Mome Vol. 22 - Fall 2011
by various artists; edited by Eric Reynolds

240-page full-color 7" x 9" softcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-395-8

Ships in: July 2011 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now

Special double-sized FINAL issue! After 6 years and over 2500 pages of comics, MOME heads into the sunset with an all-star, jam-packed farewell bonanza. Several past MOME favorites return for the swan song, including Kurt Wolfgang, Tom Kaczynski, Joe Kimball, Eleanor Davis, Anders Nilsen, Tim Hensley, Paul Hornschemeier, Gabrielle Bell, and Zak Sally (those covers!). Meanwhile, several newcomers get in just under the wire: Jesse Moynihan, Malachi Ward, James Romberger, Nick Drnaso, Joseph Lambert, Nick Thorburn, Victor Kerlow, and Ignatz Award-winners Jim Rugg and Chuck Forsman! Recent MOME favorites also return, such as Sergio Ponchione, Steven Weissman, Sara Edward-Corbett, Laura Park, Josh Simmons (plus collaborators The Partridge in the Pear Tree and Wendy Chin), Derek Van Gieson (with collaborator Michael Jada), Tim Lane, Nate Neal, Lilli Carré, T. Edward Bak, Dash Shaw, Ted Stearn and Noah Van Sciver. Over 30 artists in all, including a surprise contributor we don't want to give away!

Download and read a 29-page PDF excerpt (13 MB) with a sample page from nearly every artist and story (barring some surprises).

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

Point your browsers here to tune in live tomorrow (June 13, 2011) at 3PM Eastern/noon Pacific as Johnny Ryan is the featured guest on the Sara Tea Time podcast on BlogTalkRadio. You can call in with your questions, insults, and indecent proposals: (909) 362-8230.

Wow! The Usagi Yojimbo exhibit just opened at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles this past weekend, and the rave reviews are already pouring in!  We got some great photos from our friends at Dark Horse that we just had to share... like THIS ONE:

Why, that's no evil ronin! That's Sergio Aragonés! Gak, indeed!

Our friends at Giant Robot were also on the scene! They posted some beautiful shots of the show on their website, including a loving tribute sketch from Stan Lee, ha! 

Don't forget: Year of the Rabbit: Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo runs until October 30th at the Japanese American National Museum [369 East First Street, Los Angeles]. Go see it for yourself!

Another marathon 2-week update:

• Michael Kupperman did a couple of movie illustrations for The New Yorker over the last couple of weeks: The Hangover Part II (love his Galifianakis) and Horrible Bosses

• Steven Weissman's latest "I, Anonymous" spots and more at his Chewing Gum in Church blog, and new and cheap original art to buy on his Comic Art Collective page

• The latest artwork and happenings from Dame Darcy in her new blog update

• Shirley Partridge by Jim Blanchard

• Another Eleanor Davis spot for The New York Times

• Richard Sala presents original art for the 1994 "R.I.P." Paranormal Trading Cards from Kitchen Sink (man I want those), an author bio illo from 1995, and some Evil Eye back cover art

• Paul Hornschemeier's art for the Crazy 4 Cult art show at Gallery 1988; also, daily drawings at The Daily Forlorn

• It's the original cover art (pre-color) for Leslie Stein's Eye of the Majestic Creature #5, coming soon (and picking up where the book leaves off)

• Sergio Ponchione's latest strip for Linus starring Grotesque's Professor Hackensack

• Kevin Huizenga is looking for some focus

• Mrs. Wessman and zombies and other subjects by Renee French

• Sketchbook comics & drawings by Sophie Crumb

• Steve Brodner does Newt for the New York Times Sunday Magazine

• Here's something completely different (and neat): Josh Simmons hand-painted a custom globe as a commission

• Sketchbook drawings by Anders Nilsen

• Wilfred Santiago shares the final stages of his portrait of 21, Roberto Clemente

• Another Johnny Ryan poster image for Cinefamily

• At Covered, a de-Cubized version of Gilbert Hernandez's cover of Love and Rockets #27 by Sarah Blum

And more Things to See from the past week:

• This illustration by Matthias Lehmann regarding the situation in Greece is very funny

• Sketches and illustrations old and new by Jason at his Cats Without Dogs blog, and more drawings from his youth at The Old Cat and the Dog

• Images from an animation in progress by Lilli Carré

• A new sketch by Mark Kalesniko

• Photos and drawings for a new book project with the band The Lovely Sparrows by Derek Van Gieson

• Another batch of old sketches of medical deformities by Hans Rickheit

If you've been wondering why it's been a while since we've seen any new comics from Gipi, here's a good reason: he's been making a live-action film, L'Ultimo Terrestre, and he's just shared this teaser at his blog. I don't understand a word but it looks kind of funny, kind of creepy, it's got aliens — sign me up!

Gabrielle Bell's San Diego Diary mini from Tom Kaczynski's Uncivilized Books is coming soon (just in time for this year's San Diego extravaganza). There will be a release party (with Lizz Hickey) at Desert Island in Brooklyn this Thursday, July 14, at 7 PM.

If I ever got a letter like this from Jim Woodring I would re-read it every night before I went to bed and sleep with it under my pillow. Hans Rickheit got one after he sent Jim a copy of The Squirrel Machine. Inspired by the emergence of this other, older Woodring letter, Hans shares it now — without Jim's foreknowledge or permission, which is why we only excerpt it here; as long as it remains online the rest of it can be read at Hans's blog.

Josh Simmons opened an online shop to sell his books and comics. Go buy some!

Mome contributor Laura Park was working on a pretty sweet illustration gig for most of last year, this heavily-illustrated book by James Patterson, who is a big-deal best-selling YA author. Can't wait to see what Laura did with it — gonna have to give it a flip next time I'm at the bookstore. Laura gives an Amazon link on her Flickr page.

In an enviable artistic achievement, Drew Friedman's illustration of Penn Gillette was ripped off for packaging of Chinese herbal boner pills.  Read all about it at Drew's blog. Elsewhere on Drew's blog, don't miss how he brought Moxie Cowznofski back to Mad magazine.