Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

Visiting our office earlier today: "Seeing that exhibit silenced a gong that's been ringing in my head for 45 years." 

Important news for our overseas customers: since the U.S. Postal Service no longer offers Surface Mail to international addresses, we can no longer offer this service to our customers. We looked far and wide to find the most affordable alternative, and effective immediately, our standard shipping option for most orders to addresses outside North America will be Global Mail, a service of DHL. Delivery times for this service are in the 2-3 week range. (The smallest and largest orders will be sent Air Mail.) We have also reconfigured our international Air Mail shipping charges, and we’re happy to say that…

Castle Waiting Vol. II #10By Linda Medley This issue: Jain, Tolly and Simon get some unexpected help when they find an unpleasant surprise in the Castle's hidden passageways, while the other castle folk learn how not to construct a doorway. 24-page black & white comic book $3.95Order Now!

At the Thought Balloonists blog, Craig Fischer offers an in-depth analysis of Thierry Groensteen's theories of comics semiotics and structure, using this page from Jason's (out of print) graphic novel Hey, Wait… as an example:

Timed propitiously for the imminent arrival of the new printing of Small Favors Vol. 1, OregonLive.com has a great profile of Colleen Coover.

Our Eric Reynolds made the scene at the Frye Museum for the gala opening of "R. Crumb's Underground" and has the photos to prove it — click here for the whole set on Flickr. I also uploaded a few of Eric's photos from Ellen Forney's talk at Comixtravaganza — see those here.

Tom Spurgeon over at the Comics Reporter beat me to the punch a bit on this, but yes, our new website features artist interviews in various formats for your reading, listening, and watching enjoyment. Our brand-newest addition is Gary Groth's interview with Paul Hornschemeier from Mome Vol. 1, reprinted here on the website in its entirety! And yes, we will be adding EVERY Mome interview to the website over the next few weeks — stay tuned right here for announcements as each one goes live. In the meantime, you can catch up on what's already there, including some classic vintage…

The "Comixtravaganza" event at the Seattle Public Library was a big, well-attended success! Top to bottom: David Lasky leads a comics workshop; the "Getting Into Comics" panel with our own Eric Reynolds at far right; and Ellen Forney meets fans and signs books after her performance. Click each photo for more details in our Flickr stream and click here for the entire set of photos.

So I'm flipping through this week's Stranger and I come across this, highlighting a "Celebrity Open Mic" comedy event including Peter Bagge taking place tonight in Seattle! What will Pete be doing? Stand-up? A comics reading? If you attend, please give us a report in the comments.

It's Friday, which means it's time for a new installment of Steven Weissman's "Chocolate Cheeks" chapter in his ongoing Yikes! stories! Check back every week for the newest adventure of Li'l Bloody, Sweet Chubby Cheeks and the whole gang. Our new and soon-to-be-expanded Online Comics section is totally FREE and available ONLY to registered, logged-in Fantagraphics.com users… yet another great reason to sign up if you haven't already! Coming soon: Martin Kellerman's Rocky.