We’ve got a couple nice bits of news for ya before we head out on vacation for Memorial Day weekend. Chris will be back on Saturday, though, so there may be something up this weekend. I’ll check in again tonight as well since I’m not taking off until early tomorrow morning. We just thought you’d be interested in these couple stories and didn’t want them sitting around until the weekend. Have a look:

Here’s an exclusive look at the all-new cover for the forthcoming Clerks book. There’s no solid release date as of yet, but we’ll keep you posted on that. If the cover’s done, it won’t be long now. This new collection combines all of Oni Press’s Clerks releases so far: Clerks. (The Comic Book), Clerks. (Holiday Special), & Clerks. (The Lost Scene). Like the way cool Chasing Dogma book, this one will be marketed by Graphitti Designs.

Kevin checked in to let us know a bit more behind the politics of the episode air order (#4 coming first) and it DOES make sense. Apparently, there’s still a chance that ABC might pull the plug on the series before all 6 shows air. This would happen if there’s a significant dropoff in viewers after the premiere, or just bad premiere numbers to begin with. We expect that a TON of folks are gonna watch the first episode though, so naturally, they wanted to give the public the best they’ve got to have them coming back for a second week. Episode #4 is most certainly that. Kevin assures us that when the episodes resurface on VHS and DVD that they’ll DEFINITELY be in order. Right now, their most important concern is that all of you get to see each of the six episodes on the air, regardless of the order. So, enjoy the shows, and might we suggest editing them back into order once they air and watching them again? You’ll likely find a whole new level of enjoyment with the series.

On a sidenote, Kevin ALSO asked that you all keep a heads-up for a Clerks TCS trailer to air on ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT. We don’t have a definite airdate yet, but he just wanted you all to know that it’s coming. We’ll do our best to give more advance notice than we did with the Kilborn appearance a couple days back.

When we heard that TV Guide censored that ad that we mentioned yesterday, we just had to contact Chris Bailey for a look atthe uncensored pics. Seems that Chris was a bit upset that the magazine clearly (and badly) modified his beautiful work when they found a cartoonish picture of a naked girl in a magazine that Randal was viewing too offensive. The funny thing is that they actually ASKED for Chris to draw it when they ordered the ad. Here’s Chris:

Thanks to Chris, we’ve got the exlcusive look at this stuff for ya. A black a white version of the ad, a color version, and a zoom of the censored material. All totally original and uncensored, as it was meant to be seen! Click the thumbnails fora much larger and crystal clear scan. Enjoy, folks. Glad you can see this art as it was meant to be.