Earlier this week, we announced the Twain in the Membrane Tour, celebrating the release of Mark Twain's Autobiography 1910-2010. And it kicks off this weekend at the Brooklyn Book Festival!

Author and artist Michael Kupperman will be part of the "Funny Ha-Ha: Comedy in Comics" panel discussion, alongside Keith Knight, Kate Beaton, and Jennifer Hayden, moderated by Heidi MacDonald of The Beat and Publishers Weekly Comics World.

Get ready for some laughs this Sunday, September 18th at the St. Francis Screening Room [ 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights ]. 

And get ready to go insane for Twain! Complete tour dates can be found on our "Events" page.

Did you know our website has a well-stocked bargain section of Clearance Sale items and Closeout Deals? Well now you do! Here's just a couple of the excellent items we have marked down & priced to move:

Conceptual Realism: In the Service of the Hypothetical (Softcover Edition) by Robert Williams — A catalog of the Fall 2009 solo exhibition of paintings and sculptures by the groundbreaking master of "lowbrow" art, with essays on each piece by the artist, sketches and other supplemental material. Comes with a free bonus signature plate while supplies last! $24.99 $16.66 — You Save: 33.33%! Order Now

Fred the Clown by Roger Langridge — Fred the Clown, the thinking man's idiot, has an eye for the ladies, but all they have for him is a carefully placed kneecap. Part Samuel Beckett, part Tex Avery; beautifully drawn, utterly inspired lunacy. Langridge's recent mainstream work has made him a critical darling — pick up this 2004 collection for some pure, unadulterated Langridge! $16.95 $11.30 — You Save: 33.33%!Order Now

This weekend kicks off the Foolscap convention, a small conference of fantasy and sci-fi enthusiasts in Redmond, WA. And joining them as a "Guest of Honor" is our own Jim Woodring!

You guys, this convention sounds amazing. Not only do you get to hobnob with fellow readers, writers, and artists, but they're kicking it off on Friday with a chocolate reception. Why don't all cons do that?

Join Jim on Saturday from 3:00 to 4:30 PM for the panel "Woodring on Woodring," and then on Sunday from 11:00 to 12:00 pm, he'll be on the panel for "Comics Without Captions," a discussion on wordless graphic novels. 

Foolscap runs from Friday, September 16th through Sunday, September 18th at the Redmond Marriott Town Center [7401 164th Avenue NE] in Redmond, Washington.  

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship:

Love and Rockets: New Stories #4
by the Hernandez Brothers

104-page black & white 7.5" x 9.25" softcover • $14.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-490-0

See Previews / Order Now

After nearly 30 years, Love and Rockets just keeps getting better, and this issue of the annual 3rd incarnation finds the Brothers Hernandez at the peak of their storytelling powers.

Jaime Hernandez's emotionally powerful stories in the last issue of Love and Rockets: New Stories ("The Love Bunglers" and "Browntown") were among the most critically-acclaimed comics of the year. In this new issue, Jaime ups the ante even more. The final chapters of "The Love Bunglers" continue tracking Maggie's romantic travails in the here and now, with an escalating series of entanglements and a shocking event which sends things hurtling to a stunning conclusion over the breathtaking and heartrending final ten pages. Nestled in the midst of this is the masterful "Return for Me," a sequel of sorts to "Browntown" in which teenage Maggie returns to Hoppers and a new life.

Meanwhile, on the Gilbert side, things lead off with the 35-page cover story "King Vampire": Two lovable teens, Cecil and Trini, want to join a local vampire club, but real vampires show up and things get deadly serious. Cecil loves it but Trini has her doubts about going all the way. It's another starring role for budding starlet "Killer" — and one of those vampires looks an awful lot like a certain Z-movie actress from Gilbert's post-Palomar world… Then High Soft Lisp's Fritz returns in "And Then Reality Kicks In," a 15-page walk-and-talk in which Fritz reunites with an old beau. This complex and layered dialogue may be Gilbert's finest piece of writing yet.

Plus an all-star all-cartoonists letters column!

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "...21’s eloquence is visual, and it is a very real eloquence. The character of Roberto Clemente is nearly hugged to death in this particular portrayal: he’s virtuous and charming and earnest and respectful to elders, and thus kind of dull. But the world around him is alive, and Santiago’s expressive (and occasionally, bracingly expressionistic) approach to portraying Clemente’s wild athletic genius ensures that it remains thrillingly present. Santiago’s art is impressively mutable and subtle, with the early scenes in Carolina in particular and the off-field action in general drawn with a clean, evocative realism and the baseball action shading towards the comics-y abstract.... [A] fitting and vital tribute." – David Roth, Los Angeles Review of Books

• Review: "If you're onboard for the third installment of something so purposefully vile as Prison Pit, you know what you're getting into. You're not going to be shocked by violence and gore, but you're still going to have a great time... We get a collection of creatures and monsters beating the shit out of each other in the most juvenile way possible, but Johnny Ryan does such a handsome job of designing these creatures to be as ugly and awful as possible. It's an ugliness that you see in the margins of your seventh-grade notebook when you were drawing pictures of horrible things because this was the only thing that could excite you during social studies or whatever, and it's exciting to look at because you never know what you're going to see next." – Geoffrey Lapid, Death-Ray Ozone

I walk into the production portion of the office, holding a slab of cheese which I'm halfway through eating. Gary is sitting at a computer terminal discussing a book with a designer, holding his own halfway-eaten slab of cheese (or perhaps it's sitting in the chair next to him). I remember that the last time we crossed paths in the office both of us were eating cheese, and this spurs me to ask him if he's still working on the same piece of cheese. It comes out as "Same one?" and I worry briefly that Gary won't understand the question because it is pretty oblique (and slightly muffled by cheese), but he sees me glancing at his cheese and nods, "Yeah." He then adds, "You, too?" I don't actually remember if I've finished and started a new piece of cheese since last we spoke, but that would seem embarrassingly gluttonous so I quickly say "Yes." I glance over at the row of computers and one of the people working there is Quentin Tarantino. I am only mildly surprised. I take another bite of cheese. My wife's alarm goes off.

I should perhaps mention that in three and half decades we've worked together neither Gary nor I has ever walked around the office eating cheese. I did have pizza for lunch yesterday, though.

Description of this dream guaranteed 100% accurate.

(Previously: "The Late Ernest Borgnine, nemo: The Classic Comics Library, 'Tang-Tang,' and 'Borgnine Gravy.'")

Jason has been honored in his native Norway with his own postage stamp! It's one of a series of 4 featuring artwork by contemporary Norwegian cartoonists in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the first comic to be published in Norway, as Jason explains on his blog. If we can just get the USPS to follow suit with some Love and Rockets or Eightball stamps, it might save them from bankruptcy!

The new issue of Booklist contains a review of Gil Jordan, Private Detective: Murder by High Tide by M. Tillieux, excerpted below:

"Many fans have long known that there’s more to Franco-Belgian comics than Tintin and Asterix — and those who didn’t know will be delighted to learn it.... Dapper private detective Gil Jordan is the star of these funny adventure stories, aided by ex-burglar assistant Crackerjack, eccentric friend Inspector Crouton, and no-nonsense secretary Miss Midge. 'Murder by High Tide' sets an antiques dealer’s death at an irresistible location, on a tidal causeway leading to the decrepit Tower of the Merrie Knight. And in 'Leap of Faith,' escaped convict Joe the Syringe stays one leap ahead of the good guys as he seeks revenge on his attorney. Plausibility may not be the watchword here, but no matter: these are a ton of fun and the full-color art, beautifully produced and fairly bursting with sweat beads, stink lines, and other emanata, is an animated delight." – Keir Graff, Booklist

If you work at Fantagraphics long enough, you will invariably learn to marvel at the way that our fearless co-leader, Kim Thompson , has his hand in virtually everything that happens here. His ability to multitask is a source of endless conversation and awe. He juggles projects as easily as he does multiple languages. How does he do it? Well, thanks to this recent discovery in our archives, we now know the answer, and it turns out he owes it all to former Marvel Comics Editor Mark Gruenwald :

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Another brilliant adaptation of a Jean-Patrick Manchette crime novel by Jacques Tardi. If you liked West Coast Blues, well, you absolutely will love [Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot]. If you are a crime fan and haven’t read that work yet, you really must as for whatever reason, it is something that tends to get overlooked. Yes, Tardi’s art style is completely unique and can take a little adjusting to if you’re only used to conventional American / UK styles, but give it a go because he brings gritty crime to brutal, realistic life — and indeed equally cold, hard unpleasant death — like few others can." – Jonathan Rigby, Page 45

• Review: "There be monsters; monsters of man’s own making. [The Hidden] is Sala’s second book in colour, rich in red and orange, but it’s the first, I believe, to dispense with all hope and humour — apart from the man with the Marty Feldman eyes. He’s taken the Edward out of Gorey and the tongue from his cheek, replacing it there with shovels, hatchets and stakes!" – Stephen L. Holland, Page 45

• Review: "After a rocky start, the regularly updated, online version of The Comics Journal has become a much more vital outlet for the serious discussion of comics, primarily thanks to the stewardship of online editors Dan Nadel and Tim Hodler. In its new format, the print Comics Journal is a fine companion to that ongoing effort. With the burden of remaining 'current' lifted by the website, the print Journal is free to explore important works with a depth and seriousness rarely found online." – Patrick Markfort, Articulate Nerd

• Plug: "The new Prison Pit #3 is GLORGEFULL!" – Gary Panter (via Facebook)