Twain in the Membrane: Greenlight Bookstore Tomorrow!

Full steam ahead! The "Twain in the Membrane" tour is heading for the Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn tomorrow night, Thursday, October 20th, and you'll wanna be aboard! It's part of the literary humor series "Steamboat," a monthly event of "wine-addled, text-based hilarity" hosted by comedian Bob Powers. This month, our (possibly) wine-addled humorist Michael Kupperman will be reading from the (definitely) text-based book Mark Twain's Autobiography 1910-2010! (As of this writing, we're not sure if Kupperman will be arriving in Twain-garb. As of this writing, we're not sure if he takes those eyebrows off at all.) He'll also be joined…

Go Nuts with Gahan Wilson at The Strand Tomorrow!

You'd be NUTS to miss this event! Join comics legend Gahan Wilson tomorrow night, Thursday, October 20th, at the great Strand Bookstore in New York City! He'll be signing and discussing his new book, Nuts, a collection of stories originally published in the National Lampoon’s “Funny Pages” section throughout the 1970s. Moderating the discussion will be our pal Jesse Pearson, former editor of VICE magazine and contributor to The Comics Journal. The fun starts at 7:00 PM, and you can either buy the book from The Strand or buy a $10 Strand Gift Card in order to attend this event….

Estonia: A Ramble Through the Periphery by Alexander Theroux – Previews, Pre-Order

Estonia: A Ramble Through the Periphery by Alexander Theroux 352-page 6" x 9" hardcover with color illustrations • $24.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-465-8 Ships in: October 2011 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now Any journey with Alexander Theroux is an education. Possessed of a razor-sharp and hyperliterate mind, he stands beside Thomas Pynchon as one of the sharpest cultural commentators of our time. So when he decided to accompany his wife — the artist Sarah Son-Theroux — on her Fulbright Scholarship to Estonia, it occasioned this penetrating examination of a country that, for many, seems alien and distanced from the modern world. For…

Daily OCD: 10/18/11

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Commentary: The Comics Reporter's Tom Spurgeon responds to The Comics Journal's Love and Rockets love–fest yesterday with some thoughts of his own: "I agree with Nadel, Santoro, Tomine and many of the comment-makers that Jaime Hernandez's new work represents a phenomenal achievement. I'm maybe not as interested in finding its place in the pantheon right this second. There's plenty of time for that down the road. One thing that's exciting and should never be denied about a creative achievement on the level of what Hernandez seems to have given us here is what that…

First Look: Amazing Mysteries: The Bill Everett Archives Vol. 1

Amazing Mysteries: The Bill Everett Archives Vol. 1 went to the printer today and series editor Blake Bell celebrates by revealing the final cover art for the book — a snappy number designed by Alexa Koenings in our art department. At Blake's blog you can see the entire cover spread (front, back and spine) and read Blake's thoughts and background info on the book, which is due in December.

Feast your eyes on Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture

Speaking of gorgeous art books that we just got advance copies of… Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture – A Career Retrospective arrived at the office today. Page after page after page of mouthwatering eye candy from one of the undisputed giants of illustration, all wrapped up in Tony Ong's eye-catching carnival-esque design. Just showing one spread like this does not do the book justice AT ALL, so be on the lookout for our upcoming previews!

One percent of Tony Millionaire’s 500 Portraits

We got our advance copies of Tony Millionaire's 500 Portraits at the office yesterday and man oh man, what a gorgeous little book. Designed by our Art Director Emeritus Jacob Covey and smartly edited by Jacob and Eric Reynolds (Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Ian MacKaye, Louis Armstrong and Léon Theremin in one spread? Genius), this is going to be the must-have gift book for the holidays. Stay tuned for more and better previews!

Get Down with Walt Disney’s Donald Duck on Halloween!

  Fantagraphics Books is offering a tasty treat this Halloween season — a FREE Donald Duck mini-comic by cartoon genius Carl Barks! In the "Jet Witch," our plucky duck buzzes Duckburg on a jet-powered broom. Predictably, all manner of hilarious Halloween havoc ensues. This story from 1961 provides a preview of the delicious treats to come in Fantagraphics forthcoming series The Carl Barks Library, with the first volume Walt Disney's Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes arriving next month. For information on where to find this Halloween favor visit Comicshoplocator.com.