It's no secret we love a good Stooge (viz. our publication of The Six 3-Stooges biocomic, now out of print), so we're pleased to spread the word about Drew Friedman's new limited edition art print, The Three Stooges with Vernon Dent (Dent was a character actor who often played the Stooges' nemesis). A loving tribute from a true aficionado.

The Complete Peanuts 1973-1974 (Vol. 12)
By Charles M. Schulz

TENNIS, ANYONE? BILLIE JEAN KING SERVES UP AN INTRODUCTION... AND WE CELEBRATE WOODSTOCK!

The 12th volume of Peanuts features a number of tennis strips and several extended sequences involving Peppermint Patty’s friend Marcie (including a riotous, rarely seen sequence in which Marcie’s costume-making and hairstyling skills utterly spoil a skating competition for PP), so it seems only right that this volume’s introduction should be served up by Schulz’s longtime friend, tennis champion Billie Jean King.

This volume also picks up on a few loose threads from the previous year, as the mysterious “Poochie” shows up in the flesh; Linus and Lucy’s new kid brother “Rerun” makes his first appearance, is almost immediately drafted onto the baseball team (where, thanks to his tiny strike zone, he wins a game), and embarks on his first terrifying journey on the back of his mom’s bike; and, in one of Peanuts’ oddest recurring storylines, the schoolhouse Sally used to talk to starts talking, or at least thinking, back at her!

The Complete Peanuts 1973-1974 also includes one of the all-time classic Peanuts sequences, in which Charlie Brown’s baseball-oriented hallucinations finally manifest themselves in a baseball-shaped rash on his head. Forced to conceal the embarrassing discoloration with a bag worn over his head, Charlie Brown goes to camp as “Mister Sack” and discovers that, shorn of his identity, he’s suddenly well liked and successful.

NOTE: BECAUSE OF OUR CONTRACT WITH THE LICENSOR THESE ITEMS CANNOT BE SOLD OUTSIDE OF NORTH AMERICA. IF YOU RESIDE ANYWHERE OTHER THAN THE U.S. OR CANADA PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO ORDER THEM FROM OUR WEBSITE; YOUR ORDER WILL NOT BE PROCESSED.

344-page black & white 8.5" x 7" hardcover • $28.99
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The Complete Peanuts 1971-1974 Box Set

A boxed set of the eleventh and twelfth volumes of The Complete Peanuts, designed by the award-winning graphic novelist, Seth. Shipping shrinkwrapped, with volumes 1971-1972 and 1973-1974 packed in a sturdy custom box designed especially for this set, it's the perfect gift book item. (For more information on the contents of each volume, see the individual product listings linked above.)

two 344-page black & white 8.5" x 7" hardcovers in a custom slipcase • $49.99
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The Complete Peanuts 1971-1974 Slipcase

Even if you purchased the fifth pair of volumes of The Complete Peanuts (1971-1972 and 1973-1974) separately rather than in the two-volume set, you can still have this handsome, durable two-volume slipcase designed by Complete Peanuts series designer Seth. This item is exclusively available directly from Fantagraphics. (Books not included.)

8.75" x 7.125" x 3" slipcase • $4.99
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Happy Bastille Day, France. Voici les Online Commentary et Diversions:

• Review: "[Michael] Kupperman has been laffing it up for years via cartoons in the New Yorker and animation on Saturday Night Live, but his smart, droll, absurdist humor is best displayed in this compendium of the first four issues of [Tales Designed to Thrizzle]. Kupperman's wit and imagination is only heightened by the stiff, self-conscious woodcut style he often uses for art... The humor never lags in a book that is destined to be a comedy classic and is truly one of the funniest books in years." - Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

• Review: "...[T]he pieces collected in awesomely-named Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me... are wonderfully entertaining and often fall-on-the-floor funny, even when you find yourself at odds with [Peter] Bagge’s viewpoint... While his focus may have changed, his work remains as delightful as it did in the alt-comix heyday. Stupid just confirms what many of us already knew: he’s still one of the funniest cartoonists in America today." - Chris Mautner, Robot 6

• Interview: Design website FaceOut Books asks curator/designer Jacob Covey about the Beasts! books. Sample quote: "I think a successful cover design has to distill the essence of a book and not necessarily depict a literal synopsis of the contents. This is a common principle in fiction prose books but is much less commonly applied to something like an art book."

From Desert Island in Brooklyn, the following announcement:

The hits just keep on coming! We just completed this high-quality screenprint of Hanks's Fantomah in anticipation of the NYC book-launch for You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation! Don't miss this event. Paul Karasik and Dan Nadel will be on hand to discuss the Hanks legacy and field questions, and the book looks amazing.

that's 7 -9 pm
Thursday July 23rd
at Desert Island
540 Metropolitan Ave

Preorder a print here:

http://tinyurl.com/fantomah

Back to the Online Commentary & Diversions:

• List: The Architects' Journal names "Chris Ware's Chicago" #2 on its list of "Top 10 Comic Book Cities"

• Review: "[Fletcher] Hanks' groove, taken back to back like this, is unsettling... It can be downright creepy. Generally, when you talk about a comic auteur's 'issues,' you're talking page count, not whether he has his head screwed on straight. It's multiplied by Hanks' art style, which at first seems crude but is actually quite stylized and consistent. Many images, such as troupes of unfortunates flying in hurtling, screaming weightlessness, have the impact of nightmares... And the twisted comics universe once inhabited by Fletcher Hanks is eerie and unsettling, and fascinating in what it reveals about the man with the pen." - Burl Burlingame, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

• Review: "Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 1, [Michael] Kupperman's recent collection, is brimming with such a dense compilation of Dada-inspired plots, fake ads and comic book covers that it takes a repeated read-through to absorb the book's potent aura of absurdity... Reading Thrizzle is an expeditious experience, and like all treks you will feel exhausted and somehow improved by this entire gut-busting experience... Tales Designed to Thrizzle is beyond recommendation..." - Ascot Smith, examiner.com

• Review: "Jason is one of the relatively few working artists that even a jaded, cynical, complain-first critic like me will happily declare a true master cartoonist, without reservation. Jason is—how to put this?—good. Really, really, really good... So, Low Moon? It’s Jason. It’s new. It’s obviously really, really good, you know?" - J. Caleb Mozzocco, Newsarama

• Review: "Low Moon takes 'funny animals' comics in a disturbingly deadpan direction. The bipedal canines and birds that populate these five short tales somehow convey with their blank eyes, flat expressions and minimal movements a whole seething current of emotional subtext. The title story, first serialized in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, mixes Gary Cooper frontier heroics with chess, and it is no less strange or hilarious than the other vignettes, which play with tropes lifted from science fiction, film noir and Jazz Age romance." - "The Best in Comic Books," Michael Berry, San Francisco Chronicle

• Review: "The new Prince Valiant crackles from the page with an energy and enthusiasm that positively dares anyone to deny this strip’s rightful place in the history of the form. Yes, this is another great day for comics history and most definitely a venture worth supporting into the future." - Guttergeek

• Review: "Uptight #3 -- This comic book made me nuts... Look how goddamned beautiful that cover is... That cover illustrates the first part of a new story Crane is working on, 'Vicissitude,' and Holy Jesus it is one of the best stories I've read this year. I'm a tough sell when it comes to out-and-out fiction in comics, but the unbelievably compelling artwork totally drew me into this fantastic story... damn if that cover and those first few, tantalizing pages aren't like some new, more addictive form of crack cocaine you ingest through your eyeballs. By looking at this comic book. God DAMN, I want more 'Vicissitude.' Don't let another day go by without making sure you're getting Uptight #3." - Alan David Doane

• Review: Derik Badman looks at the comics of From Wonderland with Love contributor Allan Haverholm

• Interview: "I've long felt Peter Bagge is a significant figure in American comedy in addition to deserving his lofty stature in alternative comics, and I'll interview him any chance I get." - Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter; "I was never allowed to play fast and lose with the truth, much to my occasional creative chagrin! Other than that they allowed me to express myself pretty freely, even if some folks on their staff disagreed with some of the points I was making." - Peter Bagge, from the interview, discussing the Reason editiorial process

• Plug: "I don’t always agree with [Peter Bagge's] position [in Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me], but his exploration is always great. And hearing other opinions and positions (especially well-informed like his), is almost always worthwhile." - Corey Blake

• Plug: "[Peter] Bagge’s Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me looks absolutely lovely. In his usual twisted, cynical and angry way." - The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

• Plug: J. Caleb Mozzocco focuses in on a couple of interesting details (renditions of Donald Duck and an arty teapot) from Peter Bagge's Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me

• Plugs: "I am slowly making my way through three recent reprints from Fantagraphics... the three books in question are Humbug, Blazing Combat, and Prince Valiant. Humbug’s easily the best of the three, as it includes so many all-time great cartoonists (Kurtzman, Jaffee, Elder, etc.) at the peak of their powers and ambitions, but the other two are worthwhile, too. With people like Wood, Toth, and Heath involved, I knew the art would be fantastic in Blazing Combat, but I’ve been surprised at the quality of Archie Goodwin’s writing... it’s much more satisfying than expected. I’ve barely begun with Prince Valiant... So far, it’s much more fluid and enjoyable than I would’ve guessed — beautiful work..." - guest columnist Timothy Hodler (Comics Comics), Robot 6

• Events: The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports that a new Peanuts exhibit, "Snoopy as the World War I Flying Ace," just opened at the Museum of History and Art in Ontario, CA (via The Daily Cartoonist)

• Things to see (and buy in the future): Some teasers for the next batch of Stinckers are debuting. Do you like Johnny Ryan? Do you like horror movies? Then Johnny has a sneak peek for you. And the Stinckers blog gives a glimpse of Esther Pearl Watson's Unlovable series!

Thomas Ott has a brand new website chockablock with artwork, music, photos, films, and all other things Ott, including links to shop for the European editions of his books.

Aieee! We've fallen so behind on things that we've been neglecting our weekly webcomics updates for a while now. Our apologies to our readers and to the wonderful artists who agreed so generously to let us present their work. But enough groveling, here's a brand new batch!

Blecky and Wedgie learn an important physics lesson in this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan (visit Johnny's website for the last few weeks' strips!)...

Picking up where we left off: Chubby's horror is our horror in this week's installment of Steven Weissman's in-progress pages from "Blue Jay," an epic 51-page story from Chocolate Cheeks, the next collection of the Yikes! gang's adventures....

And we're also picking up where we left off with our Monday-Friday Rocky strips by Martin Kellerman. Enjoy!

A lovely hand-embroidered Maggie Chascarillo by Love and Rockets fan Shannon Genova-Scudder, as seen on Flickr. Hat tip to fellow fan Patti Schiendelman for pointing it out to us on Twitter.

We'd love to feature more fan art here on Flog -- if you make some or find some, tell us about it via Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, or plain old email!

From Wonderland with Love: Danish Comics in the Third Millennium
By various artists; edited by Steffen P. Maarup

In all the excitement over manga from Japan and bandes dessinées from France, it’s easy to forget that other countries have a thriving comics culture all their own. This eye-popping anthology, assembled by Danish publisher/editor/ translator Steffen P. Maarup, introduces adventurous readers to 19 exciting talents, most of whom are taking their first bow on the English-speaking stage.

One centerpiece of the book is Nikoline Werdelin’s stunning “Because I Love You So Much,” a Doonesbury-style slice-of-life daily strip about a suburban Danish couple who discover their daughter is being molested — is it happening at her daycare center, or, horrifyingly, closer to home? Other major revelations include Julie Nord’s elegantly drawn “From Wonderland With Love” (which gives the collection its title), a modernistic riff on Alice in Wonderland, and Ib Kjeldsmark’s “Sloth,” a riotously punk-inflected day-glo duo-toned road trip.

The book also spotlights the snarky and surreal single-panel work and gags by HuskMitNavn, Christoffer Zieler, and Johan F. Krarup; the visually explosive silent comics of Mårdøn Smet and Peter Kielland; cover artist T. Thorhauge’s spectacular philosophical piece “M”; and many other stories in a wide variety of styles from the sinister black and white Lynchian surrealism of Simon Bukhave’s wooden robot story “All that I Hold in My Hand” to the watercolored animal-fable extravaganza “Tomb of the Rabbit King” by Allan Haverholm, from Søren Mosdal and Jacob Ørsted’s meticulously delineated and colored nightmare yarn “Dog God” to Zven Balslev’s slashing, black and white, Panter-esque “Cadarul Zombie.” Vibe Bredahl, Jan Solheim, Maria Isenbecker, Signe Parkins, Zven Balslev and G.R. Mantard round out the list of contributors to this smorgasbord (OK, that's actually Swedish) of exuberantly creative graphic narratives by Denmark's premier comics artists.

176-page color/b&w 8" x 11.25" softcover • $29.99
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Heading into the weekend, here's your Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Carol Tyler’s You’ll Never Know [Book 1: A Good and Decent Man] mines similar territory to women graphic novelists before her -- the life of her father and its relationship to her own foibles -- and manages to make a work entirely her own, neither derivative nor overly familiar... with genuinely gorgeous illustration... It’s a gripping mix of biography and autobiography... There’s more for Tyler to explore in another volume, and she manages to make this one immensely satisfying on its own terms while alternately leaving you with anticipation for the next." - John E. Mitchell, North Adams Transcript

• Review: "...[Y]ou could do much, much, much, much, much, much worse than to spend 25 bucks and an inch on your bookshelf on yet agoddamnnother collection of murderously bleak and astonishingly well-executed high-concept existentialism [Low Moon], drawn with an unimpeachable clean line and colored like unto a thing of beauty. Time and time again during these five stories I was almost physically impacted by Jason's skill as a storyteller ...his skill and his bravado left me shaking my head with amusement and/or amazement time and time again. He's one of the best, as is this book." - Sean T. Collins

• Interview: Seth talks a bit about his design work for The Complete Peanuts in an interview with Alex Carr at Amazon's Omnivoracious blog. Sample quote: "The series was meant to be a setting for the jewel that is Schulz's masterpiece. I wanted to make sure that Schulz's work was treated with the utmost seriousness and dignity."

• Interview: Al Jaffee answers Tim Hodler's question about cartoon vomit at Comics Comics

• Plug: In an interview with Robot 6, MoCCA Festival organizer Karl Erickson singles out Humbug's Arnold Roth & Al Jaffee and Mome's Derek Van Gieson & Sara Edward-Corbett as highlights of the 2009 festival