Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:
• List: At the Forbidden Planet International blog, comics creator Nick Abadzis names Jaime Hernandez's "The Love Bunglers" from Love and Rockets: New Stories #4 as one of his three favorite comics of the year: "Hernandez just keeps delivering stories of the highest calibre. There are no pyrotechnics or fancy-ass page layouts, just a slow burn of emotion and expression, presented in calmly immaculate style. The moments of his characters’ lives that Hernandez chooses to show in the telling of his tales are picked and deployed with such precision it betrays a wisdom and clarity very few storytellers possess, in comics or any other media. Just beautiful."
• Review: "Everything Is an Afterthought is as much a eulogy for the life and work of this influential critic and writer as it is a reflection of how otherworldly the entertainment industry of the 1960s and '70s appears from a contemporary perspective of online bloggers and digital music…. Avery's narrative is bookended by a morbid fascination with Nelson's lonely end, living poorly and finally dying in his apartment in 2006 at age 70. But the dual nature of his book is fantastic, because after reading about Nelson's life we desire and deserve to read his work." – Thomas Conner, Chicago Sun-Times
• Review: "What is central to this magnificent book [Everything Is an Afterthought] is that Avery, a fabulous writer in his own regard, is also clearly a big Paul Nelson fan. As such, he presents a critical, yet caring, picture of Nelson's professional and personal life, the latter a bit sad and wistful, pulling out all the stops in a moving tribute, warts and all. And since he is such a good writer in his own regard, Avery's introduction to the book is almost like a second book in itself, and worth the price of admission alone. [Rating] 5 stars" – Sound Waves
• Review: "With this new book, I feel like Gottfredson’s take on the characters is blossoming into something strong enough that I wish I’d encountered it much earlier in life…. The Mickey Mouse books from Fantagraphics are full of tons of bonus material; advertising art, essays, sketches, even examples of how the stories got re-purposed down the line. These feel like the Criterion Collection DVDs translated into comic strip compilations, a prime example of how to give the readers more than their money’s worth…. With Mickey Mouse: Trapped on Treasure Island, I’m already eager to see what Gottfredson did next. I’m in for the long haul." – Greg McElhatton, Read About Comics
• Review: "If men dressed as bears are stealing your homework or you can't find that mysterious fortune teller because you have a lousy sense of direction, Tales Designed to Thrizzle can help you. Just be aware that this book is as rapid-fire a comic as I've ever read and is an almost overwhelming experience. If you can hang on to enjoy the ride, and are a fan of the humor of webcomics like Wondermark or the prose stylings of John Hodgman, then you really need to find someone who already owns a copy of this book and kill them for it. Or, you know, buy one for yourself. Either way, I'm good. And so is Tales Designed to Thrizzle." – Rob McMonigal, Panel Patter
• Plug: "Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture – A Career Retrospective is a wonderful tribute to the prolific artist… An amazing lifetime of work." – The Christian Science Monitor
• Plug: "Pogo Vol. 1: Through The Wild Blue Wonder – … Kelly’s illustrations are masterful, with expressive characters who are warm and friendly. Pogo‘s deft social satire makes this collection about Pogo Possum and friends a must own for humor comics fans and people who just like good things in general." – Robot 6 guest contributors Geoffrey Golden & Amanda Meadows
• Reviews: Author and comics scholar Michael Barrier examines several of our recent classic comics reprints in detail