Online Commentary & Diversions:
• Review: "[Dan Nadel:] Reading Pim & Francie is an apocalyptic experience — as if Columbia is demolishing both his own work and the idea of 'cartooning' in general. I found it exhilarating and terrifying. … [Tim Hodler:] …The fact that so many of these grotesque stories and vignettes don't really resolve contributes to the reader's growing sense of unease. … Al Columbia's comics… really bring out the surreal terror already buried within cartoon imagery. … [Frank Santoro:] Pim and Francie's adventure struck a chord in me that's been dormant for a long time. A haunting wonder, perhaps? A curiosity of the unknown that, when found, rattles one to the core?" – Comics Comics critics' roundtable
• Plug: "…Peter Bagge's recent collection of libertarian cartoons from Fantagraphics, Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me and Other Astute Observations is much funnier than libertarian cartoons have any right to be." – Paul Constant, The Stranger
• Video: Visa denial (for shame!) forced Gene Deitch to deliver his keynote address to China's Xiamen International Animation Festival by video; Cartoon Brew shares the clip along with the text of the speech Gene would have given in person
• Hooray for (the French equivalent of) Hollywood: Comix 411 takes a look at Luc Besson's in-production film adaptation of Jacques Tardi's Adèle Blanc-Sec (which Kim flogged about a few weeks ago); for the Francophones among you, TF1 has some behind-the-scenes video footage
• Things to see: Jim Blanchard's commissioned portrait of Roky Erickson