www.86thfloor.com     PREVIEWS VOL. XVIX #5 May 2009  

Independent Comic Publishers
(Companies beginning with F)

FANFARE / PONENT MON

YEARS OF THE ELEPHANT GN
(W/A) Willy Linthout
It had been a normal morning in the Germonprez household. Carl reading the newspaper, Simone tackling some morning chores, and their son, Jack — "Your son has jumped off the roof!" Carl, in an emotional haze, heads off to work only to discover, on the sidewalk outside their home, a chalk outline where there had been a son. No parent should have to bury a child, especially through suicide. Linthout draws an almost tangible pain with his immediate, rudimentary art and strong script which comes from personal experience. Winner of the Belgian Cultural Prize. (C: 0-0-1)
SC, 7x9, 184pgs, B&W SRP: $20.00

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

THE RED MONKEY DOUBLE HAPPINESS BOOK
by Joe Daly
7.25 x 10, HC, 120 pages, FC, $22.99
Break on through to the other side and find two full-color, sun-drenched classics!
“The Leaking Cello Case” is psychedelic slackers to the rescue featuring Dave and his monkey feet (he can climb almost anything!), Paul the freeloading friend we all know and love, and little Chu Woo… the strange little snickering man in the corner of your addled brain. Mystery, girls, and mind altering experiences will have you crying from laughter. “John Wesley Harding” is a tale brimming with action, adventure, conspiracy theories and tiger-tea, as Dave and Paul, obsessively search to find a missing capybara named after the Bob Dylan album. Trust us! It’s utterly hilarious and ripe for cult status!

THE BEST AMERICAN CRITICISM OF THE 21ST CENTURY
Edited by Ben Schwartz
7 x 9, SC, 280 pages, BW, $19.99
Conventional wisdom states that cartooning and graphic novels exist in a golden age of creativity, popularity, and critical acceptance. But why? Today, the signal is stronger than ever, but so is the noise. New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Bookforum critic Ben Schwartz assembles the greatest lineup of comics critics the world has yet seen to testify on behalf of this increasingly vital medium.
This volume includes Daniel Clowes, Jonathan Lethem, Frank Miller, Chris Ware, Jonathan Franzen, Will Eisner, John Updike, Donald Phelps, and more! This collection functions as a valuable guide for fans, retailers, civilians, and maladjusted children, tracing the current comics renaissance from its beginnings and creative growth to the cutting edge of today’s artists. Killer!

THE SWEETLY DIABOLICAL ART OF JIM FLORA
by Irwin Chusid & Barb Economon
11 x 10, HC, 180 pages, FC, $34.99
Jim Flora has been rediscovered this decade as an alchemist of bizarre and politely disturbing fine art. This book features paintings, drawings, and sketches from the 1940s through the 1990s, most never previously published or exhibited, as well as more artifacts from Flora’s 1940s tenure in the Columbia Records art department and rare newspaper and magazine illustrations spanning several decades. Flora is one of the great overlooked artists of the 20th century. It’s up to you to break the cycle of odious negligence! Place your order today!

GIRAFFES IN MY HAIR: A ROCK 'N' ROLL LIFE
by Carol Swain & Bruce Paley
6.25 x 9.5, HC, 120 pages, BW, $19.99
Bruce Paley turned 18 in 1967 during the Summer of Love, putting him on the front lines of the late-1960s youth movement. Paley’s endearing coming-of-age saga traverses the rough and weary road to adulthood, replete with triumphs and setbacks not uncommon to the changing times an optimism of the ‘60s gave way to the nihilism of punk. Carol Swain’s cartooning breathes life into Paley’s trial, creating a perceptive prism to view the vast possibilities and endless pitfalls as experienced by a kid growing up in America.

POPEYE VOL. 4: "PLUNDER ISLAND"
by E.C. Segar
10.5 x 14.75, HC, 168 pages, PC, $29.99
ALL HAIL POPEYE! With our fourth volume Popeye reaches one of its highest peaks in “Plunder Island,” the glorious, epic-length Sunday-continuity adventure that ran for eight months and pitted the intrepid sailorman against the malevolent Sea Hag and her terrifying, grotesque sidekick the Goon — helped, and sometimes hindered by, the easily corruptible J. Wellington Wimpy. “Plunder Island” is presented here for the first time in its complete, full-color, uncut glory! Popeye is an American all-ages treasure. Find out why!

SKIN DEEP (NOW IN PAPERBACK!)
by Charles Burns
10 x 13, SC, 96 pages, BW, $16.99
WARNING! For your perverse pleasure we offer these tales of tumult, obsession, and bizarre Americana. Venture forth and meet Dog Boy (he has the transplanted heart of a dog!) as he traverses the noirish landscape of the subconscious. Sizzle with Bliss Blister in the infamous “Burn Again” as he spreads his gospel of filth with profane and evil comic books! In “A Marriage Made in Hell,” a young wife’s flesh tingled with passion, but the sight of her made her husband’s skin melt. Was the love-knot she tied really a hangman’s noose? Gulp!

TTALES DESIGNED TO THRIZZLE: VOLUME ONE
by Michael Kupperman
6.75 x 9.5, HC, 160 pages, FC, $24.99
The critics agree! Tales Designed To Thrizzle is the smash hit humor comic book of the decade. And now the first four issues of Michael Kupperman’s legendary comic book are finally collected into one deluxe hardcover. Even better, Kupperman has taken the original two-color printing and made the entire book full-color! What are tales designed to thrizzle? Tales designed to thrizzle are about evil girls and their owls. They are about Jesus’ half-brother Pagus, the Mysterious Avenger, Dick Crazy, scary snakes, delicious bacon, Private Eye Johnny Silhouette, the Silver Knight, Murder She Didn’t Write, the Mannister, the Space Patrol, Pablo Picasso, the silent robot Citobor, Cousin Granpa, soccer joust, Underpants-On-His-Head Man, Hercules the Public Domain Superhero, Mister Bossman, Mark Twain, and the crazy 1930s!
Do you know how to Thrizzle?

OFFERED AGAIN

FOODBOY
by Carol Swain
7 x 10, SC, 80 pages, BW, $9.95
In this story of loss and hope, friendship, and faith, when Ross ends up alienated from society and living in a near-feral state after an encounter with a troupe of Evangelists, it falls to his friend Gareth to try to help him. (OCT032442)

SCRUBLANDS
by Joe Daly
8.5 x 10, SC, 128 pages, PC, $16.95
Joe Daly's cartoons, offbeat, hallucinatory, and often hilarious, range from representational Jim Jarmusch-like scenarios to wild visual excursions, albeit linear ones, presenting a unique mix of deadpan absurdity and surreal imagery. (JAN063042)

THE MISCHIEVOUS ART OF JIM FLORA
by Irwin Chusid
11 x 10, SC, 180 pages, FC, $34.95
The first collection of the marvelous, mischievous album cover art of Jim Flora (1914-1998), collecting most of his known covers. The book also includes rarely seen illustrations and covers from Columbia's "Coda" trade journal and elsewhere. (AUG078201)

THE CURIOUSLY SINISTER ART OF JIM FLORA
by Irwin Chusid & Barb Economon
11 x 10, SC, 180 pages, FC, $34.95
A wide array of both Flora's commercial work from the 1930s-50s (for Columbia Records, RCA Victor, and more) and rare, personal work, plus photos and personal keepsakes. Outlandish caricatures, exotic fauna, and other comic grotesqueries. (NOV063551)

POPEYE VOL. 1: "I YAM WHAT I YAM"
by E.C. Segar
10.5 x 14.75, HC, 182 pages, PC, $29.95 (AUG073644)
This series collects the complete run of Segar's comic strip (dailies and color Sundays) featuring Popeye. This striking volume, covering 1928-1930, follows his first adventures. These strips are masterpieces of comic invention. (JUL063133)

POPEYE VOL. 2: "WELL BLOW ME DOWN!"
by E.C. Segar
10.5 x 14.75, HC, 168 pages, PC, $29.95
Our second volume collecting the entirety of Segar's original Popeye (Thimble Theatre) covers 1930-1932 and introduces Segar's second greatest character: Wimpy, the most likeable lowdown cad ever to grace the comics page. (AUG073644)

POPEYE VOL. 3: "LET'S YOU AND HIM FIGHT!"
by E.C. Segar
10.5 x 14.75, HC, 168 pages, PC, $29.95
Our third volume collecting the entirety of Segar's original Popeye (Thimble Theatre) covers 1932-1934 and includes the never-republished extra-large strips set at the Chicago World's Fair and an insightful scholarly essay. (AUG084050)

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