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Fantagraphics Books

 
Hoover's Profile: Fantagraphics Books Inc.
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Contact Information
Fantagraphics Books Inc.
7563 Lake City Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115
WA Tel. 206-524-1967
Toll Free 800-657-1100
Fax 206-524-2104

Type: Private
On the web: http://www.fantagraphics.com
 Employees: 25

Fantagraphics Books publishes comic books with an emphasis on the book. The company, which eschews the traditional superhero and horror content of its rivals in favor of a more sophisticated approach, has a roster of titles that include reprints of classic Robert Crumb comics, as well as Daniel Clowes' "Ghost World", which was adapted to film in 2001. Fantagraphics Books, an independent publisher of comic books and comics criticism, scored a big hit in 2004 when it purchased the multiyear rights to reprint, in its entirety and in chronological order, Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts. Fantagraphics was founded in 1976 by company president Gary Groth.

Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2008:
Sales: $2.9M

Officers:
President: Gary Groth
Marketing Director: Book Publishing

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Wikipedia: Fantagraphics Books
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Fantagraphics Books
Type Comic publisher
Founded 1976
Founder(s) Gary Groth
Mike Catron
Headquarters Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Key people Gary Groth
Mike Catron
Kim Thompson
Industry Comics
Website Fantagraphics.com

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.

Contents

Company history

The Fantagraphics booth at the Stumptown Comics Fest 2006.

Fantagraphics was founded in 1976 by Gary Groth and Mike Catron at College Park, Maryland. Kim Thompson joined the company in 1977, and soon became a co-owner with Groth.[1] The company later moved to Stamford, Connecticut, then Los Angeles, and finally in 1989 to its present location in Seattle.[2]

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 this way: "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."[3]

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.[4] One employee quit during the subsequent downsizing while denouncing Fantagraphic's "disorganization and poor management."[3] Fantagraphics was saved by a restructuring and a successful appeal to comic book fandom that resulted in a huge number of orders.[3] After restructuring, the company has had greater success with such hardcover collections as The Complete Peanuts, distributed by W. W. Norton & Company.[2]

In 2006, Fantagraphics opened its own retail store in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood.

Titles

Comic book series

Ignatz Series

Anthologies

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

Magazines

Graphic novels

Classic comics compilations

Notes

  1. ^ Spurgeon, Tom and Jacob Covey. Comics As Art: We Told You So. Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics. (forthcoming) ISBN 1560977388
  2. ^ a b Matos, Michelangelo. "Saved by the Beagle," Seattle Arts (September 15, 2004).
  3. ^ a b c Comics Community Comes to Fantagraphics' Rescue. By Michael Dean, The Comics Journal, Posted July 11th, 2003
  4. ^ Seven Hills Follows LPC into Limbo, Marvel Abandons Diamond for CDS. By Michael Dean, The Comics Journal, Posted August 30th, 2002
  5. ^ Fantagraphics Looses the Beasts Again, Comic Book Resources, November 13, 2008
  6. ^ Review of I Killed Adolf Hitler, Comics Bulletin

References

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 
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