It looks like I have more of an influence than I thought. Last week I wondered when Bill Kartalopoulos was going to get around to updating his site, and low and behold he has, with some really useful information on two hotly anticipated books.

The first deals with what may well be the most anticipated and possibly even controversial book of the year, Robert Crumb's adaptation of the Book of Genesis.

Kartalopoulos, points to a few links that suggest the book may be in stores courtesy of WW Norton by the end of the year. He also posts some tantalizing art, links to an interview with Crumb, and reports on how the book's foreign rights have been snapped up.

The second item concerns David Mazzucchelli's long-awaited graphic novel Asterios Polyp. The book was originally scheduled to be out in February, but publisher Pantheon has updated that release date to June 2.

The book, a 344-page hardcover, concerns a middle-aged architect and womanizer whose life literally goes up in flames when his apartment burns down and he retreats to a small town.