Don’t miss Free Comic Book Day at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle. On Saturday, May 5, the Georgetown shop will be giving away free copies of specially produced comic books by master cartoonists like Carl Barks, Crockett Johnson and, while supplies last, the coveted Unseen Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.

Celebrating its 10th year in 2012, the annual Free Comic Book Day promotion is a national effort on the part of publishers and retailers to attract new readers to the medium as well as show appreciation to loyal customers.

Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books offers two new titles for Free Comic Book Day this year, appealing to readers of all ages. Donald Duck Family Comics features 34 pages of full color comics by the great Carl Barks. Join Donald, his nephews, Uncle Scrooge and others on amazing adventures in some of the most acclaimed comics ever created. Also in store is Barnaby and Mr. O’Malley by Crockett Johnson. This rollicking strip follows the tyke Barnaby and his mischievous fairy godfather Mr. O’Malley. These wonderful cartoons will soon be collected in a handsome edition by Fantagraphics Books.

The first 50 customers at Fantagraphics Bookstore on May 5 will receive a free copy of Unseen Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. This delightful edition serves as both an introduction to the classic strip and a treasury of fascinating oddities designed to appeal to even the most fervent Peanuts fans. First issued by Fantagraphics Books for Free Comic Book Day five years ago, Unseen Peanuts became an instant collectible.

Fantagraphics Bookstore is located at 1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.) in the heart of Seattle’s historic Georgetown arts community. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206.658.0110.

Squa Tront #13
edited by John Benson

48-page black & white/color 8.5" x 11" softcover • $9.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-571-6

Ships in: May 2012 (subject to change) – This item will be available to order simultaneous with its release to comic shops.

Five years in the making and meticulously edited by John Benson, Squa Tront returns with a profusion of rare and interesting features from the EC era: the story behind Basil Wolverton’s first EC art; Howard Nostrand’s last interview; art from the unpublished third issue of Flip; Jack Davis’s WWII cartoons; plus EC era art by Wallace Wood, John and Marie Severin, Harvey Kurtzman, and Roy Krenkel. The longest running EC historical magazine and a perfect companion to Fantagraphics’ new series of EC reprints.

Download and read a 6-page PDF excerpt (1.7 MB) including the Table of Contents.

Video & Photo Slideshow Preview (view in new window):

This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new titles. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators and web-savvy comic shops are saying about them (more to be added as they appear), check out our previews at the links, and contact your local shop to confirm availability.

Cruisin' with the Hound: The Life and Times of Fred Tooté
by Spain Rodriguez

136-page black & white 7.5" x 10.25" softcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-461-0

"...[T]here are a lot of good books out this week, mostly from Fantagraphics. My first pick would be Cruisin’ with the Hound, a collection of autobiographical strips by the great Spain Rodriguez centering mostly on his misspent teen and young adult years. A lot of this stuff was serialized in Blab! years ago and it’s all killer material." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"Cruisin' with the Hound now in stock. A collection of my favorite comics by Spain (or anyone for that matter)." – Jason Leivian, Floating World

Any Similarity to Persons Living or Dead Is Purely Coincidental [New Edition]
by Drew Friedman & Josh Alan Friedman

88-page black & white 9.25" x 12.25" hardcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-521-1

"There’s also the rerelease of Any Similarity to Persons Living or Dead is Purely Coincidental, Drew Friedman’s very first collection of scabrous caricatures, first released way back in the heady days of the early 1980s. Ah, good times …" – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"One of the foundational books of any arts/alt comics library, and a fine printing endorsed as such by the creator. If there's a funnier five minutes to be had than reading that Andy Griffith story, please tell me about it." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

Folly: The Consequences of Indiscretion
by Hans Rickheit

144-page black & white/color 7" x 10" softcover • $18.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-509-9

"There’s also Folly: Consequences of Indescretion, a collection of short pieces by Hans Rickheit, author of The Squirrel Machine." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"If you go to the comics shop to buy work from voices with which you're not entirely familiar -- and you are a fine person if this is your primary reason for heading into comics shops -- I can't imagine a better buy for more people than a Hans Rickheit book." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

"Rickheit is one of the finest and most interesting illustrators putting ink to paper today. This book collects his early, self-published books." – Benn Ray (Atomic Books), Largehearted Boy

Popeye Vol. 6: "Me Li'l Swee'Pea"
by E.C. Segar

188-page black & white/color 10.5" x 14.75" hardcover • $29.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-483-2

"If I were splurging, I’d pick... the sixth and final Popeye volume from Fantagraphics. Let’s face it, there’s only one place to go to get pure, wonderful, unadulterated Popeye, and that’s from its creator, E.C. Segar. I’ve made no secret about my pure and utterly devout love for Segar’s strip and that love continues into this final volume, where Segar tragically died all too soon from leukemia. ...[I]f you’re really, seriously interested in wanting to delve into Popeye, this is where you go." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"Finally, my Nerd OCD prevents me from starting with volume 6, but Chris M has convinced me that I should check out Segar’s Popeye stuff. It’s out of bounds for this list, but if I had some extra money, I’d grab the first volume of that collection." – Michael May, Robot 6

"The final year-or-so worth of E.C. Segar's run on 'Thimble Theatre' is collected in another big, punchy hardcover, wrapping up the Fantagraphics reprint series."  – Douglas Wolk, ComicsAlliance

"One of the great strips, and an archival project that's kind of been forgotten a bit. These are magnificent comics, and I read them in a semi-swoon." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

"CONFLICT OF INTEREST RESERVOIR: There are a lot of pretty huge Fantagraphics releases this week, including some original sailor man stuff via Popeye Vol. 6 (of 6): Me Li’l Swee’Pea, the final hardcover compilation of Segar’s content; $29.99. Then there’s Folly: The Consequences of Indiscretion, a 144-page selection of short stories by Hans Rickheit from the pages of Kramers Ergot, various minicomics and other places; $18.99. Then there’s Cruisin’ with the Hound: The Life and Times of Fred Toote, a 136-page collection of ’50s period tales by Spain Rodriguez, seen in Blab! and elsewhere; $19.99. AND THEN there’s a new edition of the 1985 Drew & Josh Alan Friedman collection Any Similarity to Persons Living or Dead Is Purely Coincidental, a prime volume in many home libraries; $19.99." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

To celebrate the re-release of Any Similarity to Persons Living or Dead Is Purely Coincidental, Josh Alan Friedman presents a behind-the-scenes look at one of the strips from the book, discussing his creative process with his brother Drew, with rare art not included in the book, seldom-seen photos and his full typewritten script for the strip.

You can read the article two ways: in an embedded magazine-style layout or in a standard blog format. Either way it's a must-read slice of comics history!

We've written too many obituaries on Flog already this year. I'm saddened to contribute another. We learned this morning that Josep Maria Berenguer, founder of the legendary Spanish comics publishing house Ediciones La Cúpula , passed away last night after a battle with lung cancer. We have lost a friend here at Fantagraphics, and a colleague with whom we've had a very fruitful relationship with for over 20 years.

I first met Josep Maria Berenguer in, I believe, 1995 or 1996 on a trip to Barcelona with my good pal Peter Bagge . We were there for the Barcelona Comics Festival as guests of the Festival and La Cúpula, along with Aline Crumb and Tanino Liberatore, amongst others.

It was the first time in Spain for both Pete and I. La Cúpula had just begun publishing HATE, under the title ODIO , with savvy translations by a young editor/writer named Hernán Migoya  and lettering by a talented cartoonist, Nono Kadaver  (both of whom have become two of my best friends over the succeeding years; yet another reason to be grateful to Sr. Berenguer). We were treated like royalty and it was a trip I'll never forget. Pete and I have routinely fantasized about moving to Spain over the years since that trip.

Josep Maria was one of the most charismatic and generous hosts I've ever known. He was a natural storyteller, funny, politically incorrect, but also incredibly charming. Not in a typically macho, latin way, he was much more refined. He was an ex-hippie radical with a worldly air about him.

He clearly relished his role as a key countercultural figure in post-Franco Spain, founding the groundbreaking El Vibora  and La Cúpula in 1979 (less than four years after the end of Francoist Spain). He greatly admired the irreverence of the first wave of American underground cartoonists, especially R. Crumb and Gilbert Shelton, and published both early on, as well as Robert Williams, Spain Rodriguez, and others. Over the years he published just about every notable American cartoonist you can think of: Bagge, Clowes, Hernandez, Burns, Tomine, etc. I think it would be hard to overestimate his role in raising the prominence of underground comics in Spain. 

This decade, I was lucky if I saw Josep Maria even once every couple of years, but when I did, I relished it. In Barcelona, he took me to one of his favorite jazz clubs, and to his beautiful home that the company was named for (a kind of geodesic dome that "La Cúpula" refers to). We ate Moroccan food in Granada, Spain. We drank cheap beers at the infamous Picadilly in San Diego during Comic-Con. The last time I saw him, a couple summers ago, we had sushi together in New York City. He always had great stories, and a warmth to him that made you forget it had been a few years since you saw him last.

Rest in peace, old friend, and long live La Cúpula.

Photo: That's Josep Maria Berenguer on the far left, hosting (from left to right) Tanino Liberatore, Sra. Berenguer, Ana Forcada, myself, Aline Kominsky-Crumb and Peter Bagge at his home ("La Cúpula") in Barcelona, Spain. Photo by Christian Coudurés.

Fantagraphics is rockin' the convention scene from coast to coast this coming weekend, and you can also find us at the 9th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, Oregon! Drop by the Oregon Convention Center this Saturday, April 28th and Sunday, April 29th!

This year's special guests include the great Peter Bagge and the also-great Stan Sakai!  And we'll be bringing some of those deeply-discounted-dent-and-ding'ed copies of the Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition deluxe, slipcased two-volume hardcover set, so make our table your very first stop!

You can find us at Booth 101, right near the entrance to the lobby, panels, workshops, and registration!

And many of our fine Fantagraphics artists will be featured in panels this year! Go check 'em out!

Saturday, April 28th

2:00-2:45 pm // WILD MAN: A Confluence of Art, Science and History: T Edward Bak's natural history-oriented graphic novel-biography, WILD MAN: The Strange Journey and Fantastic Account of the Naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller was serialized from 2009-2011 in the Fantagraphics comics anthology MOME. The artist has conducted his own research throughout SE Alaska and the Aleutian archipelago, as well as St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) where he recently delivered presentations of his work for this ongoing project. Mr. Bak will relate his travel experiences, share WILD MAN artwork, relate the challenges of his process and research, and discuss his recent collaboration with writer Sarah Mirk on the Oregon History Comics project, "Voices from Celilo Falls", which further explores his interest in North Pacific natural history. (Room B111)

1:00-1:45 pm // Frank Santoro's Comic Book Layout Workshop: Frank Santoro (Cold Heat, The Comics Journal) will present a Layout Workshop for comic book makers via Skype. Borrowing lessons from his Correspondence Course, Frank will lead an informal talk and workshop which will revolve around formats available to makers in 2012 - and how comics composed for print might be translated to the web. (Room B113)

1:00-1:45 pm // Spotlight on Peter Bagge: Best known for his comic-book series Hate, which helped to define the grunge generation, and his recent contributions to Reason magazine, Peter Bagge is always willing to confront hard-hitting societal issues with intelligence, wit, and funny bone intact. Join us for a conversation with the multiple Harvey and Eagle Award-winning cartoonist, whose newest series, Reset, has just been launched in the Dark Horse Originals line. Moderated by Ryan Alexander-Tanner. (Room B114)

2:00-2:45 pm // Of Rabbits and Ronin: Spotlight on Stan Sakai: World-renowned cartoonist Stan Sakai has been writing, drawing, and even hand-lettering his beloved rabbit samurai series Usagi Yojimbo for twenty-seven years and counting. Join Sakai for a discussion of Usagi's history and future, as well as demonstrations and all-ages audience participation! Moderated by Usagi series editor, Diana Schutz. (Room B114)

Sunday, April 29th

4:00-4:45 pm // Making History: What do a Victorian robot, theology scholar, and rabbit ronin have in common? They're the stars of three very different stories in historical settings: Boilerplate: History's Mechanical Marvel; Family Man; and Usagi Yojimbo. Join their creators -- Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett, Dylan Meconis, and Stan Sakai -- for a lively discussion of history and storytelling. (Room B114)

2:00-2:45 pm // The New Underground: Frank Santoro referred to the current independent comics scene as a dawn of a new "Golden Age". There is a theory that if you go deep enough underground you hit the actual main stream. This generation is equally fluent in zines and Tumblr accounts; genre exploration and abstract art; printing process and independent distribution. Join panelists Chris Cilla, Max Clotfelter, Farel Dalrymple, Julia Gfrorer, Jack Hayden, Jason Miles, Jesse Moynihan, Emily Nilsson, Zack Soto, Angie Wang and Malachi Ward for a roundtable discussion on the future of underground comics. (Room B116)

So, come see me and Marketing Director Mike Baehr at Booth 101! I can't wait to find out what the Burgerville shake of the month is!

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Since its 1996 Olio Press inception with The Curse of Brambly Hedge, writer/artist Linda Medley’s sweetly Grimm magnum opus has sometimes appeared fitfully, and this week, Castle Waiting Vol. II #16 continues that trend. More specifically, as her publishers note in a one-page introduction, three years have passed since last the black-and-white Fantagraphics Books neofable graced comics shops. Still, those same publishers — Gary Groth and Kim Thompson, not exactly gentlemen known for lavishing praise profligately — also characterize the series as 'one of the greatest and most beautifully drawn fantasy comic books of all time,' and the verity of that characterization, even after so long a hiatus, earns Castle Waiting this column’s most heartfelt recommendation, as does the series’ gentle humor. Regarding its visuals, by way of example, a two-page view of Jain’s new quarters sparks astonishment for the impeccability of its draftsmanship; regarding its wit, meanwhile, a gentle chuckle should greet Rackham’s comment about the castle’s three handmaidens: 'They’ve been old biddies for so long, it’s hard to imagine that they were once young biddies…'" – Bryan A. Hollerbach, PLAYBACK:stl

• Preview/Plug: The Huffington Post presents a slideshow of artwork from Drew Friedman's "My Way" exhibit opening at Scott Eder Gallery in Brooklyn this Saturday

• Plug: MTV Geek's Eddie Wright recommends Nicolas Mahler's evening at the Austrian Cultural Forum in NYC this Thursday

Fantagraphics is heading over to the mighty 2012 MoCCA Fest this weekend, with so much awesomeness in store for you all! Visit us this Saturday, April 28th and Sunday, April 29th at the Lexington Avenue Armory in New York City!

First off, take a look at all the debuts we're bringing! Many of these books won't be in stores for several more months, and copies are limited, so make our table your first stop:

• Angelman: Fallen Angel by Nicolas Mahler
• Dungeon Quest 3 by Joe Daly
• The Furry Trap by Josh Simmons

 • God and Science: Return of the Ti-Girls by Jaime Hernandez
• Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture (the fancy new printing!) by Jack Davis
•  Jewish Images in the Comics by Fredrik Strömberg

• New York Mon Amour by Jacques Tardi, Benjamin Legrand & Dominique Grange
• Out of the Shadows by Mort Meskin; edited and designed by Steven Brower
• Tales Designed to Thrizzle #8 by Michael Kupperman
• Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor Old Man by Carl Barks Delayed at the printer, sorry!

We're excited to introduce another all-star cast of artists signing at our table:

Saturday, April 28th
12:00 pm-1:00 pm       Josh Simmons / Kim Deitch / Olivier Schrauwen
1:00 pm-2:30 pm         Drew Friedman
1:30 pm-3:00 pm         Nicolas Mahler
3:00 pm-4:00 pm        Michael Kupperman
3:00 pm-4:30 pm        Jason
4:30 pm-5:30 pm        Fredrik Strömberg / Hans Rickheit

Sunday, April 29th
11:30 am-12:30 pm      Fredrik Strömberg / Peter Kielland
12:30 pm-2:30 pm       Jason / Nicolas Mahler
2:30 pm-3:30 pm         Kim Deitch / Michael Kupperman
3:30 pm-4:30 pm         Hans Rickheit / Josh Simmons / Olivier Schrauwen

edit: We're sorry to report that Josh Simmons and Olivier Schrauwen won't be able to make it after all! 

Find all of this, and even more, at the Fantagraphics booth, located at our usual spot at #J1, J2, K1, K2:

And hey! Check out these panels!

Saturday, April 28th

12:15 pm // With Nicolas Mahler and Tom Gauld: Brian Heater interviews two artists; Tom Gauld of Scotland, and Nicolas Mahler of Austria. (Room B)

1:15 pm // Checklist for a New Comic: A Guide to Getting Started: In this brief seminar, Jessica Abel and Matt Madden will walk you through the many considerations you should keep in mind when you embark on a new comic of any kind. Abel and Madden will help you strategize and come up with a working plan for your next project, and will cover: creative block and coming up with ideas; choosing a format and platform that makes sense; setting goals and scheduling your time so that you can reach them; finding an audience and looking for collaborators and/or publishers. So bring some paper and be ready to take notes on your next big (or small) project! (Room B) 

2:15 pm // Klein Award Ceremony with Gary Panter: Gary Panter receives the 2012 Klein Award! (Room A)

3:15 pm // Hans Rickheit in Conversation: Brian Heater takes on Hans Rickheit -- musician, performance artist, cartoonist. (Room B)

3:15 pm // A Nordic Roundtable with Fredrik Strömberg (SE), Peter Madsen (DK), Kaisa Leka (FI), Bendik Kaltenborn (NO) and Mattias Elftorp: The comics culture of northern Europe is brimming with energy, talent and innovation, among other things visible in the new anthology Kolor Klimax from Fantagraphics. Come and meet some of the Nordic artists present at MoCCA. (Room A)

5:15 pm // Carousel with Michael Kupperman, Domitille Collardey, Shannon Wheeler, Leslie Stein, Lauren Weinstein and R. Sikoryak: Live comics brought to life by cartoonists and a team of talented voice actors. With voices by Julie Klausner, Dave Hill, Scott Adsit. (Room A)

Sunday, April 29th

2:00 pm // A Discussion with Josh Neufeld and Shannon Wheeler: These two creators interview one another about their work in comics, especially as it relates to their approaches to documenting tragedy on the Gulf Coast. (Room B) 

Like the poster above says, it's "the International comics event of the century"!

How often is it you'll find Norwegian cartoonist Jason, Austrian artist Nicolas Mahler, and Belgian cartoonist Olivier Schrauwen, all in the same room with Montreal's Matt Forsythe and Scotland's Tom Gauld? 

This Friday, April 27th is your chance! Join them all at Desert Island, starting at 8:00 PM. Get books signed, and delight in their various accents!

Desert Island is located at 540 Metropolitan in Brooklyn. And you can visit all those guys at the MoCCA fest that weekend!

Fantagraphics is thrilled to announce that the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York City will host an evening with award-winning Austrian cartoonist and animator Nicolas Mahler this Thursday, April 26th!

Join Nicolas at 6:30 PM as he chats with fellow Austrian, author and journalist JM Stim, about his work, including his brand new book Angelman, his first book to be released in English in six years!  This book will be making its worldwide debut at the event, so come by and purchase a copy for Nicolas to sign for you!

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required, so click here to hop to it! The Austrian Cultural Forum is located at 11 East 52nd Street in New York City.  You can also meet and chat with Nicolas at the Fantagraphics booth at the MoCCA Festival this coming weekend!