This week's free preview is a downloadable 12-page excerpt (including the gorgeous covers and endpapers) of Hall of Best Knowledge, the innovative new book from Ray Fenwick which is scheduled to arrive in April. These previews are exclusive to registered Fantagraphics.com users, so sign up and/or sign in to view.

(As a reminder, 20/20 Club members receive these previews two weeks before we post them on the website, just one of many great reasons to join up...) 

Kurt Wolfgang talked to Gary Groth and survived in November 2005; we printed it in Mome Vol. 3; and now you can read the interview in its entirety here on the Fantagraphics website as part of our ongoing series of Mome interview web reprints. Previously: Paul Hornschemeier and Gabrielle Bell. Next up: Jonathan Bennett.

Another benefit of registering on Fantagraphics.com: access to exclusive previews! We offer downloadable excerpts from upcoming books absolutely FREE to registered users. We'll be posting a new preview every week, starting today and usually on Wednesdays starting next week. Today's installment is a 12-page excerpt from The Education of Hopey Glass, the newest Love and Rockets collection from Jaime Hernandez. Make sure you're signed up and logged in!

(Psst... want to see these previews before everyone else? Join the 20/20 Club and we'll email you exclusive links a full 2 weeks earlier than we post them on the website, plus extra exclusive savings offers on top of the usual 20% off!)

106 people responded to our inaugural poll, giving us their feedback on the most recent edition of our Ultimate Catalog. Thanks to everyone who chimed in! Starting today there's a brand new poll which you can find at the bottom of the right column here on FLOG and on various other pages of our site (including the homepage): What was the primary reason you registered on Fantagraphics.com? Vote today! (And if you haven't registered yet, there's no time like the present!)

Coincidentally, on the same day that we uploaded our desktop wallpaper based on Ellen Forney's LUST, Ellen herself sent us this doozy:

 

Available for download in a variety of sizes (ahem) and aspect ratios! 

Now available for download on our Desktop / Mobile Wallpapers page!

It had to be done:

By request:

A couple more recent books:

Those last two are disturbingly similar visually, no? Go get 'em.

Important news for our overseas customers: since the U.S. Postal Service no longer offers Surface Mail to international addresses, we can no longer offer this service to our customers. We looked far and wide to find the most affordable alternative, and effective immediately, our standard shipping option for most orders to addresses outside North America will be Global Mail, a service of DHL. Delivery times for this service are in the 2-3 week range. (The smallest and largest orders will be sent Air Mail.)

We have also reconfigured our international Air Mail shipping charges, and we're happy to say that in some cases they are lower than before!

See our Shipping Charges & Information page for all the new charges.

For 20/20 Club members, this unfortunately means that we can no longer offer free shipping outside the U.S. However, we still want to be able to offer you a good deal on shipping, so effective immediately we will be offering 50% OFF our regular international rates for 20/20 Club members. We've crunched the numbers and by offering 50% off the regular rates we are able to provide you with roughly the same amount of savings as you would get with free Surface Mail shipping, with the advantage that you'll receive your order much sooner!

Tom Spurgeon over at the Comics Reporter beat me to the punch a bit on this, but yes, our new website features artist interviews in various formats for your reading, listening, and watching enjoyment. Our brand-newest addition is Gary Groth's interview with Paul Hornschemeier from Mome Vol. 1, reprinted here on the website in its entirety! And yes, we will be adding EVERY Mome interview to the website over the next few weeks -- stay tuned right here for announcements as each one goes live.

In the meantime, you can catch up on what's already there, including some classic vintage Comics Journal interviews with Peter Bagge, Los Bros. Hernandez, and Jim Woodring, all in downloadable PDF format. (Follow those links to the download pages).

It's Friday, which means it's time for a new installment of Steven Weissman's "Chocolate Cheeks" chapter in his ongoing Yikes! stories! Check back every week for the newest adventure of Li'l Bloody, Sweet Chubby Cheeks and the whole gang.

Our new and soon-to-be-expanded Online Comics section is totally FREE and available ONLY to registered, logged-in Fantagraphics.com users... yet another great reason to sign up if you haven't already! Coming soon: Martin Kellerman's Rocky.

What says romance more than comics? If there is anything, we don't want to know about it. Woo your sweetie this Valentine's Day with our hand-picked selection of romantic and/or erotic books. From classic romance comics to cutting-edge erotica, from sweet to twisted, these comics are fluent in the many dialects of love.