Ignatz Line Brings Euro Format to the U.S.

This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on Nov. 15, 2005 Sign up now!

By Ian Brill -- Publishers Weekly, 11/15/2005

The Innocents Fantagraphics Books is bringing a new comic book format to North America. The international Ignatz line of comics are periodicals like traditional North American comic books, but feature production quality similar to a European graphic novel. The issues are oversized, using a better stock of paper and employing two-tone coloring, all at a price point of $7.95.

Fantagraphics v-p Kim Thompson compares the Ignatz format to the traditional comic, which is often called a pamphlet, to distinguish it from graphic novels. "Pamphlets are kind of cheesy, and Europeans are used to more handsome packages, including the 8 1/2" x 11" format," he says. "It's also nice to have a distinctive format for a collection."

The line is the brainchild of Italian cartoonist Igort, best known in North America for 5 Is the Perfect Number. He's directing the line, which will come out under his Coconino Press imprint, and rounding up the artists. The talent involved reflects the hybrid nature of the books. Igort is producing a comic set in Japan called Baobah. Gipi is an Italian cartoonist whose The Innocents was released in this new format. Matt Broersma from the United Kingdom is doing a book titled Insomnia. The United States is represented by two cartoonists, Kevin Huizenga and Anders Nilsen, whose books, Ganges and The End, respectively, will be published soon.

The first Ignatz book was the first issue of Babel, by Epileptic cartoonist David B. It was published in North America by Canadian publisher Drawn & Quarterly but since then Fantagraphics has been the publisher for all the books in North America.

"I'm sure Igort would be happy to consider Asian or South American cartoonists should the occasion arise," Thompson says. Thompson is translator for all the books in North America so far but that would have to change, obviously, if, for example, a Japanese or Finnish cartoonist is added.

The Ignatz line, named after a character in George Herriman's classic Krazy Kat comic strip, follows the shift to bound graphic novels over the pamphlet format in both Europe and North America. "Historically, European cartoonists serialized their work in weekly or monthly magazines," Thompson says. "Most of these have gone under, forcing many European cartoonists to go straight to graphic novels." Creating a periodical that's like a mini-graphic novel every issue allows a cartoonist not to worry about landing an advance to work on a full book over several years, and provides a catalyst for creativity by setting deadlines.

The Ignatz line also solves a problem for North American independent comics, said Thompson. "The drawback to the pamphlet is that most cartoonists concentrate on graphic novels. They're unsatisfactory reading, little chunks. I hope the diversity [of the line] will make for satisfactory reading."

While this new form reflects the graphic novel boom in many bookstores and in countries like France, don't expect the books to pop up in the graphic novels section at your local bookstore. "I suspect that's kind of tough," Thomson said. "There's not going to be a massive excursion into bookstores." Instead, he expects these books to be found in indie-friendly direct market comic book stories, another example of the continuing success of graphic novels impacting the format of periodical comics.

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