Colorist Hubert is working away on the next Jason book, Athos in America, a Low Moon-style hardcover of all-new short stories scheduled for release around the end of the year. Meanwhile, I'm revving up my translatin' jets. Here's a sneak peek at a particularly intriguing (we think) page from one of the stories, still virtually wet from Hubert's virtual brushes.

When the preeminent master of the comics journalism form praises your book of comics reportage, that's gotta feel pretty good. Oil and Water is coming later this year and we're thrilled to have received this advance praise from the great Joe Sacco:

"Reporter Steve Duin and cartoonist Shannon Wheeler visited Louisiana to investigate the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, and their legwork shows. By contrasting the perspectives of out-of-state do-gooders and hard-bitten locals, Duin and Wheeler tell a nuanced story that goes a long way to evoking what the catastrophe means to those who still live with it." 

Looky what I found when I was snooping around in our art department files last night! Michael Kupperman's covers for Tales Designed to Thrizzle are always eye-catching and this is the most striking one yet. Look for issue #7 in November!

At a point last month during the production process on Tony Millionaire's 500 Portraits, due this coming November, we were down to just a handful of illustrations we couldn't identify, so we sent some images to Andrew Leland at The Believer for his help identifying those that ran in the magazine. Designer Jacob Covey asked me to share this with you, saying "I believe it appropriately sums up our process." Click it to see it bigger.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "...Willie & Joe: Back Home... is superbly done. Like many Fantagraphics releases over the years, this book easily could be placed in a personal library or on a coffee table for public viewing. In many ways, it can be described best as a piece of art and something to be treasured by collectors, comic-strip enthusiasts and military buffs alike.... The strips are a stunning mix of blunt political messaging with dark, satirical humor." – Michael Taube, The Washington Times

• Review: "While manga isn’t usually known for its subtlety, Wandering Son is an exception. The panels have little in the way of background, and there is less exaggeration and slapstick than you will find in a typical manga. The story builds slowly, drawing you in to the quiet internal thoughts of the two children.... Takako’s Wandering Son works as an insight into how it feels to be transgendered, and also as a metaphor for growing up.... Wandering Son reminds us how hard it can be for anyone, whatever gender, to become who we want to be as a person." – Ashley Cook, Giant Fire Breathing Robot

• Review: "Technically, [The Pin-Up Art of Humorama] isn’t a graphic novel or trade collection, it’s a picture book – but an absolutely stunning one, collecting some of the best and most guiltily funny illustrations ever produced: a beguiling remembrance of a different time and the sexual mores of an entirely alien generation which nevertheless presents an enticing, intoxicating treat for art lovers and, I’m afraid to admit, many hearty laughs. This is work which is still utterly addictive and the book is an honest-to-gosh treasure beyond compare." – Win Wiacek, Now Read This!

Our good friends and colleagues over at Rosebud Archives have announced the forthcoming publication of Bully!, a collection of vintage political cartoons featuring Theodore Roosevelt (and not our Little Stuffed Bull pal), edited by Rick Marschall. What a great idea for a book, and it's sure to be produced with Rosebud's signature attention to quality and detail.

(Don't forget, we offer a full range of Rosebud Archives products here on our website!)

UPDATE: Rick Marschall contacted us with a correction: while Rosebud did production on the book and is selling ancilliary merchandise (prints and framed art of the book's vintage cartoons, etc.), the book is being published by Regnery History of Washington DC. See the link for more info and a sneak peek!

Here's a birthday tribute to the great Roberto Clemente, born this day in 1934, from Wilfred Santiago, creator of 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente and posted on the 21 Facebook page.

We continue our spotlight on first-time contributors to Mome 22, and I'm especially excited about today's feature on Wendy Chin! 

I love Wendy! I've actually known Wendy for ages through the online crafty community, and when she's not sewing or gluing googly-eyes on stuff, Wendy can be found collaborating on comics with her sweetheart, Josh Simmons. You may recall their current project Quackers from previous posts on the Flog! (And check out Franklin P. Quacker's blog for some rad renditions from Anders Nilsen and Jeffrey Brown!)

Wendy does lovely work on her own, as well, including this piece off her website.

And here's her collaboration with Josh for Mome 22 -- a heartwarming portrait of the friendship between... rocker Axl Rose and auteur James Cameron. Pre-order now, and be among the first to read of their adventures! And stay tuned as we introduce you to more first-time Mome artists on the FLOG!

The nominees for the 2011 Ignatz Awards were announced today and we're happy to share that our artists and publications received 5 nominations in 4 categories! We're celebrating in our usual way, by offering them to you our customers for 25% off for a limited time! Winners will be announced on Saturday, September 10 at SPX. And our nominees are...

Dungeon Quest by Joe Daly

• Outstanding Series

Special Exits by Joyce Farmer

• Outstanding Graphic Novel

"Browntown" by Jaime Hernandez, in Love and Rockets: New Stories #3

• Outstanding Story

You'll Never Know, Book 2: Collateral Damage by C. Tyler

• Outstanding Graphic Novel
• Outstanding Artist

Congratulations to all! And further kudos to Mome contributors Gabrielle Bell, Renee French, Tom Kaczynski, Joseph Lambert, and Jesse Moynihan, as well as our pal Sammy Harkham, for their respective nominations.

The Man Who Grew His Beard
by Olivier Schrauwen

112-page full-color 8.5" x 10.25" softcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-446-7

Ships in: September 2011 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now

The Man Who Grew His Beard is Belgian cartoonist Olivier Schrauwen’s first American book after having staked a reputation over the last decade as one of Europe’s most talented storytellers. It collects seven short stories, each a head-spinning display of craft and storytelling that mixes early twentieth-century comics influences like Winsor McCay with a thoroughly contemporary voice that provokes and entertains with subversively surreal humor and subtle criticism of twentieth-century tropes and images. The stories themselves, though each stands alone, are intertwined thematically, offering peeks into the minds of semi-autistic, achingly isolated men and their feverish inner worlds and how they interact and contrast with their real environment. Though Schrauwen taps "surrealist" or "absurdist" impulses in his work, you will not read a more careful and precise collection of stories this year.

The stories included are: “Hair Types,” a hilarious piece that on the surface explores the pseudoscientific classification of personality as a function of hair but becomes something more akin to a fable about self-fulfilling prophecy; “Chromo Congo,” a silent story about two men on safari who meet a corpulent and obnoxious hunter; as well as “The Task,” “The Man Who Grew His Beard,” “The Lock,” “The Cave,” and “The Imaginist.”

Though this is Schrauwen’s first U.S. edition of comics, he has wowed American fans with his appearances in the anthology MOME over the last few years, and one of his MOME stories was one of three comics selected for the 2009 edition of Dave Eggers's influential Best American Nonrequired Reading.

“I don’t know much about Olivier Schrauwen, [but I] know that he’s some sort of postmodern comics genius.” — Eisner Award-winning comics critic Tom Spurgeon

Download and read an 11-page PDF excerpt (2.6 MB) with the complete story "The Assignment."

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