A delightful new animatic by Cathy Malkasian, who, you may recall, is a BAFTA-nominated animator in addition to being an Eisner-winning graphic novelist. The "#1" in the title makes us hopeful for more episodes!

The A Moment of Moore tumblog recently posted this scan of Gilbert Hernandez's hilariously awesome illustration of Alan Moore from a 1988 issue of Comics Interview. Love that caption.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Interview: The L.A. Times Hero Complex blog's Noelene Clark talks to Carol Tyler about her L.A. Times Book Prize-nominated You'll Never Know, Book 2: Collateral Damage: "I had to read a lot of war books and Army accounts and talk to veterans and talk to Marines and everybody about what this thing is. Because it’s kind of aside from our culture. It’s not the dominant thing in our culture, so unless you know somebody in the Army that’s been there, it’s not something you’re going to come across. It’s a very nuanced, very difficult thing. It’s often stereotyped. So I was surprised to find the great humanity, the great story inside war service, whether you’re a World War II veteran or any other wars."

• Interview: At the L.A. Times Hero Complex blog, Noelene Clark also talks to Dash Shaw: "I started making comics really early. My dad had comics lying around the house. I’ve always made comics. I feel like I know a lot about comic history because it’s been my primary interest my whole life, from Marvel and superhero comics to Japanese comics to Franco-Belgian comics. I kind of have this psycho interest in comics from all over, so I feel very much like a cartooonist, and I feel really proud to be on the same shelf as all of that other stuff…."

R. Sikoryak presents a supercharged version of his Carousel comics performance series tomorrow at noon at Cooper Union with readings by Kate Beaton, Nick Bertozzi, Kevin Colden, Mike Dawson, Ludovic Debeurme, Dean Haspiel, Michael Kupperman, Benjamin Marra, R. Sikoryak, Jeff Newelt, and Harvey Pekar (RIP) as part of the PEN World Voices literary festival in NYC — details and discount code here, tickets here.

Our weekly strips from Kupperman & Weissman, plus links to other strips from around the web:

---

Up All Night by Michael Kupperman (view at original size):

Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman (view at original size):

---

And elsewhere:

Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane:

Ectiopiary by Hans Rickheit:

Maakies by Tony Millionaire:

Mugwhump the Great by Roger Langridge (at Act-i-vate):

Smashing Crayons by Steve Brodner at SlateV:

Truth Serum by Jon Adams:

I've watched it a few times now, and I can still scarcely fathom it. Legendary music interviewer Nardwuar presents rap superstar Lil Wayne with some gifts of the Northwest, including Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind. Quoth an appreciative Mr. Carter: "I collect these type of things, so this is a good thing right here." The whole thing's worth watching, but jump ahead to 2:20 for the Taking Punk stuff. (YouTube link.)

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Interview: The L.A. Times Hero Complex blog's Noelene Clark talks to Jim Woodring about his L.A. Times Book Prize-nominated Weathercraft: "Art is always so reductive, and what I have going on in my comics is so simple and relatively easy to understand compared to real life, which is infinitely complex. So it might relate to real life in the same way that a chessboard would relate to a chessboard with an infinite number of squares on it. It’s sort of similar in some ways, but it’s much, much, much, much, much simpler and reductive and easier to understand."

• Review: "The strips themselves are great. In fact, it’s a crime these aren’t more well known. These daily strips are part of why Mickey Mouse became a popular character and world famous icon. The serialized adventures are exciting and fun, establishing a real personality for Mickey beyond what was possible in the animated shorts. The book has lovingly restored these strips from the original negatives and proof sheets – each one crystal clear and absolutely beautiful. If that were all there was to this book, I’d recommend it highly. But that’s not all. Co-Editor David Gerstein has... loaded this book with over 60 pages of supplementary articles and features that are a MUST for all Disney history buffs. [...] I cannot praise this volume highly enough." – Jerry Beck, Cartoon Brew

• Review: "I had high expectations for Castle Waiting, given that the first volume was outstanding, and I wasn’t disappointed. I found Volume 2 so strong, in fact, that it was my best graphic novel of 2010. [...] I normally am not a big fan of fantasy, but here, the characters are so strong in personality, so interesting and likable, that I want to spend more time with them. [...] The true strength of Castle Waiting, though, is Medley’s gorgeous art. The characters are perfect, distinctive and expressive, and the storytelling so strong you don’t even notice it. Instead, you’re visiting with this self-created family for a while — and it’s never long enough. When I close the cover, it’s always a melancholy action, because I want more time with these people, more adventures, more humor and good-heartedness." – Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading

• Review: "Mome 21 bats a good average, with many stories hitting their mark and a few clearing the fences. [...] Mome plays a unique role in the world of North American alternative comics. It’s one of the only long-form, regularly published comics anthologies out there, providing a vision of novelty and variety for the future of literary comics. When the series concludes later this year, a chapter in comics history will have closed." – Ao Meng, The Daily Texan

• Plug: Gillian G. Gaar works a nice mention of Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind into her article on Nirvana history and mythology for Blurt

Aha! An image of an uncut sheet of Daniel Clowes "Stinckers" stickers available at Meltdown Comics in L.A. and more info about 'em at the Stinckers blog!

UPDATE: How to buy an uncut sheet!

Michael Kupperman tweeted this pic , saying "Almost done with my Twain book. Here he and Einstein join Oscar and Felix to become 'The Awkward Quartet.'" Mark Twain's Autobiography 1910-2010 comes out this Fall!

Peter Bagge is the guest on the latest episode of The Dusty Wright Show video podcast, filmed back on April 10 at Scott Eder Gallery in Brooklyn the day after Pete's exhibit opening there. It's a funny and opinionated chat — classic Pete! Check it out embedded above or on the Culture Catch website.