TCJ.com 1/15/11 – 1/21/11 recap and preview of next week

This past week on TCJ.com: Rob Clough on World War III and Borderland. Marc Sobel on reading comics with your Android phone. Part 1 (Seth’s Palookaville #20)and Part 2 (Jason Lutes’ Berlin #17) of Rob Clough’s 3-part series on Drawn & Quarterly’s recent single issues. R.C. Harvey continues his survey of fall’s comic strips with Brett Koth’s Diamond Lil. Rich Kreiner’s  Minis Monday: The Widow Reminisces Over a Plate of Vegetables, Mimi’s Doughnut Zine #19: Health Nathan Wilson reviews The Rat Catcher by Andy Diggle and Victor Ibanez R. Fiore on Doug Wright Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3…

Daily OCD: 1/21/11

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Among the highlights of [Usagi Yojimbo:] The Special Edition is the ease of witnessing Sakai’s growth as a writer, artist and storyteller. While the illustration in the earliest chapters is already solid, Sakai’s linework grows visibly more assured and looser, giving the pages a liveliness not seen in many comics. Similarly, the layouts evolve to capture the quiet elegance of the Japanese countryside, the gut-turned terror of Jei (comics’ best villain) or the kinetic ballet of a samurai duel in pitch-perfect fashion. …Fantagraphics makes Usagi look great with this collection. …[F]or [hardcore] Usagi…

Daily OCD: 1/20/11

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Commentary: At Robot 6, Chris Arrant lists the major Daniel Clowes stories that haven't been adapted for film yet and speculates on what those hypothetical films might be like • Coming Attractions: Library Journal's "Graphic Novels Prepub Alert" spotlights Isle of 100,000 Graves by Jason & Fabien Vehlmann ("Looks like a peg-leg captain and his mates have to fight aliens on a desert island-it's a trap. […] Jason specializes in droll yet melancholy stories with a cast of goofy, anthropomorphic animals…") and Mr. Twee Deedle: Raggedy Ann's Sprightly Cousin: The Forgotten Fantasy Masterpieces of…

Now in stock: The Strange Case of Edward Gorey by Alexander Theroux

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship: The Strange Case of Edward Gorey (Expanded Hardcover Edition) by Alexander Theroux 168-page black & white 6.25" x 9.25" hardcover • $19.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-384-2 Previews & Ordering Info The Strange Case of Edward Gorey is the most authentic portrait yet of this truly enigmatic American artist and writer of macabre, ghoulish illustrated books. It is a respectful and insightful consideration not only of the intriguing pen-and-ink drawings but of the inventive, opinionated and eccentric person himself. A balletomane, cat-lover, unbelievably wide reader, collector of many and surprising objects, and mad filmgoer, Gorey…

Prince Valiant Vol. 3: 1941-1942 by Hal Foster – Previews, Pre-Order

Prince Valiant Vol. 3: 1941-1942 by Hal Foster 112-page full-color 10.25" x 14" hardcover • $29.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-407-8 Ships in: February 2011 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now With this volume, Foster reaches (by common critical consensus) the peak of his drawing and storytelling prowess – a peak at which he will remain for most of the run of this glorious strip. Almost the entirety of 1941’s strips feature a single ten-month epic entitled “Fights for the Singing Sword,” a globetrotting adventure fueled by Valiant’s obsessive search for his bride-to-be Aleta throughout Northern Africa, with stops in Jerusalem, the Arabic deserts,…

Editors Notes: Kim Thompson on Stigmata

[In this installment of our series of Editors Notes, Kim Thompson interviews himself (in a format he's dubbed "AutoChat") about Stigmata by Lorenzo Mattotti, now available to order from us and at a comics shop near you. – Ed.] So… Mattotti, eh? Yeah. I've long wanted to do a book by Lorenzo. For my money he's one of the most brilliant cartoonists in terms of sheer virtuoso draftsmanship who ever lived. I think among the current breed of Europeans he's rivaled only by Moebius and Blutch and I'd still rank him first. I was just biding my time. It's been…

Editors Notes: Kim Thompson on Stigmata

[In this installment of our series of Editors Notes, Kim Thompson interviews himself (in a format he's dubbed "AutoChat") about Stigmata by Lorenzo Mattotti, now available to order from us and at a comics shop near you. – Ed.] So… Mattotti, eh? Yeah. I've long wanted to do a book by Lorenzo. For my money he's one of the most brilliant cartoonists in terms of sheer virtuoso draftsmanship who ever lived. I think among the current breed of Europeans he's rivaled only by Moebius and Blutch and I'd still rank him first. I was just biding my time. It's been…