We've unearthed some hidden treasure:

Burne Hogarth's King Arthur Portfolio Vol. 2
by Burne Hogarth

6 black & white 11" x 17" prints • $125 reduced to $75
Add to Cart • More Info & Previews

Six beautifully produced prints depicting the rise and fall of Camelot in lush, detailed illustrations by a master of cartoon classicism. Printed with utmost quality and care on creamy, textured paper and housed in a sturdy folio, this is truly a deluxe collectors item. Out of print and lost in our warehouse for years, now available again at an affordable reduced price. Plate One of each set is signed and numbered by the artist. Originally produced in 1983 in an edition of 1500; these are the final 50 copies.

The advance copies have been rolling in to the office all week and here's the lo-fi proof:

Captain Easy, Soldier of Fortune Vol. 1: 1933-1935 by Roy Crane

Krazy & Ignatz 1916-1918: Love in a Kestle or Love in a Hut by George Herriman (designed by Chris Ware)

Weathercraft by Jim Woodring

We will, as is customary, be bringing you better-quality and greater-in-quantity photo and video previews in the near future. Our Twitter and Facebook followers are first to get these glimpses, so the impatient among you are encouraged to add us to your feeds there.

Not sure exactly what the provenance of this clip is [ed. note: it's an official promotional behind-the-scenes video; Kim came across an unauthorized re-posting on YouTube, hence the mystery], but it starts off with some clever juxtapositions of ADELE BLANC-SEC panels and pages with clips from the movie version, and segues into some nifty behind-the-scenes shots, including a set visit by Jacques Tardi (you see him first at 0:48 watching as his wife Dominique Grange chats with Adele).

I can report that I have finished the translation of ADELE BLANC-SEC VOLUME 1 (which comprises the first two books in the series) and am just waiting to get the digital files from the publisher so we can start lettering. Sell your copies of the NBM version on eBay and reserve your copy at San Diego Comic-Con now!

Our old friend Dale Yarger has a new website that I wanted to point out as an excuse to sing his praises as someone who was instrumental in Fantagraphics' history as the first proper designer/art director the company ever employed on staff, shortly after Fantagraphics moved to Seattle from Los Angeles in 1989. Dale was a pillar of good taste and professionalism in the office when I first came to Fantagraphics in 1993 and I will always look back with fondness on my time working with him (along with other art dept. stalwarts at the time, notably Jim Blanchard and Pat Moriarity).

Dale is a Seattle design legend (although he now lives in the Bay Area), having served as as Art Director for both Fantagraphics and our friends at The Stranger, as well as having had a hand in creating iconic logos for both Fantagraphics and SubPop. Check out his portfolio, there's some iconic stuff there for fans of Grunge Era counterculture from the great Pacific Northwest. 

A trio of new releases heading to comic shops this week; read on to see what the weekly blogospheric new-release roundups are saying:

King of the Flies Vol. 1: Hallorave
By Mezzo & Pirus

64-page full-color 9" x 12.5" hardcover • $18.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-320-0

Last week at Comics Alliance Douglas Wolk wrote "I don't know whether this handsome translated-from-the-French hardcover, the first of a three-volume series, owes parts of its aesthetic directly to Charles Burns' 'Black Hole' or whether creators Mezzo & Pirus are just coming from a similar dark place, but what I've seen so far looks pretty great — a totally creepy, coolly rendered set of linked stories about adolescents, drugs, sex and half-unreal violence." Also last week, J. Caleb Mozzocco described the artwork as "incredible."

Sand & Fury: A Scream Queen Adventure
By Ho Che Anderson

144-page two-color 7.5" x 9" softcover • $16.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-321-7

Comics Comics' Joe McCulloch describes it as "a young woman rides with death herself." At Robot 6 Chris Mautner calls it a "horror-tinged, modern update on the Celtic Banshee myth. Lots of kinky sex and blood in this one. If you need the incentive."

Mome Vol. 17: Winter 2010
By various artists; edited by Eric Reynolds

120-page color/b&w 7" x 9" softcover • $14.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-302-6

At Comics Comics Joe McCulloch says "Fantagraphics’ house anthology continues to circle the atmosphere tonally." Robot 6's Chris Mautner says it contains "the usual amount of snazzy high-brow tales..."

As you know we have plentiful previews, more reviews and other information at the links above, so there's no excuse not to know what you're getting when you head to your local shop (after confirming availability first, of course).

Only one item today but it's a doozy:

• Holy crap, Johnny Ryan draws Karl Lagerfeld for Vice

Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Reviews:

"That doesn’t mean you should ignore the intermittently excellent Mome Vol. 17. [Paul] Hornschmeier’s understated character piece resembles a less deadpan Dan Clowes. It might confuse first-timers, but it’ll also probably make them want to pick up the previous installments. The beautiful 'Congo Chromo,' Olivier Schrauwen’s surreal goof on European colonialism, is like a Thomas Nast cartoon remade by Andre Breton."

"Hotwire is an anarchic blitz of inspired absurdity that somehow avoids collapsing into nonsense. It preserves the spirit of such earlier underground comic anthologies as Zap and Raw... Hotwire can be crude, even offensive, but it’s almost always fun. It also features some amazing artwork blown up to an impressive 12 by 9 inches. ...Hotwire Comics Vol. 3 is about as entertaining as comics get. It also might provoke a thought or three."

"Newave! The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s... celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit and youthful energy of the early days of self-publishing. These obscure creators mostly eschew a linear narrative in favor of artistic exploration and freeform expression. ... Newave is a valuable overview of an overlooked era."

– Garrett Martin, Boston Herald

• Feature: Publishers Weekly manga editor Kai Ming Cha covers our recent manga publishing news and talks to editor/translator Matt Thorn about the line: "'My approach is to publish smart, artistic, but accessible work that is well translated and has high production values,' Thorn said. Thorn said he has grown weary of manga's current place in the U.S. market as disposable entertainment. The manga line will follow in Fantagraphics's tradition of publishing comics with literary merit."

• Plug: The Stranger's visual arts editor Jen Graves takes note of some of the offerings in the back corner of Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery

Forget the dude in the Slave Leia costume, this is the best photo from Emerald City Comicon, taken by our own Stephanie Hayes.

With an unusually Spring-like day yesterday in Seattle, Jake "The Snake" Covey took the opportunity to bring his art directing outside, shooting a few original Norman Pettingill paintings (on cross-sections of wood) in the sunlight for our upcoming coffee-table collection of his work. This book is gonna blow more than a few minds. Here's Gary Groth's bio of the infamous "backwoods humorist."

How do you know that L.A. independent bookstore Skylight Books is awesome (aside from the two magic words "independent bookstore" that is)? The fact that they feature closeups of Locas II AND kittycats in their new TV ad, that's how! (Via The Believer on Twitter.)