FLOG! Entries for Mike Baehr - December 2007

New year, new books: more 2008 titles for pre-order

mike

Welcome the new year by looking forward to some great 2008 releases, which have just been added to the website and made available for pre-order on our Upcoming Releases page. Pictured above: new editions of Jordan Crane's all-ages hit The Clouds Above and Debbie Drechsler's groundbreaking Daddy's Girl; the newest collection of Jaime Hernandez's Love and Rockets stories, The Education of Hopey Glass; the unique scratchboard storybook Funeral of the Heart by Leah Hayes; and The Comics Journal #288, with our Best of 2007 coverage and sporting a brand-new design and format!

Call 1-800-657-1100 (or 206-524-1967 outside the U.S.) or click the covers above to see full details on each title and add it to your shopping cart. Most of our books go out to our pre-order customers before they arrive in bookstores and comic shops, so this is the fastest way to get them in your hot and eager hands. Order today!

Brodner does Popeye

mike

...among others. There's more to it.

(More Brodner; more Popeye)

Friday night videos

mike

Here at last are 5 more songs from the Tom Price Desert Classic, captured at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery 1st Anniversary party on 12/8/07 by our New Sales Guy and videographer at large Jason T. Miles. We won't choke your browser with all 5 embedded videos; instead, simply click through to our YouTube page to watch.

Be our fan on Facebook

mike

Now that Facebook lets companies (or "brands" or whatever) have profiles, we've got our very own and you can be our "fan."

On that page, you can follow Flog in a mini-feed, see photos and events, write on our "wall," and even leave us some "graffiti" like Renee French did:

Thanks Renee and everyone else who's "fanned" us already, with extra-special thanks if you're posing with Fantagraphics comics in your profile photo:

Earlier in 2007 we had a special sale just for our social-networking "friends" — chances are we'll do it again in 2008. Hint hint!

A Johnny Ryan X-Mas

mike

Holiday Bowl-a-rama

mike

As per annual tradition, our company holiday party was held at the glamorous Sunset Bowl in beautiful downtown Ballard last weekend. Click here for a mess of photos by me and Eric Reynolds; below are a few highlights:

Kim Thompson takes on high-score leader Paul Baresh in a sudden-death winner-take-all showdown...

...from which Baresh emerges victorious! (That's the trophy.)

Mistress of ceremonies Rhea Patton.

New Release: The Pin-Up Art of Dan DeCarlo Vol. 2

mike

The Pin-Up Art of Dan DeCarlo Vol. 2
Edited by Alex Chun; designed by Jacob Covey

For more than 40 years, Dan DeCarlo was best known for his definitive rendition of Archie Comics' Betty and Veronica, two of comics' most beloved icons. But before joining Archie in the late 1950s and unbeknownst to many, DeCarlo was already honing his skills as a good girl artist for the Humorama line of digest magazines. This second volume once again displays DeCarlo's sexiest Humorama pin-up cartoons, and continues Fanatagraphics' dedication to showcasing the best of the classic pin-up cartoonists.

216-page two-color 5.75" x 7.75" softcover $18.95
Order Now!

New Release: Laura Warholic or, The Sexual Intellectual

mike

Laura Warholic or, the Sexual Intellectual
By Alexander Theroux

In his first novel in nearly twenty years, Alexander Theroux, National Book Award Nominee, returns with a compendious satire, a bold and inquisitorial circuit-breaking examination of love and hate, of rejection and forgiveness, of trust and romantic disappointment, of the terrors of contemporary life. Eugene Eyestones, an erudite sex columnist for a Boston cultural magazine, becomes enmeshed in the messy life of a would-be artist named Laura Warholic, who, repulsing and fascinating him at the same time, becomes a mirror in which he not only sees himself but through which he is forced to face his own demons. Not only does she inadvertently supply him with material for his columns, but she exemplifies all that Eugene considers wrong with contemporary America (of which the publishing profession and its recognizable denizens serves as a microcosm) — a garish and dunce-filled Babylon that Theroux scorches with inventive and relentless satire. Nostalgic for the old days and old manners, a way of life lost to grace, loving from afar a mysterious beauty named Rapunzel Wisht, Eugene fights against the rising tide of stupidity, focusing on Laura in the hope that by saving her he can validate his ethical beliefs. But feckless Laura and the colorful but bizarre cast of characters surrounding Eugene — brilliant bigots, nihilists, Generation-X slackers and zanies of all sexual persuasions — threaten to pull him under, leading to the novel's unforgettable conclusion, a climax of betrayal and redemption of Dostoevskyan power. As in all of Theroux's works, his maximalist and pyrotechnic prose style and searching intellect are the chief attractions, capable of outrageous comedy, nuanced philosophical discussions, winsome love scenes, flame-throwing tirades, subtle theological musings, and an unflinching genius for a profound if merciless look at the human condition. Horrifying and hilarious, damning and demanding, Laura Warholic in its uncompromising power will surely be one of the most talked-about novels of the season, and for years to come.

824-page 6" x 9" hardcover novel $29.95
Order Now!

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery holiday hours

mike

Seattlites: Still looking for those last-minute holiday gifts? The Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is open and ready to serve you 11:30 - 8:00 daily (11:30 - 5:00 Sundays) with the following exceptions:

Monday 12/24/07 (Christmas Eve): 11:30 - 4
Tuesday 12/25/07 (Christmas Day): CLOSED

Monday 12/31/07 (New Year's Eve): 11:30 - 4
Tuesday 1/1/08 (New Year's Day): CLOSED

We've got everything from stocking stuffers to books so impressively ginormous they won't fit under the tree. Come on down:

1201 South Vale Street (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 98108
(Google map)
206-658-0110

Willie & Joe: The WWII Years by Bill Mauldin - info and pre-order

mike

One of our most anticipated 2008 releases, Willie & Joe: The WWII Years by Bill Mauldin, is now available for pre-order, and we've put together a special feature loaded with information on the book and Mauldin's work, including an excerpt of an interview with Mauldin. Click here for all the scoop!

New Release: Hate Annual #7

mike

Hate Annual #7
By Peter Bagge

The latest installment in the increasingly eccentric life of Buddy "The Crazy Guy Who Works at the Dump" Bradley involves a war over scrap metal, of all things, when Buddy's old pal and business partner Jay takes over the auto junk yard next door to Buddy's place in an attempt to capitalize on the rising value of used steel. Watch what happens when these two former collector geeks butt heads over a filthy, noisy, heavy yet priceless commodity! Also in this issue: The final chapter (which works as a stand-alone story) of Bagge's "Bat Boy" run in the Weekly World News, and Lovey once again gets involved with a Man of Mystery whose "mystery" is of questionable taste! And as always, there are other odds and ends that round out this one-man anthology.

40-page B&W/color comic $4.95
Order Now!

Stuff those stockings

mike

Need some last-minute stocking stuffers? We're here to help. Here's a selection of our tiniest books; there's something for everyone, and they're all affordably priced! (Plus they're all hardcovers, so they won't get bent out of shape if you cram them down into the toe and then pile a bunch of clementines on top.)

And hey, how about a sweet little deal: order all 3 for just $25 (that's $2.95 off the combined cover prices) from now until Christmas. (Note: If you order off the website, the discount won't be reflected in your shopping cart/order confirmation; please state the offer in the comments section and we'll process your order to include the discount. You can also call in your order to 1-800-657-1100.)

Muzzlers, Guzzlers and Good Yeggs
By Joe Coleman

Collects the best of Coleman's tales of true crime and cultural antiheroes, starring an opium-addicted con man, a hobo prostitute, a serial killer/rapist, the Boston Strangler, and institutions that perpetuate human suffering. Ho ho ho!

168-page 4" x 5.25" hardcover $13.00
Order Now!

The Last Lonely Saturday
By Jordan Crane

Largely wordless and cunningly rendered, this little book is sure to touch most folks. An old widower visits his departed wife's gravesite. Little does he know that what the day holds for him will result in this being his last lonely Saturday. Both sweet and bitter, realistic and fantasic, this heartwarming story of love and love lost is told in a beautiful two-color, red and yellow palette.

80-page 4" x 6.25" hardcover $8.00
Order Now!

Mighty Mite the Ear Mite
By Tony Millionaire

This charming, clever little book contains two simultaneous stories: in one, a wandering ear mite searches for a home; in the other, a lonely ape escapes from the circus. The two stories intersect for a "happy" ending. Suitable for all ages!

32-page 4.5" x 4" hardcover $6.95
Order Now!

Anniversary party video

mike

Our man with the video camera (and new sales guy) Jason Miles put together some video clips of Saturday night's blowout at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. Below, an intro and, after the page break, two songs from the Tom Price Desert Classic, with more to come!

There are also a couple of clips from Seattle bloggers Mark & Megan here.

Top 5s and 10s

mike

More year-end accolades: New York Magazine has named Paul Hornschemeier's The Three Paradoxes one of its five Best Comics of 2007. Paul is the only American creator on the list (Japan, Israel and Australia are also represented), so hey, I guess that unofficially makes The Three Paradoxes the best American comic of the year! Congratulations, Paul!

Meanwhile, The Complete Peanuts 1963-64 makes it onto Time's Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2007 list. I don't know if the writer is the first to compare Snoopy's doghouse to the TARDIS, but if so, nicely done. We're honored to continue collecting Schulz's work.

Dave Cooper's action painting

mike

Above, part A of the gallery performance (at Artguise Gallery in Ottawa) of the configuration of Dave Cooper's 8-part painting "The Underbrush Octych," which continues in part B and part C. Dave tracks the progress of the creation of the piece (among other things) on his Flickr stream.

(Links courtesy Jacob Covey, who wasn't able to embed the video in his own post.)

Une plus de s�lection

mike

An addition to the list of Official Selections at the Festival International de la Bande Desinée d'Angoulême, this one in the Youth Selections: Jordan Crane's Dans Les Nuages (The Clouds Above). Magnifique!

More anniversary party photos

mike

Here's a set of really fantastic photos from the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery 1st Anniversary party, courtesy of Dylan Abbott. I think these are the best-looking photos of the bookstore I've seen yet.

Fun

mike

At the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery 1st Anniversary party...

Crowded! (More pics after the jump...)

Forney & Woodring looking fancy.

Mary Woodring's magnificent purple hair.

Rock provided by the Tom Price Desert Classic.

Happy birskday

mike

David Lasky, whose birthday is today, points out that it is also the birthday of Popeye creator E.C. Segar.

Yet another reason to celebrate with us at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery 1st Anniversary party, starting in less than half an hour...

(My Google image search for "Popeye birthday" bore no amusing fruit.)

First look: The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8 by Thomas Ott

mike

Here's a sneak peek at Thomas Ott's forthcoming, much-anticipated graphic novel The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8. The book is nearly complete and currently scheduled for release in Spring 2008. Clicking the image above will take you to Flickr, where you can view larger sizes and soak in all the amazing scratchboard detail.