Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 4: House of the Seven Haunts
by Floyd Gottfredson

280-page black & white/color 10.5" x 8.75" hardcover • $29.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-575-4

Ships in: October 2012 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now

Who says dead men tell no tales? When grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize, they’ll find fearless Mickey all ready to rumble — as soon as he’s done fighting gangsters, bandits, and international men of mystery, that is! From Africa to Eastern Europe, our favorite big cheese is in for terrifying thrills — and he’s bringing Goofy, Donald Duck, and that big palooka Pegleg Pete along for the ride!

When Mickey sets out to eject "The Seven Ghosts" from Bassett Manor, he finds more than just specters providing the scares! Next, moving smoothly from horror to science fiction, our hero discovers an awesome "Island in the Sky" — and meets its maker, the powerful atomic scientist Dr. Einmug!

Lovingly restored from Disney’s original negatives and proof sheets, House of the Seven Haunts also includes more than 50 pages of spooky supplementary features! You’ll enjoy rare behind-the-scenes art, vintage publicity material, and fascinating commentary by a haunted houseful of Disney scholars.

20-page excerpt (download 3.5 MB PDF):

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

Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 3 + 4 Box Set
by Floyd Gottfredson

two 280-page black & white/color 10.5" x 8.75" hardcovers with slipcase • $49.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-576-1

Ships in: October 2012 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now

Two more volumes of Mickey's thrilling adventures from the 1930s, packaged in a beautiful and sturdy slipcase and priced cheaper than the individual volumes! A perfect gift and/or collector's item.

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

Join Fantagraphics this weekend for the 2012 Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland! On September 15th & 16th, we'll be filling the Marriott Betheseda Conference Center with some dazzling debuts, panels, and signings! Come meet your favorite artists and get your books signed:

Saturday, September 15th
11:30-1:00 PM     Lilli Carré // Noah Van Sciver
1:00 - 2:00 PM    Daniel Clowes // Phillip Nel
2:00 - 3:00 PM    Mark Newgarden
2:00 - 3:30 PM    Steven Weissman // Chris Wright
3:30 - 4:30 PM    Kevin Huizenga // Rich Tommaso
4:30 - 6:30 PM    Gilbert Hernandez // Jaime Hernandez

Sunday, September 16th
12:00-1:00 PM    Lilli Carré // Steven Weissman
1:00 - 2:00 PM    Gilbert Hernandez // Jaime Hernandez
2:00 - 3:00 PM    Phillip Nel // Rich Tommaso
3:00 - 4:00 PM    Chris Wright
3:30 - 4:30 PM    Noah Van Sciver
4:00 - 5:00 PM    Kevin Huizenga
5:00 - 6:00 PM    Gilbert Hernandez // Jaime Hernandez

Fantagraphics will be located at tables W40-W44, as seen in the map excerpt below! For a larger version of the complete floor map, please click here.

It's mind-boggling how many debuts we're bringing -- and many of these books won't be in stores until October or November! Check out more details here.

• The Lost Art of Ah Pook Is Here: Images from the Graphic Novel by Malcolm McNeill
• Observed While Falling: Bill Burroughs, Ah Pook, and Me by Malcolm McNeill
• Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman 

• Blacklung by Chris Wright
• Came the Dawn and Other Stories (The EC Comics Library) illustrated by Wallace Wood; written by Al Feldstein et al.; edited by Gary Groth 

• The Cartoon Utopia by Ron Rege, Jr. 
• Corpse on the Imjin! and Other Stories (The EC Comics Library) by Harvey Kurtzman, et al.; edited by Gary Groth
• Naked Cartoonists: Drawers Drawing Themselves Without Drawers by Various Artists; edited by Gary Groth

• Heads or Tails by Lilli Carré 
• The Hypo by Noah Van Sciver 
• Is That All There Is? by Joost Swarte [softcover & hardcover 2nd edition debut] 
• Love and Rockets: New Stories #5 by Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez

• Prison Pit: Book 4 by Johnny Ryan 
• Ralph Azham Vol. 1: Why Would You Lie to Someone You Love? by Lewis Trondheim 
• Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 4: House of the Seven Haunts by Floyd Gottfredson 
• You'll Never Know Book 3: Soldier's Heart by C. Tyler 

And click here to see a schedule of programming featuring our fantastic Fantagraphics artists!

It's gonna be an incredible year! See you at SPX!

You won't believe how many debuts we're bringing with us to Bethesda for  the 2012 Small Press Expo on September 15th & 16th! Here's your SPX shopping list -- bring extra bags to carry everything:

• The Lost Art of Ah Pook Is Here: Images from the Graphic Novel by Malcolm McNeill (not officially out 'til October!) In 1970, William S. Burroughs and artist Malcolm McNeill agreed to collaborate on a book-length meditation on time, power, control, and corruption that evoked the Mayan codices and specifically, the Mayan god of death, Ah Pook. McNeill created nearly a hundred paintings, illustrations, and sketches for the book, and these, finally, are seeing the light of day in The Lost Art of Ah Pook.

• Observed While Falling: Bill Burroughs, Ah Pook, and Me by Malcolm McNeill (not officially out 'til October!) Observed While Falling is an account of the personal and creative interaction that defined the collaboration between the writer William S. Burroughs and the artist Malcolm McNeill on the graphic novel Ah Pook Is Here. The memoir chronicles the events that surrounded it, the reasons it was abandoned and the unusual circumstances that brought it back to life.

• Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman It’s neither a biography nor an experiment, but a whole, fully-realized parallel America, a dada-esque, surrealistic satirical vision that is no more cockeyed than the real thing, its weirdness no more weird, its vision of the world no more terrifying, where the zombie-esque simulacra of Joe Biden and Hillary and Newt and Obama wander, if not exactly through the corridors of power, through an America they made and have to live in, like it or not.  NOTE: Steven Weissman will be signing at SPX!

• Blacklung by Chris Wright (not officially out until October!) Chris Wright’s Blacklung is unquestionably one of the most impressive graphic novel debuts in recent years, a sweeping, magisterially conceived, visually startling tale of violence, amorality, fortitude, and redemption, one part Melville, one part Peckinpah. Blacklung is a story that lives up to the term graphic novel, that could only exist in sequential pictures — densely textured, highly stylized, delicately and boldly rendered drawings that is, taken together, wholly original. NOTE: Chris Wright will be signing at SPX!

• Came the Dawn and Other Stories (The EC Comics Library) by author: Illustrated by Wallace Wood; written by Al Feldstein et al.; edited by Gary Groth (not officially out until October!) Working within the horror, war, crime, and science fiction genres, publisher William Gaines and editor/writer Al Feldstein combined a deliciously disreputable, envelope-pushing sensibility with moments of genuine, outraged social consciousness, which shone a hard light onto such hot-button topics as racism, anti-Semitism, mob justice, and misogyny and sexism.

• The Cartoon Utopia by Ron Rege, Jr. (not officially out until October!) Ron Regé, Jr. is a very unusual yet accomplished storyteller whose work exudes a passionate moral, idealistic core that sets him apart from his peers. The Cartoon Utopia is his Magnum Opus, a unique work of comic art that, in the words of its author, "focuses on ideas that I've become intrigued by that stem from magical, alchemical, ancient ideas & mystery schools." It's part sci-fi, part philosophy, part visual poetry, and part social manifesto. Regé's work exudes psychedelia, outsider rawness, and pure cartoonish joy.

• Corpse on the Imjin! and Other Stories (The EC Comics Library) by Harvey Kurtzman, et al.; edited by Gary Groth (not officially out until October!) Corpse on the Imjin! is rounded off with a dozen or so stories written and laid out by Kurtzman and drawn by “short-timers,” i.e. cartoonists whose contributions to his war books only comprised a story or two — including such giants as designer extraordinaire Alex Toth, Marvel comics stalwart Gene Colan, and a pre-Sgt. Rock Joe Kubert... and such unexpected guests as “The Lighter Side of...” MAD artist Dave Berg and DC comics veteran Ric Estrada — as well as a rarity: a story by EC regular John Severin inked by Kurtzman.

• Naked Cartoonists: Drawers Drawing Themselves Without Drawers by Various Artists; edited by Gary Groth In an irreverent twist to the fine art tradition of The Nude, this unique and original collection presents a “stripped” down version of the infamous “Gallery of Rogues” exhibit of cartoonist self-portraits at Ohio State University. Here you’ll find a cornucopia of cartoonists’ nude self-portraits from the collection of Mark J. Cohen and Rose Marie McDaniel.

• Heads or Tails by Lilli Carré (not officially out until November!) The creator of 2008’s acclaimed graphic novel The Lagoon — named to many annual critics’ lists including Publishers Weekly and USA Today’s Pop Candy — is back with a stunningly designed and packaged collection of some of the most poetic and confident short fiction being produced in comics today. These stories, created over a period of five years, touch on ideas of flip sides, choices, and extreme ambivalence. NOTE: Lilli Carré will be signing at SPX!

• The Hypo by Noah Van Sciver The debut graphic novel from Noah Van Sciver follows the twentysomething Abraham Lincoln as he loses everything, long before becoming our most beloved president. Lincoln is a rising Whig in the state’s legislature as he arrives in Springfield, IL to practice law. As time passes and uncertainty creeps in, young Lincoln is forced to battle a dark cloud of depression brought on by a chain of defeats and failures culminating into a nervous breakdown that threatens his life and sanity. This cloud of dark depression Lincoln calls “The Hypo.” NOTE: Noah Van Sciver will be signing at SPX!

• Is That All There Is? by Joost Swarte [softcover & hardcover 2nd edition debut] Under Swarte’s own exacting supervision, Is That All There Is? will collect virtually all of his alternative comics work from 1972 to date, including the RAW magazine stories that brought him fame among American comics aficionados in the 1980s.

• Love and Rockets: New Stories #5 by Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez In Jaime's story “Crime Raiders International Mobsters and Executioners,” Tonta comes to visit for a weekend and sees what kind of life the Frog Princess is living with Reno and Borneo. On the other-brother side, Gilbert celebrates the 30th anniversary by bringing one of his current characters (“Killer,” granddaughter to the legendary Luba) into the Palomar milieu. NOTE: Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez will be signing at SPX!

• Prison Pit: Book 4 by Johnny Ryan (not officially out until November!)  “Cannibal F***face discovers the only way to escape the Caligulon is to brainf*** the Slorge and create a giant, brainless oafchild that only knows how to annihilate everything in its path. And what happens when the Slugstaxx show up and use their nightj*** to turn this mindless monster against CF? Total F***ing Mayhem.”

• Ralph Azham Vol. 1: Why Would You Lie to Someone You Love? by Lewis Trondheim (not officially out until October!)  Within his tiny village, Ralph Azham is considered an insolent good-for-nothing layabout, a virtual pariah — particularly since he was supposed to be a Chosen One. (Things didn’t work out.) Yet his odd azure coloration and a few unique abilities (he can predict births and deaths) suggest that there may be more to him than meets the eye.

• You'll Never Know Book 3: Soldier's Heart by C. Tyler (not officially out until October!) In one of the most eagerly-anticipated graphic novels of 2012, Soldier’s Heart concludes the story of Carol Tyler and her delving into her father’s war experiences in a way that is both surprising and devastating — and rather than trying to summarize this episode and thus possibly spoil it for readers, we prefer to simply offer a selection of comments on the first two installments of this autobiographical masterpiece.

Say, we haven't shared these with you yet:

Above, final cover art for Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 4: House of the Seven Haunts! by Floyd Gottfredson, and below, the box set for the Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 3 + 4 Box Set. More rollicking, globe-trotting adventures starring Mickey, Minnie, their pals Goofy and Donald, and a rogue's gallery of baddies! We've put up an excerpt with 18 pages of strips from Vol. 4 which you can check out right now. These are at the printer and in the pipeline for mid-to-late Fall.

The newly folded and stapled Online Commentaries & Diversions:

• Review: The Quietus enjoys The Furry Trap. Mat Colegate says, "Put simply, [Josh] Simmons understands the pace of nightmare. That hideous inexorability that stops you from screaming yourself awake, the slow thudding heartbeat of moment on terrifying moment that, if you think about it, comics are a perfect medium to provide."

• Review: Indie Wire and Leonard Maltin take a look at Volume 3 of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: "High Noon at Inferno Gulch" by Floyd Gottfredson (edited by David Gerstein with Gary Groth): "The latest in this handsome, lovingly-edited hardcover series of Mickey Mouse daily comic strips (covering 1934-35) is, again, a tribute to the artistry and storytelling skill of the long-unappreciated Floyd Gottfredson."

• Review: Comics Heroes of the UK chimes in on some Hernandez Brothers books. After reading The Adventures of Venus by Gilbert Hernandez Matt Bielby says "...in fun little adventures full of rests, comic books, football and sci-fi daydreams. Kids may not love it, but we certainly did." In regards to God and Science by Jaime Hernandez, Bielby states, "It's a lightweight, bouncy superhero. . . but there's some touching stuff about madness, motherhood and the dangers of getting what you want along the way."

• Review: Tom Spurgeon of The Comics Reporter describes a variety of consumer options that come before purchasing the series Beyond Watchmen. These include buying Love and Rockets in addition to some Popeye or Barnaby from Fantagraphics. "These [Love and Rockets] paperback books they've been doing strike me as super-accessible, lovely little volumes. You can get them for cheap enough that I'm also tossing in the first four issues of the New Stories iteration of the title, which has included some of the best work anywhere over the last half-decade. Los Bros forever."

• Plug: Steven Weissman's got some graphic novel love art for you. Uncut vinyl sheets featuring campaign fun from Barack Hussein Obama are available to purchase here!

• Commentary: We missed this but more praise to Larry Reid for being an example on the Huffington Post on how to save bookstores! By effectively hanging regular shows and inviting guest community curators, you bring in new and/or different audiences. Yay, Larry!

•Interview: Creator of the epic series Dungeon Quest, Joe Daly, is interviewed about the third graphic novel on The Comics Journal by our own Eric Buckler. "I liked the idea of creating a character without shame, and a almost healthy polymorphous sexuality, and within that a kind of an innocence, or at least a pureness. I also try to challenge myself to see what cartooning can achieve, what it can get away with. There seem to be things that cartoon characters can get away with, that would be far less acceptable if they were real people."

•Interview: David Gerstein, editor of the Mickey Mouse books (with Gary Groth) is interviewed on Comics Alliance. Chris Sims asks, "[Sorcerer's Apprentice] Mickey seems like a completey different chaacter than the one we see in Gottfredson's work." To which Gerstein replies, ". . .  Mickey didn't need to share as much screen time with his supporting cast in his early days; he got adventure shorts largely to himself, and got to be this urgent, driven little squirt in a wild, swashbuckling world."

•Commentary: Filmmaker Magazine makes a nice comparision to Gabriella Giandelli's Interiorae and David Lynch's Blue Velvet film. ". . . a sudden surge the perspective into one of the panels suddenly seems impossible, breaking with the traditional formula of one panel = one captured frame of time. [In the example panel] the character exists in unfolding time not in separate spaces, but the same space all at once." It is also a classic Burne Hogarth tool!

•Plug: Steven Heller, top designer and professor, posted his summer reading list at the SVA school site which included *drumroll please* Significant Objects. "Contributions from writers explaining why things like a rabbit candle, mermaid figurine and Santa nutcracker are worth writing about."

•Review: HeroesCon Online reviews Jaime Hernandez's God and Science: Return of the Ti-Girls. Andy Mansell says, "The story is fun, exciting, fast paced and way over the top, but it is not a satire of superheroes. The difference between Jaime’s work and a genre parody is one of tone. God and Science is a genuine love letter to super-hero comic books."

•Plug: Our friends at Love & Maggie have compiled a lovely list of Love and Rockets related-links for your perusal.

•Review: D&Q's storefront, Librairie Bookstore, enjoyed Flannery O'Connor: The Cartoons. Jade says, "In terms of artistic ability, she’s far from the genius of woodcut and linocut artists Frans Masereel, Lynd Ward, and Giocomo Patri. Yet considering how O’Connor produced these works during her teenage years, there is some undeniable talent here."

•Interview: Comics Book Resources covers the Gilbert Shelton interview conducted by Gary Groth at Comic-Con International. Bridget Alverson quotes Shelton, "I could only have animal comics and Little Lulu, but Donald Duck and Little Lulu are great stuff."

 The newest Online Commentaries and Diversions:

•Commentary: Ron Richards of iFanboy writes a con review and 1/2 of his swap was Fantagraphics fun, "I did a little dance when I saw [Love and Rockets: New Stories #5] was available . . . After the amazing #4 of this series, I can’t wait to see what Los Bros Hernandez come up with this time out"

•Commentary: Heidi MacDonald and Cal Reid finalize their digital SDCC thoughts on Publishers Weekly: "Comixology announced [many] new e-book distribution deals . . . .  and perhaps most significantly, Fantagraphics, which had been a staunch hold out on the digital front. The Fantagraphics partnership will kick-off with the jewel in the crown: the much-loved work of the Hernandez Brothers starting with Love and Rockets New Stories #1-4 ."

•Commentary (photos): Cal Reid and Jody Culkin on Publishers Weekly photo-document a lot of the fun going on at Comic-Con including the Hernandez Brothers panel and signing.

•Commentary: Sonia Harris enjoyed her Comic-Con experience according to the report on Comic Book Resources. "[No Straight Lines editor] Justin Hall had a big year, speaking on panels about gay comic book characters and hosting a party on Friday night at the increasingly interesting Tr!ckster event for the launch of No Straight Lines." 

•Interview: Chicago Pride finds the time to talk to editor Justin Hall on No Straight Lines, "My worry was that the literary queer comics were going to vanish, that there was no one looking out for that work. Especially with the gay publishers and the gay bookstores dying out."

•Review: Tom Spurgeon on the Comics Reporter covers the Tales Designed to Thrizzle digital comics release, "Kupperman's work looks super-attractive in print, which while that sounds counter-intuitive to its digital chances, is actually a vote for the print version having its own sales momentum that digital won't all the way overlap."

•Review: NPR hits home with Flannery O'Connor: The Cartoons. Glen Waldon: "What emerges is a portrait of a much-beloved artist as a young woman, when the sardonic and even brutal humor behind O'Connor's most memorable creations is still gestating."

•Plug: NPR pulled an six-page excerpt from Flannery O'Connor: The Cartoons if you can't wait see more of her linocuts!

•Plug (award): Cannibal Fuckface from Johnny Ryan's Prison Pit is a nominee in the Designer Toy Awards for "Best Toy from a Comic." Cast your vote today or we might bludgeon you.

•Plug (pictures): Can't make it Los Angeles? Check out artwork Keenan Marshall Keller posted from FREAK SCENE art show featuring Johnny Ryan (with Prison Pit pages), Jason T. Miles, Jim Rugg and many more.  

  

•Commentary: A.V. Club enjoyed the Fantagraphics/D&Q panel at San Diego and Noel Murray believes, "real legacy of Comic-Con [is] the elevation of the medium’s literary merit and public profile combined with the preservation of its past . . . The outcome of all that? Handsome hardcover editions of Floyd Gottfredson Mickey Mouse strips . . ."

•Commentary: Cameron Hatheway of Bleeding Cool was a bit livid that Mickey Mouse Vol. 1 and 2 beat out our other title up for the Archival Reprint Collection/Project Eisner. "A part of me thought Prince Valiant would be a sure thing because of its 75^th anniversary this year, and people would be getting all nostalgic. Way to go, majority of voters; Prince Valiant will continue to roam the seven seas and seeking adventure without an Eisner to his name. I hope you’re all proud of yourselves! How do you even sleep at night? A pox upon your castles!" 

•Review (audio): Panel Culture podcast hypes up The Adventures of Venus by Gilbert Hernandez. 

•Commentary: Tom Spurgeon dishes up the best comics to buy at Comic-Con International and online on The Comics Reporter. On Gary Panter's Dal Toyko, ". . . I'm trying to get over the notion of only recommending comics that catch some sort of big-time marketing hook or novelty current as opposed to just being awesome comics. This is the kind of book that has peers, not betters." In reference to the Kickstarted, Fantagraphics-distributed The Cavelier Mr. Thompson by Rich Tommaso, Spurgeon mentions "It's one of the works that the generation-two alt-cartoonist serialized on-line. I heard three different people on the [Comic-Con] floor waxing rhapsodic about Tommaso's natural-born cartooning sensibilities."

•Commentary: Director of PR, Jacq Cohen, was interviewed on the Graphic Novel Reporter about her Comic-Con memories and First Second editor, Calista Brill, loves our books: "I got myself the latest in Fantagraphics' beautiful collected Uncle Scrooge series."

•Commentary: Overheard at Comic-Con. Matt Groening was talking to Eric Reynolds about Twee-Deedle in reference to "perfect" comics reproduction and he said, "Speaking of perfect..." and leaned over and grabbed a Donald book and said, "These are PERFECT."

•Plug: Mark Frauenfelder on BoingBoing mentions Significant Objects (because he's in it!): "Culture jammers extraordinaire Rob Walker and Joshua Glenn bought a bunch of less-than-worthless objects at thrift stores and garage sales and then assigned people to write a short story about one of the objects."

•Review: Reason.com reviews Daniel Clowes work making comics into art. Greg Beato says, "Clowes. . . brought a different sensibility to his comics: An obsessive compulsive commitment to craftsmanship. . . Clowes strove to make the comic book as artful as possible, a complex but organic object that was perfect in all its parts. "

•Interview: Gary Groth interviews Gilbert Shelton at SDCC on the Beat and The Comic Books, Heidi MacDonald, "Among the topics were origins of Wonder Worthog and Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, talked about working with Harvey Kurtzman and how he knew Janis Joplin. . ."

•Plug: The Comics Bulletin covers the Comic-Con International and the Fantagraphics panel on new releases. Danny Djeljosevic says, "Fantagraphics is Fantagraphics. They put out killer material and in beautiful packages to boot."

•Review (audio): Dann Lennard of Kirby Your Enthusiasm podcast covers THREE of our books in his Australian-based comics podcast. Is That All There Is? by Joost Swarte "If you like Herge and Tintin, it might not be for you. It's pretty full-on. . .  if you're into sex and violence, you might like this." On Sincerest Form of Parody, edited by John Benson: "This full color book . . .collects work from another EC publication called Panic, not quite as good as MAD and didn't last as long, but features quite good artists and humor. It's the pick of the other titles." In regards to The Hidden by Richard Sala, Lennard says its "actually quite a powerful, horrific book of violence, it's really quite sickening in places."

My very first Comic-Con International at San Diego was rather fan-freakin'-tastic. It is easier than people make it out to be but I imagine that if it started on TUESDAY night instead of Wednesday, we all would have died. This pictures are my con pictures so if that are mostly different than our previous CCI photo diaries. The caveat train is pulling away from the station!

Wednesday: I showed up the morning times with PR Director Jacq Cohen and our co-workers, Mike Baehr and Janice Headley had the table set UP! Aside from our many new releases we were thrilled to have new Love and Rockets shirts available. Here is the Fanta-crew dressed in all but that one with all those dirty words on it. Soak it in, that's the one time you'll ever see Gary Groth with his shirt untucked.

Oni Press and SCAD teacher Chris Schweizer immediately came over to look at his favorite cartoonist, Jason. Everyone will be sportin' a Schweizer nose-tupee next year, just you watch.

Writer Nolan Jones and Comics Alliance's Dylan Todd showed me their favorite books!

Since the hall was a bit quiet, Jacq and I ran around taking pictures with our favorite non-Fantagraphics thangs (sssh!).

Thursday: The Hernandez Brothers (Gilbert and Jaime here) had TWO signings a day, some three. Comics are hard work. Gilbert's daughter knows, she's onto her third zine.

One of my favorite writers and comic critics, Chris Sims, of the Comics Alliance came to ooh and ahh over our Carl Barks books.

The indelible Eddie Campbell found the most perfect copies (who could blame him?) of our Captain Easy Vols. 1 and 2 for his reading delight back home. 

Then we caught Eddie Campbell reading our Prince Valiant while at the Top Shelf booth but once again, who could blame him?!

Speaking of Top Shelf, we spent most of the week occasionally locking gazes these lovely gents. Director of Digital, Chris Ross, and cartoonist of Cleveland, Joseph Remnant.

That night, Comics Reporter Tom Spurgeon, CBR's Kiel Phegley, International Freelancer Douglas Wolk and Fantagraphics' Jacq Cohen and I posed for a bunch of photos and examined gorgeous work at the CBLDF fundraiser.

. . . Until the BOSS showed up. Then we took Gary Groth and heir-to-the-throne Conrad to the Tri!ckster spot on J avenue to browse their books (our own event to happen on Friday night)

Gary Panter's Dal Tokyo finally came out for this show. Jon Chad's Leo Geo from Roaring Brook is a similar trim shape. They are perfect for the collector of art objects with really, really deep bookshelves. Trim de jour!

Finally, finally, finally met Phil McAndrew despite many late night Tweets. We're all guilty of that. He is currently loving Michael Kupperman's Tales Designed to Thrizzle.

This photo COMPLETELY encapsulates the family aspect of not only Fantagraphics but most comic companies. Gary Groth watches, eats and even signs some of Gilbert Shelton's Fabulous Furry Freak books.

The Hernandez Brothers continued to work hard interviewed by MTV (below), Entertainment Weekly, MultiShow Brazil and many other news outlets.

For the Tr!ckster event parties, we co-sponsored a queer-themed drink and draw party to coincide with our new queer comics anthology called No Straight Lines. Check out this big sexy bear!

Drag Queens Dolly Disco and Grace Towers posed in the best Michael Jackson-Circus of the Damned leotards and put all us ladies to shame.

Jacq and I ran as fast as our heels could take us to the Eisners, saw Mickey Mouse Vol. 1 and 2 be awarded for Best Archival Collection/Print in comic strips! Eddie Campbell and Andrew Aydin tried to steal me away but no siren song is as sweet as Fantagraphics.

Saturday: No worse for the wear, Jacq Cohen and I adhered to my STRICT 5-2-1 rule. 5 hours of sleep, 2 meals a day and 1 shower to maintain humanity at cons. Jacq added 2 sets of clothes and I admit, it pays off. (And you like that OLD SCHOOL equipment? I'm trying to refit the credit card slider into a denim fanny pack . . . maybe for SPX)

Meanwhile, Drawn and Quarterly upped their dress game with full-on bow ties for Tom Devlin from Beguiling owner Peter Birkemoe. We were a bit jealous.

The Hernandez Brothers continued their BREAKNECK pace of signing books and getting visits from artists like Joe Keatinge, Matt Fraction and Bongo Comics' editor Chris Duffy!

Matt Fraction's gravity-defying hair walked away with a Gilbert Hernandez sketch plus Love and Rockets and Jacques Tardi books.

While it may seem like you have seen a hundred Hopeys at comic cons (or dated a hundred Hopeys -- Jacq Cohen), this is the first cosplay the Hernandez Brothers have seen in thirty years of comics. Thank you, Dawn, for your Boot Angel get-up!

We continued to get cozy with our neighbors at Comic-Con. Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds showed Vertical's Ed Chavez Love and Rockets: New Stories #5. 

Young Romance editor Michel Gagné (who has worked on many animated films from An American Tale to Brave) signed his books and L-O-V-E-D his fans.

Sunday: Cosplaying Abraham Lincoln wanted to buy Noah Van Sciver's The Hypo but worry not, it'll be available at SPX, Mr. President!

Chip Mosher from comiXology came by to show us the Guided View version of Love and Rockets: New Stories #1 on his iPhone. It is pretty killer, guys, none of that one panel at a time nonsense.

 Jaime Hernandez and cartoonist Ed Piskor talked shop.

Almost had a heart attack when we saw this. I'm not ruining anyone's day by saying over 50% of our books are not for kids so it is sometimes surprising to see them pouring over Peanuts or Uncle Scrooge Comics (especially when The Furry Trap is TEN feet away)

BOOM! designer and fellow Center for Cartoon Studies alum, Carol Thomspon, laid her hands on our sweet trans-manga Wandering Son and couldn't let go.

 So that's the whole she-bang! Thank you to the CCI organizers and all the people who helped out, bought comics, asked questions and brought me coffee. See you next year!

The newest and week-old pre-SDCC stinky socks found under your bed-style Online Commentaries and Diversions minus the hullabaloo about Love and Rockets:

•Interview (video): Noah Van Sciver is interviewed by documentary film maker Dan Stafford on his upcoming book about Lincoln's depression, The Hypo, coming out this fall. "Lincoln battled things his whole life. He battled with poverty in his youth; the part that I cover, battling with depression; the struggle of his own fate followed by keeping the nation together, how we know him best."

•Plug: Flavorwire takes the Flavorpill by Tucker Stone. 4 of the 10 most anticipated books are from Fantagraphics including Love and Rockets: New Stories #5 by the Hernandez Brothers, The Hypo by Noah Van Sciver, Goddamn this War by Jacques Tardi , and Prison Pit #4 by Johnny Ryan: "[The Hypo] is the comic you didn’t know you were waiting for." 

•Interview: The Advocate and Jase Peeples takes some time to speak to No Straight Lines editor Justin Hall on comics and the LGBTQ community. Hall says, "There are interesting parallels between comics and queers; both have a hard time getting respect by the dominant culture, and both have problems understanding their own history."

•Interview (audio): On the heel's of Pride Month, Comic Book Queers interview a gaggle of people including No Straight Lines editor Justin Hall. Hall states, "We turned the project into a class. I taught at the California College for the Arts and the backbone of the class was bringing in queer cartoonists and had the students interview them."

•Commentary: On The Rumpus editor Justin Hall writes about the history of Queer Comics. You can read more in the anthology!

•Interview: The New York Times and Penelope Green cover uncoventional taxonomy in Significant Objects while interviewing editor Joshua Glenn. Glenn states, "Even if we don’t identify ourselves as collectors, we are collectors of things. And things are collectors of meaning in various ways."

 •Commentary: Electric Literature covered the fun book launch of Significant Objects at the Strand on July 10th. Editor Joshua Glenn is quoted by Karina Briski: "the stories become the things of value, all on their own."

•Review: Pop Matters enjoys Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge and Mickey Mouse Vol. 3: High Noon at Inferno Gulch (edited by David Gerstein and Gary Groth) with childlike wonder but still has those nagging questions. Michael Barrett: "There’s still no explanation for how some animals are “humans” while others are just animals, like how Mickey can ride a horse in the West and then come home to be greeted by his pal Horace Horsecollar."

•Review: The Tearoom of Despair takes a look at the Hate Annuals by Pete Bagge. Bob Temuka laments, "Bagge has actually done so many comics over the past decade and a half, that he is almost – shamefully – taken for granted. While new books by the likes of Clowes or Ware are almost an Event, a new mini series from Bagge might get a couple of reviews, most of which will point out that it’s more of the same."

•Commentary: Video gamesite, 1Up features some satirical video game adaptations including Pete Bagge's Hate, Ghost World by Dan Clowes and the most epic Jimmy Corrigan panel by Chris Ware. 

•Review: Music magazine and site Under the Radar enjoys the writings of Stephen Dixon's What Is All This? Uncollected Stories. Hays Davis: "Stephen Dixon has a gift for revealing mundane environments as vibrant social microcosms. With that, it seems almost apropos that Dixon's flown under the radar commercially for decades, though he's always garnered respect in literary circles"

•Plug: SF Site drops some comments about Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture. Rick Klaw: "The extraordinary Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture successfully reaffirms the artist's place within the upper echelon of pop culture craftsman."

At the shortest Eisner Awards ceremony known to Comic Con International in San Diego, Fantagraphics walked away with 10 nominations in 8 categories and one solid win. Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 1 and 2 by Floyd Gottfredson (edited by David Gerstein and Gary Groth) took the Eisner for Best Archival Collections/Projects for Comic Strips, beating out our own Prince Valiant #3 - 4 by Hal Foster (edited by Kim Thompson) and other smashing works like Tarpe Mills' Miss Fury.

We sincerely thank everyone for their support and love of this excellent material. Gottfredson was a master of the medium and we are proud to be a home for his work. Our wheels are still spinnin' from the win but we have much more work to do.