Fantagraphics Books


Fantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. Many notable cartoonists publish their work through Fantagraphics, including Jessica Abel, Peter Bagge, Ivan Brunetti, Charles Burns, Daniel Clowes, Mary Fleener, Roberta Gregory, Joe Sacco, Chris Ware, and the Hernandez brothers.

History

Founding

Fantagraphics was founded in 1976 by Gary Groth and Michael Catron in College Park, Maryland. The first act of the new company was the takeover of an adzine named The Nostalgia Journal, which was quickly renamed The Comics Journal.
As comics journalist Michael Dean writes, "the publisher has alternated between flourishing and nearly perishing over the years." Kim Thompson joined the company in 1977, using his inheritance to keep the company afloat.
The company moved from Maryland to Stamford, Connecticut.
Beginning in 1981 Fantagraphics published Amazing Heroes, a magazine which examined comics from a hobbyist's point of view. The company decided to publish Amazing Heroes as another income stream to supplement The Comics Journal. Amazing Heroes ran for 204 issues, folding with its July 1992 issue.

Comics publisher

Beginning in 1979, Fantagraphics began publishing comics, starting with Jay Disbrow's The Flames of Gyro. They gained wider recognition in 1982 by publishing the Hernandez brothers' Love and Rockets, and moved on to such critically acclaimed and award-winning series as Acme Novelty Library, Eightball, and Hate.
The company moved operations to Greater Los Angeles in 1984.
Catron acted as Fantagraphics' co-publisher until 1985, when he left the company.

The Kirby Award and the Harvey Award

From 1985 to 1987, Fantagraphics coordinated and presented The Jack Kirby Award for achievement in comic books, voted on by comic-book professionals. The Kirby Award was managed by Dave Olbrich, a Fantagraphics employee. In 1987, a dispute arose when Olbrich and Fantagraphics each claimed ownership of the awards. A compromise was reached, and starting in 1988, the Kirby Award was discontinued and two new awards were created: the Eisner Award, managed by Olbrich; and the Fantagraphics-managed Harvey Award, named for cartoonist Harvey Kurtzman. Since their inception, the Harvey Awards have been presented at various comic book conventions, such as the Chicago Comicon, the Dallas Fantasy Fair, WonderCon, the Pittsburgh Comicon, the MoCCA Festival, Baltimore Comic-Con and their current venue, the New York Comic Con. The Harvey Awards are no longer affiliated with Fantagraphics.

Relocation to Seattle

In 1989, Fantagraphics relocated from Los Angeles to its current location in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.
In 1990, the publisher introduced Eros Comix, a lucrative line of erotic comics which again saved the company from bankruptcy.
Longtime employee Eric Reynolds joined Fantagraphics in 1993, first as news editor for The Comics Journal from 1993, before moving to marketing and promotion in 1996. Tom Spurgeon, later known as the publisher of The Comics Reporter, was editor of The Comics Journal from 1994 to 1999.

Financial ups and downs

In 1998, Fantagraphics was forced into a round of layoffs; and in 2003 the company 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. One employee quit during the subsequent downsizing while denouncing Fantagraphic's "disorganization and poor management." Fantagraphics was saved by a restructuring and a successful appeal to comic book fandom that resulted in a huge number of orders. After restructuring, the company has had greater success with such hardcover collections as The Complete Peanuts, distributed by W. W. Norton & Company.
In 2009, Fantagraphics ceased publishing the print edition of The Comics Journal, shifting from an eight-times a year publishing schedule to a larger, more elaborate, semi-annual format supported by a new website.

European line

Starting in 2005, Fantagraphics began a European graphic novel line, starting with the co-publication of the Ignatz Series, edited and produced by the Italian artist Igort. The publisher announced a deal with Jacques Tardi in March 2009, that would see co-publisher Thompson translate a large number of his books.

New challenges

In 2006, Fantagraphics opened its own retail store, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood.
In early 2012, Michael Catron returned to Fantagraphics as editor with the company he had co-founded 36 years earlier.
Co-publisher Kim Thompson left Fantagraphics due to illness in March 2013, and died of lung cancer a few months later. His absence left the company without a number of titles it had been counting on for the summer and fall of 2013; and in November Fantagraphics was forced to start a Kickstarter campaign to raise $150,000. An outpouring of support from readers enabled the company to reach and surpass its fundraising goal in just four days.

Imprints

Ignatz series

The Ignatz series is an international comic imprint. It is published by Fantagraphics Books, Avant Verlag, Vertige Graphic, Oog & Blik, Coconino Press, and Sinsentido. It is named for Ignatz Mouse, a character in the comic strip Krazy Kat.
The books in the Ignatz series are designed midway between standard North American comic book pamphlet-size and graphic novel-size. Each title is 32-pages, two-color, saddle stitched, 8½" × 11", with jacket, priced at $7.95.
The Ignatz collection is edited and produced by Italian artist Igort. Fantagraphics editor Kim Thompson frequently provided translations.

Eros Comix

Eros Comix is an adult-oriented imprint of Fantagraphics Books, established in 1990 to publish pornographic comic books. Eros Comix sells anime videos, DVDs, adult comic books, and books of erotic art and photography. The 2006 Eros Comix print catalog sold over 470 items, including adult comic books and humorous cheesecake-style comics often featuring pin-up girls like Bettie Page.
The late writer-artist Tom Sutton contributed work to Eros titles under the pseudonym "Dementia".

Titles

Comics anthology magazines

  1. Baobab #1 by Igort
  2. Insomnia #1 by Matt Broersma
  3. Wish You Were Here #1: The Innocents by Gipi
  4. Interiorae #1 by Gabriella Giandelli
  5. Ganges #1 by Kevin Huizenga
  6. Chimera #1 by Lorenzo Mattotti
  7. Insomnia #2 by Matt Broersma
  8. Babel #2 by David B.
  9. Wish You Were Here #2: They Found the Car by Gipi
  10. Reflections #1 by Marco Corona
  11. Baobab #2 by Igort
  12. Niger #1 by Leila Marzocchi
  13. Delphine #1 by Richard Sala
  14. New Tales of Old Palomar #1 by Gilbert Hernandez
  15. Interiorae #2 by Gabriella Giandelli
  16. Calvario Hills #1 by Marti
  17. The End #1 by Anders Nilsen
  18. Reflections #2 by Marco Corona
  19. New Tales of Old Palomar #2 by Gilbert Hernandez
  20. Delphine #2 by Richard Sala
  21. Sammy the Mouse #1 by Zak Sally
  22. Grotesque #1 by Sergio Ponchione
  23. Niger #2 by Leila Marzocchi
  24. Reflections #3 by Marco Corona
  25. Insomnia #3 by Matt Broersma
  26. New Tales of Old Palomar #3 by Gilbert Hernandez
  27. Ganges #2 by Kevin Huizenga
  28. Baobab #3 by Igort
  29. Delphine #3 by Richard Sala
  30. Grotesque #2 by Sergio Ponchione
  31. Interiorae #3 by Gabriella Giandelli
  32. Sammy the Mouse #2 by Zak Sally
  33. Grotesque #3 by Sergio Ponchione
  34. Delphine #4 by Richard Sala
  35. Ganges #3 by Kevin Huizenga
  36. Niger #3 by Leila Marzocchi
  37. Grotesque #4 by Sergio Ponchione
  38. Interiorae #4 by Gabriella Giandelli
  39. Sammy the Mouse #3 by Zak Sally
  40. Ganges #4 by Kevin Huizenga
To be released:
  1. XX: Babel #3 by David B.
  2. XX: Baobab #4 by Igort
  3. XX: Calvario Hills #2 by Marti
  4. XX: The End #2 by Anders Nilsen
  5. XX: Wish You Were Here #3 by Gipi

    Graphic novels

Disney comics
Other titles

Kirby Awards

1986
Note: In 1988, the Kirby Awards was disbanded and replaced by the Harvey and the Eisner Awards.

Eisner Awards

List of won Eisner Awards:
1994
by Winsor McCay
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2007
1959-1960, 1961-1962, by Charles Schulz
2008
2009
2011
2012
by Floyd Gottfredson, edited by David Gerstein and Gary Groth
2013
by Michael Kupperman, in Tales Designed to Thrizzle #8
by Walt Kelly, edited by Carolyn Kelly and Kim Thompson
2014
by Jacques Tardi and Jean-Pierre Verney
2015
2016
by Héctor Germán Oesterheld and Francisco Solana Lopez, edited by Gary Groth and Kristy Valenti
2017
edited by Trina Robbins, Gary Groth and J. Michael Catron
2018
by Marcelo D'Salete, translated by Andrea Rosenberg
edited by Dan Nadel, Timothy Hodler and Tucker Stone, www.tcj.com
by Paul Karasik and Mark Newgarden

Harvey Awards

List of won Harvey Awards:
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2011
2013