FLOG! Entries for Mike Baehr - January 2008

Marketing advice

mike

Kevin Church has some suggestions for us to help Jason's books sell better in the Direct Market. (Also seen on ¡Journalista!)

Jim Woodring on R. Crumb exhibit

mike

Visiting our office earlier today:

"Seeing that exhibit silenced a gong that's been ringing in my head for 45 years."

Announcement: New international shipping rates effective now

mike

Important news for our overseas customers: since the U.S. Postal Service no longer offers Surface Mail to international addresses, we can no longer offer this service to our customers. We looked far and wide to find the most affordable alternative, and effective immediately, our standard shipping option for most orders to addresses outside North America will be Global Mail, a service of DHL. Delivery times for this service are in the 2-3 week range. (The smallest and largest orders will be sent Air Mail.)

We have also reconfigured our international Air Mail shipping charges, and we're happy to say that in some cases they are lower than before!

See our Shipping Charges & Information page for all the new charges.

For 20/20 Club members, this unfortunately means that we can no longer offer free shipping outside the U.S. However, we still want to be able to offer you a good deal on shipping, so effective immediately we will be offering 50% OFF our regular international rates for 20/20 Club members. We've crunched the numbers and by offering 50% off the regular rates we are able to provide you with roughly the same amount of savings as you would get with free Surface Mail shipping, with the advantage that you'll receive your order much sooner!

Now in stock: Castle Waiting Vol. II #10 by Linda Medley

mike

Castle Waiting Vol. II #10
By Linda Medley

This issue: Jain, Tolly and Simon get some unexpected help when they find an unpleasant surprise in the Castle's hidden passageways, while the other castle folk learn how not to construct a doorway.

24-page black & white comic book $3.95
Order Now!

Panelism

mike

At the Thought Balloonists blog, Craig Fischer offers an in-depth analysis of Thierry Groensteen's theories of comics semiotics and structure, using this page from Jason's (out of print) graphic novel Hey, Wait... as an example:

Colleen Coover profile

mike

Timed propitiously for the imminent arrival of the new printing of Small Favors Vol. 1, OregonLive.com has a great profile of Colleen Coover.

R. Crumb's Underground exhibit opening pics (and more Comixtravaganza)

mike

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.

New Website Feature of the Day: Interviews

mike

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).

Comixtravaganza photos

mike

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.

Last-minute Bagge alert

mike

So I'm flipping through this week's Stranger and I come across this, highlighting a "Celebrity Open Mic" comedy event including Peter Bagge taking place tonight in Seattle! What will Pete be doing? Stand-up? A comics reading? If you attend, please give us a report in the comments.

New Website Feature of the Day: Online Comics

mike

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.

Smashy smashy!

mike

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?

Bechdel plugs Lust

mike

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:

Comics = Love

mike

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.

Our multi-talented staff

mike

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.

New Website Feature of the Day: Avatars

mike

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!

New Website Feature of the Day: Desktop Wallpapers

mike

Have you ever wanted Dan Pussey on your computer screen?

Or Buddy Bradley?

Or maybe naked Hector's more your speed?

We've put together a selection of 17 downloadable desktop wallpapers in a variety of sizes for your monitor-enhancing enjoyment, and we'll be adding more as time goes on. Leave a comment here if you have any requests!

New Website Feature of the Day: Events Listings

mike

Finally, all of our Fantagraphics-related events, at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery and beyond, are listed in one place! Our Events page shows you everything coming up on our calendar, from exhibit openings to book signings to conventions to workshops and lectures and more. You can view them by type or location, and each listing contains all the relevant details you need -- even Google Maps links! Our front page lists the two most imminent events, and the "more events" link takes you to the complete list. There's also an RSS feed to get events announcements and news via Flog, the Fantagraphics Blog.

Spotlight on the genius that is Joe Sacco

mike

A new printing of Joe Sacco's Safe Area Gorazde is coming this Spring and boasts a brand new cover design by our own Adam Grano:

Let's zoom in:

Man oh man.

Back in stock: Krazy & Ignatz 1927-1928, 1929-1930

mike

Krazy & Ignatz 1927-1928
Krazy & Ignatz 1929-1930
By George Herriman

Just in: brand new printings of these sought-after volumes!

120-page 9" x 12" black & white softcovers $14.95 each

Click the links above for each volume.