Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "...Shimura Takako tells this story in such a gentle, unobtrusive way, one might believe that this story flows naturally – as if it simply spun itself from nature and is the way it is supposed to be. I think Matt Thorn’s tidy translation, which goes down the mental gullet with such smoothness, is a big reason for how readable this is. Wandering Son is not flashy or aggressive, nor does it pander or try to be hip and stylish. Takako draws the reader in so quietly that some may be surprised to find themselves on a journey of discovery and exploration with these characters. It’s like seeing preadolescence for the first time or seeing it again through fresh eyes and a new perspective.... If only more comic books were so evocative and so clear in their storytelling like Wandering Son, an ideal comic book. Ages 8 to 80 will like Wandering Son. [Grade] A" – Leroy Douresseaux, I Reads You

• Review: "Of the three books collected in this volume [What I Did], Hey, Wait... is a really evocative portrait of how childhood experiences can affect one throughout his entire life, and The Iron Wagon (which adapts an early-twentieth-century Norwegian novel) is a pretty good murder mystery that makes good use of Jason's deadpan style, but it's the middle entry, Sshhhh!, that really sticks with me, immediately jumping to the top of my favorites among the cartoonist's works.... It's sad, wonderful, exhilarating work, a great example of how amazing Jason is at what he does, and how nobody else can do it like him." – Matthew J. Brady, Warren Peace Sings the Blues

• Review: "The plot often takes a sharp turn towards the absurd and downright crazy, but eventually the story always comes back to our heroine. Adele Blanc-Sec takes no crap... It’s really nice to see such a strong female character at the centre of all this mayhem, and her character really pulls the book together.... Tardi’s artwork is great to look at; his panels are vibrant and full of life. In his hands Paris 1911 is a busy metropolitan city still hanging on to its 18^th century spirit and facade.... The first volume of The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec left me with more questions than answers, and volume 2’s release date of November seems all to far away! I look forward to reading more of Adele Blanc-Sec’s adventures." – Will Pond, Good Comic Books

• Review: "Glenn Ganges — the protagonist of the first volume of the series Ganges — is a dreamer, an eccentric, a loving husband, but first and foremost a restless man. Meaningless details do not give rest to him, he makes a mountain out of a molehill, and his fantasies replace the reality. Five stories under one cover are the five pieces of a day in the life of Ganges.... I’d like to meet this Ganges." – Ray Garraty, Endless Falls Up

• Interview: Fantagraphics Summer 2011 intern Ao Meng chats with Mome contributor Jesse Moynihan for his school paper, The Daily Texan

• Commentary (Audio): The Collected Comics Library podcast host Chris Marshall discusses our upcoming EC Comics Library series

• Conflict of Interest: Our own Eric Buckler shares details of our latest Pogo update in his "Indie Comics Digest" column for The Snipe

Portland and environs! If you've been planning on buying any of our books — or any comics, period — this coming Monday and Tuesday, August 29-30, is the time and Floating World Comics is the place to do it. They're having a benefit sale with 100% of the proceeds being donated to Dylan Williams's medical care. My good colleague Tom Devlin at D&Q explains in succinct and eloquent fashion why you should care about Dylan if you care about comics at all.

Noah Van Sciver is selling some framed drawings to raise rent money. Get in on the ground floor now before we publish his Abe Lincoln graphic novel The Hypo and he blows up and you can't afford him anymore!

Jason has revealed the beautiful cover illustration for his next forthcoming book, Athos in America. At his blog he includes the initial thumbnail sketch, which I recall falling in love with when he first posted it a little while back. Title treatment and coloring are TK. The book will be in the same clothbound hardcover format as Low Moon.

The Cabbie Vol. 1
by Martí

80-page black & white 9" x 11.75" hardcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-450-4

Ships in: September 2011 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now

Sergio Leone’s retooling of classic westerns for his “spaghetti westerns”… Stieg Larsson’s striking take on the serial killer/mystery thriller in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo… And for that matter ABBA’s fiendishly catchy appropriation of American pop music. Sometimes it takes Europeans to make gold of tuckered-out American tropes.

Add to those instances of inspired global cross-pollination the Spanish cartoonist Martí’s eye-popping The Cabbie, which spins off Martin Scorsese’s sordid urban-justice drama Taxi Driver with a graphic style that unapologetically appropriates and even refines the brutal slabs of black, squashed perspectives, and grotesque approach to human physiognomy (and its ability to withstand punishment) that define Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy.

And as Art Spiegelman (who was the first to publish Martí’s work in English, in RAW magazine) notes in his introduction, while “Gould’s graphic black and white precision and his diagrammatic clarity live on in Martí’s work,” he points out that “more interestingly, perhaps, so does Gould’s depravity.” Indeed, if anything, The Cabbie is even more savage than the legendarily brutal Dick Tracy, with its pimps, whores, petty thieves, corrupt businessmen, all swirling around the ingenuously violent “Cabbie” whose self-administered “upstanding citizen” status entitles him — in his view — to even more shocking acts of violence — especially on his quest for the stolen coffin of his father, which he’s told includes his entire inheritance!

Download and read an 8-page PDF excerpt (<1 MB).

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

Special Offer: When ordering The Cabbie , you can add Calvario Hills #1, Martí's Ignatz Series comic with a new Cabbie story and more, to your order for just $3.98 — that's 1/2 price! Make your selection when you place your order for The Cabbie.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Celluloid is a challenging work, not so much in how it is read, but in how it pushes at the boundaries of what we call a graphic novel and what we consider erotica.... Considered as a visual ode to the erotic imagination, Celluloid is a powerful work of grace and deviance in its explorations. McKean has crafted a new grammar for comic book storytelling, bringing the printed page as close to a live performance as possible while still using the graphic narrative form to accomplish what no other medium can." – Greg Baldino, Rain Taxi

• Review: "The story of baseball great Roberto Clemente is now in graphic novel form. After reading it, I would recommend it to everyone, especially to young readers. I plan to have my son read it one day, because Clemente's tale is an interesting one. The official title of the graphic novel is 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente. It chronicles the former Pittsburgh Pirates' life growing up in Puerto Rico, his great baseball career, his humanitarian missions and tragic end to his life on Sept. 18, 1972. ...Clemente remains a bit of a mystery to those who never saw him play, but Santiago's graphic novel brings Clemente to life in glorious fashion, and is not be missed." – Mark Podolski, The News-Herald

• Review: "Murder By High Tide is by a the terrific French cartoonist Maurice Tilleux (a new discovery for me). Republished by Fantagraphics, this edition features two Gil Jordan detective stories. The artwork is amazing and Tilleux is clearly a master of the 'comic-dynamic' style... I really hope Fantagraphics makes a habit of reproducing these types of stories for an English-speaking market!" – Alexis E. Fajardo (Kid Beowulf)

• Profile: Italian blog Coca Colla has an art-packed survey of the work of Dave Cooper — even if you don't read Italian (or can't be bothered to autotranslate) there's tons of eye candy to ogle

You may recall the special offer we made during Comic-Con this year for "sketch editions" of several of our books. While most of the sketches for that offer were done by their respective artists to-order, Frank Stack did a bunch of extras in advance, and so we're able to offer them once more FREE with purchase of Frank's book The New Adventures of Jesus: The Second Coming! Order while supplies last and you'll get a randomly-selected sketch at no extra charge. We made sure we got scans of the sketches before we send 'em out — he drew them 4 to a page, as shown below, but they've since been quartered. Click each image for a larger version. Oh my gosh they sure are great — you can't go wrong with any of 'em!

Prison Pit Book 3
by Johnny Ryan

120-page black & white 6.5" x 8.5" softcover • $12.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-497-9

Ships in: September 2011 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now

Prison Pit blends Angry Youth Comix creator Johnny Ryan’s fascination with WWE wrestling, grindhouse cinema, first person action video games, Gary Panter’s “Jimbo” comics, and Kentaro Miura’s “Berserk” Manga into a brutal and often hilarious showcase of violence like no other comic book ever created. Even the lead character’s name, which is only one letter away from “Cannibal Duckface” (hint: “Cannibal” is correct) is unprintable.

Prison Pit is so deranged and twisted that even the author’s plot description, while admirably reflecting the spirit of the book, has to be edited into a sea of asterisks in order to be bearable to normal human beings: “A mysterious new a**hole has descended into the Prison Pit. He’s looking for Cannibal F***face and he wants revenge. Revenge for what? Probably for some f***ed up evil s***. But before he can get his hands on the CanMan he’s got to battle his way through some pretty vicious motherf***ers. S***’s about to get real.”

Well, yes, exactly.

Advance Praise:

"Hey are you doing any more scary guys made out of tar ripping each other's dicks off? You know why I like those? Because you don't have to read all them stupid words and stuff. Right? Haa ha, hey Johnny wanna come over and play? Ha Ha!" – Tony Millionaire

Download and read a 12-page PDF excerpt (<1 MB).

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

Exclusive Savings: Order Prison Pit Books 1-3 together and get the complete series so far for 20% off! Click here to order the Prison Pit 3-pack.

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.

Esperanza: A Love and Rockets Book
(Love and Rockets Library: "Locas" Book 5)
by Jaime Hernandez

248-page black & white 7.5" x 9.25" softcover • $18.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-449-8

"Yes, I hear people say, Jaime Hernandez, I keep hearing about how great he is and everything, but there are like a million books, how do I know which are the good ones? Here's a tip: try this paperback. It includes, I believe, the contents of Ghost of Hoppers and The Education of Hopey Glass, both of which are stone cold incredible; not sure if it includes 'La Maggie La Loca' or not [Nope – Ed.], but for 19 bucks you are not going to go too wrong. (It's true that you'll be showing up for the Maggie-and-Hopey sequence of stories rather late. You'll pick it up in no time, though.)" – Douglas Wolk, Comics Alliance

"Splurgewise, I’m unsure whether I’ve actually read the stories in the Esperanza collection of Jaime Hernandez’ Love & Rockets stories (Fantagraphics, $18.99) – I tend to lose track of the material between the first L&R run and the new one, for some reason – but if I haven’t, then that, for sure." – Graeme McMillan, Robot 6

"Fresh from @fantagraphics' comics oven, some wonderful Los Bros Hernandez..." – Forbidden Planet International

"Two of Jaime's most popular Love & Rockets characters find themselves, as so many of us do these days, somewhat older, slightly more settled and still wrestling with personal demons." – Benn Ray (Atomic Books), Largehearted Boy

"...of course any Hernandez release deserves a mention, this time out Jaime Hernandez gets the spotlight as Esperanza (Fantagraphics) reprints material after the Penny Century collection." – Dave's Comics

The Pin-Up Art of Humorama
by various artists; edited by Alex Chun; designed by Jacob Covey

216-page duotone 5.75" x 7.75" softcover • $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-56097-959-3

"...[I]f it’s softcore smut you’re looking for, there’s the Pin-Up Art of Humorama, which features gag cartoons by folks like Dave Berg and Brad 'Marmaduke' Anderson about buxom secretaries being chased around their desks by portly, lustful employers and whatnot." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising 1870s-1940s
edited by Rick Marschall & Warren Bernard

128-page full-color 9.5" x 13" softcover • $28.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-399-6

"This is the kind of book that people are going to be saying 'oh cool!' about when they discover it on your bookshelf a couple of decades from now: a collection of pre-1940 ads (compiled by Rick Marschall and Warren Bernard) that incorporated cartoons, and particularly cartoons by significant cartoonists. Did you know that Noel Sickles and Milton Caniff collaborated on a series of 'Mr. Coffee-Nerves' strips advertising Postum? Or that Dr. Seuss drew ads for insecticide?" – Douglas Wolk, Comics Alliance

"...[M]y love of all things retro is going to lead me to Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising from Fantagraphics..." – Brigid Alverson, Robot 6

"An informative historical look at the cartoonists and characters that have been used, and how they've been used, for advertising and the products they advertised." – Benn Ray (Atomic Books), Largehearted Boy

The Comics Journal #301
Edited by Mike Dean & Kristy Valenti; Gary Groth, Editor in Chief

640-page black & white/color 6.75" x 8.5" softcover • $30.00
ISBN: 978-1-60699-291-3

"I’ve already got a copy, but let me recommend plunking down your entire $30 on the 301st issue of The Comics Journal. This brick of a … magazine? book? journal? features some great essays and interviews, most notably Tim Kreider’s lengthy analysis of Cerebus, and an extensive roundtable on R. Crumb’s Book of Genesis, including a thoughtful interview with Crumb hisself." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

"After a year of publishing material on their website, The Comics Journal #301 (Fantagraphics) weighs in at an enormous 600+ pages with discussions of Robert Crumb's Book of Genesis, Jim Woodring's sketches, Al Jaffee and Michael Kupperman in dialogue and you're barely half way through." – Dave's Comics

And checking in with Joe McCulloch at TCJ.com:

"CONFLICT OF INTEREST RESERVOIR: Well, it’s been a few weeks now since it hit some East Coast stores, but Diamond is now announcing the imminent and full arrival of the very essence of the Conflict of Interest Reservoir, The Comics Journal #301, now at 640 pages and featuring chats with Robert Crumb and Joe Sacco, Al Jaffee & Michael Kupperman in conversation, perspectives on Cerebus and The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb, and multifarious species of collegiate smart-arsery AS YOU LIKE IT; $30.00. Also be on the lookout for Esperanza, another thick Love and Rockets collection taking the Jaime material up to the start of the present (vol. 3) series; $18.99. Alex Chun has his latest girlie cartooning showcase, The Pin-Up Art of Humorama, promising spicy drawings by Marmaduke creator Brad Anderson, among other suspects; $19.99. And Rick Marschall & Warren Bernard present Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising 1870s-1940s, archiving Mr. Coffee Nerves and other early comics-based adverts for generations to come; $28.99."