Next month Jim Blanchard marches into Roq La Rue Gallery in Seattle with a solo exhibit of his Pop Cult portraits. More info at Jim's blog. Marty Feldman, baby!

A fresh batch of Online Commentary & Diversion:

• Profile: Andrei Molotiu talks to Artforum about abstract comics and Abstract Comics

• Interview: Sean T. Collins's series of interviews with Marvel Strange Tales MAX contributors at Marvel.com continues with Johnny Ryan. The imagination reels: "Well, there was one joke, now that I think of it, with Galactus that had to be altered a little bit. I don't know if I should reveal the joke—it might ruin the experience. But it was this little detail for that joke that I initially put there, and they were like, 'Eh, can you change that a bit?'"

• Review: "...Tales Designed to Thrizzle... is not all tradition; it's largely a satire, a satire of a pulp fiction oeuvre that didn't take itself that seriously to begin with. Kupperman's humor — a mix of genre, non-sequitur and nonsense — is a kind of laughter in the void, wonderfully lucid and slightly sickening... That Kupperman so masterfully plays to and upsets expectation makes Thrizzle that much funnier and finer. With stunts such as a Twain & Einstein crime-fighting partnership, Kupperman is all goofball, all the time. But Kupperman's line, even in shaping locomotive-sized garden snails, is weighty. And the weight of five years of Thrizzle, is, well, as formidable as a locomotive-sized garden snail." - John Reed, Art in America

• Review: "The story [in Delphine] surrounded me and carried me away to a very real world. It's a cartooned, exaggerated world, but a real world nonetheless... The layouts are impeccable: very clear and superbly paced... I noticed that the story GREW in my mind when I took breaks from reading, allowing me to immerse myself in the story like a dream." - Frank Santoro, Comics Comics

• Review: "...Fletcher Hanks [was] one of the greatest comic book talents you’ve never heard of. Working in the earliest years of comics (1939-1941) Hanks’ contributions walked on the darker side of comic books in a way that managed to take on a timeless quality... In this collection is the work that makes Hanks so incredibly special to the world of comic books. The physiognomics of his evildoers, the strange retributions they suffer at the hands of the heroes, is all really powerful stuff... You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation! is an incredible testament to what comic books were once capable of... If you want to understand the essence of comic books in their purest form then pick up You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation! and learn." - Iann Robinson, Crave Online

• Plug: "The pieces in The Bradleys are broadly satirical and funny, marked by Bagge’s rubbery art style and a sarcastic tone that should appeal immediately to anyone with a prior awareness of The Simpsons or Looney Tunes. They’re also good stories, full of sharp observations about the impossible expectations that govern the dynamics of a nuclear family, as well as the way a good used Yardbirds record can make a crappy day better." - Noel Murray, The A.V. Club "Recommended First Comics"

• Plug: "All my exploration of the Moon/Ba axis came out of reading their pretty great Comics Journal interview in [#298]. I love it when an interview is so well-done that it convinces me to sample writers and artists whose work I haven't read before." - Alan David Doane, Comic Book Galaxy

• Plug: Scott Beale of Laughing Squid hypes our forthcoming Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons

• Plug: Meathaus spotlights Michael Kupperman

• Plugs: The Comics Reporter's massive roundup of notable Fall 2009 books includes a bunch of our stuff

• Plug: David P. Welsh, apropos of this Comics Reporter "Five for Friday" feature, asserts that Gilbert Hernandez's Palomar "suggest[s] a [Broadway] musical that would write itself."

• Plug: Tom Spurgeon is funny

• Preview: Parka Blogs presents our preview pages from Abstract Comics: The Anthology

• Things to see: Where is where the Wild Things are? At the video arcade, of course

Kupperman cover! The Comics Reporter has the scoop on the Charles Burns-selected contents. Can't argue too much with that lineup.

Saturday August 15: Dash Shaw, Austin English & Lisa Hanawalt in discussion at Union Pool in Brooklyn as part of the Conversational Comics series.

Comics Savant David Lasky documented the opening of the Comics Savants exhibit at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this past Saturday; click here for more photos. Thanks David!

Megan Kelso & Russ Battaglia:

Jim Blanchard & Jason T. Miles:

Are you ready to enter the PRISON PIT? The first original graphic novel from master of the gross-out Johnny Ryan is an over-the-top orgy of escalating ultraviolence and perversity as intergalactic monster criminals battle for supremacy in a barren negative zone! This book is now available for pre-order in our online shop following its sell-out debut at Comic-Con last month. Dip your toe in the Pit by downloading our 12-page PDF preview. This book will be in stock and shipping in about 2-3 weeks, and in stores approximately 4 weeks later (subject to change).

It begins! Our much-ballyhooed new series of Jacques Tardi translations launches with West Coast Blues, adapted by Tardi from the book by master crime novelist Jean-Patrick Manchette, now available for pre-order in our online shop following its hit debut at Comic-Con last month. An aimless family man is sucked into a spiral of violence involving an exiled war criminal and two hired assassins. Get a taste of this hard-boiled crime thriller with our 10-page PDF preview. This book will be in stock and shipping in about 2-3 weeks, and in stores approximately 4 weeks later (subject to change).

Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "[Abstract Comics: The Anthology] is designed beautifully... The content serves as a great introduction to a genre of comics that few people knew existed. [Editor Andrei] Molotiu takes somewhat of a scholarly approach to the content, placing the concept of abstract comics within art history in his introduction. He makes a good case... Overall, this is a cool concept and I was surprised by it. I think it’s definitely going to cause some debates about what comics are and are not, and that’s a good thing." - Eden Miller, Comicsgirl

• Review: "The status of [Ivan] Brunetti's... gag-cartoon collections... as trailblazers in the realm of going-way-too-far comic-book comedy is unquestioned... Brunetti's impeccable line looks like it'd be more at home in the pages of The New Yorker than Sleazy Slice, which I imagine is the point, but for me at least, this just neuters all but the most vicious jokes -- otherwise it's just a litany of beautifully drawn dick/poop/pedo jokes." - Sean T. Collins

• Interview: For Marvel.com, Sean T. Collins talks to Dash Shaw about his Dr. Strange story in the upcoming Marvel Strange Tales MAX. "The title is 'Dr. Strange Vs. Nightmare.' 'Nuff said!"

• Interview: "Michael Kupperman stopped by the Inkstuds to discuss all things Kuppermany. His new collection, Tales Designed to Thrizzle Volume One, is a great good times companion." - Robin McConnell, Inkstuds

• History: Kevin Nowlan and Jan Strnad talk to Shaun Manning of Comic Book Resources about the creation of "Grimwood's Daughter," their backup feature in our long-ago series Dalgoda (being newly collected by IDW -- someone want to send me a copy?)

Via The Beat.