A heads-up to all of our mail-order customers: We are currently in the process of packing up our fabled warehouse and relocating our shipping operations to a new facility. Orders are still going out but our shipping staff is a bit overtaxed with the move, so for the next 2 months or so, orders may take longer than usual to arrive — around the high end of the estimated shipping times listed on our shipping information page — with the exception of rush orders, which continue to be processed normally. We'll keep you updated on any other developments which might impact our customers.

The upshot of all of this is that our mail-order operation will be more efficient than ever once we are settled into our new facility. We appreciate your patience and your business!

(Any press people looking for the scoop on the changes to our facilities, please contact Eric Reynolds.)

In addition to our author signings, we'll have the following new books in tow: The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec by Jacques Tardi •  Book of Mr. Natural by R. Crumb •  Fire & Water: Bill Everett, The Sub-Mariner and the Birth of Marvel Comics by Blake Bell • Four Color Fear by Greg Sadowski • From Shadow to Light: The Art of Mort Meskin by Steven Brower • Love & Rockets New Stories #3 by Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez • Lucky In Love by George Chieffet & Stephen DeStefano • Sanctuary by Nate Neal • Too Soon? by Drew Friedman • You'll Never Know Book Two by C. Tyler • Zippy Ding Dong Daddy by Bill Griffith • MOME 20 by various

THE OFFICIAL SPX WEBSITE WITH SHOW INFO IS HERE!  

Dash Shaw has started a website for his forthcoming animated feature, THE RUINED CAST. It features production art from from the film and his Unclothed Man web series and original cartoons, writing, and sketchbook material. It's also a forum to talk about pre-90s anime and other cartoons Dash feels are underappreciated. 

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "The real reason to read Lucky in Love, of course, is DeStefano's art, which is intensely expressive and cartoony, among his best work, with fabulous panel designs, wonderful grotesque characters, and amazing energy throughout." – Andrew Wheeler, The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

• Review: "The Book of Mr. Natural by the legendary and infamous... R. Crumb is a gorgeous mini-coffee table comic book published by Fantagraphic Books. [...] This book is for Mr. Natural’s legions of cult followers, 60’s believers, as well as new and younger readers who can hack the raunchy non-PC wisdom the guru ejaculates." – Phil Semler, San Francisco Book Review

• Review: "Culled from the output of postcard self-publisher and Wisconsin native Norman Pettingill, this triumphant collection of outsider art offers an insider view of a world that most viewers of the work probably won’t enter. Pettingill’s concern was with the insular existence of backwoods hunters, from their lodges to their excursions, pulling humor from the grotesque and bawdy elements in a style that mixes the works of cartoonists like Basil Wolverton and Harvey Kurtzman, and the sweeping tapestries of Hieronymous Bosch. Satire abounds, but no matter how ugly it gets, it’s never vicious — this weirdness is all part of the landscape of Pettingill’s life." – John E. Mitchell, North Adams Transcript

• Interview: Comic Book Resources' Shaun Manning has a thought-provoking chat with our own Kim Thompson about his translation projects, including our recent Jacques Tardi books and the upcoming Milo Manara collections for Dark Horse: "Generally, my core belief is that you have to betray the source material to remain faithful. The Italians have the phrase, 'Traduttori, Traditori,' meaning, 'translators, traitors,' which most would read as an insult but I read as sound advice."

• Interview in the Future: Drew Friedman will be the guest on Bob Andelman's Mr. Media show on BlogTalkRadio on October 4 at 11 AM (not sure what time zone) — start prepping your questions for the call-in session!

Periodic clips & strips -- click for improved/additional viewing and possible artist commentary at the sources:

• Michael Kupperman illustrates a New York Times op-ed piece written by William Gibson

• This video posted by Jim Woodring has a surprise ending

• At Comics Comics, Jeet Heer reminds us of Kevin Huizenga's tribute to Floyd Gottfredson in Or Else #2

• Another stage in Matthias Lehmann's scratchboard work in progress

• An unpublished 1987 Bob Fingerman drawing of young zombies in love

• The cover of the first comic Jason ever made, circa 1979 (it means Tim and Tom On the Go!, not Tim and Tom Are Farting!, you sillyhead)

• This week's "I, Anonymous" plus church sketches and more sketchbookery by Steven Weissman 

• Another page from a comic-in-progress by John Hankiewicz 

• Pegasus progress pics from Frank Santoro 

• An illustration by Marco Corona for Internazionale, with commentary in Italian

• Debbie Drechsler draws the belted kingfisher, with commentary

• From Renee French: fly, fly people

• Steve Brodner draws Abel Meeropol and former Sen. Alan Simpson, with commentary

• Ooh, pretty record cover art for Coil Sea by Archer Prewitt (via Presspop)

• A new animated Underworld cartoon by Kaz & co. (via Ben Schwartz)

• This week's Maakies by Tony Millionaire (still on Facebook for the time being)

• Our own Jacob Covey just posted a bunch of his drawings on vintage postcards to Facebook — I'm not sure what his privacy settings are but some of them are on Flickr too if that link doesn't work

• Paul Hornschemeier's latest t-shirt design for his Forlorn Funnies Shirt Shop — Biggeespeare joins the protagonist of Set to Sea in the ranks of hulking poets

Another awesome fan tattoo shared with us on Facebook, this one based on the cover of Black Hole #4 by Charles Burns.

The new ish of Smoke Signal is out and it is a doozy! With contribs from Peter Bagge (that killer cover), Tim Lane, Gabrielle Bell, Michael Kupperman, Kevin Huizenga, Jon Vermilyea, Nate Neal, Noah Van Sciver, Derek Van Gieson, Martin Cendreda, our own Jason T. Miles, Kaz (back cover) and many more of our faves, this one is a must-get. Pick one up for FREE at Desert Island in Brooklyn, or order one here.

Here's a couple of impressive Maakies-related tattoos recently shared on Facebook by Tony Millionaire:

We have an update to our schedule of Fantagraphics-related events at this year's Bumbershoot festival: our own Nico Vassilakis will be participating in the Pecha Kucha multidisciplinary arts showcase tomorrow at noon. Looks fascinating!

So Jim Woodring was officially declared a Genius by The Stranger; now he and the other Genius Award winners are being feted with a gala event on Friday, September 17, at the Moore Theatre in Seattle. Get your tickets here!

(The portrait of Jim is a good likeness, but why is he dressed like Brock Samson?)