Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

"Graphic Novel Event" is something of an understatement as Chicago cartooning titans Jeffrey Brown, Ivan Brunetti , Anders Nilsen & Chris Ware converge at the Block Museum of Art on the Northwestern University campus for a roundtable discussion on Weds. May 5, 2010 at 6:30 PM. More info here. (Via Oscar Arriola.)

It's still the weekend in most of the United States, right? Something about this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip tells me that life in L.A. might be starting to get to Johnny Ryan…. …and the Prez is getting in hot water again with this week's Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman. The House of No by Derek Van Gieson didn't make it in by deadline and will resume next week.

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Thanks to everybody who came out to see Jim Woodring and pick up copies of Weathercraft and Other Unusual Tales on Free Comic Book Day at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery yesterday! I got there after the crowds had already thinned out, but it was a bustling afternoon. We hope everybody who wanted a copy of the comic was able to find one in their neck of the woods.

Head over to Graphic Novel Reporter for an exclusive 8-page preview of Megan Kelso's new graphic novel Artichoke Tales, coming this June from Fantagraphics.

Daily clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources: • Oooh… "Everybody Lies to Me" is just one piece of Steven Weissman art in the show Butter and Blood opening at GR2 in LA next week • Frank Santoro pulls the frame back as a train passes in the background • Dash Shaw provides a glimpse at some sample animation art for his in-development animated feature film The Ruined Cast • Dash (again) writes: "In the upcoming May issue of The Believer: a long comic strip called Spiritual Dad by Jesse Moynihan and I. It's glued into…

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "The latest (13th) volume of Fantagraphics Books The Complete Peanuts: 1975 – 1976 is a delightful visit with that 'round headed kid' and his friends. … The cartoons Schulz produced in 1975 and 1976 feature more lighthearted and sillier touches than usual; we are even privy to the thoughts of inanimate objects such as the school building and the pitcher’s mound. Some highlights include Charlie Brown meeting his idol, Joe Shlabotnik; sister Sally’s trials in the classroom; Peppermint Patty enrolling in a private school (not knowing it’s a dog obedience school); and the gang’s…

It's not as though you need any additional convincing to pick up our 2010 Free Comic Book Day offering Weathercraft and Other Unusual Tales by Jim Woodring at your participating comic shop tomorrow (right?), but here are a few glimpses of the finished product to whet your appetite. (Click here if the embedded slideshow player below isn't displaying, or to view it larger in a new window.) Don't forget, Northwesterners and visitors to Seattle can get their copy direct from the hands of Jim himself at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery tomorrow from 12-1 PM! At the store we'll also have…

Mark your calendars! Desert Island in Brooklyn welcomes Kim Deitch for a signing and celebration of his new collection of The Search for Smilin' Ed! on Friday, May 14, 2010. Then, on Saturday, June 19, Jim Woodring will be in the house to meet fans and sign his new graphic novel Weathercraft. As usual with Desert Island, exclusive silkscreen show prints will be available at the events — that's a process picture of one of the screens for Kim's print above, and you can see the others on the Desert Island blog. We'll let you know more details as they…

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