Family Style Ceases New Publications

Family Style Jamboree #1, Art by Antonio Roman-Alcala
Above: Family Style’s first publication, Family Style Jamboree #1, with art by Antonio Roman-Alcala
After 10 years of publishing zines, mini-comics, and books, Family Style will cease publishing new projects. This decision comes in the wake of my (François Vigneault) acceptance of a new position as the Art Director of Study Group Comics, as well as my continuing work as the Editor at Scout Books. The news broke on The Comics Reporter, and they have some lengthy quotes from me regarding the thinking behind the decision:

 

“After ten years, I’ve decided to cease publishing new work under the Family Style banner for the foreseeable future. I’ve felt for a while now that Family Style had been suffering due to neglect on my part; after two years of being a part of Press Gang — along with Floating World Comics and Study Group Comics — I was starting to feel that I wasn’t keeping up with my partners Jason [Leivian] and Zack, who have both had tons of great stuff come out in that time… Object 10, Study Group Magazine, It Will All Hurt, DIY Magic, and much more. The only comic I have published in that time is the first issue of my own series, Titan, which had in fact started out (and continues) as a webcomic on Zack’s site, studygroupcomics.com. I was finding it harder and harder to pull together the cash to publish new books, and even though Family Style has usually been a profitable venture, it could be a financial strain.

“Perhaps more importantly, I don’t know if there is much need for Family Style as a publishing house any longer… We are living in a great period of small and micro-publishers, folks like Uncivilized Books, Retrofit, Oily, etc — not to mention Floating World and Study Group! A lot of the creators I would want to work with are already being published, often at several publishers at once. We are really living in a great time for micro-publishers and indie cartoonists.

“The main thing that I feel I can add is my personal taste and editorial/design skills, and happily I have some fantastic outlets for that: I am the Editor at Scout Books, and I will now be working with Zack Soto and the rest of the the team at Study Group Comics as the new Art Director. I’m really excited by the opportunity to contribute to Study Group’s already super-impressive lineup of creators and publications… I’ve already gotten the chance to design Sam Alden’s first graphic novella, Haunter, and I’m currently working with Zack and Milo George on the design of the upcoming Study Group #3D. I’m also planning to republish some of the Family Style back catalog, such as stories fromELFWORLD, as part of studygroupcomics.com, as well as seeking out new creators for the website in collaboration with Zack and his website co-editor Shanna Matuszak.

“In practical terms, I will still be fulfilling any orders placed at www.family-style.com, but I won’t be publishing any new work under the Family Style banner. I am proud to say my forthcoming Titan #2 will be published by Study Group Comics. I have some unpublished short stories that were scheduled to run in ELFWORLD #4, and I am hoping that some of these will be able to find a home of the studygroupcomics.com website as well, though of course I have to discuss that with the creators.”

I am super proud to have run Family Style for a decade, from its origins as a collective zine to publishing the work of some of the best cartoonists in the business. I am super excited to continue my work at Study Group Comics and Scout Books. Thanks to everyone for their years of support!