We have two new releases scheduled to find their way to comic shops this week. You can check out extensive previews for each book at their respective links below so you can be an informed consumer before taking your money down to your local shop. As usual, we'll let the blogosphere do our plugging for us:

Catalog No. 439: Burlesque Paraphernalia and Side Degree Specialties and Costumes
Introduction by Charles Schneider; essay by William D. Moore; appreciation by David Copperfield

240-page black & white/color 6.5" x 9.75" softcover • $22.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-367-5

"...[A] mail-order tome of electrical cages, creepy costumes, and other casual torture devices. DeMoulin [Bros.] marketed these gadgets to men's social clubs, who were all too happy to subject new recruits to shocking see-saws and detonating flower pots." – io9

"I think Midtown’s fucking with me? Or, Fantagraphics is releasing a 240-page reproduction of a 1930 catalog from De Moulin Bros. & Co., specializing in dangerous-looking props to use in lodge initiations and such. Featuring a new appreciation by David Copperfield, in his first Fantagraphics appearance since retiring the Anton Drek pseudonym." [Ha ha ha! - Ed.] – Joe McCulloch, Comics Comics

"I can't tell if this is really cool-sounding or if that title reads like an unfortunate google translation." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

Mome Vol. 19 - Summer 2010
by various artists; edited by Eric Reynolds

128-page color/b&w 7" x 9" softcover • $14.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-349-1

"A new Gilbert Hernandez story is set for this latest edition of Fantagraphics’ house anthology, along with the start of a 'satiric psychedelic epic' from writer Shaun Partridge and artist Josh Simmons. Also: Olivier Schrauwen, Tim Lane, T. Edward Bak, more." – Joe McCulloch, Comics Comics

"The 'short pieces by regular contributors' paradigm for Fantagraphics' anthology series seems to have mostly gone out the window; instead, this volume involves Josh Simmons pushing some buttons, Olivier Schrauen doing a piece that looks like a Paper Rad/Winsor McCay mash-up, Gilbert Hernandez with one of his weird-ass Roy stories, and so on." – Douglas Wolk, Comics Alliance

"I'm a regular reader of this square-bound anthology series, but even if I wasn't I'd be picking this up for the debut of a new story by Gilbert Hernandez featuring the always awesome Roy, as well as a new 'satiric psychedelic epic' by Josh Simmons and a guy who for some strange reason wants to call himself The Partridge in the Pear Tree." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"This is a really good issue, leaning more towards Eric Reynolds' 'I edited Dirty Stories and my own comics can be terribly frightening' side than his art comics side. Some very potent, troubling short stories and some unorthodox yet beautiful-looking comics art." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

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Our pal David Lasky has posted photos of Jim Woodring and Megan Kelso (at right above) from Grandma Zapp's Rolling Thunderheart Mountain Variety Show which took place on June 15. You can see all his photos from the event here, and we created a gallery featuring Jim, Megan and Larry Reid here.

Periodic (and tardy... so busy) clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources:

• Lorenzo Mattotti World Cup illustrations posted at the Forbidden Planet International Blog

• Bob Fingerman posts a couple of concept illustrations for his in-progress prose novel The Hell of It

• Dash Shaw posts some storyboards for his in-progress animated film The Ruined Cast

• Last week's "I, Anonymous" spot by Steven Weissman; also, if you want to see the scanned version of the current Barack Hussein Obama strip, it's here; also, the greatest Little League team photo ever

• From Frank Santoro: a subway sketch, a color-matching analysis swatch thingy, and a funny collage

• Noah Van Sciver recounts helping John Porcellino move, and at Covered, takes on an Al Feldstein EC classic

• From Kevin Huizenga: psychedelic explorations with Photoshop filters and aspects of McSkulls at Fight or Run; a helpful diagram at New Construction; and Glenn Ganges roughs at his flagship The Balloonist

"When you Orcs are through fighting, you can clean up this tell, it is a pig sty and a disgrace. Do you hear me? Just look at this mess– skulls and guts everywhere. Do you act like this at home?"

• The latest prose burst from Gary Panter

• Drew Weing's Set to Sea pages 108 & 109

• Richard Sala presents 3 original pages from Mad Night (and they're for sale)

• A mystery: is this lettering the work of Jim Flora?

• Jim Blanchard paints Diana Rigg as Emma Peel

• Debbie Drechsler sketches birds and mammals

• A Kevin Nowlan spot illo for The Comics Journal, 1981 (anyone who can identify the issue number, please leave a comment)

• Mark Kalesniko's second take on the Girl in Orange Stripes

• Sergio Ponchione posts part of the "bonus track" strip he did for the book La Legge del Cane by Jake La Furia & Guè Pequeno

• It's Paul Hornschemeier's majestic weekly t-shirt design for his Forlorn Funnies Shirt Shop

• Feel better soon, Laura Park

• From Josh Simmons & co., Quacker Supreme & Tiniest Quacker

• From Renee French: fly, hair rock, doodle, dude, rock

• Sophie Crumb posts a mess of new drawings and teases her upcoming book

• Stephen DeStefano talks about his Popeye art & design work (such as the DVD illustrations above) with Jason Anders of Fulle Circle

• Page 32 of Hans Rickheit's Ectopiary; also, a "forgotten Cochlea & Eustachia drawing " that makes a dandy desktop wallpaper

• Robert Goodin presents an excerpt from "The Spiritual Crisis of Carl Jung," his story in Mome Vol. 19 (out tomorrow!)

• Tom Kaczynski's sketch and report from the Twin Cities Zinefest

• At the Rosebud Archives blog, another vintage Peanuts ad sheet

Jaime Hernandez wrestles with Love and Rockets #16 while Gilbert sinks his teeth into issue 15 circa 1986 in this, one of a handful of vintage photos recently posted by Carol Hernandez to the Love and Rockets Facebook page.

Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "...Weing produces a classic tale of the sea and self-discovery in his graphic novel debut [Set to Sea]. ... Presented almost like a Big Little Book for grownups, with one lovely panel per page in a small volume, the hero's journey in this tale isn't particularly unpredictable, but Weing's mastery of both small details (the hero's waxing and waning love affair with language) and sweeping vistas (from the glaciers to a steaming port city) gives it richness and emotion. ... Weing's E.C. Segar-influenced drawings elevates what could have been an oft-told story into a powerful fable." – Publishers Weekly

• Review: "I feel like Steve Martin’s character in the movie The Jerk where he dances for joy at the gas station loudly proclaiming to all within earshot, 'The new phone book is here! The new phone book is here!' The new Tales Designed to Thrizzle is here. The new Tales Designed to Thrizzle is here! ... In every way relevant to a distinctly warped sense of humor, this issue represents a tightening of comedic springs and sweetening of the hurled cream pies. Its funny business appears more consummately distilled, concentrated and unremitting. Every page pays off, ratcheting up the risibility with droll efficiency." – Rich Kreiner, The Comics Journal

• Review: "Werewolves of Montpellier is another perfect example of Jason's mundane absurdity. ... The artwork is, once again, so simplistic and so spot on that the only word to describe it is brilliant. ... Year after year, Jason delivers genre-defining works of art, and Werewolves of Montpellier is nothing more than the latest masterpiece from one of the medium's most profound and unique voices." – Steve Ponzo, Multiversity Comics

• Interview: Publishers Weekly's Kate Fitzsimons talks to our own Kim Thompson about bringing Jacques Tardi's The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec to English-language readers: "I wouldn't call them a cult classic, they're more like a mainstream classic. Tardi is very popular and Adele is the work that's so popular that his publisher keeps trying to get him to go back to it again and again. I'd say that in France, Adele is a well known pop culture figure in the same way the Fantastic Four is here. So cult wouldn't exactly be the word."

• Interview: Pick up the April 2010 issue (#15) of Hi-Fructose magazine for an interview with Al Columbia

• Also: Budding young artist Fiddle Tim (better known as Frances Bean Cobain) is reportedly influenced by Al Columbia according to Rock NYC

Drinky Crow + TMBG + booze = dook dook dook dook! Now available again, says Tony Millionaire. Only 10 bucks!

[Ed. note: This is the first post to be tagged in our new "merch" category, which we should have started a long time ago.]

Fantagraphics Bookstore 's neighbors Georgetown Records are hosting a free, all-ages musical performance with Terri Tarantula and Low Places on Saturday, July 17 at 5:00 PM. Terri Moeller was the voice of the Transmissionary Six from 2002-2008 and the drummer for The Walkabouts. Terri Tarantula is her new solo project.

The Stranger recently had this to say about Terri's music: "If this were the early '90s, Terri Tarantula would be in prime contention for a 4AD recording contract; she would've slotted ideally between Red House Painters and Heidi Berry. The Seattle singer-songwriter-drummer-keyboardist's deep, lugubrious voice — a sensual truce between Nico's stark, intimate croon and Hope Sandoval's honeyed glumness — would have connected with that British label's fan base's appetite for songs tinted darkest blue."

Opening act Low Places play acoustic guitars and sing plaintive, Americana-tinged folk songs accompanied by keyboards and dark, electronic sound textures.

Drop in for a complimentary cold beverage, some cool music, and see the hot new work from Dame Darcy at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery.

I realize I let Harvey the Celebrity overshadow Harvey the Writer for much of the last decade of his life.

At the start of the 1990s, Harvey Pekar was near the top of my list of comics obsessions, after maybe Dan Clowes, Chester Brown and Charles Burns. During high school in the 1980s, I slowly became aware of non-mainstream comics, and American Splendor was a revelation, a different way that one could speak through comics (you mean, Swamp Thing isn't as good as it gets?!). It was one of a few comics (Yummy Fur was the other earth-quaking force, followed within a year or so by Eightball) that really rekindled my interest in the medium when other adolescent concerns could have pushed me away, in which case I would likely be a crappy journalist, probably covering the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the High Desert League or something like that.

When I was in high school in the late-1980s, I dutifully recorded Pekar's Letterman appearances on my parents' VCR because I couldn't stay up late enough to watch them 'live', and would rush home to watch them after school the next day (insanely enough, I'm pretty sure I would learn about these appearances via the then-weekly newspaper, Comics Buyer's Guide). Pekar never disappointed on Letterman, he was like Toto ripping the curtain down on the Wizard of Television. He was punk rock.

To my increasingly cynical yet culture-starved mind, Pekar was as formative an influence as Burroughs, Bukowski, Salinger, the Velvet Underground or the Pixies have been to so many impressionable young men. He was infinitely sensible in the way he questioned and poked and called bullshit on the people and world around him. His attitude was justified. Once discovered, I quickly snatched up all the Splendors I could find by driving around to all the comic book shops in greater Orange County, CA. I can't remember the first issue I bought new but still have my complete set of the original magazine-sized series, even though I've collected the material in book form numerous times over.

Pekar made me appreciate R. Crumb. Up to that point, I'd found Crumb's work a bit impenetrable -- all I'd really seen was a few random ZAPs and miscellaneous undergrounds, and I found them way too hippy. I would learn. But in American Splendor, Crumb's work stood out for its craft, its clarity, it's passion, and the way he really made Pekar's voice SING. His style embodied Pekar's voice almost as well as his own. He turned Pekar's scripts into pure comics, into something that would have been inferior in any other medium. I'm not sure you can say that about most of Pekar's collaborations. It's no newsflash to say that none of Pekar's collaborators were as good as Crumb, but worth pointing out that almost as few were as good as Pekar. It must have been tough finding cartoonists who could keep up with him.

Despite what Crumb clearly brought to the table, the fact is that it took Pekar's writing to connect with me first, not the other way around, and I'm grateful for it. I think there are some jokes made in the Splendor film at Harvey's expense about how Crumb subverted his scripts, like in "American Splendor Assaults the Media" where he depicts Harvey as a semi-crazed, middle-aged shut-in ranting at the reader, panel after panel. But I think what makes all of their collaborations work so well is the fact that Crumb is as sympathetic a collaborator as Pekar ever had. It's not just the fact that Crumb draws better than everybody else, he knew what to draw. Just as Pekar knew what to write. Take any Mr. Boats strip. Their mutual understanding of each other helped me appreciate each as artists and voices and intertwines them in my memory; since I now think of Crumb as the greatest artist in the world, that's a big thing for me.

At a Comic-Con in 1991, two years before I started working at Fantagraphics, there was a special performance of a stage production of American Splendor that included a signing with Harvey and the cast (which was headlined by a then not-so-famous Dan Castellaneta, now best known as Homer Simpson). I made a point to get there early, and when I got to the front of the line to get autographs, for sale was a limited-edition Doubleday collection of the series that included a signed plate by Harvey and the entire cast. I bought the first copy, it was #2 of 50. The remaining 50 were gone in minutes. Score!

Around the same time, I had begun to submit samples to anthologies like Duplex Planet and Real Stuff. I dreamed of drawing a comic for Pekar. One day while re-reading an issue of Splendor I paused on a panel of somebody calling Harvey on the phone, looking at a note that had his number written on it. I thought, "no way" - there was no way it could actually be Harvey's real home phone number, but I was compelled to dial it, anyway. A woman I soon realized was Harvey's wife Joyce answered, and asked who I was and why I was calling. I couldn't believe it, but explained truthfully, it was kind of a lark but I really was a huge fan and would love to send Harvey some of my own comics.

She then told me that Harvey had recently been diagnosed with cancer and was very ill. My heart sunk - could I be a bigger asshole? But Joyce was very kind to not tell me to fuck off and suggested that even though Harvey couldn't talk on the phone, he really enjoyed hearing from his fans via letters and, especially, audio recordings. Within a few days I'd recorded Harvey a "letter" onto audiocassette - something I think I've otherwise only ever done in the throes of teenage romance - and sent him a package. I have absolutely no recollection of what I said. It took awhile for a very kind but semi-formal reply, but that was perfectly understandable, given his soon-to-be public bout with lymphatic cancer.

All of this is to say that, funnily enough, I never did get to know Harvey, and somewhere along the way I stopped minding. Oh, I met him a few times in later years, and talked to him on the phone a few times, but it was always discouraging. I knew him well enough through his comics. The few times I talked to him he was either too concerned with complaining about something Fantagraphics-related once he realized what I did for a living, or was simply dismissive. I never mentioned that I was that kid who sent that tape way back when; I can only imagine the volume of "get well soons" he received during those years. I am content knowing that I got chewed out on the phone by him once or twice in my capacity as editor for The Complete Crumb series, because he saw that series as actively diluting his own books and was pretty unhappy about them being included there. Yes, he was cranky. But it was still pretty cool.

As the years passed, after Our Cancer Year, I mostly lost touch with his work save for specific collaborators that I thought really understood how to tell Harvey's stories, like Joe Sacco or David Collier. As he began publishing with Dark Horse and Vertigo (?!?!), things became a bit too slick for comfort, and the collaborations felt less meaningful to me. It felt too much like "American Splendor" was trying to become a brand. Edited by Vertigo. I never held it against him, he was trying to make a buck and lord knows that isn't easy in this racket. The film opened up opportunities for him that are not easy to pass up. As a parent, especially, I can relate. But I wasn't crazy about the film, either, and all of these things led me to take the ubiquitousness of Pekar's celebrity and myriad new projects for granted, and overshadow the big presence he'd once been in my life, pre-celebrity. I honestly wish I had paid attention more now, because it took his passing yesterday to remind me of all of this. R.I.P., Harvey Pekar. The streets of Cleveland are for the worse. And thank you, Joyce, for taking my call. 

Time to re-read those back issues. 

Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "After hearing his name lauded for many years, Werewolves of Montpellier was my first excursion into the world of Jason, the renowned Norwegian-born artist known for mixing whimsical anthropomorphic characters with introspective and often quite heavy storylines. Now I understand what my friends have been raving about for years. Jason’s artwork is sparse and the story is a masterpiece in simplicity. ... At times heartbreakingly sad and laugh-out-loud funny, this story just feels like real life... but with werewolves. ... These characters are hopeless, hilarious, tragic and beautiful – probably a lot like you and your friends." – Chad Derdowski, Mania

• Review: "Norwegian cartoonist Jason's latest work [Werewolves of Montpellier] is an absolute gem, funny, sparse and poignant. A tale of a thief, his complicated love life, urban living and werewolves, this is a unique and entertaining work." – Ian Mayor

• Reviewer: Jason shares his thoughts on Bob le Flambeur

• Semi-review: "A bound galley of Moto Hagio's A Drunken Dream and Other Stories arrived in yesterday's mail, and I'm halfway through it already. Hagio's art in some of these stories is absolutely beautiful to look at... I'm sure the finished book will be beautiful and expensive, but I sort of hope some girls find these stories as well, and get the same thrill I did." – Bridgid Alverson, Robot 6

• Interview: Lan D. Ho! has the world's shortest interview with Michael Kupperman

• Plug: PowellsBooks.Blog plugs Dame Darcy's Meat Cake

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS AT COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL

OUR PLEDGE TO YOU: ALL COMICS, ALL THE TIME!

Your guide to signings, panels, new books, freebies, sales and more!

JULY 13, SEATTLE, WA -- Comic-Con is upon us, and it is time to spill the beans on some major news. Fantagraphics Books is excited to announce that at this year's show we will have no celebrity tie-ins, no comic adaptations of summer blockbusters, no TV show spinoffs, no videogame companion books, and no major announcements regarding digital distribution.

We do, however, pledge to deliver more cartoonists, more classic comics collections, more original literary graphic novels, more high-quality foreign reprints of international cartooning, more graphic memoirs, more offbeat humor books, more envelope-pushing anthologies, and more and better books-about-comics and comics history than any other publisher on the floor. 

Next week, Fantagraphics Books will close up shop in Seattle and relocate for one week to San Diego, CA for the 2010 Comic-Con International (to booth #1718, to be exact). With over 20 authors signing throughout the weekend - including the first-ever U.S. appearance by MOTO HAGIO, founder of Shojo Manga, as well as American comix legends CAROL TYLER, PETER BAGGE, TONY MILLIONAIRE ,THE HERNANDEZ BROTHERS and many others - as well as over a dozen new books debuting at the show, the weekend promises to be an exciting one for fans of comic books and graphic novels. Here is your guide to Fantagraphics Books' signings, book debuts, panels and much more!

AUTHOR APPEARANCES AND RELATED PANELS (see below to download printout):

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

10:00 - 11:00: Mike Vosburg & Mitch Schauer
11:00 - 12:00: Ben Schwartz, Blake Bell and Andrei Molotiu
12:00 - 1:00: Tim Hensley & Carol Tyler
1:00 - 3:00: Peter Bagge, Dame Darcy and Tony Millionaire
3:00 - 5:00: Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez
5:00 - 7:00: Moto Hagio & Stephen DeStefano

12:00PM: Spotlight on Peter Bagge, moderated by Jason Miles (Rm. 3)
1:30PM: Comics Criticism panel with Ben Schwartz & co. (Rm. 4)
1:45PM: Cartoon Network panel with Stephen DeStefano & Co.
3:00PM: Comics Reprint Revolution with Gary Groth (Rm. 8)

3:30PM: International Graphic Novels panel with Moto Hagio (Rm. 4) 

5:30PM: Bill Everett: From Sub-Mariner to Daredevil, with Blake Bell and Wendy Everett (Rm. 9) 

Sunday:

10:00 - 12:00: Stephen DeStefano & Peter Bagge
12:00 - 1:00: Ted Stearn & Andrei Molotiu
1:00 - 2:00: Moto Hagio & Carol Tyler
2:00 - 4:00: Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez

12:30PM: The Funny Stuff: Humor in Graphic Novels with Peter Bagge (Rm. 8)

NEW FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS DEBUTING AT COMIC-CON:

For more art and information regarding any of the below titles, click the title link.  

 LUCKY IN LOVE BOOK ONE by George Chieffet and Stephen DeStefano • This debut graphic memoir of one man's experiences in love and WWII is gorgeously drawn by fan favorite Stefan DeStefano, who will be signing copies on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  

 THE COMPLETE PEANUTS 1977 to 1978 (Vol. 14) by Charles M. Schulz • Our 14th (!) volume, featuring an introduction by Alex Baldwin! Jeannie Schulz, widow of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz and President of the Schulz Museum, will be onhand Thursday to sign copies. 

 THE COMPLETE PEANUTS 1975-1978 Boxed Set by Charles M. Schulz • Collecting the 13th and 14th volumes, this gift box set won't be in stores until October! Jeannie Schulz, widow of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz and President of the Schulz Museum, will be onhand Thursday to sign copies. 

 A DRUNKEN DREAM AND OTHER STORIES by Moto Hagio • Our long-awaited foray into the world of Manga, collecting the best work from legendary artist Moto Hagio's 30 year-plus career. Ms. Hagio will be an International Guest of Honor at this year's convention, making her first-ever trip to the States and signing all four days of the show. 

 FROM SHADOW TO LIGHT: THE LIFE & ART OF MORT MESKIN by Steven Brower • A coffee-table retrospective and critical appreciation of the great golden age cartoonist and illustrator, Mort Meskin.

 FIRE AND WATER: BILL EVERETT, THE SUB-MARINER AND THE BIRTH OF MARVEL COMICS by Blake Bell • Part-biography of Sub-Mariner creator Bill Everett, part history of the early days of Marvel Comics, and part gorgeous art book, from acclaimed historian and critic Blake Bell, who will be signing copies on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. On Friday, Bell will be joined by Wendy Everett, daughter of Bill Everett, to answer questions and share anecdotes about her father.

 TOO SOON? by Drew Friedman • Featuring an introduction by Jimmy Kimmel, this gorgeous coffee-table book features over 15 years of Freidman's skewering commercial art. 

 YOU'LL NEVER KNOW BOOK TWO: COLLATERAL DAMAGE by C. Tyler • The second book in Tyler's critically-acclaimed graphic memoir focusing on her father's experiences in WWII and how his experiences affected her family after the war. Tyler is a special guest of Comic-Con's, appearing all four days and participating in an author spoitlight with Gary Groth on Friday at noon. 

 THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADÉLE BLANC-SEC VOL. 1 by Jacques Tardi • The book that inspired Luc Besson's 2010 film adaptation is available in English for the first time!

 LOVE & ROCKETS NEW STORIES #3 by Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez • Another Comic-Con, another new Love & Rockets, and another weekend-long appearance from Fantagraphics' most towering creators, the great Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez. This issue will not disappoint, we promise you. 

 PRISON PIT 2 by Johnny Ryan • Last year's most talked-about book at Comic-Con is back with the eagerly-anticipated second volume, and Johnny Ryan will be as well to sign your copies and answer questions about his mental health.

  RIP, M.D. by Mitch Schauer & Mike Vosburg • This all-ages graphic novel by comics veteran Mike Vosburg and animation heavyweight Mitch Schauer will delight parents and children, and the creators will be on hand Saturday morning (natch) to sign copies. 

 NORMAN PETTINGILL: BACKWOODS HUMORIST by Norman Pettingill • Sporting an introduction by R. Crumb, this deranged art book will surely appeal to fans of outsider art, and although Mr. Pettingill is no longer with us, co-editors Gary Groth and Johnny Ryan will be happy to sign copies and tell you all about this unique visionary. 

And, our four new releases in the Ignatz imprint from Fantagraphics Books: 

 NIGER 3 by Leila Marzocchi 

 SAMMY THE MOUSE 3 by Zak Sally

 INTERIORAE 4 by Gabriella Giandelli

 GROTESQUE 4 by Sergio Ponchione

In addition to these exciting author events and new releases, there will be several other surprises for visitors, as well.  We've put together a number of unique sales for the show that you'll have to come by to check out, and we've also raided our warehouse and gathered as many cool items as we could find to stuff into bags for everyone who makes a purchase at the booth, from rare postcard sets by Peter Bagge, long unavailable buttons featuring classic Fanta characters, free comic books, posters, and much more. We've put together about 500 of these goodie bags that will be available with every purchase, while supplies last. 

We look forward to seeing you all there!

UPDATE: Here's a handy-dandy guide to our author apprearances and panels which you can download (PDF format), print out and bring with you! You can also pick one up at our booth (#1718 — jot that down on your printout) but this way you can come prepared!