• Gaze in awe at this wonderful step-by-step breakdown of how Dan Zettwoch created this AMAZING poster. Wow. In fact, every image in this blog is stunning. Genius. Dan is one of my VERY favorite cartoonists -- buy his comics!!

• Big thanks to Van Riker at Barsuk Records; we're doing a cross-promotion with Craig Thompson (who designed the album art for the new Menomena record), and Van and myself did a swap, so we could bone up on each other's work. So for a handful of graphic novels i received a handful of discs, all bands i've never heard of. There are a couple that blow my mind. Crazy cool stuff.

Jim Noir: Tower of Love. Crisp vocal harmonies and uplifting pop. Like G. Love on five hits of ecstasy. Like softened-up and mellowed-out Beach Boys. This is one for the hipster AND the hipster's mom. Very highly recommended.

I've heard so much about Portland's own Viva Voce, and this was fun to hear. A few of the tunes on this release, Get Yr Blood Sucked Out, didn't float my boat, but the ones that did really really rocked.

Rocky Votolato is the front-man's super cool name, and the name of the band. The record is Makers, and this too is a great great record. An acoustic singer/songwriter delight.

I also got an advance listen to the new Menomena record, Friend and Foe, and it does not disappoint. This is one of the freshest bands i've heard in years, and their chops are so tight. Complex arrangements played to infectious perfection.

Craig Thompson created one of the single most amazing cd cases in the history of music for this record. You really have to see this to believe it, and if you are a fan of Craig's work, then this is worth the price of admission alone. Unfortunately, i can't find this cover online, so you'll have to TRUST ME. You'll come for the artwork, and stay for the mind-bending music.

• Yah!! Aaron Renier has a bitchin' new website, courtesy of our own awesome webmaster, Nate Beaty. Check it out!

• Oh, and finally, before i bid adieu for a few weeks, a recent pick of Carter Grant.

Well crap, i've just so freaking slammed... i can't believe it's been a week already. Still though, been digging some good stuff lately.

• First, the new issue (#67) of John Porcellino's sublime King-Cat. To be honest though, the first half of this recent volume was too self-reflective for my tastes, and suggests that John's been going through some deep changes in his world. And that's o.k., because the last strip slayed me, and is exactly why i believe John P. is an American Treasure. Titled "Feels Like A Good Day," this is Porcellino at his best; observing the world around him, soaking in the beauty of just being alive and in the moment. Only Kevin Huizenga and James Kochalka are capable capturing these little moments in a similar manner.

"Under the flickering leaves, the light and shadow, like a dream … The cool breeze... Feels like a good day... Feels like reality."

• Also, the one-shot (?) Batman/Spirit by Jeph Loeb and Darwyne Cooke arrived with much anticipation, and it's fabulous. I'm pretty hit or miss with Loeb (a guy whose work i like in direct relation to the artist with whom he's working... i dig ALL of the collaborations with Tim Sale), but in this he makes good juju with the team-up. But the real star is Cooke. This guy is so good it hurts. But this flimsy little comic book pales to what is arguable my favorite comics in my modest collection of books...

• The Absolute New Frontier, written and drawn by Darywn Cooke. Holy mother of god, what an incredible fucking masterpiece of comics goodness. Granted, the story is merely excellent (while not quite in the pantheon of all-time greats), but his art and storytelling should become legendary, if fate is fair. This is the kind of comics that even non-fanboys can only drool over. (Hence helping turn them over to the geeky dark side.) Rivaling X-Men Omnibus and certainly in my Top Five Desert Island Picks, this is a book worth pestering your retailer to crack open the shrinkwrap, if you might be waffling. Trust me.

(Thanks, Bob!)

• Catching up on The Walking Dead, written by Robert Kirkman, and published by Image. My pal Joe at Image graciously sent me the latest two issues. Yes, this is the SINGLE book that i love so much i just cannot "wait for the trade." Some of the VERY best entertainment in any medium today.

• Took a bunch of stuff in for trade to Powell's City of Books today, and picked up the Dedini book by Fantagraphics. Damn this is amazing! An infamous cartoonist working for Hugh during the golden age of Playboy, Dedini's work has NEVER looked as good, and has never had this many pieces collected in a single volume. Cheesecake girls almost as vivid (in their own cartoony way) as either Frazetta or Jack Cole. Stunning.

• Watched The O.C. with The Wife last night, and i'm happy to report that this fourth season is a return to fine form. After the melodramatic death of the whiney-ass Marissa at the end of last season, the rest of the players seem much less distracted. Ryan is actually pretty fun. Indeed, Marissa's little (but equally hot) sister is infinitely more interesting and complex. (Season three wasn't a total bust though, since the Mom-leaves-for-rehab episode featured Seth giving Kristen a copy of Blankets.)

• So we're taking off for Australia in a few days (to visit Lisa's extended family), and we scored such a coup. Little Carter isn't too big on t.v., which is great, but he is a freaking addict of The Wiggles (their songs stick in my head for days... arrggghh!!), and we're taking him to see them live in Sydney!! The little guy's gonna shit his pants. I foresee hundreds of mini temper-tantrums after the last curtain falls, wanting the show to never end.

That's my favorite character in the background, Captain Feathersword.

• Oh, i won't have a computer, so except for maybe one more before i take off, i probably won't post until after New Years. Happy Holidays all around.

•Â Schlepped The Kid off with a sitter tonight, and had dinner out with our friends John and Catty. (Also parents of a 2-year old boy.) Oh man, how nice it was to dine in peace. Speaking in actual complete sentences, whilst sipping cocktails and eating fine food. Moms and dads, you KNOW what i'm talking about.

• Lots of stuff going on. The family is getting ready to leave for Australia in just over a week, and i've been feverishly checking things off of my to-do list. I will have two new books off to the printer (Aleksander Zograf's Regards from Serbia, and James Kochalka's American Elf Volume 2), and two books "in the can," and ready to send to the printer when i return. (Those would be Jeff Lemire's Tales from the Farm, and Jeffrey Brown's Feeble Attempts.) Many thanks to Chris Ross for a stellar production job on American Elf.

Meanwhile, intern Jacq is helping with a publicity campaign for all four books, and will be working in my stead … answering emails and what have you … while i'm gone (scuba diving with sharks off the coast of Sydney).

•Â Promotional art Jeff Lemire has provided for his forthcoming, and very ass-kicking Essex County trilogy.

• A few nights ago i read a delightful little short story by my friend Georgene Smith Goodin (and published by her husband, and my pal, Rob Goodin, under his label Robot Publishing), titled The Fish Keeper. A sad love story that has at least a small amount of truth in the fiction, about a fish keeper and his quest for companionship. Featuring beautiful spot-illustrations by Rob, Georgene hits another one out of the park with this truly wonderful chapbook. Highly recommended. For more information, click contact on the front page, and send an email request. (Georgene's first chapbook, The Suicidal Dog, is available too, and also well worth reading.)

•Â Jeremy Tinder will be doing a collection of shorts with us this Summer, titled Black Ghost Apple Factory. Here is the cover, tres chic!!