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Spot the common thread in today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • List: At The Truth About Comics Mario Z. Alipio (aka MZA) posts his top 11 comics of 2009, including You'll Never Know Book 1: A Good and Decent Man by C. Tyler at #6 ("A brilliant and disarmingly vulnerable historical memoir that converts a family's personal anguish into adult wisdom and grace. Part documentarian and part emotional wreck, Tyler examines her secretive father's WWII past and her own disintegrating marriage w/ an enviable balance between sensitivity and fearlessness"), Pim & Francie by Al Columbia at #9 ("Gorgeously reproduced —…

Journalism FAIL.*  Sincerely,  Seattle's Fantagraphics Books  * See: 3rd graph in story.

To commemorate the book launch party for HIGH SOFT LISP at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, March 13, we've issued a stunning 3-color silkscreen print. Limited to a signed edition of no more than 100 copies, this substantial artwork will be available for the insanely affordable price of only $20, exclusively from Fantagraphics Bookstore and at the Emerald City Comicon in Seattle on March 13 and 14. Recall a similar print for the Bros. joint appearance at our bookstore in 2008 sold out almost immediately. Don't miss the chance to add this piece to your art collection. Fantagraphics Bookstore…

  Even though I'm gluten-free and can't eat these, they warm my heart. [A no-prize to anyone who can name where the title of this post comes from. No fair googling!]

If you've attended any events at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery you've no doubt seen and perhaps met John Ohannesian. In addition to being the store's upstairs neighbor and occasional handyman/helper-outer guy, John's a talented surrealist painter whose latest series of "Paintoons" are inspired by daily comic strips and Mad magazine with an underground comix sensibility. At the store you can buy a print of his popular "gods-playing-poker" painting out of the print bin that he built for us, and if you run into him he'll be happy to give you a studio tour.

Your daily art blips: • Kevin Huizenga ponders the philosophy of domestic architecture • Part 8 of Steven Weissman's "This Already Happened" at What Things Do • It was hard to pick just one of Paul Hornschemeier's three contributions to the Game Over 3 art show at GRSF to feature here • Ben Catmull provides a status update and glimpse of the eagerly-awaited-by-me Monster Parade #2 • "Things to See" Prose Corner: A very short Twain & Einstein (& Oscar & Felix) story by Michael Kupperman

Slow-news-day all-square edition of Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "The book reminds me a bit of my childhood memories, where one gives nicknames to everyone and everything, and the smallest events become epic journeys. Chocolate Cheeks is a fun read, recommended to anyone who is interested in art prints or comic books." – Steven Swigart • Review: "Esther Pearl Watson’s Unlovable is a rude, crude and frequently hilarious portrait of suburban teenage life in the 1980s. The book’s narrator, Tammy Pierce, is probably the most hapless 15-year-old girl imaginable. … Her life is miserable, but she is anything but…

From "Talkin' About it": "These *****s is ducks, and you can call me Scrooge 'cause I'm swimmin' in bucks. B****!"

New Yorkers! Gilbert Hernandez will be signing his new Love and Rockets collection High Soft Lisp at Midtown Comics' Times Square location (200 West 40th Street, 2nd Floor) on Saturday, April 24 at 2-4 PM. I can't recall the last time Gilbert did a signing in NYC, so don't miss it!

Residents of the Northwest will want to visit Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery before next Wednesday, March 10 for a final look at Gahan Wilson's art exhibition. A half-dozen exquisite original paintings are complemented by 10 delightful new prints from the master of the macabre. As an incentive, Fantagraphics is offering a bookstore-only discount on both the normal and special editions of the 3-volume, embossed slipcase set GAHAN WILSON: 50 YEARS OF PLAYBOY CARTOONS. Through the end of the show, the normal edition is $25 off and the special edition is $50 off cover price! And while supplies last, each purchase…