Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

Shimura Takako announces that her new 28-page doujinshi Aoikitoiki (青息吐息) can now be ordered through Comic Zin for ¥420. There are a few sample pages you can check out from each of the 3 short stories, "Eve Confesses," "Friend of My Brother" and "Cover Girl": (I don't know whether shipping is available outside Japan, but presumably if you're ordering this comic you read Japanese and can suss that out on the Comic Zin website.) 

Some recent action on the themed-fan-art blogs. A couple of new ones have cropped up, one just for fun and one for a very good cause: • Noah Van Sciver takes a pretty great turn at the Covered blog — between that and this Archie Noah drew I'm starting to think he might be pretty well suited to draw kids' comics • On the Repaneled blog, Steven Weissman does the Teen Titans • Jon Morris penciled and noted Plastic Man aficionado Stephen DeStefano inked this cover for the new "DC reboot covers we'd like to see" blog DC Fifty-TOO! •…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "…Yeah! is a surprisingly delightful fun fantasy of kicky pop music, weird alien fans, and evil twin competition bands…. Witty, high-spirited, and thoroughly fun, it’s the greatest Saturday morning cartoon adventure that never was. Although originally in color, Fantagraphics has reprinted the series in black-and white. It’s a sound artistic (Gilbert’s art is bold and vibrant in its original inks) and economic (keeping the price under $20) decision, and while purists may argue otherwise, a black-and-white Yeah! will appeal to teens, young girls, and manga fans: a whole new market for this sadly…

R. Kikuo Johnson has launched a new website for his comics and illustration work (including his sweet-looking upcoming book for Toon Books, The Shark King). Lots of lovely stuff to browse through. Above, part of a recent short comic for Internazionale. Hat tip: The Comics Reporter.

The PREVIEWSworld website went coo-coo-nutso with the sneak peeks over the weekend, posting previews of all three of our books scheduled to land in comic shops on Wednesday: 5 choice pages from The Hidden by Richard Sala… …the first 3 pages, plus another from later in the book, from Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot by Jacques Tardi & Jean-Patrick Manchette… …and an assortment of 5 pages by various contributors from Mome Vol. 22 (beware of out-of-context spoilers)!

Our weekly strips from Kupperman & Weissman, plus links to other strips from around the web: — Up All Night by Michael Kupperman (view at original size): Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman (view at original size): And elsewhere: Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane: Humblug by Arnold Roth (3 new udpates): Maakies by Tony Millionaire (and various tattoo artists): Rumbling by Kevin Huizenga at What Things Do (we're late to add this — be sure to catch up on past installments) Truth Serum by Jon Adams:  Underworld by Kaz & co. (click for animated strip):

Yesterday's and today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Sala consistently introduces red-cheeked, innocent characters and then puts them through the meat-grinder, and in The Hidden he plays with mad science. …Sala’s novel features plenty of 'tell,' because if it’s one thing mad scientists enjoy, it’s expository dialogue. There are gorgeous single-panel pages filled with huge dialogue balloons, and it’s to the author and illustrator’s credit that it’s always a hoot; Sala is a professional when it comes to tongue-in-cheek visuals (the friendly looking characters with spilled intestines) and storytelling…. Its ending is… abrupt…, but it leaves ample room for…

Michel Gagne, editor of our forthcoming 2012 book Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby's 1940s-50s Romance Comics, has posted some samples of his restoration work and some fascinating backround information on the long gestation of this labor of love on the Collected Editions Discussion Forums hosted by MarvelMasterworks.com. For more, see the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center blog.

Dear old golden rule days are back, and kids, even your grandparents knew that comics are WAY more fun than homework. In that spirit we're offering 30% OFF our kid-friendly All Ages and Young Adult categories for one week only! For younger kids, save on classics like Peanuts, Popeye, Prince Valiant, and, yes, Pogo, not to mention Dennis the Menace, Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse! Our full range of Usagi Yojimbo books is marked down, including the deluxe box set. Plus our new bande desinee reprints and modern classics from Belgium & France, a bunch of other kid-friendly but still…

21: The Story of Roberto Clemente by Wilfred Santiago is now available to our mailorder customers with a signed bookplate at no extra charge! Supplies are limited and may run out without warning, so act with appropriate haste. Wilfred signed these plates back in May when he was visiting Seattle and we promptly misplaced them (whoops), so if you ordered the book from us between May 4 and now, let us know and we'll be happy to send you one.