Drew Friedman at Desert Island 10/8

Mark your calendar!  FANTAGRAPHICS & DESERT ISLAND PRESENT: AN EVENING WITH DREW FRIEDMAN AND HIS NEW BOOK, TOO SOON? Friday, Oct. 8th, 7-9PM Desert Island, 540 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn, NY  Featuring a Q&A with Drew Friedman, conducted by WFMU's Dave the Spazz!   

Daily OCD: 8/11/10

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "A refreshing counterpoint to the vampire meme… In true Jason form, Werewolves of Montpellier neatly packs a chockful of romance, recreational crime, and existential thrills in this full-color 48-pager." – Space 15 Twenty • Review: "Norwegian cartoonist Jason's book The Last Musketeer is the kind of whimsy that's easy to do wrong and nearly impossible to get right, but Jason gets it very right indeed. … It's a story that follows a dreamlike, comic logic, always silly and always fun, and every page has several large grins waiting to jump onto your face as…

Lucky in Love trailer: now in H-er D

Stephen DeStefano and his collaborators in animation Miguel Martinez-Joffre & Carly Monardo have uploaded a better-quality version of the animated teaser trailer for Lucky in Love Book 1: A Poor Man's History, the forthcoming graphic novel by Stephen and writer George Chieffet. Enjoy!

Larry Reid talks Bumbershoot on The Marty Riemer Show

Our own Larry Reid will be appearing on The Marty Riemer Show webcast/podcast (hosted by the former KMTT morning show host) tomorrow morning at 9:30 AM to talk about the big Bumbershoot comic art exhibit he's curating. Tune in! The other guest on the program: Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire. Larry moves in influential circles, y'all.

Things to see: 8/10/10

Periodic clips & strips (slightly off schedule) — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources: • Johnny Ryan hits that cute/offensive sweet spot yet again with his jungle hero who is also a bunny (via Facebook) • Jon Vermilyea's entry in David Ryan's Calvin & Hobbes-themed convention sketchbook • 1990 sketchbook pages and a 1996 illustration by Jason  • Drew Weing's Set to Sea page 121 • Richard Sala presents a selection of drawings from his book The Ghastly Ones • The latest installment of Tim Lane's Belligerent Piano • Gabrielle Bell continues her Comic-Con "comicumentary" • From Mark Kalesniko,…

Gary Groth at GRAPHIC

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Sydney Opera House to see Gary Groth's presentation at the GRAPHIC festival this past weekend. According to various accounts on Twitter and from Bernard Caleo (whose sketch of Gary is below), Gary's talk was a highlight of the weekend. Photo above courtesy Karen Beilharz.

Daily OCD: 8/10/10

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Originally serialized in the late ‘90s, this cartwheeling shaggy-dog story begins, like a lot of metafiction, with the semblance of reality… But by the time a frog demon reanimates a 19th-century French peasant whose brains it has eaten, it’s fairly clear that Deitch is making stuff up. The fun of [The Search for Smilin' Ed] is the way it constantly darts back and forth across the line between genuine show-business lore (a favorite Deitch theme) and delirious whole-cloth invention. … Deitch’s artwork… is… utterly confident, building on the stylistic gestures of both the underground-comics…

Crumb Contest & Coupons with our pals at Scarecrow Video

We're teaming up with our pals at Seattle's venerable Scarecrow Video to give away Terry Zwigoff's classic documentary Crumb, new on DVD and Blu-Ray from the Criterion Collection, plus Zwigoff's debut film Louie Bluie, also new on Criterion DVD with cover artwork by Crumb! All you have to do is "like" this post on our Facebook page, or if you're not on Facebook, send an email to the friendly folks at Scarecrow; click here for all the details. Plus! Stop by Scarecrow to pick up a coupon good for 20% off any purchase at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery that includes…

Daily OCD: 8/9/10

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Of the artists that meant the world to me when I was young enough that lots of artists meant the world to me, Jaime Hernandez is the only one I know of that can still kill me dead with his newest and latest. Your mileage may vary, but Jaime's three-part story in the latest Love and Rockets brought to mind the same sweep of romance and regret and pursuit of all that's sweet in life as much as battered and broken insides allow that I remember all too well from the summer between my…

Cool Art on a Hot August Night! Georgetown Art Attack Returns on Saturday, August 14

The tradition of cool art in a hot neighborhood continues with the Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack on August 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Fabulous food, fine art, friendly bars and a few surprises are in store at this colorful monthly event in one of Seattle's most compelling communities. Among the many free visual and performing arts events: Georgetown Records and Fantagraphics Bookstore present the book launch party for "Cover Story: Odd, Obscure, and Outrageous Album Art" featuring an exhibition of album art from the book, a book signing, and DJ sets from contributors Aja West and Cheeba; The…