Fantagraphics books has been around since the ‘80s. The publisher is said to publish the best comics in the world according to "Wired". Fantagraphics Books has been the forerunner of comics as a legitimate form of art as well as literature ever since it began its publishing industry.

It began with the comic book company publishing their critical trade magazine, The Comics Journal. That started in 1976 and it continued as people began appreciating the type of comics that Fantagraphics were delivering throughout the decade of the 1980s. The publisher was able to cement itself as an established presence in the industry.

They became a medium for eloquent and expressive form of art by featuring topics such as film, literature, poetry and other non-traditional comic topics. Their reputation was that of an established advocacy publisher. The focused on publishing the type of unique work that traditional comics corporations never dared touch during their tenure.

The traditional topics that this publisher tackled were that of historical and journalistic backgrounds. There were political, serious and dramatic topics which were sought out by the publisher during the creation of the comic book titles.

The alternative cartoonists were artists who eventually gained prominence during the movement of comics in the 1960s. Fantagraphics has since gained an international reputation for the daring and literate editorial standards which it ascribed itself to.

Because the publishing company prided itself with the artists instead of the characters, Fantagraphics was quick to mention the different artists that contributed to their success. Examples of these people are Jaime Hernandez, Joe Sacco, Chris Ware, Peter Bagge and Jessica Abel.

The different people continued to add to their fame as they had critical recognition over the last 20 years by being able to combine the social relevance of the generation that came before them which focused on underground comic artsts. 

The authors of Fantagraphics books have received more favorable attention from the press or any other publisher's in the history of the field. The recent books that have come from this publisher have garnered very positive coverage in the world's leading magazines such as Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek and TIME.

Even though it isn't has widely popular as those in the traditional area of comics such as Marvel or DC, the publishing company has become ranked among the top five most influential publishers in the history of the industry in a very recent poll made by a top industry-leading newspaper. Clearly, the odds are in favor of Fantagraphics Books.