Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Reviews: Robot 6's Chris Mautner looks at our 3 newest Golden Age collections: "…[W]hile I enjoyed [Action! Mystery!] Thrills[!] (I’m especially grateful for being exposed to the neon-color stylings of L.B. Cole, who seems to prefigure the era of black velvet paintings), it’s definitely the slightest — the most coffee tableish — of Sadowski’s books so far. It feels like a book designed more to flip through than to mull over…. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — there’s certainly pleasures to be had in re-examining these covers…" "What’s exciting for me about this…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Feature: Jennifer Anderson, one of the participants in the PDX2GulfCoast project along with Steve Duin & Shannon Wheeler which resulted in Oil and Water, writes for the Beaverton Valley Times: "As the newspaper reporter character in the book, I can attest — 100-percent objectively, of course — that the book is at once tragic, funny, poignant and thought-provoking," and talks to some local experts and Duin himself about the book (via Bleeding Cool of all places) • Plugs: At Blog Martins Fontes Paulista, Raphael Fernandes runs down "10 Must-See Comics from Fantagraphics for 2012,"…

I just couldn't leave well enough alone. Apologies to Gilbert for hijacking his artwork for my doofy jokes.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review (Audio): On the latest episode of the Give Me Comics or Give Me Death! podcast, hosts Michael Bradbury and Lee Scott [SP?] discuss Jason Conquers America • Review: "[Newave: The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s] was a treasure to find for me, because I got to read some of the stuff I was reading in the Chicago burbs being all 'punk rock' and 'rebel rebel.' You have to live it to understand it, and while I’ll look at 1960’s underground comics as a history tour, this comic brought back live living memories…

Green Lantern vs. Sinestro might pale in comparison to (Mome contributor) Victor Kerlow & VICE vs. DC & Time Warner's trademark lawyers. [Follow our Tumblr blog for lots more Things to See every day.]

We just want to acknowledge that we're not taking active part in the anti-SOPA/PIPA internet strike today, but we are opposed to the bills — here's the statement Gary Groth gave to Graphic Policy about it last week — and we want to thank everyone who's expressed their support of our position. (Image, of course, from Gilbert Hernandez's Heartbreak Soup.)

Glitz-2-Go by Diane Noomin 180-page black & white/color 8" x 10" softcover • $19.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-481-8 Ships in: February 2012 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Glitz-2-Go finally collects nearly 40 years of comics stories by Diane Noomin, best-known for her work as cartoonist and editor of the women comics anthology Twisted Sisters. Noomin’s career in underground comix began in 1972 and included appearances in Wimmen’s Comix, Young Lust, Short Order, Arcade, Real Girl, Lemme Outta Here, El Perfecto, True Glitz, Aftershock, Mind Riot, Titters, and Weirdo. Glitz-2-Go stars Noomin’s signature character, DiDi Glitz, the frustrated middle-aged glamour-puss and anxiety-ridden suburban…

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. Bill Griffith: Lost and Found – Comics 1969-2003 by Bill Griffith 392-page black & white/color 8" x 10" softcover • $35.00ISBN: 978-1-60699-482-5 "My splurge this week would probably be Bill Griffith: Lost and Found, an 'odds and sodds' collection of work by the Zippy creator, mostly done prior to that strip’s…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Interview (Audio): Tony Millionaire was awakened by host Tom Waters to appear on his Big Words I Know by Heart podcast • Commentary: "…I have to pay homage to Richard Sala’s incredible and overlooked book, The Hidden. Sure we reviewed it here on the site, but I only just read it, and it’s really quite incredible. Sala’s kind of a pro himself, turning out at least a book a year (much like another visionary, Gilbert Hernandez), and this twist on Frankenstein reads, not unlike that gothic romance, as an allegory for artistic ambition gone…