Anders Nilsen posts photos from the opening night of the New Chicago Comics exhibit at the city's Museum of Contemporary Art, which ends its too-short run next week. Above: exhibiting artists Anders, Paul Hornschemeier, Lilli Carré and Jeffrey Brown. Did you ever see a cuter bunch of cartoonists?

• Jason's commentary on this page of sound effects lettering for the English edition of You Can't Get There from Here (now seen in Almost Silent) is hilarious; plus more early strips, illustrations and film reviews at his Cats Without Dogs blog

• New artwork, illustrations and handicrafts and other news (she moved to Savannah, Georgia — be her new intern!) in the latest blog update from Dame Darcy

• Another early strip (from 1989) by Richard Sala

• A new sketch by Lilli Carré

• A new strip by Steve Brodner for yesterday's Washington Post

• "Connecticut" by Josh Simmons — ouch

• Several recent sketchbook pages by Anders Nilsen

• A glimpse at the final chapter of Derek Van Gieson's "Devil Doll" which will appear in Mome Vol. 22 this Spring

• I cannot imagine a better panel for Robert Goodin to have done for the Repaneled blog

And more Things to See from the past week:

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

• A new print by John Hankiewicz at his Clip Joint blog

• Sketches by Marco Corona at his Il Canguro Pugilatore blog

• Vintage Jim Flora illustrations, sketches & artwork at the Jim Flora blog

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

• Previews from the new Blammo and Mary Todd paper dolls from Noah Van Sciver

• Some excellent sketches at Splog!, the Sergio Ponchione Lost Objects Gallery blog

• Drawings, sketches, photos from Renee French

• Daily drawings and animation production artwork from Dash Shaw at The Ruined Cast blog

• An old sketch of a... Teletubby?... by Hans Rickheit

• Thematically similar new sketches by Eleanor Davis at her We Be Ouija blog

At his News and/or Head Lice blog, Paul Hornschemeier posted photos of the installation in-progress of the New Chicago Comics exhibit opening this weekend at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Top: Paul & MCA curator Michael Green. Above: Anders Nilsen, Lilli Carré & Green. Not pictured: Jeffrey Brown.

• Very nice Peanuts fan art by Dale O'Flaherty

• This week's "I, Anonymous" spot by Steven Weissman is a doozy; plus Tom Selleck and Daughters of Satan on his Chewing Gum in Church blog (see 'em raw on Flickr)

• A nice celebratory sketch and one hell of a story from Carol Tyler at her Screened-in Porch blog

• "Top News Stories of 2011" for the L.A. Times plus more sketches, portraits and caricatures, with commentary, by Steve Brodner

And more Things to See from the past week:

• Early strips and film reviews by Jason at his Cats Without Dogs blog

• Comics panels at John Hankiewicz's Clip Joint blog

• Sketches by Frank Santoro at the Cold Heat Comics blog

• A 1990 newspaper illo, with commentary, at Richard Sala's Here Lies Richard Sala blog

• Scenes from Columbia by Marco Corona at his Il Canguro Pugilatore blog

• Vintage Jim Flora illustrations, sketches & artwork at the Jim Flora blog

• Nature sketches with running commentary by Debbie Drechsler at her Just Around the Corner blog

• Childhood drawings by Lilli Carré at her Kettle of Fish blog

• More artwork from Mark Kalesniko's forthcoming graphic novel Freeway plus drawings of stylish girls at his blog

• Some 2006 minicomics pages and other updates from Noah Van Sciver

• Yes, Laura Park's to-do lists are exquisitely lettered

• Illustrations at Splog!, the Sergio Ponchione Lost Objects Gallery blog

• Drawings, sketches, photos from Renee French

• A tale of obsession and a pop quiz by Anders Nilsen

• Daily drawings and animation production artwork from Dash Shaw at The Ruined Cast blog

• Hans Rickheit gives us a teaser of the return of Cochlea and Eustachia in the pages of Pood

• Illustration, sketches, 2011 plans from Derek Van Gieson at his These Days I Remain blog

Holiday greetings and other eyeball kicks from our artists:

• Richard Sala presents a gallery of his holiday cards through the years

• Drew Weing and Eleanor Davis present their 2007 holiday card, with a PDF download so you can print it out & assemble the cutouts

• Lilli Carré's animated tribute to A Charlie Brown Christmas (click over to see it in action)

• A charming Majestic Creature holiday strip from Leslie Stein

• Quackers holiday greetings from Josh Simmons & Wendy Chin

• Daily drawings and animation production artwork from Dash Shaw at The Ruined Cast blog

• Bob Fingerman contributes to Comics Alliance's "The 12 Days of Comic Book Christmas"

And more Things to See from the past week:

• Early strips, illustrations, outtakes and film reviews by Jason at his Cats Without Dogs blog

• Steven Weissman's latest stuff on his Chewing Gum in Church blog

• Sketches by Frank Santoro at the Cold Heat Comics blog

• Illustrations, a comic and an animation by Marco Corona at his Il Canguro Pugilatore blog

• Vintage Jim Flora illustrations & artwork at the Jim Flora blog

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

• A continuing series of illustrations at Splog!, the Sergio Ponchione Lost Objects Gallery blog

• Drawings, sketches, photos from Renee French

• Sophie Crumb updates her blog with photos and images from her NYC gallery show

• Sketches, portraits, caricatures, a new PBS video & commentary by Steve Brodner

• More Post-it art by Anders Nilsen

• Pre-birth and post-death from Joe Kimball

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• List: Comic Book Resources begins counting down their Top 100 Comics of 2010. In the first batch:

#87: Prison Pit Book 2 by Johnny Ryan: "Absurd, crude, lewd, funny, entertaining, twelve kinds of wrong, one of the most effed-up books I've ever read. It's burned into my brain and I can't get it out. And I love it." – Chad Nevett

#99: A Drunken Dream and Other Stories by Moto Hagio: "I'd never heard of Moto Hagio until Fantagraphics published this best-of collection of her stories, and it's easy to see why Hagio is one of the queens of shojo manga in Japan. The short story 'Iguana Girl' (about a girl who grows up with her mother treating her like she is an iguana) is strong enough to make you feel like you've gotten your money's worth, but the remaining nine stories are also all excellent to boot." – Greg McElhatton

• List: Dave Ferraro of Comics-and-More ranks Moto Hagio's A Drunken Dream and Other Stories at #6 on his 10 Best Manga of 2010: "Moto Hagio's artwork is stunning.  Her storytelling is fluid, her characters expressive, and her drawings in general are beautifully arranged and look effortless. Each and every one of the ten stories in this 'best of' collection of short stories... are enchanting, full of warmth and wonderful characters, and brimming with emotion. [...] A very necessary project, done right."

• Review: "Uptight #4 is an example of that increasingly-rare animal: a satisfying alt-comic book. [...] It speaks to Crane’s versatility that he can pull off a slice-of-life relationship story and a fable in the same comic book." – Rob Clough, The Comics Journal

• Review: "...[J]ust about the sweetest graphic novel imaginable... it's a lovely, positive collection, with fine drawing and characters that are well worth spending some time with. ...[T]his is a story about people and how they live together and support each other. That kind of story is so vanishingly rare in comics that it should be treasured when we do find it — particularly when it's as lovely and engaging as Castle Waiting." – Andrew Wheeler, The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

• Review: "Deitch's mad brew of semi-psychedelic farce and skewed reality takes the actual (and factual) short-lived tenure of an obscure 1950s-era kiddie-show host as source material and extrapolates a fantastical set of circumstances with humans, demons, not-so-funny animals and other characters — including Deitch himself. Reading this book [The Search for Smilin' Ed] is a wild ride; Deitch's prodigious storytelling talents and graphic craftsmanship keep things moving — and compelling." – Richard Pachter, The Miami Herald

• Plugs: At Comics Comics, Jeet Heer singles out The Artist Himself: A Rand Holmes Retrospective and The Search for Smilin' Ed by Kim Deitch as two recent books deserving of more attention from critics and readers, calling the latter book "a delight not just because it gives us one of Deitch’s most deranged meandering tall tales but also because the whole handsome package was designed to highlight the cohesiveness of Deitch’s world-making project, the way his fictional universe and its large cast make up a single unfolding story."

• Interview (Audio): Anders Nilsen is the guest on the new episode of The Comix Claptrap podcast

• Profile: New York magazine catches up with R. Kikuo Johnson in a new follow-up on a 2005 "ones to watch"-type article

• Feature: At Robot 6, Chris Mautner takes you to "Comics College" with recommendations of how to approach the work of Charles M. Schulz (like which volumes of The Complete Peanuts to start with)

• Opinion: At TIME.com – Techland, Douglas Wolk's "What I'm Grateful For in Comics, 2010" includes "Lots of long-gone creators have been returning to the new-comics trenches, and many of them are as limber and powerful as ever. [...] I... wouldn't have imagined that Joyce Farmer would be doing the best work of her career in 2010, but Special Exits knocked me flat," and "The fact that Jason puts out a book every nine months or so and has a substantical, enthusiastic readership makes me proud of the entire economic structure that makes that possible."

• Coming Attractions: More Douglas Wolk at TIME.com – Techland, this time listing "What We're Looking Forward To in 2011," including Love from the Shadows by Gilbert Hernandez ("the most twisted, perverse book he's ever created, which is saying something. It's lurid, hypersexual, violent, incredibly disturbing, and totally fun") and The Armed Garden and Other Stories by David B. ("gorgeous work, and unlike anything else in contemporary comics")

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago's New Chicago Comics exhibit (mentioned previously), which features  Jeffrey Brown, Lilli Carré, Paul Hornschemeier, and Anders Nilsen, opens to the public on January 8 with a special fancy-pants preview on Friday January 7, 6-10 PM. Advance tickets to the preview event are available here. See what Paul has to say about it here.

Spotlighting a bit more artwork from the GRSF Post-It Show 6 (some previously seen here), among other things.

• Eleanor Davis's "Es vs. Ich" Post-it series at her Doing Fine blog, with preliminary doodles on her We Be Ouija sketch blog

• Anders Nilsen's Post-its at The Monologuist

• Jim Blanchard's portrait of Sterling Hayden as Gen. Jack T. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove (not a Post-it)

• Leslie Stein's "Murmur" from Smoke Signal plus other stuff at her Majestic Creature blog

• Johnny Ryan posted a few of what look to be mostly previously unseen commissions from a few years ago on his Flickr page

• Creepy panels from Joe Kimball

And more Things to See from the past week:

• From Steven Weissman, his latest "I, Anonymous" spots and other things on his Chewing Gum in Church blog, plus sketchbook pages on Flickr

• A new print at John Hankiewicz's Clip Joint blog

• Sketches by Frank Santoro at the Cold Heat Comics blog

• More sketches for Mark Kalesniko's forthcoming graphic novel Freeway (now up for pre-order!) at his blog

• Noah Van Sciver looks back on "Noahism"

• Sketches and strips by Laura Park at her Flickr page

• Illustrations at Splog!, the Sergio Ponchione Lost Objects Gallery blog, and at his Mondobliquo blog

• Drawings, sketches, photos (Domo vs. Slug Girl) from Renee French

• A new illustration and a change of technique by Gipi

• Daily drawings and visual art made from the script of The Social Network by Dash Shaw at The Ruined Cast blog

These Giant Robot Post-It Shows are always drool-enducing, but this year's show enduces an even bigger slobbery accumulation because it's curated by the great Esther Pearl Watson, and her equally-rad spouse Mark Todd. 

If you've somehow missed Post-It Shows 1 through 5, basically these shows collect tiny 3X3" masterpieces on a Post-It note from an array of awesome artists.  Each piece is one-of-a-kind, and cash-and-carry, so hit the ATM on the way to GR2, and maybe bring some cardboard to sandwich your Post-It, if you're fussy about those kinds of things. (I am.)  Oh, and did I mention that each Post-It is only $20 BUCKS???  'Cause, yeah.

It's no surprise that Esther and Mark have collected a calvacade of rad comic artists, including our own: Andrice Arp, Jeffrey Brown, Lilli Carre, Martin Cendreda, Dave Cooper, Jordan Crane, John Cuneo, Eleanor Davis, Jaime Hernandez, Jason T Miles, Anders Nilsen, Jeremy Tinder, Jon Vermilyea, and Steven Weissman.  And there's tons of other artists in the show, as you can probably tell from all the fine print in that graphic above.  (Yeah, $20 bucks for an original Matt Groening?? Get there early, folks.)

Here's a sneak peek at some of the post-its from our fine artists:

Post-It Show 6 at GR2 (2062 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025) runs from December 11 - January 12, 2011, with an opening reception featuring many of the artists taking place from 6:30 - 10:00 pm this Saturday, December 11.  I mentioned each Post-It was only $20 right? You're welcome.

Chicago is a city with a rich comics tradition and next month the city's Museum of Contemporary Art celebrates four current innovators in the medium with a can't-miss gallery exhibit titled New Chicago Comics:

"For the month of January, the MCA presents an exhibition of the work of four young, Chicago-based cartoonists and animators: Jeffrey Brown, Lilli Carré, Paul Hornschemeier, and Anders Nilsen. In their own unique styles each of these artists expands and challenges the conventions of a visual art form for which Chicago continues to be renowned: the comic book."

The exhibit runs January 8-30, 2011. See more information at the MCA website.