Another page from Johnny Ryan's in-progress Prison Pit V.2! 

Jacob Covey knows his shit...

As part of our ongoing excitement for our soon-to-arrive giant 3-volume set Gahan Wilson: Fifty Years of Playboy Cartoons, we're pleased to present two exclusive sneak peeks at the book!

First, read Neil Gaiman's delightful Introduction (found in the second book; Hef's is in the first one) on our website right here.

Next, download an exclusive 25-page PDF excerpt containing all of Wilson's strips from 1958-1959, including a series of strips spoofing Sherlock Holmes (8 MB). Enjoy!

No reason.

Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: Minnesota Public Radio enlists Tom Kaczynski to talk about Dash Shaw's new book The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D.: "They're stories full of nuance and expression, done in a very accessible style, but very fresh and modern." Listen at the link above (segment begins at 1:40), and find out about Tom and Dash's collaboration for the next issue of Mome here

• Review: "Charles Burns offers a glimpse of what might happen if EC Comics existed today with three tales of intrigue and absurdity in this softcover reissue... [of Skin Deep]. A master of the unearthly atmosphere — David Lynch has nothing on him — Burns unleashes tales of a man transplanted with a dog’s heart, a failing marriage with an alarming secret, and, best of all, an evangelist’s son’s encounter with God and his path to millions because of it. At once cautionary, creepy and curious, Burns is consistently one of comics’ deepest thinkers." – John Seven, Worcester Magazine

• Review: "The Troublemakers is the second in a series of graphic novels adapting movies starring or co-starring Rosalba 'Fritz' Martinez from the popular Love and Rockets series. An adaptation of a fictional movie starring a fictional character… I can totally dig that. ... Well, Hernandez has totally captured the look and feel of a B-movie with this one. You’d swear that Roger Corman, Russ Meyer or Samuel Z. Arkoff had a hand in it somewhere… only it’s a whole lot prettier because the guy is a hell of an artist. ... The characters are all very distinct and memorable and the story keeps you intrigued from page one to 120. It actually feels like you’re watching a movie while reading it. ...  One can imagine a young Quentin Tarantino taking in a Saturday afternoon viewing of The Troublemakers and being quite inspired." – Chad Derdowski, Mania.com

• Review: "...[A] phallic-galactic odyssey of epic proportions... Prison Pit, the latest [Johnny] Ryan work published by Fantagraphics, is just that, an apologia for sidereal 'poor taste' able to shake the guts of the average reader of comics... Yes, he has hit the target with a homemade bomb and high destructive capacity. Ryan, bastard, you've nailed it." – Alita Comics blog (from mangled Google translation)

• Review: "Jordan Crane is a pretty incredible cartoonist, and this issue of his anthology series [Uptight] demonstrates that wonderfully, with two stories that are different enough that it's impressive that they came from the same creator, but both beautifully drawn and well-told." – Matthew J. Brady

• Events: Dame Darcy would like you to know that she's in NYC with stuff going on

• Distraction: Paste has a fun game: "Spam E-Mail or Bob Pollard Song?" (via our own Ambassador of Awesomeness Janice Headley)

Stan Sakai did a couple of exclusive designs for streetwear company The Hundreds, with a signing on Saturday in LA. More info at Comics Alliance and Robot 6.

Following up on their exclusive preview from The Troublemakers posted yesterday, Comic Book Resources' Shaun Manning grills Beto about the book ("The 4 main characters are attractive people, for the most part, but they are drawn to shady doings because it turns them on. This type of immaturity is glorified everywhere you look, so why work a 9 to 5 job?") and future installments of the "Fritz filmography" (to appear in Love and Rockets: New Stories #3 next year, and in future collections with "added sex"!). Must read!

Brand new on our website and available for pre-order: The Definitive Prince Valiant Companion, in both softcover and hardcover editions. This ultimate book for Valiant fans has been long out of print; Hal Foster biographer Brian M. Kane has completely updated the book with over 30 years of material, new interviews & articles, rare archival material, and a special color section of strips from every era. Download an exclusive 9-page PDF excerpt containing a new essay by Kane right here, and view a photo & video slideshow preview of the hardcover edition embedded below. Click here if it is not visible, and/or to view it larger in a new window (recommended — and we also have a slideshow of the softcover). This book is scheduled to be in stock and ready to ship in about 3 weeks (both editions will be released simultaneously) and in stores right around the same time (subject to change).

Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "[Dan Nadel:] Reading Pim & Francie is an apocalyptic experience — as if Columbia is demolishing both his own work and the idea of 'cartooning' in general. I found it exhilarating and terrifying. ... [Tim Hodler:] ...The fact that so many of these grotesque stories and vignettes don't really resolve contributes to the reader's growing sense of unease. ... Al Columbia's comics... really bring out the surreal terror already buried within cartoon imagery. ... [Frank Santoro:] Pim and Francie's adventure struck a chord in me that's been dormant for a long time. A haunting wonder, perhaps? A curiosity of the unknown that, when found, rattles one to the core?" – Comics Comics critics' roundtable

• Plug: "...Peter Bagge's recent collection of libertarian cartoons from Fantagraphics, Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me and Other Astute Observations is much funnier than libertarian cartoons have any right to be." – Paul Constant, The Stranger

• Video: Visa denial (for shame!) forced Gene Deitch to deliver his keynote address to China's Xiamen International Animation Festival by video; Cartoon Brew shares the clip along with the text of the speech Gene would have given in person

• Hooray for (the French equivalent of) Hollywood: Comix 411 takes a look at Luc Besson's in-production film adaptation of Jacques Tardi's Adèle Blanc-Sec (which Kim flogged about a few weeks ago); for the Francophones among you, TF1 has some behind-the-scenes video footage

• Things to see: Jim Blanchard's commissioned portrait of Roky Erickson

SPOILER ALERT! Sample page from Johnny Ryan's Prison Pit Book Two, coming in the summer of 2010. If you haven't ordered Prison Pit Book One yet, I don't want to hear any excuses. Just get it already!

I'll post a few more pages over the next week. Same Slorge-time, same Slorge-channel...