Readers of last Sunday's edition of the Boston Globe were treated to Jane Roy Brown's travel guide to Massachusetts roadside attractions that have been featured by Bill Griffith in Zippy the Pinhead strips! You can read the article online but it lacks the illustrations, so we've posted images of the pages (provided by Bill) above. Thanks Bill!

Due to our hectic release schedule and the geographic vagaries of distribution, our comic shop arrivals are a bit of a jumble lately. Our first two titles here may have been available at some shops last week — see last week's post for additional blurbs — and are on the official shipping list for this week; the titles listed thereafter are not on the list yet but may ship to some shops this week. We apologize for any confusion and as always entreat you to contact your local shop to confirm availability. (Ordering in advance is always a good idea, too.) Previews and more info about each book, as always, at the links below:

The Arctic Marauder
by Jacques Tardi

64-page black & white 9" x 11.75" hardcover • $16.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-435-1

"One of the most interesting looking releases of the week, this is Fantagraphics’ representation of Adele Blanc-Sec creator Jacques Tardi’s 1972 Jules Verne-esque, Edwardian era 'icepunk' adventure." – J. Caleb Mozzocco, Newsarama

"Another gorgeous book, this time from Fantagraphics' continued and sustained exploration into Jacques Tardi's album-making career." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

"I found myself enjoying Tardi’s Adventures of Adele Blanc Sec earlier this year, and Chris [Mautner]’s review has tipped me in favor of picking up this latest translation of his work." – Graeme McMillan, Robot 6

"This blog is steadily turning into one comic shop employee quietly humping the leg of Seattle-based publisher Fantagraphics but they are excelling themselves lately, and their line of Jacques Tardi translations is one of their greatest efforts to date. Le Démon Des Glaces or The Arctic Marauder is a 1972 satirical, Jules Verne-esque steampunk tale about a ship in the Arctic Ocean discovering an abandoned vessel. [...] Expect mad scientists, monsters from the deep, futuristic machinery in an 1899 futuristic way, and the most purple of purple prose." – Gosh! Comics

"This is a gorgeous, simply breath-taking example of Tardi's early work. This retro-sci-fi tale involves the mystery of a ship stuck on top of an iceberg. How'd it get there? The answer involves monsters of the deep, mysterious futuristic machines and mad scientists." – Benn Ray (Atomic Books), Largehearted Boy

Dungeon Quest, Book 2
by Joe Daly

136-page black & white 6" x 8.25" softcover • $12.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-436-8

"Joe Daly's wildly odd series of archly-told adventure comics continues. What a great initial run of books we've seen from South Africa's Daly, and this one may feature his most potent cartooning yet." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

"Dungeon Quest Volume 2 by Joe Daly is out, giving you another installment of nerdy stories inspired by role-playing games..." – Gosh! Comics

21: The Story of Roberto Clemente
by Wilfred Santiago

200-page two-color 6.25" x 8" hardcover • $22.99
ISBN: 978-1-56097-892-3

"I’m not much of a sports fan, but there was a lot more to Clemente than baseball, and Wilfred Santiago’s biography has a real richness to it, bringing in Clemente’s background and upbringing and wrapping it all together in deceptively simple, almost primitive looking art." – Brigid Alverson, Robot 6

The Complete Peanuts 1979-1980 (Vol. 15)
by Charles M. Schulz

Introduction by Al Roker; designed by Seth

344-page black & white 8.5" x 7" hardcover • $28.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-438-2

"How dark could Peanuts get during the Peanut President's administration? 'Very, very dark,' Al Roker writes the introduction to this volume. Have I mentioned how much I love the indexes to the Fantagraphics editions? It's useful to know that a Zamboni appears twice in this volume." – Douglas Wolk, Comics Alliance

R.I.P.: Best of 1985-2004
by Thomas Ott

192-page black & white 6.25" x 10" hardcover • $28.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-417-7

"CONFLICT OF INTEREST RESERVOIR: If you didn’t locate Jacques Tardi’s The Arctic Marauder or Joe Daly’s Dungeon Quest Vol. 2 last week, they’re both probably still worth looking at. Supposedly some stores are getting Wilfred Santiago’s Roberto Clemente book (21: The Story of Roberto Clemente) too, along with a best-of Thomas Ott collection (R.I.P.: Best of 1985-2004) and the ’79-’80 Peanuts book. Build a wall." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Created during two overseas wars, rising inequity, a city lost under flood waters, skyrocketing public debt and the largest economic crisis since the Great Depression, this collection [Twilight of the Assholes] is the pained scream of a frustrated liberal trapped in a nation whose zeitgeist, he feels, spent much of the decade steadfastly marching in lockstep to the Right. The excesses of a neo-Gilded Age provokes Kreider with often hilarious results... Sometimes vulgar and crude but often insightful, always passionate, Kreider's essays and illustrations offer a voice for a nation seemingly without hope." – Publishers Weekly

Paul Hornschemeier, who says he feels bad about not updating his blog more often, is compensating by offering 20% off everything in his online shop (prints and original art) through Thursday (March 24). See here for more details and the secret magic discount code!

So much convention news to share today! The organizers of the Small Press Expo just announced an initial lineup of featured guests for the 2011 show, one of whom is Jim Woodring! Jim hasn't been to the show in quite some time so this will be an extra treat for SPX attendees. The show's still a ways away (September 10-11) so stay tuned for further details and announcements. (No word yet on whether he'll be bringing the Nibbus Maximus with him, but we're hoping so.)

CORRECTION: I should've checked my facts before posting — this will be Jim's first time ever at SPX!

Just announced: The Raven by Lou Reed and Lorenzo Mattotti will be making its debut at the Toronto Comics Art Festival in May! Mattotti, as previously announced, will be a Featured Guest at the festival. TCAF organizer Chris Butcher puts it best: "Look for further information on Fantagraphics’ TCAF 2011 plans, as well as feature events with Lorenzo Mattotti, as the Festival draws closer."

We're a little late in reporting this exciting news: Megan Kelso has been announced as a special guest at the Olympia Comics Festival in our state capitol of Olympia, WA! Olympia, of course, has a storied history as a mecca of zine publishing and indie culture, so we can't imagine a better fit. The festival takes place on Saturday, May 21, and we are currently hustling production of the new edition of Queen of the Black Black along in the hope of premiering it at the show. Stay tuned and mark your calendars!

Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind - A Visual History from the Permanent Collection of Experience Music Project
Edited by Jacob McMurray, Senior Curator of EMP

248-page full-color 7.5" x 9" softcover with DVD • $29.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-433-7

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

Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind visually documents the explosion of Grunge, the Seattle Sound, within the context of the underground punk subculture that was developing throughout the U.S. in the late 1970s and 1980s. This musical journey is represented entirely through the collection of Experience Music Project, Seattle’s museum of music and popular culture, pulling from a permanent archive of over 800 filmed oral history interviews and 140,000 artifacts – instruments, costumes, posters, records and other ephemera – dedicated to the pursuit of rock ’n’ roll.

Featuring over 100 key artifacts from EMP’s collection, Taking Punk to the Masses illustrates the evolution of punk rock from underground subculture to mainstream embrace. These artifacts are put into context by the stories of those that lived it: Mudhoney’s Mark Arm, Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh, Hüsker Dü’s Grant Hart, Beat Happening’s Calvin Johnson, X’s Exene Cervenka, Sub Pop founders Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman, Black Flag’s Henry Rollins, Screaming Trees’ Mark Lanegan, Blondie’s Chris Stein, Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic, Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis, Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil, and nearly 100 others.

Tracing a lineage from “Louie Louie” to the rise of Grunge with Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Mudhoney, Taking Punk to the Masses is the first visual history of one of America’s most vibrant music scenes, as told by its participants and seen through the surviving artifacts.

Download an EXCLUSIVE 22-page PDF excerpt (1.3 MB).

Over the past 15 years, Experience Music Project has amassed over 800 filmed oral history interviews with musicians, producers, club owners, fans, and others associated with every genre of music. These interviews, along with the museum’s massive artifact collection, form the basis for every exhibition. The exhibition Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses includes footage from over 100 interviews. A selection of those interviews are included in a DVD, exclusive to the Taking Punk to the Masses book.

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

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship:

The Complete Peanuts 1979-1980 (Vol. 15)
by Charles M. Schulz

Introduction by Al Roker; designed by Seth

344-page black & white 8.5" x 7" hardcover • $28.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-438-2

Previews & Ordering Info

Charles Schulz enters his fourth decade as the greatest cartoonist of his generation, and Peanuts remains as fresh and lively as it ever was.

(How do we know it’s 1980? Well, for one thing Peppermint Patty gets herself those Bo-Derek-in-“10” cornrows — Peanuts’ timelessness occasionally shows a crack!)

That said, The Complete Peanuts 1979-1980 includes a number of classic storylines, including the month-long sequence in which an ill Charlie Brown is hospitalized (including a particularly spooky moment when he wonders if he’s died and nobody’s told him yet), and an especially eventful trek with Snoopy, Woodstock, and the scout troop (now including a little girl bird, Harriet). And Snoopy is still trying on identities left and right, including the “world-famous surveyor,” the “world-famous census taker,” and Blackjack Snoopy, the riverboat gambler.

In other extended stories, Snoopy launches an ill-fated airline (with Lucy as the agent, Linus as the luggage handler, and Marcie as what it was still OK then to call the stewardess)… Peppermint Patty responds to being leaked upon by a ceiling by hiring a lawyer (unfortunately, she again picks Snoopy)… plus one of the great, forgotten romances of Peanuts that will startle even long-time Peanuts connoisseurs: Peppermint Patty and…“Pig-Pen”?!

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship:

R.I.P.: Best of 1985-2004
by Thomas Ott

192-page black & white 6.25" x 10" hardcover • $28.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-417-7

Previews & Ordering Info

This omnibus collection of Thomas Ott’s short shock-ending horror stories — imagine E.C. Comics done with no words, and executed in an impossibly lush black-and-white scratchboard style — collects a dozen stories originally published in three (now out of print) thin European style “graphic albums” (Tales of Error, Greetings from Hellville and Dead End) during the 1980s and 1990s, plus 8 previously uncollected tales, including "The Breakdown" from Fantagraphics' Mome anthology and Ott's collaboration with French great David B., "La Fiancée du Lapin." The book also features an afterword by rocker Martin Eric Ain, a.k.a. Martin Erich Stricker (Hellhammer, Celtic Frost).

Presented in the same deluxe format as the now sold-out Cinema Panopticum and The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8, R.I.P. offers up twenty twisted tales of murder, suicide, oppression, terror, mutilation, crime, marital strife, and nuclear annihilation.

Exclusive Savings: Order R.I.P. together with The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8 and save 20% off the combined cover price!