Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship to our mail-order customers: Athos in America by Jason 196-page full-color 6.5" x 8.75" hardcover • $24.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-478-8 See Previews / Order Now Another all-original collection of full-color graphic novellas in the format of Low Moon, Athos in America takes its title from the lead story, a prequel of sorts to the graphic novel The Last Musketeer, in which the seemingly ageless swashbuckler turns up in a bar in 1920 New York and relates the tale of how he went to Hollywood to play himself in a film version of The…

Tim Lane shares his breathtaking cover illustration for next week's Riverfront Times, which will feature his graphic feature narrative "Notes of a Second Class Citizen." You lucky St. Louisans will not want to miss out on getting your hands on a copy! [Follow our Tumblr blog for lots more Things to See every day.]

Tomorrow, February 2, 2012, through Sunday, February 5, 2012, it's the return of our "Undergroundhog Day" Sale with at least 30% OFF almost every book and comic in our Underground Comix category, including books by Vaughn Bodé, R. Crumb, Kim Deitch, Joyce Farmer, Bill Griffith, Rand Holmes, Jack Jackson, Victor Moscoso, Spain Rodriguez, Frank Stack, Robert Williams and more! Yes, this includes brand new books like Bill Griffith's Lost and Found and the hardcover Fritz the Cat collection, plus not-quite-out-yet books like Diane Noomin's Glitz-2-Go, Spain Rodriguez's Cruisin' with the Hound and the expanded edition of The Complete Crumb Comics…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Nearly every cover in this collection [Action! Mystery! Thrills! Comic Book Covers of the Golden Age 1933-45] sizzles like a good slice of breakfast bacon. Pop art and the peculiar modernist aesthetic that defined postwar American culture really started here, with the liberation of comics from the funny pages and their metamorphosis into this most dynamic and demented of mediums. As a result, every deli and newsstand in America became its own peculiar gallery exhibit, a nexus of transient mass culture. This magical and immersive communion is now a thing of the past,…

This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new title. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators and web-savvy comic shops are saying about it (more to be added as they appear), check out our previews at the link, and contact your local shop to confirm availability. Action! Mystery! Thrills! Comic Book Covers of the Golden Age 1933-45 by various artists; edited by Greg Sadowski 208-page full-color 8" x 10.5" softcover • $29.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-494-8 "If I had $30, I’d… pick up Action! Mystery! Thrills!, a colorful collection of comic book covers from the Golden Age edited by Greg…

Hey, 'member this stellar new portrait of the great Harvey Kurzman by the great Drew Friedman that got posted over at The Comics Journal last week? Well now it's available as a super-limited-edition print from Drew Friedman Fine Art Prints. The edition is at least half sold out already so get on it!

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Interview: The Believer presents part 2 of Ross Simonini's 2008 chat with Jim Woodring: "I depend on a certain little frisson that I get when I hit upon a valid idea, relationship, event, or image. The thing shimmers in my mind, gives me that sense that it is glowing with unseen energy. 'Fluorescing' is the way I think of it. I reject dead ideas and keep live, glowing ones until the story resolves itself and I have a script." • Review: "Jacques Tardi is a master storyteller, and The Arctic Marauder is a great…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "In addition to undermining the colonialist attitudes of Hergé and classic Disney cartoons with his R. Crumb-ish verve, Swarte also presents a clutch of perfectly packaged riffs on cartoon art. Having a Chris Ware introduction makes sense, given Swarte’s excruciating eye for architectural detail, and could help introduce Swarte to a larger audience, but the book [Is That All There Is?] may not need it — the art doesn’t speak for itself, it shouts." – Publishers Weekly • Review (Audio): On the latest episode of Boing Boing's "Gweek" podcast, co-host Ruben Bolling discusses…

Big, exciting news on a Sunday: Congress of the Animals (Frank et le congrès des bêtes) by Jim Woodring has been awarded the Prix Spécial du jury at the Festival international de la bande dessinée d’Angoulême! Congratulations and well deserved Jim! We're also happy to see that a volume of Carl Barks Donald Duck comics from our colleagues at Glénat received the Prix du Patrimoine. The full list of winners is reported by BoDoï; hat tip to The Comics Reporter.

Our weekly strips from Mahler & Weissman (Kupperman's taking another week off), plus links to other strips from around the web: — Black Classroom by Steven Weissman (view at original size): Angelman by Nicolas Mahler (view at original size): And elsewhere: The All-New Cartoon Boy Adventure Hour by John Kerschbaum at ACT-I-VATE: Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane: Forming by Jesse Moynihan: Humblug by Arnold Roth: Keeping Two by Jordan Crane: Maakies by Tony Millionaire (via The Rumpus this week): The Pain — When Will It End? by Tim Kreider: Les Petits Riens by Lewis Trondheim (animated!): Truth Serum by Jon…