Found on Flickr, from user Jessie Johnson. Taken at Comic Relief in Berkeley.

Attention lovers of prose literature: we've put the entire first chapter (along with the indicia and Table of Contents) of Alexander Theroux's novel Laura Warholic or, The Sexual Intellectual online as a FREE download (PDF format, 260KB).

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who entered our Scavenger Hunt contest! We only had one incorrect answer (and one that our judges are still looking into) out of 18 entries. Our randomly-selected Grand Prize 50%-off coupon winner is Michael Pang of Phoenix, Arizona. We've notified all the winners, so if you entered, check your inbox!

For the record, here are the questions and the answers we were looking for:

1. What is the name of the mermaid character in Dame Darcy's Meat Cake?
   Effluvia
   
2. Buddy Bradley's pal Stinky was the lead singer of what band?
   Leonard and the Love Gods
   
3. What artists make guest appearances in Robert Crumb's Self-Loathing Comics #2?
   Charles Burns, Art Spiegelman, Pete Poplaski (a lot of folks missed Pete, but we let them slide)
   
4. The cover of Zero Zero #10 is a parody of what famous magazine?
   Rolling Stone
   
5. What animal did Jim Woodring's grandfather invent a trap for?
   Gopher
   
6. What famous actor provided lead voices in the "Terr'ble Thompson" musical?
   Art Carney
   
7. What does the acronym GASH stand for?
   Ghoul Appreciation Society Headquarters
   
8. Who is the Italian co-publisher of the Ignatz Series?
   Coconino Press
   
9. In which volume of The Complete Peanuts does Frieda make her first appearance?
   Vol. 6 (1961-1962)
   
10. What day is Popeye creator E.C. Segar's birthday? (Hint: try the blog for this one.)
    December 8

We're still brainstorming what our next contest might be... stay tuned!

Friday means a new installment of Steven Weissman's "Chocolate Cheeks!" This week's strip emphasizes the importance of grooming... and say, I haven't seen those cyclops twins before! (Remember, you must be registered and logged in to read.)

Daniel Clowes's "Modern Cartoonist" essay caused quite a stir when it originally appeared as a bound-in booklet accompanying Eightball #18 in 1997; now we have archived it for your reading pleasure here on the Fantagraphics.com website.

Forget to get your sweetie a Valentine? Head on over to Steven Weissman's blog for a printable card. Problem solved! 

The Friends of the Nib present a Valentine-themed art show for an evening of canoodling, carousing and commerce at Seattle's Cafe Racer on Valentine's evening (hey, that's today) from 6 to 10 PM. Mr. Woodring provides the enticement and details.

This week's free preview is a downloadable 12-page excerpt (including the gorgeous covers and endpapers) of Hall of Best Knowledge, the innovative new book from Ray Fenwick which is scheduled to arrive in April. These previews are exclusive to registered Fantagraphics.com users, so sign up and/or sign in to view.

(As a reminder, 20/20 Club members receive these previews two weeks before we post them on the website, just one of many great reasons to join up...) 

Irwin Chusid, editor of our Jim Flora books, writes:

Jim Flora Art LLC has produced a limited-edition, archival-quality fine art print of a 1954 Jim Flora hand-tinted woodcut entitled Manhattan.

The cityscape depicts New York in its 1950s glory, including a number of gotham landmarks such as the Empire State Building, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Madison Square Garden, the Statue of Liberty, famous theaters and legendary musical bistros, Washington Square arch, subways, taxis, horse-drawn carriages and tourists.

Only twenty-five (25) prints of Manhattan were produced for this edition. We are offering five (5) prints (#21/25 through #25/25) now on eBay. After these five prints are sold at the asking price, prices will increase for the rest of the edition.

In the time it's taken me to write this, 4 of the 5 have sold. Yipes! 

For those of more modest means, Jim Flora notecard sets (and other snazzy goods from artists like Meomi, Matthew Porter, Mark Burrier and many others) can be purchased from copacetique.com (note: big fat conflict of interest/nepotism alert).