Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

Yesterday & today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "This latest in Fantagraphics' line of books featuring Jacques Tardi and the second of those books to feature an adaptation of the work of Jean-Patrick Manchette is lovely-looking, stylish and bleak as hell…. The short third act, where we learn what becomes of the assassin, proves so ruthlessly depressing it's almost a human rights violation. Tardi's artwork is beautiful here, although you probably already knew that. No one in comics does the frowning face better than Tardi, and Like a Sniper [Lining Up His Shot] proves to be an absolute showcase…

In honor of Bill Schelly's The Art of Joe Kubert being released in comic shops this week, PREVIEWSworld offers a 7-page sneak peek of the book!

This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new titles. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators and web-savvy comic shops are saying about them (more to be added as they appear), check out our previews at the links, and contact your local shop to confirm availability. The Armed Garden and Other Stories by David B. 112-page two-color 7.5" x 10.75" hardcover • $19.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-462-7 "The French artist David B. is one of my favorite living cartoonists–he bridges the visual realms of the real and the unreal like nobody else–and the two of these fabulistic stories that…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Into the '80s and no sign of the much-feared and long-rumored decline in quality in Charles Schulz's life's work that was supposed to come about 10 years earlier. The strips in this volume of Fantagraphics' series are stronger than ever. If there's a different quality to them it's because Peanuts is a mature strip now instead of a precocious, sometimes-astonishing one…. Schulz at this point still puts on frequent display his nearly unequaled ability to return to core character elements for a gag without seeming repetitive or didactic. Part of the richness of…

We received the first bound advance copies of Pogo – Vol. 1 of the Complete Syndicated Comic Strips: "Through the Wild Blue Wonder" at the office today, and it is breathtaking! Truly an exciting day as we behold the fruits of this labor of love for the first time. We will, of course, bring you better and more detailed previews in the near future.

Our own Ian Burns has joined me in the exclusive "Theme Sketchbook of Frank Oz Puppet Characters Club" with his own super-impressive book of Animal from The Muppet Show (my personal second-favorite member of The Electric Mayhem, after Zoot), which is giving my Yoda collection a serious run for its money. Here are some Fantagraphics-relevant entries as posted by Ian on the Versus the Moon blog (where he posts 2 new ones a week, so keep checking back): Gahan Wilson Gilbert Hernandez Jim Rugg Johnny Ryan Peter Bagge Jim Woodring Megan Kelso

The list of nominees continues to grow for American Library Association/Young Adult Library Services Association "2012 Great Graphic Novels for Teens" list. Joining the already-announced Wandering Son Vol. 1 among the nominees are: 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente by Wilfred Santiago Yeah! by Peter Bagge & Gilbert Hernandez Isle of 100,000 Graves by Jason & Fabien Vehlmann Nominees will continue to accumulate throughout the year, and will be winnowed down to the final list to be announced by the ALA in January.

Philip Nel, co-editor of our forthcoming collections of Crockett Johnson's Barnaby, has revealed details about the first volume of the series (coming in June 2012) by posting the relevant pages from our Spring-Summer 2012 catalog on his blog. (Note that the cover design shown is not Daniel Clowes's actual design for the book.) We're still planning on revealing more info about our complete Spring/Summer 2012 lineup in the near future — stay tuned!

Some original Gil Jordan (Gil Jourdan) pages by Maurice Tillieux are currently on exhibit at the Maison de la Bande Dessinée in Brussels — Wim Lockefeer has a report and more photos at the Forbidden Planet International Blog Log. These originals are impeccable and Tillieux's artwork is beautiful in black & white.