Fantagraphics shopping experiences?

A reader e-mailed me with a question:

Anyway. I wondered if you could help me by publishing a request for information through, say, PreCur?

Happily!

The problem is this: I’m a relatively recent convert to classic American comic strips, including Hal Foster’s PRINCE VALIANT. Fantagraphics republished them all some years back in beautiful outsize editions, but earlier volumes of same are getting rather hard to find. Fantagraphics online shop, however, does have quite a few still in stock, so I began feverishly entering credit-card and other details on the appropriate forms… then noticed, to my dismay, that there’s nothing to show whether this part of their site is secured or not. I *assume* it is, but am not really happy about just going ahead on that assumption.

(I probably wouldn’t be either.)

So I wondered: have you, or any of your alert readers, bought anything from Fantagraphics online? Has it been a good experience? Any information *most* gratefully received.

I’ve only ordered directly from Fantagraphics once (the 2005 special edition of The Comics Journal). The book arrived prompty, and I never had any problems with billing. That was a while ago, so I can’t remember if there was some indication of the site’s security status.

Anyone else have any experiences or information to share?

Kibble bits

I picked up dog food yesterday, and I noticed that the brand I get has changed their “Senior 7+” to “Mature Adult,” moving the “Senior 7+” tag to a spot that’s discretely lower on the packaging.

Were dogs finding the “Senior” designation insulting? Is this something dogs worry about? Has my older dog been looking at the bag and feeling dispirited and resentful because it suggests she’s past her prime?