Fantagraphics Blog Mike Baehr

Chimera #1 By Lorenzo Mattotti Long a superstar in his native Italy, Lorenzo Mattotti has made sporadic incursions into the U.S. via appearances in RAW magazine, the classic Fires graphic novel, and the more recent, 2003 Eisner-winning Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adaptation from NBM. (Not to mention regular gigs in The New Yorker.) All of these previous works have showcased his full-color painter style, but Chimera, with its intricate, hyper-expressive swirls of crisp line work, shows that Mattotti's genius is bound by no single technique. A wordless fantasia of birth, death, gods, monsters, and humans, Chimera is the most…

Happy 7-8-9 day… today's Online Commentary & Diversons update is extra short: • Review: "…[M]y favorite comics collection of the year so far [is] Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me and Other Astute Observations… Think of [Peter Bagge's] strips as angry but really funny protest songs on paper… Bagge wickedly and wonderfully shows a truly individualistic viewpoint, an actual bullshit detector raging full blast (occasionally to the point of anxiety-induced overload), with ideas and observations both fearlessly marginalist and unabashedly mainstream (like the best rock and roll, in my opinion)… it is HOT and FUN. Just out from Fantagraphics, pick…

Is this a shout-out to Gilbert Hernandez's Palomar delicacy on Kitty Pryde's baseball cap in my battered thrift-store copy of Uncanny X-Men #201 (Jan. 1986), or just a bilingual pun? Either way, very cute, Chris Claremont, Rick Leonardi and/or Whilce Portacio. Or was letterer Tom Orzechowski responsible? So many mysteries!

Mome Vol. 15 – Summer 2009 By various artists MOME 15 spotlights the first, 20-page chapter of T. Edward Bak's (Best American Comics 2008) new graphic novel, "WILD MAN – The Strange Journey – and Fantastic Accounts – of the Naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller, From Bavaria to Bolshaya Zemlya and (Beyond)", as well as the final chapter (3 of 3) of legendary Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers creator Gilbert Shelton's first graphic novel in 20 years, "Last Gig In Shnagrlig." Also featured: the final installment of Tim Henlsey's hilarious "Wally Gropius," and new work by Dash Shaw, Andrice Arp (who also…

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: The Complete Peanuts Vol. 9: 1967-1968 ranks on School Library Journal's "Great Comics for Kids Reading List: Comics That Celebrate America's Cultural Diversity" thanks to the introduction of Franklin • Review: "Low Moon, the latest collection from this Norwegian-born graphic novelist [Jason], is certainly as funny as his previous books, but the humor is quieter, more mature. It balances the awkward sexuality and cynical humor of a teenage boy with the disillusionment and longing of an old man… Basically, it's been a while since I read a book and thought, 'This is changing the way I…

Scheduled to make their Wednesday debuts in comics shops this week, some hot stuff: Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me and Other Astute Observations by Peter Bagge Prince Valiant Vol. 1: 1937-1938 by Hal Foster The Sweetly Diabolic Art of Jim Flora, ed. by Irwin Chusid & Barbara Economon And on the adults-only Eros Comix side, Hot Moms #12 by Rebecca is scheduled to arrive as well. As always, check out our previews & whatnot for each title, ring up your local shop to confirm availability, and then get to shoppin'.

Holy moly there's a lot of links today! There's a few major interviews in today's Online Commentary & Diversions, so let's lead off with those: • Interview: At Amazon's Omnivoracious blog, Heidi Broadhead talks to our own Kim Thompson about translating the works of Jason ("His latest collection, Low Moon… has filmic moments and comic pathos that have set a new standard for me for short fiction") and other Eurocomics. Sample quote: "But I'm also more invested in these books because I work so hard on them, and in many cases, of course, such as Tardi, I'm literally fulfilling a…

ICv2.com has an exclusive 6-page excerpt from the new Fletcher Hanks book You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation!, featuring an entire story starring everybody's favorite omnipotent vengeance-seeker… no, not God, silly: Stardust the Super Wizard! This is in addition to our 13-page excerpt which is available for download from this page. Feast your eyes on Fletcher's feverish fantasias!

The final issue of macabre master (and birthday boy!) Richard Sala's modern-day reimagining of the Snow White story told from the "Prince Charming" point of view, Delphine #4 brings our hero into an inevitable confrontation with unspeakable evil! Italian artist Sergio Ponchione's series is becoming a cult hit in the U.S., and he returns with the eagerly-awaited Grotesque #3, containing the second half of the wildly surrealistic "Cryptic City" epic. Both titles, part of our Ignatz Series of deluxe oversized comics, are now available for pre-order! They are scheduled to be in stock and ready to ship any day now…

Online Commentary & Diversions will return Monday. Have a great holiday in the US of A. • Review: "Like many mysteries, there's something initially frustrating about the end of 'Emily Says Hello,' but it's the best by Jason for a while… it's in the new Low Moon collection… Worth it for 'Emily' alone." – Graham Linehan (The IT Crowd, Father Ted), via Twitter (part 1, part 2) • Review: "A thin line exists between [Basil] Wolverton’s jokey grotesqueries and the horrors of disfigurement and mutilation that appear in his postwar illustrations of the Book of Revelations (recently published in The…