Meet Stan Sakai this weekend at the Phoenix Comicon 2011, kicking off Thursday, May 26th and running through Sunday, May 29th. He'll be there all weekend, signing at Booth #427!

You can also catch him on Friday, May 27th at 1:30 pm, in the panel "Nuts and Bolts of Comics Creation," where he'll talk about how to take a comic book concept from idea to reality, alongside some fellow pros in the industry.

And you can hear him again on Saturday, May 28th at 1:30 pm, in the panel "Rockstar Animals in the Comic Book World," as he discusses having animals as the lead character in a comic book!

It sounds like a great weekend to get your Usagi Yojimbo box sets and books signed! (And while you're at it, be sure to wish Sakai-san a "Happy Belated Birthday"! It was this past Wednesday!)

Tons of thanks to Phantom of the Attic and to artist Wilfred Santiago for sharing these great pics on the Facebook fan page for 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente!  It looks like it was an amazing signing last weekend in Pittsburgh, the very city where Clemente got his start with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

You can check out more pics from the event on the Fantagraphics Flickr, and you can also watch this great video capturing the signing, in case the embedded video doesn't play below.

Thanks so much again to our hosts at Phantom of the Attic!

And Chicago comics fans, you're up to bat as Wilfred Santiago will be signing this Saturday at Chicago Comics [3244 N. Clark Street] at 3:00 pm! Don't miss it!

Hey Chicago! This Saturday, May 28th, cartoonist Wilfred Santiago will be at Chicago Comics signing his latest graphic novel 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente.

Wilfred Santiago signs 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente.

Chicago Comics is located at 3244 N. Clark Street, and the signing starts at 3:00 pm!

Who wants to be one of a mere ten students to take a class from the great Jim Woodring on the art of inking with a dip pen and ink? 

Well, all you gotta do is get yourself to Australia for GRAPHIC, a two-day long festival held at the Sydney Opera House, August 20th and 21st.

Jim will also be part of a panel on Wordless Storytelling, and he'll narrate a slideshow about himself titled Please Stand By.

Are you tripping out yet? Well, speaking of "tripping out," Jim is also doing a panel on Altered States... with R Crumb.

Yes, the legendary Crumb will also be in attendance, participating in a conversation with our own Gary Groth, and even performing a one-off concert with Australia’s own ragtime outfit Captain Matchbox.

It all sounds like one of the most surreal comics events you could possibly go to. Updates can be found at the GRAPHIC Facebook page.

Olympia, WA is a city well-known for its DIY ethos, so it's perfect that the guest of honor at this year's Olympia Comics Festival is Megan Kelso, an artist who self-published her influential mini-comic Girlhero throughout the '90s.

And, it's also appropriate that we will be debuting the reissue of her collection Queen of the Black Black at the festival! YES!

Queen of the Black Black compiles Megan's early Girlhero strips, along with a few other things, into a wonderful redesigned volume. The original limited edition pressing of this came out nearly a decade ago and has been long, gone, out-of-print, people. On a personal note, I'm just overjoyed that Fantagraphics is getting to reprint it. This is a book that NEEDS to be out there.

And there are so many opportunities to hear more about it, and all her books, from Ms. Kelso herself, this Saturday, May 21st! 

Not only will Megan be there, but Mome artist (and another DIY champion herself) Andrice Arp will be at the festival. I'm waiting for Olympia to explode from the awesome when Andrice and Megan do their panel.

Plus, the incomparable Jim Blanchard will have a table at the show, and the great Jason T. Miles will be there with his zine distro Profanity Hill, which is just chock-full of awesome.

Bring cash, everyone.

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM //  Capitol Theater [206 5th Ave. SW]
Introduction and live music by Spiritual Successor(us)
Interview with Paul Chadwick
Rick Perry presents a classic animated short
Super Fun Contest
Interview with Megan Kelso
Stand-up comedian Morgan Picton makes comics funny again
Why Not Do Some Improv About Comics?
Interview with Larry Gonick
Unintentionally Funny Comics
Closing Remarks

1:30 - 6:00 PM // The Olympia Center [222 Columbia St. NW]
2:00 PM – Third Wave Feminism in Comics with Megan Kelso and Andrice Arp [Room 101/102]
3:00 PM – Meet Megan Kelso [Room 103]

5:30 - 7:00 PM //  Danger Room Comics [201 4th Ave. W]
Book signing with Megan Kelso

This Saturday, May 21st, residents of Mohegan Lake, New York will have a chance to learn more about one of the most influential artists from the Golden Age of comics, Mort Meskin!

Join author Steven Brower and Mort's son Peter Meskin as they discuss and sign copies of From Shadow to Light: The Life and Art of Mort Meskin. This is a wonderful (and rare!) opportunity to discuss this unsung hero with them both!

The event starts at 2:00 pm at the Barnes & Noble in Cortlandt Town Center [3089 E Main Street].

Wilfred Santiago signs 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente.

It was a slam dunk when artist Wilfred Santiago stopped by the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery earlier this month with a touchdown on his new book 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente, and I... I...

I don't know anything about sports.

But that's what made the talk so interesting and informative for me. Santiago sat down with local best-selling author Rob Neyer, national baseball editor for SBNation.com, and together, they introduced me to this inspirational athlete, whose accomplishments during his short life extended way beyond the dugout.

Wilfred Santiago talks with Rob Neyer.

Thanks to Rob and Wilfred for the engaging discussion at the store, and thanks to everyone for coming out on a rare sunny Seattle evening to participate and listen! If you live outside of Seattle, or just weren't able to make it for some reason, we've got video of their talk right here! (Please excuse the background noise... Not surprisingly, Steven Jesse Bernstein was talking about this neighborhood in his poem "More Noise Please.")

[On YouTube in two parts here and here, in case the embedded videos don't show above.]

After the talk, our curator Larry Reid turned the radio dial to the Mariners game (we're doing... bad?), and fans of baseball and comic arts lined up to get their books signed by Santiago.

There's more pics to see on the Fantagraphics Flickr page. Wilfred has some more events lined up, and I highly encourage everyone, sports fan or not, to go! We'll keep you posted with future signings and events right here on the Fantagraphics FLOG.

I can say, without a doubt, that was the Best TCAF Ever! 

...Okay, fine, so Fantagraphics has only done the Toronto Comics Art Festival twice, but it truly was an amazing year! Thank you so much to Christopher, Peter, Miles, Andrew, Gina, and all the fantastic volunteers of TCAF!

And, of course, one of my favorite things about TCAF?

Canadian donuts. Oh yeah.

Mike and I woke up bright and early to set-up our table. There was a momentary panic when I realized one of our display racks didn't arrive from Seattle, but the stellar staff at the Toronto Reference Library loaned us one of their carts for the weekend so we could get all of our shipment out! Thanks Ab!!

This photo serves as proof that we DID bring copies of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 1 (see? on the front corner there) and Wandering Son Book 1 (front and center). They both sold out so quickly, some people thought their debut was a myth, but nope! It's also true that Wandering Son sold out in the first two hours of the show!

Not too surprisingly, The Raven was another sell-out, along with Lorenzo's Ignatz title Chimera. (Stigmata was also insanely close to selling out.) And how gracious and kind was Lorenzo Mattotti? I'm envious of everyone who got to attend his panels! He kept modestly insisting his English wasn't very good (it was good!), but his intelligence and great humor shine through in any language! Thank you so much to TCAF and the Italian Cultural Institute for bringing Lorenzo to Toronto!

Lorenzo may have been a "Guest of Honor" at the con, but really, all of our artists were "guests of honor" at the Fantagraphics table!  We feel so lucky to work with some of the nicest people in all of comics, like Zak Sally here (seen with fellow Ignatz artist Mattotti). Not only did Zak do beautiful signings, but "Professor Zak" came out, engaging customers (and us!) with his insane depth of knowledge on comic history! [Note to Zak: I totally wanna see that Osamu Tezuka DVD!]

It's not a TCAF without pre-eminent Ditko scholar Blake Bell, and we were thrilled to have Dave Cooper attending TCAF for what we hope was the first of many signings to come!

And, of course, it's everyone favorite: T Edward Bak, seen here modeling his sweet new Popeye shirt. Covey, I know you're jealous. Bak split his time between signing with us and signing with Koyama Press, ran by Anne Koyama, aka The Nicest Woman in Comics™. 

On Saturday night, Mike, Lorenzo and I attended our first ever Doug Wright Awards, where this adorable picture was shown during the induction of David Boswell (far left in the photo) into the "Giants of the North." Yes, that is Daniel Clowes with The Hernandez Brothers and a grunged-out Chester Brown. Awesome.

Without a doubt, the most romantic moment of TCAF was when Drawn & Quarterly's Tom Devlin surprised Peggy Burns with the prettiest bouquet on Mother's Day! They were the Prom King and Queen of TCAF!

Another favorite moment was watching T Edward Bak and Lorenzo Mattotti at the TCAF After-Party on Sunday night. The two artists bonded over a crazy book T Edward found featuring Heavy Metal-style artwork.  We got on the subject of "First Concerts." Mike and Todd both saw U2 on the Joshua Tree tour, albeit in separate cities. (High fives ensued.) And Lorenzo's first concert? Canned Heat. Just when you thought the guy couldn't get any cooler.

So, as you can see, it was a wonderful time at TCAF! (And there are lots more photos over at the Fantagraphics Flickr page.) Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by the Fantagraphics table to browse or purchase books — we're so grateful for your support and your enthusiasm, and we can't wait to see you again next year!

The Fantagraphics makeshift cashbox.

Pittsburgh residents are in for treat as artist Wilfred Santiago will be signing 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente this Saturday, May 21st at Phantom of the Attic.

This signing is especially poignant, as Clemente found fame with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and locals are sure to recognize some landmarks in Santiago's excellent artwork.

And with The Clemente Museum based in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, you could make an entire day of it, and celebrate this great man!

Wilfred Santiago signing 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente.

Phantom of the Attic is located at 411 S. Craig Street, Second Floor. The signing starts at 1:00 pm, so don't be late!

Brooklyn! Head over to Littefield on Thursday, May 19th for The Spectactular Superfriends Show, featuring a performance from our superfriend, Michael Kupperman! He will be doing a live performance along with some "amazing friends," and thank goodness for that, 'cause you don't wanna do a live performance with lame friends. Only amazing ones.

The rest of the line-up seems pretty awesome, too, and I'm talking particularly about the headliner Adam WarRock, who is apparently an attorney-turned-MC, and is considered "the Internet's foremost comic book nerdcore rapper." I hope he raps about Snake 'N' Bacon. I mean, that's a dope rhyme in itself.

The spectacular super-ness starts this Thursday night at 8:00 pm, and sorry, kids, it's 21 and over.