Farrar Straus & Giroux has once again sent out their latest catalog of upcoming books, this time for the fall, and since FSG distributes Drawn & Quarterly, it gives us an excellent opportunity to see what the Canadian publisher has planned for the second half of 2010. Their line-up includes new books from Lynda Barry, Chris Ware, Seth and John Stanley, just to name a few.
By the way, I think it's worth mentioning that FSG imprint Hill and Wang, who have been publishing a few nonfiction graphic novels every quarter, have nothing lined up for the fall. Are they quietly canceling this line? Or is this just a pause between projects?
September
Make Me A Woman by Vanessa Davis. A collection of Davis' most recent diary strips, detailing her relationships with her family, friends and lovers. I could be wrong, but I believe some of the material here will include the strips she did for Tablet magazine. 176 pages, $29.95.
Nipper by Doug Wright. Piggybacking on the success of last year's Collected Doug Wright, this smaller, trimmer paperback collects strips from Wright's beloved, frequently hilarious comic about a rambunctious little boy, circa 1963-64, largely considered to be one of the peaks of its run. Design by Seth, natch. 112 pages, $16.95.
Denys Wortman's New York: Portrait of a City in the '30s and '40s. Edited by James Sturm and Brandon Elston. I know nothing about Wortman or his work, but apparently he was an ash can artist whose work appeared most notably in the New York World, where he routinely drew about the lower and working class society in the Big Apple. According to the pr material in the catalog, Sturm found out about Wortman and tracked down his son, who in turn gave him access to thousands of illustrations and correspondence. Sounds like an artist worth rediscovering. 288 pages, $29.95.
Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle. Delisle's acclaimed story about the year he spent with his family in the totalitarian country of Myanmar gets reprinted, this time in paperback version. It's a very good book. I recommend getting a copy if you haven't done so already. 272 pages, $16.95.
October
Picture This: The Nearsighted Monkey Book by Lynda Barry. Originally I believe this was supposed to be a small book in D&Q's ongoing Petit Livres series. Now it's blossomed into a full-fledged "sequel" to Barry's much-beloved (at least for those of us who like collage) "how-to" graphic novel, What It Is. This time Barry gives you the lowdown on how to draw, with lots of smart-assed advice from the ever-popular Ernie Pook star Maryls. 204 pages, $24.95.
Acme Novelty Library #20 by Chris Ware. Having taken a year off to, I don't know, mope about something, Ware returns full force with the latest issue of his now hardcover serial. I have no idea if this is a new chapter in his ongoing Rusty Brown or Building Stories serials -- the pr text says merely that it's an examination of one 72 pages, $23.95.
Palookaville #20 by Seth. The one-named cartoonist and designer follows in Ware's footsteps by releasing the latest edition of his occasionally ongoing series in a deluxe hardcover format. This expanded edition continues the Clyde Fans storyline, but also features some autobiographical strips, an essay on why he makes little cardboard cities, and contains the two-part autobio story from Palookaville #2 and 3 about how he lost his virginity. Hotcha! 88 pages, $19.95.
Who Will Comfort Toffle? by Tove Jansson. The latest entry in their new children's book series (I think), Toffle is a Moomin short story about a shy, insecure boy who slowly learns to come out of his shell. 24 pages, $26.95.
A Single Match by Oji Suzuki. Gekiga fans alert! Here's D&Q's latest entry in that field, featuring a collection of short stories (also known under the title Red Kimono) from one of the initial leaders of the Garo/alt-manga scene.The Same Hat! blog has some info on the book and Suzuki for the curious. I'm looking forward to this. 240 pages, $24.95.
Tubby: The John Stanley Library. Well now here's a surprise. I would have guessed that Dark Horse, since they are already publishing the Little Lulu series, would have snatched up the publishing rights for it's popular spin-off, Tubby. But no, D&Q seems to have snatched it away from them for their own multi-volume Stanley tribute. Good for them. These are great comics. 144 pages, $29.95.
November
Eden by Pablo Holmberg. Holmberg, aka Kioskerman, is an Argentinan artist. Eden is a collection of interconnected four-panel strips that originally ran on his Web site, with a decided surreal edge. And now you know as much about this book as I do. Looks pretty though. 120 pages, $16.95.