Abrams ComicArts

Abrams ComicArts publishes high quality, contemporary, groundbreaking illustrated books about the legends and history of comics art, animation, and cartoon-based material, as well as new graphic novels.

[abramscomicarts]

Continue to follow us at @abramsbooks! 

[abramsbooks]

Are you going to New York Comic Con? Check out the schedule for the @abramscomicarts booth for information on signings, special discounts, sweepstakes, giveaways, and more!

[abramsbooks]

The Countdown to ‘Only What’s Necessary’ Begins!

Charles M. Schulz believed that the key to cartooning was to take out the extraneous details and leave in only what’s necessary. For 50 years, from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, Schulz wrote and illustrated Peanuts, the single most popular and influential comic strip in the world. In all, 17,897 strips were published, making it “arguably the longest story ever told by one human being,” according to Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University.

We’re counting down to Only What’s Necessary with the comic strips from the days leading up to our publication day–from 1950! 

Enjoy, and check back on the 12th for next week’s strips!

[Proof pages from October 5-7, 1950]

[Proof pages from October 9-11, 1950]

For more information on Only What’s Necessary, click here.

[abramscomicarts]

In honor of the publication day of Only What’s Necessary in two weeks, we’re sharing the comic strips leading up to that date from 1950! 

For more information on the book, click here. 

[abramsbooks]

65 years ago today, Charles M. Schulz’s beloved #Peanuts comic strip debuted for the first time! You’re looking at a never-before-seen press proof from Schulz’s archive. In addition to including throwback strips like this one, ‘Only What’s Necessary’ by #ChipKidd also features exclusive, rare, and unpublished original art and developmental work—much of which has never been seen before. #OnlyWhatsNecessary via Instagram http://bit.ly/1FMZMEq

[abramscomicarts]

Check out the book here: http://www.abramsbooks.com/peanuts

[spx]

Chip from @comixology and Derf checking out the prints and originals pulled especially for SPX! http://ift.tt/1KwuH8a

[bkbfcomics]

PETER KUPER will be at the Brooklyn Book Festival – these images from his new RUINS are haunting… Come learn more and get your copy signed at this provocative panel: 

Politics–It’s Personal

Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont St Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015 4:00pm

Politics–It’s Personal. Haunting graphic stories of history, place, privacy, and political change with comic artists Ted Rall (Snowden), Peter Kuper (Ruins), and Marguerite Van Cook (The Late Child and Other Animals). Screen Projection. Moderated by Calvin Reid.

[abramscomicarts]

Abrams ComicArts at SanDiego Comic-Con 2015

[View the story "ABRAMS at #SDCC15!" on Storify]

[abramscomicarts]

If you’re going to San Diego Comic-Con, make sure to check out the schedule for our booth! To find out more, click here. 

[abramscomicarts]

Chip Kidd: The art of first impressions -- in design and life

Book designer Chip Kidd knows all too well how often we judge things by first appearances. In this hilarious, fast-paced talk, he explains the two techniques designers use to communicate instantly — clarity and mystery — and when, why and how they work. He celebrates beautiful, useful pieces of design, skewers less successful work, and shares the thinking behind some of his own iconic book covers.

Take special notice in the first two minutes, in which Chip Kidd describes the cover of ‘Only What’s Necessary’, with its “seven deft strokes that in and of themselves create an entire emotional life, one that has enthralled hundreds of millions of fans for over 50 years.” 

[abramsbooks]

Bookcon 2015 at the Javits Center with John Leguizamo

New York News

NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) - It’s the annual event that celebrates the written word..

It’s Bookcon 2015!

You can get advanced copies of books, take part in screenings and podcasts, but best of all, it’s a chance to get up close and personal with your favorite authors all this weekend at the Javits Center.

The authors involved in Bookcon are diverse.

There are seasoned ones like, Judy Blume who wrote the classic, “Are You There God It’s Me Margaret” and James Patterson. He’s sold more than 300 million books worldwide.

You’ll also find TV stars turned authors like Mindy Kalling and David Duchovny.

Bookcon was put together by Reedpop. They are the same people that bring you Comic con and tickets are still available.

John Leguizamo was at the convention. He is the author of “Ghetto Klown.” The book is based on his HBO special with the same name but with amazing cartoon like illustrations.

[abramscomicarts]

Out of Line: The Art of Jules Feiffer

We’ve been waiting all season to share our latest release with you, and today’s the day! We’re proud to announce the publication of Out of Line: The Art of Jules Feiffer, available now wherever books are sold.

Over Feiffer’s prolific 70-year career, his nimble and singular imagination has given us new perspectives as well as biting satires on politics, love, marriage, and religion—alternating with stories imbued with the playful anarchy of a child.

Feiffer’s varied output includes children’s books (The Phantom Tollbooth and Bark, George), plays (Little Murders), movies (Carnal Knowledge and Popeye), and comic strips (most notably in his Pulitzer Prize–winning Village Voice comic strip of 42 years).

Out of Line: The Art of Jules Feiffer is the long-awaited illustrated retrospective of Feiffer’s celebrated career, providing a revealing glimpse into his creative process and his role as America’s foremost Renaissance man of the arts.

(Above) Jules Feiffer with Robert Siegel, host of NPR’s All Things Considered (broadcast coming soon!)

For NYC-based fans: please join us in celebration of the book’s release TONIGHT @ 7 at The Strand (828 Broadway, NYC): http://www.strandbooks.com/event/jules-feiffer-martha-fay

[abramscomicarts]

We’re thrilled to share our full ComicArts catalog for 2015! Click the image above to see more.

[abramscomicarts]

Join us for MoCCA Arts Fest this weekend!

MoCCA Arts Fest will be held at Center 548 this year (548 W 22nd St b/w 10th + 11th Aves, NYC (near the highline), and we have lots of great treats in store!

Also, don't miss these 2 great events happening on Friday (4/10)!

6:30 pm: Barbara Stok (Vincent, SelfMadeHero) will give a lecture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC)

7 pm: Darryl Cunningham (The Age of Selfishness, Abrams ComicArts) will be on a panel with artists from Toon Books and First Second. WORD Bookstore (Greenpoint, Brooklyn) 

[abramscomicarts]

Join us at a fun, free comics event this Friday, April 10th, at WORD​ Bookstore in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. 'The Age of Selfishness' author Darryl Cunningham will be speaking about his new book and Heidi MacDonald of Publishers Weekly will moderate. More details below!

[abramscomicarts]

All About Ayn (and the Economy) in Darryl Cunningham’s Age of Selfishness

Our latest book has been making waves in advance of publication, and we’re excited to finally share its pages with you. Darryl Cunningham (How to Fake a Moon Landing) is back with his latest graphic novel, Age of Selfishness: Ayn Rand, Morality, and the Financial Crisis. 

Leading readers to the heart of the global financial crisis of 2008, Cunningham uses Rand’s biography to illuminate the ideologies that led to the economic crash in the U.S. and in Europe, and how her philosophy continues to affect today’s politics and policies. 

Tackling the complexities of economics by distilling them down to a series of concepts accessible to all age groups, Cunningham ultimately delivers a devastating analysis of our current economic world.

With glowing reviews from Boing Boing and The New York Times, and a starred review in Publishers Weekly, this is a book you won’t want to miss. Age of Selfishness is available now wherever books are sold. 

[abramscomicarts]

Just So Happens is a “Thoughtful, Subtle Journey”

The latest book on our spring ComicArts list comes from Fumio Obata, and traces the delicate subtleties and intersections of personal identity, relationships, familial obligations, and what “home” really means. 

In Just So Happens, Yumiko returns from London to her native Tokyo after her father’s death, and finds herself immersed in the rituals of mourning while also plunged into the rituals of life—fish bars, bullet trains, pagodas—as she confronts the question of where her future really lies. 

Read more of what Comics Bulletin calls “ a tale of deep emotions and restrained feeling, with a lifetime of family complications simmering under the surface,” and a tale whose “delicate lines and vivid watercolors create bold and flowing scenes.” (Publishers Weekly)

Plus, check out this interview with Comic Book Resources in which Obata explains how the immigrant experience “just so happens.”

Just so Happens is available now via Abrams or wherever books are sold.

[drawingis-magic]

DRAWING IS MAGIC- Out March 24, 2015!!!

To help me launch my book I’ve asked some friends to create their own page from Drawing is Magic. These folks are really wonderful artists, designers and award winning illustrators and writers from around the country.  I’m really thankful for their time contributing to this project, I can’t wait to share them all with you. Every day, I’ll be sharing work until the book release on March 24th. So stay tuned!  We have some really inspirational art to come from some of the worlds best illustrators, but first…

As many of you know, I’m an author and illustrator, but also a teacher. This book is really based on a course I’ve taught at Washington University for years. I’m very proud of my former student’s success. So, to start us off this week I’ve asked a bunch of them to send me their own Drawing is Magic page. I’ll be posting them here all week!

Keep Drawing!

[abramscomicarts]

Check out John Hendrix's drawing challenge, up on his Tumblr now.