www.86thfloor.com     PREVIEWS VOL. XVIX #6 June 2009  

Independent Comic Publishers
(Companies beginning with F)

FANFARE/PONENT MON

A DISTANT NEIGHBORHOOD VOLUME 2 GN
(W/A) Jiro Taniguchi
Businessman Nakahara has been catapulted from the age of 48 back to his 14 year-old life and body. As he readjusts to high school life once more, he is reminded that the fateful day his father disappeared for good is rapidly approaching. Surely this time, knowing it was going to happen, he would be able to prevent it. (C: 0-0-1)
SC, 7x9, 200pgs, B&W SRP: $23.00

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

THE COMPLETE PEANUTS 1973-1974
by Charles M. Schulz
Introduction by Billie Jean King
8.5 x 7, HC, 344 pages, BW, $28.99
Celebrate life with THE COMPLETE PEANUTS! Fantagraphics is proud to present the release of the 12th volume of the most recognized comic strip of all time! Charles M. Schulz’s American masterpiece has defined the way we read, create and consider comic strips. Nothing short of genius, Schulz’s ability to articulate the human experience through pathos and humor is authentic to the point where the line between art and existence is nearly unrecognizable. We are all Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy and Woodstock!

THE COMPLETE PEANUTS 1971-1974 BOX SET
by Charles M. Schulz
Introductions by Kristin Chenoweth
& Billie Jean King
2 books, 8.5 x 7, HC, 344 pages, BW, $49.95

CAPTAIN EASY, SOLDIER OF FORTUNE: THE COMPLETE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER STRIPS VOL. 1
by Roy Crane
10.5 x 14.75, HC, 160 pages, FC, $35.00
Roy Crane is a GIANT among cartoonists and Fantagraphics is embarking upon an ambitious reprinting of his best work within CAPTAIN EASY, SOLDIER OF FORTURNE. Dig in and bask in the radiance of these FULL COLOR, prismatic Sunday strips! Discover with each page a buried treasure of adventure and chicanery replete with Crane’s mastery of comics storytelling. Citing Crane’s influence on comics, the artist Gil Kane once said, “Superman was Captain Easy; Batman was Captain Easy.” BEWARE! Beautiful women! Pirates! Sunken ships! And fun! fun! FUN! are barely contained within this beautiful package brought to you by Fantagraphics, the torchbearer of quality when it comes to classic comic strip reprints.

ROCK CANDY
by Femke Hiemstra
6.5 x 8.25, HC, 208 pages, FC, $29.99
Dutch artist and designer Femke Hiemstra has a unique style and vision that evokes the work of Robert Williams and Mark Ryden, but with a less cynical worldview that invites the viewer to enter the magic spaces she creates. ROCK CANDY is the artist’s first retrospective and spotlights her talent, whimsy and wit in a deluxe package certain to catapult her to the forefront of the Pop Surrealism movement. Hiemstra’s paintings and illustrations are united by a meticulous attention to craft that gives life to her dark, lush, fairytale landscapes where inanimate objects come to life and frolic with anthropomorphs of all types.

THIS SIDE OF JORDAN
by Monte Schulz
6 x 9, HC, 304 pages, $22.99
BE CAREFUL! WARNING! CAUTION! WARNING! THIS IS A PROSE NOVEL! THIS IS NOT A COMIC BOOK OR GRAPHIC NOVEL!
Written for his father, the late cartoonist, Charles M. Schulz, Monte Schulz’s PROSE NOVEL opens in the spring of 1929, as the 19 year old consumptive farm boy Alvin Pendergast attends an ill-fated dance marathon he’s too sickly to participate in. After a year of his life has been stolen by a sanitarium, an invitation for a late-night slice of pie is too seductive to pass up and before he knows it, Alvin finds himself up to his eyeballs in horror, beauty, strangeness and death. THIS SIDE OF JORDAN weds the phantasmagoric with the Southern Gothic literary tradition all in search of the common as well as the cosmic satori of our experience. Cover by Al Columbia!

USAGI YOJIMBO: THE SPECIAL EDITION
by Stan Sakai
2 books, 7 x 10.25, HC, 1200 pages, BW, $95.00
USAGI YOJIMBO: THE SPECIAL EDITION LIMITED SIGNED EDITION
$135.00, ISBN 978-1-60699-332-3
Created in 1984, Stan Sakai’s USAGI YOJIMBO (2008 Eisner Nominee for Best Continuing Series) has vaulted to the forefront of iconic modern comics characters and is a perennial, favorite. Stuffed with engaging supporting characters, villains, and even a romantic interest or two, USAGI YOJIMBO chronicles the action-packed wanderings of a masterless samurai in feudal Japan. For the first ten years of his career, the battling bunny was published by Fantagraphics. In honor of his 25th anniversary, Fantagraphics is releasing a deluxe slipcase set collecting the first seven USAGI YOJIMBO books! With over 1000 pages of story and brimming with extra’s (full color cover gallery! behind the scenes art! career-spanning interview! and more!), this is the complete! definitive! early USAGI YOJIMBO!

LOVE AND ROCKETS: NEW STORIES #2
by Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez
6.625 x 9, SC, 104 pages, BW, $14.99
This volume gets off to a flying start with “Hypnotwist,” Gilbert’s epic story of a beautiful, leggy redhead’s surreal journey into a night filled with mysterious shady characters, dreamlike violence, and sparkling retro spike heels. Then, in the concluding 50-page chapter of Jaime’s outrageous, acclaimed, superhero mash-up “Ti-Girls Adventures,” our protagonist, rookie do-gooder Boot Angel, learns more hard lessons about becoming a superheroine. Eventually, just about the entire cast gets together for a reunion that unexpectedly takes place in Maggie’s tiny bedroom apartment. Finally, Beto gets top heavy with “Sad Girl,” and introduces Killer! the sweetest teen starlet of the solar system! Forget WATCHMEN, LOVE AND ROCKETS is the big one!

LIKE A DOG
by Zak Sally
7 x 10.25, HC, 144 pages, PC, $22.99
ISBN 978-1-60699-165-7
One man’s heartfelt and irreverent record of his time on this rock, Zak Sally’s unflinchingly veracious book, LIKE A DOG, is both direct and oblique, which we find rather miraculous considering the messy and murky waters of human experience it manages to navigate. LIKE A DOG is among the few comic book testimonials burdened by the yen to understand and articulate the mundane and the magnificent. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself laughing and crying as you claw your way through each hard fought page!

FANTAGRAPHICS 2008 EISNER AWARD NOMINEES

WILLIE AND JOE
by Bill Mauldin
(NOV073550)
HC, 8.5x10, 600pgs, B&W—NEW VALUE PRICE $45.00

GANGES #2
by Kevin Huizenga
(JAN083618)
32 pages, 2-Color, $7.95

PETEY AND PUSSY
by John Kerschbaum
(JUL083999)
HC, 6x9, 128 pages, B&W, $19.99

EXPLAINERS
by Jules Feiffer
(JAN094234)
HC, 9.25 x 5.25, 568 pages, BW, $35.00

THE LAST MUSKETEER
by Jason
(OCT073506)
SC, 7 x 10, 48 pages, FC, $12.95

************************************************************************

FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX

A FAMILY SECRET
(W/A) Eric Heuvel
Jeroen finds a photo album that evokes difficult memories for his grandmother, Helena. She tells Jeroen about the German occupation of the Netherlands during the Second World War, and the loss of her Jewish best friend, Esther. Helena believes that her own father, a policeman and Nazi sympathizer, delivered Esther to the Nazis and that she died in a concentration camp. But after hearing her story, Jeroen makes a discovery and Helena realizes that her father kept an important secret from her. Developed by The Anne Frank House to teach children about the Holocaust. Available in Hardcover and Softcover editions.
HARDCOVER—HC, 8.25x11, 64pgs, FC SRP: $18.99
SOFTCOVER—SC, 8.25x11, 64pgs, FC SRP: $9.99

THE SEARCH HC
(W/A) Eric Heuvel, Ruud van der Rol, Lies Schippers
Esther remembers her experience of the Holocaust as a Jewish girl living in Amsterdam, and recounts to her grandson Daniel and his friend Jeroen how she escaped from the Nazis and survived by going into hiding in the countryside. Esther knows her parents went to a concentration camp and died there. With Daniel’s help she embarks on a search to discover what happened to them during the last months of their lives and how her parents met their fates at Auschwitz. Developed by The Anne Frank House. Available in Hardcover and Softcover editions.
HARDCOVER—HC, 8.25x11, 64pgs, FC SRP: $18.99
SOFTCOVER—SC, 8.25x11, 64pgs, FC SRP: $9.99

:01 FIRST SECOND

CAT BURGLER BLACK GN
(W/A) Richard Sala
When K. Westree arrives at Bellsong Academy, she thinks she’s left her cat-burglaring past behind her. But K. soon discovers the school has a mystery of its own — and she’s the only one who has a chance of solving it!
SC, 6x8.5, 128pgs, FC SRP: $16.99

THE COLOR OF HEAVEN VOLUME 3 GN
(W/A) Kim Dong Hwa
In the heartwarming conclusion to this lyrically written and delicately drawn trilogy about a girl coming of age in turn-of-the-century rural Korea, Ehwa’s true love comes at last, and as her mother looks on, she takes the final steps towards becoming an adult.
SC, 6x8.5, 320pgs, B&W SRP: $16.99

STUFFED! GN
(W) Glenn Eichler (A) Nick Bertozzi
When Tim and his wife inherit his father’s museum of curiosities and find herein a taxidermied African warrior (“The Savage,” or so the museum’s placard labels him), Tim’s quiet suburban life starts spiraling out of control. A dark comedy about family, race, and politics by Glenn Eichler and Nick Bertozzi. From the writer of The Colbert Report and the creator of Daria.
SC, 6x8.5, 128pgs, FC SRP: $17.99

FLESK PUBLICATIONS

AL WILLIAMSON'S FLASH GORDON: A LIFELONG VISION OF THE HEROIC
(A) Al Williamson (W) Mark Schultz, Sergio Aragonés
At 256 pages, Al Williamson's Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic collects all the major works of the artist featuring Flash Gordon — Williamson's legendary King Comics stories from the 1960s, the 1980 adaptation of the Universal Flash Gordon motion picture, and the Marvel Comics miniseries of 1994. In addition, the volume features Williamson's Flash drawings done for commercial illustration and prints, his assists on the Flash Gordon comic strip, a variety of images for amateur publications, and a selection of largely unpublished images spanning his interest in the character from childhood to the conclusion of his career. Available in Hardcover and Softcover editions. (C: 0-1-2)
SOFTCOVER—SC, 9x12, 256pgs, PC SRP: $29.95
HARDCOVER—HC, 9x12, 256pgs, PC SRP: $44.95

MARK SCHULTZ: VARIOUS DRAWINGS VOLUME 4
(W/A) Mark Schultz
Mark Schultz's Various Drawings series returns with this fourth collection, highlighting the latest work by this Eisner and Harvey Award-winning artist. His best work over the last two years continued his experimentation with graphite, charcoal, brush and ink, and color-tinted images. Schultz's new Pulpette personal works combine his love for pulp imagery with classic pin-up style art. Also included are preliminary pieces and a self-rejected sample for his illustrated novella, Storms at Sea as well as new Xenozoic Tales specialty drawings. Available in Hardcover and Softcover editions. The hardbound edition is limited to 800 copies, with a bound-in plate reproducing an unpublished illustration, and each copy is numbered and signed. (C: 0-1-2)
SOFTCOVER—SC, 8x11, 48pgs, PC SRP: $19.95
LIMITED HARDCOVER—HC, 8x11, 48pgs, PC SRP: $29.95