Fantagraphics Spring/Summer preview

As with Drawn and Quarterly, Fantagraphics also puts out a preview catalog showcasing their upcoming books. I thought it might be worthwile to see what the have planned for the coming year.

No pictures cause I'm feeling lazy.

APRIL

Mome Vol 7 & 8. Obviously these both aren't coming out the same month. I just put them together to make things easier for myself. These next two editions feature work by Trondheim, Eleanor Davis, T. Edward Bak and the usual gang of idiots. $14.95 each.

Chance in Hell by Gilbert Hernandez. This is another stand-along graphic novel from Hernandez, this time following the adventures of a homeless orphan girl who has problems relating to the good life that falls in her lap when she grows up. It's Hernandez, so I see no reason why it shouldn't be stellar. $16.95.

Modern Swarte: Joost Comics by Joost Swarte. Egad, how long have I been waiting for a decent collection of Joost Swarte comics? Probably since I first saw his work in Raw way back in the 80s. Nice to finally have it all here in English now. $29.95.

Just When You Thought Things Couldn't Get Worse: The Cartoons and Comic Strips of Edward Sorel. Few comics fans seem to pay attention to or even make note of most editorial cartoonists, regardless of talent. Perhaps it's just the format in which they publish; newspapers just fall under the radar these days. So it's nice that Fantagraphics sees fit to pay tribute to geniuses like Sorel. $18.95.

Arf Forum, edited by Craig Yoe. I've really been digging Craig Yoe's Arf books. This one features Smokey Stover, Henry Heath, Stan Lee and a Captain Marvel story. $19.95.

The Comic Strip Art of Lyonel Feininger, edited by Bill Blackbeard. This is a reprint of the 10-year-old Kitchen Sink book, collecting all of Feininger's comic strip work (which, though gorgeous, is slimmer than you might guess). If you didn't pick this book up the first time around, you have no excuses for not doing so now. $16.95.

MAY

The Complete Peanuts 1963-64 by Charles M. Schulz. More Peanuts goodness. No idea who's doing the introduction this time around though. $28.95.

Buddy Does Jersey by Peter Bagge. As with Buddy Does Seattle, this $14.95 volume collects all of the later "Hate" stories where Buddy goes back home to the Garden State. It's all in black and white though, so if that sort of de-colorization bothers you, you may want to hunt down the original trades instead. 14.95.

I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets: The Comics of Fletcher Hanks, edited by Paul Karasik. Oh man. Dan Nadel's "Out of Time" had me jonesin' for more sublime Hanks weirdness. What drove this guy to create such crude tales of utter madness? $19.95.

Our Gang Vol. 2 by Walt Kelly. I admire Fanta for publishing this series, but I have to wonder if anyone's collecting these volumes. Shouldn't they have focused on republishing "Pogo" first? $12.95.

A Taste of Venison by Gary Baseman. This is another in the ongoing line of "Blab Storybooks." Those are pretty hit and miss with me, but I do enjoy Baseman's art, so perhaps I'll check it out. $14.95.

"Kafka" by Robert Crumb and David Zane Moirowitz. More rereleases of long-out-of-print books from other publishers. This was originally "Introduction Kalfka" for those who don't know. If you haven't seen this material before, now's your chance. Crumb and Kalfka make a great combination. $12.95.

JUNE

Palestine The Special Edition by Joe Sacco. A "Criterion" edition of Sacco's seminal work, featuring photos, notes, sketches and other supplimental material. If I didn't already own two different versions of this work (not including the original pamphlets, which I also own) I'd definitely buy this. $29.95.

The Fun Never Stops by Drew Friedman. This promises to be a"comphrehensive collection" of the caricaturist's work, including a lot of his recent magazine work. No idea if this duplicates the work collected in past Fantagraphics collections. $16.95.

Percy Gloom by Cathy Malkasian. Malkasian is the director of "The Wild thornberrys Movie" among other things. This debut graphic novel focuses on a nebbish man who tests objects for their "danger potential." $18.95.

Things Just Get Away From You by Walt Holcombe. At long last, Holcolmbe's "Poot" series is collected in one handsome book. and "King of Persia too! Joy! Rapture! Now only if he'd we could see some new work by him. . . $24.95.

July

The Girl From Hoppers and Human Diastrophism by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez. The third and fourth editions of the ongoing "Love and Rockets" rebranding" into a more manga-friendly publishing format. $14.95 each.

House by Josh Simmons. the creator of "Happy" tells the horror story of two girls who explore an abandoned house. It sounds cliched, but I've Simmons' work is usually anything but. $12.95.

Explainers: 10 Years of Jules Feiffer's Revolutionary Weekly Strip by Jules Feiffer. Continuing their attempt to publish everyloving thing Feiffer has ever done (not that I'm complaining) this elongated book is the first of four upcoming volumes collecting Feiffer's strips for the Village Voice. This one collects 500 strips. At only $19.95, it's a bargain.

The Glamour Girls of Bill Ward by Alex Chun. This is a paperback edition of the 2003 hardcover book. $24.95.

AUGUST

Krazy & Ignatz: The Kat Who Walked in Beauty by George Herriman. If there's one "must-buy" item in this list, it's this book. "Beauty" collects a number of "rare and unique" Krazy Kat dallies from the 1910s and 1920s. Also included are some of the very first stand-alone Krazy strips and illustrations from the Krazy kat ballet. $29.95.

Where's Dennis? The Magazine Cartoon Art of Hank Ketcham by Alex Chun and Jacob Covey. A side project of sorts to the ongoing Dennis the Menace reprints, this book, as the title suggests, collects the various gag cartoons and illustrative work Ketcham did before starting Dennis. $19.95.

I Killed Adolf Hitler by Jason. Jason returns yet again this time taking on the sci-fi genre. This time a hired assassin goes back in time to kill Hitler, and fails spectacularly. $12.95.

Rocky Vol. 2: Strictly Business by Martin Kellerman. Man, am I enjoying these Rocky strips. I hope more people catch on to this series too. $12.95.

Ackroyd: A Mystery of Identity by Jules Feiffer. This isn't a book of cartoons, but an actual, godhonest novel. Originally published in 1977, this is a parody of sorts of the detective genre. $12.95.