Bay Area collector and über-fan Chris Diaz, whose efforts we've featured here in the past (and who we see regularly at APE), has started a Tumblr blog called The Shed to share his photo portraits (like the one of Dan Clowes above) and videos from comics and cinema events as well as original art and other items from his collection (like the commissioned Steven Weissman piece below). It's all great stuff to see.

Paul Hornschemeier has started up a Tumblr blog called The Daily Forlorn as a motivation to draw more frequently (as per his intro post). We all reap the rewards!

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "What Santiago has done [in 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente] is to create a sketch of Clemente’s life as he actually led it, not as the legend he became. Mundane village life in Puerto Rico, the challenges of racism and assimilation in the U.S., petty arguments, heroic deeds both on and off the field: all of these are given equal footing. Even more impressive is the way Santiago tells this story. His gorgeous illustrations... perfectly capture the period (1950s and ‘60s). And his storytelling is practically mosaic: overlapping dialogue; snippets of scenes fading in and out without introduction or conclusion; information spread all over the page. This is a book to be pored over, not read straight through." –Mark Flowers, School Library Journal

• Profile: "Chicago-based, Puerto Rico-born writer and comics artist Wilfred Santiago has managed to capture both aspects of Clemente — the legend and the human being — in his new graphic novel 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente.... 'He's like Clark Kent who turns into Superman,' Santiago says. 'There's a transformation from Roberto Clemente the family man, to Roberto Clemente the baseball superstar. As soon as he gets into the stadium, he turns into something else, right?'" – Michael Machosky, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

• Review: At Lo Spazio Bianco, Italian cartoonist Squaz pens a comic-strip review of Michael Kupperman's Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 1, calling it "Brilliant! Amazing! Liberating!" (yes, I typed out all the text into Google Translate)

• Interview: Comic Book Resources' Alex Dueben talks with Peter Bagge about all his latest releases: "I always have lots of story ideas for [Buddy and Lisa]. My main concern now is to figure out a story arc so I can make some semblance of a 'graphic novel' out of all these Annual stories."

I feel like I've been living under a rock! I just found out via Juxtapoz that an exhibit of Robert Crumb's original artwork from our bestselling book Kafka (written by David Zane Mairowitz) opened last week and runs through July 30 at Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York City. There really has been an embarrassment of riches exhibit-wise for Crumb fans in NYC lately, hasn't there?

As blogged by Johnny Ryan: "This piece of 8-Bit inspired Prison Pit fan art showed up on Twitter today, courtesy of Swedish artist @jnkboy (his DeviantARt page is here). Right now a Prison Pit video game is beautiful dream…or maybe it’s a whisper of things to come? Only time will tell." It looks a lot better in the original un-resized GIF — see it.

Richard Sala has updated the cover art for his upcoming graphic novel The Hidden (debuting late this Summer) with a ghastly new title treatment. Don't forget to check out The Hidden blog with a special 13-page sneak peek of the book!

Sorry for the short notice on this must-see exhibit which opens tonight at Andrew Edlin Gallery in NYC:

"Andrew Edlin Gallery is pleased to present Zap: Masters of Psychedelic Art, 1965-74, curated by Gary Panter and Chris Byrne. The exhibition will include works by the seven artists from the original Zap lineup: Robert Crumb, Victor Moscoso, Rick Griffin, S. Clay Wilson, Gilbert Shelton, Spain Rodriguez and Robert Williams. The focus of the show is the early days of Zap, when these artists begat their visionary deconstruction of the comic book with remarkable innovations in storytelling and drawing. An accompanying catalogue is being published by the gallery."

'Nuff said! (Well, if it's not 'nuff, there's more info and links to preview the artwork here.)

UPDATE: More on the show from Gary at his blog!

Among all the action this Saturday night at the Taking Punk to Georgetown party, gifted Seattle cartoonist Matthew Southworth will be signing copies of Stumptown. This new collection, written by Greg Rucka, is a hard boiled thriller set in Portland, focusing on a character named Dex — (short for Dexedrine). Southworth will trade pen for guitar at the after-concert where he's reformed the Capillaries, featuring similarly multi-talented Stranger art director Aaron Huffman with Aaron Brown. They'll be joined at Buddy & Jay's Scrap Metal Empiorium by Peter Bagge and Steve Fisk's Can You Imagine? and Wormburner, from Hoboken, New Jersey, appropriately enough.

This July we bring you the first volume of Martí's eye-popping masterpiece The Cabbie, and here is your first look at the wonderfully lurid cover! (Click the image for a larger version.) License plate logo design by Jim Blanchard:

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is pleased to present "Charles Peterson: Taking Punk to the Masses." Inspired by the recent Fantagraphics book published in association with the acclaimed Nirvana exhibition at EMP, Peterson's photography show will focus on the seminal Seattle musicians and subculture that evolved into a global youth movement. The show opens this Saturday, May 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM with a reception for the artist and a guest appearance by Peter Bagge, who chronicled the emerging grunge scene in his comic book series Hate.

Peterson will display 14 exceptional pieces from 1980s Seattle punk underground, the era that gave birth to grunge. This period also gave rise to Peterson's signature cinematic style of still photography. He'll be joined by legendary cartoonist Peter Bagge signing copies of the recently released Hate Annual #9 comic and Yeah! collection. Adding to the atmosphere, Georgetown Records hosts a related installation of vintage Seattle punk posters, records, and ephemera recreating a mom-and-pop punk rock emporium circa 1988 Seattle. Russ Battaglia of Fallout Records & Skateboards fame will play vintage vinyl of the grunge era. Spread the word. This'll be a fun one.

Following the opening, join us next door at Buddy & Jay's Scrap Metal Emporium (also known as the Mix) for pop supergroup Can You Imagine? (featuring Peter Bagge, Steve Fisk, et al.), Hoboken, NJ's Wormburner, and the recently reunited Capillaries (Matt Southworth, Aaron Huffman, and Aaron Brown) playing all your old favorites. See you there!