Fantagraphics Blog

Looky here, Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: On Random House's Suvudu blog, Dallas Middaugh selects 2008's Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw as #3 on the Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2009: "This book came from out of nowhere to great critical acclaim, and it pushed young Mr. Shaw in the spotlight as one of the most exciting new cartoonists in the field. … This haunting story of a dysfunctional family twists and turns and stuck with me long after I read it." • List: At Comic Book Galaxy, Marc Sobel counts down "The 15 Best Back Issues I…

Art Clokey, creator of Gumby and a significant torch-bearer for stop-animation, passed away on Friday at the age of 88. In July of 2006, I was excited to have the opportunity to meet him and his son, Joe Clokey (above). Below are some photos I took of  Gumby artifacts in the exhibit that was touring at the time, in celebration of Gumby's 50th Anniversary. Art Clokey was very sweet and the family was clearly excited to have their father getting this public recognition for his iconic creation. Gumby has a long life outside of the great film shorts, including a…

Steven Weissman's new "HLK" print, only 10 bucks!

Friday webcomics are back in action! The joys of parenting in this week's The House of No by Derek Van Gieson… …creative housekeeping, Blecky style, in this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan…. …and "Barack Hussein Obama is [finally] back from vacation [thank you very much] and ready to PARTY!!" sez Steven Weissman!

Holy smokes, has it really been 20 years since Warts and All first came out? Movie Morlocks, the official blog of cable network TCM, posted a lengthy and loving tribute to the book. While it was originally published by Penguin, we've had the honor of keeping it in print in recent years. I was influenced by this book at an impressionable age and, like the author of the TCM post, I can still recall some of the gags to this day ("We'll have sex in a minute, honey. First I got to go to the toilet — you know I…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: On the Forbidden Planet International Blog Log, guest critic Chris Marshall's top 10 graphic novels of 2009 places Blazing Combat in a tie for 4th place: "There was a time when War Comics told War Fact. They showed us the blood, death, camaraderie and horror. [This] series did just that and didn’t hold back." • Review: "Fantagraphics has truly pulled out all the stops on the production of [Gahan Wilson: Fifty Years of Playboy Cartoons], giving it such marvelous style and pizzazz. … But it’s the content, of course, that is truly king….

This recent commissioned portrait of Joy Division's Ian Curtis by Jim Blanchard blows me away. Hit Jim's blog for the larger version.

The clock is ticking down on our New Years Hangover Sale — you have mere hours left to get 20% OFF everything on our website (including our already-discounted clearance items) by using the coupon code HANGOVER when you check out. (If you prefer to shop by phone, just mention this offer when you call — 1-800-657-1100 or 206-524-1967 outside the U.S.) 20/20 Club members get a double discount of 36%, so join up if you haven't already. If you need some guidance, comics blogger Sean T. Collins over at Robot 6 has some great suggestions for you. Thanks Sean!

Is Denis Kitchen legendary because he's no longer relevant? or because he wrote the ad copy?  Worst Comics Industry Crime of  2009

It's almost the weekend, friends. Here's a sampling of the brilliant lyricism in Dr. Dre's "The Watcher" from his album 2001: "Things just ain't the same for gangstas.Times is changing, young n****s is aging,Becoming OG's in the game and changing,To make way for these new names and faces, butThe strangest things can happen from rappin, whenN****s get wrapped up in image and actin,N****s get capped up and wrapped in plastic,Zipped up in bags, when it happens, that's it."