• Jason draws R. Crumb and other memories of Angoulême 2000, plus more sketches, illustrations and film reviews at his Cats Without Dogs blog

• Dash Shaw 's new zine for this year's Angoulême Festival

• Betty Boop x Eraserhead by D.J. Bryant

• After a couple of very well-received mainstream comics efforts, Roger Langridge is back in the minicomics game

• Another panel from the concluding chapter of Derek Van Gieson's Mome serial

• Tom Kaczynski's lovely tribute to the late Trish Keenan from one of my top-20 favorite bands, Broadcast

And more Things to See from the past week:

• Steven Weissman's latest "I, Anonymous" spot on his Chewing Gum in Church blog

• Sketches by Marco Corona at his Il Canguro Pugilatore blog

• More artwork from Mark Kalesniko's forthcoming graphic novel Freeway at his blog

• More great sketches at Splog!, the Sergio Ponchione Lost Objects Gallery blog

• Drawings, sketches, photos from Renee French

• A Joe Kimball 1998 "artyfact"

• A new batch of sketches by Eleanor Davis at her We Be Ouija blog

Congratulations to Steve Brodner, who reveals on his blog that he's been awarded a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators for his above editorial illo for The New Yorker. Our pal Peter Kuper also picked up a Silver Medal in the Books category. The award ceremony takes place on Friday evening, and Steve and Peter appear on a panel discussion titled "Artists Against the War" on Feb. 10. More info at the preceding links.

"Overpass" is a morbidly funny new 3-page "Alex" story posted by Mark Kalesniko over at his blog. I'm not sure if it's an outtake from his new graphic novel Freeway or brand new material but it's a welcome sight either way!

Paul Hornschemeier has moved his "News and Headlice" blog to the following new URL:

http://blog.forlornfunnies.com

Update your RSS readers and bookmarks (does anyone still use those anymore?). Paul kicks things off over there with a new shirt design in the Forlorn Funnies Shirt Shop, a panorama of the New Chicago Comics exhibit, and the announcement of So-So Heroes, his postcard set coming out from Chronicle Books this fall.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Surrealism is dangerous. Mostly, when you leave the rails, the result is less glorious freedom and more quick kablooie. It’s an easy method for the lazy writer, but somehow when Ray Fenwick does it, it works. Mascots, his second book, is short on — but not absent — narrative. Its pages are made up of paintings on book covers that are largely text-based... Somehow, they hang together enough to produce a fuzzy but charming impression." – Hillary Brown, Paste

• Review: "...[T]he impressive thing about [Special Exits] is that, despite depressing subject matter, it’s extremely readable and fairly funny. Yes, you’ll think about the horrors of getting old and failing to maintain your independence, not to mention the even scarier prospect of taking care of your own parents. But if Farmer’s book is meant to soothe your fears, it kind of works." – Hillary Brown, Paste

• Review: "The black-and-white Hey, Wait… and Sshhh! are low-key ruminations on grief, loss and aging that bear Jason’s trademark anthropomorphic animals, clean lines and Scandinavian black humor. [...] Jason’s beautiful craftsmanship overcomes The Iron Wagon’s familiar material and, along with the rest of What I Did, foreshadows the excellent work to come later in the decade." – Garrett Martin, Paste

• Review: "There's no doubt in anyone's mind that Roy Crane was a first-class cartoonist, frequently making panels on the newspaper page that were absolutely to die for, stop-and-study moments of the kind that inspire the best students and discourage the worst. There are times when reading these rousing adventures of Navy pilot Buz Sawyer and his support man Roscoe Sweeney that it's hard to believe anything this striking ever appeared on the comics pages..." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

• Review: "A book like this should be must reading for those who want to know how the shojo we know today came to be. A Drunken Dream and Other Stories is not just for lovers of girl's manga, however. It's a book worthy to be read by anyone who likes good comics with a touch of fantasy and a touch of sadness. As with any book by a great creator, the appeal is almost universal... Hopefully, this will be the start of getting Hagio's name on the same pillar as Tezuka, which is clearly where she belongs. If by some chance you haven't read this manga yet, you owe it to yourself to find a copy right away. [...] This is one of those books that is not to be missed. It's destined to be a classic." – Rob McMonigal, Panel Patter

• Review: "...[E]ach page is a single panel, but each of those panels is so attractively detailed and evocative that the storytelling structure never feels rigid. Instead, it comes across as economical and precise while still filled with event and emotion. It’s a quick read, but it’s very satisfying, and it just invites you to revisit the story again. [...] Set to Sea ... is artistically successful on every front, but Weing’s substantial craftsmanship never overwhelms the simple, heartfelt story he’s telling." – David Welsh, The Manga Curmudgeon

• Review: "Destroy All Movies is an addictive, ambitious, behemoth of a book and it’s funny as all hell. There are too many sidesplitting takedowns of bad movies to list in this review, but if you enjoy bad movies (and especially if you enjoy stuff like Mystery Science Theater 3000), you will love this book. [...] Destroy All Movies truly shines as a lengthy love letter to cult cinema, punk pride notwithstanding. [...] You will want to refer to it and reread it over and over. It’s got that much good, not-so-clean, fun packed into its 500-plus pages." – Less Lee Moore, Popshifter

• Reviews (Audio): The new episode of Easy Rider, the radio show for "rock, punk rock, country, power pop, garage and comics" from Radio PFM out of Arras in northern France, features FUC_ __U, _SS __LE: Blecky Yuckerella Vol. 4 by Johnny Ryan and Bent by Dave Cooper among their Comics of the Week

• Plugs: Chris Mautner of Robot 6 on the newest volumes of Krazy & Ignatz, Popeye & Prince Valiant: "What stands out for me here, other than George Herriman’s usual artistry, is the subtle jokes about race… Considering Herriman’s own ethnic and racial heritage, I find moments like this fascinatingly telling. [...] I’ve gone on and on about my love for Segar’s Thimble Theater… Suffice it to say I think it’s an American classic and earns my heartiest recommendation… I still can’t quite get over just how much fun Hal Foster’s medieval epic is. Far from the dull, staid, storybook slog a first glance would suggest, the strip bursts with life and adventure, and not a little bit of bloodsport."

• Interview: Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter: "It's my hope that the following interview with Tim Kreider comes close to replicating the experience of reading the author's new book, the Fantagraphics-published February offering Twilight of the Assholes. Both are long, both I hope are funny at times nearly all the way through (the book surely is), and both book and interview prove uncompromising in terms of both self-laceration and repeatedly stabbing the country's excesses, shortcomings and hypocrisies right in the face. [...] Kreider is... maybe as skilled a writer as there is out there also working with cartoons, and luckily Twilight of the Assholes includes both the cartoons and mini-essays explaining each one. I find him almost terrifyingly funny, both when I agree with him and when I don't." Kreider: "I think historians are likely look back on those eight years as a last chance squandered, a disastrous passing beyond the point of no return, the moment when America went irreversibly over the edge into terminal decline. Which is great news for me, as my cartoons happen to comprise a document of what it felt like to live through that time."

At The Woodring Monitor, another glimpse of Congress of the Animals: Frank and Quacky enter the amusement park.

 Here's this week's Weissman, plus links to other strips from around the web (including a new second run of an old fave):

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Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman (view at original size):

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And elsewhere:

The All-New Cartoon Boy Adventure Hour by John Kerschbaum (an encore presentation of John's Act-i-vate strip at MTV Geek)

Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane:

Ectiopiary by Hans Rickheit:

Lucky by Gabrielle Bell:

Maakies by Tony Millionaire:

Truth Serum by Jon Adams:

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "It’s the details that distinguish what Jordan Crane does. He’s not breaking any conceptual or thematic or formal ground in the two stories comprising this fourth issue of his old-school solo-anthology alternative-comic-book series [Uptight]... ["Dark Day"] is part of your basic “kid explores a magical world beyond the watchful eyes of adults” set-up, while ["Trash Night"] presents love and sex through a sordid, hate-fucky lens, an approach I’ll always associate with the 1990s filmography of Jeremy Irons. But none of that accounts for the sticky, unexpected images he pours into these familiar templates. [...] At this stage in his career it’s quite clear how impeccable Crane’s technique is, both as an artist and as a designer; I think it’s equally important to note that what he does with that technique is just as considered and just as well-executed." – Sean T. Collins, Attentiondeficitdisorderly

• Plug: "...Fantagraphics are offering up a preview of Joe Daly’s Dungeon Quest 2. I’d actually forgotten that this book was coming out, otherwise I’d probably have included it in my list of essential purchases for 2011. The first Dungeon Quest book was a hell of a fun read, and contained a heady blend of stoner philosophy and hardcore roleplaying action. It’s a bit like what you’d get if Kevin Smith reinvented Dungeons & Dragons!" – Edward Kaye, Hypergeek

• Plug: "...Fantagraphics are offering up a preview of The Arctic Marauder, a reprint of one of Jacques Tardi’s earliest and most distinctive graphic novels. From the preview, the book looks pretty damn fantastic! I’m a real sucker for a steampunk story, and this looks right up my alley!" – Edward Kaye, Hypergeek

From our colleagues at Dargaud comes this video footage of Jean Schulz at the opening of the Peanuts exhibit at the Angoulême Festival yesterday with U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Rivkin and other dignitaries in attendance. Vive le Snoopy! (Via Bleeding Cool.)

Roger Ash of Westfield Comics conducted a very informative Q&A with David Gerstein, co-editor (along with Gary Groth) of our forthcoming series of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse by Floyd Gottfredson. It's a must-read for anyone who's been looking forward to these reprints! A sample: "Mickey’s brave, witty, imaginative and incredibly daring in Gottfredson’s stories. He’s a scrapper, ready to fight for what he believes in; but he’s not always right about what he thinks is right, so he can create a mess for himself and have to do some great soul-searching afterwards – serious and funny at once (which is hard to pull off as well as Gottfredson did it!)."