Fantagraphics Blog FantaBlog

Live from New York (where I am for MoCCA), it's your Friday night online strips! (FYI, Daily OCD and Things to See will return next week.) Get that lady another drink in this week's The House of No by Derek Van Gieson… …friends helping friends in this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan…. …and get ready for some great sound effects in this week's Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman.

…in France, with the world premiere in Brussells tomorrow. Still no announcement of U.S. distribution for Luc Besson's adaptation of Jacques Tardi's ADELE BLANC-SEC (we're still hoping it will open here when we debut the first volume of our new translation of the original comics at Comic-Con), but here's the final trailer, with lots and lots of new footage: Exciting!

Daily clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources: • This week's "I, Anonymous" spot by Steven Weissman • This week's Maakies by Tony Millionaire • Johnny Ryan describes this fan art by James Henry Dufresne as a "supervillain team-up"

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Troublemakers is… a noirish tale of crosses double and triple, in which the same small cast keeps tripping over each other, making and breaking promises and plans and alliances. … The dialogue is often overwrought in that trying-to-be-tough way, but the plot is suitably twisty and energetic. " – Andrew Wheeler, The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent. • Interview: Comic Book Resources' Chris Mautner talks to Gahan Wilson about fifty years of Playboy cartoons and Fifty Years of Playboy Cartoons: "The bottom line in horror, or humor, really, is that life is tough…

We are exceedingly pleased to report that Fantagraphics publications and artists received a record 18 nominations for the 2010 Eisner Awards. To celebrate, we're offering these titles at 18% off for a limited time! Click here for the full sale selection. (Sale is valid for online and phone orders only.) Winners will be announced at a ceremony on Friday, July 23, 2010 at Comic-Con International in San Diego. Congratulations to all the nominees! Fantagraphics' nominations are as follows: • Best Short Story: "Because I Love You So Much," by Nikoline Werdelin, in From Wonderland with Love: Danish Comics in the…

Yowp! It's a 100% brand-new full-color slam-bang 8-page Jaime Hernandez story in the new "issue" of MySpace Dark Horse Presents! (Oops, direct linking doesn't seem to be working correctly at press time, but it's simple enough to find.)

Scion Magazine 15: Gilbert Hernandez from Scion ART on Vimeo. Gilbert Hernandez, comic book artist and co-creator of Love and Rockets, interviewed at his home studio in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Scion Magazine. I can't believe we almost missed this — thanks to L&R fan Michael Schmitz for sharing this on the Love and Rockets – The Hernandez Brothers Facebook page.

Daily clips & strips — hit the links for improved/additional viewing at the sources: • This limited-edition print by Sergio Ponchione is available at festivals (I think — the autotranslation is a little sketchy) from Coconino Press. Sergio also reveals that Grotesque #4 is in the can (and coming this summer from Fantagraphics); the complete Italian run of Grotesque will be available in a slipcased set with additional materials, and the slipcase will be available separately (hopefully U.S. fans will be able to order it from overseas); and the full-color Grotesque stories from Linus magazine will appear in future volumes…

Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Knowing full well that I had to be at work at 9:00 the next morning, I nonetheless stayed up past 2:00 with Castle Waiting. And when I got to that last page, bleary-eyed and struggling to stay awake, all I wanted was more. I wanted the story to keep going. … The stories are captivating and exciting and surprisingly deep. She is never heavy-handed about it, but Medley explores some weighty topics, including domestic violence, religious conversion, and sacrifice. … I laughed frequently as I read the book, and cried once — not because…

I'm something like 6 years late to the party, but Flickr is home to a very lively (and surprisingly artistically-inclined) community. It also seems to be an oasis of civility on the internet.   But what you, gentle Flog-reader, may not know is that you can use Flickr to keep up with many of the people who make your favorite comic-books happen:   Eric Reynolds, Associate Publisher Mike Baehr, Marketing Jason T. Miles, Sales Tony Remple, Production Manager Jacob Covey, Graphic Design Adam Grano, Graphic Design    With a little digging, you'll find a large selection of Fanta-related photos at the links…