[Above, absence in book form. Below, filling in the Dispatch void.]

• Art Spiegelman talks about the controversial New Yorker cover depicting Barack Obama in Arab garb, an American flag burning in the Oval Office’s fireplace.
• Paws Inc. and Ballantine Books are scheduled to publish a book inspired by the webcomic Garfield Minus Garfield.  It will be released in conjunction with the Garfield 30th Anniversary book, due out in October.
• We missed the signing, but it’s not too late to catch up on all the buzz behind Comic Book Tattoo. This 480-page anthology features work by Pia Guerra and David Mack, just to name a couple.
• On Friday August 1st, Rocketship Comics in Brooklyn, NY hosted an opening reception for Cliff Chiang, Dash Shaw and Julia Wertz. Beer and wine were served to the packed crowd, to fend off the humidity. The artist’s work will be on display until September.
• Worst Comic strip, ever!

–Jason Owen