No, really. That's what the event is called: Comic Book Art Show. 

The brand-new art space GAS (Greenfield Art Salon) is opening their doors with a debut show that calls it like IT IS!  Comic Book Art Show will feature complete comics from the Massachusetts-based art collective known as Mysterious Transmissions, featuring our own mysterious Fantagraphics artist Hans Rickheit.

As GAS explains, "the show will consist of a number of short comic book stories from each artist, presented in their entirety and intended for reading on the gallery walls." See? Comic. Book. Art. Show.

The show opens on Friday, August 5th at 7:30 PM at GAS [ 207 Main St, Greenfield MA ].  With a killer debut show like this, we're excited to see what future events will be held there!

One of the many awesome things about San Diego Comic-Con was getting to chat with pioneer of female comic art, Joyce Farmer, and current champion of the ladies, Esther Pearl Watson. We talked about how it wasn't always so easy to be a woman in the comics world. So, a show like this, spotlighting the latest wave of amazing women artists, just makes me really, really happy.

Lady Comix Art opens this Saturday, July 30th at the Webb Gallery in Waxahachie, TX. Curated by our own Esther Pearl Watson, the show features fellow female Fantagraphics artists like Dame Darcy and Gabrielle Bell, among an awesome line-up of ladies. The opening night soiree runs from 7:00 - 11:00 PM.

The Webb Gallery is located at 209 West Frankin Street in Waxahachie, TX, and the show runs through September 18th. And here's a print I spotted (and snapped a pic of!) at Esther's booth at SDCC that seems particularly appropriate for the show:

As we've mentioned before on the FLOG, there's a new anthology out now on Rotland Press packing a serious punch of Fantagraphics artists: Black Eye 1: Graphic Transmissions to Cause Ocular Hypertension.  Included in this collection is work from Al Columbia, Robert Goodin, Glenn Head, Michael Kupperman, Mark Newgarden, and Jon Vermilyea.

Brooklynites can get their own black eye -- I mean, Black Eye -- by heading over to Desert Island on Thursday, August 4th, where our own Michael Kupperman, Glenn Head, and Mark Newgarden will be signing along with many other artists!

You can put up your fists starting at 7:00 PM at Desert Island in Williamsburg [540 Metropolitan Ave]. 

Artist Johnny Ryan

Marketing Director Mike Baehr

Artist Tom Neely

In a hilarious concept devised by fellow Mome artist Robert Goodin, Fantagraphics artists, employees and friends celebrated the SDCC debut of Belgian cartoonist Olivier Schrauwen’s first American book The Man Who Grew His Beard by adding their own chins to the cover! (But, hey, where's Rob's beard in all of this?)

Well, well, we've got some real humble artists here at Fantagraphics! 

This past weekend at the San Diego Comic-Con, Inkpot Awards were received by our artists Joyce Farmer, Frank Stack, and editor Bill Schelly! But no one brought their award back to the booth! So, instead you get this absolutely charming photo of Joyce and Frank.

Congratulations to all of you!  So well deserved!

Last night, we were honored to receive the 2011 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards for "Best Reality-Based Work" and "Best U.S. Edition of International Material" for It Was the War of the Trenches by Jacques Tardi!  It's a privilege to be able to bring Tardi's work to U.S. readers.

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!

Thanks to everyone who came out for our first day of signings at the San Diego Comic-Con! And, guess what? We've just added THREE more artists to our already action-packed schedule! 

On Saturday, we'll be joined by Zack Carlson from 3:00 to 4:00 PM, and he'll be signing copies of the epic tome he co-edited, Destroy All Movies!!!: The Complete Guide to Punks on Film.  Stop by and try to stump him on punk movie trivia... YOU WILL NOT WIN!  

Also on Saturday, from 1:00 to 2:00 PM, we'll be joined by Roger May, one of the contributors to our underground comix collection, Newave!  He'll be joining two of the greats of the underground scene, Joyce Farmer and Frank Stack -- It's sure to be a fascinating hour!

And finally, we welcome special guest Martin Olson, author of the encyclopedic satire Encyclopedia of Hell (Feral House), a book that features illustrations by our very own hell-raiser, Tony Millionaire!!  Martin will be signing on Friday, July 22nd from 5:00 to 6:00 PM.

So, to recap, here's our signing schedule for the rest of the weekend at Booth #1718!  Come by and say hello!

Friday, July 22nd:
11:00 - 12:00 PM    Joyce Farmer / Bill Schelly / Tim Hensley
12:00 - 1:00 PM    Floyd Norman / Wilfred Santiago / Frank Stack
1:00 - 3:00 PM    Gilbert Hernandez / Jaime Hernandez / Mario Hernandez
3:00 - 4:00 PM    Paul Hornschemeier / Anders Nilsen / Esther Pearl Watson
4:00 - 5:00 PM    Mark Kalesniko / John Pham / Malachi Ward
5:00 - 7:00 PM    Johnny Ryan
5:00 - 6:00 PM    Jon Vermilyea  / Martin Olson
6:00 - 7:00 PM    Robert Goodin

Sunday, July 24th:
11:00 - 12:00 PM   Joyce Farmer / Jon Vermilyea / Esther Pearl Watson
12:00 - 1:00 PM    Mark Kalesniko / Frank Stack
1:00 - 3:00 PM    Gilbert Hernandez / Jaime Hernandez / Mario Hernandez

It's exciting enough that we're debuting The Hidden by Richard Sala at San Diego Comic-Con. Now, Richard has made it even more spine-tingling by including this stunning limited edition, signed and numbered print -- a FREE gift with purchase of The Hidden, while supplies last... and they won't last long!  

You can pick up The Hidden at Booth #1718, but you better hurry as if a trail of monsters were hunting you to get your very own print!

Cineplex Manager: What the hell is wrong with you?
Enid : What? I was just joking around with the customers. It's my schtick.
Cineplex Manager : Well, lose it! And why aren't you pushing the larger sizes? Didn't you get training about upsizing?
Enid : Yeah. But I feel really weird. It's pretty sleazy.
Cineplex Manager : It's not OPTIONAL!
[he leaves her]
Enid : [rolls her eyes] Jesus.
[a customer comes up to the counter]
Soda Customer : Hi, can I get a medium 7-Up?
Enid : Medium? Why sir, do you not know that for a mere 25 cents more you can purchase a large beverage? And you know, I'm only telling because we're such good friends, medium is really only for suckers who don't know the concept of value.

-- Ghost World, 2001

Ohmygod. The film version of Ghost World celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Yeah, I'll just give you a second to feel really weird and old about that, like I feel right now. When Fanta Marketing Director Mike Baehr and I first moved to Seattle in 2001, we immediately went to the now-defunct Neptune Theatre to see this film before we even unpacked the moving truck! 

Anyway.

Fantagraphics is teaming up with Reading Cinemas and the San Diego Film Critics Society to present a special 10th Anniversary screening of Ghost World at the Reading Cinemas Gaslamp 15 on Saturday, July 23 at 9:00 PM, in glorious 35mm! Thank you, Scott!

Admission is only $5 lousy bucks, and there will be a post-screening Q&A and discussion after the film! 

And do I even need to mention that we'll have the Ghost World: Special Edition and other fine Daniel Clowes books at Booth #1718 at the San Diego Comic Con?

For us out-of-towners, the Reading Cinemas Gaslamp 15 is located at 701 5th Avenue, within walking distance from the San Diego Convention Center. Mike and I will definitely see you there.

Update: OHMYGOD, and did I mention actress THORA BIRCH will be there?! Yes!!! Let's ask her for the behind-the-scenes scoop on Dan! Trust me people, you're gonna want to get your tickets early... This WILL sell out.

Ajax Wood IS Cannibal Fuckface // Photo credit: the amazing Jonas Seaman

Get ready for the Friday Night Fuckface FrightFest as our own Ajax Wood reprises his role as Cannibal Fuckface to celebrate the debut of Johnny Ryan's Prison Pit 3 at the San Diego Comic-Con!

Seriously. You do not want to miss this. It's gonna be the San Diego Cannibal-Con from 5:00 to 7:00 PM this Friday night.

Not only is Fantagraphics debuting Prison Pit 3, but Johnny will be debuting the brand-new Cannibal Fuckface action figure -- 7.5" inches of "pure soft vinyl violence." And Johnny notes: "These figures also come with an extra, added surprise element we are keeping on the DL for now." 

Fuckface figurines will be on sale from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the Global Figure Symposium All-Stars Booth #4937. Buy it, then come to the Fantagraphics Booth #1718 to buy Prison Pit 3 and get everything signed by Johnny Ryan himself. Then, get your picture taken with Cannibal Fuckface himself. Don't be scared  Sure, I'll hold your books for you.