Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

Above, Ray Fenwick's contribution to the latest edition of Cloudy Collection limited-edition letterpress art prints, available here.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions is a potpourri: • Guide: Alex Carr of Amazon's Omnivoracious blog provides a fourth opinion (after ours, the A.V. Club's, and Comic Book Resources') on How to Read Love and Rockets, offering these opinions on new L&R collections: "…pick up the recent Locas II: Maggie, Hopey, & Ray and Luba collections. These round up all the stories from Volume Two's respective creators and make for a superb reading experience…. [W]hat keeps me returning to Jaime's stories [is] the affectionate realism in contrast with disparate narratives, characters, and tones. Not to mention his unmatched artwork. And…

Hey, all you classic-comedy-loving kids! Dig this announcement: DrewFriedman.net announces a new limited edition Drew Friedman fine art print: a career-highlights montage of legendary TV-producer writer NAT HIKEN. http://drewfriedman.net/prints/nat-hiken.html Hiken (1914-1968) might not be a household name, but his 1950-60s TV sitcom creations are: The Phil Silvers Show (a.k.a. Sgt. Bilko) and Car 54, Where Are You? So are the stars he wrote for: Lucille Ball, Milton Berle, Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Woody Allen, Sid Caesar, and Zero Mostel. During his incomparable career, Hiken was a workaholic polymath who created, produced, directed, wrote, and composed music (including Car 54's indelible…

New comics arrive in comics shops on Thursday this week due to the U.S. holiday. That gives you an extra day to count up your nickels because HOO BOY do we have a ton of stuff scheduled to land in shops this week! Such as: All and Sundry: Uncollected Work 2004-2009 by Paul Hornschemeier Giraffes in My Hair: A Rock 'n' Roll Life by Bruce Paley & Carol Swain Love and Rockets: New Stories #2 by the Hernandez Brothers The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book by Joe Daly Rock Candy: The Artwork of Femke Hiemstra The Squirrel Machine by Hans…

Some major comics writing out there over the holiday weekend making for an extra-beefy (and late) Online Commentary & Diversions update: •Review/Profile: "Sure I'd read [Hal] Foster before, but I'd never found a way in. Fortunately, Fantagraphics recently released Prince Valiant Vol. 1: 1937-38, and I was able to absorb the material in a wholly new way…. I found this first book completely engrossing. Prince Valiant opens up a world that I wanted to stay in — a wide-eyed early 20th century approach to fantasy with a now-vanished sincerity and wholesomeness. It's an all too rare pleasure in comics." –…

Rachel Maddow tells Jimmy Fallon and the NBC viewing audience that she weathered swine flu by reading what could only be Palestine and Safe Area Gorazde by Joe Sacco last week in this video clip from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (please pardon the commercial; hat tip to The Daily Cross Hatch).

Things From Another World has two exclusive previews of upcoming Fantagraphics books up today! First up, Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear Days by Al Columbia — in the brief profile of Al they posted on their blog they say "This is a stunning collection, offering an up-close-and-personal look at Columbia’s artistic mastery – and his psyche – that is impossible to ignore." Next up, The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century AD by Dash Shaw, collecting his Mome short stories and prep art for his IFC.com animation.