Head over to Graphic Novel Reporter for an exclusive 8-page preview of Megan Kelso's new graphic novel Artichoke Tales, coming this June from Fantagraphics.

Daily clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources:

• Oooh... "Everybody Lies to Me" is just one piece of Steven Weissman art in the show Butter and Blood opening at GR2 in LA next week

• Frank Santoro pulls the frame back as a train passes in the background

• Dash Shaw provides a glimpse at some sample animation art for his in-development animated feature film The Ruined Cast

• Dash (again) writes: "In the upcoming May issue of The Believer: a long comic strip called Spiritual Dad by Jesse Moynihan and I. It's glued into the last page. Just a bonus awesome thing stuck in there." I saw a test printing of this waaaay back at APE last year and it looks fantastic.

Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "The latest (13th) volume of Fantagraphics Books The Complete Peanuts: 1975 - 1976 is a delightful visit with that 'round headed kid' and his friends. ... The cartoons Schulz produced in 1975 and 1976 feature more lighthearted and sillier touches than usual; we are even privy to the thoughts of inanimate objects such as the school building and the pitcher’s mound. Some highlights include Charlie Brown meeting his idol, Joe Shlabotnik; sister Sally’s trials in the classroom; Peppermint Patty enrolling in a private school (not knowing it’s a dog obedience school); and the gang’s continuing efforts to play a baseball game. ... Fantagraphics has won numerous awards for this series and they deserve them all for creating such a wonderful archive of this American treasure. This series is a must have for any Peanuts fan and can be enjoyed by the whole family. I wouldn’t miss a volume." – Rich Clabaugh, The Christian Science Monitor

• Review: Avoid the Future compiles parts 41-50 of their Twitter mini-reviews of the contents of Newave! The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s: "Continue on for Krazy Kat tributes, adolescent scarification, penis missiles, comics in the dark and a double helping of Mary Fleener."

• Review: "Despite a slow start through [You Are There] grows in absurd outcomes of the last chapters, and the script of Forest serves as a humorous critique the excessive attachment to material things of people. Jacques Tardi draws so realistic objects and scenes while portraying the characters so cartoonish and fun. This combination of caricature and realism, though not anything groundbreaking, is executed with great talent by Tardi." – Gustavo Guimarães, Top Comics (forgive the slightly awkward autotranslation)

• Plugs: At Robot 6 Chris Mautner takes you to "Comics College" and schools you on the comics oeuvre of the prolific Lewis Trondheim, saying "both Harum Scarum and The Hoodoodad remain supremely entertaining tales featuring McConey, Trondheim's shy, nonplussed, anthropomorphic rabbit and his friends," and saying of The Nimrod "It's a great hodge-podge of some classic Trondheim material... including autobio stories, McConey tales and the great wordless piece, Diablotus (found in issue #2). The back issues are available at dirt cheap prices too."

• Reviewer: Your must-read of the day: Guest writer C. Tyler reviews her husband Justin Green's seminal comic Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary for Comic Book Galaxy

• Interview: Talking to Allen Brooks at DCist, Daniel Clowes explains the influence of The Complete Peanuts on his new graphic novel Wilson: "So I thought, what if you took that conceit of these kind of daily moments, daily jokes or just kind of emotional moments and put them together in a sequence that actually had a narrative implied. As you say, in-between the strips, that's where the story's told."

It's not as though you need any additional convincing to pick up our 2010 Free Comic Book Day offering Weathercraft and Other Unusual Tales by Jim Woodring at your participating comic shop tomorrow (right?), but here are a few glimpses of the finished product to whet your appetite. (Click here if the embedded slideshow player below isn't displaying, or to view it larger in a new window.)

Don't forget, Northwesterners and visitors to Seattle can get their copy direct from the hands of Jim himself at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery tomorrow from 12-1 PM! At the store we'll also have copies of Drawn & Quarterly's FCBD 2010 offering YOW!, and likewise for Montrealers Librairie D&Q will have copies of Weathercraft and Other Unusual Tales.

Mark your calendars! Desert Island in Brooklyn welcomes Kim Deitch for a signing and celebration of his new collection of The Search for Smilin' Ed! on Friday, May 14, 2010. Then, on Saturday, June 19, Jim Woodring will be in the house to meet fans and sign his new graphic novel Weathercraft. As usual with Desert Island, exclusive silkscreen show prints will be available at the events — that's a process picture of one of the screens for Kim's print above, and you can see the others on the Desert Island blog. We'll let you know more details as they become available, but in the meantime you can RSVP on Facebook for Kim here and for Jim here.

We're currently experiencing problems with our email server and haven't been able to send or receive email (except interoffice) for the past 24 hours or so. Right now the best way to contact us is by telephone: 1-800-657-1100 or 206-524-1967. We apologize for any inconvenience and we'll let you know when things are back to normal.

UPDATE: We seem to be back to normal. Please be patient as we work our way through the backlog. Thanks!

Daily clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources:

• A heck of a Seattle Weekly illustration by Jeremy Eaton

• Here's a color test for that series of School Spirits Stinckers that Steven Weissman's been working on (and here's another one — I like the green one better)

• Dame Darcy has info on framed original art, a bunch of new handmade dolls (we saw them at Stumptown; they're gorge), new purses and more on her blog

• Some great-looking digital prints of illustrations by Newave! artist Wayno are now available from Rockpop Gallery

• It's this week's Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane

• ...and this week's "I, Anonymous" spot by Steven Weissman

• ...and this week's Maakies by Tony Millionaire

• ...and this week's new Forlorn Funnies t-shirt (featuring artwork from All and Sundry) from Paul Hornschemeier (buy)

• Steve Brodner's pointed portrait of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer

Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Reviews: At Comics Alliance, Jason Michelitch examines Our Gang Vol. 4 by Walt Kelly and Blazing Combat in the context of the "golden age of reprints," saying "Both are excellent books that reward both casual readers out for cheap thrills and stodgier folks who want some textual and contextual analysis to roll around in like a pig in a pen." He describes Blazing Combat as "an anti-war comic made up not of didactic preaching but of rough, unsentimentalized views of war with graphic violence and moral ambiguity front and center, produced at a time when America was ratcheting up its involvement in Vietnam and the public had yet to widely turn against it." He also says "Our Gang... [is] a lot of fun. There are lady rasslers and fake matter transporters and escaped lions and a character named Boo Boo the Illustrious Clown," and praises Kelly's "elegant... cartooning + dialogue driven style". 

• Reviewer: At Comic Book Galaxy, guest reviewer Blake Bell looks at the Golden Age Marvel Omnibus Vol. 1

• Smurf: The Comics Reporter's Tom Spurgeon comments on Adam Grano's Smurf plea

There's a two-page spread of wallpaper designs in the forthcoming 6th issue of Michael Kupperman's Tales Designed to Thrizzle and what kind of fun would we be if we didn't offer up a couple for your computer desktop? No kind, that's what. And they're one size fits all! If you're on a PC, right-click the image and select "Set As Background"; if you're on a Mac, control+click and select "Set As Desktop Background." Set your background to tile or repeat and voila, the pattern on your screen!

"Here's Looking at You, Kid":

"Disco Veggies":

We also thought it might be fun to take a couple of the fake ads from the issue and turn them into banner ads for the web. Put them on your website and baffle your readers! (And link them to http://www.fantagraphics.com/thrizzle6 if you don't mind.)

Tales Designed to Thrizzle #6
by Michael Kupperman

32-page full-color 6.75" x 9.5" comic book • $4.95
ISBN: 978-1-60699-422-1

Ships in: June 2010 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now

Now in FULL COLOR! This issue includes Jungle Princess battling rhino traders, a story of Broadway theatrics in “All About Drainage,” more of America’s favorite physicist/writer duo, Twain & Einstein, plus slightly cursed merchandise, Cockney grave robbers, and Cowboy Oscar Wilde.

Download an EXCLUSIVE 4-page PDF excerpt (4.7 MB) starring Jungle Princess!

Photo Slideshow Preview (view in new window):

Bonus Savings: Order the Thoroughly Thrizzled Pack containing Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 1 (collecting issues 1-4 in a deluxe hardcover) plus issues 5 and 6 all together for a discounted price of $27.49 (a savings of about 7 bucks)! Order now and we'll ship you all 3 items when issue 6 arrives in our warehouse.