Via the Forbidden Planet International blog comes word that Swiss artist Thomas Ott will be honored in his home country with an exhibit dedicated to his most recent book, The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8, as part of the BD-FIL festival, taking place September 12-14 in Lausanne. Here's more info in French, and Google-translated into English.

There are gems to be found in this I Can Has Comics interview with Johnny Ryan. 

"I've been doing comics for all of these other countries, for all the other Vice magazines. I think it started when there was a Vice France and they asked me to do a comic that totally insulted the French people, so I did a page of gags that were insulting to the French. All of a sudden it started this avalanche of all these other countries being like, 'Oh, do us!' So I had to do one for Italy. I had to do one for Spain. Then I had Germany on the line, and they were like, 'Ah, forget it.' That would've been like the easiest one to hammer out." 

Every day in July we're spotlighting books from our month-long Hidden Gems Sale, wherein we're featuring some of our under-the-radar backlist titles and encouraging you to try them by offering them at a nice discount of 25% off!

Today's installment features a title by Bob Fingerman which, again, didn't exactly escape notice when it was released, having been heaped with praise by the likes of Augusten Burroughs, Margaret Cho, Penn Jillette, Entertainment Weekly and many others... but it's been a while, so we're thrusting it back into the spotlight:

Beg the Question

Bob Fingerman's Beg the Question tells the story of Rob and Sylvia, two twenty-somethings navigating the labyrinth of New York City life. Imagine a cross between Seinfeld and Caligula, set in Manhattan, and you'll have an idea of Fingerman's caustic wit. Beg the Question follows Rob & Sylvia's relationship through all of its ups-and-downs, from courtship to marriage, rentals to real estate salesmen, public sex to unwanted pregnancies, and everything in between. Performance art, extended families, the comic book industry and Screw magazine are just a few of the other topics subjected to Fingerman's satirical microscope. Fingerman's mid-1990s comic book series Minimum Wage was a breakthrough success, and this marks the first collection of the entire run, completely retouched, with added gray tones that give the art a much fuller, richer look, plus almost 40 pages of never-before-published material. Find out why Beg the Question is one of the most critically acclaimed graphic novels we've ever published!

240-page black & white 6" x 9" softcover
regularly $16.95 • ON SALE $12.71
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Visit Paul Hornschemeier's blog to learn the story behind this lemur poet illustration and find out which famous author resembles which beloved Fantagraphics staff member.

We are pleased to present this animated video trailer created by artist Dash Shaw for his graphic novel Bottomless Belly Button. He sent it to us last week and our jaws have been on the floor ever since. Watch the streaming video above; you can also download the original, higher-res Quicktime file (68.5 MB). Note that the video is silent, so there is no need to adjust your audio settings. If you wish to link to this video, please direct your link to this permanent archive page.

We let Steven Weissman have a day off from the "Chocolate Cheeks" grind last Friday but he put his nose back to the grindstone and turned it in yesterday. In this week's strip: a quest to the frozen aisle! (Remember, you must be registered and logged in to read.)

Every day in July we're spotlighting books from our month-long Hidden Gems Sale, wherein we're featuring some of our under-the-radar backlist titles and encouraging you to try them by offering them at a nice discount of 25% off!

Today's installment features another debut from a Xeric Grant winner, Alex Fellows:

Canvas

80-page black & white 7.5" x 9" softcover
regularly $9.95 • ON SALE $7.46
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Let me tell you something: babies and blogging don't mix. Guess which takes a backseat? But I'll be getting back on track here soon. In the meantime, here's a special July 4th weekend treat for you, an original, unpublished comic strip by Chris Ware. I am not worthy. 

Every day in July we're spotlighting books from our month-long Hidden Gems Sale, wherein we're featuring some of our under-the-radar backlist titles and encouraging you to try them by offering them at a nice discount of 25% off!

Today's installment features a recent book from South African cartoonist Joe Daly which didn't quite escape notice, having garnered a 2007 Eisner Award nomination for "Best Graphic Album - New," but we're turning the spotlight on it again anyway:

Scrublands

128-page color/b&w 8.5" x 11" softcover
regularly $16.95 • ON SALE $12.71
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