Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "The names here are mysterious, but the book makes a good case for many of the artists to be better known, which seems to be its intent. Tommi Musturi’s 'Samuel' stories, for example, several of which are included, are colorful, wordless, and Zen-like in their focus on the here and now. Joanna Rubin Dranger’s 'Always Prepared to Die for My Child' is another highlight, with simple drawings that manage to convey a lot. And Jenni Rope’s minimalist stories, which nearly bookend the volume, are poetic and impressive.... The number of woman cartoonists is also worth noting, partially because there’s no attention called to it. Kolor Klimax is a good first offering and may well indicate a series worth revisiting." – Hillary Brown, Paste

• Review: "Between the heavy cross hatching and almost wood-carved appearance of Rickheit’s art and his fixation on the degraded physical form, Folly often looks like a Jan Svankmajer film or Tool video adapted by Geof Darrow or Jim Woodring. Rickheit’s work is visually striking... Folly is a gorgeous but uncomfortable collection best enjoyed a few pages at a time." – Garrett Martin, Paste

• Review: "Like a Velvet Glove [Cast in Iron] is an early work by a creator who will later become one of the artform's greatest creators. There are themes and moments in this book that will be revisited in Clowes's later works, and revisited in smarter and more focused ways in some of his newer and greater works. Daniel Clowes is clearly building his skillset in this book, as he works on his art style, story progression and thematic obsessions. But it's still an incredible work of art that shifted my perceptions of the world a bit as well." – Jason Sacks, Comics Bulletin

• Interview (Audio): Mike Dawson's final guest as host of The Comics Journal's "TCJ Talkies" podcast is Tim Kreider, about whom Dawson writes in his intro, "Tim has often insisted that he doesn’t consider himself a proper political cartoonist, but was only drafted into writing about current events by the lunacy of the times. It’s true that going back and re-reading Tim’s comics in the run-up to the Iraq war, is a vivid reminder of how hysterical things were at that time (not in a good way)."

• Analysis: Matt Seneca examines a 1937 Krazy Kat strip for his column at Robot 6: "This page expresses a single gem of an idea, duality of character. It’s an idea both simple and profound, perfectly suited to Herriman’s aesthetic, and the way it’s put forth is so straightforward that it’s easy to read the strip over time and again before realizing that what it achieves could only be done using the comics medium."

Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez happened to be together in L.A. recently for the launch of the Daniel Clowes art book at Meltdown Comics and the folks there seized the opportunity to have the brothers sit down for an enjoyable chat on the Meltcast 2.0 video podcast. Topics include formative comics reading experiences, favorite superheroes, inspiration for their characters, and of course Dan: "The guy knew Mexican monster movies, like us, so why not be his friend?"

Hey, remember that exhibit I told you about last month? The one curated by our own Eisner Award-winning graphic novelist, artist and editor, Paul Karasik? Over at the Northern Illinois Unversity Art Museum in DeKalb, IL? Yes, “Graphic Novel Realism: Backstage at the Comics,” that's the one!

The show is still open through Friday, May 25th, but if you can't make it to Dekalb (me neither), check out this video Paul shot featuring a walk-through of the exhibit! You'll spot source materials, sketches, and finished work by Joyce Farmer, Jaime Hernandez, Mark Newgarden and Megan Montague Cash, as well as Jason Lutes, Seth and James Sturm. Thanks, Paul!

Still from "In Suspense" by Lilli Carré

A "moving hold" is an animation technique that involves cycling several drawings of a stationary character, giving the drawn lines a sense of vibration and energy. And it's also the title of the Lilli Carré exhibit opening in Chicago this week!

Moving Holds opens this Friday, April 20th at Western Exhibitions. For the show, Carré has created three different sets of work that all incorporate moving holds, as an idea, a technique, or both. Don't miss the opening reception from 5:00 to 8:00 PM this Friday!

Western Exhibitions is located at 119 N Peoria St, 2A, in Chicago, IL.  Moving Holds runs through May 19, 2012.

Now available for immediate shipment from our mail-order department:

Castle Waiting Vol. II #16
by Linda Medley

24-page black & white 6.75" x 10.25" comic book • $3.95 – Order Now!

Linda Medley returns with the first of a handful of issues that wrap up the second volume of the Castle Waiting saga! In this issue, our heroine Jain gets an unpleasant surprise as she moves into her new room, while Sister Peace has an awkward moment at the housewarming party; baby Pin surprises Jain and Chess with his amazing new ability; and mischief is brewing with Castle’s supernatural residents!

(click images to enlarge)

This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new titles. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators and web-savvy comic shops are saying about them (more to be added as they appear), check out our previews at the links, and contact your local shop to confirm availability.

Castle Waiting Vol. II #16
by Linda Medley

24-page black & white 6.75" x 10.25" comic book • $3.95

"Cue the 'they don't call it that for nothing' jokes. Linda Medley puts out an issue of this relaxed, good-natured fantasy series when she feels like it and not a minute before... I'll read it whenever she releases one into the world, though." – Douglas Wolk, ComicsAlliance

"And then there’s Linda Medley, who’s been laying low for awhile, but is back this week with a new issue of her ongoing, low-key fantasy series, Castle Waiting. [This] will probably be [one of] the first comics I read once I get home from the comic store this week." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"That Castle Waiting comic is usually a pretty satisfying package in terms of how it looks and the amount of story it provides." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

"...[M]y most anticipated is the return of Linda Medley’s Castle Waiting! Issue #16 ($3.95) is out from Fantagraphics, and I hope it begins a long and enjoyable run of the title." – Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading

Krazy & Ignatz 1922-1924: At Last My Drim of Love Has Come True
by George Herriman

256-page black & white/color 9" x 12" softcover • $24.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-477-1

Krazy & Ignatz: The Complete Sunday Strips 1916-1924
by George Herriman

600-page black & white/color 9" x 12" hardcover • $95.00

"[Fantagraphics'] final Chris Ware-designed collection of George Herriman's black-and-white Sunday 'Krazy Kat' strips is augmented by ten extra color Krazys that appeared in 1924, as well as the entire run of two other strips, 1903's 'Mrs. Waitaminnit' and 1926's 'Us Husbands.' Also this week: a fancy hardcover compiling the three volumes of 1916-1924 Sundays. 'Stumble Inn' is the next Herriman project up for the Fantagraphics treatment; I'm hoping they (or somebody) tackle the complete 'Krazy' dailies at some point." [That's the plan! –Ed.] – Douglas Wolk, ComicsAlliance

"It’s not so much a splurge as a must-buy for me — Krazy and Ignatz 1922-24: At Last My Drim of Love Has Come True is the final volume in Fantagraphics’ collection of Sunday Krazy strips and full of the same George Herriman magic as the previous volumes. There’s a tinge of sadness here as I believe the late Bill Blackbeard, who helped bring this project into fruition, has an essay here, as well as a remembrance by Kim Thompson." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"...the final brick in the complete Krazy Kat, a genuinely amazing thing to exist, and almost a reason all by itself to to have irrational hope for humanity’s future. (Does that seem like an overstatement? It obviously is. But read more Krazy Kat and get back to me.)" – Tim Hodler, The Comics Journal

"We at Señor Hernandez declare as book of the week: Krazy & Ignatz the complete Sunday strips HC by @fantagraphics." – Señor Hernandez

"The final volume of @fantagraphics Krazy Kat collections is out today, my Lil' Ainjils! We have the both the paperback and fancy HC version." – Secret Headquarters

"Still may be the best comic. That's a long time to stay on any pedestal constructed by pedestal knocking-over comics fans." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

"CONFLICT OF INTEREST RESERVOIR: A veritable format suite is available to you this week, as Castle Waiting Vol. II #16 takes the form of a 24-page comic book ($3.95), Krazy & Ignatz 1922-1924: At Last My Drim of Love Has Come True wraps up a longstanding softcover reprint series complete with a memorial for preservationist Bill Blackbeard ($24.99) and Krazy & Ignatz: The Complete Sunday Strips 1916-1924 weighs in as a 600-page hardcover alternative to collecting less supple things ($95.00)." – Joe McCulloch, The Comics Journal

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• List: Time Out New York names the "50 Funniest New Yorkers," and coming in at #16: "Cartoonist Michael Kupperman transports his readers to another world altogether. In the recurring comic Tales Designed to Thrizzle and book-length parody Mark Twain's Autobiography 1910–2010, Kupperman perverts antiquated cultural signifiers into a jungle of foreplay robots, nut bras and absurd character concoctions such as the Mannister (a man whose superpower is turning into a bannister). Even in his live appearances — during which he occasionally appears as Twain — Kupperman has the same sort of folksy okey-doke quality as his pulpy '50s source material; but make no mistake, there's an uncanny comedy brain teeming underneath his cool exterior." – Matthew Love

• Plug: Thanks to Howard Stern for plugging Drew & Josh Alan Friedman's Any Similarity to Persons Living or Dead Is Purely Coincidental on his show this morning

• Review: "...Swarte’s work does have that free-wheeling and even irreverent feel that you’ll find in the best work of Gilbert Sheldon and Robert Crumb. Chris Ware writes the introduction to this book, and he does a good job of setting up the collection. As he points out, Is That All There Is? contains most of Swarte’s work, which has me wondering what comics were left out, and why. Regardless, this is an incredible collection that spans Swarte’s career from the early 1970s to today." – Derek Parker Royal, Ph.D.

• Review: "Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the marquee team of the early days of comics, pioneered the romance genre in 1947 with this title, and, as you'd expect from the creators of Captain America, Young Romance wasn't bad. It had its fair share of melodramatic tear-jerkers, and occasional forays into misogyny (stupid women who need a man to teach them how to live), but Simon & Kirby also flirted with social issues like class distinctions and religious conflicts. And they didn't restrict themselves to small towns or big cities, like most romance stories, finding romance out West or in the Korean War. Young Romance offers 21 of the best of Simon & Kirby's romance stories, and that's probably just the right amount." – Andrew A. Smith, Scripps Howard News Service

• Analysis: For Print magazine's Imprint blog, Steven Brower (our resident Mort Meskin expert) examines Jack Kirby's collage artwork in historical context

• Analysis: At The Hooded Utilitarian, Robert Stanley Martin presents "one comics critic’s analysis and judgments of [Robert] Crumb’s career. I hope it’s of more interest than a pronouncement that his work is a single big project and one should just read all of it. Breaking his work down into distinct periods does, I think, help one to get a better handle on Crumb, no matter what one’s opinion of this or that individual effort. I certainly don’t think this essay is the last word. With Crumb, no essay ever is."

This is one plague you'll want to be infested by!

Yes, the countdown continues with the latest beer in our 12 Beers of the Apocalypse series, a collaboration with our friends at the Elysian Brewing Company in Seattle.

And on this Saturday, April 21st, they'll introduce you to Peste, a chocolate chili ale sure to swarm your taste buds!  Peste will be available on cask, draft and in bottles with labels featuring the artwork of the great Charles Burns from his weirdly apocalyptic Black Hole series.

The official tapping of Peste begins at 2:00 PM, followed by a brand-new survival demo by Bryan and Co. at 4:00 PM.  There will also be Peste vaccinations and rat games... rat games! 

So, join us at the Tangletown location of the Elysian Brewing Company, located at 2106 N 55th Street in Seattle!  And bring along your Apocalypse Beer Survival Guide to collect your next survival stamp. (It's never too late to start collecting -- we'll have more guides available at this event.) Fill your book with survival item stamps at our Apocalypse events throughout the year for an outstanding experience at our final End of the World Celebration on 12.20.12!

Remember: the end is BEER!

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship to our mail-order customers:

Cruisin' with the Hound: The Life and Times of Fred Tooté
by Spain Rodriguez

136-page black & white 7.5" x 10.25" softcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-461-0

See Previews / Order Now

"They were all there, the pimps, the fags, the whores, the curious, the alcoholic, the weird of the late ’50s... blues lovers, Canadian bikers, thrill seekers, junkies, insomniacs, hepcats...” So begins “Down at the Kitty Kat,” one of the 20-plus never-before-collected memoirs and yarns by Spain Rodriguez, one of the original gang of Zap Comix provocateurs.

Although he’s best known for his two-fisted tales of the chopper-riding Trashman, Spain’s blunt graphic style and uncompromising gift for caricature, rendered in eye-punishing slabs of black and white, work equally well for more subtle fare — such as these memoirs of his misspent youth.

Cruisin’ with the Hound ranges from Spain’s days as an innocent young churchgoer to his time as a member of the Road Vultures motorcycle gang, with stops along the way for his discoveries of science fiction and other, more adult pursuits (“The Birth of Porn”) — as well as the “The Education of an Underground Cartoonist,” describing his journey from a pimply Captain Marvel-reading scribbler to his arrival as a professional artist.

But the heart of this collection is a cycle of stories (originally published in the acclaimed Blab! magazine) set during Spain’s teenage days in the 1950s, often featuring the doomed, dot-eyed Fred Tooté, a wild, flaky character in whose company some of his wildest escapades occurred.

Raunchy, hilarious, and often violent as hell, Cruisin’ with the Hound is an unsentimentally nostalgic trip to half a century ago — the anti- Happy Days, set to a true rock ’n’ roll beat.

12-page excerpt (download 1.6 MB PDF):

Video & Photo Slideshow Preview (view in new window):

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Here’s the thing about Pogo. There’s never been anything like it. It’s utterly unique and individual in the same fashion that Peanuts, or Calvin and Hobbes or Little Nemo or any other of the great 20th century comic strips are.... It’s a much weirder strip than I think most people give it credit for and that is certainly something worth both recognizing and admiring." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

• Review: "I highly recommend anyone who has an interest in LGBT issues to pick up Wandering Son, regardless of whether or not you read a lot of manga. It is, in many ways, distinctly Japanese, but its straightforward and honest deception of gender issues is rare in any medium, and it shines equally as a coming-of-age tale, especially for anyone who's ever felt they never quite fit in." – Anne Lee, Chic Pixel

• Review: "Prior to 1947, romance existed in comics but primarily as the humorous teenage variety for young readers, typified by the gang from Riverdale in Archie Comics. Simon and Kirby re-imagined the concept with mature stories aimed at adults, primarily women.... Fantagraphics recently collected many of these stories in the handsome hardcover Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics. Within the true artistic mastery of Kirby becomes evident. The same man, well known at the time for his bombastic stories, delivers these subtle, very human tales of angst, betrayal, and of course love. The volume's essays place these tales within the proper historical context. The beautiful reproductions were completely restored and unlike some of the Marvel Kirby reprints, nothing was recolored." – Rick Klaw, The SF Site: Nexus Graphica

• Interview: Drew Friedman writes us: "I wanted to share. This is the new online issue of INK, SVA's Student run comics mag, featuring an interview with me, also an article about WFMU radio's connection to cartoonists. This is pretty impressive I think. Enjoy!"

• Interview: Robot 6's Tim O'Shea has a Q&A with Kevin Huizenga: "Seems to me like you’re doing something wrong as a writer if you’re not affected or surprised by your own work. But it’s not something to talk about. You’re not supposed to laugh at your own jokes. The author at his desk, deeply moved by his own work is a pretty funny image."

• Scene: "In the exhibition, titled, 'Modern Cartoonist: The Art of Daniel Clowes,' we find the artist revealing the weird underbelly of America through quick and methodical strokes of a pen. Furrowed brows, sneers, and nervous beads of sweat accompany many of Clowes' odes to anxiety, causing us to acknowledge the strange and desperately sad state of his characters, who are striving to fit in." – Kathleen Massara, The Huffington Post

• Commentary: We can fully get behind this editorial decision by The Comics Reporter's Tom Spurgeon (and not just because our new Spain book is coming out)

• Links: Love & Maggie is back with another roundup of Love and Rockets-related links from around the web