Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "With this second hardcover collection, Fantagraphics allows gives fans of the character much reason to rejoice. Thanks to the use of the original proof sheets (and the marvels of modern printing technology), these strips look better than they did when originally published. ... Wherever Prince Valiant goes, adventure follows and every bit of it is breathtakingly beautiful thanks to the work of the legendary Hal Foster. ... I don’t know that I can put into words what I have witnessed on the printed page, but I do know this: If you have any interest in this medium we call sequential art, whether as a fan, a historian or someone who hopes to make a living as an artist, you probably ought to pick up some of Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant. ...  There are not enough words in the English language to describe how stunningly beautiful the artwork is in these comics. If there was ever any doubt about whether or not comics are art, an afternoon spent with Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant should put those doubts to rest to anyone with a functioning pair of eyeballs. ...  I couldn’t put the thing down and had to tear myself away from it, as I quickly found myself carrying the book around with me and devouring it during every moment of free time. If you like adventure and you like art, you gotta pick yourself up some Prince Valiant. It sets the standard for both. Grade: A" – Chad Derdowski, Mania

• Interview: Anime News Network's Carlo Santos talked with Moto Hagio at Comic-Con International: "For true manga connoisseurs, the real highlight of Comic-Con 2010 was not a movie preview or a celebrity sighting, but simply being in the presence of a living legend. In this interview, Hagio sits down to share the wisdom of her years as an artist, with renowned manga scholar Matt Thorn interpreting." Sample quote: "In any generation, there's only a limited number of artists who can do science fiction well. The biggest challenge of doing science fiction is that, since it's not based in reality ... in order to bring readers into it, you need to have sufficient vision to create an attractive story."

Here's two more angles on the Ben Jones-decorated ice cream truck that Adult Swim parked outside of Comic-Con (originally reported here), taken by our own Eric Reynolds, and Brian Ralph has yet two more views over at the New Bodega blog.

UPDATE: Oh snap, there's even more photos from Ben himself on his Picturebox blog! (Hat tip: Jordan Crane at What Things Do.)

We've been collecting more photos from Comic-Con in 3 (so far) Flickr galleries (1, 2, 3). Here are some highlights!

From our own Eric Reynolds:

Jean Schulz with her Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award at the Eisners.

From our own Adam Grano:

Moto Hagio sketching.

Jaime Hernandez says howdy to Dave Gibbons.

Adam meets Matt Groening.

Sadtrooper.

From Pink Cow Photography:

The Hernandez clan.

From Jody C.:

Carol Tyler, with Tim Hensley at left in the background.

From Exhibit A Press:

Stephen DeStefano.

From Bridie Macdonald:

Ben Schwartz & son, with Andrei Molotiu at left.

Great stuff! If you know of any good shots we've missed, let us know.

In this video from the Oregon Cartoon Institute, Rebel Visions & The Artist Himself author Patrick Rosenkranz and Charles Boucher talk about Basil Wolverton and Carl Barks's influence on Robert Crumb.

Patrick also directs your attention to the new issue of Destroying Angels zine, with features on Jim Osborne, the Black Prince of the Underground, and 3-D comics pioneer Ray Zone.

Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "...[F]or the first time I realized that Prison Pit [Book 2] isn't a fusion-comics exploration of awesomeness in all its forms, but a horror-comics exploration of awfulness — of violence that maims and kills not just body but soul. Ryan is willing, even this early in a series I imagine will be able to last as long as he wants it to, to completely invert his instantly-iconic warrior, to make the audience root against him desperately, to feel dick-shriveling revulsion at his violence and pity for his victim. 'That fucking sucked,' CF says when it's all over. Understatement of the year. This book is a masterpiece of awfulness." – Sean T. Collins, Attentiondeficitdisorderly

• Review: "It isn't every day such a formidable body of work gets handed to us on such a shining silver platter — there are too few artists like Rand Holmes for that to be possible. But when it does happen, the comics world ought to stand up and take notice. Holmes may have been forgotten once, but Rosenkranz has put forth all mortal effort to make sure he won't be again, and in the process created what might be the best reprint book of the year. A must for fans of great comics art, the undergrounds, or the medium's history, The Artist Himself is in the end most essential as a truly great read.  Don't let it pass you by." – Matt Seneca, Newsarama

• Review: "For anyone who has not entered Deitch’s universe, fear not: it is remarkably easy to access, one does not need a map to enter or understand. [The Search for Smilin' Ed] will most likely make you want to explore his other works, much of which have also been collected in graphic novels in recent years causing many to at last wake up and praise the Deitch!" – Robert Dayton, Roctober (hat tip: Bill Kartolopoulos)

• Review: "Werewolves of Montpellier stands out as another winner from Jason; in fact, perhaps it is one of his finest books yet. Somber and funny, and packed full of werewolves and romance, jewel heists and parties, Werewolves of Montpellier stands as another reason to make sure you’re reading Jason’s comics. If you’re not, you’re missing out." – Michael C. Lorah, Newsarama

• Review: "...Sammy the Mouse... for me has been a revelation, taking Zak Sally's natural cartooning chops away from some of the more densely-told and even sometimes predictable material from projects past and opening it up to a mix of classic cartooning tropes and the outright weird. ... It's enough for me to watch Sally explore the comics page, and at this point I think I'd watch him adapt the minutes from a school board meeting." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

• Interview: Anime Pulse presents an audio recording of their interview with Moto Hagio at Comic-Con International, with translation by Matt Thorn, as well as a transcript of the answers in Japanese

• Panel: The Comics Journal presents an audio recording from the “Graphic Novels: The Personal Touch” Panel, featuring Gabrielle Bell, Howard Cruse, Vanessa Davis, Larry Marder, Jillian Tamaki and Carol Tyler in a conversation moderated by Shaenon Garrity, recorded on Friday, July 23 at Comic-Con International

Peter Bagge collectors! People who like fun! Get yerself some merch from Peter's band Can You Imagine? in the Can You Imagine? merch shop! T-shirts! Buttons! Mugs! 'N' more!

Mark your calendars and buy your advance tickets now: The Book Table presents an evening with Charles Burns & Chris Ware on Tuesday, November 2nd at 7:30 PM at the Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois. Click here for all the details and to pre-order tickets. (Hat tip to Sandy Bilus.)

We all knew it, but now it's official! Congratulations to Jim Woodring for being awarded this year's Stranger Genius Award in Literature. Announcing the award on The Stranger's blog Slog, Paul Constant says "Woodring is the first Stranger Genius of Literature who has been published by local publisher Fantagraphics Books (they've been ardent promoters of Woodring's work from the very beginning of his career). Quite simply, that's insane: They're the best comics publisher in the world. They publish geniuses on a regular basis, and many would argue that Woodring is the greatest cartooning genius on the Fantagraphics roster. We agree with that sentiment." Well thanks Paul! Read the rest of the announcement for more info, including what Jim plans to do with the $5000 prize money.

(Photo by The Stranger's Kelly O.)

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship:

Set to Sea
by Drew Weing

144-page black & white 5.5" x 6.25" hardcover • $16.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-368-2

Add to Cart • More Info & Previews

The central character is a big lug and an aspiring poet who runs up tabs at the local bars by day and haunts the docks by night, writing paeans to the seafaring life. When he gets shanghaied aboard a clipper bound for Hong Kong, he finds the sailor’s life a bit rougher than his romantic nautical fantasies. He helps rebuff a pirate assault, survives a gunshot to the eye, and learns to live — and love — a Conradian life on the sea, all the while writing poetry about pirates, bad food, unceremonial funerals, foreign ports, and unexpected epiphanies. By the end of his life, he’s found satisfaction in living a life of adventure and finding a receptive and appreciative readership. What more could one ask for?

This is Drew Weing’s debut graphic novel, after honing his craft with numerous, lovingly produced self-published comic stories. Drawn in an elaborate crosshatched style that falls somewhere between Gustave Doré engravings and E. C. Segar’s Popeye, Set to Sea is part rollicking adventure, part maritime ballad told in visual rhyme. Every page is a single panel, every panel is a stunning illustration, every illustration a part of a larger whole that tells a story in the deft language of cartooning.

Download an EXCLUSIVE 13-page PDF excerpt (831 KB).

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship:

The Artist Himself: A Rand Holmes Retrospective
by Patrick Rosenkranz

328-page full-color 8" x 10" softcover • $39.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-170-1

Add to Cart • More Info & Previews

Rand Holmes was Canada’s most revolutionary artist in his heyday, the star cartoonist at the Georgia Straight newspaper in British Columbia during the 1970s. His hippie hero, Harold Hedd, became the spokesman of the emerging counterculture as he avoided work, explored free love, and flouted drug laws. The Adventures of Harold Hedd spread across the globe in the wave of underground comix and newspapers of the era and Holmes became famous — or at least notorious. While his comic character was bold and blatant, the artist was shy and quiet, well on his way to becoming a complete hermit.

This book is an intimate and expansive account of a very private man who expressed his deepest feelings in the then disreputable medium of comix. “He didn’t talk much but he sure wrote a lot,” avowed his widow Martha. This biography/retrospective includes generous selections from his private journals and correspondence, family photo albums, sketchbooks, and personal anecdotes from his friends and colleagues. His artistic history began haltingly on the lonely windswept plateau of Edmonton, flourished in Vancouver and San Francisco, and concluded peacefully on Lasqueti Island, a remote backwater in the Straits of Georgia where he lived out his dreams of pioneering and homesteading.

Holmes’ life story is richly illustrated with drawings, comic strips, watercolors, and paintings that span his whole career, from the hot rod cartoons he drew as a teenager, dozens of covers for the Georgia Straight, pornographic cartoons for the sex tabloid Vancouver Star, to complete comic stories from Slow Death Funnies, Dope Comix, All Canadian Beaver, Death Rattle, Grateful Dead Comix, and many more. The full-length Harold Hedd comic novels, Wings Over Tijuana and Hitler’s Cocaine are reprinted in their entirety together for the first time. This unique collection of art documents a lifetime of work by one of the most talented artists of his generation.

Holmes died in March 2002 from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and his ashes are buried next to the Art Centre he helped build on Lasqueti Island. A retrospective exhibition of his original work was held five years later at the community hall.

Author Patrick Rosenkranz met Holmes in his salad days and remained in touch throughout his life. The Holmes family gave him complete access to their art collection and personal files, and encouraged him to tell the whole truth about Rand Holmes’ life and work.

Download an EXCLUSIVE 22-page PDF excerpt (9.5 MB) which includes the first 5 pages of the biography, the entire 7-page story "And Here He Is... The Artist Himself!" and the first chapter of "Harold Hedd in Hitler's Cocaine."

Bonus Savings: To celebrate the release of Patrick Rosenkranz's new book, we're offering his two previous books of underground comix scholarship, Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution 1963-1975 and You Call This Art?! A Greg Irons Retrospective, for 25% off for a limited time!