Have a look at (and inside) a real-life copy of the upcoming book Explainers - The Complete Village Voice Strips (1956-66) by Jules Feiffer. For a Flickr slideshow, click here, or to browse manually, click here. (And don't forget you can read the Introduction, and preview more strips, here; and registered users can download yet another preview excerpt here.)

Congratulations to all of the nominees for the 2008 Eisner Awards. We're celebrating our 11 nominations (plus a few for some of our favorite artists) by putting all of our nominated titles on sale for 20% off through May 15, 2008! The full list of nominations is below; click here to browse all of the sale items.

Best Short Story
"At Loose Ends" by Lewis Trondheim, in Mome Vol. 8
"Whatever Happened to Fletcher Hanks?" by Paul Karasik, in I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets!
"Young Americans" by Emile Bravo, in Mome Vol. 8

Best Anthology
Mome (Vols. 6-9)

Best Graphic Album — New
Percy Gloom by Cathy Malkasian

Best Archival Collection/Project — Comic Strips
Popeye Vol. 2: Well Blow Me Down! by E. C. Segar

Best Archival Collection/Project — Comic Books
I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! by Fletcher Hanks

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
I Killed Adolf Hitler by Jason

Best Lettering
Lewis Trondheim, "At Loose Ends," Mome Vols. 7 & 8

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean, and Kristy Valenti (issues #280-287)

Best Comics-Related Book
Meanwhile... A Biography of Milton Caniff by R. C. Harvey

Hall of Fame
Barry Windsor-Smith

Additional congratulations go out to Dan Clowes and Chris Ware for their nominations for "Mr. Wonderful" and Acme Novelty Library #18, respectively. 

Petey & Pussy, courtesy John Kerschbaum. Look for the Petey & Pussy graphic novel in late 2008 from Fanta -- you heard it here first!

Another new interview with Leah Hayes, this time with Christopher Mautner of Newsarama, on the eve of the release of Funeral of the Heart. 

... haven't been to enough comics events in Seattle lately, I'm participating in this at Hugo House tonight: 

The Hugo House InPrint Series presents:
 
Why Publish With an Independent or Small Press?
An Evening with Northwest Independent Press Publishers
 
Tuesday, April 15th, 2008, 7:00 - 9:00
                            Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave. Seattle
Admission $3 members/$5 non-members
 
Why Publish With an Independent or Small Press?
 
The Northwest features a handful of excellent independent press publishers who are producing interesting work and attracting positive critical attention and awards. 

Tonight editors and publishers from several publishers will be on hand to explain the advantages of publishing with an independent small press and how to go about it.  Our speakers will cover the editing and business side of small press, from queries and pitches to editorial preferences and distribution. 
 
Small press publishers can serve audiences that aren't normally served by larger publishers who can only publish very commercial work, allowing them to get away from publishing only work that appeals to the largest common denominator of readers.  Once books have been published and received positive reviews, they often attract the attention of larger publishers for broader distribution.  All of your questions will be answered and you'll come away with valuable information and contacts for publishing.
 
OUR PANEL:
 
Black Heron Press: Jerry Gold, publisher and editor-in-chief 

Chin Music Press:  Bruce Rutledge, journalist and author

Fantagraphics: Eric Reynolds, editor

Aqueduct Press: L. Timmel Duchamp, author, publisher and editor

Payseur and Schmidt: Jacob McMurray, publisher

Wood Works Press:  Paul Hunter, publisher and editor

The InPrint Series is a quarterly forum designed to connect writers with agents, publishers and publishing industry experts.  The mission of Richard Hugo House is to build a vital learning community that develops and sustains practicing writers doing essential work.  (206) 322-7030  www.hugohouse.org 

Tim Hensley apparently posted this over at Blog Flume last month but it just yesterday showed up my RSS reader. I'm in awe of the sketchbook pages he's been posting over there, too.

DREW FRIEDMAN ART SHOW AND BOOK SIGNING
AT ROCKETSHIP IN BROOKLYN MAY 16!

WHO: Drew Friedman
WHAT: Opening reception and book signing
WHERE: Rocketship
208 Smith St., Brooklyn, NY 11201 • 718.797.1348
WHEN: Friday, May 16, 8PM

“Drew Friedman isn't just a brilliant artist. He takes you to a place. He takes you back in time. He makes you smell the stale cigarettes and cold brisket and you say thank you for the pleasure.” — Sarah Silverman

Join cartoonist DREW FRIEDMAN for a special exhibition of original art and objects, along with a book signing in conjunction with the release of More Old Jewish Comedians.

Drew Friedman is among the most notorious illustrators and cartoonists in America. According to Entertainment Weekly, “He holds a marvelously warped lens up to crusty politicians and debauched celebrities. A good-natured misanthrope with an obsessive style and a sardonic tongue, Drew Friedman is one of the country’s sharper political artists.” Friedman will appear in New York for the first time since his legendary Friar’s Club Book-warming in March (as written about by Lillian Ross in The New Yorker’s “Talk of the Town”) for a book signing and exhibition of his original artwork on Friday, May 16 at 8:00 PM.

Friedman’s illustrious career has included comics work published in Art Spiegelman’s RAW, R. Crumb’s Weirdo and MAD Magazine, and frequent illustrations in National Lampoon, The New York Times, The New York Observer, among countless other publications. He was the recipient of the 2001 Reuben Award for newspaper illustration (and is a nominee for the same award this year). Friedman’s work has been collected by Seattle’s Fantagraphics Books in The Fun Never Stops!: An Anthology of Comic Art 1991 - 2006, Old Jewish Comedians, More Old Jewish Comedians, and Warts and All.

More Old Jewish Comedians is the sequel to 2006's wildly popular Old Jewish Comedians, and has earned raves from Jerry Lewis, Howard Stern, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, The Believer, Entertainment Weekly and many others. The book includes the famous (Woody Allen, Joan Rivers, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Soupy Sales, etc.), the less-famous (Jerry Stiller, Zeppo & Gummo Marx, Larry Storch, Zero Mostel, etc.) and the largely unknown (Molly Picon, Herbie Faye, Jan Murray, etc.). The Reuben Award-winning Friedman presents a thorough visual history of the 20th Century's greatest Borscht-Belt comedians in 34 full-page, liver-spotted portraits.

A reception for the artist will begin on Friday, May 16 at 8:00PM. Admission is free to the public of all ages. The exhibition continues though June 4, 2008.

A selection of images in a variety of formats is available for publication. For additional information, contact Eric Reynolds.

MORE OLD JEWISH COMEDIANS
By Drew Friedman; Introduction by Larry Gelbart
$16.99 Hardcover • 36 pp., black-and-white, 10” x 10”
ISBN 978-1-56097-914-2