Comic-con is turning 50! That’s right, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of this behemoth of a show, and Fantagraphics will be right in the middle of the action. We’ve got special guests and debuts galore, so be sure to stop by Booth #1721 to see what’s happening!
2019 Special Guests:
Ulli Lust – How I Tried to Be a Good Person
All the way from Berlin, we’re thrilled to have the immensely talented Ulli Lust (Today is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life) joining us to celebrate the release of her brand new memoir, How I Tried to Be a Good Person.
Paco Roca – Wrinkles, Twists of Fate
A giant of the international comics community, Paco Roca hails from Valencia, Spain. His graphic novel Arrugas, released in English as Wrinkles in 2016, won every major Spanish comics award, and was adapted into an award-winning animated film in 2011. His most recent work available in English is Twists of Fate, a fictionalized history of Spanish fightsers in WWII.
Mary Fleener – Billie the Bee
An alternative cartoonist whose stories appeared in anthologies like Weirdo and Twisted Sisters, and Wimmen’s Comix, Mary Fleener will be at San Diego Comic-Con in support of her first full-length graphic novel, Billie the Bee.
You can find a full list of Special Guests on Comic-con’s website here.
Cartoonists with Debut Books!
Jaime Hernandez — Debuting Tonta
Gilbert Hernandez – debuting Love and Rockets Comics Vol. IV #7 and Blubber #5
Simon Hanselmann — debuting Bad Gateway
Academic Guest:
Esther Claudio Moreno is a PhD student at the Spanish and Portuguese Department of UCLA. She graduated in English from Universidad de Alcala (Spain) and has taught English as a foreign language for nearly ten years. She has studied at University of Manchester and received her Master in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language from Universidad de Alcala in 2012. She has taught Spanish to US students at Universidad de Alcala and works as a TA at UCLA at the moment. Her research focuses on borders and depictions of the city in graphic novel with a Transatlantic Perspective.
Also Signing at Booth #1721:
Ezra Claytan Daniels w/ BTTM FDRS
Charles Glaubitz w/ Starseeds 2
Dame Darcy w/ Meat Cake
Sammy Harkham w/ Kramers Ergot 10
John Pham w/ Kramers Ergot 10
Steve Weissman w/ Kramers Ergot 10
Ron Regé Jr. w/ Kramers Ergot 10
Trina Robbins w/ Wimmen’s Comix & Last Girl Standing
Also, check out these sick new t-shirts we’ll have debuting at the show, based on the original Dan Clowes design!
Programming:
Comics Anthologies, Demystified! Thursday July 18th, 7:00p.m. – 8:00p.m.What defines a great comics anthology? The curatorial expertise of a good editor, a unifying aesthetic, or the talent and technique of it’s contributors? Series editors Sammy Harkham (Kramers Ergot) and Eric Reynolds (Mome, Now), and the oft-anthologized cartoonists Steve Weissman (Yikes!, Barack Hussein Obama), John Pham (J+K), Ron Regé Jr. (The Cartoon Utopia), and Simon Hanselmann (Megahex),discuss the advantages and challenges of the format. Moderated by Abraham Reisman.
Spotlight on Ulli Lust
Friday July 19th, 2:00a.m. – 3:00p.m.Internationally-acclaimed Austrian cartoonist Ulli Lust (Today is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life, Voices in the Dark) discusses her work which ranges from deeply personal memoir, to historical fiction, to prose adaptation. Lust will read from her latest graphic memoir, How I Tried to be a Good Person. Moderated by Abraham Reisman.
International Spotlight: Paco Roca
Saturday July 20th 1:30p.m. – 2:30p.m.
Spanish cartoonist Paco Roca got his start drawing the unpretentious action series Road Cartoons for legendary comics magazine El Víbora. His graphic novel Wrinkles won every Spanish comics award and has since been adapted into an animated feature film. Joining him in conversation is Gilbert Hernandez (Love and Rockets), UCLA comics scholar Esther Claudio and his English-language publisher, Gary Groth (founder, Fantagraphics).
Drawing from Life: Comics Fiction & MemoirFriday July 19th, 11:30a.m. – 12:30p.m.Memoir has become a genre central to independent comics—but personal history influences the work of cartoonists in many different ways. This panel brings together creators and from vastly different backgrounds who mine their personal experiences to create memoir, fiction, fantasy, or something altogether new. Includes Simon Hanselmann(Megahex), Ulli Lust (Today is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life), Dame Darcy (Meat Cake), and cartoonist, editor, and comics scholar Trina Robbins. Moderated by The Comics Journal co-editor RJ Casey.
Fantagraphics: Forty Three and Counting! Saturday July 20th, 4:30p.m. – 5:30p.m.
Over its 40+ years in the comics industry, Fantagraphics has grown from scrappy beginnings to the internationally recognized publisher of some of the world’s greatest cartoonists, past and present. Join founder Gary Groth, Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds, Publicist Jacq Cohen, and cartoonist Gilbert Hernandez (Love and Rockets) as they discuss what it took to make Fantagraphics what it is today, share some choice anecdotes from the company’s history, and drop tantalizing hints of what to expect in years to come! Moderated by senior editor for NPR’s Arts Desk Nina Gregory.
Comics Science Fiction: Utopia, Dystopia, & Everything in Between
Saturday July 20th, 6:00p.m. – 7:00p.m.
Science fiction allows us to imagine a world radically re-shaped by social, scientific, and technological changes. These creators share a tendency to push those scenarios to their limits, envisioning future or alternate realities that tend to extremes, whether they be good, bad, or downright absurd. Join Charles Glaubitz (Starseeds), Ezra Claytan Daniels(Upgrade Soul, BTTM FDRS), and Aminder Dhaliwal (Woman World), for a discussion of the ways that science fiction comics can transport us to utopia, dystopia, or that big gray area in between. Moderated by Evan Narcisse (Rise of the Black Panther).
Signing Schedule:
Thursday, July 18th
11am-12pm: Mary Fleener & Simon Hanselmann
12pm-1pm: Sammy Harkham & John Pham
1pm-2pm: Steve Weissman & Ron Regé Jr.
2pm-4pm: Jaime Hernandez & Gilbert Hernandez
4pm-5pm: Ulli Lust & Paco Roca
5pm-6pm: Charles Glaubitz & Dame Darcy
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Friday, July 19th
10am-11am: Mary Fleener
10am-12pm: Jaime Hernandez
11am-1pm: Paco Roca
12pm-2pm: Gilbert Hernandez
1pm-2pm: Simon Hanselmann
2pm-3pm: Charles Glaubitz & Dame Darcy
3pm-4pm: Sammy Harkham & Ezra Claytan Daniels
4pm-5pm: Ulli Lust
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Saturday, July 20th
11am-1pm: Jaime Hernandez & Gilbert Hernandez
1pm-2pm: Simon Hanselmann & Ulli Lust
2pm-3pm: Mary Fleener & Dame Darcy
3pm-4pm: Trina Robbins & Ezra Claytan Daniels
4pm-5pm: Charles Glaubitz & Paco Roca
5pm-6pm: Marc Palm
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Sunday, July 21st
11am-12pm: Simon Hanselmann & Trina Robbins
12pm-1pm: Mary Fleener & Ulli Lust
1pm-2pm: Gilbert Hernandez & Paco Roca
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If you can’t make it out to this year’s show, take heart! We’re giving everyone 20% off just about everything at Fantagraphics.com for the duration of the show. You’re welcome 😉
That’s all for now, see you real soon!