Fantagraphics Blog FantaBlog

From Desert Island in Brooklyn, the following announcement: The hits just keep on coming! We just completed this high-quality screenprint of Hanks's Fantomah in anticipation of the NYC book-launch for You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation! Don't miss this event. Paul Karasik and Dan Nadel will be on hand to discuss the Hanks legacy and field questions, and the book looks amazing. that's 7 -9 pmThursday July 23rdat Desert Island540 Metropolitan Ave Preorder a print here: http://tinyurl.com/fantomah

Two of the biggest icons of 1990s Seattle: Peter Bagge and Ken Griffey, Jr. (along with the lovely Joanne Bagge) at a recent Mariners game at Safeco Field. All that's missing from this picture is Kurt Cobain and J.P. Patches.

From Marvel's forthcoming Strange Tales. Figures Tony would pick the alcoholic superhero.     

Go here for the latest in random, nonsensical unlicensed merchandise. 

QUOCK.

Back to the Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: The Architects' Journal names "Chris Ware's Chicago" #2 on its list of "Top 10 Comic Book Cities" • Review: "[Fletcher] Hanks' groove, taken back to back like this, is unsettling… It can be downright creepy. Generally, when you talk about a comic auteur's 'issues,' you're talking page count, not whether he has his head screwed on straight. It's multiplied by Hanks' art style, which at first seems crude but is actually quite stylized and consistent. Many images, such as troupes of unfortunates flying in hurtling, screaming weightlessness, have the impact of…

Thomas Ott has a brand new website chockablock with artwork, music, photos, films, and all other things Ott, including links to shop for the European editions of his books.

Aieee! We've fallen so behind on things that we've been neglecting our weekly webcomics updates for a while now. Our apologies to our readers and to the wonderful artists who agreed so generously to let us present their work. But enough groveling, here's a brand new batch! Blecky and Wedgie learn an important physics lesson in this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan (visit Johnny's website for the last few weeks' strips!)… Picking up where we left off: Chubby's horror is our horror in this week's installment of Steven Weissman's in-progress pages from "Blue Jay," an epic 51-page story…

A lovely hand-embroidered Maggie Chascarillo by Love and Rockets fan Shannon Genova-Scudder, as seen on Flickr. Hat tip to fellow fan Patti Schiendelman for pointing it out to us on Twitter. We'd love to feature more fan art here on Flog — if you make some or find some, tell us about it via Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, or plain old email!

From Wonderland with Love: Danish Comics in the Third Millennium By various artists; edited by Steffen P. Maarup In all the excitement over manga from Japan and bandes dessinées from France, it’s easy to forget that other countries have a thriving comics culture all their own. This eye-popping anthology, assembled by Danish publisher/editor/ translator Steffen P. Maarup, introduces adventurous readers to 19 exciting talents, most of whom are taking their first bow on the English-speaking stage. One centerpiece of the book is Nikoline Werdelin’s stunning “Because I Love You So Much,” a Doonesbury-style slice-of-life daily strip about a suburban Danish…