Back to the Online Commentary & Diversions:
• List: The Architects' Journal names "Chris Ware's Chicago" #2 on its list of "Top 10 Comic Book Cities"
• Review: "[Fletcher] Hanks' groove, taken back to back like this, is unsettling… It can be downright creepy. Generally, when you talk about a comic auteur's 'issues,' you're talking page count, not whether he has his head screwed on straight. It's multiplied by Hanks' art style, which at first seems crude but is actually quite stylized and consistent. Many images, such as troupes of unfortunates flying in hurtling, screaming weightlessness, have the impact of nightmares… And the twisted comics universe once inhabited by Fletcher Hanks is eerie and unsettling, and fascinating in what it reveals about the man with the pen." – Burl Burlingame, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
• Review: "Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 1, [Michael] Kupperman's recent collection, is brimming with such a dense compilation of Dada-inspired plots, fake ads and comic book covers that it takes a repeated read-through to absorb the book's potent aura of absurdity… Reading Thrizzle is an expeditious experience, and like all treks you will feel exhausted and somehow improved by this entire gut-busting experience… Tales Designed to Thrizzle is beyond recommendation…" – Ascot Smith, examiner.com
• Review: "Jason is one of the relatively few working artists that even a jaded, cynical, complain-first critic like me will happily declare a true master cartoonist, without reservation. Jason is—how to put this?—good. Really, really, really good… So, Low Moon? It’s Jason. It’s new. It’s obviously really, really good, you know?" – J. Caleb Mozzocco, Newsarama
• Review: "Low Moon takes 'funny animals' comics in a disturbingly deadpan direction. The bipedal canines and birds that populate these five short tales somehow convey with their blank eyes, flat expressions and minimal movements a whole seething current of emotional subtext. The title story, first serialized in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, mixes Gary Cooper frontier heroics with chess, and it is no less strange or hilarious than the other vignettes, which play with tropes lifted from science fiction, film noir and Jazz Age romance." – "The Best in Comic Books," Michael Berry, San Francisco Chronicle
• Review: "The new Prince Valiant crackles from the page with an energy and enthusiasm that positively dares anyone to deny this strip’s rightful place in the history of the form. Yes, this is another great day for comics history and most definitely a venture worth supporting into the future." – Guttergeek
• Review: "Uptight #3 — This comic book made me nuts… Look how goddamned beautiful that cover is… That cover illustrates the first part of a new story Crane is working on, 'Vicissitude,' and Holy Jesus it is one of the best stories I've read this year. I'm a tough sell when it comes to out-and-out fiction in comics, but the unbelievably compelling artwork totally drew me into this fantastic story… damn if that cover and those first few, tantalizing pages aren't like some new, more addictive form of crack cocaine you ingest through your eyeballs. By looking at this comic book. God DAMN, I want more 'Vicissitude.' Don't let another day go by without making sure you're getting Uptight #3." – Alan David Doane
• Review: Derik Badman looks at the comics of From Wonderland with Love contributor Allan Haverholm
• Interview: "I've long felt Peter Bagge is a significant figure in American comedy in addition to deserving his lofty stature in alternative comics, and I'll interview him any chance I get." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter; "I was never allowed to play fast and lose with the truth, much to my occasional creative chagrin! Other than that they allowed me to express myself pretty freely, even if some folks on their staff disagreed with some of the points I was making." – Peter Bagge, from the interview, discussing the Reason editiorial process
• Plug: "I don’t always agree with [Peter Bagge's] position [in Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me], but his exploration is always great. And hearing other opinions and positions (especially well-informed like his), is almost always worthwhile." – Corey Blake
• Plug: "[Peter] Bagge’s Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me looks absolutely lovely. In his usual twisted, cynical and angry way." – The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log
• Plug: J. Caleb Mozzocco focuses in on a couple of interesting details (renditions of Donald Duck and an arty teapot) from Peter Bagge's Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me
• Plugs: "I am slowly making my way through three recent reprints from Fantagraphics… the three books in question are Humbug, Blazing Combat, and Prince Valiant. Humbug’s easily the best of the three, as it includes so many all-time great cartoonists (Kurtzman, Jaffee, Elder, etc.) at the peak of their powers and ambitions, but the other two are worthwhile, too. With people like Wood, Toth, and Heath involved, I knew the art would be fantastic in Blazing Combat, but I’ve been surprised at the quality of Archie Goodwin’s writing… it’s much more satisfying than expected. I’ve barely begun with Prince Valiant… So far, it’s much more fluid and enjoyable than I would’ve guessed — beautiful work…" – guest columnist Timothy Hodler (Comics Comics), Robot 6
• Events: The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports that a new Peanuts exhibit, "Snoopy as the World War I Flying Ace," just opened at the Museum of History and Art in Ontario, CA (via The Daily Cartoonist)
• Things to see (and buy in the future): Some teasers for the next batch of Stinckers are debuting. Do you like Johnny Ryan? Do you like horror movies? Then Johnny has a sneak peek for you. And the Stinckers blog gives a glimpse of Esther Pearl Watson's Unlovable series!