Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:
• Profile: CT.com's Alan Bisbort talks to Michael Kupperman in advance of his appearance at Hartford's Mark Twain House tomorrow: "Kupperman, to be clear and fair, is quite fond of Twain, so his own caricatures are done with the affection one has for an eccentric uncle. His portrayals of Twain are interchangeable with his equally affectionate depictions of Albert Einstein — Twain and Einstein have, in fact, regularly appeared together in Kupperman's comic strips over the years — so he was pleasantly surprised by a recent serendipitous Internet purchase. 'I ordered a Twain wig and mustache from the official Twain website,' he says. 'And the label said "Twain/Einstein" so I must be on the right track.'"
• Interview: Paul Hornschemeier has a brief chat with MSN Postbox: "I think both my stories’ trajectories and my [philosophy] degree are both symptoms of a central disease. While I tend to gravitate toward comedy and joking around in a social context, I think that I’ve always been pretty introspective when I’m sitting around by myself. Which you tend to do a lot as a cartoonist — as in all of the time."
• Review: "Fantagraphics keeps the hits rolling throughout 2011 and The Arctic Marauder is the latest in their Jacques Tardi translations line…. The art is wonderful. Tardi has this rounded style that is unique and easily identifiable, all at once his signature. The level of detail is astounding, in the background and mechanical details as rendered faux woodcuts. The 9×11.75″ pages present the art in gloriously large detail: be sure to drink in every inch of this black and white work…. At $17 for a sixty-four page oversized hardcover this is a great value: while the vintage prose was lost on me it stands as a great period work with wonderfully detailed art." – eBabble