Our pal Rebecca Rosen from Drawn & Quarterly sent us these pictures from a mall in Bizarro World (a.k.a. Hong Kong). If there are any more Flog readers out there in Hong Kong, send more pictures! Rebecca took all she could: "Sorry I didn't get a better shot of the panel display....That last kind of blurry shot? That's when the security guard began loudly reprimanding me in Cantonese for illegally taking pictures in a mall."

ALSO: SPOONBILL & SUGARTOWN APRIL EVENT JUST ADDED! SEE BELOW.

Presenting FUNERAL OF THE HEART, the new graphic novel by LEAH HAYES and Scary Mansion’s debut CD, EVERY JOKE IS HALF THE TRUTH.

WHO: Leah Hayes
WHAT: Art Exhibition and Book Signing
WHERE: Rocketship
208 Smith St.
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718.797.1348 tel.
WHEN: Friday, March 7, 8PM • THIS FRIDAY NIGHT!

WHO: Leah Hayes & Scary Mansion
WHAT: South By Southwest Music Festival Showcase
WHERE: The Hideout
617 Congress Ave.
Austin, TX 78701
512.443.3688 tel.
WHEN: Wed., March 12, 10PM

WHO: Leah Hayes & Scary Mansion
WHAT: In-Store Music Performance and Book Signing
WHERE: Austin Books
5002 N. Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78751
512.454.4197 tel.
WHEN: Saturday, March 15, 7PM

WHO: Leah Hayes
WHAT: Book Signing
WHERE: Spoonbill & Sugartown
218 Bedford Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718.387.7322 tel.
WHEN: Thursday, April 24, 7PM

[Read more...]

While we were putting together his upcoming release, Pocket Full of Rain, Jason sent over this small swatch of lettering-- the title of a single page story in the book.

He has given his blessing to give away this tiny treasure to the first Flog reader to post in the comments board. I'm not going to get clever and ask you to answer any questions, just be a fan. Leave a contact email address and I'll write you.

Approx. 2.75" x 4" on what I'm sure is non-archival copy paper. Touched by Kim Thompson and myself only. Insurance value: $400,000.00.

From The Underground To The Basement:

Cartoons, Drawings & Signs by Justin Green

Who: Comic Underground Legend & Master Sign Painter, Justin Green

What:  From The Underground To The Basement:  Cartoons, Drawings & Signs

When:  Show opens with a reception Sat., March 8^th 6pm.  Closes Sat. April 12^th, 2008

Where:  Shake It Records, 4156 Hamilton Ave., Cinti., OH 45223  Ph: 513-591-0123

Why: Read below.

Opening Reception Saturday, March 8th 6 PM @ Shake It Records 4156 Hamilton Ave in Northside Cincinnati.

Shake It Records is hosting a rare art show with underground comic legend & master sign painter, Justin Green. Justin has been creating Shake It's signs in & outside of the store for the last 7 or so years. If you live anywhere near this, you're an idiot if you don't go. This is Justin Fucking Green, man.

Justin Green is one of the most prolific artists of the San Francisco Underground Cartooning movement, recognized as the originator of the autobiographical comic with the publication of "Binky Brown Meets The  Holy Virgin Mary," in 1972. This seminal work also anticipated the groundswell in literature about OCD by over two decades. Other artists, including Robert Crumb and Art Spiegelman, have cited Green as an influence. He contributed to scores of anthology titles, including two which are comprised entirely of his  own work: "Show + Tell" ('73) and "Sacred and Profane" ('75). A collection of his subsequent Binky work  was published in '95, "The Binky Brown Sampler."

From 1992 until the 2002 demise of Tower Records, Green did a monthly biographical comic strip in their PULSE! Magazine, titled "Musical Legends." They were compiled in a single volume and published in 2003. Since 1986, he has done a monthly comic for Signs of the Times, our nation's oldest trade magazine (published in Cincinnati), titled, "Justin Green's SIGN GAME." At 62, he is one of the youngest practitioners of traditional sign-painting. In addition to designing and and painting the Shake It sign, his work adorns the storefronts of several Cincinnati businesses, and he is also the designer of the official Hamilton County flag. He recently did an installation with the graffiti artist ESPO (Steven Powers) in Miami.

His work has been exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and he has appeared in such esteemed venues as The New Yorker Magazine, Print Magazine, The Sacramento Bee, the WVXU website  and lately, Cincinnati Magazine, yet he is still known primarily as "The Underground Artist," Justin Green.

The exhibition at Shake It Records in Cincinnati features original pages from private collections and works for sale; reproductions of published work; teaching materials from his forthcoming book, "The Dying Penman," and small scale signs. Several of his "Musical Legends" pages are on permanent display at the store. The show will run from Saturday March 8th thru Saturday, April 12^th.

For the month of March, we're helping you put some bunny in your basket for Easter and beyond by offering 20% off all Usagi Yojimbo titles!

Brimming with exciting swordfights, authentic locales and costumes, drama and humor, Stan Sakai's tales of a rabbit ronin (with a colorful cast of his allies and foes) is an all-ages classic that will get the kids in your life hooked on great comic storytelling. Stock up now for holidays, birthdays, bar/bat mitzvahs... and extra copies to keep for yourself.

(Sale ends 11:59 PM Pacific time, March 31, 2008.)