Fantagraphics Books is kicking off its 2021 publishing slate with a deluxe edition of Gary Panter’s Crashpad, and as the year goes on they have plans to publish a never-before-seen collection of wrestling drawings by Jaime Hernandez, the final work of the late Richard Sala, the first middle-grade graphic novel by Cathy Malkasian, and Simon Hanselmann’s bonkers take on the COVID-19 pandemic.  Here’s a look at the highlights of Fantagraphics’ 2021 releases.

The Grande Odalisque by Jerome Mulot, Florent Ruppert, and Bastien Vivés.  Two women plot to steal the Ingres painting "The Grande Odalisque" from the Louvre, with the help of two unlikely new partners.  They end up battling the French Special Forces in this sexy, violent, and comedic story.  The 128-page hardcover is scheduled for February 2 with an MSRP of $24.99.

NoBody Likes You, Greta Grump, by Cathy Malkasian.  Malkasian, best known in the indy-comics world for her evocative graphic novels Percy Gloom and Temperance, changes gears with this middle-grade graphic novel about a grumpy girl who changes her attitude and then has to solve the mystery of why everyone else in her town has suddenly gotten so darned grouchy.  In addition to her comics work, Malkasian is an animation director whose credits include Rugrats, the Wild Thornberrys movie, and Curious George.  NoBody Likes You, Greta Grump will be published as a 120-page paperback on February 2 with an MSRP of $16.99.

Crashpad, by Gary Panter.  This homage to the underground comix of the 1960s grew out of an installation Panter did in 2017, titled Hippie Trip.  The book is a mix of trippy visuals and an actual story, and it is presented as a deluxe, 11" x 14" hardcover accompanied by a second copy, a 6" x 9" version printed on newsprint.  This allows the reader to experience it as they would one of the original underground comics and as an art object.  Pub date is February 23, and the MSRP is $39.99.

Red Rock Baby Candy, by Shira Spector. Spector describes herself as "an infertile, high-femme, low income, non-biological Jewish mom, dyke drama queen, and ectopic pregnancy survivor," which gives you a good idea of what to expect in this memoir of love, birth, death, and relationships.  As Emil Ferris did in My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Spector ditches many of the formal aspects of comics in favor of full-page compositions and flowing artwork that immerses the reader in her world.  This 216-page hardcover will be published on March 2 with an MSRP of $29.99.

The Thud, by Mikael Ross.  This YA graphic novel is told from the point of view of Noel, a developmentally impaired boy who has to move to a new home after his mother has a stroke, which means dealing with not just a big change but also a series of unknowns.  The story is set in the actual German town of Neuerkerode, which is home to a large number of people with developmental disabilities.  The Thud is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.  It will be published on March 9 as a 128-page paperback with an MSRP of $16.99.

I Never Promised You A Rose Garden, by Mannie Murphy.  Murphy uses an illustrated-diary format to depict the history of white nationalism in Oregon and particular in the city of Portland, starting with the Whitman massacre of 1846.  The book shows how the influence of the KKK and white supremacy influenced government and the arts, drawing together the stories of Kurt Cobain, William Burroughs, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Cliven Bundy to create a unique record.  The 232-page, two-color hardcover will be published on March 23 with an MSRP of $24.99.

Beatnik Buenos Aires, by Diego Arandojo & Facundo Percio.  Set in 1963, this graphic novel is a love letter to a period when the Buenos Aires art scene was burgeoning and full of life.  With staccato dialogue and smoky charcoal artwork, the story eavesdrops on the denizens of this cultural moment as they hunt for inspiration and hone their craft.  The 96-page paperback is scheduled for April 27 with an MSRP of $19.99.

Poison Flowers and Pandemonium, by Richard Sala.  Sala passed away in March 2020, and this volume collects his final work, four graphic novellas that show off not only Sala’s atmospheric watercolor artwork but also his love of pop culture and B-movies.  The 300-page hardcover will go on sale on May 1 with an MSRP of $29.99.

Stone Fruit, by Lee Lai.  Lai paints a picture of love and family and the strains that can test both in this story of a queer couple, their siblings, and their relationship with a beloved niece, all of which begin to fray as the couple starts to pull apart from one another.  This 236-page book will be published as a hardcover on May 11 with an MSRP of $24.99.

Crash Site, by Nathan Cowdry.  With dark humor, British graphic novelist Cowdry tells the story of Rosie, a drug trafficker, whose plane goes down in the Amazon basin.  Rosie is accompanied by her talking dog Denton and is wearing anthropomorphic underwear that may be plotting against her.  No longer worried about getting busted, or about the $50,000 worth of cocaine in Denton’s stomach, Rosie has to focus on getting out alive.  This 130-page hardcover will be released on June 1 with an MSRP of $24.99.

Celestia, by Manuele Fior.  Fior, the author of The Interview and 5,000 KM Per Second, is back with a post-apocalyptic tale of two telepaths who leave their isolated island and find a troubling new world on the mainland.  Wrapped in this sci-fi story is a meditation on the future of humanity.  The 272-page hardcover will be published on July 20 with an MSRP of $29.99.

It’s Not What You Thought It Would Be, by Lizzy Stewart: Stewart, a British cartoonist making her graphic novel debut, uses a series of vignettes to tell the stories of two friends who grow up and grow apart as they move from adolescence to their thirties, as their situations and their points of view evolve.  This 168-page hardcover will be published on July 6 with an MSRP of $24.99.

Queen of the Ring: Wrestling Drawings, by Jaime Hernandez.  For the past 40 years, while he was drawing the iconic Love & Rockets, Hernandez has also been working on another project: an entire new cast of characters who dwell in the world of women’s wrestling in the 1960s and 1970s.  This book is a "best of" collection of drawings, pin-ups, fake magazine covers, and other artwork from Hernandez’s longtime passion project, one that has never been published before.  The 140-page hardcover book includes an interview with Hernandez by comics creator Katie Skelly; it will be published on August 3 with an MSRP of $24.99.

Crisis Zone, by Simon Hanselmann.  In March, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, Hanselmann launched a webcomic reflecting the frenzied tenor of the times, with his characters Megg, Mogg, Owl, and Werewolf Jones getting themselves ensnarled in a series of situations, from escapism to social media stardom.  This 290-page paperback includes the entire webcomic as well as deleted scenes and a "director’s commentary."  It will go on sale on August 10 with an MSRP of $29.99.

Another History of Art by Anita Kunz.  Kunz, a well-known artist in her own right, gender-switches the standard history of art, reworking the iconic masterpieces of art history as if they were painted by women.  This feminist satire of art history includes work by Leona DaVinci, Henrietta Matisse, and Vincenza Van Gogh, among others, and each painting is accompanied by Kunz’s bio of the artist.  The 180-page hardcover book is slated for August 17 and will have an MSRP of $24.99.

The Butchery, by Bastien Vivés. Vivés explores the end of a love affair in this brief, exquisite graphic novel that focuses on the small, concrete moments of a faltering relationship, from dancing together to stilted phone conversations.  His colored-pencil artwork is delicate and evocative, with each vignette carefully placed against the white space of the page.  This 96-page hardcover will be released on August 24 with an MSRP of $19.99.