Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:
![Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition [Pre-Order]](components/com_virtuemart/show_image_in_imgtag.php?filename=da59bbd52a0f01b7d7ac43c39e4deffd.jpg&newxsize=145&newysize=&fileout= "Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition [Pre-Order]")
• Review: "Among the highlights of [Usagi Yojimbo:] The Special Edition is the ease of witnessing Sakai’s growth as a writer, artist and storyteller. While the illustration in the earliest chapters is already solid, Sakai’s linework grows visibly more assured and looser, giving the pages a liveliness not seen in many comics. Similarly, the layouts evolve to capture the quiet elegance of the Japanese countryside, the gut-turned terror of Jei (comics’ best villain) or the kinetic ballet of a samurai duel in pitch-perfect fashion. …Fantagraphics makes Usagi look great with this collection. …[F]or [hardcore] Usagi fans, The Special Edition is everything you could want. And anyway, with this series, everyone should be hardcore." – Michael C. Lorah, Newsarama
• List/Plugs/Coming Attractions: At Hypergeek, Edward Kaye highlights no fewer than 7 of our 2011 releases in his roundup of "Comics, Graphic Novels, and More Worth Looking Forward to in 2011"
• Scene: Animation World Network's Joe Strike reports from Stephen DeStefano's recent animation storyboarding workshop at MoCCA
• Scene: Mindless Ones presents a Lovecraftian report from Jim Woodring's Nibbus Maximus event