Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:
• Review: "What Santiago has done [in 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente] is to create a sketch of Clemente’s life as he actually led it, not as the legend he became. Mundane village life in Puerto Rico, the challenges of racism and assimilation in the U.S., petty arguments, heroic deeds both on and off the field: all of these are given equal footing. Even more impressive is the way Santiago tells this story. His gorgeous illustrations… perfectly capture the period (1950s and ‘60s). And his storytelling is practically mosaic: overlapping dialogue; snippets of scenes fading in and out without introduction or conclusion; information spread all over the page. This is a book to be pored over, not read straight through." –Mark Flowers, School Library Journal
• Profile: "Chicago-based, Puerto Rico-born writer and comics artist Wilfred Santiago has managed to capture both aspects of Clemente — the legend and the human being — in his new graphic novel 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente…. 'He's like Clark Kent who turns into Superman,' Santiago says. 'There's a transformation from Roberto Clemente the family man, to Roberto Clemente the baseball superstar. As soon as he gets into the stadium, he turns into something else, right?'" – Michael Machosky, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
• Review: At Lo Spazio Bianco, Italian cartoonist Squaz pens a comic-strip review of Michael Kupperman's Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 1, calling it "Brilliant! Amazing! Liberating!" (yes, I typed out all the text into Google Translate)
• Interview: Comic Book Resources' Alex Dueben talks with Peter Bagge about all his latest releases: "I always have lots of story ideas for [Buddy and Lisa]. My main concern now is to figure out a story arc so I can make some semblance of a 'graphic novel' out of all these Annual stories."