Online Commentary & Diversions are not slowing down, no sir:
• List: New York Magazine's Dan Kois names You'll Never Know, Book 1: A Good and Decent Man by C. Tyler one of the ten Best Comics of 2009
• List: The Daily Cross Hatch posts "The Best Damned Comics of the Decade Chosen by the Artists" — among the wide-ranging choices are I Killed Adolf Hitler by Jason, The Three Paradoxes by Paul Hornschemeier, Palestine and Safe Area Gorazde by Joe Sacco, The Complete Peanuts 1952-1953 (which doesn't exist, but 1950-1952 and 1953-1954 do), Ghost World and Eightball #22 (Ice Haven) & #23 by Daniel Clowes, Late Bloomer by Carol Tyler, Sammy the Mouse by Zak Sally, Locas and Locas II by Jaime Hernandez, Fear of Comics by Gilbert Hernandez, Explainers by Jules Feiffer, Jimbo in Purgatory by Gary Panter, and Schizo #4 by Ivan Brunetti
• List: At their The SF Site: Nexus Graphica column, Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams name their top 5 comics of the year. For Williams it's West Coast Blues by Tardi & Manchette at #5 ("one of the year's best crime fiction reads, at least in comics"); for Klaw it's Humbug at #4 ("The slipcased set wisely includes several insightful and interesting extras") and Tardi's West Coast Blues and You Are There tied at #3 ("one of the best crime graphic novels ever produced" and "masterfully satirizes French society and politics unlike any comic before or since" respectively)
• List: J. Caleb Mozzocco names some top 20 favorites: C. Tyler ranks his 17th favorite writer for You'll Never Know, Book 1; Johnny Ryan's Prison Pit: Book 1 sports his 4th favorite cover; and The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book by Joe Daly is his 20th favorite OGN/limited series (obviously it falls in the former category)
• List: Comic Book Resources' Brian Cronin lists his Top Ten Comics of 2009, including Michael Kupperman's Tales Designed to Thrizzle #5 in the 10th spot ("continues to be a brilliantly absurd comic book every time out") and Ganges #3 by Kevin Huizenga in 4th place ("The first story is mind-boggling… Absolute top notch sequential work")
• Guide: If you've always wondered what part of R. Crumb's enormous oeuvre was the best place to start, Robot 6's Chris Mautner takes you to "Comics College" with some solid advice
• Review: "Few cartoonists ever had as lavish a tribute as a three-volume-slipcased collection, but few are as deserving as [Gahan] Wilson. Collecting 50 years worth of his monthly single page gag cartoons from Playboy, [Gahan Wilson: Fifty Years of Playboy Cartoons] is a definitive overview of a remarkable talent and viewpoint. … Beautifully designed and printed, the books contain cut-out pages, and the slipcase itself becomes a window for a trapped photo of Wilson. Text extras include Wilson's prose short stories and an appreciation by Neil Gaiman. If these three volumes are a bit much for one sitting, periodic dipping in will always satisfy." – Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
• Review: "[You Are There] is an absurdist satire,… and a pretty terrific one. … It's easy to picture it as one of those long-form fourth-season Monty Python episodes… [I]t's seriously a master class on creating a sense not just of place but of a claustrophobic, chaotic, unsustainable state of mind. … Killer stuff, and more fun than you remember it from French class." – Sean T. Collins
• Review: "This time around, we get Strange Suspense by Steve Ditko, whom you may have heard of. …[and] man! are these some cool comics. … Ditko… had no restraints, and the stories show it. This is pretty wild stuff. … We really get a sense of a master at work in this book, even though it was so early in Ditko's career. … It's totally worth the price!" – Greg Burgas, Comic Book Resources
• Review: "…Tyler’s sensitive 'voice' remains easily recognizable in her latest book, You’ll Never Know. … This book is to be savored slowly and on its own terms." – Ng Suat Tong, The Comics Journal
• Review: Scott Anderson of Prism Comics, examining the "rollicking compendium" Supermen! The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941, notes "Grisly deaths, drug addicts, crime lords, strippers, drunk molls, and morally iffy protagonists, that, ladies and gentlemen, is how they wrote comics for kids, millions of kids, in the innocent days of yesteryear." (Via Journalista)
• Review: "…[F]or a cartoonist like Dash Shaw, who revels in drawing’s fluidity and expressive imperfections, the transition between comics and animation is a natural one. His splendid four-part animated web series for IFC.com, The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D., underscores what’s best about all of his work—its eclecticism and intimate drama." – Nicole Rudick, Artforum
• Plug: "The Definitive Prince Valiant Companion… is great stuff if you're a fan of the strip and those who are should add this to their last minute Christmas list right away." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6
• Plug: "The Complete Peanuts 1971-1974… This collection of the 11th and 12th volumes of a planned 25-book set, designed by Canadian cartoonist and designer Seth, shows Schulz's staggering talent in the prime of his career and even introduces Linus and Lucy's little brother, Rerun." – Jonathan Kuehlein, Toronto Star
• Interview: Big Shiny Robot! talks to Dash Shaw: "I’ve never sold a treatment and then executed something with the expectations of the publisher looming over my shoulder. … These comics were going to exist in some form anyway. It’s all been a combination of drawing a ridiculous amount and total luck."
• Things to see: A nice gallery of Richard Sala's Christmas cards through the years
• Things to see: "Postcard from Fielder" part 3 by Kevin Huizenga
• Things to see: On the Covered blog, Robert Goodin reimagines Carl Barks's Donald Duck
• Things to see: Hans Rickheit's Ectopiary, page 3 — comment on Hans's blog (warning: gross picture)