FLOG! Entries tagged 'Daniel Clowes'

Cartoonist tunes

mike

The new episode of the Inkstuds podcast is a special treat: an all-music show featuring music by cartoonists. The playlist includes: The Action Suits! Peter Bagge's Can You Imagine?! Al Columbia's The Francies! The mysterious Extravagant Bachelor! The Crumb Family! Archer Prewitt! Chris Ware! Paul Hornschemeier's Arks! Mary Fleener's Wigbillies! And (drum roll)... Blueshammer! Awesome.

Ghost World On Demand

Eric

I'm told that Terry Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes' GHOST WORLD film premiered on your local Movies On Demand channel over Halloween weekend. I don't have a local Movies On Demand channel myself, so I'm not really sure how this works but hopefully you can figure it out yourself. If you've never seen it, you owe it to yourself to, and if you have seen it, you know you're probably due for a repeat viewing.

And the winner is... Grotesque!

mike

Congratulations to Sergio Ponchione, whose Fantagraphics/Coconino "Ignatz" series Grotesque won the Gran Guinigi prize for Best Series at the 2009 Lucca Comics & Games festival! See photos of the ceremony and read Sergio's reaction to the award at his blog (translated).

And further congratulations to Daniel Clowes, winner of Best Long Story for the Italian edition of Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron, and Robert Crumb, acknowledged as Maestro del Fumetto!

David Digs Comix!

LarryR

To promote their blockbuster show "Michelangelo Public & Private" the Seattle Art Museum dug up this miniature Michelangelo and dropped it off at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery last week. We took him on a little tour of Georgetown on Halloween day, where he enjoyed a spooky threesome with GHOST WORLD beauties Enid and Rebecca. Check out his continuing adventures at "Little David's Travelogue."

Daily OCD: 10/30/09

mike

Happy day-before-Halloween — lots of treats in today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Bookmark: And I thought I was thorough! Hats off to Love and Rockets fan blog Love & Maggie, your one stop for comprehensive L&R/Hernandez Bros. link gathering, commentary and more (hat tip to Mike Sterling)

• Profile: Newcity's Beatrice Smigasiewicz talks to Paul Hornschemeier about the conclusion of his Mome serial "Life with Mr. Dangerous" and other topics: “People are routinely surprised to find that in person I joke around all the time and am obsessed with comedy: they think that I must walk around in a constant fog of philosophical conundrums and Weltschmerz.”

• Things to see: It's getting to be time for Giant Robot's annual Post-It Show, with artists such as Johnny Ryan and Tim Hensley revealing their entries

• Things to see: Speaking of Tim, I want this to be a real thing so badly I can feel the flocking on my fingertips

• Things to see: Speaking of Johnny, he reveals that the final (sniff) issue of Nickelodeon magazine includes a strip written by him and drawn by Hector Mumbly (Dave Cooper) — !

• Things to see: At the Jim Flora blog, outtakes from The Curiously Sinister Art of Jim Flora

• ???: Can anyone translate this page for us? It's photos of Thomas Ott seemingly leading some kind of comics workshop, but beyond that I haven't a clue

• Contest: Create a text-only comic, submit it to Doctor Popular, and you could win a copy of Abstract Comics

• Staff: Oh snap! Our own Jason T. Miles is now blogging at Comics Comics. Holy crap that guy can write

• Crass Google pandering: Sasha Gray tells AOL's Asylum that she likes Ghost World (via AOL's Comics Alliance)

Daily OCD: 10/13/09

mike

Holy smokes, there's no shortage of Online Commentary & Diversions today:

• Review: "...Prison Pit... is nothing less than a continuous, no-holds barred, violent assault on the eyes. It is literally one god damned, bloody fight scene after another... The book's genius lies in Ryan's sheer nerve and imagination in setting up these battles; he constantly ups the ante in the most bizarre and inventive ways possible. ... Ryan's love of body functions goes into full gonzo mode here. ...you've got a book where body horror extends far beyond the repulsive into the truly sublime and inspired. ... Despite the gore, or perhaps, because of it, Prison Pit is a fantastic, accomplished work." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

• Review: "Page after page [of The Squirrel Machine] features one of the brothers traversing through some odd, off-kilter landscape, either out in the woods, or, more often, in their home. Between the floorboards and walls seem to exist an endless array of paths and rooms, each cluttered with an endless array of junk, machines and the occasional disturbing, inexplicable oddity. The end result resembles more of an old-style adventure video game than a comic. It's Myst, directed by David Cronenberg." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6 (same link as above)

• Review: "Perhaps what makes West Coast Blues so captivating is how well it highlights the similarities between film and comics, while simultaneously showcasing its own unique ability as a graphic novel to capture the noir aesthetic through word and image. ... Not unlike many noir films, West Coast Blues is replete with car chases, hit-men, drinking, guns, and the occasional salacious scene. All of this is set in Tardi’s straightforward drawing style which is a good fit for the almost matter-of-fact, unsentimental manner in which violence, sex, and life in general are met with during the course of the book." – Sara Cole, PopMatters

• Review: "Most comic strips today, especially those that are humor strips, often avoid topical subjects. Schulz embraced the topics of the era. They may date the strip, but it never leaves them outdated. ... Schulz was also not afraid to carry on-going storylines for several days or in some cases, even a couple of weeks. ... [The Complete Peanuts 1973-1974 ] also features all the favorite subjects like Linus’ annual wait for the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’s trip to Summer camp, and Sally’s letters to Santa Claus. This is why Peanuts is the greatest strip ever!" – Tim Janson, Newsarama

• Review: "Jason seems to delight in building firm plots, only to swiftly tug them out of sync. The resulting offbeat dynamic is punctuated with deadpan verbal, narrative and graphic punch lines, which pin the stories down at the same time that they suggest grander meanings. 'Where am I?' asks a prisoner. 'I think I'll do some gardening,' says a murdered man. 'Which way?' a son asks his father in 'You Are Here' — the heartrending emotional core of the collection [Low Moon] — as they search for his mother on a barren planet. Each line and frame could mean nothing or could mean everything in this quiet, gripping book." – Becky Ferreira, The L Magazine

• Interview: Jason speaks frankly about Low Moon with Becky Ferreira of The L Magazine (different link than above): "Low Moon, the story, wasn't long enough for a book of its own, so I had to include some other stories to fill it out. They were just ideas for shorter stories I had lying around. There wasn't meant to be any thematic unity. Death, I guess, is a repeating theme. People die a lot."

• Interview: Tommy Hill of the Columbia Daily Spectator talks to The Comics Journal assistant editor Kristy Valenti about comics criticism and The Importance of Comics: "I teach my interns that nobody cares about them and their feelings and their dog when they were 8; while their experience and perspective is valuable, it’s just a jumping off point to get at bigger things."

• Plugs: In his Washington Post review of David Small's Stitches, Michael Sims places Daniel Clowes's Ghost World and Megan Kelso's The Squirrel Mother on "the list of powerful works of art in this versatile medium"

• Plug: "You Are There...: More beautiful Jacques Tardi, a seminal work in comics for adults in the French-language market and a first-paragraph mention work for both Tardi and writer Jean-Claude Forest." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

• Plug: "[You Are There] is a strange, wordy, spicy satire, seeing a man struggle to live on the walls surrounding land stolen from him; maybe it's best to see for yourself." - Joe McCulloch, Jog - The Blog (read the rest of his blurb for some interesting background info on the book)

• Events: At his blog, Hans Rickheit reports back from his Squirrel Machine book tour

• History: At Bleeding Cool, Warren Ellis examines the place of Gil Kane's Blackmark in comics history

New Yorker two-fer: Clowes & Xaime

mike

Dan Clowes contributes one part of a three-part cover for the new issue of The New Yorker, with a video explanation wherein the artists and art director Françoise Mouly discuss the concept:

And Jaime Hernandez has an illustration inside (via The Beat):

Daily OCD: 10/1/09

mike

October, when kingdoms rise, and kingdoms fall, but Online Commentary & Diversions goes on and on:

• Review: "If the world of alt-comics feels appealing but intimidatingly vast (what doesn’t these days), MOME is the perfect place to start. ... The volume is thick, slick and printed in what looks like Technicolor. An anthology is only as good as the sensibilities of those who compile it, of course, so it’s worth noting that a subscription of MOME equals four issues per year of work culled from the depths by an outfit that not only has keen vision in such matters, but also a stake in finding the very best. What’s not to trust?" – Molly Young, We Love You So

• Review: "...[Locas II,] the latest collected chunk of the (mis)adventures of locas Maggie and Hopey (and the occasional 'loco,' like Ray, the consort of sexy Frogmouth -- does it seem like a good soap opera yet? -- and their sprawling, recurring cast of compelling, sometimes hard-to-figure supporting characters) all brought me squarely back to Los Angeles. In the 80s. ... But returning to L&R, even sporadically, isn't simply an exercise in nostalgia. ...[W]hat's ultimately compelling about the L&R saga is the way the characters change over the years. ... So it's not just a [madeleine] cookie from our past, but something still fairly warm from the oven." – Mark London Williams, The SF Site: Nexus Graphica

• Review: "There is such a relentlessly fervid, even crazed, sheen to all [Fletcher Hanks's] work, that you can't look away. ... Hanks seemed nearly demon-driven in these stories of constant fighting, killing, betrayal and revenge. The panels are often cramped, and the color schemes are nearly incandescent, and you're not sure whether to liken the rawness of it all -- elastic, rubber-boned physiognomies included -- to listening to a record by Fear, circa 1980, or watching a half-dressed man shouting on the corner." – Mark London Williams, The SF Site: Nexus Graphica (same link as above)

• Review: "Tardi's intricate, cartoony, and beautiful art perfectly expresses Forest's ideas and words. The humorous You Are There masterfully satirizes French society and politics unlike any comic before or since." – Rick Klaw, The SF Site: Nexus Graphica

• Plug: "It always amazes me how [Kevin] Huizenga can take everyday moments, like, in [Ganges #3], trying to get to sleep, and turn them into extravagant, elaborate displays of cartooning genius." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

• Interview: At Comic Book Galaxy, Alan David Doane poses 5 questions to our favorite Associate Publisher, Eric Reynolds

• Profile: "Comics creator Hans Rickheit's new graphic novel, The Squirrel Machine, is a stylish and surreal tale of brothers dabbling in the forbidden unknown. ... He lives in Philadelphia, but his work pulls from the style and antiquity of 19th Century New England. 'The objects, places, and people from that time period in New England grabbed my imagination," Rickheit says. 'I find them visually more interesting than modern trappings, modern buildings. And they're more fun to draw, because they're just so ornate.'" – John Seven, Worcester Magazine

• Profile: Rodger Coleman, inspired by his Little Enid Coleslaw doll from Presspop, waxes appreciative of Dan Clowes, Eightball & Ghost World

• On his blog, Tom Kaczynski takes note of the inclusion of his story "Million Year Boom" from Mome Vol. 11 in The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2009 (along with Mome stories by Olivier Schrauwen and Émile Bravo — don't tell anyone, but they ain't American)

• Things to see: Noah Van Sciver pens a strip about his trip to SPX with John Porcellino for The Beat

Daily OCD: 9/18/09

mike

Befitting a Friday, today's Online Commentary & Diversions is heavy on the latter:

• List: Heeb magazine names Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 1 by Michael Kupperman the #2 comic of the year 5769

• Review: "...[L]ike the rest of Fantagraphics’ spectacular catalogue of books, [Mome] takes some of the most exciting talent around in comics at the moment (both Paul Hornschemeier and Dash Shaw feature in this volume, for example), adds some raw talent that you might not have heard of, and collates it into a cutting-edge anthology. An excellent taster in bite-sized portions for those who want to experiment with a range of sophisticated comics artists without breaking the bank." – Grovel

• Review: "[The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book] has a nice laid-back vibe to it, as Dave and Paul wander into and out of adventures. It's kind of fun to just watch them drive around in Dave's sweet red convertible and look at the scenery. The art has a simple, clean look that retains enough detail to make the setting feel like a real place. And, as I said, it's pretty damn funny. I liked this book and recommend it." – Sandy Bilus, I Love Rob Liefeld

• Reviews: Video blogger Manga Matt looks at Eightball, Bottomless Belly Button, Fred the Clown and Epileptic

• Things to see: The Late Show with Barack Obama, brought to you by Drew Friedman illustrating for The New Republic

• Things to see: At Comics Comics, Dash Shaw reports from his trip to Brazil; on his own blog he provides further proof that he is the most creative book-sketcher-inner (or -onner) in comics

• Things to see: At Covered, Steven Weissman's new version of Superboy #116 makes his previous version suddenly make sense

• Things to see: Tim Kreider illustrates his own (hilarious) column for The New York Times

• Things to see: The masthead for McSweeney's Quarterly #33's "San Francisco Panorama" Sunday-style newspaper sure looks like Clowes to me, and there for sure will be comics by Clowes, Ware and others inside (via The Beat)

46 Million benefit auction update

mike

Here's more info on the "46 Million" art auction benefitting health care reform we mentioned yesterday, from the instigator of the whole shebang, Anders Nilsen. Above, Dan Clowes's contribution (no bids yet?!). Spread the word.

All-star benefit art auction for health care reform

mike

Quoted directly from Paul Hornschemeier's blog:

Inimitable Cartoonist and Fine Human Being Anders Nilsen has pulled together some great artwork for an even greater cause: health care reform. The participating artists are:

John Porcellino, Genevieve Elverum, Chris Ware, Ivan Brunetti, Dan Clowes, Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie), Jeffrey Brown, Paul Hornschemeier, Todd Baxter, Sonnenzimmer Print Studio, Adam Henry, Kevin Huizenga, Jay Ryan (The Bird Machine Print Studio), Lynda Barry, Lilli Carre, David Heatley, Kyle Obriot, Stephen Eichhorn, Buenaventura Press, Sammy Harkham and the organizer, Anders Nilsen.

The proceeds will go to Democracy for America Now, a national advocacy group running television ads to push the Public Option in democratic swing districts and offering support to congressional members who take a stand for the policy.

My art for the auction (from Beasts Volume 2) is here.

And you can (and should) see all the artwork up for auction by searching for 46 Million on eBay.

Daily OCD: 8/11/09

mike

Bring on the Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Interview: Sean T. Collins's series of interviews with Marvel Strange Tales MAX contributors at Marvel.com continues with Peter Bagge: "The Hulk story's about both the Hulk and Bruce Banner trying to cope with their many issues via the use of modern pharmacology, in the form of head pills, Viagra, et cetera. Needless to say, wackiness ensues."

• Interview: And another one from Sean at Marvel.com, this time with Jason: "With the Spider-Man story I pretty much followed the Stan Lee formula of him being a super hero but a screw-up as a private person."

• Interview: In the second part of his talk with Brian Heater at The Daily Cross Hatch, Seth discusses his involvement and design for The Complete Peanuts series: "The design evolves slightly for each decade, but it’s all about subtle change. For example, the end papers change each decade. The color scheme changes each decade, but it’s a very subtle shift."

• List: 1979 Semi-Finalist's "100 Best Comic Book Covers" includes Eightball #23 at #72, Love and Rockets #31 at #39, Love and Rockets #23 at #32, Love and Rockets #5 at #30, Black Hole #2 at #28, Acme Novelty Library #1 at #13, Love and Rockets #1 at #7, and Black Hole #4 at #4

• Review: "Fantagraphics' recent release Abstract Comics, while nicely designed and filled with some fantastic artwork (kudos to editor Andrei Molotiu and the Fantagraphics team), brings up an interesting argument...: at what point do you stop calling something comics and start calling it... well, something else?... I'm not sure there is an answer, but it's an interesting debate. Check out this book and come to your own conclusions." - Paul DeBenedetto, Wednesday's Child

• Review: Comic Book Bin's Leroy Douresseaux examines The Comics Journal #298, calling the Trevor Von Eeden interview "scandalous and provocative," saying R.C. Harvey's "Comicopia" column is "both thoughtful and insightful, the kind of exceptional writing that would normally earn a magazine about comic books an Eisner Award," and overall grading the issue an A-

• Plug: The Star Clipper Blog spotlights Locas II , which they say "is just as classic as the legendary first series."

• Plug: "I can't recommend Johnny [Ryan]'s comics highly enough. They go places no one else would dare and, like all great art, show you something you've always known but never have seen before." - Benjamin Marra

• Things to see: On the Covered blog, Noah Van Sciver takes on Power Pack #23

Daily OCD: 7/28/09

mike

More Online Commentary & Diversions from yesterday, today and last week -- and thus we are caught up:

• Review: Comicdom reviews Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 1 by Michael Kupperman in Greek; Google attempts to translate

• Plug: Certain Fantagraphics employees will be excited to learn that Noel Fielding of The Mighty Boosh is a fan of Daniel Clowes and Eightball, as revealed in Brian Heater's interview at The Daily Cross Hatch

• Plug: "You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation!, the second and final collection of Fletcher Hanks’ Golden Age superhero and adventure comics work, ...is a bunch more bat-shit insane weirdness and violence. Paired with I Shall Destroy All Civilized Planets!, You Shall Die will comprise a complete collection of Hanks’ small but potent body of work." - J. Caleb Mozzocco, Newsarama

• Plug: "Collecting the remainder of material (at least that we know of) by early Golden Age artist Fletcher Hanks, [You Shall Die by Your Own] Evil Creation is pretty much a must-buy for anyone who picked up and enjoyed the first volume, I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets." - Chris Mautner, Robot 6

• Plug: "Both books are really good: Sala’s Delphine is the one that will probably get the most attention since he’s the better known cartoonist, but you really should take the time to track down Sergio Ponchione’s Grotesque. It’s a surreal charmer." - Chris Mautner, Robot 6 (same link as above)

• Plug: "I’m always curious as to what other countries get up to, comics-wise, so I’m a bit eager to check out this collection of Danish comics [From Wonderland with Love]. A quick thumb-through suggests a wide swath of styles." - Chris Mautner, Robot 6 (same link as above)

• Profile: Here's that well-traveled New York Times article on Basil Wolverton

Clowes draws Zwigoff

mike

From Chris Diaz, who went to Dan & Terry's signing at the 14th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival this past weekend.

Last-Minute Clowes/Zwigoff SF signing!

Eric

Earlier this week, we mentioned the Trina Robbins/Brinkley Girls signing taking place at this weekend's Silent Film Fest in San Francisco. Well, comics fans have another reason to head on down, as the Fest has just announced a Daniel Clowes/Terry Zwigoff signing on Sunday, July 12.

The signing will take place after a screening of the W.C. Fields classic, So'’s Your Old Man at approximately 5:15 pm as part of the San Francisco Silent Film festival (admission is by Festival ticket). Zwigoff will also be introducing the film. See HERE for details.

Go HERE for a link to the complete author festival line up with further info.

Daily OCD: 7/7/09

mike

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• List: The Complete Peanuts Vol. 9: 1967-1968 ranks on School Library Journal's "Great Comics for Kids Reading List: Comics That Celebrate America's Cultural Diversity" thanks to the introduction of Franklin

• Review: "Low Moon, the latest collection from this Norwegian-born graphic novelist [Jason], is certainly as funny as his previous books, but the humor is quieter, more mature. It balances the awkward sexuality and cynical humor of a teenage boy with the disillusionment and longing of an old man... Basically, it's been a while since I read a book and thought, 'This is changing the way I think about short fiction.' So, I've been carrying the book around, like a buddy, trying to understand out what makes Low Moon so perfect." - Heidi Broadhead, Publicola

• Review: "You’ll Never Know is, for good or ill, going to elicit a lot of comparisons to Maus... Yet while Tyler’s work... certainly deserves any accolades it receives, it’s a much different book — warmer, more overtly affectionate and more personal to a certain extent as well... Tyler’s art is constantly inventive and alive throughout the book. full of color and energy yet incredibly lyrical and graceful when need be... Tyler has long been a cartoonist’s cartoonist, which basically translates as 'Why is no one paying attention to the awesome stuff Carol Tyler is doing?' Both in subject matter and in delivery, she seems poised to finally break free of that term." - Chris Mautner, Robot 6

• Plug: "Everybody Is Stupid Except For Me and Other Astute Observations: Damn it Peter Bagge, now what am I going to call my autobiography? This is a nice-looking collection of a decade's worth of the master cartoonist's cartoons from Reason magazine. I'm working my way through a preview copy at the moment, but I can personally attest to the first two chapters being pretty great." - J. Caleb Mozzocco, Newsarama

• Plug: "Peter Bagge has become quite the comics pundit in recent years, sounding off on a variety of issues like drugs, gun control and abortion in the pages of Reason magazine. This book [Everybody Is Stupid Except For Me] — love the title, by the way — collects most of them... [I]t’s really funny and you should buy it." - Chris Mautner, Robot 6

• Plug: "Bigger, harder, thicker and better colors. Fantagraphics has decided to repackage Hal Foster’s seminal 'knights and text' once again, this time in a hardcover format [Prince Valiant Vol. 1: 1937-1938] and with improved production values... I was quite surprised how entertaining this strip was back in the day." - Chris Mautner, Robot 6 (same link as above)

• Things to see: On the Covered blog, Steven Weissman has some alternate choices for new Avengers members in re Avengers #221

• Things to see: Guess which one of these convention sketches by Roger Langridge made me laugh out loud, and which one made me think "I've seen that guy at conventions"

• Oddity: At comiXology, Shaenon Garrity suggests some They Might Be Giants as the theme song to Ghost World

Daily OCD: 7/1/09

mike

It's today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me is as combative, iconoclastic, and embittered as its title suggests it would be. It is also smart, thought-provoking, and funny as hell. Disconcertingly, you'll agree with at least half of what [Peter] Bagge says. Then, gratifyingly, you'll realize that everybody is stupid except for you, too." - Tim Heffernan, Esquire

• Review: "There’s a bittersweet quality to You’ll Never Know, C. Tyler’s disarming memoir about attempting to learn what her father went through in World War II... Tyler’s impressive drawings and inks [are] vividly colored in an amazing array of fluidity... You’ll Never Know is so compellingly honest and unself-conscious that it makes its point all the more poignant." - John Hogan, Graphic Novel Reporter

• Review: "Both visually and narratively, [C.] Tyler keeps [the] threads [of You’ll Never Know] nicely wound into an account that carries readers along and shows how various pasts inform the present, how vulnerable parents can be, and how wartime can create minefields later in life. Her gently colored artwork is expressive and goes far to bring eras of the past to life through dress, hairstyles, and dance moves... [T]he story here will touch those who are just realizing that the older people they think they know have their own burdens and secrets." - Francisca Goldsmith, School Library Journal

• Review: "The cruelties, indignities, rebellion, and lack of self-confidence that form the high school experiences of many teens are well captured in [A Mess of Everything]... This is a spot-on portrait of one girl's struggle for intellectual and emotional honesty... [which] will touch teens who themselves have just succeeded in negotiating the mess of learning to be a mature social being." - Francisca Goldsmith, School Library Journal (same link as above)

• Review: Rui Gonçalves of Portuguese blog Crónicas da (e depois da) Califórnia calls Eightball #22 & #23 "the last two issues of the American comic written by one of the most imaginative and schizophrenic creators of comics from the other side of the Atlantic." (Translation help from Google)

• Plug: "As painful as it is to wait a year for new Love and Rockets now that the Hernandez brothers have switched to an annual format, it’ll be worth the wait if each issue is going to be as good as this one [L&R: New Stories #1]. Jaime Hernandez created the best superhero story of 2008 for this issue, and it should be required reading for anyone who reads or creates comics." - Corey Henson, Newsarama

• Interview: I can't wait to listen to the Inkstuds interview with one of the best and most outspoken artists in comics, Mr. Jordan Crane

Daily OCD: 6/30/09

mike

The final Online Commentary & Diversions update for June '09:

• List: CBC Radio's Canada Reads: The Book Club posts the result of their month-long poll to determine "The Top 10 Graphic Novels": Black Hole and Love and Rockets come in at #5 and #6, respectively, with Ghost World and Jimmy Corrigan close runners-up

• Review: "Issue #3 of Jordan Crane's Uptight serves as a wonderful example of just how good pamphlet format comics can be... Uptight #3 delivers 24 pages of beautifully focused storytelling... If you like Crane's work or simply want to try something a little different, do go out and buy this. Uptight represents everything single issue comics should be but so very rarely are. Fact is, we need more comics like this, so vote with your wallets and support the fine folks at Fantagraphics..." - Matthew Dick, Exquisite Things

• Review/Profile: "...[Boody Rogers's] command of dream-state narrative logic and language-mangling dialogue remains unnerving and uproarious in about equal measure... Now comes the Fantagraphics edition of Boody: The Bizarre Comics of Boody Rogers — a 144-page whopper, rich in humor and dreamlike oddities..." - Michael H. Price of the Fort Worth Business Press recounts meeting Rogers in the 1980s and also reviews Rogers's memoir, Homeless Bound

• Review: "For his latest... book [Low Moon], Jason has decided to try something a bit different... In attempting to stretch himself, though, he offers some of his weakest work to date, but some of his strongest and emotionally wrenching as well... Longtime readers... will definitely want to pick it up..." - Chris Mautner, Robot 6

• Review: "The temptation is to shut up and let Hal Foster's panels speak for themselves... Designed by Adam Grano, Prince Valiant [Vol. 1:] 1937-1938 is a beautiful book." - Steve Duin, The Oregonian

• Plug: "Literally jam-packed with strips that constantly vary in sizes, [Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 1] shines with [Michael] Kupperman's earth-shattering wit, his excellent vintage-comics-inspired draftsmanship and his genius comedic timing. Thanks Fantagraphics!" - Librarie D+Q

• Plug: "You'll Never Know [Book 1: A Good and Decent Man] by C. Tyler arrived this week... it is funny, moving, sad -- highly recommended." - Librarie D+Q

• Plug: "Dash Shaw = emotional psychedelic genius." - i want to spend the rest of my life everywhere, with everyone, one to one, always, forever, now.

• Plug: "The Comics Journal #298: Man, only two issues until the big Siege of Asgard prelude." - Jog - The Blog

• Plug: "The Comics Journal #298: Lotsa good interviews in this issue... For me though, the meat of the issue is the wealth of daily Skippy strips by Percy Crosby reproduced in the gallery section." - Chris Mautner, Robot 6

• Interview: Publishers Weekly has a Q&A with Peter Bagge about his new collection Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me. Money quote: "I could have taken the Doonesbury route and pandered to my fellow libertarians by pretending I (and they) had all the answers, but that would have been both too easy and dishonest."

• Interview: Newsarama's Zack Smith talks to Sam's Strip creators Mort Walker and Jerry Dumas about the creation of the strip and the new Fantagraphics collection. Sample quote from Walker: "You always put something personal in every strip, so it’s wonderful to see all these old strips again."

• Charity: ComicList reports that Jaime Hernandez will participate in Comic Book Legal Defense Fund fundraising at Comic Con with an autograph card and original art auction

• Oddity: What does Popeye have in common with Michael Jackson? Well, now they're both subjects of Jeff Koons artwork, according to this Reuters story

• Oddity: Did you hear about the former Drawn & Quarterly intern who attempted to navigate a handmade houseboat named the Velvet Glove Cast in Iron down the Mississippi River?

Daily OCD: 6/19/09

mike

Sweet mercy, I'm finally up to date on Online Commentary & Diversions!

• List: Graphic Novel Reporter names You'll Never Know Book 1: A Good and Decent Man by C. Tyler ("gorgeous... beautifully illustrated") and the Abstract Comics anthology ("a visual experience unlike any other... a magical, wonderful trip") to their list of "The Hottest Graphic Novels of Summer 2009," in the nonfiction category

• List/Review: "Shouldn't we build a monument of some kind to John Benson? He is responsible for some of the best research, compiling and editing of comics history. [Confessions, Romances, Secrets & Temptations] is... full of excellent and sometimes quite eccentric interviews with St. John romance cartoonists and writers. An indispensible peek inside the industry and its characters." - Dan Nadel's "current favorite books about comics history," Comics Comics

• Review: "...Fletcher Hanks comes across as a villainous sort in his own bylined book [You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation!] — a vessel of combined artistry and wrath, whose published legacy is as nightmarish as it is brilliant. The art reproductions capture vividly both Hanks’ aggressive drawing style and the garish colors of the original Depression-into-wartime publications." - Michael H. Price, Fort Worth Business Press

• Review: "[Peter Bagge's] Reason features... add up to a splendidly funny-and-angry new book called Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me... Bagge rejects party-line herd-following in order to raise a uniquely sane voice among political cartoonists... [He is] one terrific cartoonist, with a keen constancy of purpose." - Michael H. Price, Fort Worth Business Press

• Preview: "It's no secret why Michael Kupperman is a favorite of Robert Smigel and Conan O'Brien — he's one of the most weirdly funny writers around... Tales Designed to Thrizzle is the dirtiest, funniest comic book to come out in a long time." - New York Magazine presents an exclusive 8-page excerpt from Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 1

• Profile: The Parsons Institute Illustration Department blog Words & Pictures catches up with alum John Kerschbaum

• Events: Say hi to Roger Langridge at Heroes Con this weekend and by all means buy a Fred the Clown book from him

• Things to see: Italian blog Nuvole Parlanti looks at some of the album cover art of Daniel Clowes

• Things to see: A new batch of sketchbook comics from Anders Nilsen; also, congrats to Anders for winning a blue ribbon at the New York Book Fair for his Odyssey book cover illustration

Daily OCD: 6/11/09

mike

The Online Commentary & Diversions never end:

• Review: "The Alack Sinner stories are an accomplished example of crime fiction in comics, but that's not all they are." - Robert Stanley Martin, Pol Culture

• List: "I would recommend the Love and Rockets series by Jaime Hernandez. I liked seeing the progression and development of the series (it was started in the 80s). The art is fantastic and H.O.P.P.E.R.S. stands as a complete world unto itself." - Jillian Tamaki, on CBC Radio's Canada Reads: The Book Club "Top 10 Graphic Novels"

• List: "Ghost World by Daniel Clowes [is p]robably one of the most haunting comics about the quiet frustrations of teenage life I've ever read."- Mariko Tamaki, on CBC Radio's Canada Reads: The Book Club "Top 10 Graphic Novels" (same link as above)

• Interview: The Portland Mercury has a brief Q&A with Jason. Sample quote: "Everybody likes zombies, I guess."

• Profile: Elaine Raines of the Arizona Daily Star recounts a 1963 visit to the newspaper paid by Bill Mauldin

• History: Irwin Chusid notes that yesterday was the 66th anniversary of the opening of Jim Flora's first NYC gallery exhibit

• Feature: For Largehearted Boy, Paul Hornschemeier details his musical playlist for Mother, Come Home and discusses the graphic novel's creation. Sample quote: "But stories you need to tell have weird claws. They make their way back up to the front of your skull, or wherever it is in there that gets the most attention."