There's been a bit of confusion with the schedule but Michael Kupperman's star-studded Snake 'N' Bacon TV program definitely makes its debut TONIGHT at 12:45 AM on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim -- that's less than 3 hours away for you East Coasters. And as if you need more reason to stay up late, it's followed by a spiritual cousin, the excellent British comedy show The Mighty Boosh. If you like things that are funny and good, for gosh sakes, it's your lucky night! The only way it could be better is if they were also showing The Drinky Crow Show, but I guess you can't have everything.

DETAILS HERE. Original art. New book. Tony signing. Why would you miss this?

New strips for your Friday evening:

It's swine flu time in this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan...

The kids' tense hideout continues in this week's installment of Steven Weissman's in-progress pages from "Blue Jay," an epic 51-page story from Chocolate Cheeks, the next collection of the Yikes! gang's adventures....

And in our current 5-day chunk of Martin Kellerman's Rocky, topics include pregnancy, math, and urban legends.

Your late Friday Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Jaime [Hernandez]'s entry [in Love and Rockets: New Stories #1]... is like a huge riff on what might have happened if superhero comics started their evolutionary path by focusing on more female-centered concerns instead of testosterone-fueled fisticuffs... Gilbert's contributions are hard to describe, mainly because they are so surreal. They really have to be experienced and interpreted on your own." - John Jakala, Sporadic Sequential

• Plug: GrassrootsModern works in a nice mention of Beasts! Book 1 and Book 2 in their spotlight on Tiny Showcase

• Preview: Wow Cool gives our upcoming anthology Newave! The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s a major plug, saying "Bug your local shop to order about a thousand of these"

• Preview: Boing Boing Boing Boings Jordan Crane's forthcoming Uptight #3

• Interview: The National Post's huge spate of pre-TCAF Q&As includes one with Dash Shaw. Sample quote: "When I'm not drawing I just walk around wondering what to do. It's sad."

• Oddity: "...last night I had a dream about an issue of Thrizzle that was in a sideways format and written by Art Spiegelman and illustrated by Steve Ditko..." - Timmy Williams, The Daily Cross Hatch

If I were more creative, computer glitches like this one wouldn't impress me so much but now I know how to design any future Techno Usagi book.

Robert Pollard is having a spring cleaning sale of original collage art, including many pieces featured in our book Town of Mirrors: The Reassembled Imagery of Robert Pollard (the piece above was used for the back cover, for instance). There are unframed pieces and framed pieces starting here.

Now available for preview and pre-order: Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 1 by Michael Kupperman. The first 4 issues of the smash-hit humor comic series are now collected into this spiffy hardcover volume, with the art upgraded from the original duotone into glorious full color! See why Kupperman is revered by fellow comedy geniuses like Graham Linehan (The IT Crowd), Andy Richter (The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien), and Robert Smigel (Saturday Night Live, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog), who provides the book's introduction. This book is scheduled to debut at the MoCCA Art Festival in NYC in June; it should be in stock and ready to ship in late June and in stores approximately 4 weeks after that (subject to change).

View a photo & video slideshow preview embedded here. Click here if it is not visible, and/or to view it larger in a new window (recommended). And at our product info page, download an exclusive 10-page PDF excerpt!

Plus, as an extra bonus, decorate your computer screen or mobile phone with this exclusive free desktop wallpaper based on the back cover art! Select the size that matches your screen resolution:

800 x 600 | 1024 x 768 | 1152 x 864 | 1280 x 960 | 1280 x 720 | iPhone

Your Daily Online Commentary & Diversions:

• List: Library Journal recommends Paul Hornschemeier's Mother, Come Home as one of "14 Graphic Novels Honoring Mothers" (in the "Loss" subcategory), calling it "An exquisitely written and beautifully drawn exploration of grief."

• Review: "The latest in this anthology series... is what you need to give your really smart adult friends who are starting to enjoy sequential art but don't want to begrime themselves with the whole superheroics rigmarole: Because this is an excellent collection of work (comprising the serious, the funny, the weird, the contemplative, the goofy, and other flavors sublime or ridiculous) by a variety of new artists and old... Give this Mome [Vol. 14] to someone you love; they'll be queuing up to buy the next iteration." - Wayne Alan Brenner, The Austin Chronicle

• Interview: Spanish site 13 Milliones de Naves has a Q&A with Dash Shaw (Google translation)

• Preview: Dave's Comics is intrigued by Monologues for Calculating the Density of Black Holes by Anders Nilsen

Observe as a tense domestic scene takes an unexpected and decidedly Jason-esque turn in this exclusive 6-page excerpt from Low Moon posted at ICv2.com.

Luba: Collectors Edition
By Gilbert Hernandez

This exclusive, ultra-limited edition (just 30 copies are available) of the new 600-page hardcover Luba omnibus graphic novel features a special, deluxe cloth binding, and each copy will be signed and numbered with an original hand-drawn sketch by Gilbert Hernandez. See photos below — more images will become available when we receive the books back from Gilbert (if the edition does not sell out beforehand). The ultimate collectible for the elite Beto fan, available ONLY direct from Fantagraphics.

Note: Despite previous indications that this edition would be a future convention exclusive, we have instead decided to make it available via website and phone orders. If you have already ordered the standard edition and would like to upgrade, please call (1-800-657-1100; 206-524-1967 outside the U.S.) or email us before placing your order. Act quickly — supplies are extremely limited!

600-page black & white 7" x 10.25" hardcover • $100.00
SOLD OUT