The newest Online Commentaries & Diversions:

•Interview (audio): NPR affliate 89.c KPCC interviewed both Significant Objects' editor Joshua Gleen and contributor Mark Frauenfelder (of BoingBoing and MAKE). Madeleine Brand says, "One's man trash is another man's treasure, especially if it comes with a really good story."

•Review: The Comics Journal shakes down Flannery O'Connor: The Cartoons, edited by Kelly Gerald.

•Interview (video): Bill Moyers interviews on comics journalist Joe Sacco "I'm not interested in tears, I'm not even interested in sentimentality. But I am interested in telling peoples' stories who are repressed or are poor." Sacco and collaborator Chris Hedges will join Bill Moyers for a chat TONIGHT, Wednesday, July 25 at 2 PM ET. 

•Commentary: More insight on upcoming books from Fantagraphics as Bleeding Cool covered the SDCC Fantagraphics/D&Q panel. On Chris Wright's Black Lung:"The story was hard to follow, but that’s a good thing, because it sounds like the sort of surreal, go for broke, graphic storytelling that readers expect when they buy a Fantagraphics book. . . lyrical, anthropomorphic, violent and layered. Enough praise couldn’t be shed for this book. . ." On Ron Rege, Jr.'s Cartoon Utopia: "Beings from the future try to help us evolve, sending us messages, trying to show us what life can be like without “forced entertainment” (i.e. television). Drawn in an idiosyncratic, gorgeous, dense style. . ."

•Review: The Comics Journal locks their tractor beam onto Josh Simmon's collection called The Furry Trap. Brandon Soderberg says, "Josh Simmons’ work eschews the cheap thrills and glib cynicism of most horror comics. . .Simmons is a belligerent cartoonist, drawing without censure, adding a nervous energy to an ostensibly pleasant, bubbly style — like Gary Panter doing Where’s Waldo?, or Peanuts with all the existential despair laid completely bare. And he’s fully dedicated to simple, panel-to-panel pay-off, . . ."

•Plug: Summer art sales continue, this time with Johnny Ryan's A Famous Night (gig posters for concerts the never happened). Buy one for your walls and never have to entertain you in-laws at home again.

•Review: Comic Book Resources focuses on Barry Windsor-Smith's The Freebooters. While examining the first page, Greg Burgas said,"It’s amazing that Barry Windsor-Smith didn’t go blind drawing this page and the two that follows it, but luckily for readers, he managed to produce many beautiful pages after this. This is a fantastic way to begin this comic. . ."

Today is New Comics Day! In the second series of comics to be released digitally after Love and Rockets going digital, Michael Kupperman's critically-acclaimed humor series Tales Designed to Thrizzle #3 and #4 are now available for download at $2.99 each. Thanks to comiXology you can buy issue #3 that has long been sold out featuring devil girls and their Owls, Snake'n'Bacon, The Mysterious Avenger, history of porno coloring books and much, much more.

"Is there anything more delightful than a new issue of Michael Kupperman’s hilarious comics? ...I submit to you that there is not." – Newsarama

"Be warned: This comic is dangerously funny... A masterpiece of absolutely gut-busting comedy. The entire Wizard office was rendered completely helpless by its hysterical tales... Trust us, this is a future cult classic." – Wizard (R.I.P)

Speaking of cool clothes, the Love and Rockets shirts that premiered at Comic-Con International in San Diego for the L&R 30th Anniversary can now be on your back! Graphitti Designs is ready for your orders and has a whole new batch of shirts printed. Six different styles and one additional option for women's sizes (in the dark blue) makes it a bit hard to choose. Better buy them all!

photo credit: our good pal Jonas Seaman

Where do Fantagraphics staffers get all those cool t-shirts and hoodies that you see us wearing at conventions? Why, Americaware!

And they just happen to be having a Summer Sale on t-shirts and hoodies featuring artwork by comics legends Peter Bagge, Jim Blanchard, Basil Wolverton and Jim Woodring. Those Woodring hoodies like the one I was wearing in San Diego are now 50% off! Blanchard tees, like the one I'm wearing in the pic above, are only $9.99! Even the full-color Woodring tees are 50% off!

This sale is for a limited time only, so stock up while you can!

 The short-toothiest Online Commentaries & Diversions:

•Plug: Island of Dr. Moral and Mome contributor Jem Eaton (aka Jeremy Eaton) is have a big ol' summer art blow out. From now until July 29th you can purchase original pages of art at half their normal price. Parodies galore in four color fury with that Eaton touch can hang on your wall; it is hard to pass up art with titles like ROCK NERD FEVER!

•Review: Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor Old Man gets a ringing endorsement from Captain Comics. Andrew Smith bluntly states, "If you're not buying the Carl Barks library, you should be. . . At no point does anything ring false; at all times the reader feels comfortably wrapped in the comforting folds of an old blanket. You're in the hands of a master, and the ride couldn't be smoother -- or funnier."

•Review: Full-Page Bleed focuses on Michael Kupperman's Tales Designed to Thrizzle #7 & 8. Tom Murphey says, ". . . Tales Designed to Thrizzle, are wild but beautifully executed super-accelerators that smash bizarre ideas together at high speed. His stories flow with an unstoppable dream logic, so the wildest leap of imagination is treated like the next reasonable step."

•Commentary: CNN Geek Out discusses the rise of digital comics at SDCC and notes the Hernandez Brothers will have work available via comiXology."ComiXology’s other big announcement at the show was a long-awaited deal with Fantagraphics to bring Los Bros Hernandez beloved alt-comics classic Love and Rockets to digital format," said Rob Saulkowitz.

•Plug: As a fundraiser, the University of Texas at El Paso is running a limited edition sale of Maggie prints (50 in total). The tax-deductible purchase will help support the Hernandez Brothers Collection of Hispanic Comics and Cartoon Art, housed at the University of Texas at El Paso Library. Ordering information is available at the site.

•Review (audio): Factual Opinion covers Jacques Tardi's New York Mon Amour in extensive detail thanks to Matt Seneca, Tucker Stone, Chris Mautner and Joe McCulloch. "It's a tourist's New York, no, not that - it's a Kafka New York." 

Hey, look what came out while we were at Comic-Con! It's in comic shops now and available from our mail-order operation:

Tales Designed to Thrizzle #8
by Michael Kupperman

32-page full-color 6.75" x 9.5" comic book • $4.95

See Previews / Order Now

BARGAIN COMBO:

Tales Designed to Thrizzle - Thoroughly Thrizzled Pack

Price: $44.34 $35.47

Add to Cart

Break out your crayons as Red Warren, "America's Grandpa," brings you his highly educational "Train & Bus Coloring Book." The guests at a sophisticated weekend party sure get nervous when a certain mystery writer shows up on her goat. Learn the story of French national hero Bertrand de Copillon, a.k.a. "The Scythe." And originally serialized in the Washington City Paper and online at Fantagraphics.com, the true story of the first lunar mission, "Moon 69." All this and more in the eighth issue of the series that changed the face of comic book humor, Tales Designed to Thrizzle!

Exclusive Savings: We've also updated our bargain-priced "Thoroughly Thrizzled Pack" with the new issue: get the Vol. 1 hardcover and issues 5-8 — that's the complete Thrizzle to date — for a swell discounted price!

Recently arrived and now shipping from our mail-order department:

No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics
by various artists; edited by Justin Hall (cover art by Maurice Vellekoop)

328-page black & white/color 7.75" x 10.25" hardcover • $35.00
ISBN: 978-1-60699-506-8

See Previews / Order Now

Queer cartooning encompasses some of the best and most interesting comics of the last four decades, with creators tackling complex issues of identity and a changing society with intelligence, humor, and imagination. This book celebrates this vibrant artistic underground by gathering together a collection of excellent stories that can be enjoyed by all.

No Straight Lines showcases major names such as Alison Bechdel (whose book Fun Home was named Time Magazine’s 2006 Book of the Year), Howard Cruse (whose groundbreaking Stuck Rubber Baby is now back in print), and Ralf Koenig (one of Europe’s most popular cartoonists), as well as high-profile, crossover creators who have flirted with the world of LGBTQ comics, like legendary NYC artist David Wojnarowicz and media darling and advice columnist Dan Savage. No Straight Lines also spotlights many talented creators who never made it out of the queer comics ghetto, but produced amazing work that deserves wider attention.

Until recently, queer cartooning existed in a parallel universe to the rest of comics, appearing only in gay newspapers and gay bookstores and not in comic book stores, mainstream bookstores or newspapers. The insular nature of the world of queer cartooning, however, created a fascinating artistic scene. LGBT comics have been an uncensored, internal conversation within the queer community, and thus provide a unique window into the hopes, fears, and fantasies of queer people for the last four decades.

These comics have forged their aesthetics from the influences of underground comix, gay erotic art, punk zines, and the biting commentaries of drag queens, bull dykes, and other marginalized queers. They have analyzed their own communities, and their relationship with the broader society. They are smart, funny, and profound. No Straight Lines will be heralded by people interested in comics history, and people invested in LGBT culture will embrace it as a unique and invaluable collection.

"I discovered... what I was looking for, a queer world with stories and characters that I could recognize, that I could laugh with and care about. What I needed was a book like this: hairy legs and all." – Lana Wachowski (The Matrix, Bound), from her introduction

"We've all been waiting too long for a collection like this! You must buy this book!" – Alison Bechdel (Fun Home, Dykes to Watch Out For)

Recently arrived and now shipping from our mail-order department:

Significant Objects
edited by Joshua Glenn & Rob Walker

242-page full-color 6" x 8.25" flexibound softcover • $24.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-525-9

Available with two different covers (book design by Jacob Covey) — make your choice when ordering.

See Previews / Order Now

Significant Objects began in 2009 as a bold online inquiry into the relationship between narrative and the value of everyday objects. It has been the subject of speculation by everyone from NPR to litbloggers to The New York Times’ Freakonomics crew. Some theorized about the project’s hypothesis, others about its methods and results. Others just wanted to know if there would be a book collection. The answer is yes. A collection of one hundred Significant Objects stories is published in this hardcover volume.

This represents the latest plot twist yet to the story of a very unlikely project that began as an experiment, turned into an experimental literary magazine secretly published on eBay, and currently raises money for youth tutoring nonprofits.

Founded by Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker, SignificantObjects.com has published an extraordinary series of 200 stories and counting — by William Gibson, Curtis Sittenfeld, Sheila Heti, Colson Whitehead, Nicholson Baker, Meg Cabot, Gary Panter, Ben Katchor, Lydia Millet, Jonathan Lethem, and other talented writers — about ordinary stuff like novelty items, discarded souvenirs, and tasteless kitchenware picked up cheap at thrift stores and yard sales. The goal: To see if commissioning great stories about these insignificant things would increase their value — as measured in actual eBay auctions.

The experiment, in short, was a smash hit. As will be the Significant Objects book, which features 100 moving, absurd, surprising, and always entertaining stories from the project’s three volumes. It will change the way you look at things, forever.

Sooooo, I'm at Seattle's Pike Place Market yesterday morning with my daughter near the fish-throwing guys. We're standing out on the curb next to an empty cop car, waiting for a friend. The back seat windows in the cop car are rolled down and I just happen to catch something out of the corner of my eye. I look closer, between the bars, the backseat is completely empty aside from a large ziplock bag with something familiar inside...

Evidence of a crime scene? Something more nefarious? If there are any Seattle law enforcement officials who can shed some light on this mystery, do tell. Ellen, if you need a good lawyer referral, talk to Gary. 

In all the Comic-Con prep and lead up, you might have missed a very nice preview of Jaime Hernadez's God and Science: Return of the Ti-Girls. Ada Price of Publishers Weekly on God and Science says,"This 7 page preview showcases young super-heroines contrasted with super-heroines at the end of their careers, a raucous prison break, and a confrontation in space." Seven solid black-and-white pages await you.

PW also shared the love for Jaime Hernandez in a God and Science review stating,"For what's essentially an evocative throwback to the kid's superhero comics of yore, there's a lot going on here--youth versus seasoned oldsters, absolute power corrupting absolutely, mother/child dysfunction--and it's all wrapped up in a package of terrific dialogue, stellar artwork, and enough raw fun to drown in." You can pick up your own copy of God and Science PLUS a Before Love and Rockets mini-comic here.