This is the first time I've seen this cover large enough to make out the structure of the speech and thought balloons and it kills me. This is brilliant. I want to write an essay about the concept of this one panel as it relates to marketing this subject to the varied audience it is reaching out to in the era that it is doing so but I'm not gifted at essay writing. Dan Clowes is genius and I begrudgingly understand why my wife has a goddamn "celebrity crush" on him.

We've got a brand-new selection of downloadable wallpapers featuring recent and upcoming Fantagraphics titles. Just click on the size that matches your monitor resolution and the image will open in a new window; if you're on a PC, right-click the image and select "Set As Background"; if you're on a Mac, control+click and select "Set As Desktop Background." (We don't know what the procedure is for iPhones, but if you have one, you probably do, right?) And for our complete selection of wallpapers, click right here!

Congratulations to Philip Spector of Mamaroneck, NY for winning the signed limited-edition Ghost World silkscreen print! Philip, your prize is on its way. Thanks to everyone who participated by pre-ordering Ghost World: Special Edition (which is now in stock).

Ghost World: Special Edition
By Daniel Clowes

This deluxe new edition of our most popular book ever expands the original graphic novel — which tells the story of two best friends, Enid and Rebecca, facing the prospect of growing up and apart — from 80 pages into a 288 page, behind-the-scenes tour through the making of both the classic book and the subsequent hit film. Including a new introduction and several pages of new strips by Clowes, as well as over 200 pages of ‘extras’: the Oscar-nominated screenplay by Clowes and Terry Zwigoff, dozens of pages of never-before-collected ephemera, including unused concept drawings, notes, movie posters, foreign edition covers, merchandise, artwork created for the movie by Clowes, Sophie Crumb and the cast, and much more, all annotated by Clowes. Truly lavish, definitive and comprehensive.

288-page duotone and full-color 7.5" x 10.75" hardcover • $39.99
Add to Cart • Read More...

(NOTE: Our contest for the drawing to win the limited-edition signed Ghost World exhibit poster is now closed as of midnight last night. We will announce the winner as soon as we figure out who it is. Stay tuned! We are also down to the very last of the signed bookplates, which will likely be gone today or tomorrow. First come, first served, so don't delay!)

Good news for people who pre-order Ghost World: Special Edition! Not only are you entered in our drawing for the limited-edition Ghost World exhibit silkscreen print, but the first 50 people to order the book (including everyone who's already ordered) will receive a FREE exclusive bookplate (shown above) signed by Daniel Clowes! This means they're already over half gone, and the book is due to arrive from the printer imminently, so the poster contest will be over soon... get your order in NOW!

Ivan Brunetti was in town this weekend, and brought along an advance copy of his second Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons and True Stories for Yale Press.  Great Caesar's Ghost, this is one of the most stunning -- and smartly assembled -- anthologies I've ever seen. Above is a jpg of the entire dustjacket by Daniel Clowes. I'd post it larger, but that could compromise the joy of savoring the physical object once you finally experience it, and you wouldn't want that, right? At any rate, I'm told this is out next month...

Our shutterbug pal Steve Sampson has a great set of photos from our Daniel Clowes signing last Friday; browse through thumbnails here or watch the slideshow below (slideshow link). Stay tuned in the near future for a link to Steve's great shots from last month's David B./Alliance Française events as well.

You heard it HERE first, in the second visitor comment for a local NW NewsSource story on Bumbershoot guest appearances outside of Bumbershoot (notably Daniel Clowes's on Friday night):

Behold a host of images, moving and still, from Daniel Clowes' visit to Seattle this past weekend. First up, the opening of the Ghost World exhibit at the Fantagraphics Bookstore (click here if the slideshow doesn't appear below):

Here's a snippet of the Q&A with Gary Groth and Dan at the exhibit opening (video link):

And here's the "Comix Sub-Heroes" panel discussion with Dan and Adrian Tomine, moderated by Ivan Brunetti, at the Bumbershoot festival (slideshow link):

I'll let the images speak for themselves except to say that everybody and everything was delightful and wonderful. I've said this before, but it bears repeating: what a great month it's been to be a graphic novel fan in Seattle.