“Anxious” and “DjD” were the first to excavate HABIBI’s release date, even before it was known to me.
I confirmed with Pantheon that SEPTEMBER 20th, 2011 will indeed be the official debut day. THAT’S EXACTLY EIGHT MONTHS FROM TODAY.
Sounds like forever, I know, but fellow authors assure me this is how the book world operates, and that autumn is prime time.
I’m simply happy the debut lands one day before my 36th birthday. (Speaking of… happy birthday to JD and KB today!)

The book will be $29.95 — 672 b&w pages — clothbound hardcover with stamped gold foil, and look something like the mock-up above. On the
right are a handful of cover ideas that didn’t make the cut. Thank you ALL for your New Year’s greetings and your continued patience in this
long, drawn-out process. Thank you for not giving up on me after so many years. Looking forward to meeting and catching up on the upcoming tour.

Happy New Year, Blog-Friends! Though the HABIBI release date was promised more than a month ago, now it’s safe to say that PANTHEON will
announce it some time THIS January. Also, if I can get to it soon, TOP SHELF will publish new editions of BLANKETS (hardcover & softcover) in 2011.
And there’s at least two future books that I’m itching to start work on once everything is officially off to press with HABIBI.
Thank you all for your support in 2010. Hope you’re well in the new year. More soon!

Happy Friday, Gang. While HABIBI production is stuck in limbo, why not share some pre-release “fan art”? A manuscript of HABIBI accompanied
me to the Atlantic Center of the Arts, and many of the associate artists had a chance to peruse it. A few of them even created tribute pieces!

Seen here: Thi Bui, Jake Wyatt, and Harris Wolf. The fourth is a reposting of Jen Wang‘s beautiful tribute. She has an incredible new book
of her own debuting at First Second Books — KOKO BE GOOD. Such an honor to see other artists depict the HABIBI characters!

“If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two.
Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all.” –JOHN CAGE.

Thank you, gang, for all the blog suggestions. I’ll keep them in mind and apply them in the upcoming weeks. In the meantime, here’s an incidental
piece of parody art in support of my buddies’ band MENOMENA. They’re leaving for another euro tour tomorrow and the locations and dates
are on their website. The additional “Gonzo” member is Joe Haege. Some of you may remember the small euro tour I joined Menomena for
back in 2007. The skate photo is by Ben Moon. All respect, of course, to the beloved comfort critters – the Muppets.

HABIBI is finished, but this blog isn’t. Thank you, readers, for your outpouring of support (eclipsing the hundred comment mark!) and for your
big patience during the seven week hiatus. I spent three weeks in Florida for the Atlantic Center for the Arts graphic novel residency,
accompanied by Master Artists Paul Pope (left) and Svetlana Chmakova (center) and an incredibly talented group of 25 Associate Artists.
Also pictured, a snippet of my travel diary (playtime with dolphins) and the beach in New Smyrna. The trip was bookended by visits to NYC
to meet with my publisher Pantheon Books and map out the production and release of HABIBI. Within a month, I should be able to reveal
the exact release date. In the meantime, I’ll conjure some goodies for the blog without too many spoilers. What do YOU wanna see?

Chapter eight and everything else! Almost seven hundred pages! Thank you, blog-readers, for all your support.
Thank you, too, for your patience during the blog’s summer hiatus. I was waiting for finality to post. And secretive of process
(to avoid spoilers) as we neared the finish line. Plus, there were some summertime distractions; including, but not limited to:

There’s still plenty to keep me busy in the upcoming months. Edits / redraws / design / production / getting the book to press.
I’ll keep you all posted. Below, a basic cosmetic edit: fixing unclear reading order. Can’t wait to meet all of you on the promotional tours!

Fábio leaves today, so we committed to one last posting between last-minute visits to Powell’s Books and Voodoo Donuts.
Instead of more outdoor adventures, we spent most of our time nerding out with Portland comics folks, including a Dark Horse-centric BBQ
at Tim & Carli’s. (We also ate lots of good food during the visit.)

So there you go. A message of peace! Safe travel to Fábio. And to his twin brother Gabriel on his way to Bolivia today. Watch for the
collected trade of their DAYTRIPPER. Thanks to Tim & Carli for the BBQ. Hope to see more of my international friends soon!

Thanks for your patience! It’s almost impossible to experience things (jump over rocks) and post in the same day.
Yesterday, Fabio & I & editor Sierra Hahn & painter Dan Attoe hiked through the surreal terrain carved by Mt. St. Helens’ eruption.

Above, the interior view. Check Fabio’s blog for the grand landscape!
And wait… there’s more! A drawn tribute by Dan Attoe. Click back to Fabio’s for a CLOSE-UP VIEW.

“BLOG WAR” might not be the best title. More like a “blog crossover”. Brazilian cartoonist Fábio Moon is visiting Portland, and we’ll try to
document some of our activities in a back-and-forth dialog between the two blogs — blending our sketches, inking each others’ drawings, etc.
Yesterday, after consuming much coffee, we attended the in-store album debut for Menomena MINES. Our evening continues at Fábio’s blog… HERE.