Fantagraphics Blog

Another awesome fan tattoo shared with us on Facebook, this one based on the cover of Black Hole #4 by Charles Burns.

The new ish of Smoke Signal is out and it is a doozy! With contribs from Peter Bagge (that killer cover), Tim Lane, Gabrielle Bell, Michael Kupperman, Kevin Huizenga, Jon Vermilyea, Nate Neal, Noah Van Sciver, Derek Van Gieson, Martin Cendreda, our own Jason T. Miles, Kaz (back cover) and many more of our faves, this one is a must-get. Pick one up for FREE at Desert Island in Brooklyn, or order one here.

Here's a couple of impressive Maakies-related tattoos recently shared on Facebook by Tony Millionaire:

We have an update to our schedule of Fantagraphics-related events at this year's Bumbershoot festival: our own Nico Vassilakis will be participating in the Pecha Kucha multidisciplinary arts showcase tomorrow at noon. Looks fascinating!

So Jim Woodring was officially declared a Genius by The Stranger; now he and the other Genius Award winners are being feted with a gala event on Friday, September 17, at the Moore Theatre in Seattle. Get your tickets here! (The portrait of Jim is a good likeness, but why is he dressed like Brock Samson?)

First a bit of related happy news: Peter Kuper's "Ceci n'est pas une comic" (which Peter generously allowed us to host here following its various print appearances) was selected for inclusion in Best American Comics 2010, edited by Neil Gaiman. This week we're pleased to bring you a sexy & romantic Flog-exclusive unpublished 5-page story by Dame Darcy, a hilarious new strip by Stephen DeStefano which will run for the next 11 weeks, and our usual weekly visit with the President from Steven Weissman: "The Tunnel of Love" by Dame Darcy (permanent link): — Monday's Strip by Stephen DeStefano (view…

Success! Thanks to everybody who pledged toward actualizing Jim Woodring's amazing project; we look forward to bringing you progress updates on this:

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "For the most part, Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s might be viewed as a graphic/comic aficionado’s plaything, but there are lots of material that a social historian should find relevant. […] Editors John Benson and Greg Sadowski have done extensive research to collate the best of EC’s competitors… and have diligently digitally restored the art to reflect the standards of that era. […] By the way, I found the images hilarious. Yup." – Robert Birnbaum, The Morning News • Review: "A Drunken Dream and Other Stories, the Fantagraphics collection…