Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Expectations are foiled at every turn [in Congress of the Animals] precisely because Woodring is digging deep into the rich soil of his own imagination; he's pulling these stories up from the same place that myths and legends come from, and in that way, his books have the weird weight and unmistakable freshness of myth. These are stories that haven't been told before, but they come from the place where stories are born, so they're instantly recognizable to everyone. And because they live in the prelinguistic language of cartoons, almost anyone on the planet can look at a page and immediately understand what is happening." – Paul Constant, The Stranger

• Plug: Further, Jim Woodring's appearance at Elliott Bay Book Company tonight is today's "The Stranger Suggests," Paul Constant saying "Every one of Woodring's comics is an epic poem, a psychedelic novel, and a deeply personal memoir. If you can't identify with his protagonist, the innocent-but-fickle Frank, there's something wrong with you."

• Review: "In Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Vol. 1, part of an ambitious, multi-volume reprint project from Fantagraphics, 21st century readers are reintroduced to this largely forgotten Mickey and his unfortunately largely forgotten cartoonist. It’s like meeting Mickey Mouse for the first time — and learning the little guy is actually a total badass. ★★★★ [out of 5]" – J. Caleb Mozzocco, Las Vegas Weekly

• Review: "Mordantly hilarious, this superbly cynical fable [Isle of 100,000 Graves] rattles along in captivating fashion: a perfect romp for older kids and a huge treat for fans looking for something a little bit different. Jason’s work always jumps directly into the reader’s brain and heart, using his beastly repertory company to gently pose eternal questions about basic human needs in a soft but relentless quest for answers. That you don’t ever notice the deep stuff because of the clever gags and safe, familiar 'funny-animal' characters should indicate just how good a cartoonist he is. His collaboration here with the sly and sardonic Vehlmann has produced a genuine classic that we’ll all be talking about for years to come." – Win Wiacek, Now Read This!

• Plug: "...[W]hile it seems like an oddball idea to put an individual spin on masterworks like Poe's, [The Raven] actually looks gorgeous, the artwork fantastic and macabre..." – Sydney Brownstone, The L Magazine

• Plug: "Lou Reed has been quite busy these days. When he's not collaborating with Metallica on a record, he's spending time putting together a graphic novel based around his 'spiritual forefather' Edgar Allen Poe, called, appropriately, The Raven. ...Reed's Poe-esque lyrics have been collected into a book and illustrated with paintings by New Yorker cartoonist Lorenzo Mattotti. And yes, the book looks just as creepy as you'd expect." – Jamie Feldmar, Gothamist

• Interview (Audio): Inkstuds host Robin McConnell's latest guest: "Wilfred Santiago’s comic biography of Roberto Clemente [21] is a great look at a specific time in not only baseball, but also touching on mid century american racial and political tones. Wilfred skillfully tackles a range of issues in this great collection. It was a delight to discuss this great book with him."

• Lore: Kim Deitch's "Mad About Music: My Life in Records" column continues over at TCJ.com, with the new third installment focusing on television

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

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

The history of the genre known as Cartoon Advertising is addressed for the first time in the oversized, full-color, 128-page, fully illustrated book Drawing Power. “There are many obscure masterpieces to be found lingering at the intersection of American Commerce and Comic Art,” says co-editor Rick Marschall. Drawing Power covers the years from the Gilded Age and the pioneer illustrated magazines of the 1870s to the 1940s, just before American entry into World War II.

This landmark volume features the work of iconic cartoonists doing work that mostly has been lost to history, by the nature of its in-the-moment splashes. There are examples by Thomas Nast, Joseph Keppler, F Opper, Bud Fisher, George Herriman, John Held, Jr., Charles Dana Gibson, Percy Crosby, Peter Arno, Gluyas Williams, Milton Caniff and over 60 other cartoonists. Generous portfolios are devoted to the substantial work in the genre by R F Outcault, Dr Seuss, cartoon sheet music, and more.

Many famous products and many famous campaigns and slogans – but also forgotten gadgets and outrageous claims – are found in Drawing Power. Dr Scott’s Electric Cigarettes from the 1880s… Yellow Kid cigars… the Campbell Soup Kids… Rose O’Neill’s Jello-O ads… Snap, Crackle, and Pop… Little Orphan Annie’s Ovaltine… Mr Coffee Nerves… they are all here! Other “pitchmen” include Popeye, Mickey Mouse, Barney Google, Walt & Skeezix, and more!

But Drawing Power is not just a fascinating stroll down memory lane. It is a serious look at a significant category of American culture… one that has not been anthologized nor analyzed until now. Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising is guaranteed not to shrink, even after repeated washings. Smooth, satisfying, easy on the throat. No longer will your friends notice your dishpan hands, once you have read Drawing Power! Buy two today!

Download and read an 11-page PDF excerpt (4.8 MB).

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Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "...[Wandering Son] is absolutely fantastic and deserves every one of the awards it will doubtless win. ...[I]t’s an honest look at what Shu and Yoshino are going through. There’s no magic pool, no funny crossdressing, no easy solution to the dilemma that these two face. What I also like about the series is that its secondary characters are often just as interesting as the main pair: they’re all in fifth grade, after all, when everyone is struggling with their identities and the consequences thereof. Shu and Yoshino just get the worst of it." – Ted Anderson, The Hub (YALSA)

• Review: "Woodring’s someone whose work demands repeated reads. For longtime fans, Congress of the Animals is another puzzle piece in Woodring’s complicated world of art. For newcomers, it’s likely going to be the first enjoyable step of discovering that world and Woodring’s back catalogue." – Nick Dean, Skyscraper Magazine

• Plug: Seattle Weekly's Brian Miller recommends Jim Woodring's appearance at Elliott Bay Book Company tomorrow evening and says of Congress of the Animals, "Frank's adventures take place in a kind of Byzantine fun-house phantasmagoria of windows-slash-orifices, faces without faces, and extruded intestines. The spirit is like Disney meets Hieronymus Bosch, a comic surrealism in which Frank undergoes an exile and return from his beloved home."

• Plug: Gurldoggie also spotlights Jim Woodring's upcoming appearance

• Review: "In this selection [Captain Easy, Soldier of Fortune Vol. 2] Roy Crane’s irrepressible humour comes perfectly into focus and this enchanting serial abounds with breezy light-hearted banter, hilarious situations and outright farce... This superb hardback and colossal second collection is the perfect means of discovering or rediscovering Crane’s rip-snorting, pulse-pounding, exotically racy adventure trailblazer. The huge pages in this volume... provide the perfect stage to absorb and enjoy the classic tale-telling of a master raconteur. This is storytelling of impeccable quality: unforgettable, spectacular and utterly irresistible. These tales rank alongside the best of Hergé, Tezuka, Toth and Kirby and unarguably fed the imaginations of them all as he still does for today’s comics creators." – Win Wiacek, Now Read This!

• Interview: At New York magazine's Vulture blog, Jennifer Vineyard talks to Lou Reed about adapting Edgar Allen Poe for The Raven (among other topics): "Do you know what it’s like to try to rewrite one of the most famous poems in the history of the world? It’s a can’t-win situation. No one is ever going to say that the rewrite is better than the original. That’s not going to happen."

• Interview: At the Suicide Girls website, Alex Dueben talks to Dave McKean about his new book Celluloid: "It’s always a bit strange doing something that is exclusively about sex and putting it out for people to look at. There are people who are bound to draw some sort of parallel between you as an individual and the stuff you’re putting in the book, which is not necessarily there to be drawn, but people do. So I tried to keep my identity out of it as much as possible."

• Profile: Time Out Chicago's Jonathan Kinkley profiles local boy Wilfred Santiago: "21: The Story of Roberto Clemente is a lovingly written and superbly illustrated biography of the baseball legend.... Stylistically, he considers himself something of a chameleon, tackling each challenge with a new visual approach. 'Actors change accents to play different characters,' says the artist, 'and I have the same graphic flexibility to interpret different kinds of stories.'"

TCJ.com keeps rolling out the exlusive previews from The Comics Journal #301: today's feature is an excerpt from Gary Groth's interview with Robert Crumb about Genesis. This one hypes itself.

The new Diamond Previews catalog is out today and in it you'll find our usual 2-page spread with our releases scheduled to arrive in your local comic shop in September 2011 (give or take — some release dates have changed since the issue went to press). We're pleased to offer additional and updated information about these upcoming releases here on our website, to help shops and customers alike make more informed ordering decisions.

You'll find hotly-anticipated titles like the next volume of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse by Floyd Gottfredson (a Diamond "Staff Pick"!), Pogo Vol. 1 (yes, Pogo!); The Art of Joe Kubert ("Certified Cool"!); the new Prison Pit; the Golden Age cover collection Action! Mystery! Thrills!; and our next prose book, Alexander Theroux's Estonia. See them all here!

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Of all the comics libraries I've seen, this one has by far the most complete and diverse collection of ancillary material. The intrigue of reading the earliest (1930-1931) Mickey Mouse strips (including a number written by Walt Disney himself) in restored and remastered form would have been reason enough to pick this book up, but the essays, commentaries, character sketches, and archival features all add immeasurably to one's appreciation of Gottfredson, the creator who invented the funny-animal adventure genre." – Chris Barat

• Interview: The Daily Cross Hatch's Brian Heater talks to our own Eric Reynolds about Mome, with part 1 focusing on the anthology's beginnings: "We wanted to publish more people that we weren’t really able to do, in terms of giving them book deals. Oddly enough, it seems like our production on that front really took off along with Mome, as far as publishing new people like Josh Simmons or Paul Hornschemeier, you name it. But that was essentially the reason. I was seeing more and more newer cartoonists coming out that I was interested in, but maybe didn’t have a book in them, yet. And it was really means to an end, as far as working with people that I had been admiring from afar."

• Scene: LocalBozo reports from Lou Reed's The Raven reading at the Strand bookstore last night

Fantagraphics Starts The Quiet Rrriot with Megan Kelso, Nikki McClure and Stella Marrs at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, July 9th 

Riot grrrl is mainly remembered for the loud rock bands that grew out of it, but as much as it was a musical movement, it was a visual arts and literary movement, too. Drawings, photographs, collages, comics, essays, stories and manifestos poured out from girls all over the country in the early ‘90s in the form of self-published zines, mini-comics, handmade books, album art, and show posters. Girls who saw a show, found a flyer, or read the infamous article in Newsweek about “Riot grrrl” heard that name calling out to them specifically. Riot grrrl was a call to arms for young women trying to find their voices.

On Saturday, July 9th, the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery presents three women who found their voices during that Riot grrrl scene: Nikki McClure, Stella Marrs, and Megan Kelso. Fantagraphics Books Inc. recently reissued Kelso’s long-out-of-print book Queen of the Black Black, an early collection of work from her influential self-published comix zine, Girlhero. Original artwork from those stories, as well as original pieces from McClure and Marrs, will be on display alongside a collection of self-published comix and zines from the Riot grrrl movement. Kelso and McClure will discuss the lasting legacy of the Riot grrrls, followed by a book signing and informal reception.

The work of Stella Marrs predates Riot grrrl, but as one of the design angels orbiting K Records, and as a publisher of multi-media postcards since the mid ‘80s, her aesthetic defined the Olympia look as much as K Records defined its sound. Her sly, often humorous, images critique gender roles and consumer culture.

Nikki McClure and Megan Kelso were in the same year at The Evergreen State College, and both embarked on artistic careers after graduating. McClure’s images are made from black construction paper, cut with X-Acto blades into single, intricate pieces, mounted on white backgrounds. Her subject matter is people working in concert with the natural world.

Kelso’s comics echo both the themes and aesthetics of Marrs and McClure’s work — high contrast black-and-white images telling stories that grapple with issues of work, gender and human relationships.

The opening of “The Quiet Rrriot” on Saturday, July 9th coincides with the colorful Georgetown Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentations throughout the historic neighborhood.

The Quiet Rrriot: Visual Artists from the Riot Grrrl movement by Megan Kelso, Nikki McClure, Stella Marrs

Opening Saturday, July 9th from 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Artists talk with Megan Kelso and Nikki McClure at 7:00 PM followed by a book signing.
Exhibition continues through August 31, 2011

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 98108
206.658.0110
Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM
This event is free and all ages

On behalf of everyone at Fantagraphics, let me be the first to congratulate our own Jacob Covey and his beautiful wife, Liz, on the birth of their new baby daughter, Maren, who joined the ranks of the world yesterday morning. Mom, baby, and even daddy and big sister Freya are doing well. Much love from your Fantagraphics family, Coveys. 

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

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

During the 1950s, Abe Goodman — brother of Marvel Comics publisher Martin Goodman — was the largest buyer of cartoons in the world. Publishing out of New York City under the Humorama banner, Goodman churned out scores of cheap digest-sized magazines boasting inventive titles like Romp, Stare and Joker that featured hackneyed jokes, cheesecake photos and the publications’ bread and butter, single panel pin-up cartoons.

These magazines were an unlikely proving ground for neophyte gag cartoonists as well as a welcomed alternative to the daily grind of comic book sweatshops. In the 1950s and 1960s, these digests featured the likes of Playboy’s Jack Cole, Archie’s Dan DeCarlo and glamour girl legend Bill Ward. In addition to these three pin-up cartooning luminaries, other notables who contributed included longtime illustrator Jefferson Machamer, Basil Wolverton, MAD’s Dave Berg (“The Lighter Side”), and future syndicated cartoonists George Crenshaw (Belvedere), Bill Hoest (The Lockhorns) and Brad Anderson (Marmaduke). Drawing from private collections of original art and thousands of Humorama digests, editor Alex Chun has once again selected the best of these long out-of-print images and designer Jacob Covey has lovingly "remastered" them in a period-accurate two-color format that duplicates the original experience of these innocently raunchy classics. You'll also find a Foreword and bonus pinup by noted purveyor of comics raunch Howard Chaykin.

Download and read a 20-page PDF excerpt (2.8 MB).

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

Exclusive Savings: Order this volume and get any previous single volume in the Humorama digest series (Dan DeCarlo Vol. 1 or 2, Bill Ward, or Bill Wenzel) for just $10.00 - that's nearly 1/2 off the cover price! Make your selection when placing your order.

• A gallery of Lorenzo Mattotti's recent cover illustrations for Internazionale's annual fiction (I think) issue

• Renee French's cute guy with awful infestation and cute guy with jaunty hat

• Recent sketches by Eleanor Davis

• Sergio Ponchione sure does great dedication sketches — here's a recent batch

• Drew Friedman presents the history of the Barfo Family, complete with concept art by himself, Art Spiegelman and Mark Newgarden

• Illos by Tim Lane for The New York Times and The Progressive

• Steve Brodner's illustration for a New Yorker article on racial tensions in the UK

• Richard Sala's newlyweds and Babes on Broadway

• Jason gets sexy with his lone attempt at cheesecake circa 1988 and a Prince illustration from the same time period — plus more teenage sketches at The Old Cat and the Dog

• Watch Lilli Carré's dancing lady in animated-GIF action

• Leslie Stein wraps up the last page of Eye of the Majestic Creature issue 5, which picks up where the book leaves off

• It's the return of Steven Weissman's Tiny Joe & Junior! Plus his latest "I, Anonymous " spot

• Noah Van Sciver presents "The True Tale of the Denver Spider Man," his story from Mome Vol. 15

• Sketchbook drawings & comics by Anders Nilsen