Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• List: Erich Redson of LA TACO ("Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, California") names their Comic of the Year: "Johnny Ryan is a long-time TACO favorite, but he has really outdone himself this year with the release of Prison Pit Book 2. Pure, unmitigated ultra-violent filth has never been drawn so cleanly. This comic makes an excellent Christmas gift for that special sadist in your life."

• List: Tim Hensley's Wally Gropius is one of Blog Flume's Ken Parille's top 3 "Books I Really Liked and Wrote About Twice in 2010"

• Review: "With The Littlest Pirate King, David B. applies the same skills and angle of attack that served him so well in a naturalistic, personal mode to a highly fantastical tale, one in fact penned by another writer. [...] The story... is weird, gory, mythic, transgressive, surreal, satirical, anti-bourgeoise and nihilistic. It is also cute, sentimental, cheery and heartening. [...] What makes the book an enjoyable success are David B.'s pinwheeling, vibrant, colorful drawings. Echoing elements from the allied work of Richard Sala and Tony Millionaire, he creates both intimate moments and big dramas with eye-catching color, character design and composition. [...] The true king of these manic, antic pirates is David B." – Paul DiFilippo, The Barnes & Noble Review

• Review: "...The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec... is quite fun... A large dose of whimsy is injected into the proceedings, making the dashing also daft. Tardi has the feel of old-school French funnies down pat; if you didn’t know any better... you might think they originated several generations ago, rather than one (they were first published in France in 1976). As is, with its cerebral gags and secret tunnels, the work carries a slight burst steampunk in a knowing, winking vein of Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. [...] The book makes me look forward to seeing Luc Besson’s forthcoming film adaptation, but even more forward to Volume 2." – Rod Lott, Bookgasm

• Review: "Fantagraphics and editor Matt Thorn have ably stepped up to the plate here, compiling a career-spanning collection of Hagio's short stories [A Drunken Dream], one which demonstrates her acumen with stunning visuals and deft characterization, and especially a nice grasp of human relationships. It's like a quick class in what we've been missing out on for all these years. [...] While much of her work remains to be revealed to Western audiences, this book makes for a wonderful primer on what she has accomplished throughout her career. Hopefully it will be far from the extent of what we will get to experience." – Matthew J. Brady, Warren Peace Sings the Blues

• Review: "Front and center [in Low Moon] is [Jason's] quirky subversiveness, the beguiling, eccentric perspective on whatever his subject might be. Delivery is an irresistible syncopation of narrative stresses and visual beats further enlivened by the double take: 'Wait. Did I really see what I just saw?' Whatever a story’s content, era, tone or genre, the narrative is always built up from observed human nature, pared and mounted for easy identification. [...] The book Low Moon contains three more tales, not a clunker in the bunch. They all are ripe with Jason’s sublime nonsense, deadpan hilarity, laconic (if not completely silent) expressiveness and brazen commandeering of genre devices." – Rich Kreiner, The Comics Journal

• Review: "Whether in romantic stories or stories of the West, and especially in the horror, Ditko continuously breaks new ground... Despite all the limitations that Ditko first evidences in these stories, despite the distance in time and the nearly six decades that could be moth-eaten stories, reading Strange Suspense is, at least for the writer, a morbid and pleasurable enjoyment..." – Álvaro Pons, La Cárcel de Papel (translated from Spanish)

• Commentary: At Attentiondeficitdisorderly, Sean T. Collins posts an index and acknowledgments for his now-completed "Love and Rocktober" review series and adds his suggestions for where to start reading the series (not too different from ours)

What th'...? I just found out via the great Dan Zettwoch's blog that the new issue of Desert Island's essential broadsheet comics anthology Smoke Signal is out! Above, the stunning cover by Jordan Crane; the full contributors list isn't posted yet but it includes "new work by Charles Burns, Sammy Harkham, Edie Fake, Tim Hensley, Dan Zettwoch, Michael DeForge, Tim Lane, and tons more!" You can pick up a free copy at Desert Island in Brooklyn or buy it online here. Gimme!

UPDATE: Gabe from Desert Island points out the full contributor list on Facebook — thanks Gabe!

At his Cats Without Dogs blog, Jason posts another page (before his colorist Hubert has at it) from his in-progress book Athos in America, a short story anthology in the style and format of Low Moon which will be out in about a year. In fact, "yes, it's the return of the two main characters from '&,' one of the stories in Low Moon, this time involved in some kidnapping scheme that naturally goes wrong," writes Jason. Can't wait!

Watch Zack Carlson & Bryan Connolly talk abut Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film on last night's episode of IFC's The Grid. As for Zack's suggestion on how to acquire the book, we have a two words of advice: "mall cops."

This awesome character drawn by Eli Timberlake looks like he's ready to kick some butt in the Prison Pit! Eli is far too young to read Johnny Ryan's series (or just about anything by Johnny) though — the piece is part of the Kids' Art Show opening tonight at Chapel Hill Comics. Thanks to Chapel Hill Comics' Andrew Neal for passing it along (and coming up with the "Johnny Ryan Jr." sobriquet)!

Our own Kim Thompson was interviewed about our Prince Valiant series this morning by host Patrick Neas on Kansas City's classical station KXTR, who provided us with an MP3 of the session (5.26 MB) to share with you! (Note that the contest mentioned at the end of the interview is over.)

(Above: the cover to Volume 3, coming in February/March 2011!)

Several new updates from Paul Hornschemeier at his News and/or Head Lice blog: his cover illustration for Newcity's "Best of Chicago" issue, which features more of his spot illos inside...

...an announcement: "Tomorrow night, I'll be at Second City's de Maat Theater for a special, farewell incarnation of The Late Live Show with hosts Joe Kwaczala and C.J. Toledano. [...] I'll be reading a piece thus far entitled 'Advice Column Responses to My Inner Monologues at Various Ages.' I can only guarantee that this will include footy pajamas, urine, fake urine, lion tamers, ironic t-shirts, horrible first dates, attempted thievery, and batman coloring books. I can promise nothing more"...

...and his weekly new t-shirt design for his Forlorn Funnies Shirt Shop.

Hit all those links for more information, embiggenable images, and Paul's always-witty commentary.

Heads up: if you want your order shipped by our Standard shipping option within the U.S. to arrive before Christmas, tomorrow (Friday, December 10) is the deadline to get your order in! (If you're shipping to a P.O. box, you'll want to select First Class or Priority Mail shipping rather than Standard.) After that, you'll have until Monday for USPS Priority Mail delivery and until next Friday for 2nd Day UPS. We'll post reminders for those deadlines as well.

If you need some gift suggestions, check out our handy Holiday Gift Guide with lots of ideas for every interest and budget!

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions. Today's reviews come directly or indirectly via Hans Rickheit:

• Review: "Simmons’ artwork [in House] masterfully cranks up the tension and tightens the suspense as the ill-fated explorers descend into the building’s subterranean depths; as his characters enter the house, his dark frames thicken, becoming the walls of the house. The comic is wordless, but the characters have no trouble expressing themselves as they go from the heights of youthful elation to sheer terror as the house swallows them whole." – Ao Meng, The Daily Texan

• Review: "As both an anthology and as a survey of the times, [Four Color] Fear is incredibly successful, with nary a dud in the whole bunch. Each fun story offers its own brand of chill, thrills and maniacal laughter. [...] But the real disquieting aspect of these comics were probably not intended as such — chauvinistic behavior is rampant among the men, and women are portrayed as either damsels in distress or cold-hearted femme-fatales. These are artifacts of a simpler age." – Ao Meng, The Daily Texan

• Review: "The Squirrel Machine is not for the faint of heart, and features quite disturbing and grotesque imagery — H. R. Giger has nothing on Rickheit’s psychosexual nightmares. [...] Existing on the crossroad of creativity and madness, The Squirrel Machine is a nightmare in a series of gristly tableaus. The psychedelic rooms full of machinery, sex and death are an inward exploration as much as Jim Woodring’s ('Frank') comics are outwardly allegorical. An exploration of an artist’s mind, it uncovers the obscene, the things that were never meant to be brought to light." – Ao Meng, The Daily Texan

• Review: "Blimey, [The Squirrel Machine] is a weird one. Imagine a steampunk version of the last ten minutes of Eraserhead. [...] Its design and tone is indebted to Little Nemo in Slumberland, although far more disturbing. [...] The book is full of strange scenes which accurately convey the claustrophobic atmosphere and slight off-ness of a powerful dream. In no way is it fluffy around the edges. The detail is unflinching, with a refreshing lack of explanation... Is it all a dream? Who can tell?" – Grant Buist, The Name of This Cartoon Is Brunswick

• Review: "Another excellent debut graphic novel, another webcomic-printed-as-book, another beautiful Fantagraphics book-as-object, and another rollicking seafaring adventure. [...] What distinguishes [Set to Sea] from a merely average graphic novel is the excellent pacing, the thoughtfulness of the (unnamed) protagonist, and the minimal use of words in a book about writing poetry!" – Grant Buist, The Name of This Cartoon Is Brunswick

• Review: "A luxurious collection of Moto Hagio’s influential comics, ...[A Drunken Dream and Other Stories] is a valuable sampler of her long career, a compilation of short stories from 1970 to 2007 which feature her innovative panel layouts and expressive characters, and include many of her favourite themes, such as sibling rivalry, postnatal depression and ghosts. [...] This is yet another beautiful book-as-object-of-desire..." – Grant Buist, The Name of This Cartoon Is Brunswick

• List: Weathercraft, "a thrilling, nauseating, inspiring journey from terror to triumph," is Sean T. Collins's Comic of the Year of the Day at Attentiondeficitdisorderly

• Review: "An utter nightmare. [...] Over a hundred densely-drawn pages [of Weathercraft], filled with Woodring’s bejewelled creatures and salamandric hallucinations, Manhog achieves a kind of enlightenment. A great if unsettling work." – Grant Buist, The Name of This Cartoon Is Brunswick

• Review: "Two entertaining tales... [that] capture the zip and intrigue of a good Tintin adventure, and the supporting characters are suitably bizarre... [The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book is n]ot your usual American/Canadian two-guys-mooch-around-an-apartment bollocks." – Grant Buist, The Name of This Cartoon Is Brunswick

• Review: "The first of Norwegian cartoonist Jason’s books to be published in translation, and one of his neatest and most satisfying stories. [...] If it were a film, Hey, Wait… would melodramatically labour the childhood tragedy it features, but in a Jason book it’s an understated pivot for the two halves of the story." – Grant Buist, The Name of This Cartoon Is Brunswick

• Coming Attractions: The Manga Curmudgeon looks ahead to Shimura Takako's Wandering Son Vol. 1, declares "Sold!"

• Coming Attractions: "The Arctic Marauder [by Jacques Tardi] – A steampunk story with mad scientists, sea monsters, and futuristic machines at the North Pole. In a 'faux woodcut style.' Fantagraphics continues to be the most consistently innovative publisher of adventure comics around." – Michael May, Robot 6

An historic meeting: Drew Friedman & Joe Franklin 12/8/10, Joe's office.

"So he once sued me for $40 million? Feh. Anything is possible..." says Drew.

Photo below by Drew:

(Jeezum crow, Joe's office makes our notorious clutter-heap offices look positively tidy by comparison.)