Don't miss the festivities at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this Saturday, October 9 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM as two extraordinary artists appear to celebrate the publication of exquisite new books.

Dave Cooper's BENT features twisted pictures that are simultaneously sensuous and grotesque. The event will feature an exhibition of alluring drawings offered at insanely affordable prices. His recent shows at Jonathan Levine in New York and Billy Shire Fine Arts in L. A. attracted celebrity art patrons. Here's your chance to join them. Also on hand will be Johnny Ryan touring behind the latest installment of his amazing PRISON PIT serial. There will be a display of colorful silkscreen prints by the mastermind behind ANGRY YOUTH COMIX.

This event coincides with the lively Georgetown Art Attack featuring challenging visual and performing art exhibitions throughout the historic industrial arts corridor. Please join us for complimentary beverages with these compelling contemporary artists.

And mark your calendars now for Saturday, October 30 when we welcome the incomparable Charles Burns back home to Seattle.

You may have heard that we're in the process of relocating our warehouse and shipping facilities. As we've now reached a crucial point in the transition, no orders will be shipped from October 7 through October 20, 2010. All orders placed during this period will be shipped after October 20 using the slowest method (Media Rate in the U.S., Air Mail for Canada & Mexico, and DHL Global Mail for the rest of the world) — rush shipping will NOT be available. (See our shipping information page here.)

To cushion the blow, the good news is that during this period SHIPPING IS FREE IN THE U.S. and 50% OFF FOR INTERNATIONAL ORDERS. And on top of that, use the coupon code GOODNEWS at checkout for 20% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER through October 20, 2010! Now's the time to get that holiday shopping done early!

We hope that these discounts compensate for any inconvenience caused by our shipping blackout. Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Emotionally uncompromising and graphically challenging, You’ll Never Know v.2: Collateral Damage stands out as one of the best comics of the year. Tyler reaches deep into herself, showing the unending dominoes of influence that compose a family. Do yourself a favor and check it out." – Michael C. Lorah, Newsarama

• Review: "But as powerful as this strain of valorization has been, there have been powerful statements of dissent along the way. The Americanization of Emily, for example, or Catch-22. Lucky in Love: Book 1 (by George Cheiffet, with art by Stephen DeStefano) follows their path, though it takes a much more personal, less grandiose tone than those two examples. It’s drawn in a style reminiscent of Disney WWII propaganda cartoons, though DeStefano arranges the backgrounds and perspectives with far greater sophistication." – Joshua Malbin

• Review: "Ryan takes puerile humor to unimagined heights (or depths)... Prison Pit Book Two isn't as much about punchlines and shock tactics. Here, the humor comes via ridiculously long and surreal battles between intergalactic monsters (think bizarre mutations and mass bloodshed). It's sort of a spoof on sci-fi comics, He-Man cartoons, and the over the top male bravado of WWE Wrestling...Prison Pit contains Ryan's signature WTF flourishes, like ass licking creatures, thorny alien vaginas, ghetto slang and Nazi insignia emblazoned 'death hösen' trousers. See you on the playground." – Wilfred Brandt, TwoThousand

• Review: "But the way you're just dropped into Maggie & Hopey, Already In Progress, is pretty much why I continue to recommend this volume [Maggie the Mechanic], rather than its relatively sci-fi-free successors, as the place to start if you're interested in Jaime's work. I understand why that doesn't work for everyone — and it's true, the earliest comics are relatively talky and old-fashioned-looking as befits their influences. But if you start late in the game, you're not just missing dinosaurs and rocketships and robots and superheroes and such — you're missing what really feels like a couple years in the life. Even by page one, we've already missed so much!" – Sean T. Collins, Attentiondeficitdisorderly

• Interview: The Daily Cross Hatch's Brian Heater talked to Drew Weing at SPX. Part 1 gets into the creation of Set to Sea: "The intention was to draw a panel every day and post it. It was supposed to be fun, quick side project, 'it’s the end of the day. I just draw this one, quick, small panel.' And every day it got more and more detailed and complex. By panel two it was too complex to knock off in an hour or two."

• Plug: "Four-Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s... [is a] collection of pre-Code, non-EC horror comics that are every bit as good as the famed EC comics themselves. Here in all its shocking, creepy and gory glory you can see work from Jack Cole, Reed Crandall, Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, Basil Wolverton, Wally Wood, and more! This one is a must!" – Benn Ray (Atomic Books), Largehearted Boy

• Coming Attractions: Bleeding Cool 's Rich Johnston continues noticing our 2011 Eurocomics reprints, now reporting on our June edition of R. Macherot's Sibyl-Anne Vs. Ratticus: "Am I the only one that’s seeing a bit of a trend? The trade dress appears similar… is Fantagraphics on a major spreee to translate and publish as many quality French comics as they can? [Yes. – Ed.] In a new imprint or line perhaps? [I'm not sure whether we're considering this a "line" or not, but it's not an imprint. – Ed.]"

Nate Neal has posted a bunch of photos from his book launch & signing at Desert Island in Brooklyn last week for his new graphic novel The Sanctuary. Looks like a good time!

Michael Kupperman takes on R. Sikoryak, Emily Flake, and David Lappé in a special all-comics edition of Literary Death Match on Friday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 (doors at 7:00) at the Bowery Poetry Club in NYC. More info and links to purchase tickets here.

Thanks to über-fan Chris Diaz for sending us these photos from Dave Cooper's appearance at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco last night, part of his ongoing West Coast book tour.

As part of our warehouse move, we've stumbled across a tiny cache of hardcover editions of the COMPLETE CRUMB COMICS VOLUME 11, first editions complete with signed plates. Even though the REGULAR hardcovers, which have long been sold out too, are selling for north of $100 from on-line stores we're offering these signed ones (only one per customer!) for the original $75 price. What a bargain!

We also found some signed plates for COMPLETE CRUMB VOLUME 10, and can thus once again offer this hardcover for $75. (The only other signed hardcover still in stock is COMPLETE CRUMB VOLUME 6.)

There are VERY FEW of these left, so we'd encourage anyone who wants to buy them to call us at 1-800-657-1100 muy pronto. Trust snail mail or even the website's 24-hour turnaround and you may be S.O.L.