The latest member of Fantagraphics fabulous marketing team, Janice Headley, came up with the winning slogan for Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery — part of a "Think Local" sustainability campaign sponsored by Seattle Good Business Network and The Stranger. The lovely Ms. Headley is joined by slightly mortified bookstore manager Larry Reid. We're not entirely certain about the association of lurid sex comix with environmental stewardship, but we're now assured that Janice will fit in perfectly with the rest of us misfits and miscreants at Fantagraphics. Welcome aboard!

The photo was shot by our Stranger friend Katie Phoenix. While researching the relationship of comix shop clerks and sex expertise — (we figured it was obvious) — Katie discovered this fascinating website. Yes, we'll certainly give Stranger sex-advice columnist Dan Savage a run for his money. So be sure to drop by Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery for expert advice on, uhm...Valentine's Day gifts for your sweetie. Yes, that's it. We've got the goods. See you all soon.

We recently got a fresh batch of signed bookplates back from Charles Burns for his classic albums Big Baby, El Borbah and Skin Deep — they're free with purchase of their respective books while supplies last! (And see here for our other books available with free signed bookplates!)

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• List: X-Ray Spex's Will Pfeifer names his Pop Culture Books of the Year for 2010:

"This is the sort of book I love more than any other. It reveals a world I never knew existed — in this case, the bizarre world of elaborate, mean-spirited, downright dangerous lodge initiations — and does so with a real affection for and appreciation of the past. [Catalog No. 439:] Burlesque Paraphernalia is... the sort of book that makes you think life might've been tougher a long time ago, but it was probably a hell of a lot more interesting, too."

"All you need to know about Destroy All Movies is that it's such a complete guide to 'punks on film' (as the subtitle promises) that not only does it include Star Trek IV because of the scene with the punk on the bus, it interviews that guy. Also, the pink-and-black-and-white design theme of the book deserves some sort of award."

• Plugs: New York magazine's Dan Kois recommends Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition & The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec Vol. 1 on his short list of "Action-Packed New Graphic Novels"

The Complete Peanuts 1979-1980 (Vol. 15)
by Charles M. Schulz

Introduction by Al Roker; designed by Seth

344-page black & white 8.5" x 7" hardcover • $28.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-438-2

Ships in: March 2011 (subject to change)
This item will be available for order on its release date. Stay tuned for updates.

Charles Schulz enters his fourth decade as the greatest cartoonist of his generation, and Peanuts remains as fresh and lively as it ever was.

(How do we know it’s 1980? Well, for one thing Peppermint Patty gets herself those Bo-Derek-in-“10” cornrows — Peanuts’ timelessness occasionally shows a crack!)

That said, The Complete Peanuts 1979-1980 includes a number of classic storylines, including the month-long sequence in which an ill Charlie Brown is hospitalized (including a particularly spooky moment when he wonders if he’s died and nobody’s told him yet), and an especially eventful trek with Snoopy, Woodstock, and the scout troop (now including a little girl bird, Harriet). And Snoopy is still trying on identities left and right, including the “world-famous surveyor,” the “world-famous census taker,” and Blackjack Snoopy, the riverboat gambler.

In other extended stories, Snoopy launches an ill-fated airline (with Lucy as the agent, Linus as the luggage handler, and Marcie as what it was still OK then to call the stewardess)… Peppermint Patty responds to being leaked upon by a ceiling by hiring a lawyer (unfortunately, she again picks Snoopy)… plus one of the great, forgotten romances of Peanuts that will startle even long-time Peanuts connoisseurs: Peppermint Patty and…“Pig-Pen”?!

Download an EXCLUSIVE 15-page PDF excerpt (651 KB) containing all the strips from January, 1979!

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

Just a reminder that registration is still open for the Seattle Graphic Artists Guild's panel discussion and portfolio review with Peter Bagge and other veteran local comics creators this  Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011. Other creators on the panel include Phil Foglio, Mike Grell, Jason Janicki, Leigh Kellogg and Michael Oeming — that's a diverse group and there is bound to be some lively and opinionated discussion! More details and advance ticket info here.

Given my job it is strange for me to suggest that you give another publisher your money. But as a comics fan I really want this awesome-sounding project to get the help it needs and I'd be crazy not to plug it: Ryan Standfest's startup Rotland Press + Comicworks is raising needed funds via Kickstarter for the printing of the new comics anthology BLACK EYE: Graphic Transmissions to Cause Ocular Hypertension and jeezum crow, look at that lineup — that's just mind-boggling:

Stéphane Blanquet (France)
Ivan Brunetti (USA- Chicago)
Lilli Carré (USA- Chicago)
Max Clotfelter (USA- Seattle)
Al Columbia (USA)
Ludovic Debeurme (France)
Olivier Deprez (France)
Nikki DeSautelle (USA- Detroit)
Brecht Evens (Belgium)
Andy Gabrysiak (USA- Detroit)
Robert Goodin (USA- Pasadena)
Dav Guedin (France)
Gnot Guedin (France)
Glenn Head (USA- New York City)
Danny Hellman (USA- New York City)
Paul Hornschemeier (USA- Chicago)
Ian Huebert (USA- San Francisco)
Kaz (USA- Los Angeles)
Michael Kupperman (USA- New York City)
Mats!? (USA- Oakland, CA)
Fanny Michaëlis (France)
James Moore (USA- New York City)
Tom Neely (USA- Los Angeles)
Mark Newgarden (USA- New York City)
Paul Nudd (USA- Chicago)
Onsmith (USA- Chicago)
Emelie Östergren (Sweden)
Paul Paetzel (Germany)
David Paleo (Argentina)
Bruno Richard (France)
Martin Rowson (United Kingdom)
Olivier Schrauwen (Belgium)
Stephen Schudlich (USA- Detroit)
Robert Sikoryak (USA- New York City)
Brecht Vandenbroucke (Belgium)
Wouter Vanhaelemeesch (Belgium)
Jon Vermilyea (USA- New York City)

And original essays by:
-Jeet Heer (Canada), on S. Clay Wilson
-Bob Levin (USA- Berkeley, CA), on The Adventures of Phoebe Zeit-Geist by Michael O’Donoghue and Frank Springer
-Ken Parille (USA- Greenville, NC), on humor in the work of Steve Ditko
-Ryan Standfest (USA- Detroit), on Al Feldstein and “sick” humor at E.C. + interview with Al Feldstein

And a text by:
Roland Topor (France), 100 Good Reasons To Kill Myself Right Now, translated into English for the first time by Edward Gauvin

Bid on this original Ray Fenwick painting and proceeds from the winning sale will benefit the non-profit Struts Gallery in Sackville, New Brunswick.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Special Exits stands out at one of 2010’s best comic books, a fitting tribute to Joyce Farmer’s parents that tackles, head on, the heartbreaking inevitable process of losing one's parents. The result is one of the most human and most affecting comics of recent memory..." – Michael C. Lorah, Newsarama

• Review: "...Usagi Yojimbo is a work of pure joy ... I’ve waited with fingers crossed for a sufficient entry point into Sakai’s ever-broadening world, and thankfully, one couldn’t ask for a more perfect red carpet than Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition. ...[F]or those waiting idly by for an excuse to dive into Usagi, this Special Edition offers up about 1,200." – Brian Heater, The Daily Cross Hatch

Are you looking for a place to live in Seattle? Have you always wanted to have Gary Groth as your landlord? Rent the apartment above our offices and literally walk all over us every day. Feel the publishing magic radiating up through the floorboards! It's 2BR, newly remodeled and, honestly, looks a heck of a lot nicer than our office, which hasn't been remodeled since the 1970s. (Seriously, you've never seen so much faux brick, wood and stone paneling in your life, and the less said about the kitchen the better.) See our Seattle Weekly classified ad for more info and send inquiries directly to penthousesuite [at] fantagraphics-dawt-com. (Please include your phone number.)

* Other People's Publications
** Yeah, You Know Me. 

If you've got a hankerin' for the finest in local independent comic books, then satisfy your appetite with one of these Combo #1's from Seattle artist collective, The Bureau of Drawers!

Each "happy meal" comes in a hand-screened take-out box, featuring artwork by Dalton Webb, and the prize inside is a countless abundance of lovingly-assembled mini-comics!  (Why "countless"? Uh... 'cause, I didn't wanna count 'em.)

Ingredients include a juicy reprint of Hotwire-contributor David Lasky's 1994 comic Portrait of Ella.  Marc Palm's psychedelic lyric-centric comic comes with a CD in the back.  Calamity Jon's An Hourly Comic is completely endearing and relatable, 'cause who doesn't dream about owning a fat bunny who likes to sit on your feet?  And for me, dessert was Nikki Burch's These Are My Jokes, which is gorgeously rendered, reminding both me and store impresario Larry Reid of the great Julie Doucet. 

And really, that's a mere taste of all the goodness you get in the Combo #1.  Why, just check out this commercial, provided by The Bureau of Drawers:

Just like the fabled McRib, the Combo #1 is limited edition, and we've only got a few of them in stock at the store. But, hey, why not pick yours up on Saturday, February 12th as the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery presents the opening of "Lovesick," an exhibition of original art, books and prints by the master chefs behind the Bureau of Drawers themselves!  You can read more about the opening on the Fantagraphics FLOG here.