Happy New Year's! Here's to a great year of books and the next year and the year after that. We salute you and thank you for your friendship and purchases. Some of you sent in photos reading books from this year (and a few past ones).

Cartoonist Zack Giallongo reads The Complete Syndicated Pogo Vol. 1: "Through the Wild Blue Yonder" by Walt Kelly. He's also surrounded himself with favorite things: banjos, dogs and crazy couches.

Cartoonist Chris Haley enjoys The Complete Syndicated Pogo Vol. 1: "Through the Wild Blue Yonder" by Walt Kelly.

Writer Chris Roberson (MonkeyBrain Comics publisher as well) reads Spacehawk by Basil Wolverton.

Producer Allison Baker and kiddo Georgia Roberson read Walt Disney's Donald Duck: "A Christmas for Shacktown" by Carl Barks.

Erica reading Heads or Tails by Lilli Carré.

OSU Librarian Caitlin McGurk reads No Straight Lines edited by Justin Hall.

HEEB editor Jeff Newelt reads Blacklung by Chris Wright.

Chris Sims from Comics Alliance reads Nancy Likes Christmas by Ernie Bushmiller.

Playwrite Ian McDonald reads Ghost World by Daniel Clowes.

Writer Jamie S. Rich reads Is That All There Is? by Joost Swarte.

Cartoonist Laura Terry checks out Olivier Schrauwen's The Man Who Grew His Beard.

Kyle reads the now sold out Destroy All Movies edited by Zack Carlson.

Cartoonist Joseph Remnant reads The Hypo by Noah Van Sciver.

Campaign organizer Evan Loeb ALSO reads The Hypo by Noah Van Sciver.

Linda Walker reads Flannery O'Connor edited by Kelly Gerald. Looking gorgeous.

Cartoonist Tom Hart (SAW founder as well) reads The Cartoon Utopia by Ron Regé Jr.

Radio extrodinaire and Fanta staffer Janice Headley reads The Cartoon Utopia by Ron Regé Jr.

Alex Cox of CBLDF reads Harvey Kurtzman's Corpse on the Imjin!

Cartoonist Jason Week and educator Ky Flynn read Harvey Kurtzman's Corpse on the Imjin!

Fantagraphics Marketing Director Mike Baehr reads Steven Weissman's Barack Hussein Obama.

Anna Pederson of CBLDF (former Fantagraphics intern) reads The Crackle of the Frost by Mattotti and Zentner.

Real estate agent Janora Apple reads Charlie Brown's Christmas Stocking by Charles M Schulz.

Comics scholar and professor, Andrew Friedenthal, enjoys Peanuts by Charles M Schulz. 

Cartoonist Colleen Frakes reads that lovely Castle Waiting #18 by Linda Medley.

The Cartoon Utopia by Ron Regé Jr absorbs Kyla.

Neighbor of the SAW workshop, Julie, reads The Cartoon Utopia by Ron Regé Jr.

June, grand dog of cartoonist and Otaku USA writer Jason Thompson, enjoys the hell out of The Heart of Thomas by Moto Hagio.

Cartoonist Sean Ford reads The Furry Trap by Josh Simmons and then hands it of to…

Charlie, master cat of Inkstuds radio/podcast host Robin McConnell, flips through The Furry Trap by Josh Simmons. She's a bit surprised!

Cartoonist Allen Duffy reads Joe Sacco's But I Like It.

Jim on Jim. Cat on Cat. Cartoonist Jim Rugg reads Jim Flora.

Linus and Lucy, cat masters of Alex Cox, read Carl Barks and Charles M. Schulz.

Kjerstin Johnson of BITCH Magazine reads The Lost Women by Jaime Hernandez and some Mary Fleener!

Ryan Anderson reads The Book of Mr. Natural by Robert Crumb.

Jessica Underhill reads Low Moon by Jason.

Jordan Shiveley of Grimalkin Press reads some The Comics Journal Library .

Cartoonist Annie Murphy reads Love and Rockets (The Death of Speedy) by Jaime Hernandez.You can find this story in the collection The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S.

Billie, my three-legged dog reads Nancy Is Happy by Ernie Bushmiller.

And Dr. Butler wants to read my copy of Dungeon Quest Book 3 by Joe Daly. Keep reading! Happy 2013!

Bryan Connolly, co-author of Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film, co-directed (with Tommy Swenson) this super-fun music video for "Down with Netflix" by the Charles Edward Cheese Band. Support your local video store!

Russ informs us that punk legend Exene Cervenka of X fame dropped by Fantagraphics Bookstore on Monday evening with Phil Alvin of the Blasters to do some record and comix shopping. Visiting Seattle to perform at Neumos with X bandmate John Doe, Exene was reportedly pleased to find a copy of Talk to Her, a collection of interviews conducted by Krisitne McKenna. Exene is interviewed, along with counterculture celebrities like Lou Reed, Joey Ramone, Allen Ginsberg, Johnny Rotten, Joe Strummer, Chrissie Hynde, Joe Sacco, Elvis Costello, Walter Hopps, and Richard Hell, among others. The book includes portraits of interview subjects by Charles Burns, Daniel Clowes, Tony Millionaire and more. Pick one up. You won't be able to put it down.

P. S. Fans of X, The Blasters and other pioneering punk rawk acts would do well to get Destroy All Movies!!!: The Complete Guide to Punks on Film, which includes interviews with Exene and John Doe, a forward by Richard Hell, and chronicles countless cultural milestones. Essential.

Thanks to everyone who came out for our first day of signings at the San Diego Comic-Con! And, guess what? We've just added THREE more artists to our already action-packed schedule! 

On Saturday, we'll be joined by Zack Carlson from 3:00 to 4:00 PM, and he'll be signing copies of the epic tome he co-edited, Destroy All Movies!!!: The Complete Guide to Punks on Film.  Stop by and try to stump him on punk movie trivia... YOU WILL NOT WIN!  

Also on Saturday, from 1:00 to 2:00 PM, we'll be joined by Roger May, one of the contributors to our underground comix collection, Newave!  He'll be joining two of the greats of the underground scene, Joyce Farmer and Frank Stack -- It's sure to be a fascinating hour!

And finally, we welcome special guest Martin Olson, author of the encyclopedic satire Encyclopedia of Hell (Feral House), a book that features illustrations by our very own hell-raiser, Tony Millionaire!!  Martin will be signing on Friday, July 22nd from 5:00 to 6:00 PM.

So, to recap, here's our signing schedule for the rest of the weekend at Booth #1718!  Come by and say hello!

Friday, July 22nd:
11:00 - 12:00 PM    Joyce Farmer / Bill Schelly / Tim Hensley
12:00 - 1:00 PM    Floyd Norman / Wilfred Santiago / Frank Stack
1:00 - 3:00 PM    Gilbert Hernandez / Jaime Hernandez / Mario Hernandez
3:00 - 4:00 PM    Paul Hornschemeier / Anders Nilsen / Esther Pearl Watson
4:00 - 5:00 PM    Mark Kalesniko / John Pham / Malachi Ward
5:00 - 7:00 PM    Johnny Ryan
5:00 - 6:00 PM    Jon Vermilyea  / Martin Olson
6:00 - 7:00 PM    Robert Goodin

Sunday, July 24th:
11:00 - 12:00 PM   Joyce Farmer / Jon Vermilyea / Esther Pearl Watson
12:00 - 1:00 PM    Mark Kalesniko / Frank Stack
1:00 - 3:00 PM    Gilbert Hernandez / Jaime Hernandez / Mario Hernandez

Back from the U.S. holiday with Online Commentary & Diversions:

• List: Publishers Weekly's Laurel Maury reports that The Armed Garden and Other Stories by David B. was named one of the "Hot Fall Graphic Novels For Libraries 2011" by a panel of experts at BEA last weekend, with Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 1 by Floyd Gottfredson, Wandering Son Vol. 1 by Shimura Takako, Nuts by Gahan Wilson and Congress of the Animals by Jim Woodring all receiving Honorable Mentions

• Review: "Jacques Tardi is pretty awesome, y’all. But then, you already knew that.... This sucker [The Arctic Marauder] is from 1974. Sadly, it looks more avant-garde and progressive than a lot of comics that are released today....  The entire book is an absolutely gorgeous piece of artwork." – Greg Burgas, Comic Book Resources

• Review: Connor Ratliff gives some preliminary impressions of Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Vol. 1: Race To Death Valley: "But if a book full of weird and sometimes offensive but energetic and gradually getting-much-better Mickey Mouse adventure strips from the 1930s sounds like your cup of tea, it probably is."

• Review: "Joe Daly tells stories about slackers with an obvious love and a clear eye; he's attuned to the oddball notions and unlikely turns that their lives take, and crafts stories about quirky people that don't turn into catalogs of quirks themselves.... Dungeon Quest is a goofy, silly series, and it's not for readers who need their comics-format violence to be deadly serious and full of clenched teeth. But for those of us who have grown out of that limited conception of comics yet still want energetic adventure stories that know how silly they are, it's just the thing." – Andrew Wheeler, The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

• Review: Oliver Nöding of German site Filmgazette calls Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film "intelligent, pointed and funny... characterized also by a fresh perspective" and "an absolute gem, inspired in its three-color design" among other nice but harder-to-translate things

• Plug: "...I’ve recently read Fantagraphics’ gorgeous new printing of The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, which absolutely blew me away. I’m always impressed by people like Jacques Tardi, who can build these deep, rich worlds out of really loose, simple linework. It’s definitely not a skill I have. The book also has pterodactyls menacing early-1900′s Paris, so it’s pretty much required that I love it." – Aaron Alexovich, guest Robot 6 "What Are You Reading?" contributor

• Plug: Robot 6's J.K. Parkin shares the news about Michael Kupperman's Mark Twain's Autobiography 1910-2010, saying "It sounds like a lot of fun."

• Profile: The Chicago Tribune's Christopher Borrelli catches up with Ivan Brunetti: "At 25, he started Schizo, a comic so caustic — and offensive and frantic, but with the thick black palate of classic newspaper strips — friends routinely asked if he would be arrested. It partly detailed his life as a copy editor at a local university press, and the homicidal daydreams that came to him while on the job. He declined to say at which press. 'It wasn't to shock,' he says. 'It was an unguarded look at how I felt, and I was probably losing my mind.'" (Via Spurge.)

• Commentary: Mike Sterling finds a topical strip in the latest volume of The Complete Peanuts which is still relevant today (and probably will be for the foreseeable future)

• Product Placement: Tom Devlin points out an odd cameo by a couple of our books on MTV's reality show Sixteen and Pregnant

Daily OCD Extra (the "O" in this case standing for "offline"): Pick up the June 2011 issue of Maximum Rocknroll for a feature interview with Zack Carlson & Bryan Connolly about their book Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film. Support print zines!

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: At Comix Cube Kevin Czap praises Steven Weissman's "Barack Hussein Obama" (seen here on our website and in Mome Vol. 21): "It actually reminds me of Wally Gropius in terms of the structure, which is not surprising given its appearance in MOME. One can only hope that the whole thing will get collected, at which point I predict it to be one of my favorite comics ever." (Via The Comics Reporter)

• Review: We almost missed this cartoon review by Casey Scieszka and Steven Weinberg at Unshelved Book Club: "…The Last Musketeer… is the epitome of everything we love about Jason: stunning color palette, insane and absurd plot, humor that sneaks up on you, his signature anthropomorphized animals, and surprisingly serious themes of authority, humanity, death, love, jealousy…"

• Interview (Audio): On yesterday's episode of Albany, NY public radio station WAMC's program The Roundtable, Ian Pickus talked to editor/EMP curator Jacob McMurray about Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind — listen to the archived show at the link

• Profile: At Examiner.com, Gillian Gaar talks to editor/EMP curator Jacob McMurray about Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind: "The book, as its title suggests, views Nirvana’s success as the culmination of the alternative rock scene that blossomed in America during the 1980s. 'That’s the bigger context in the exhibition as well,' McMurray explains. 'It is the story of Nirvana, but it's couched within what was happening throughout the Northwest, and throughout the US, from the rise of punk rock on. It’s the idea that there needs to be a sort of infrastructure in place for a band like Nirvana to even exist; that without all of these advances that had been happening in the underground by a dozen different bands, Nirvana would have never happened.'"

• Interview: Comic Book Resources' Chris Mautner talks to Gilbert Hernandez about Love from the Shadows and the other "Fritz B-Movie" books: "The Fritz series frees me of any obligation to be a do-gooder cartoonist, something most regular L&R readers probably don't want to hear. I felt straight jacketed with 'Palomar' and the like after a while, really. I have a lot more going on in my imagination than I'm expected to utilize." Further reading: at CBR's Robot 6 blog, Sean T. Collins comments on the interview

• Interview (Audio): Mark Kalesniko talks with Tom Waters. host of Big Words I Know By Heart, and Donald A. Wynecoop Jr. of Don's Atomic Comics. Direct download: MP3

• Interview (Audio): The Gentlemen's Guide to Midnite Cinema podcast correspondent Rupert Pupkin talks to Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film co-editor Bryan Connolly

• Feature: At the Drawing Words & Writing Pictures blog, Best American Comics series co-editors Jessica Abel & Matt Madden spotlight two stories from Mome Vol. 13 as 2010 Notable Comics: Abel picks Dash Shaw's "Satellite CMYK" — "Dash Shaw just keeps popping up in our 'can’t miss' pile. [...] Beyond being a good story, the formal element of using color (and black and white) as a storytelling tool is very unusual and makes this work a standout." — and Madden picks Josh Simmons's "Jesus Christ": "The storytelling is fluid and dynamic, and Simmons’s ability to convey the enormity of the monster is bracing. Simmons deliberately mixes elements from different mythologies to defy any obvious reading. In the end, all we have before us is this escstatic Kali-Godzilla-Centaur with a halo of fire and a title to provoke us."

• Coming Attractions: Anime News Network reports that Wandering Son creator Shimura Takako begins a new serial titled Awashima Hyakkei in the online manga magazine Pocopoco soon. We'll keep an eye out and try to add it to our webcomics roundups if possible

If you read Destroy All Movies!!! and thought "these guys are hilarious — I wish they'd make a movie of their own," then we have good news for you: Zack Carlson & Bryan Connolly, editors of the book, have written a horror-comedy screenplay titled (funnily enough) Destroy about a would-be vampire hunter in a world with no vampires and it's headed into production with director Michael Stephenson (Best Worst Movie) on board. The Hollywood Reporter reports, Cinematical talks to Zack and Michael about the film, and Wired adds their commentary.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• List: X-Ray Spex's Will Pfeifer names his Pop Culture Books of the Year for 2010:

"This is the sort of book I love more than any other. It reveals a world I never knew existed — in this case, the bizarre world of elaborate, mean-spirited, downright dangerous lodge initiations — and does so with a real affection for and appreciation of the past. [Catalog No. 439:] Burlesque Paraphernalia is... the sort of book that makes you think life might've been tougher a long time ago, but it was probably a hell of a lot more interesting, too."

"All you need to know about Destroy All Movies is that it's such a complete guide to 'punks on film' (as the subtitle promises) that not only does it include Star Trek IV because of the scene with the punk on the bus, it interviews that guy. Also, the pink-and-black-and-white design theme of the book deserves some sort of award."

• Plugs: New York magazine's Dan Kois recommends Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition & The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec Vol. 1 on his short list of "Action-Packed New Graphic Novels"

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Surrealism is dangerous. Mostly, when you leave the rails, the result is less glorious freedom and more quick kablooie. It’s an easy method for the lazy writer, but somehow when Ray Fenwick does it, it works. Mascots, his second book, is short on — but not absent — narrative. Its pages are made up of paintings on book covers that are largely text-based... Somehow, they hang together enough to produce a fuzzy but charming impression." – Hillary Brown, Paste

• Review: "...[T]he impressive thing about [Special Exits] is that, despite depressing subject matter, it’s extremely readable and fairly funny. Yes, you’ll think about the horrors of getting old and failing to maintain your independence, not to mention the even scarier prospect of taking care of your own parents. But if Farmer’s book is meant to soothe your fears, it kind of works." – Hillary Brown, Paste

• Review: "The black-and-white Hey, Wait… and Sshhh! are low-key ruminations on grief, loss and aging that bear Jason’s trademark anthropomorphic animals, clean lines and Scandinavian black humor. [...] Jason’s beautiful craftsmanship overcomes The Iron Wagon’s familiar material and, along with the rest of What I Did, foreshadows the excellent work to come later in the decade." – Garrett Martin, Paste

• Review: "There's no doubt in anyone's mind that Roy Crane was a first-class cartoonist, frequently making panels on the newspaper page that were absolutely to die for, stop-and-study moments of the kind that inspire the best students and discourage the worst. There are times when reading these rousing adventures of Navy pilot Buz Sawyer and his support man Roscoe Sweeney that it's hard to believe anything this striking ever appeared on the comics pages..." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

• Review: "A book like this should be must reading for those who want to know how the shojo we know today came to be. A Drunken Dream and Other Stories is not just for lovers of girl's manga, however. It's a book worthy to be read by anyone who likes good comics with a touch of fantasy and a touch of sadness. As with any book by a great creator, the appeal is almost universal... Hopefully, this will be the start of getting Hagio's name on the same pillar as Tezuka, which is clearly where she belongs. If by some chance you haven't read this manga yet, you owe it to yourself to find a copy right away. [...] This is one of those books that is not to be missed. It's destined to be a classic." – Rob McMonigal, Panel Patter

• Review: "...[E]ach page is a single panel, but each of those panels is so attractively detailed and evocative that the storytelling structure never feels rigid. Instead, it comes across as economical and precise while still filled with event and emotion. It’s a quick read, but it’s very satisfying, and it just invites you to revisit the story again. [...] Set to Sea ... is artistically successful on every front, but Weing’s substantial craftsmanship never overwhelms the simple, heartfelt story he’s telling." – David Welsh, The Manga Curmudgeon

• Review: "Destroy All Movies is an addictive, ambitious, behemoth of a book and it’s funny as all hell. There are too many sidesplitting takedowns of bad movies to list in this review, but if you enjoy bad movies (and especially if you enjoy stuff like Mystery Science Theater 3000), you will love this book. [...] Destroy All Movies truly shines as a lengthy love letter to cult cinema, punk pride notwithstanding. [...] You will want to refer to it and reread it over and over. It’s got that much good, not-so-clean, fun packed into its 500-plus pages." – Less Lee Moore, Popshifter

• Reviews (Audio): The new episode of Easy Rider, the radio show for "rock, punk rock, country, power pop, garage and comics" from Radio PFM out of Arras in northern France, features FUC_ __U, _SS __LE: Blecky Yuckerella Vol. 4 by Johnny Ryan and Bent by Dave Cooper among their Comics of the Week

• Plugs: Chris Mautner of Robot 6 on the newest volumes of Krazy & Ignatz, Popeye & Prince Valiant: "What stands out for me here, other than George Herriman’s usual artistry, is the subtle jokes about race… Considering Herriman’s own ethnic and racial heritage, I find moments like this fascinatingly telling. [...] I’ve gone on and on about my love for Segar’s Thimble Theater… Suffice it to say I think it’s an American classic and earns my heartiest recommendation… I still can’t quite get over just how much fun Hal Foster’s medieval epic is. Far from the dull, staid, storybook slog a first glance would suggest, the strip bursts with life and adventure, and not a little bit of bloodsport."

• Interview: Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter: "It's my hope that the following interview with Tim Kreider comes close to replicating the experience of reading the author's new book, the Fantagraphics-published February offering Twilight of the Assholes. Both are long, both I hope are funny at times nearly all the way through (the book surely is), and both book and interview prove uncompromising in terms of both self-laceration and repeatedly stabbing the country's excesses, shortcomings and hypocrisies right in the face. [...] Kreider is... maybe as skilled a writer as there is out there also working with cartoons, and luckily Twilight of the Assholes includes both the cartoons and mini-essays explaining each one. I find him almost terrifyingly funny, both when I agree with him and when I don't." Kreider: "I think historians are likely look back on those eight years as a last chance squandered, a disastrous passing beyond the point of no return, the moment when America went irreversibly over the edge into terminal decline. Which is great news for me, as my cartoons happen to comprise a document of what it felt like to live through that time."