Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

On The Ruined Cast blog Dash Shaw posted this page from his story "Blind Date 3" appearing in the next issue of Mome. Looks like a bit of a stylistic departure from the first two "Blind Date" strips. If you're not already familiar, yes, these are comics adaptations of actual episodes of the TV show Blind Date and yes, they're as funny and weird as you think.

Erstwhile Mome contributor Gabrielle Bell and some of our other pals will be participants in a special presentation of R. Sikoryak's long-running "Carousel" series of cartoonist slideshow talks at Parsons in NYC, in conjunction with the Cartoon Polymaths exhibition, next Monday, March 21. More details here.

On his Cozy Lummox blog, award-winning designer Eric Skillman discusses his process for putting together the new issue of The Comics Journal: "I was pretty excited when Jacob Covey emailed me to ask if I might be interested in re-designing the venerable Comics Journal for its upcoming relaunch as an annual (rather than monthly) publication. Then I found out it was going to be 600-something pages. But by that point it was too late to say no! (I'm kidding… mostly.)" It's a fascinating behind-the-scenes peek!

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente by Wilfred Santiago 200-page two-color 6.25" x 8" hardcover • $22.99ISBN: 978-1-56097-892-3 Previews & Ordering Info The biographical 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente is a human drama of courage, faith and dignity, inspired by the life of baseball star Roberto Clemente. No other baseball player dominated the 1960s like Roberto Clemente and no other Latin American player achieved his numbers. Born in 1924 in Puerto Rico, Clemente excelled in track and field and loved baseball. By the age of 17 he was playing in…

Diamond Comics Distributors has confirmed with us that the following 4 books are shipping this week, though only one is included on their official weekly shipping list. Therefore, most of these will likely be reappearing with additional comics-blogger blurbs in next week's New Comics Day post. Be extra-sure to contact your local shop to confirm availability. Previews and more info about each book, as always, at the links below: The Arctic Marauder by Jacques Tardi 64-page black & white 9" x 11.75" hardcover • $16.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-435-1 "If The Arctic Marauder is indeed out this week – ComicList lists it, but…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "…[T]his… phenomenal one-shot [is] a baroque masterpiece… It's difficult to do justice to the artistic qualities of Tardi's stark, understated line drawings; whether he's depicting a motley crew of sailors, highly detailed industrial machinery, or an ice floe, the art is both technical and madly expressive. Precisely calibrated, perfectly laid out, and incredibly graphic, [The Arctic Marauder] is as good as adventure comics get." – Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) • Review: "This [story] sounds fantastical and almost the staple of short science fiction stories, but Jason’s work has a dark and twisted tone,…

Ragged Claws Network posted this scan of an original Jack Davis page from the 3rd issue of Humbug — unfortunately we didn't have this original when we were compiling our complete Humbug collection, but we have a scan on file now and it's certainly a candidate for inclusion in the Jack Davis art book we're putting out late this summer, Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture!

You've got a second chance to bid on these amazing original pages by Justin Green (above) and Kim Deitch (below), who asked us to sell their original artwork from last December's Medieval Thinkers exhibit at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on eBay. Bid on Justin's piece here and Kim's piece here, and see additional images here and here.

Hooray! Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 1: Race to Death Valley by Floyd Gottfredson is finally available for pre-order! Click here to reserve your copy today! (And stay tuned for more previews of the book.)

Johnny Ryan is up for two 2011 Stumptown Comic Art Awards for his Prison Pit work: Best Cartoonist and Best Letterer! The online ballot/complete list of nominees is here — you know what to do! Congrats Johnny! Winners will be announced at the Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland OR next month. (We'll see you there!)