My little bro Jon (“Phil” in BLANKETS: see pee fight) runs a brand management design firm named BOLSTER with two biz partner buddies.
They’re moving into a swanky new studio space, so about a month ago, I flew to Minneapolis to help decorate one of the walls with a mural.
I caught a nasty flu, but managed to brainstorm ideas with my bro, and knock out a proportional paper version of the mural on his dining room table.

The REAL work — the tangible, sexy work of putting paint to wall – was handled by the talented Andrew Young.
Here’s Andrew solo, and then with my brother, in the earliest stages – projecting and tracing the drawing to prepare for painting.

As BOLSTER’s grand opening, Andrew’s birthday, and the mural’s completion approach, I’ll post more. (Next week, I’m in NYC for BEA.)

Quick heads-up to locals that I’m appearing at a Portland comics show this Saturday, May 14th. Wondernorthwest @ Crowne Plaza Hotel,
1441 NE 2nd Ave. At 3 o’clock, I’ll give a talk, signing at 4, and then a discussion panel titled CUTTING THE CHEESE with long-time Wisconsin
pals Kurt Halsey and Tim Seeley. Excited to discuss beer-cheese soup, protesting Imperial Walker, and the Packers!

Also, while I’m at it: here’s a glimpse at confirmed tour dates. More to follow, including the Eurotour!
May 24th • Book Expo America, NYC
July 21st – 23rd • San Diego Comic-Con
September 10th&11th • SPX, Bathesda, MD
September 15th • Center for Cartoon Studies, Vermont
September 27th • Powell’s Books, Portland
September 30th – October 3rd • APE, San Francisco
October 5th • Seattle Public Central Library, Fantagraphics
October 8th • Wordstock & Live Wire Show, Portland

Fresh home from China, An amazing experience impossible to sum up in a handful of images. I didn’t do as much drawing as I’d like,
but I was inspired by exhibits at Shanghai Art Museum (including the cartoons of Hua Junwu and scrolls of Hsu Wen-jung), the outdoor “opera”
Impression Lijiang directed by Zhang Yimou, and most of all by the old men who practice calligraphy with water every day in the park.

Personal highlight was bamboo rafting near Yangshuo. I slipped while moving the raft over some rocks and sprained my wrist (why I quit skate-
boarding) and was looked after by a group of coworkers/friends traveling from Guangzhou. Thanks, guys, for the tandem bike ride and amazing feast.
And thanks most of all to S & J for making the trip happen.

Hey, Gang! Time has evaporated as the book is tangled in production complications. The fine folks at Pantheon are wrestling to actualize
the design we envision. All I have to show for the moment is a glimpse of this “dummy” book – which has the first ten pages repeated
over and over, but approximates the bulk of the final object.

And below is a snippet of promotional graphics. I’ve been traveling a bit — Last week to Minneapolis to design a mural for my brother’s design studio.
As the painting progresses, I’ll post some photos. (Thanks, Andrew and Jon.) And next week, I’m flying to CHINA – which includes
research for an upcoming book project. More soon!

Happy Friday, Blog-friends! Another month has slipped away since posting. A few of you asked if I’d attend ComicCon on Thursday,
and the answer is YES. Top Shelf will be debuting new editions of BLANKETS (hardcover & softcover) to match the dimensions of HABIBI.

Sechan asked about posters and prints, and though none currently exist, I promise to have some by tour time. The past few weeks have
been crazy busy with promo materials and foreign translations and tour mapping, and many of the destinations you’ve asked about — Spain,
Brazil, Toronto — are on the list. (Colombia… who knows?) Finally, some folks recognized my brief, but crazed cameo as the ringside announcer
in Menomena‘s new TAOS video. It’s directed by Alicia J. Rose who also snapped some promo photos of me, including this one in Astoria, Oregon.

That last sketch is a sneak peek of a contribution for Giant-Sized MADMAN. Thanks to you all for staying in touch!

Like every cartoonist, I often reproduce paintings in my sketchbooks, trying to wrap my head around how another artist composes an image
or lays down a line. Here are some samples — from Viktor E. Popkov’s JULY, and an uncredited illustration for the SHÉHÉREZADE ballet.

Many of you asked about the upcoming HABIBI tour, and it’s safe to say I’ll be making it to many of the countries you mention –
appearances in France, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands, London, Germany are already being mapped out. Nieva asked about the Philippines,
and Ada brought up Poland — both of which I’d love to include, but am unsure of yet. Definitely I’ll be at San Diego Comic Con
for at least Friday and Saturday (July 22nd & 23rd) — not with the book, but other treats.
If you have a book or comics store in the States, it’s worth getting in touch with my publisher Pantheon. More soon!

“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.