Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

It's official: I'm moving the weekly webcomics updates to the weekend, for severalfold reasons, not insignificant among which is that now I can call it Weekend Webcomics, because I like alliteration (though I suppose nothing was keeping me from calling it Weekly Webcomics previously, but anyway). More witchery in this week's The House of No by Derek Van Gieson… …whoa, this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan totally ties in to last week's Steven Weissman strip (archived here)…. …and double whoa with this week's Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman.

Giant Robot will be hosting signings by John Pham, Steven Weissman, Esther Pearl Watson, and other art/illustration luminaries at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this Saturday and Sunday! See above for the schedule; here's the Facebook invitation with more info.

Daily clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources: • T. Edward Bak presents a new epilogue to his acclaimed comic Service Industry • Jordan Crane posts a new installment of "Chapter Two – Unraveling" at What Things Do • The new Jim Flora fine art print, Ferris Wheel Fireworks, is now up for pre-order • See and buy all 100+ pieces of Johnny Ryan, Matt Furie & Le Merde art from GRSF's The Boys are Back in Town exhibit — I think there's some new characters from Prison Pit Book 2 in there • On a…

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "If you’re looking for a light-hearted pick-me-up, King of the Flies Vol. 1: Hallorave is not it. If, however, you’re looking for a darkly compelling, twisted, beautifully illustrated account of the broken souls and self-absorbed nihilism, Pirus and Mezzo’s album is about as good as you’ll find in the comics field. It’s a stunning piece of fiction, beautifully crafted in its prose, pacing, artistry and crushing understanding of humanity’s ugliness." – Michael C. Lorah, Newsarama • Review: "…[Like a Dog] manages to capture the angst and anomie of a then-confused twentysomething who also just…

Daily clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources: • This week's "I, Anonymous" spot by Steven Weissman • This week's Maakies by Tony Millionaire • This week's Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane • That version of a Jesse Marsh Tarzan cover by our own Eric Reynolds that I believe we've featured here previously has finally shown up on the Covered blog • Derek Van Gieson claims to be "toning it down" as "Tales from Abstraction House" proceeds — lies

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "…[The Search for Smilin' Ed] closely resembles a bad acid trip I had several years back while watching Howdy Doody, old Fleischer cartoons and listening to Art Bell on Coast to Coast AM…, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. But it comes together in a grand and epic fashion, telling a tale that showcases a vintage psychedelic style in terms of both narrative and art. … The story is alternately hilarious and mildly disturbing in a Philip K. Dick sort of way. …  It’s a hilariously disturbed delight for the…

One of the highlights of The Search for Smilin' Ed (aside from the story and artwork, of course) is the full-color two-way foldout illustration of the Kim Deitch Universe, with an annotated guide in the back of the book. We thought it might be nice to give people an advance opportunity to explore this amazing illustration and familiarize themselves with Deitch's mind-bogglingly rich and complex world. Click the images above to open big honking JPGs in a new browser window (they're large files, so please be patient while they download). Here's what the foldout looks like in person:

Starting today, Paul Hornschemeier is debuting a new t-shirt design every week in his Forlorn Funnies Shirt Shop. Announcing the project on his News and Head Lice blog, Paul says "The shirts will range from pure illustrations to pure text, some will have a relationship to my books, but most will simply be ridiculous, to one degree or another." We'll feature future designs in our "Things to see" posts.

The Search for Smilin' Ed! by Kim Deitch 162-page black & white 6" x 8.75" softcover (with full-color foldout) • $16.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-324-8 Ships in: May 2010 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Originally created in 1997 and 1998 for the underground anthology Zero Zero, The Search for Smilin’ Ed is the latest of Kim Deitch’s graphic novels to showcase his obsessive burrowing into the nooks and crannies of vintage American popular culture. Where Boulevard of Broken Dreams focused on the earliest days of the animation industry, Alias the Cat delved into the history of comic strips, and “Molly O’Dare” (collected…