Fantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, graphic novels, and the adult-oriented Eros Comix imprint.

The company is currently located in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.

Company history

The Fantagraphics booth at the Stumptown Comics Fest 2006.

Fantagraphics publishes The Comics Journal, a magazine that covers comics as an art form from a critical perspective. It also has published critically acclaimed and award-winning series and graphic novels such as Ghost World, Hate and Love and Rockets. In 2003 the economic history of the company was summed up thusly: "The publisher has alternated between flourishing and nearly perishing over the years. It would have been out of business as long ago as 1978 if Kim Thompson hadn't poured his inheritance into the company's survival. In 1991, Fantagraphics was saved from closing its doors by the launching of its relatively lucrative erotic comics line. As recently as 1998, the company was forced into a round of layoffs."^[1]

In 2003 Fantagraphics almost went out of business, losing over $60,000 in the wake of the 2002 bankruptcy of debtor and book trade distributor Seven Hills Distribution.^[2] One employee quit during the subsequent downsizing while denouncing Fantagraphic's "disorganization and poor management."^[1] Fantagraphics was saved by a restructuring and a successful appeal to comic book fandom that resulted in a huge number of orders.^[1] After restructuring, the company has had greater success with such hardcover collections as The Complete Peanuts, distributed by W. W. Norton & Company.

In 2006, Fantagraphics opened its own retail store in Seattle.

Titles

Comic book series

• Acme Novelty Library
• Artbabe
• The Adventures of Captain Jack
• Angry Youth Comics
• Big Mouth
• The Biologic Show
• Black Hole
• Castle Waiting
• Critters
• Crap
• Cud
• Dalgoda
• Doofus
• Duplex Planet Illustrated
• Eightball
• The Eye of Mongombo
• Evil Eye
• Fission Chicken
• Frank
• Ganges
• Good Girls
• Grit Bath
• Hate
• Jim
• Jizz
• Journey
• La Perdida
• Love and Rockets
• Meatcake
• Naughty Bits
• Neat Stuff
• The Nimrod
• Raisin Pie
• Real Stuff
• Schizo
• Shadowland
• Stinz
• The Stuff of Dreams
• Unsupervised Existence
• Uptight
• Usagi Yojimbo (up to volume 7)
• Tales Designed to Thrizzle
• Weasel
• Whot Not!

Ignatz Series

• Babel by David B.
• Baobab by Igort
• Calvario Hills by Marti
• Chimera by Lorenzo Mattotti
• Delphine by Richard Sala
• Ganges by Kevin Huizenga
• Grotesque by Sergio Ponchione
• Insomnia by Matt Broersma
• Interiorae by Gabriella Giandelli
• New Tales of Old Palomar by Gilbert Hernandez
• Niger by Leila Marzocchi
• Reflections by Marco Corona
• Sammy the Mouse by Zak Sally
• The End by Anders Nilsen
• Wish You Were Here by Gipi

Anthologies

• Anything Goes!

• Snake Eyes
• Pictopia
• Graphic Story Monthly
• Hotwire Comix & Capers
• BLAB!
• MOME
• Blood Orange
• Zero Zero

Magazines

• Amazing Heroes - a defunct publication devoted mostly to mainstream comics
• The Comics Journal ? magazine of comics news and criticism
• Honk - magazine of comics news and criticism
• Nemo, the Classic Comics Library - a defunct magazine devoted to classic comics

Graphic novels

• King by Ho Che Anderson
• Pixy by Max Andersson
• Ghost World by Dan Clowes
• Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Dan Clowes
• Beasts by Jacob Covey^[3]
• The Wipeout by Francesca Ghermandi
• Palomar by Gilbert Hernandez
• Locas by Jaime Hernandez
• I Killed Adolf Hitler by Jason^[4]
• Anywhere But Here by Miki Tori
• Palestine by Joe Sacco
• Safe Area Gora?de by Joe Sacco
• Harum Scarum by Lewis Trondheim
• The Hoodoodad by Lewis Trondheim
• Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware

Classic comics compilations

• The Complete Crumb Comics
• Dennis the Menace
• Feiffer: The Collected Works
• Krazy Kat
• Little Orphan Annie
• The Complete Peanuts
• Pogo
• Poor Arnold's Almanac
• The Complete E. C. Segar Popeye
• Powerhouse Pepper
• Prince Valiant

Notes

References

• Fantagraphics Books at the Big Comic Book Database

External links

ca:Fantagraphics Books de:Fantagraphics Books es:Fantagraphics Books fr:Fantagraphics Books it:Fantagraphics Books pt:Fantagraphics Books

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