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Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery hosts an art exhibition and book launch party for Seattle-based cartoonist Megan Kelso’s new graphic novel ARTICHOKE TALES on Saturday, June 12 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. A graduate of alternative cartoonist breeding ground The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, Megan Kelso burst onto the comics scene in the early 90s with her provocative self-published zine Girlhero. She has since proved herself a master of the cartoon short story with Queen of the Black Black (1998) and The Squirrel Mother (2006), in addition to the weekly serial “Watergate Sue” published in the New York Times…

This looks good — a comics reading featuring Ben Catmull & Renee French from the Fantagraphics stable alongside 4 other well-respected indie-comickers: Trevor Alixopulos, Rina Ayuyang, Josh Frankek & Lark Pien. Tomorrow evening, at Pegasus Books in Berkeley. Via Ben's blog.

Daily clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources: • More juvenilia from Bob Fingerman • Another lithograph by John Hankiewicz • Nice fledgling bird sketches by Debbie Drechsler • Stinckers by Steven Weissman & co. are now available at Big Brain Comics in Minneapolis • This week's Truth Serum by Jon Adams • T. Edward Bak's Steller Sea Lion linocut/letterpress print (part of his research expedition fundraising effort)

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "In reviewing Jaime Hernandez's Penny Century, I could point to the frenetic pace of many of the stories; the cute, odd, and endearing sort of strangeness spawned in this lightly magical universe; or even the beautiful art, which is truly the mark of this master cartoonist. But, no, I am going to hype the very first story, 'Whoa Nellie,' beyond anything else in this fantastic volume. … Such a wonderful, and grounded, story is a nice start-off point for the still compelling, yet far stranger and sexier, tales that follow. Soup to nuts, this…

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: The Search for Smilin' Ed! by Kim Deitch 162-page black & white 6" x 8.75" softcover (with full-color foldout) • $16.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-324-8 Add to Cart • More Info & Previews Originally created in 1997 and 1998 for the underground anthology Zero Zero, The Search for Smilin’ Ed is the latest of Kim Deitch’s graphic novels to showcase his obsessive burrowing into the nooks and crannies of vintage American popular culture. Where Boulevard of Broken Dreams focused on the earliest days of the animation industry, Alias the Cat delved into the history…

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: The Best American Comics Criticism Edited by Ben Schwartz; cover illustrations by Drew Friedman 360-page 6" x 9" illustrated (b&w) softcover • $19.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-148-0 Add to Cart • More Info & Previews Whether you choose to call them “comics lit,” “graphic novels,” or just “thick comic books,” book-length narratives told in words and pictures confidently elbowed their way into the cultural spotlight in the first decade of this new millennium — beginning with the simultaneous 2001 release of Chris Ware’s Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth and Daniel Clowes’ David…

Three new compact softcovers wending their way into comic shops this week. Plentiful previews, bonus downloads, and more information about each book await you at the links below. Your local comic shop can divulge availability at their particular establishment if contacted in advance. Read on to see descriptions and comments from the comics bloggers: The Best American Comics Criticism Edited by Ben Schwartz; cover illustrations by Drew Friedman 360-page 6" x 9" illustrated (b&w) softcover • $19.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-148-0 "Definitive title notwithstanding, this 360-page Ben Schwartz-edited volume actually concerns itself with writing pertinent to (though not exclusively concerned with) the maturation…

Daily clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources: • From Jim Woodring, a bounty of new Frank sketches (including one with his new female counterpart Fran) here, here and here • Johnny Ryan's "unnamables" — UPDATE: Details on the piece (it's for a Lovecraft-themed art show) at Johnny's blog • Bob Fingerman presents comics he did when he was 10 years old, starring Gerald Ford • Jim Flora's endpapers for his 1959 children's book Charlie Yup and His Snip-Snap Boys • Gabrielle Bell's new Lucky strip kind of reminds me of an episode of The IT…

Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: The Comics Reporter's Tom Spurgeon counts down "The Best Goodbyes" in comics, with Love and Rockets Vol. 1 #50 in the #3 spot • Review: "In this installment [of Hate Annual], Buddy’s wife Lisa takes center stage, discovering her 'Creative Outlet' along with a wife she meets through a parent-teacher conference. Hilarity will ensue, of the inimitable, irreplaceable Bagge vintage uncorked with caustic, mordant glee. … Here Bagge’s vivid caricatures animate the most routine of actions, effectively suggesting how cozily, in this life, the mundane cohabits with the outrageous. Bagge extends his world-wariness, bemusement…

Ivan Brunetti provides the cover for the new issue of The New Yorker. Love the fretboard margin. Found via The Ephemerist.