Revelers at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery's fabulous fourth anniversary party this Saturday will be the first in the country to see the new line of Frank garments produced by iconoclastic Seattle sportswear company International News on their Americaware label. Jim Woodring will be available from 7:00 to 8:00 PM to sign the new shirts, as well as his award-winning graphic novel WEATHERCRAFT, and other merchandise. The "Medieval Thinkers" comix art exhibition includes a new original drawing by Woodring.

Fantagraphics Bookstore's anniversary party has quickly gained a reputation as one of the region's most festive holiday celebrations - amazing music, awesome art, complimentary refreshments, celebrity guests and more. Make plans to attend the event this Saturday, December 11 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM at 1201 S. Vale Street in the heart of Seattle's colorful Georgetown arts community. Watch this space throughout the week for more exciting announcements.

The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log calls these Converse Chuck Taylors featuring Charlie "Chuck" Brown "an absolute abomination" — me, I want a pair. (Too bad they're only available from trendy French shop Colette [warning: autoplaying music at site] and cost €240.)

We nearly missed these photos of Dash Shaw taken by Seth Kushner (who shot the portraits of Gahan Wilson featured on 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons for us) for L'Uomo Vogue last summer. Oo la la! (Thanks to our own Jacob Covey for the tip.)

Periodic clips & strips -- click for improved/additional viewing and possible artist commentary at the sources:

• Michael Kupperman illustrates a New York Times op-ed piece written by William Gibson

• This video posted by Jim Woodring has a surprise ending

• At Comics Comics, Jeet Heer reminds us of Kevin Huizenga's tribute to Floyd Gottfredson in Or Else #2

• Another stage in Matthias Lehmann's scratchboard work in progress

• An unpublished 1987 Bob Fingerman drawing of young zombies in love

• The cover of the first comic Jason ever made, circa 1979 (it means Tim and Tom On the Go!, not Tim and Tom Are Farting!, you sillyhead)

• This week's "I, Anonymous" plus church sketches and more sketchbookery by Steven Weissman 

• Another page from a comic-in-progress by John Hankiewicz 

• Pegasus progress pics from Frank Santoro 

• An illustration by Marco Corona for Internazionale, with commentary in Italian

• Debbie Drechsler draws the belted kingfisher, with commentary

• From Renee French: fly, fly people

• Steve Brodner draws Abel Meeropol and former Sen. Alan Simpson, with commentary

• Ooh, pretty record cover art for Coil Sea by Archer Prewitt (via Presspop)

• A new animated Underworld cartoon by Kaz & co. (via Ben Schwartz)

• This week's Maakies by Tony Millionaire (still on Facebook for the time being)

• Our own Jacob Covey just posted a bunch of his drawings on vintage postcards to Facebook — I'm not sure what his privacy settings are but some of them are on Flickr too if that link doesn't work

• Paul Hornschemeier's latest t-shirt design for his Forlorn Funnies Shirt Shop — Biggeespeare joins the protagonist of Set to Sea in the ranks of hulking poets

Johnny Ryan announces on his blog:

"I will be signing copies of my new book PRISON PIT BOOK 2 at MISHKA in Brooklyn on Friday, Sept. 10th at 7 PM. There will also be original art for sale (CHEAP), dolls, prints and this new shirt that I designed with MISHKA:"

And coming in October:

We've just confirmed the triumphant return of our own Ajax Wood as C.F.! More details on this one are To Be Announced.

Tony Millionaire's been plugging his Maakies t-shirts available from I Love Waterloo, so we will too! There's a bunch of designs (that last one is my favorite), plus limited-edition signed posters. Do some weekend shopping!

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

• Michael Kupperman posted this "doodle" to Twitter

• Go bookmark Émile Bravo's art blog — he posts daily (via The Comics Reporter)

• More uncollected Jason strips: one from Mjau Mjau, one possibly unpublished (plus more Audrey Hepburn movie reviews)

• Renee French's work from The Rock Show can be seen at the Meyer Gallery website; also, more guys with mitts and these

• From Steven Weissman: This week's "I, Anonymous," sketchbook studies over on the Covered blog, and more sketchbook pages here and here  

• Drew Weing's Set to Sea pages 126, 127 & 128

• The story behind this page by Marco Corona is amusing, if slightly confusing in translation

• This week's Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane 

• Debbie Drechsler documents some crayfish and their habitat

• Paul Hornschemeier's latest t-shirt design for his Forlorn Funnies Shirt Shop

• Noah Van Sciver stumps for your Ignatz votes

• I feel a little strange re-posting the deeply personal comics that Laura Park has been making about the recent loss of her kitty Lewis, but they're just so amazing

• Josh Simmons introduces Prof. Quackenstein

• Tom Kaczynski previews MIX and teases a new Ransom Strange story

• A new Truth Serum strip by Jon Adams

Once more Paul Hornschemeier has a shirt design on shirt.woot, $10 today only, $15 thereafter. To celebrate Paul has put all of the shirts in his own Forlorn Funnies Shirt Shop on sale for a limited time. I hope mine arrives in time for Comic-Con.

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

The Beat reports that Jon Vermilyea (along with Matt Furie and Louie Cordero) has a wallet (correction: two of 'em!) coming out from Poketo, along with comics and prints. We'll have more info as it becomes available.