Fantagraphics Blog

Richard Sala has a great new post up on his blog talking about his process for creating the interior art for his recently completed Ignatz miniseries Delphine, including why he painted it in blue tones rather than the sepia tones it was printed in. Fascinating stuff!

The Family bookstore in L.A. is having a humdinger of a signing and art show on Tuesday Sept. 22 at 7 PM for the release of the new issue of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror that some wags have dubbed "Krusty's Ergot" for its lineup of art comics superstar contributors. Signing at the event: Sammy Harkham, Jeffrey Brown (his first L.A. signing, apparently), Jordan Crane, Tim Hensley, and Simpsons overmind Matt Groening. The Family blog has more info on the issue and event, plus sneak peeks at the issue and art show. It's gonna be bigger than BiMonSciFiCon!

Here's a public service announcement on behalf of an enduring member of the comics biz. Bob Beerbohm's been selling old comics since 1966 when he was still a teenager and, in 1973, opened the first Comics & Comix store (with partner Bud Plant) in San Francisco. Comics & Comix became a chain in the bay area, one of the earliest comic book stores in the then-inchoate direct sales market. Since then, Bob's continued to sell vintage comics from the '40s, '50s, and '60s, Big Litle Books, and original art, has become something of an amateur comics historian whose scholarly essays…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "I've been enjoying cartoonist Peter Bagge's contributions to Reason Magazine for years now… But now Fantagraphics has collected them into a great-looking trade paperback [Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me]!… I think Bagge has been doing really interesting work, mixing field journalism with humor and opinion in an entirely novel way. As an essayist Bagge is never preachy, and he often points out the shortcomings of his fellow libertarians (his account of meeting Ron Paul is particularly funny). He explores more than he rants, and when he does let loose, he's got a…

On his blog, Paul Hornschemeier presents some teasers from his Mome swan song, the final chapter of his "Life with Mr. Dangerous" serial, which will appear in the forthcoming 17th volume of the anthology. And look, there's the cover, also by Paul!

Brooklyn: This starts in 10 minutes!

With all of our event announcements today this Online Commentary & Diversions update is blissfully short: • Review: "Jason’s books are entirely plot-driven, yet delivered with a dry, morose humor that gives the narrative an offbeat tone. Coupled with his ear for snappy dialogue, Jason’s plots become surprising romps that mash up divergent adventure clichés…. All told, Jason’s books, including The Last Musketeer, are pure escapist fun romps…. I’ll be looking for more of Jason’s comics, and hopefully more readers will also check his stuff out." – Michael C. Lorah, Newsarama • Review: "…I was expecting something offbeat and madcap…