoofButton

Eric

Rare Eldon Dedini illustrations HERE for your visual pleasure.

Don't forget Popeye!

covey

See ya in the funny papers.

Eric