Uncle Jim takes you on a narrated tour through his upcoming book Problematic: Sketchbook Drawings 2004-2012 (due next month) and shows off a few of the original Moleskine notebooks from which the drawings in the book were taken, describing it all in his inimitable style. Hey, this means I don't have to shoot the usual preview video of the book — although in a bit of a switcheroo, Jim has loaned us 4 of his sketchbooks for us to shoot and upload video of those (they're just sitting around in my living room right now, no big deal, PLOTZ), so stay tuned for that!

Jaxon - drawn to the task from Telebob on Vimeo.

If you'd like to know more about Jack Jackson before digging in to our forthcoming volume Jack Jackson's American History: Los Tejanos & Lost Cause, this short video documentary created by Bob Simmons is an excellent primer. (Hat tip to Patrick Rosenkranz for pointing it out to us a ways back.)

Hot pixels! Paul Hornschemeier just revealed the cover art for Forlorn Funnies Vol. 1, the first volume of his new one-man anthology series which we have the pleasure of bringing to you in September of next year. (You may remember it was originally announced for Fall 2010, but then Paul got busy with little things like getting married, moving, becoming a dad, doing artwork and animation for an IFC show amongst other projects... stuff like that.) For several months now Paul has been revealing work-in-progress glimpses (along with sketchbook artwork) on his Tumblr blog, so head over there for a taste of things to come.

It's our great privilege to be bringing you a "lost" comics masterpiece of the 1990s in a new, definitive, remastered, expanded hardcover edition. 7 Miles a Second is the memoir of renowned artist, writer, filmmaker and activist David Wojnarowicz, from his youth husling on the streets of Manhattan to his battle with AIDS in adulthood, drawn by James Romberger and colored by Marguerite Van Cook. Alternately lyrical and harrowing, blending gritty realism with elements of surrealism and psychedelia, it's been called "revelatory," "revolutionary" and "a cult classic"... and now it can finally be seen the way it was always intended. This book should be available in January, and it looks like we'll be able to offer an exclusive signed bookplate, possibly with brand new art, to our mail-order customers. Stay tuned for details and more extensive previews; read a 7-page excerpt and pre-order your copy right here.

Jack Jackson's American History: Los Tejanos & Lost Cause
by Jack Jackson

320-page black & white 7.5" x 10.25" hardcover • $35.00
ISBN: 978-1-60699-504-4

Ships in: December 2012 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now

Jack Jackson loved American history and creating comics. He combined these into a single vocation and created a legacy of historical graphic novels that has never been equaled.

Jackson is credited with creating what many consider the first underground comic, God Nose, in 1964. He co-founded Rip-Off Press in 1969, and made some of the most scathing satirical comics about contemporary America ever seen. But, Jackson was a Texan, and in the 1970s he returned to his roots and began writing and drawing short historical comics about Texas history. He then went on to produce six graphic novels chronicling 19th century Western history focusing on his beloved Texas and the Plains Indians. Fantagraphics, which published Los Tejanos originally in 1981, is proud to bring his graphic histories back into print in a series of three volumes, each reprinting two of his long narratives.

The first volume features Los Tejanos, which Fantagraphics published as a solo book in 1981, and Lost Cause (1998) — chronicling Texas history before and after the Civil War.

Los Tejanos is the story of the Texas-Mexican conflict between 1835 and 1875 as seen through the eyes of tejano (literally Texan of Mexican, as distinct from anglo, heritage) Juan Seguín. It is through Seguín, a pivotal and tragic figure, that Jackson humanizes Texas’ fight for independence and provides a human scale for this vast and complex story.

Lost Cause documents the violent reaction to Reconstruction by Texans. As Jackson wrote, “Texas reaped a bitter harvest from the War Between the States. Part of this dark legacy was the great unrest that plagued the beaten but unbowed populace.” The tensions caused by Reconstruction are told through the Taylor-Sutton feud, which raged across South Texas, embracing two generations and causing untold grief, and the gunslinger John Wesley Hardin, who swept across Texas killing Carpetbaggers, Federal soldiers, and Indians.

Jackson’s work is as known for its rigorous research — he became as good an historian as he was a cartoonist — as well as its chiseled, raw-boned visual approach, reproducing the time and place with an uncanny verisimilitude.

This edition includes an essay by and interview with Jackson about the controversy Lost Cause generated, and an introduction by the novelist Ron Hansen.

26-page excerpt (download 5.6 MB PDF):

Video & Photo Slideshow Preview (view in new window):

Have you ever wished for a miniature effigy of Fletcher Hanks's Stardust the Super Wizard (as seen in the hit books I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets and You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation), or, perhaps, desire one now that we've planted the idea in your head? You could help make it happen if you apply your willpower (and money)! Jared Zichek has created this 3D computer model of everyone's favorite godlike vengeance meter-outer clutching the literally disembodied head of the villain DeStructo, and is now taking pre-orders via Kickstarter to realize it as a cast-metal collectible miniature. I don't know much about tabletop miniature games but if anybody uses this in their D&D campaign I want to hear about it.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Jean-Patrick Manchette's novel The Prone Gunman, from which Jacques Tardi adapted the graphic novel Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot (we gave it a different name for our edition), is on the way to a major-motion-picture adaptation with Sean Penn in negotiations to play the lead, ruthless assassin Martin Terrier. No director yet; our own Kim Thompson suggests Nicolas Winding Refn or William Friedkin in French Connection flashback mode, if the producers are listening.

We trust that Jefferey Wright is in talks for the Stanley role.

Right?

This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new titles. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators and web-savvy comic shops are saying about them (more to be added as they appear), check out our previews at the links, and contact your local shop to confirm availability.

Charlie Brown's Christmas Stocking
by Charles M. Schulz

56-page three-color 5.75" x 5.75" hardcover • $9.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-624-9

"WOW, CHARLIE BROWN – a pair of ’60s holiday treats for Good Housekeeping and Woman’s Day form the bulk of Charlie Brown’s Christmas Stocking, a 56-page, 5.75" x 5.75" seasonal fancy." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

"I’m... eager for Charlie Brown’s Christmas Stocking." – Michael May, Robot 6

"I'm a fairly obsessive Peanuts reader, so I'll be glad to have this. It looks like it would be a nice little gift book." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 4: House of the Seven Haunts
by Floyd Gottfredson

280-page black & white/color 10.5" x 8.75" hardcover • $29.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-575-4

Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 3 + 4 Box Set
by Floyd Gottfredson

two 280-page black & white/color 10.5" x 8.75" hardcovers with slipcase • $49.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-576-1

"WOW, MICKEY MOUSE – Floyd Gottfredson & co. return for another 280 big gulp of vintage newspaper strips in Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Vol. 4: House of the Seven Haunts, which sees large birds running amok, ghosts spreading terror, and Goofy finally addressed by his proper Christian name." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

"The publisher has pulled out all the stops on these wonderful collections.... Highly Recommended." – Bud Plant

"...[P]robably where my money will go is Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse, Volume 4: House of the Seven Haunts ($29.99). I’m heading to Disney World next week and that would be great reading on the plane." – Michael May, Robot 6

"More of that Floyd Gottfredson, inky goodness, now in the long stretch of its prime." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

"Oh, dear, which volume of classic Disney material to get? Do I go with Vol. 4 of Floyd Gottfredson’s sublime daily Mickey Mouse strip, House of the Seven Haunts? Or do I choose the unparalleled genius of Carl Barks and get Donald Duck: A Christmas for Shacktown? The Donald Duck volume has the edge since it contains 'The Golden Helmet,' a favorite story of mine from childhood, but since I’m splurging I’ll just get both." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

Walt Disney's Donald Duck: A Christmas for Shacktown
by Carl Barks

240-page full-color 7.5" x 10.25" hardcover • $28.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-574-7

"WOW, DONALD DUCK – Carl Barks is in charge of 240 pages of re-colored comic book stories in Walt Disney’s Donald Duck: A Christmas for Shacktown, gathering up some fine early ’50s material." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

"This is super-pretty work from a comics master and on my reading stand right now. ...[T]he comics here sure are a lot of fun, and read well today as kind of valentines mailed from the Land Of Narrative." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

Prison Pit Book 4
by Johnny Ryan

116-page black & white 6.5" x 8.5" softcover • $12.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-591-4

"WOW, CANNIBAL FUCKFACE – motherfuckers are gonna get ripped to shit in Prison Pit Book Four, a 116-page continuation of Johnny Ryan’s raging flume of blood and cum, and a top-notch example of the manga influence on Comics for Everyone today." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

"Johnny Ryan's -- I first wrote out 'Johnny Riot's,' which I think I may prefer -- manga-influenced fight comic pushes into the second half of its run with more of the same. It's one of the few series where more of the same is perfectly acceptable." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

"Thor's Picks of the Week" – Midtown Comics 

"New Prison Pit! This one is one for the record books." – Bergen Street Comics

"Just a heads up that I’ve created an all-new online shop which features my books, prints, original art, etc., all in one place. Check it out here. This is the ONLY place I am offering original artwork for sale online, and the inventory will change from time to time as I dig up more originals and stuff to sell," says Johnny Ryan on his blog. So go do that!

Stop the presses! Making good on a pre-election promise, Steven Weissman has brought Barack Hussein Obama back for a second term — though not "in person" yet, as it were — with all new strips at What Things Do. Thanks to everybody who voted to re-elect the President for helping to make this possible.