Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

Celluloid by Dave McKean 282-page full-color 7" x 9.25" hardcover • $35.00ISBN: 978-1-60699-440-5 Ships in: May 2011 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now A woman arrives at an apartment, but her partner can’t get away from work. She is disappointed and settles in for a night alone, but finds a film projector with a reel of film loaded. The film is scratched and blurry, but she can make out a couple making love. When the film burns out, a door is revealed which leads to a misty town square… and a series of fantastical sexual encounters. But the plot doesn’t…

We are victims of our own success! Demand for The Comics Journal #301 is greater than we estimated and advance orders for the issue exceeded what we printed, so we have gone immediately back to press for a second printing. Since we couldn't fill all the orders from the first printing and didn't want to short any one segment of the market — comics stores, bookstores, subscribers — we decided to wait until we receive the second shipment before releasing the book, resulting in a 3-4 week delay, pushing the release to early July. It's been delayed so long already,…

This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new title. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators are saying about it, check out our previews at the link, and contact your local shop to confirm availability. (It looks like our 3 new arrivals today, Approximate Continuum Comics by Lewis Trondheim, Take a Joke by Johnny Ryan, and Yeah! by Peter Bagge & Gilbert Hernandez may be showing up in some stores this week, particularly on the East Coast — watch this space next week for the "official" announcement.) Eye of the Majestic Creature by Leslie Stein 128-page…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "This book [Eye of the Majestic Creature] isn't easy to describe, and that's exactly why I love it. Leslie's surreal, funny style is a welcome addition to comics; her world includes a talking guitar and thrift-shop treasures. Though sometimes it's a compliment for me to say I read a book in one sitting, I'll be honest and say this one took me weeks — and that's because my eyes lingered over the detailed panels for perhaps much longer than the author intended. I envy her worldview, though I'm thrilled to have 128 pages…

On Monday, June 27 at 7pm, join Lou Reed for a very special reading and question and answer session for his book with Lorenzo Mattotti, The Raven, in the Rare Book Room at the Strand bookstore in New York City. This is a reserve seating event with advance tickets costing $35, which includes a copy of the book, a Strand tote bag, and the chance to meet Lou. Tickets are limited so get yours NOW!

Barack is back, baby! Steven Weissman's acclaimed webcomic Barack Hussein Obama, which has been appearing here on our website since October 2009, is reprising its run at Jordan Crane's webcomics site What Things Do, completely re-scanned and re-mastered in hi-def! Now's your chance to catch it from the beginning. And of course we continue to run brand new weekly installments right here. (Why is the strip being re-scanned, you may wonder? Well, let's just say that ol' Barack has some big plans for 2012.)

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: Yeah! written by Peter Bagge; art by Gilbert Hernandez 224-page black & white 7" x 10.25" softcover • $19.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-412-2 Previews & Ordering Info Move over, Josie & the Pussycats! At last, a girl-centered comic book that actually appeals to girls (and even their parents)! Co-created by comics living legends Peter Bagge (Hate) and Gilbert Hernandez (Love and Rockets) on writer and artist duties respectively*, Yeah! is a unique masterpiece of all-ages fun. Originally published as a nine-issue comic book series from 1999-2000 by DC’s Wildstorm imprint, this all-ages gem (approved…

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: Take a Joke: Vol. 3 of the Collected Angry Youth Comix by Johnny Ryan 128-page black & white/color 7" x 10" softcover • $18.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-464-1 Previews & Ordering Info Johnny Ryan’s transgressive masterpiece Prison Pit has been the talk of altcomics circles since its debut in the summer of 2009. But before Prison Pit, Ryan garnered a considerable following via his one-man humor anthology (which doubled as a one-man War Against Political Correctness), Angry Youth Comix. Take a Joke collects many of the best stories from this inimitable series as well…

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: Approximate Continuum Comics by Lewis Trondheim 160-page black & white 6.75" x 10.25" softcover • $18.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-410-8 Previews & Ordering Info One of the very first autobiographical graphic novels to come from France, Lewis Trondheim’s Approximate Continuum Comics set the standard for the honest, often hilarious chronicling of a cartoonist’s life. Trondheim’s typically graceful, confident cartooning shows him wrestling with his own demons (sometimes, in dream sequences, literally) and an often malevolent world, while trying to maintain his rising career as one of Europe’s most beloved cartoonists. Approximate Continuum finally brings…

This Stan Sakai Usagi Yojimbo/Wolverine mashup sketch cover is on auction to benefit the Inkwell Awards, and — how perfect is this — the Japanese American National Museum is having an exhibit and benefit sale of customized Labbit toys this summer for the Year of the Rabbit and Stan (recently honored by the museum) has contributed the adorable customized Usagi Labbit below.