• Robert Goodin presents an outtake page from his story "The Spiritual Crisis of Carl Jung" in Mome Vol. 19

• Gary Panter announces a new Jimbo minicomic

• Jim Woodring presents two Frank favorites, Frank in Frizland and Manhog's Holiday, now in full painted color

• It's your all-new weekly installment of "Cartoon Boy" from John Kerschbaum

• From Kevin Huizenga, a new Amazing Facts and Beyond with Leon Beyond, new Fight or Run action, and more process at New Construction 

• From Steven Weissman, this week's "I, Anonymous" and from his sketchbook chopper trike & portait of D. Clowes etc.

• From John Hankiewicz, four versions of two figures

• Drew Weing's Set to Sea pages 110 & 111

• The latest installment of Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane

• Debbie Drechsler draws hawks and other birds at the cemetery ("Cemetery Hawks" — there's your new band name)

• Noah Van Sciver has a plan

• Laura Park & friends "enjoy" summer together

• Josh Simmons gets Woodring-esque with the Haunted Quacker; plus shark attack Quacker (with Wendy Chin), Ecstatic Quacker, Big Time Quacker 

• From Renee French: big worm, running man, fly baby, bulb neck, little kid, cutaway hair rock

• Steve Brodner remembers Gerald Ford

• Page 33 of Hans Rickheit's Ectopiary; also, he reveals his drawing process

• Tom Kaczynski draws the Lightning Bolt show

• This week's Truth Serum by Jon Adams

• Joe Kimball posts a couple more concert posters

• Things to Hear Dept: Stream 5 new songs by Derek Van Gieson's band Ebersole Versus Carberry on their MySpace page

Periodic (and tardy... so busy) clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources:

• Lorenzo Mattotti World Cup illustrations posted at the Forbidden Planet International Blog

• Bob Fingerman posts a couple of concept illustrations for his in-progress prose novel The Hell of It

• Dash Shaw posts some storyboards for his in-progress animated film The Ruined Cast

• Last week's "I, Anonymous" spot by Steven Weissman; also, if you want to see the scanned version of the current Barack Hussein Obama strip, it's here; also, the greatest Little League team photo ever

• From Frank Santoro: a subway sketch, a color-matching analysis swatch thingy, and a funny collage

• Noah Van Sciver recounts helping John Porcellino move, and at Covered, takes on an Al Feldstein EC classic

• From Kevin Huizenga: psychedelic explorations with Photoshop filters and aspects of McSkulls at Fight or Run; a helpful diagram at New Construction; and Glenn Ganges roughs at his flagship The Balloonist

"When you Orcs are through fighting, you can clean up this tell, it is a pig sty and a disgrace. Do you hear me? Just look at this mess– skulls and guts everywhere. Do you act like this at home?"

• The latest prose burst from Gary Panter

• Drew Weing's Set to Sea pages 108 & 109

• Richard Sala presents 3 original pages from Mad Night (and they're for sale)

• A mystery: is this lettering the work of Jim Flora?

• Jim Blanchard paints Diana Rigg as Emma Peel

• Debbie Drechsler sketches birds and mammals

• A Kevin Nowlan spot illo for The Comics Journal, 1981 (anyone who can identify the issue number, please leave a comment)

• Mark Kalesniko's second take on the Girl in Orange Stripes

• Sergio Ponchione posts part of the "bonus track" strip he did for the book La Legge del Cane by Jake La Furia & Guè Pequeno

• It's Paul Hornschemeier's majestic weekly t-shirt design for his Forlorn Funnies Shirt Shop

• Feel better soon, Laura Park

• From Josh Simmons & co., Quacker Supreme & Tiniest Quacker

• From Renee French: fly, hair rock, doodle, dude, rock

• Sophie Crumb posts a mess of new drawings and teases her upcoming book

• Stephen DeStefano talks about his Popeye art & design work (such as the DVD illustrations above) with Jason Anders of Fulle Circle

• Page 32 of Hans Rickheit's Ectopiary; also, a "forgotten Cochlea & Eustachia drawing " that makes a dandy desktop wallpaper

• Robert Goodin presents an excerpt from "The Spiritual Crisis of Carl Jung," his story in Mome Vol. 19 (out tomorrow!)

• Tom Kaczynski's sketch and report from the Twin Cities Zinefest

• At the Rosebud Archives blog, another vintage Peanuts ad sheet

Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "...Weing produces a classic tale of the sea and self-discovery in his graphic novel debut [Set to Sea]. ... Presented almost like a Big Little Book for grownups, with one lovely panel per page in a small volume, the hero's journey in this tale isn't particularly unpredictable, but Weing's mastery of both small details (the hero's waxing and waning love affair with language) and sweeping vistas (from the glaciers to a steaming port city) gives it richness and emotion. ... Weing's E.C. Segar-influenced drawings elevates what could have been an oft-told story into a powerful fable." – Publishers Weekly

• Review: "I feel like Steve Martin’s character in the movie The Jerk where he dances for joy at the gas station loudly proclaiming to all within earshot, 'The new phone book is here! The new phone book is here!' The new Tales Designed to Thrizzle is here. The new Tales Designed to Thrizzle is here! ... In every way relevant to a distinctly warped sense of humor, this issue represents a tightening of comedic springs and sweetening of the hurled cream pies. Its funny business appears more consummately distilled, concentrated and unremitting. Every page pays off, ratcheting up the risibility with droll efficiency." – Rich Kreiner, The Comics Journal

• Review: "Werewolves of Montpellier is another perfect example of Jason's mundane absurdity. ... The artwork is, once again, so simplistic and so spot on that the only word to describe it is brilliant. ... Year after year, Jason delivers genre-defining works of art, and Werewolves of Montpellier is nothing more than the latest masterpiece from one of the medium's most profound and unique voices." – Steve Ponzo, Multiversity Comics

• Interview: Publishers Weekly's Kate Fitzsimons talks to our own Kim Thompson about bringing Jacques Tardi's The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec to English-language readers: "I wouldn't call them a cult classic, they're more like a mainstream classic. Tardi is very popular and Adele is the work that's so popular that his publisher keeps trying to get him to go back to it again and again. I'd say that in France, Adele is a well known pop culture figure in the same way the Fantastic Four is here. So cult wouldn't exactly be the word."

• Interview: Pick up the April 2010 issue (#15) of Hi-Fructose magazine for an interview with Al Columbia

• Also: Budding young artist Fiddle Tim (better known as Frances Bean Cobain) is reportedly influenced by Al Columbia according to Rock NYC

WHO: Drew Weing

WHAT: The SET TO SEA Book Release Party!

WHERE: Bizarro Wuxtry, 197 E. Clayton St., Athens, GA

WHEN: Friday, July 30, 5 to 8PM

Periodic clips & strips (normal posting schedule returns next week, probably) — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources:

• On the Rosebud Archives blog, a rare Peanuts promotional flyer (Rosebud Archives at Fantagraphics)

• A video from Dash Shaw... some kind of teaser or something? Even if it's just a joke, it's pretty funny

• T. Edward Bak, Lilli Carré and John Hankiewicz (top to bottom) all have pieces in Pony Club Gallery's current print show The Great Outdoors (available for purchase here)

• This is one part of a three-piece screenprint by Eleanor Davis for a print show at GRNY

• A painting (background?) and collage by Frank Santoro

• From Kevin Huizenga: Burier vs. Exer at Fight or Run

"The doleful sirens are beginning to wail over on the ziggarat. Feeding time."

• Another short story from Gary Panter

• Drew Weing's Set to Sea, pages 106 & 107

• A whole bunch of watercolor portrait sketches by Marco Corona

• This week's Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane introduces a new character

• Mid-1950s magazine and record cover details by Jim Flora

• New Johnny Ryan art for sale on Comic Art Collective's recent additions page

• New bird sketches by Debbie Drechsler here, here and here

• "Girl in Orange Stripes" by Mark Kalesniko

• From Noah Van Sciver, a "homeless comic" and some old Blammo pages

• From Josh Simmons & Co., numerous Quackers and Randy Gander updates

• From Renee French: bird, dog, iPhone sketch (?), worm, woolyman, bird

• From Steve Brodner, birthday greetings to Calvin Coolidge & George W. Bush, plus Yankee Stadium sketches

• A few more things to consider from Anders Nilsen

• Page 31 of Hans Rickheit's Ectopiary; also, this is NSFW

• Robert Goodin draws the Fantastic Four — more please!

• A bunch of new drawings by Derek Van Gieson

• This week's Truth Serum by Jon Adams

Periodic clips & strips -- click for improved/additional viewing at the sources:

• Set to Sea pages 104 and 105 from Drew Weing

• It's your all-new weekly installment of "Cartoon Boy" from John Kerschbaum

• Lots of Kevin Huizenga updates: a new Amazing Facts and Beyond with Leon Beyond strip, Fight or Run's Chopper at rest; and minicomic sketchbooks at New Construction (not to mention a peek at his new D&Q book)

• A heartbreaking "I, Anonymous " from Steven Weissman

• Sketches of sculptures by Aristide Maillol by John Hankiewicz

• A scene with power lines by Frank Santoro

• New crafts (including this vampire wedding cake topper) and photos from Portugal in Dame Darcy's latest blog update

"THEN, OUTA NOWHERE… Grunt. Shriek. Bash. Crash. Ook. Ook!"

• A new short short story from Gary Panter

• A luscious new story page and this week's Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane

• A 1967 Mexican cityscape by Jim Flora

• Debbie Drechsler sketches squirrels

• It's Paul Hornschemeier's new weekly t-shirt design for his Forlorn Funnies Shirt Shop — I can just hear the funky theme song

• Noah Van Sciver is waiting on tenterhooks to hear if the story this page is from has been accepted for Mome (sorry Noah, I got no scoop)

• Quackers silliness here and here and Randy Gander raunchiness here and here from Josh Simmons & cohort

• From Renee French: photo, platform, tire swing, hair rock

• Steve Brodner's tribute to Sen. Robert Byrd

• Something new from a work in progress, an article for Il Post, and a video about the Mafia by Gipi

• Nate Neal, payin' the bills

• Two illustrations by Marco Corona for Internazionale

• Two new installments of Truth Serum by Jon Adams

On his blog, Drew Weing has posted 103 pages (so far) of his forthcoming graphic novel Set to Sea, so head on over there for a huge sampling of the book and tune in every other day or so for a new page. (Of course, we hope you'll also read the story in book form!) Drew is also a thoughtful commentator whose posts are always worth reading.

Periodic clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources:

• Dash Shaw identifies this only as "scrap"

• Mark Kalesniko presents the original art for the cover of Mail Order Bride

• A short autobio strip from poor Noah Van Sciver

• From Renee French: beetle, trap, trap

• Page 30 of Hans Rickheit's Ectopiary; also, this is NSFW

• Why not go look at some Drew Friedman classics over at Golden Age Comic Book Stories?

• Get a daily dose of Dan Clowes at Fuck Yeah Daniel Clowes

• Anders Nilsen presents some things to consider

• Two great things that go great together: Eleanor Davis artwork on the cover of the next Elf Power record, as revealed by Pitchfork — via Drew Weing

• Debbie Drechsler draws a broken butterfly

Set to Sea
by Drew Weing

144-page black & white 5.5" x 6.25" hardcover • $16.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-368-2

Ships in: July 2010 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now 

The central character is a big lug and an aspiring poet who runs up tabs at the local bars by day and haunts the docks by night, writing paeans to the seafaring life. When he gets shanghaied aboard a clipper bound for Hong Kong, he finds the sailor’s life a bit rougher than his romantic nautical fantasies. He helps rebuff a pirate assault, survives a gunshot to the eye, and learns to live — and love — a Conradian life on the sea, all the while writing poetry about pirates, bad food, unceremonial funerals, foreign ports, and unexpected epiphanies. By the end of his life, he’s found satisfaction in living a life of adventure and finding a receptive and appreciative readership. What more could one ask for?

This is Drew Weing’s debut graphic novel, after honing his craft with numerous, lovingly produced self-published comic stories. Drawn in an elaborate crosshatched style that falls somewhere between Gustave Doré engravings and E. C. Segar’s Popeye, Set to Sea is part rollicking adventure, part maritime ballad told in visual rhyme. Every page is a single panel, every panel is a stunning illustration, every illustration a part of a larger whole that tells a story in the deft language of cartooning.

Download an EXCLUSIVE 13-page PDF excerpt (831 KB).

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

Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "So Fantagraphics recently released The Search for Smilin' Ed, which was serialized a while back but also contains a brand-new story as well. ...Deitch really puts a lot on the page. And, for the most part, it's pretty fascinating. But I was struck by something in the book, and I must ask: Is this comic racist? ... Deitch has a grand time twisting the way reality presents itself, bringing together his entire career in cartooning so that it all exists in the same odd universe. Deitch's intricate artwork completes this surreal adventure — it's an astonishing piece of detailed work, with monsters lurking in panels and scenes shown from different viewpoints to add interesting nuances. Deitch mixes his own, 'real' world skillfully with Waldo's imaginative one into a haunting phantasmagoria, with strange creatures flitting through our consciousness and then disappearing. It's a very wild comic that asks the reader to enter this topsy-turvy world and accept what's going on. For the most part, we do." – Greg Burgas, Comic Book Resources

• Review: "Kelso's... thin lines, empty figures, expressive curves and powerful shading are a delight to look at... I also think that the scope of the story has a lot of appeal, and the persistent theme of every character finding themselves incapable of staying anywhere near their closest family is probably a relatable one to many. ... Artichoke Tales is at its finest when it delivers the banality of life from the pretense of grandeur..." – Jason Michelitch, Comics Alliance

• Review: "At its core, [Set to Sea] is imbued with appropriately romantic notions of what living one’s life truly means. ... Weing is something of a classicist in his artistic approach, from the E.C. Segar influence he clearly wears on his anchored sleeve to his garish use of hatching—but the style suits the subject matter quite well. Much care has clearly gone into every page. And the result is a satisfying, if brief read." – Brian Heater, The Daily Cross Hatch

• Review: "Joe Daly’s Dungeon Quest is at once the most self-aware and metatextual of the recent spate of fantasy-inspired alt-comics, as well as the one most devoted to the sheer fun of exploring a space and dealing with its inhabitants. ... Above all else, Daly is funny, and never pursues cheap laughs. His line mixes clear-line simplicity with occasional psychedelic weirdness; bending the borders of reality is a trademark of his narratives. When Daly lays down a genre story over this template, the resulting stories are enjoyable on several levels." – Rob Clough, The Comics Journal

• Review: "Read 2 pages a day [of The Kat Who Walked in Beauty], every so often, for 6+ months to get through this. I was very inspired by it...the world of it, the forms. The world has changed a lot since Mr. Herriman drew these strips. Some real groaners in here, but some good jokes too." – Kevin Huizenga, Husband vs. Wife

• Interview: Newsarama's Michael C. Lorah talks to Cathy Malkasian about her new graphic novel Temperance: "What I wanted to touch upon was our current state of engaging in distant wars and how these have altered the lives of returning soldiers and their loved ones. This and the increasing taste for violence in our cultural palette. Do these currents rise together? Is the latter a reaction to the former? I still don’t know, but I have a feeling we’re seriously rearranging the role of violence in our collective mind."

• Interview: Fangoria's Nick Masercola talks to Charles Schneider, fraternal consultant for our forthcoming book Catalog No. 439 - Burlesque Paraphernalia and Side Degree Specialties and Costumes: "The DeMoulin Bros. catalog is an incredible distillation of the best and craziest pranks and stunts, created in a beautifully crafted style for grown-ups!"

• Analysis: Jeet Heer at Comics Comics on Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy; Kevin Huizenga responds on his New Construction blog