Fantagraphics Blog

Signed copies of Ray Fenwick's new book Mascots with an exclusive print (shown above) are available today from Tiny Showcase! (Hmm, it's not supposed to be up for another 4 hours, but the first few have already sold…)

From Jim Woodring, this short video showing off his giant pen nib. It's beautiful. See it in action this Sunday!

• Very nice Peanuts fan art by Dale O'Flaherty • This week's "I, Anonymous" spot by Steven Weissman is a doozy; plus Tom Selleck and Daughters of Satan on his Chewing Gum in Church blog (see 'em raw on Flickr) • A nice celebratory sketch and one hell of a story from Carol Tyler at her Screened-in Porch blog • "Top News Stories of 2011" for the L.A. Times plus more sketches, portraits and caricatures, with commentary, by Steve Brodner And more Things to See from the past week: • Early strips and film reviews by Jason at his Cats…

Kevin Huizenga posts a sneak peek at some panels from the forthcoming Ganges #4 (judging from the image filename, anyway). Still no sleep for Glenn!

Time for lots more awkwardly-formatted year-end lists, a review from The Washington Post and much more in what might be the longest Online Commentary & Diversions ever: • List: For the Las Vegas Weekly, J. Caleb Mozzocco counts down his top 5 comics of 2010: #3: Temperance by Cathy Malkasian: "Blessed with a Dr. Seuss-like ability to evoke the most serious problems and bleakest emotions in personalized, original, timeless fantasy elements, Malkasian has constructed a graphic epic involving a handful of colorful, tragic characters and their interlocking lives." #5: Werewolves of Montepellier by Jason: "A successful jewel thief disguises himself…

Seattle cartoonist Jim Woodring, author of Frank comics and the acclaimed Weathercraft, has built a seven-foot-long pen-and-penholder, a giant version of the steel dip pen nib and wooden handle used by artists and calligraphers. The pen will make its debut in the Skinner Auditorium of Gage Academy of Art on Sunday, January 9 from 1pm to 4pm. The nib is sixteen inches long and made of brass-pated, hand-engraved cold-rolled steel. The handle is lathe-turned poplar, painted with black lacquer. The ink is a specially formulated acrylic blend. A vase functions as an inkwell. When this project was announced earlier this…

Here's this week's Weissman, plus links to other strips from around the web (our last holiday-related delay for a while): — Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman (view at original size): — And elsewhere: Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane: Ectiopiary by Hans Rickheit: Lucky by Gabrielle Bell: Maakies (and its inspiration) by Tony Millionaire: Truth Serum by Jon Adams:

* Other People's Publications** Yeah, You Know Me. We're introducing a new column to the FLOG this year, spotlighting some excellent titles from other publishers that you can find at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery! (And spotlighting my dorky predilection for song titles from the 90's.) Subtitled "Comics From Bangkok to Belgrade," Gazeta, Vol. 1 debuts its series with a collection of artists from places I've never heard of. (Zagreb? Tampere? I need to get out more.) Our store manager/curator Larry Reid recommended this one to me, pointing out the cover by the great Ron Regé , Jr. (who, speaking…

Peter Bagge has a whooole buncha new original art offerings on his Comic Art Collective page: recent illos, Apocalypse Nerd pages, even a bunch of classic Neat Stuff pages! Go, look, buy.