Not-to-be-missed Jon Vermilyea show opens Friday night in Los Angeles. I lifted this info straight off the Secret Headquarters site:

I believe Jon told me this show is all prints he drew reinterpreting the infamous "Mars Attacks" trading cards from the 1960s.  Jon's old silkscreen book was a jewel of pop culture sickness that mashed-up the legend of Hercules' Trials with He-Man's life in Eternia. Like a Saturday Morning cartoon made by an acid-tripping Basil Wolverton, these Vermilyea interpretations should be amazing in person.

Meanwhile, in case you need a meat shirt, find one here. Or a print. Whatever. 

Note to Jon: More "Princes of Time" soon please.

It brings us great joy to welcome four of our favorite comic artists to the Mome fold in this Fall's Volume 16: Renée French (who graces the cover), Nicholas Mahler, Archer Prewitt and Ted Stearn. Of course, our returning artists are also nothing to sneeze at: T. Edward Bak, Dash Shaw, Lilli Carré, Conor O'Keefe, Laura Park, Nate Neal, Sara Edward-Corbett, and the "Cold Heat" crew of Ben Jones, Frank Santoro and Jon Vermilyea. This issue is now available for pre-order in our online shop. Download our free 12-page PDF excerpt for a sample page from each contributing artist. This book is scheduled be in stock and shipping in mid-September, and in stores approximately 4 weeks later (subject to change).

This looks like a killer show:

Jon Vermilyea murders the universe with these poster & t-shirt designs he did for Fantastic Fest:

If you have some special kind of glasses this poster is 3D -- !!!

What do they mean they're not on sale yet?!?!

Yes, we're late picking this up, but in further "mainstream properties kyping our talent" news: In case you were wondering how the Bongo Comics folks could top last year's The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror contribution from Gilbert Hernandez, this year they asked Sammy Harkham to guest-edit (I guess he and Matt Groening hit it off after Sammy asked Matt to be in Kramer's Ergot #7) and he's put together an unbelievable roster for this year's issue. In the words of Krusty the Clown, "Oscar Homolka!" Robot 6 has the solicitation copy and further details, and I'll echo J.K. Parkin's assessment of "must buy."

In more "Mome-artist-with-a-new-t-shirt" news, Jon Vermilyea debuts this "goopy," Basil Wolverton-inspired new print and shirt design (in combo or separately, with a "3-D" print option) produced by Nakatomi, available in limited supply for this month only. There's more info here, and an interview with Jon here. Nakatomi looks like a company to keep an eye on; their last limited offering was from Mark Todd.

• Review: PLAYBACK:stl analyzes Comics Are for Idiots! by Johnny Ryan: "Ryan's loathing of the precious, the celebrity-obsessed, the hypocritical, and so on bleeds thru the best of these sorts of cartoons... Ryan's yen for out-offending every book he's done before is really just more righteous anger dressed up as sick comedy."

• Review: The Comics Reporter on Blazing Combat: "Like many of the best reprint projects... this republication of the four-issue Warren war magazine into spiffy hardcover form features work that you can't easily buy anywhere else, is historically significant and offers its buyers a lot of very good comics... Blazing Combat is simply a handsome, well-presented selection of very good comics that for having them around we're all a bit richer as comics readers. I'm glad it's here."

• Review: Rob Clough examines Mome Vol. 14, saying the issue "juxtapos[es] stories with ambiguous images and endings to create a dizzying and fascinating array of visual styles... The balance struck by editors Eric Reynolds and Gary Groth between unpublished, up-and-coming artists, alt-comics legends with short stories to publish and international stars with stellar work that needed translation has been a delicate one, but when everything comes together just so (especially in... this issue), then Mome becomes a crucial component in understanding alt-comics as they stand today."

• Review: NPR.org on Humbug: "Certainly, Fantagraphics, the exemplary Seattle-based archivists of comics and comic-strip history, couldn't have lavished more care in restoring Humbug's yellowing pages had they been original Shakespeare folios... it serves to fill in the missing piece on a seminal period of satiric shenanigans and to evoke an era when making nose-thumbing comedy was the work of smart alecks in creased slacks, pressed white shirts and skinny ties. It'd make a helluva TV series; you could even call it Mad Men."

• Blurb: Quick Stop Entertainment's "Weekend Shopping Guide" recommends The Complete Peanuts 1971-1972: "This series continues to be a wonderful exercise in still fresh comedy and childhood nostalgia."

• Blurb: Atomic Kommie Comics praises Supermen! The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941: "...magnificent...worthy of any fan's library!" (Note that they are also shilling their own related wares)

• Blurb: The Oklahoman, publisher of Bill Mauldin's early cartoons, takes note of Willie & Joe: The WWII Years's Eisner Award nominations

• Things to see: On the Covered blog, Vermilyea does Venom

• Things to see: Photos of Josh Simmons's "Special Nice Cosmic Hyperdeath" exhibit and opening reception at Secret Headquarters

If you like Animal Collective, and Jon Vermilyea, and you're rich, then this is unquestionably for you. If any Flog patrons want to buy this for me, I will not object.

• Interview: The Inkstuds radio programme talks to Beasts-master Jacob Covey

• Interview: Newsarama asks David B. about his latest book Nocturnal Conspiracies and his work in Mome (with answers in both the original French and translated English -- nice touch)

• Review: Newsarama posts the latest rave for Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw

• Preview: The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log takes a sneak peek at Carol Swain and Bruce Paley's comics memoir Giraffes in My Hair: A Rock 'N' Roll Life, which we've currently got on our schedule for August this year

• Things to see: The New York Times presents an animated ode to the Bowery by Gary Leib

• Things to see: This Animal Collective video that's blowing up the internets features animation by Jon Vermilyea

• Things to see: Johnny Ryan illustrates the cover of the current Las Vegas Weekly

• Things to see: The latest batch of sketchbook scans from Anders Nilsen

Maybe you bought Mome #12 and now you're craving more fun with food from Jon Vermilyea. If so, Vice has a strip for you.