Gary Groth (born 1954) is an American comic book publisher, critic, editor in chief of the Comics Journal and co-founder of Fantagraphics Books.

Groth is best known as a strong supporter of art, intellectualism, and creator ownership. He is also well known for his contentious personality, which has led to many feuds in the comics industry.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Groth published a fanzine named Fantastic Fanzine. For a time, he worked as an assistant to Jim Steranko. In 1976, he formed the Fantagraphics publishing company with Kim Thompson and Mike Catron, took over an adzine named The Nostalgia Journal and soon renamed it The Comics Journal. The Comics Journal applied rigorous critical standards to comic books, generally disparaging mainstream superhero books in favor of more daring artists like R. Crumb and Art Spiegelman. The magazine also became known for lengthy, freewheeling interviews with comics professionals, many of them conducted by Groth himself.

In the early '80s Fantagraphics began publishing its own comics, most notably Love and Rockets. They would publish more comics as the decades went on (everything from Peter Bagge's Hate to Daniel Clowes's Eightball to Chris Ware's Acme Novelty Library), while also continuing to publish The Comics Journal, leaving them open to accusations of bias in their reviewing.

In the early '90s the comics industry suffered a collapse, and Fantagraphics, struggling to stay afloat, began publishing the Eros line of pornographic comics. The move caused still more controversy within the industry, but saved the company.

Cantron left the company early on, but Groth and Thompson continue with it to this day. Fantagraphics currently operates out of a small house in a Seattle suburb, but nonetheless is widely regarded as the chief publisher of alternative comics today.

American magazine editors | Comics critics | Magazine publishers (people) | Living people | 1954 births