Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

A 16-minute video documentary of Hans Rickheit from 2005 has just recently been posted on Facebook. At his blog, Hans provides background information, apologia, and a photo of a real-life squirrel machine (warning to the squeamish: complete with carcass) given to him by a friend at his Squirrel Machine signing in Cambridge, MA.

A piping hot dish of Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "…[T]his shaggy-haired collection of 15 years’ worth of artful zines and comics [Like a Dog]… reads at times like a history of psychological warfare. [Zak] Sally… tends toward richly dark, semiautobiographical, and tightly etched tales of tension and self-recrimination. Creepy dreams and images of anatomical self-analysis are recurring themes, along with the general sense of transience that marked Sally’s life while relentlessly touring with Low… At times the book… breaks out of that shell to address topics that are usually no lighter in tone though, as with his excellent…

A Tim Hensley crime comic? Somebody pinch me! Actually this is from The Comics Journal Special Edition, Winter 2004, newly reformatted and colored, for purposes unknown. Read the whole thing at Blog Flume. So great.

Peter Clothier, host of The Art of Outrage podcast on ArtScene Visual Radio, gathers preeminent R. Crumb experts Todd Hignite (curator of the "R. Crumb's Underground" traveling exhibit), collector Eric Sack, and Rebel Visions writer Patrick Rosenkranz for a roundtable discussion about the Genesis exhibit at the Hammer Museum and other aspects of Crumb's work and context. Listen here.

The great Drew Friedman does what he does best on the cover of this upcoming collection of writing and art from the New York Observer. I'm not sure if this piece will be in Too Soon?, our collection of Drew's celebrity portraits coming out in Summer 2010, but it oughta be. Hit Drew's blog for more info and a larger image. UPDATE: Drew writes in to say that this image won't be included in Too Soon? — dang.

Jonas Seaman, whom you may remember from his amazing photos of our Johnny Ryan event last month, is back with a new set of photos from this past weekend's Al Columbia art opening/book signing. Al: Jim Woodring: Al signing an issue of Mome: L to R: Jason Leivian from Floating World Comics in Portland, Al, and comics artists Mike Allred & Matthew Southworth: Many more photos can be seen here; thanks again to Jonas!

See a slideshow of the entire exhibit (and more photos) here (or just browse here). Mike Allred was there but I missed him; hopefully more photos will turn up and we'll share those when we get them. Much fun was had by all; thanks to everybody who came out, and to Al for making the trip (and for kicking off volume 3 of my Yoda sketchbook). The show's up through December 9, so even if you missed the opening, come on down and check it out. Good pieces remain at very reasonable prices!

Good evening. Time to present our weekly batch of new online strips… …starting with a visit to ancient Troy in this week's The House of No by Derek Van Gieson… …continuing with spooky times in this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan…. …and it's international relations with Barack H. Obama in this week's strip from Steven Weissman!

Wrapping up another week's worth of Online Commentary & Diversions: • Bookmark: Presenting the newly redesigned BobFingerman.com • Feature: At the Washington Post blog Double X, Sasha Watson recounts the emergence of female underground and alternative cartoonists, talking to Trina Robbins, Carol Tyler, and others, with an accompanying slideshow featuring Tyler, Jessica Abel, Lilli Carré and 10 more • Review: "I really love comics. Reading a collection like Joe Daly's Red Monkey Double Happiness Book, I'm reminded of just why. … It's drawn like a combination of Tintin, Dilbert, and King of the Hill. It's hilarious, both in terms of…

Now available for preview and pre-order following its best-selling debut at APE: Sublife Vol. 2 by John Pham. Continuing the serials "221 Sycamore St." and "Deep Space" from the previous issue, this new installment of the one-man anthology also includes the post-apocalyptic action-adventure tale "The Kid" and a few other one-off short strips. Download an exclusive PDF excerpt of the first 5 pages of "The Kid" right here. This book is scheduled to be in stock and ready to ship sometime later this month and in stores approximately 4 weeks after that (subject to change). View a photo & video…