Okay, we can't offer you the ninety-minute wait in ninety-degree weather outside the convention center, the greasy ten-dollar pizzas, the terrifying crush of Saturday afternoon attendees here to get an autograph from a Battlestar: Galactica co-star, or the sight of costumed attendees who apparently only chose the Flash costume because their more appropriate pick, Jabba the Hutt, was out. But what we can do is this!

SORRY YOU WON'T GET THE EARLY BOOKS?

The following books will have their world premiere in San Diego. If you order them directly from us we will have them sent to you directly from our main U.S. distributor's warehouse where they land on their journey from overseas in August, which means you will be getting your copy a few days before even the first of our distributors get them. (Note: U.S. orders only. Rush shipping not available — choose Media Mail from the shipping options to avoid being overcharged.) To this list we will even add The Armed Garden, The Cabbie, and Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse by Floyd Gottfredson Volume 2, three books that for various reasons will miss San Diego and thus you will really be the first customers to get!

The Armed Garden by David B.
The Art of Joe Kubert (edited by Bill Schelly)
The Cabbie Vol. 1 by Martí
The Complete Peanuts 1981-1982 by Charles M. Schulz
The Complete Peanuts 1979-1982 Box Set by Charles M. Schulz
Even More Old Jewish Comedians by Drew Friedman
The Hidden by Richard Sala
Love and Rockets: New Stories #4 by the Hernandez Brothers
The Man Who Grew His Beard by Olivier Schrauwen
Mark Twain's Autobiography 1910-2010 by Michael Kupperman
Nuts by Gahan Wilson
Prison Pit Book 3 by Johnny Ryan
Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 2 [or the box set with Volume 1] by Floyd Gottfredson

SORRY YOU CAN'T FLIP THROUGH THOSE EARLY BOOKS?

You can preview many of those books right now here on our website, and the rest of them shortly after our web guy comes back from San Diego! Just hit those links above and you'll see links to download PDF excerpts, and stay tuned for our usual photo and video previews.

SORRY YOU WON'T GET SKETCHES?

Some of the cartoonists who will be attending the convention — Joyce Farmer, Gilbert Hernandez, Paul Hornschemeier, Mark Kalesniko, Johnny Ryan, Frank Stack and Esther Pearl Watson — have agreed to provide anyone not attending the convention who buys one or more of their books off our website this week with a personalized sketch which will be mailed to him or her! (Note that sketches will be mailed separately from the books and at a later date.)

SORRY YOU CAN'T SHMOOZE WITH THE OWNERS?

Part of everyone's San Diego experience is to ask the Fantagraphics moguls penetrating questions such as "Where the hell is Pogo?" and "Why don't you publish XXXX??" and "Which Jacques Tardi album should I buy first?" For this weekend only, if you have a question for Gary Groth, Kim Thompson, or Eric Reynolds, add your question to your order and whoever you're addressing will personally answer it!

SORRY YOU CAN'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DESPERATION SALES?

On the last day of the convention, as Gary, Kim, and Eric survey the piles of unsold books and "God, do we have to lug all these back home?" panic sets in, suddenly fantastic sales deals begin to materialize faster than you can say "HOW MUCH for that Box Set?" Therefore we are not only offering 20% OFF EVERYTHING on our website — use coupon code FANTACON11 at checkout — but a whopping 50% OFF ALL our biggest and heaviest books (see them all here — note that items are discounted 40%, which works out to 50% when the coupon discount is applied) during the convention and beyond, from Thursday, July 21 (that's today!) through Monday, July 25 — and you won't even have to lug them home or pay all those extra baggage fees! We'll send them to you!

See? THIS IS BETTER THAN ATTENDING COMIC-CON!