Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

Yesterday's Los Angeles Times Book Review features Blake Bell's Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko on the cover, and Geoff Boucher's review inside says "the book is an extremely satisfying archive of the artist's work, both famous and obscure, and… it intensely documents the twists and turns of his career." Blake is keeping track of more reviews on his own website, including the "A+" the book received from Sci-Fi Magazine, who call the book "an essential tribute to one of pop culture's most essential creators."

On his blog, our good friend Neil Gaiman declares his love for Jules Feiffer's Explainers, reprints his introduction from our 1997 edition of Feiffer's Tantrum, and confirms that yes, he still has this Feiffer print.

Here are reviews and other items of interest that we found around the web this week: • In The New York Times Sunday Book Review, Steven Heller gives Ray Fenwick's Hall of Best Knowledge a very nice mention • Art Blog By Bob looks at Comic Arf • Alan David Doane delves into Dash Shaw's Bottomless Belly Button, as do ComicMix and Sequart • The Comics Reporter on Jason's Pocket Full of Rain • If your dad is a veteran and you didn't get him a copy of Willie & Joe for Father's day, reading this will make you feel…

Once again it's time for your weekly installment of Steven Weissman's "Chocolate Cheeks"! In this week's strip: laying an age-old controversy to rest. (Remember, you must be registered and logged in to read.)

Put some Boobs (Pooter) on your computer screen! We've just added a new desktop wallpaper to our collection of free downloads, based on the cover to Angry Youth Comix #14: 800 x 600 | 1024 x 768 | 1152 x 864 | 1280 x 960 | 1280 x 720 | iPhone And hey, why not in avatar form, too? And why not another new avatar featuring a character from Jason's Pocket Full of Rain? Well here you go (and here's our avatar collection):

Fantagraphics received a handful of nominations for the 2008 Harvey Awards, and to celebrate we're putting select titles on sale for 15% off through July 15, 2008! Click here to shop our nominated titles, and here's the rundown on our nominations: BEST DOMESTIC REPRINT PROJECT: The Complete Peanuts and Popeye BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY: I Killed Adolf Hitler by Jason BEST BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL OR JOURNALISTIC PRESENTATION: The Comics Journal BEST ANTHOLOGY: Mome Vol. 8 Congratulations all! 

Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko By Blake Bell Steve Ditko is best known as the co-creator, with Stan Lee, of Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, and other classic Marvel and DC characters. But, in the context of Steve Ditko's 50-year career in comics, his creative involvement with Spider-Man is merely the tip of the iceberg. Strange & Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko is a coffee table art book tracing Ditko's life and career, his unparalleled stylistic innovations, and his strict adherence to his philosophical principles, with lush displays of obscure and popular art from the thousands of pages…

Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace 1951-1952 (Softcover) By Hank Ketcham The first volume of Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace, collecting every single panel strip from 1951 and 1952, is now available in this handsome and affordable softcover edition. Dennis the Menace began on March 14, 1951 (four months after Ketcham's friend and colleague Charles Schulz started his own historic comic strip). He went on to become the second most popular cartoon kid in the world — after Charlie Brown, of course. Dennis the Menace first appeared in 16 American newspapers; by the end of 1951, he was appearing…

Bob Fingerman revealed this cover art for his upcoming book Connective Tissue (currently due from Fantagraphics in Spring '09) over on his "Art Blog Thinger," where he's also been posting some cute-n-gruesome art samples.

Irwin Chusid unveils plans for a third volume of Jim Flora artwork, tentatively titled The Sweetly Diabolic Art of Jim Flora, currently slated for a late Summer 2009 release from Fantagraphics. Stay tuned to the Jim Flora art blog for sneak peeks!