Fantagraphics was founded in 1976 by Gary Groth and Kim Thompson to launch The Comics Journal, a very opinionated annal of the trade that made the men high-profile critics of their industry. As both editors and writers for the Journal, the two young men had an outsize impact on a moribund business, often disrespecting their elders and picking up many enemies along the way. Vice president and co-publisher Thompson died of lung cancer in June, after more than three decades of partnership with company president Groth. After the death of a co-owner, Fantagraphics faces midlife with a shrug. And a party. Fantagraphics Follies plays Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Seattle Rep. (Bumbershoot: Fantagraphics at Mid-Life by Brian Miller, Seattle Weekly, Aug. 27, 2013)
