Continuing our look at books coming out in the new year, I received Fantagraphics latest book catalog in the mail over the weekend and thought it might be fun to share its  revelations with you dear Blog@ readers. Take a look at what to expect in the jump.

April

The Clouds Above by Jordan Crane. Crane’s charming, surreal all-ages book gets the softcover treatment.

The Comics Journal. Normally I wouldn’t mention TCJ in this post, except I think it’s worth noting that issue No. 290 features an exclusive interview with Maurice Sendak.

Let me repeat that. TCJ #290 features AN INTERVIEW WITH MAURICE SENDAK.

That’s just too awesome for words.

Oh, issue 291 is a cover interview with Tim Sale and 292 features Gene and Kim Deitch.

The Complete Peanuts 1967-1968 by Charles Schulz. Franklin is introduced (as is Jose Peterson), Peppermint Patty attends summer camp, Snoopy takes up arm-wrestling and gets a letter from his original owner, Lila. John Waters provides the introduction.

The Education of Hopey Glass by Jaime Hernandez. Collecting all of Jaime’s recent Love and Rockets stories from the close of Ghost of Hoppers onward.

Hall of Best Knowledge by Ray Fenwick. Fenwick’s the Mome contributor who does all those snarky little one page “typographical comics” that separate the longer stories. This is an extended version of that, with a mysterious and untrustworthy narrator expounding on his vast knowledge.

Jessica Farm by Josh Simmons. A girl explores a nightmarish house in what is apparently the first published part of an ongoing project, where Simmons draws one page every month for the next 50 years. Talk about giving Cerebus a run for your money.

More Old Jewish Comedians by Drew Friedman. Like the title says, a sequel to last year’s Blab! book. Foreward by Larry Gelbart.

May

Comic Arf, edited by Craig Yoe. Another promising catch-all anthology courtesy of Mr. Yoe. This one features an emphasis on cartoonist Milt Gross.

Billy Hazelnuts and the Crazy Bird by Tony Millionaire. This sequel to 2006′s utterly delightful and warped ode to children’s stories of yesteryear finds Billy attempting to rejoin a helpless baby bird with its mother.

Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution 1963-1975 by Patrick Rosenkranz. A softcover edition of Rosenkranz’s seminal history book. Now with more pictures.

Abandoned Cars by Tim Lane. A debut collection of noirish short stories. Comparisons in the catalog are made to both Charles Burns and Jim Thompson.

Our Gang Vol. 3 by Walt Kelly. More pre-Pogo fun featuring the Little Rascals.

Most Outrageous: The Trials and Trespasses of Dwaine Tinsley and Chester the Molester by Bob Levin. In his latest book, the critically acclaimed Levin examines the life of Hustler cartoonist Tinsley, the creator of a strip schlub with a yen for pre-pubescent girls, who found himself accused sexually abusing his daughter.

Mome Summer and Fall. The usual gang of art-comix idiots, with French cartoonist Killoffer and newecomer Jon Vermilyea making an appearance in the Summer issue.

June

Hank Ketcham’s Complete Dennis the Menace Vol. 1. Now in paperback. Does that mean the series is doing rather well?

The Troublemakers by Gilbert Hernandez. Another new graphic novel by Gilbert, that seems to be attempting something in a “Pulp Fiction,” hard-boiled vein.

Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko by Blake Bell. Bell’s long-awaited retrospective of Ditko and his work arrives.

So That’s Where the Demented Wented: The Comics and Art of Rory Hayes. Perhaps the book I’m looking forward to the most. A complete collection of one of the most primitive, oddest and possibly most interesting artists to come out of the underground scene of the 1960s. Comes complete with a remembrance by his brother, Geoffrey, and a rare interview with the late artist hisself.

The Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw. Dash Shaw is quickly becoming one of those “cartoonists to watch out for.” This graphic novel may be the book that moves him into the upper echelons.

Town of Mirrors: The Reassembled Imagery of Robert Pollard. A collection of photo collages by the lead singer of Guided by Voices.

Amor Y Cohetes by Gilbert, Jaime and Mario Hernandez. The last volume in the reformatted Love and Rockets series, this catch-all collects the various miscellaneous projects that the Hernandez brothers did during the 1980s and early 90s. Stuff like Errata Stigmata, BEM and Rocky and Fumble. It’ll be nice to have this stuff all together in one book.

Pocket Full of Rain and Other Stories by Jason. Wrapping up the Norweigan cartoonists work to date, Rain collects Jason’s early material, including strips featuring people! I’ll buy it just to see that.

July

Chocolate Cheeks by Steven Weissman. More Yikes gags from Weissman.

Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert by Bill Schelly. Well, this is an interesting surprise. An in-depth look at the man behind Sgt. Rock and Fax From Sarajevo that promises “heretofore unknown details about Kubert’s life and work.”

August

Humbug by Harvey Kurtzman, with Jack Davis, Will Elder, Al Jafee and Arnold Roth. Another nice surprise. Following up on their upcoming Trump collection, this is a handsome, slipcovered, two-volume set collecting all the material from Harvey Kurtzman’s second short-lived magazine.

B. Krigstein Vol. II: A Life in Art From Comics to Canvas (1955-1990) by Greg Sadowski. When did that first volume come out, six years ago? Here’s the second, final volume. I really enjoyed the first half, by the way, and expect the second to be just as enlightening.

Krazy & Ignatz 1943-1944: “He Nods in Quiescent Siesta” by George Herriman. Finally, this Krazy volume concludes Herriman’s run and will feature a retrospective complete with samples of original, never-before seen art.

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