Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

Southern California residents will have three chances to meet Mitch Schauer, Mike Vosburg, Michael Lessa and Justin Yamaguchi, the creative team behind Rip M.D., the new graphic novel from Lincoln Butterfield Animation and Fantagraphics Books. First, Borders Glendale will play host a ghoulishly fun Halloween party and creator signing for the launch of Rip M.D. Taking place on Friday, October 22, between 6-7:30pm, the evening's events will consist of a creator book signing, Rip M.D. Monster Costume Contest, Ghoulish Trivia, prizes and Halloween themed refreshments. All four creators will attend the Borders Glendale event to sign copies of the graphic…

Online Commentary & Diversions returns after a post-APE hiatus and subsequent sick day: • Review: "Good Jaime Hernandez comics are always just about the most satisfying books that money can buy, and I was so impressed with how the pleasure of seeing contemporary Maggie again for the first time in far too long [in Love and Rockets: New Stories #3] gave way to the satisfaction of seeing another building block in her curious history, and then everything turned unpleasant in a way that was equally bleak and fascinating. Watching Jaime fit everything together the way he does is breathtaking. Recommended…

The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log calls these Converse Chuck Taylors featuring Charlie "Chuck" Brown "an absolute abomination" — me, I want a pair. (Too bad they're only available from trendy French shop Colette [warning: autoplaying music at site] and cost €240.)

Here's a nice shot of Frank Santoro and Kevin Huizenga at the Pittsburgh Indy Comics Expo (PIX) this past weekend, from Jessica Heberle of Uncovered Space. (Via The Beat.) My own photos from APE are on their way.

We're painfully overdue for a new "Things to See" post, but in the meantime, holy moly, soak in Eleanor Davis's incredible new sketch blog We Be Ouija.

Jim Woodring is tracking the progress of his giant nib pen project at the United States Artists Project Site; in this post, follow along as he develops the working prototype.

Our weekly strips from the Steves (running late this time, sorry): — Monday's Strip by Stephen DeStefano (view larger) Originally run as an experiment on Stephen's blog starting in 2008, Monday's Strip is re-presented here. — Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman (view at original size):

Courtesy of Kristy Valenti, lead copyeditor for Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film, some highlights of the book's editorial style guide: Punctuation, etc. video game titles in quotation marks Spelling afterschool special arthouse badass blond for both sexes, unless is a noun for a female (the blonde kicked the monster, she has a blond mohawk, his liberty spikes are blond). blow-dried boombox buzzcut chrissakes not christ's sakes ’dos drug runner but gunrunner eyeshadow facepaint, facepainted "fairytale" g-string machine guns (but machine-gunning when verb) RoboCop shitstorm (1 word, no hyphen) wack (as in slang, not to hit)

Daniel Clowes provides cover illustrations (and, presumably, yet-to-be-revealed interior art) for two upcoming (early 2011) Criterion Collection releases: The Naked Kiss and Shock Corridor, both directed by Samuel Fuller. (Via Chris Mautner.)

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "The Sanctuary is a powerful story, telling of the timeless conflict between learning and ignorance.  Nate Neal provides readers with an insightful look at the tension in a community when the balance is challenged by new thinking.  In short, The Sanctuary is a very promising debut, and probably one of the best new comics of the year." – Michael C. Lorah, Newsarama • Review: "In Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s, editors John Benson and Greg Sadowski and publisher Fantagraphics drive a stake into the notion that EC was the…