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"I encountered him one afternoon, sitting on the living room couch of my parent's home, the Sunday paper sprawled across his lap. Open before him was the color comics section, specifically the fan art portion of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature. He was regarding it like some unrecognizable weed taken root in his vegetable patch."

Thanks to Peter Kuper for providing us with his recent award-winning 2-page strip "Ceci n'est pas une comic" (originally published in the Virginia Quarterly Review and elsewhere around the world) to post in our Online Comics section. The last 8 years certainly did seem surreal, didn't they? Click here to read.

• List: Another day, another Top 10 list with Dash Shaw's Bottomless Belly Button on it, this time Laura Hudson's "Best Graphic Novels of 2008" • Blurb: Trendhunter™ fingers The Wolverton Bible as the next hot thing • Blurb: ComicNews spotlights our collection of Sam's Strip by Mort Walker & Jerry Dumas

I could read a whole book of Ken Parille's essays on Peanuts. 

The upcoming February 2009 issue of The Comics Journal is our annual Best of the Year issue, featuring interviews with the year's most acclaimed cartoonists: Lynda Barry, Frank Quitely, Dash Shaw and Mike Luckovich. Plus best-of lists from dozens of comics pros, a preview of C. Tyler's new book, a gallery of new Finnish comics, and lots more. Click here if the embedded slideshow doesn't appear above, or to open a larger version in a new window.

A lot of folks keep asking me if we'll have a presence at the New York Comic-Con this weekend. We won't. It's a ridiculously expensive show to exhibit at and travel to, even in the best economy. It's a lousy time of year to travel cross-country, weather-wise. So we're staying home and throwing a great party for Esther Pearl Watson this weekend instead. But if you are at NYCC, we've designated Paul Karasik our official representative and you should go say hi to him:  Sunday, 1:30pm, Panel Room 6 (1A18):Comics and the Language of Visual SymbolismComics are able to communicate dense layers of narrative,…

Sweet merciful Jebus do we have an ever-lovin' load of books coming out in the next couple of months — about a dozen of 'em, if all goes according to plan. The advance copies have been pouring into our office and we've got lots of preview photos and videos to share with you. We'll present one book a day here on Flog but if you're impatient you can head over to our Flickr page and gorge yourself on the first 5 sets right now, with many more to come shortly. Today we're presenting The Wolverton Bible, which features hundreds of…

Unlovable Vol. 1 By Esther Pearl Watson Loosely based on a teenager’s diary from the 1980s found in a gas-station bathroom, Unlovable details the sometimes ordinary, sometimes humiliating, often poignant and frequently hilarious exploits of underdog Tammy Pierce. This remarkably touching and funny graphic novel tells the first-person account of Tammy’s sophomore year in 1985, from the first day of school to winter break. Her hopes, dreams, agonies and defeats are brought to vivid, comedic life by Watson’s lovingly grotesque drawings, filled with all the eighties essentials — too much mascara, leg warmers with heels and huge hair — as…

We need to make room for all the great books we have coming in 2009! We've just put 30 semi-recent books on sale at least 33% off in our new Clearance Sale section. And that's just for starters — we'll be adding dozens more items in the weeks and months to come! We've also reorganized our sale items into three new categories: the aforementioned Clearance Sale; Closeout Deals, where we're blowing out our last remaining copies of dozens of items at up to 75% off; and Dents & Dings, with great deals on lightly-damaged merchandise. These sales are ongoing, but…

Due to some computer hardware issues beyond our control, we're currently unable to submit any orders for shipping, so any orders placed today or tomorrow will be delayed a couple of days. You can still place your order, but please keep the delay in mind before selecting a rush shipping option! We apologize for any inconvenience. We'll let you know when things are back to normal.