ACT-I-VATE has posted a preview of the second volume of Image’s Popgun anthology, which includes comics by Ulises Farinas, Michel Fiffe, Dean Haspiel, Tim Hamilton, Dan Goldman, Paul Maybury & Nikki Cook. Go check it out.

I don’t know who Chris and Kyle Bolton are, but I like their new Webcomic.

In an interview with Laura Hudson, the Perry Bible Fellowship creator reveals he’s got a new book out for November, hot on the heels of last year’s successful Trial of Colonel Sweeto:

PW Comics Week: How does the upcoming anthology differ from Colonel Sweeto?

Nicholas Gurewitch: The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack will have all the material that’s in Colonel Sweeto, and a heck of a lot more. It will essentially replace Colonel Sweeto.

PWCW: Did you expect Colonel Sweeto to be as successful as it was?

NG: I can’t say I didn’t expect it. I don’t think I really thought about it. For what it is—a book of comic strips—it sold a lot. I think the most impressive piece of info we got is that it was the 10th bestselling book on Amazon.ca [Canada].

Gurewitch also reveals he’s working on a PBF-style TV pilot for the BBC.

In all the brouhaha over the cover to the latest New Yorker magazine, you may have missed this interview they did with Achewood creator Chris Onstad:

CARTOON LOUNGE: You were Time magazine’s graphic novel of the year in 2007. How does it feel to be on top of the world?

Chris Onstad: When you are on top of the world, at first you wake up not knowing that. Then you go to your computer, and there is an e-mail from someone with a time.com e-mail suffix, and the e-mail wants to become a phone call. It is uncommon for an e-mail to ask to become a phone call, so you agree, and then the call happens pretty quickly after that. It’s a girl named Julie from Thanking & Congratulations, and she does what you might expect. She makes you feel as though you are sitting Indian-style on top of the world, much like the Little Prince, and in my case I had the distinct feeling that I could have taken her to a trendy vodka bar in Alphabet City and talked playfully and open-endedly about bras for a while. Maybe that’s what they wanted me to feel. Maybe I was played to a T

By the one and only Mike Dawson.

Villard Books sent out a press release today saying they’ve picked up the rights to publish “three graphic novels collecting the long-running and wildly popular webcomic Goats.” Goats , which is by Jonathan Rosenberg, has been around since 1997 and per the release gets 1.5 million hits a month.

Rosenberg talks about the deal on his blog:

Weird, huh? I am still in shock about it and I have had months to get used to the idea. I suspect it will have implications and consequences for Goats and possibly other webcomics as well, but that’s speculative. Let’s stick to the facts for now.

The facts are that this would not have happened if not for the hard work and awe-inspiring skill of my agent, Judy Hansen, and the good taste and vision of Tricia Narwani, my editor at Villard. Thank you both for helping to make an internet boy’s dreams come true.

Rick Marshall has an interview up with Rosenberg about the deal over at ComicMix.

Over at Pop Candy, Whitney Matheson has a preview of Street Code, Dean Haspiel’s upcoming webcomic from Zuda.

Joe Infurnari provides a modern-day fable for Heeb magazine.

If you’ve been following Smith Magazine’s Next-Door Neighbor series and you can’t wait for the next one, New York Magazine’s Vulture blog has next week’s up on their site. Called “The Next Door Neighbor I Don’t Know,” it’s by Harvey Pekar and Rick Veitch.

Illustrator Christopher Niemann meditates on his sons’ love for the New York City subway system over at The New York Times.

If you were to ask me who my favorite critic of the moment was, I’d probably answer Yahtzee Crowshaw, the snarky, rapid-fire voice and wacom tablet behind Zero Punctuation, a weekly animated video that viciously dissects various video games.

This being a comic book blog, I haven’t had much opportunity or cause to link to any of Yahtzee’s hilariously insightful videos. Now I finally do, as he takes to task the “plague” of gaming Webcomics that currently sprawl across the Internet. Merriment at the expense of others ensues.

The new Umbrella Academy short story that JK mentioned last the weekend — “Anywhere But Here” — is now at MySpace Dark Horse Presents. The comic, by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba, takes us back 13 years to Vanya and The Kraken’s rebellious teen-age years. (You also can read: the comic tie-in to Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, “Captain Hammer: Be Like Me,” by Zack Whedon and Eric Canete; “A Going Concern,” by John Arcudi and Steve Young; and “How To Heal A Broken Heart: Method 37,” by Tara McPherson.)

If that’s not enough Umbrella Academy for you, New York magazine’s Vulture blog has an excerpt from the Apocalypse Suite trade paperback. Oh, and Tom McLean kicks off a two-part interview with Way.

Gerry Alanguilan goofs on the classic Ripley strip.

– Take a gander at the cover to the next volume of Acme Novelty Library.

– Man, I hope this isn’t a true story.

– The first volume of Bizenghast is available for free online.

– Van Jensen looks at Gary Phillips’ new High Rollers series.

– Sean Collins has been posting the excellent interviews he did with folks like Nick Bertozzi for Wizard up onto his blog.

– Kai-Ming Cha looks at the ultra-violent Gantz series.

– Brian K. Vaughan talks about New York City and Ex Machina.

– Jennifer de Guzman looks at the issue of creators’ rights.

– Black Voices counts down their top 25 black superheroes.

– Scott Kurtz has made up LOLBAT T-shirts.

Compiled by JK and Chris.

Scott Kurtz came up with a mash-up that’s so brilliant in its obviousness that I’m surprised it hasn’t been done before (and who knows, maybe it has): LOLBAT:

We’ve talked about this on the podcast, but it’s amazing how the silliest of ideas, the least pre-meditated concepts, illicit the strongest response. It was a last minute idea that tickled me silly and I got very excited about drawing it. It’s fun to draw Super-heroes. I just wish I was better at it. I stand in awe of people like Ryan Ottley, Cory Walker, and the late Mike Wieringo who can pull off that dynamic comic book art that skirts the line of cartoony. I would love to learn to draw more like those guys.

You guys should know that my brother was hanging out with me as I was drawing the LOLBAT strip and really pushed me to keep pushing my art, going to far as to suggest adding textures and finding them for me online. So the LOLBAT’S first outing was a real family affair.

Anyway, for those of you who like LOLBAT, I’ll be drawing him again for sure. When the mood strikes and when the moment is just right, the LOLBAT will return. Much like the Panda or our favorite 70’s cops Bulldog and Cooch.

Webcomic artist Rich Stevens announced last week that in August he will end his experiment with newspaper syndication, though the strip will still run online. The cause? Apparently newspapers don’t bring in enough money to justify the extra cost in time and money. An interview in Fleen offers more details:

Fleen: What was the prime factor in deciding to quit?

Stevens: Not to sound like a jerk, but time and money. I was (currently still am) spending 12+ hours a day 5.5 days a week keeping my business afloat and doing 12 comics a week. My website and merch were a little over 90% of my gross income last year. When the workload starting making me sicker and fatter, it was pretty much a no-brainer which job had to go.

The last print DS will run Aug. 10. (links via Daily Cartoonist)

Steve Fuentes shares a cartoon detailing the time he went to meet Steve Ditko on his birthday.

Via

– Jessica Abel and Matt Madden were on NPR yesterday.

– Digital comics will be available for the Wii, but only in Japan. Apparently they will be made by Leji Matsumoto.

– Frank Santoro talks about his HeroesCon panel.

– Can’t make it to a con this year? Shannon Smith has an offer for you.

– Bob Levin’s great book, Most Outrageous, has been banned by a Calif. state prisons.

– Here are some great Ralph Bakshi sketches.

– The joys of playing 5-Card Nancy.

– The late Ed Arno is remembered.

– Writer Britt Aamodt rounds up the numerous comics folks who live in Minnesota.

– The North County Times reports on how the San Diego Comic Con impacts local hotel and motel rates and availability.

– Wizard World Chicago wasn’t the only show in town um, the world this past weekend. Sonny Liew and ToysREvil both have reports from the Singapore Toys and Comics Convention.

Compiled by JK and Chris.

It’s been almost a year since Dark Horse relaunched Dark Horse Presents on MySpace, and they’re celebrating their anniversary by bringing back some of the creators who helped launch it last year. From the press release:

Gerard Way and Gabriel Bä take their smash hit The Umbrella Academy in a new direction, with a short story delving into the team’s teen years, when Vanya and The Kraken kicked out the jams in their punk band, The Prime-8’s. Last year’s MDHP #1 saw the debut of Joss Whedon’s Eisner-nominated feature “Sugarshock.” One year later, Joss returns along with his brother Zack with an exclusive comics tie in to Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog, their much talked about series of upcoming musical webisodes. This eight page feature introduces the world to Captain Hammer, Dr. Horrible’s squeaky clean arch enemy. And celebrated low-brow artist Tara McPherson joins the fold with a hauntingly beautiful tale, “How to Heal a Broken Heart.”

Each month a newcomer to the comics industry, a previously unpublished writer or artist, debuts on MDHP. Issue #12 features artist Steven Young, who teams with John Arcudi (B.P.R.D.) in a western tale full of subtlety, horror, and intrigue.

The Prime-8’s = awesome.

The new stories will appear on the site next Wednesday. More info on Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog can be found on its official website.

Jamie over on the Drawn & Quarterly blog reveals that Rutu Modan will be the featured cartoonist in the New York Times’ Funny Pages starting this week, with her comic The Murder of the Terminal Patient. You can check out a preview on the D&Q blog.