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Just arrived via FedEx this evening, the first advance copy of Nancy Is Happy: Complete Dailies 1943-1945 by Ernie Bushmiller! We're all pawing at it excitedly, admiring Jacob Covey's above-and-beyond design job. Wait'll you see it, folks, seriously.

Fantagraphics is proud to be one of the sponsors of the 2012 Graphic Novel Panel, held by our friends at the Seattle Graphics Arts Guild!  On Saturday, January 28th, join us at the Seattle Design Center in Georgetown for a discussion on creating, publishing and marketing the graphic novel. And who better to be on this panel than longtime queen of the scene, our own Megan Kelso? She'll be joined by Matthew Southworth (Stumptown), Brandon Jerwa (Battlestar Galactica, Highlander, G.I. Joe), Emi Lenox (EmiTown), and Chuck Messinger (owner of Comic Evolution, Editor-in-Chief at Creative Edge Press). Led in conversation by…

Athos in America by Jason 196-page full-color 6.5" x 8.75" hardcover • $24.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-478-8 Ships in: February 2012 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Another all-original collection of full-color graphic novellas in the format of Low Moon, Athos in America takes its title from the lead story, a prequel of sorts to the graphic novel The Last Musketeer, in which the seemingly ageless swashbuckler turns up in a bar in 1920 New York and relates the tale of how he went to Hollywood to play himself in a film version of The Three Musketeers. Another tie-in with a previous Jason…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: Atomic Books asked comics editor/publisher Ryan Standfest for his Top 10 Comics of 2011, a list which includes The Man Who Grew His Beard by Olivier Schrauwen… "A remarkable mélange of humor, silent interludes, beautiful pacing, coloration and composition. This is one to re-read." …The Cabbie Vol. 1 by Marti… "A reprint that reminds everyone of the neo-noir adventures of 'The Cabbie,' delivered with a great, black, deadpan sense of humor." …and Nuts by Gahan Wilson: "You want a great book that places you directly inside the psyche of a small boy confronting…

(Click for larger image) The first image is from Nostalgia Press's 1978 re-colored version.The second image is from Fantagraphics Books' 1991 re-colored version.The third image is from the original Syndicate proof sheets which will eventually be used in Fantagraphics' Prince Valiant Volume 6 later this year. While I think the Danish colorists behind the 1991 version made a (heh) valiant effort at capturing the glory of Foster (the less said about the Nostalgia Press version the better), it's pretty obvious which one is the keeper here. (Also, Foster didn't make the native Americans the color of boiled lobsters.)

Now that you've seen the previews of our collection of Joost Swarte's comics Is That All There Is?, perhaps you would like to know more about the artist and his other work. Here's a nice brief English-language video profile commissioned by DutchDFA that spotlights not only Swarte's comics but some of his work in illustration, design and architecture, with a glimpse inside his drool-inducing studio space.

Our pals at the Elysian Brewing Company sent along these photos of the first batch of Nibiru, the first of the Twelve Beers of the Apocalypse produced in association with Fantagraphics and featuring the art of Charles Burns on the labels, being bottled and packaged up. Stay tuned for updates on the beer's debut, which will take place January 21. They tell us "We are working on making a giant piñata of Planet Nibiru to smash at the party — hopefully it works out!"

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: Publishers Weekly announces the results of their 2011 Comics World Critics Poll, with these titles garnering 2 votes each… "Love and Rockets: New Stories Vol. 4, Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez: Jaime Hernandez tops his 30 years of peerless storytelling with the conclusion to 'The Love Bunglers' in which two characters we’ve watched stumble through life make a final lurch — that may bring happiness or doom. Heartbreaking yet without a trace of manipulation." – Heidi MacDonald "The Man Who Grew His Beard, Olivier Schrauwen: This graphic novel is exceptionally inventive, with each…

Above, a recent illustration by Tim Lane for the New York Times Book Review; below, a new page from the story "Meat" for his upcoming short story collection Folktales. [Follow our Tumblr blog for lots more Things to See every day.]

  We were privileged to host another delightful evening with our friend Tony Millionaire at Fantagraphics Bookstore on Saturday. A wonderful cast of characters assembled to celebrate the publication of his exquisite new book 500 Portraits. We were pleasantly surprised to receive a visit by the legendary Charles Burns, whose portrait is among those featured in the exhibition. It was also nice to see comix scholar Hillary Chute, who interviews cartoonists in The Believer, where many of Tony's portraits first appeared. (Hillary also notably edited Art Spiegelman's new book  Meta Maus.) Our colleagues from the University of Mississippi Press were on hand, as…