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

Mome Vol. 21 - Winter 2011
by various artists; edited by Eric Reynolds

112-page full-color 7" x 9" softcover • $14.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-394-1

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

Our acclaimed art-comics anthology forges into its 6th year with another diverse and wonderful volume full of returning favorites and a few surprises.

On the cover, a detail from Sara Edward-Corbett's haunting, Gorey-esque tale of nocturnally animate objects. Also in this issue: Steven "Ribs" Weissman's freewheeling, sometimes-satirical, sometimes-deeply-weird webcomic "Barack Hussein Obama" (starring the President of the United States and his associates) makes its print debut; Sergio Ponchione provides another full-color prequel story to his acclaimed series Grotesque (translated from its appearance in Italy's Linus magazine); Josh Simmons is back with more "White Rhinoceros" and one of his unparalleled standalone horror stories; Nate Neal takes us back to the world of his graphic novel The Sanctuary; and we welcome Nick Thorburn, cartoonist and frontman of the acclaimed indie bands Unicorns and Islands.

All this plus: a one-pager from Dash Shaw; a blackly comic fable from Jon Adams; a typically trenchant strip from Tom Kaczynski; new chapters of T. Edward Bak's "Wild Man," Derek Van Gieson's "Devil Doll," and Kurt Wolfgang's "Nothing Eve" serials; a dreamlike tale from Lilli Carré; and more autobiographical vignettes by Nicolas Mahler.

Download an EXCLUSIVE 15-page PDF excerpt (2.4 MB) with pages from every contributor.

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

• Heads on poles by John Hankiewicz at his Clip Joint blog and Lilli Carré at her Kettle of Fish blog for an eponymous exhibit at Western Exhibitions in Chicago

• Josh Simmons has several new portfolio sites on the web: illustrations, storyboards, commissions (as above), and a store where you can buy some of his older comics

And more Things to See from the past week:

• A glimpse of Frank Santoro's New Values art show at his Cold Heat Comics blog

• Artwork 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

• Pages finished and in progress from Noah Van Sciver

• Cuteness from Laura Park

• A poster illustration at Splog!, the Sergio Ponchione Lost Objects Gallery blog

• Extremely creepy photos from Renee French

• Reince Priebus by Steve Brodner

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

• Hans Rickheit gives you a reminder to spay or neuter yourself

• New images from Joe Kimball (be fast, sometimes they don't stay up)

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• List: Hypergeek's Edward Kaye names The Best Original Graphic Novels of 2010, including (deep breath):

Werewolves of Montpellier: "Part lycanthropic thriller, part romantic comedy, and part existential drama, all told with Jason’s trademark anthropomorphic characters. The visuals are minimalistic and haunting, and the sparse dialogue is wry and delivered with deadpan execution. It’s one of the best things that Jason has ever written, and he continues to outdo himself with every new story."

Love and Rockets: New Stories #3: "Los Bros Hernandez return for a third volume of New Stories. The stories in this volume are fun, bizarre, wacky, and at times profoundly moving. The brothers have been at this for 28 years now, and are still telling stories brimming with originality, and illustrated in inimitable and unparalleled fashion. A true watermark of the series thus far!"

Prison Pit Book 2: "Johnny Ryan has outdone himself on this one. It's intensely violent, horrific, grotesque, sickening, and just plain fucked up! That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it! You should buy this book and give it to all of your friends that think that comics are for kids. It will make them cry!"

Weathercraft: "I only discovered Jim Woodring this year, on a recommendation. I was so impressed by this enchanting, silent masterpiece that I went out and purchased everything else I could find with his name on it, which as it turns out is surprisingly little. It's a beautiful and spellbinding book, with otherworldy illustrations that take you to another place. It's hard to adequately describe this story, it's really beyond definition, it's better that you just experience it for yourself."

Billy Hazelnuts and the Crazy Bird: "Tony Millionaire gives readers a sequel to 2006's Billy Hazelnuts. It's an all-ages tale about a golem on a quest to reunite a baby bird with its mother. It's a charming and wacky parable of adventure, discovery, and find one's way in the world. A contemporary fairy tale that is perfect adults and children of all ages. Simply enchanting!"

The Troublemakers: "Gilbert Hernandez releases a second volume of this Love & Rockets spin-off series, featuring B-Movies starring Luba's half-sister, Fritz. This fantastic tribute to film noir is sure to please fans of the genre, while serving as a fantastic introduction to L&R. It's a hard-boiled classic, brought to life with Beto's bold and distinctive artwork. Oh, and did I mention the massive boobs?"

• List: Cartoonist Michael DeForge posts his top 15 of 2010, with Joe Daly's Dungeon Quest Book 1 at #3 and Tim Hensley's Wally Gropius at #1 (via Sean T. Collins)

• Review: "It's unlikely I'm telling anyone reading this anything new by suggesting that Lorenzo Mattotti draws like Caruso sang, and that reading this latest work with screenwriter Claudio Piersanti [Stigmata] is at times an assault of exquisite visual pleasure of the kind that makes your whole face sting." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

• Review: "The recently published Destroy All Movies!!!: The Complete Guide to Punks on Film is... over 500 beautiful pages that catalogs films featuring everybody from Richard Hell to Lemmy to Fear; and it certainly earns it’s self-proclaimed title of 'the most dazzlingly insane film reference book of all time.'" – Jason Diamond, The Faster Times

• Review: "'The Carnival' [in Mome Vol. 14] is an exquisitely wrought piece of melancholy fantasy, and a high point in the blossoming career of Lilli Carré, the most poetic of contemporary North American cartoonists. [...] Lilli Carré’s cartooning has reached the point where she makes everything feel integral; one can’t treasure any of a piece without treasuring all of it. And 'The Carnival' is a rare treasure indeed." – Robert Stanley Martin, Pol Culture

• Review: "...[I]f you’re looking for something awesome to read and start the new year off with, pick up Locas and Locas II. You can even check them out from the library but they’re nice to have around, so when you and your friends are having some funny or interesting conversation and you’re like wait, this seems familiar, and then be like, oh yeah Maggie said the same thing." – Chimatli

• Coming Attractions: At The Comics Reporter, Tom Spurgeon has thoughtful commentary regarding our upcoming Carl Barks books

• At TCJ's The Hooded Utilitarian, analysis of sales of original Jaime Hernandez art, with pretty pictures (and graphs)

• New Dame Darcy artwork and other news in her latest blog update

• "The New Earthly Garden" by Eleanor Davis, plus commentary & inspirations

• Fight or Run roughs and a new "Focus Book" mini from Kevin Huizenga

• Two vintage strips from Richard Sala: the first appearance of Judy Drood and "Time Bomb"

• A film poster illustration (to be silkscreened) by Lilli Carré

And more Things to See from the past week:

• A new illustration and news of a new book (I think) from Matthias Lehmann at his Bloc-Notes blog

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

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

• Artwork by Marco Corona at his Il Canguro Pugilatore blog

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

• A painting of Ty Cobb by Jim Blanchard at his Jim's Info Barn blog

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

• New Year's resolutions and other updates from Noah Van Sciver

• The latest sketches from Laura Park

• A strip at Splog!, the Sergio Ponchione Lost Objects Gallery blog, and a teaser from a new strip in Linus at Mondobliquo

• Drawings, sketches, photos from Renee French

• Sketches, portraits, caricatures & commentary (including video) by Steve Brodner

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

• New images from Joe Kimball (be fast, sometimes they don't stay up)

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

Online Commentary & Diversions will return next week. Here's today's:

• List: Lilli Carré's residency at Spudnik Press was selected one of Chicago's Top 5 Solo Exhibitions by Newcity

• Review: "I'm pretty close to having read all of Jason's comics, and each one is so solid and reliable, I'd be perfectly fine with building a house on them — except then it might be hard to read the comics themselves. [...]  I continue to be impressed with Jason's unique and distinctive style, and if anything, he's only gotten better over time. ...[I]t's nice to know that one of my favorite creators is still at the top of his game. Werewolves [of Montpellier] is less a horror story and more a character study, but that's okay by me. Fans of Jason definitely should pick this book up right away, and anyone new to his work will find themselves cursed with a need to read more of his catalog after finishing this one." – Rob McMonigal, Panel Patter

• Interview (Audio): It's a typically informative and entertaining chat between Inkstuds host Robin McConnell and Renee French

• Plug/Contest: "When I saw Destroy All Movies!!!: The Complete Guide to Punks on Film on the bookshelf in the film section of the bookstore where I work, I was smacked all-over nostalgic. One might argue that books like this — big-format subculture guidebooks — are unnecessary now that we mostly all have internet access. Maybe. I still think everyone who coveted Factsheet 5 zine guides when they were young should feel obligated to get a copy of Destroy All Movies!!! for their lonely, floppy-haired nephew in Chilton, Wisconsin." – Matthew Simmons, HTMLGIANT (click through to find out how to win a copy of the book!)

• Plug: "Last week Fantagraphics released an incredibly comprehensive Usagi Yojimbo collection to celebrate the long eared ronin’s 25th Anniversary, and The Blot can’t wait to get his hands on a copy!" – The Blot Says...