Ninja Turtles creator Kevin Eastman hasn't responded to my emails (I don't blame him -- it probably ended up in his junk mail like everything from Fantagraphics) so I'm left with one open space in the upcoming anthology that is the modern bestiary, Beasts! Book Two. I would like to offer that space to whomever would like to submit work for it.

All submissions must be received by March 1st at which point my Fanta colleagues and I will review the pieces and determine one piece to appear alongside the likes of Jaime Hernandez, Kim Deitch, Peter Bagge, Ellen Forney, Craig Thompson, Tomer Hanuka, Brian Chippendale, Al Columbia, and 81 other amazing artists that I cannot list here.

Note that I am not looking for traditional fantasy artists. The purpose of this book is to give the beasts back to the people. Dragons flying through purple skies have many other books to appear in. I want these symbols to have meaning again.

The rules: You must depict a mythological/folkloric creature that has been "witnessed" in some capacity in some culture at some point in history. No gods/goddesses or creatures of fiction. I am also looking for creatures that have not been depicted already in the Beasts! series. I will have a list of those in the comments section as soon as I can. Bonus points for creatures from recent times (such as the chupacabras, Beast of Bray Road, sasquatch, Loch Ness monster -- but not those because they've been depicted by other contributing artists). THE FORMAT IS 8" SQUARE.

Hobbits are not beasts.

If any artists currently listed as contributors fail to deliver a piece I may choose more than one submission to run in Beasts! Book Two.

I strongly encourage unpublished artists (and Peter Laird) to submit work.

Direct a jpg of your piece to fbicomix *at fantagraphicsdot com by MARCH 1st. Contributions may be displayed here or on the Beasts blog unless you tell me not to.

Lastly, I hope that any artists I haven't asked to contribute understand that this isn't a reflection on their work or in what orifice I may have my head: It's stressful choosing a diverse group of 90 artists that have time for this project and there are many folks I wanted to ask but didn't get to.

Also note that this will probably be the last Beasts volume because they are quite exhausting. (Art up top is by Femke Hiemstra, for Beasts2. See more art at the Beasts blog.)

Thanks to everyone! 

RADIO SCIENCE FUNNIES, INC.
Comic book inspired art by
Ryan Heshka
At
Secret Headquarters
Friday February 1st, 2008

Kevin Church has some suggestions for us to help Jason's books sell better in the Direct Market. (Also seen on ¡Journalista!)

Over at the Stranger's website, our own Ellen Forney has teamed up with the Stranger's Kelly O to talk about the R. Crumb show that just opened at the Frye Museum here in Seattle. I haven't had a chance to listen yet, but I will be listening and so should you. 

I could go on and on about how great the Crumb exhibition is, but simply put, it might be the greatest comic art exhibition I've ever seen and if you like comics enough to read this blog and are anywhere near Seattle, you're out of your mind if you don't make a special trip to the Frye in the next two months.  

And speaking of Forney, we have this to look forward to next Saturday, Feb. 9:

Visiting our office earlier today:

"Seeing that exhibit silenced a gong that's been ringing in my head for 45 years." 

Important news for our overseas customers: since the U.S. Postal Service no longer offers Surface Mail to international addresses, we can no longer offer this service to our customers. We looked far and wide to find the most affordable alternative, and effective immediately, our standard shipping option for most orders to addresses outside North America will be Global Mail, a service of DHL. Delivery times for this service are in the 2-3 week range. (The smallest and largest orders will be sent Air Mail.)

We have also reconfigured our international Air Mail shipping charges, and we're happy to say that in some cases they are lower than before!

See our Shipping Charges & Information page for all the new charges.

For 20/20 Club members, this unfortunately means that we can no longer offer free shipping outside the U.S. However, we still want to be able to offer you a good deal on shipping, so effective immediately we will be offering 50% OFF our regular international rates for 20/20 Club members. We've crunched the numbers and by offering 50% off the regular rates we are able to provide you with roughly the same amount of savings as you would get with free Surface Mail shipping, with the advantage that you'll receive your order much sooner!

Castle Waiting Vol. II #10
By Linda Medley

This issue: Jain, Tolly and Simon get some unexpected help when they find an unpleasant surprise in the Castle's hidden passageways, while the other castle folk learn how not to construct a doorway.

24-page black & white comic book $3.95
Order Now!

Jim Blanchard is offering this new, limited edition giclée print of Redd Foxx, over at his website. Only 12 printed -- at $36, it's a steal.