Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

Consciousness of Lack is the new silkscreen print from Jordan Crane available at his Reddingk site, and undoubtedly to be for sale at Comic-Con. Nom nom nom!

The nominations for the 2010 Harvey Awards have been announced and we're pleased to report that our artists and publications have been honored with 5 of them: Best Continuing or Limited Series: Ganges by Kevin HuizengaBest Single Issue or Story: Ganges #3 by Kevin Huizenga Best Domestic Reprint Project: Humbug Special Award for Excellence in Presentation: The Brinkley Girls: The Best of Nell Brinkley's Cartoons from 1913-1940, edited by Trina Robbins, designed by Adam Grano Best Biographical, Historical or Journalistic Presentation: The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean and Kristy Valenti Our normal M.O. with award nominations is…

RIP Harvey Pekar — sad, sad news. Eric is working on a tribute for tonight or tomorrow, but for now, I'll just borrow this from Drew Friedman.

Just announced over the weekend, the Saturday and Sunday programming for Comic-Con international. Our official PR goes out this week but we figure some of you might not want to wait to find out about the Fantagraphics-related panels. See here for Friday's FBI-ish panels. [Note: this post is updated as we get more information.] SATURDAY:   12:00-1:00 Spotlight on Peter Bagge — Comic-Con special guest Peter Bagge talks to Fantagraphics' Jason T. Miles about his work, including the legendary Buddy Bradley stories in Hate and his new graphic novels, Apocalypse Nerd and Other Lives. Room 3  1:00-2:00 Spotlight on Gabrielle Bell—…

We just uploaded a mess of photos from recent Fantagraphics events to our Flickr page. In reverse chronological order, starting with last night's Dame Darcy exhibit opening and Meat Cake signing at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery: Click here for more photos, including shots of all the artwork. From June 5th, Esther Pearl Watson & Mark Todd's visit to the store for our holiday weenie roast (with grill-meister Larry Reid): More photos here. And lastly, on July 3rd, at an undisclosed location, the triumphant return of the Fantagraphics shooting outing: Check out the Flickr group for more photos by Jim Blanchard…

Our weekly update is a little late but we have a bonus to make up for it: It's almost like the Prison Pit world and the Blecky world collide in this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan… …and Steven Weissman is visiting family but still managed to send this week's Barack Hussein Obama strip by cameraphone, along with a bonus wide shot!

Thanks to Mome and Comics Journal contributor Noah Van Sciver for sending me the new issue of his self-published comic Blammo after I half-jokingly entreated him to. I'm happy to report that it's a real good read! There's something for everyone: an excellent character study of a juggalo loser; heartfelt self-deprecating autobio stuff; weirdo funny-animals; ultraviolent action pitting punk rockers vs. giant lizards; and the proverbial much more. Noah's artwork is appealingly sketchy and hits all the right notes. If you have a hankering for the golden age of alternative comics and the one-person-anthology periodical, Blammo will hit the spot.

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "His wordless tale filled with an eerie landscape and creatures that are both familiar and horrifyingly alien evokes dread and mystery. Equal parts parable, fable and surreal (and perhaps at times unfathomable) vision, Weathercraft further cements Woodring's reputation as one of the true geniuses of comics." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6 • Review: "The pace of this tale [Billy Hazelnuts and the Crazy Bird] is relentless; once Millionaire pushes you down the hill you don’t stop for many miles, and you’ll hit many bumps along the way…it’s one of the most fun stories I’ve…

Our official Comic-Con PR announcement is coming next week, but Comic-Con just announced the Friday (July 23) line-up and we couldn't wait to share the Fantagraphics-related bounty with you: 10:00-11:00 Publishing Comics— Four publishers—Matt Gagnon (BOOM!), Gary Groth (Fantagraphics), Dallas Middaugh (Del Rey Manga), and Mark Siegel (First Second Books) — each from a different part of the comics industry, discuss what's involved in running a publishing company and in creating and fostering a unique comics ideology. Moderated by Graeme McMillan (Techland). Room 8 10:30-11:30 Spotlight on Moto Hagio— Comic-Con special guest Moto Hagio is considered to be the mother of…

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Jason’s Werewolves of Montpellier is an odd little book. … Jason’s art is always simple and elegant, his stories are cool and laid back, and this is a fun anti-horror novel." – Mike Rhode, Washington City Paper • Interview: The A.V. Club's Jason Heller talks to Jim Woodring about Weathercraft and his career in comics: "It still is a bit of a hustle, to be honest. I really never know what I’m going to be doing or how I’m going to be making money. It’s the life I chose for myself, so I’m used…