The Strand, who are obsessive about documenting all their events on video, bless 'em, have posted numerous clips from their pre-MoCCA "Strandicon" spate of comics-related panels and presentations, including The Comics Journal panel with (L-R above) Dan Nadel & Tim Hodler of TCJ.com, TCJ executive editor/Fantagraphics honcho Gary Groth, and token artist Kim Deitch. The Beat has already done all the heavy lifting of compiling and embedding the clips into a single blog post, so we'll throw it over there for all your viewing enjoyment.

Well here's some wonderful news, as reported by The Comics Reporter: the great Stan Sakai has received the 2011 Cultural Ambassador Award by the Japanese American National Museum. The news release is here, and on Facebook Stan says (with typical understatement) "Senator Dan Inouye was seated at the table next to ours. He is third in line for the presidency, so secret service was around. Food was excellent." Congratulations and well deserved, Stan!

(By the way, this year's Stumptown Comics Fest is barely over but Stan has already been lined up as a special guest for 2012!)

On his Here Lies Richard Sala blog, Richard Sala posted this drool-inducing photo of original pages for his forthcoming graphic novel The Hidden, along with an update on the status of the book, which is now complete and undergoing production. He also points out an eerie incidence of life imitating comics, which, if you know his work, is rather ominous.

Hey, moneybags! A couple of original Daniel Clowes pages from David Boring are up for auction at Heritage. Links & info at the Daniel Clowes blog.

Shout it out! Johnny Ryan is winner of Best Letterer at the Stumptown Comics Awards for his mashup of techno, metal and horror letterforms in Prison Pit Book 2! If you're at the fest, swing by our table (#304) and pick up both volumes. Congrats Johnny!

Our weekly strip from Michael Kupperman — Steven Weissman is on vacation this week — plus links to other strips from around the web:

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

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And elsewhere:

Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane:

Ectiopiary by Hans Rickheit:

Lucky by Gabrielle Bell:

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:

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review/Interview: ESPN.com's Jim Caple looks at 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente — "Santiago has a stunning, cinematic style, and 21 is filled with gorgeous illustrations that capture the power and grace of Clemente as no standard book of black and white type ever has or could. […] By appealing to all ages, 21 is a wonderful way to introduce younger readers to one of baseball's most important players and a great way to introduce older readers to the story-telling power and sophistication of graphic novels." — and talks to its creator, Wilfred Santiago: "Clemente's appeal is exactly what you see in 21. He had many sides but the story of a young person from a humble background going against the odds, overcoming obstacles and challenges, the struggles, anger, injustice, the loneliness, while not losing himself in the process, was compelling. On top of it, he did not conform to being an average athlete or human being but excelling as both. And he did it during one of the most volatile times in America. This is a story that spoke to me, and I couldn't pass. I also got to dip into baseball; it was a great experience dissecting the sport."

• Review: "While there was clearly a lot on his mind, Trondheim is still first and foremost a gag man. He imbues every page with his dry wit, creating an authorial voice that allows him to get away with all sorts of slapstick and nonsense (without seeming too silly), while also allowing him to write about personal and serious matters (without seeming too ponderous). In later years, Trondheim would return to autobio comics as a way to revive his interest in drawing, but he’s truly at the height of his powers in Approximate Continuum Comics." – Rob Clough, The Comics Journal

• Preview: MTV News takes some quotes from Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind for their preview of EMP's Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses exhibit (hosted by editor/curator Jacob McMurray) in two posts here and here

• Plugs: At Comic Book Resources, Alex Dueben's report from last weekend's MoCCA Festival includes praise for Peter Bagge & Gilbert Hernandez's Yeah! ("The book isn’t on sale yet, but this should be in demand by anyone who like all-ages comics and those who, when they read that it features a section penciled by Gilbert and inked by Jaime, know they need to own it") and Leslie Stein's Eye of the Majestic Creature ("charming and fabulous") as well as mentions of some of our other debuts

Kristin Hersh tweeted this pic of a fan-made tote bag with a hand-drawn reproduction of Gilbert Hernandez's cover artwork for the Throwing Muses album Limbo. Nicely done! Anyone else out there have any DIY Fantagraphics-related handicrafts you've made? Tweet or Facebook 'em at us!

Stop by Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery today and wish Larry Reid a happy birthday! Larry's been one of the most influential figures in the Seattle counterculture scene for more years than he'd care for us to count, and has been instrumental in the establishment of alternative comix as a respected art form. The man's a giant, I tells ya, and we're privileged to have him on our team.

If you want to make Larry happy today (and to make up for me embarrassing him here), first and foremost, buy lots and lots of comic books, and second, "like" the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery page on Facebook — Larry's been posting there pretty much daily, and even if you're out of the area and can't visit the store he's got great comix recommendations and juicy tidbits to share.

I don't think I'd seen this 2010 Jaime Hernandez pin-up of Wonder Woman (based on issue 41 of her comic) at ComicArtFans before until Hey Oscar Wilde! pointed it out on Tumblr.