How about some new webcomics for your weekend?

You know things aren't going to end well in this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan...

It's maybe the most shocking develoment yet this week's installment of Steven Weissman's in-progress pages from "Blue Jay," an epic 50-page story from Chocolate Cheeks, the next collection of the Yikes! gang's adventures....

And it's Rocky's latest breakup in our current 5-day chunk of Martin Kellerman's hilarious Swedish smash-hit Rocky, updated Monday-Friday!

ALERT! Unofficial word has it that Adult Swim will air the (heretofore-only-streaming-on-their-website) pilot of Michael Kupperman's Snake 'n' Bacon TV program on May 10 at 12:45 AM! As when they aired the pilot for Tony Millionaire's The Drinky Crow Show, it's likely that the network will be gauging viewer response in order to decide whether to pick up the show for a series, so we'll definitely be posting more information about that as it becomes available. For now: mark your calendars and TUNE IN FOR TELETHRIZZLE!

The Complete Crumb Comics Slipcase
By Robert Crumb

These handsome, sturdy clothbound slipcases are designed to hold 5 volumes of the softcover editions of The Complete Crumb Comics series. (Note: Hardcover volumes will not fit. Books not included.) They are stamped in gold with a Crumb logo and art on the front and spine. Thought to be out of stock for several years, a cache of these exclusive items was recently discovered hidden inside the Ark of the Covenant in our warehouse. Supplies are limited, and you'll want multiples for your whole collection, so order today! Don't let our melted faces be in vain.

clothbound 8.75" x 11.5" x 2.25" slipcase • $14.95
Add to Cart • More Info & Previews

• Review: Inkstuds preps for a chat with Jaime Hernandez at Emerald City ComiCon tomorrow by catching up on Love and Rockets: New Stories #1: "The two brothers are certainly masters of the form and this is a great example of them having fun with their work."

• Review: Sean T. Collins on Supermen! The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941: "...[T]his... anthology of early superhero comics is, like Paul Karasik's Fletcher Hanks collection and DC's Jack Kirby omnibuses before it, a real 'here's how it's done' moment. Entertaining, left-field subject matter; eye-pleasing design; tactile paper stock; color technique and reproduction values that neither hide the material behind the haze of nostalgia nor try to mask its primitive origins with out-of-place high-gloss modernity; manageable length and heft; art presented at a powerful but not brobdingnagian size... truly [we are] living in the Golden Age of Reprints."

• Preview: The Forbidden Planet International blog sums it up in their post title: "Humbug? Just watch the money vanish from my wallet..."

• Oddity: Snake 'n' Bacon are on Twitter (it's neither affiliated with nor objected to by Michael Kupperman, whose own Twitter feed is a must-follow)

Andrei Molotiu, editor of our forthcoming anthology Abstract Comics, the first book to trace the history and survey the contemporary landscape of abstract sequential art, has started a blog to showcase the book and other work by some of the book's contributors. Bookmark/subscribe at abstractcomics.blogspot.com. Above: Jacob Covey's cover design for the book (updated: now in 3D!).

If you thought you'd never see a new Love and Rockets comic book again: surprise! Our 2009 Free Comic Book Day offering is a preview of this summer's second annual issue of Love and Rockets: New Stories! Official description: "This preview edition includes a sizeable chapter of the second half of Jaime's amazing super-hero romp 'Ti-Girls Adventures,' as well as Gilbert Hernandez's typically unique 'Chest Fever,' both from the upcoming Love and Rockets: New Stories #2, plus selections from #1 and a new cover by Gilbert and Jaime!" Head to the FCBD website for an exclusive sneak preview download, and visit your participating local comics shop (call to confirm participation and availability)  on Saturday, May 2 to pick up your copy! (Yes, we will have them at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery; no, they will not be available online.)

(Also, confidential to Jacob Covey.)

From this week's STRANGER...

• Awards: Entrecomics reports that La educación de Hopey Glass (the Spanish edition of The Education of Hopey Glass) by Jaime Hernandez is nominated for "Mejor obra extranjera publicada en España en el 2008" ("Best foreign work published in Spain in 2008") at Saló del Còmic de Barcelona, Spain's largest comics convention (yes, we have a handful of copies of the Spanish edition for sale)

• Review of the Week: Pads & Panels on Johnny Ryan's XXX Scumbag Party: "It is truly unfortunate someone saw fit to publish this abomination."

• Review: Art Blog by Bob on The Wolverton Bible by Basil Wolverton: "As much as the horrific and Bosch-esque in Wolverton’s art strikes you immediately, it’s also important to recognize the beauty of many of his visions... The Wolverton Bible still has the ability to revolt and repulse viewers, but that is just one aspect of its overall ability to make these well-known stories seem new and, more importantly, inescapably human."

• Review: Blog @ Newsarama says "A few words about every single story in Supermen!" (spoiler alert!), praising editor Greg Sadowski and concluding "I honestly can’t recommend [the book] enough to any fans of the superhero genre."

• Preview: Our pals at Diamond Comic Distributors present some excerpt pages from Supermen! The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941 on two of their websites: Previews and ComicShopLocator.com (it's the same in both places, so take your pick)

• Interview: Inkstuds can't wait until Paul Hornschemeier arrives in the program's hometown of Vancouver tomorrow to talk with him about Mother, Come Home and other topics (in streaming and downloadable audio)

• Profile: The Vancouver Courier spotlights Paul Hornschemeier in advance of his appearance at Lucky's Comics tomorrow

• Oddity: Ellen Forney is no fool

The Dinosaur Gardens blog recently posted a full set of Basil Wolverton's "The Culture Corner" strips from Whiz Comics, 1945-1952. This seems like the right time to announce that we will be publishing these strips in book form later this year! Basil Wolverton's Culture Corner is currently scheduled for November 2009 and will be a 160-page full-color hardcover. In addition to showcasing our usual stellar restoration, design and production, our edition will also contain Wolverton's original pencil versions of each strip, which have been carefully preserved over the years, and demonstrate a looser, more spontaneous interpretation of the finished strips. Monte Wolverton will also provide an introduction to the book. Go ahead and enjoy those unrestored scans, and then come back here for updates and info about our edition as they become available.

 Long live COMICS!

Update: Now available for pre-order!