Our Eric Reynolds made the scene at the Frye Museum for the gala opening of "R. Crumb's Underground" and has the photos to prove it -- click here for the whole set on Flickr.

I also uploaded a few of Eric's photos from Ellen Forney's talk at Comixtravaganza -- see those here.

Tom Spurgeon over at the Comics Reporter beat me to the punch a bit on this, but yes, our new website features artist interviews in various formats for your reading, listening, and watching enjoyment. Our brand-newest addition is Gary Groth's interview with Paul Hornschemeier from Mome Vol. 1, reprinted here on the website in its entirety! And yes, we will be adding EVERY Mome interview to the website over the next few weeks -- stay tuned right here for announcements as each one goes live.

In the meantime, you can catch up on what's already there, including some classic vintage Comics Journal interviews with Peter Bagge, Los Bros. Hernandez, and Jim Woodring, all in downloadable PDF format. (Follow those links to the download pages).

The "Comixtravaganza" event at the Seattle Public Library was a big, well-attended success! Top to bottom: David Lasky leads a comics workshop; the "Getting Into Comics" panel with our own Eric Reynolds at far right; and Ellen Forney meets fans and signs books after her performance. Click each photo for more details in our Flickr stream and click here for the entire set of photos.

It's Friday, which means it's time for a new installment of Steven Weissman's "Chocolate Cheeks" chapter in his ongoing Yikes! stories! Check back every week for the newest adventure of Li'l Bloody, Sweet Chubby Cheeks and the whole gang.

Our new and soon-to-be-expanded Online Comics section is totally FREE and available ONLY to registered, logged-in Fantagraphics.com users... yet another great reason to sign up if you haven't already! Coming soon: Martin Kellerman's Rocky.

It's a big weekend for comics events in Seattle! In between Crumb at the Frye Museum, Comixtravaganza at the Seattle Public Library, and Persepolis at the movies, why not head on down to Georgetown to shop at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery and marvel at the demolition of the Rainier Brewery cold storage building right across the street?

On her blog, Ellen Forney points out a nice plug Alison Bechdel gave Ellen's new book Lust, saying "It's stunningly drawn, and most educational." What really makes it worth re-posting, though, is the accompanying photo:

What says romance more than comics? If there is anything, we don't want to know about it. Woo your sweetie this Valentine's Day with our hand-picked selection of romantic and/or erotic books. From classic romance comics to cutting-edge erotica, from sweet to twisted, these comics are fluent in the many dialects of love.

Several Fantagraphics employees have new projects out now or coming soon. Warehouse manager Nico Vassilakis has Text Loses Time, a new book of bracing poetry and text-based art from Many Penny Press (available at Georgetown Records, the conjoined twin of the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery) -- stay tuned for an announcement of the book release party:

New sales guy Jason Miles has Dead Ringer, a new book that is part comic, part print portfolio, and all amazing, coming soon from La Mano:

And our Art Department production maestro Paul "Diamond Blow" Baresh has a new solo CD titled Luv Juice & Atomic Rock out now:

And don't forget the new CD from Extravagant Bachelor, the ongoing exploits of Fox Hollow, Kristy Valenti's columns for Comixology, Jacob Covey's freelance design work... and much more that I'm unaware of, I'm sure.

Avatars... icons... whatever you want to call 'em, we've got a whole mess of 'em that you can save and use to represent yourself in all of your social networking, instant messaging, blogging, and other online endeavors, all right here on this page. From Blecky to Stinky to Zippy... Frank to Fritz to Fantomah... and we're happy to take your suggestions for more, so leave a comment if your favorite character or book isn't represented!