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Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "From the opening panel until the final words, Tardi's adaptation of Manchette's crime novel [West Coast Blues] sizzles with a dazzling graphic intensity… Much like the 1950s American crime novels they emulate, Tardi and Manchette offer a impressive display of destructive violence, wanton love, and disregard for life. Showcasing Tardi's singular artistic talents, the brilliant West Coast Blues emerges as one of the best crime graphic novels ever produced." – Rick Klaw, The SF Site: Nexus Graphica • Review: "[West Coast Blues] is slyly funny without being jokey; thrilling without ever seeming manipulative;…

Peter Bagge just turned this in and I had to share. Coming early next year!

The great Jerry Lewis has invited Drew Friedman to be his guest at the MDA Labor day Telethon this coming weekend in Las Vegas! How cool is that? He's going to be showing the central image of the below piece (Jerry kissing the Oscar) that Drew did several years ago for the NY Observer and which also appears in Drew's book, THE FUN NEVER STOPS! The piece should appear during a segment paying tribute to Lewis receiving the Humanitarian Oscar earlier this year. No word yet about when the segment happens, but hopefully it'll be on the early side. The telethon begins Sunday evening, 9 PM,…

  Last night I headed down to Seattle's great Elliot Bay Book Co. to see my old friend Chelsea Cain read from her latest novel, Evil at Heart, the third book in her NY Times bestselling thriller series from Minotaur (following Heartsick and Sweetheart), featuring serial killer Gretchen Lowell and her nemesis-slash-soulmate, Detective Archie Sheridan. The series has sold a kajillion copies, been featured on HBO's True Blood, and been praised by no less an authority as Stephen King as well as just about everyone else on the planet, so you don't need to take my word for it when I tell you that if you like a good, character-driven thriller, you…

September is a-cumen in with Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "[The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book], about a monkey-footed man who muddles around a beach community in South Africa, is amazing… Both stories are laid-back, funny, and entertaining… Totally [recommended]. [Joe] Daly is one of my favorite new talents in comics, and… this is… one of my top five comics to be released this year so far." – Paul Constant, The Stranger • Review: "You'll Never Know… is a daughter's pursuit of her father's untold war story as she seeks to recover what he has wilfully held back from…

Going to Burning Man this year? You might be able to hitch a ride around the site from our pal Jeannie Schulz in the H.M.S. Beagle here, reports Dan Taylor of The Press Democrat (via The Daily Cartoonist).

These clips have cropped up in a couple of different places: Clip #1 from Shhh!, the short film from Animidas on Vimeo. Clip #2 from Shhh!, the short film from Animidas on Vimeo. Jason's Sshhhh! is being adapted into a short film by Norwegian animators Animidas (with the slightly shortened title Shhh!). Follow the progress of the production and see lots more stills at the official Shhh! blog.

At his blog, Derek Van Gieson presents some haunting teaser images from parts 2 and 3 of "The Devil Doll," his WWII story (written by Michael Jada) which will be serialized in upcoming volumes of Mome.

Jeremy Eaton submitted this “fan art” cartoon to Amazing Heroes in 1981. It was rejected.

Comics writer Alan David Doane, oft-linked in our "Daily OCD" posts, has a new E-book compiling a decade's worth of his interviews with comics notables such as Peter Bagge, Charles Burns, Colleen Coover, Renee French, Roberta Gregory, Paul Hornschemeier, Johnny Ryan, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Dirk Deppey (not to mention a slew of non-Fantagraphics folks too). You can download the book, aptly titled Conversations with ADD, for free at the Comic Book Galaxy website.