Usagi Hidden Pictures

I remember as a kid one of the highlights -- ok, the only highlight -- of going to the doctor's office was getting to read issues of Highlight magazine in the waiting room. My favorite feature, besides "Goofus and Gallant," was "Hidden Pictures," where you had to find all the hidden items in a picture. Now Stan Sakai has taken a page from the magazine -- page 14, to be exact -- and made a Hidden Pictures featuring Usagi Yojimbo. Tip: Always check the clouds and tree leaves first ... click on the link to go check out the full image

Josh Gibson

DC art director Mark Chiarello shares a print he did of baseball player Josh Gibson for the Josh Gibson Foundation. The organization will sell them as a fundraiser, starting in a few weeks.

Green Arrow: Year One

Internet | A website called the Home of the Green Arrow, which supports the far-right British National Party in its "fight to secure a future for the indigenous peoples of these islands in the North Atlantic which have been our homeland for millennia," has co-opted Jock's art from the DC Comics miniseries Green Arrow: Year One for its banner. "This is leaving a horrible taste in my mouth," the artist wrote this morning on Twitter. He has contacted DC's legal department. [Jock's Twitter feed]

Art | Frank Frazetta's original cover painting for the 1967 Lancer paperback edition of Conan the Conqueror sold at auction last week for a reported $1 million. That's nearly four times the previous record price for the artist's work -- $251,000 -- paid in 2008 for the cover to Edgar Rice Burroughs' Escape on Venus. [Spectrum Fantastic Art, via Sci Fi Wire]

The Greatest 1950s Stories Ever Told

Art | As of Thursday morning, bids on the 18 pieces of original art by Joe Kubert had reached $30,000. The auction, held by Heritage Auction Galleries, opens to the public today. [Daily Record]

Awards | Mike Keefe, editorial cartoonist for the Denver Post, has won the 2009 Berryman Award for Editorial Cartooning. [The Daily Cartoonist]

Publishing | Dark Horse Assistant Editor Brendan Wright discusses one of the perks of his job: seeing the doodles and character designs that Stan Sakai occasionally leaves on the back of his Usagi Yojimbo art boards. [The Wright Opinion]

Publishing | Lauren Davis takes a look at celebrities who dip their toes into the comic-book pool. [io9.com]

Retailing | "Superheroes saving comic book stores from recession." Yeah. [Daily Camera]

Creators | Phil Hester talks about his career and his new BOOM! Studios series The Anchor, and offers some advice to young writers and artists. [Surfing the Bleed]

From "Spandex" #1

Creators | Scott Thill interviews Martin Eden, creator of the gay-superteam comic Spandex, which earlier this week had been heralded as presenting "the first gay superheroes." “Let’s not kid ourselves,” Eden said. “Spandex aren’t the first-ever gay superheroes. At the moment, for instance, you’ve got a lesbian Batwoman, a lesbian Question, Rictor and Shatterstar in X-Factor, and there’s been Apollo and Midnighter in the Authority, who were gay versions of Superman and Batman. There are probably a few more, but not many. I mean, I was thinking of pitching a gay series to Marvel a while ago, but could barely think of any gay characters they had, which surprised me.”

Blogosphere | Tucker Stone delivers a special, positive edition of "Advanced Common Sense": "That's what being a hero is all about -- is that sometimes you have to take out a baby." [The Factual Opinion]

King Aroo by Jack Kent

Gossip Girlz by Johnny Ryan (probably nsfw)

Porter's Pinocchio (here, here, here, and here)

The Goofy Success Story

John Stanley's New Yorker cartoon

The Woman in the Tower by Jack Kirby

The Man in the Graveyard & Gone!

Never Kill A Demon by Neal Adams

Futura

Swamp Spirit by Dick Briefer

The Guided Comet

Make Way for Tomorrow cover

Check out Seth's latest illustration project, the cover to Criterion Collection's edition of the classic Leo McCarey film Make Way for Tomorrow. I would imagine the interior booklet is just as superbly designed.

Hollywood Husbands by Jefferson Machamer

Lose by Michael Deforge

Slashr by Pete Toms

Star Spangled Banter by Bill Mauldin

The Bloody Ax by Matt Baker

Santo!

Mome contributor T. Edward Bak (and creator of the great comic Service Industry) has a new art blog up where he's posting sketches, illustrations and pages from his next Mome story, Wild Man. (via)

Frankenstein

Artist Steve Epting shares this killer Frankenstein piece on his blog, noting Frank's a little late for Halloween. Well, he does walk slow...

This one's easy

Paul Rogers has a nifty ongoing series up now titled Name That Movie, where he presents six drawings based on a popular film, presented in chronological order, but with no sketches of actors or film stars, forcing you to suss out the name of the flick via a few props and scenic shots. (via)

On the Banks of the Ohio by Rebecca Dart

My Dinner with Crumb, Part One and Two

30 Days of Comics by Derik Badman

Flash Gordon by Alex Raymond, the early years

The Invisibility Paint by Fred Morgan

Uncle Sam by Will Eisner