Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Rip M.D. is like the marriage of Cartoon Network and horror comics (perhaps an EC title or something from Warren Publications), because it is nonsensical and kooky like an old Scooby-Doo cartoon, but also steeped in monsters, both of the supernatural and human variety, like a pre-code horror comic book. The best thing about Rip M.D. is the lead character, Ripley Plimpt. [...] This is the perfect set-up:  a curious, brave kid and a world of monsters. Hopefully, there is more to come, but our first appointment with Rip M.D. is pure fun." – Leroy Douresseaux, Comic Book Bin

• Review: "Fantagraphics' ongoing quarterly anthology continues here in this third edition ... One of the things I like about Mome is that artists can do almost anything, and sometimes do. ... [I]f you are fond of anthologies and like to be on the edge of indie comics while still being given the comfort of a larger publisher who can exert quality control, then pick up a copy of Mome. I'd recommend this one, if you can find it." – Rob McMonigal, Panel Patter

• Review: "A Schulz library favorite and avid patron, Evan Dorkin, recently donated Alex Chun and Jacob Covey’s retrospective book of The Glamor Girls of Don Flowers... This thick beauty of a book features work spanning several decades (1940s-1960s) and Flowers's dual pen and brush captured all the fashion that lied therein. Flowers gained popularity in newspapers for his gorgeous women, their cutting edge fashion and high-class life. Part of the appeal of this strip lies in the fact that just as many jokes are made by women at the expense of men, Flowers made sure of that." – Jen Vaughn, the Schulz Library blog

• Plug: Funnybook Babylon's Jamaal Thomas gives a "Brief Recommendation" to Jason's The Left Bank Gang: "F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce as cartoonists that pull a heist. Go read this now."

• Coming Attractions: Luca Boschi of Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore reports on our forthcoming editions of Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse

Starting with today's Online Commentary & Diversions, some minor formatting changes to hopefully make it easier to scan all that text:

• Review: "Published in the oversize Sunday page format ala the Fantagraphics’ Popeye collection (also, brilliant), Prince Valiant Vol. 1: 1937-1938 collects the earliest of Foster’s tales of the exiled Prince of Thule. ... The colors are warm and vibrant, and the line art pristine. The stories themselves are a delight. ... The art is consistently stunning... each page is spectacular to behold. ... The strips in Prince Valiant Vol. 1: 1937-1938 are merely the first installment of a massive, groundbreaking, and thoroughly exciting adventure saga that was better than nearly anything during its time, and remains better than nearly anything on the shelves today." – Michael C. Lorah, Newsarama

• Plug: On Twitter, The Believer calls Dash Shaw's animated IFC.com web series The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D. "eye-meltingly lovely"

• Plug: "Fantagraphics is so cool. If I won the lottery I’d buy a copy of everything they stock and build a library to house it all." Thanks, Anika in London!

• Things to see: Comic Book Resources presents a hilarious one-off Peter Bagge strip from Neat Stuff #1 as part of their "Year of Cool Comic Book Moments"

• Things to see: Comicrazys presents a bunch of classic Don Flowers strips (via Mike Lynch)

• Things to see: Sean T. Collins posts a bunch of updates to his awesome David Bowie sketchbook, starting with Jon Vermilyea

• Things to see & buy: Wow, this etching by John Hankiewicz is really something (having done some etchings myself, I know a lot of work went into it), and also for sale

• Things to see & buy: How'd you like a refillable glass water bottle with graphics designed by Ray Fenwick (or one of two other artists)? Faucet Face can make it happen (via Drawn)

• Real estate: If you have $2.9 million, you could own a house that Charles M. Schulz lived in in the 1970s, reports the San Francisco Chronicle (via Comix 411, who breaks the asking price down to 58,000  Complete Peanuts box sets)

THE CLASSIC ART OF CARTOON PIN-UP OPENS SATURDAY, JUNE 28

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