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Linda Medley, cartoonist of Castle Waiting and much more, recently shared some old Comic-Con International or San Diego Comic Con badges with us. Above is her FIRST Comic-Con badge. Twelve years later, Medley designed the badge for the 1991 con (below). As you can see Toucan existed even then, pre-blog. This was an extra they gave Linda so no names on it and the official one had a slightly different design printed with METALLIC INK. This is so bad ass. The 2000 SDCC badge still sported artwork: DINOSAURS by Gahan Wilson (his new book coming out soon) Badges need only…

Did you miss one of the best days of the year this past weekend? Free Comic Book Day may only come once a year but rest assured, you can read this Prince Valiant treat anywhere on your digital reading device from the future thanks to comiXology. This full-color comic collects two Prince Valiant stories from Hal Foster's 1950 peak: "Home Again," in which Val, Aleta, and newborn baby Prince Arn enjoy an eventful ocean journey back to Thule; and “The Challenge,” in which another knight's unwelcome advances on Aleta result in a classic duel with Valiant! Grab it this free…

Join Fantagraphics this weekend, Saturday, May 11th and Sunday, May 12th, at the 2013 Toronto Comic Arts Festival in Canada! Dare we say, it's our biggest TCAF yet? Just look at this signing schedule! Saturday, May 11thDash Shaw                            9:00 AM-12:00 PMJaime Hernandez              9:00 AM-10:00 AMUlli Lust                                 10:00 AM-12:00 PMLilli Carré                              12:00 PM-1:00 PMTom Kaczynski                    12:00 PM-1:00 PMMichael Kupperman         1:00 PM-4:00 PMGilbert & Jaime Hernandez   1:30-2:30 PM [ Beguiling Signing Area Toronto Reference Library B1 ] Sunday,…

Holy comicsolly! Here's photos from the Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, OR. Dash Shaw was in attendance with New School, which flew off the table. WHY THE WAIT on pictures? We forgot our own con rules. To remain human you must 5-2-1-I: At least 5 hours of sleep, 2 meals a day, 1 shower and Ibuprofen at night. Four hours of sleep one night wrecked this gal and boy, did she pay for it. Lots of our Fantastaff came to the show since it was so close! Me, Designer Emory Liu, PR Director Jacq Cohen, Dash and Office Manager Steph…

This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new titles. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators and web-savvy comic shops are saying about them (more to be added as they appear), check out our previews at the links, and contact your local shop to confirm availability.   Walt Disney's Donald Duck: The Old Castle's Secret (The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library Vol. 6)by Carl Barks 232-page full-color 7.5" x 10.25" hardcover • $28.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-653-9 "Barks, the artist, is a master cartoonist, drawing lively, expressive characters with a graceful sense of movement. His beautiful, detailed backgrounds plant the ducks in…

Our next two books in The EC Comics Library series are queued up for the printer and they are both solo volumes:  Child of Tomorrow! and Other Stories collects science fiction stories written and drawn by Al Feldstein, who also scripted stories for numerous other EC artists. Feldstein's own crisp, thick-lined drawing style will definitely be of interest to Charles Burns and Dan Clowes fans. And of course it's packed with all the UFOs, BEMs, robots, rockets, and Cold War-fueled apocalyptic scenarios you could hope for. (And wait until you see the eye-popping day-glo orange on the cover in person!) Johnny Craig was responsible for some of EC's most…

Our Eisner-winning series goes chromatic! The first of two volumes collecting the great Floyd Gottfredson's 1932-1938 run on the Sunday Mickey Mouse comic strip, Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Color Sundays Vol. 1: Call of the Wild is truly a spectacular package. The linework is so crisp, the authentically-recreated color so dazzling (and surprising… yellow Donald Duck??), you'd be forgiven for thinking these strips are from 80 days ago, not 80 years! And of course you also get all the informative supplemental features these volumes are known for. Get more details, read a 21-page excerpt, and pre-order this volume right here. And have we got…

We love all of our books but are especially happy for the creators of the Eisner-nominated books. You can vote until June 12 online. If you haven't read all of them, check 'em out individually or via our list! Best Short Story: "Moon 1969: The True Story of the 1969 Moon Launch," by Michael Kupperman, in Tales Designed to Thrizzle #8 "Rainbow Moment," by Lilli Carré, in Heads or Tails Best Single Issue (or One-Shot): Tales Designed to Thrizzle #8, by Michael Kupperman Best Humor Publication: Naked Cartoonists, edited by Gary Groth Best Anthology: No Straight Lines: Four Decades of…

We may have mentioned this before, but Michel Gagné, the editor behind Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics, is also a lovely artist in his own right! And this Saturday, May 11th, Portlanders can see it for themselves as ASIFA Portland and the Art Institute’s Inkwell Animation Club present Michel Gagné: An Insanely Twisted Animation Saga! Gagné will give a special presentation about his life in the pop-culture art world from 1:00 to 4:00 PM at the Art Institute of Portland [ 1122 NW Davis Street ]. Tell him we say hi!

Come one, come all and bring your ale mugs! Thursday, May 16 is the OFFICIAL ODDLAND RELEASE – BEER AND ART TOUR Join Fantagraphics and Elysian Brewing in celebrating Oddland Peppercorn Saison – the first beer release in our Oddland Series – a creative venture from the warped minds of Elysian Brewing and Seattle artist, Jim Woodring. Start with an Elysian brewery tour and continue to CoCA Georgetown Gallery for beer, bites and art, including handpicked works from Jim Woodring, who will also be in attendance.  4-5PM – Brewery tours at Elysian Airport Way: 5510 Airport Way S., 981085:30-9PM –…