Let's see what Online Commentary & Diversions popped up over the weekend:

• Review: "Abstract Comics: The Anthology is an impressive collection of old and new work with unique pages covering exactly what the title says... bold... intriguing... This is a book for readers who like fine art or those who would like to expand their sequential art experiences. A hearty slap on the back for Fantagraphics for choosing to create this marvelous example of a widely unknown artistic expression." - Kris Bather, Comic Book Jesus

• Review: "I had always equated [Prince] Valiant with everything that is dull and lifeless and boring and supposedly good for you, but it turns out I was completely and utterly wrong. On the contrary, it's a rip-snorting good time, full of high adventure and thrilling escapades. And Valiant, far from being the schoolmarmish goody two-shoes I imagined him being, is full of piss and vinegar and quite a bloodthirsty young chap, which makes him a good deal more interesting than some of his contemporaries on the comics page." - Chris Mautner, Robot 6

• Review: "Tales Designed to Thrizzle #5, like all the previous issues by Michael Kupperman, did not fail at thrilling or dazzling me." - Brian Cronin, Robot 6 (same link as above)

• Review: "...C. Tyler's You'll Never Know Book One: A Good and Decent Man isn't... much like any other autobio comic I've encountered... It’s a really rather fascinating work, and the longer one thinks about it, the more important and universal it seems to be. On the surface level, of course, it’s an extremely interesting, rather unique story of a couple different life’s stories, and how they overlap, but there plenty of other levels waiting to be discovered and ruminated over. I won’t be at all surprised to see this book taking slots on a lot of best of the year lists in another six months or so." - J. Caleb Mozzocco, Newsarama

• Review: "Don’t think of [The Wolverton Bible] as an exception or a bizarre footnote in religious art but one and maybe the 20th century continuation... By the end of the book, pages after pages of doom and destruction, you realize that Wolverton is maybe the only person to illustrate the The Old Testament and the Book of Revelation -- the most 'savage' books of the bible." - Are You a Serious Comic Book Reader?

• Plug: "Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 1: It's the collection of the first four issues of Michael Kupperman's hilarious series, now in color! This stuff is comedy gold, so get it if you haven't read it already, and hell, spend the extra money to see the non-monochromatic version if you want." - Matthew J. Brady

• Plug (?): Robot 6's Chris Mautner proposes Ti-Girls and Snake 'n' Bacon action figures. I'd buy 'em!

• Preview: Comics And... Other Imaginary Tales gives thumbs up to two of our upcoming releases: Captain Easy Vol. 1: Solidier of Fortune by Roy Crane and Like a Dog by Zak Sally (both previewed here)

• Interview: The Comics Reporter's Tom Spurgeon talks to Trina Robbins about about the genesis and assembling of The Brinkley Girls: The Best of Nell Brinkley's Cartoons 1913-1940: "It's really great to have The Brinkley Girls, and I was pleased when Robbins agreed to answer some questions about it."

• Events: Jared Gardner reports from a panel he moderated with Arnold Roth, Mort Walker and Brian Walker as part of the celebration of the merger of the International Museum of Cartoon Art with Ohio State University's Cartoon Library and Museum, adding that Jean Schulz has set up a matching grant to raise needed funds for the combined museum to move into a new permanent home

• Oddity: At Guttergeek, Chris Reilly interviews himself: "I actually am a big fan of Michael Kupperman and Eric Reynolds from Fantagraphics just sent me a copy of the hardcover Tales Designated to Thrizzle Vol. 1 and I would like to conduct this interview by commenting on the quotes of this book – would that be cool?" Um, 'kay...

• Things to see: Two more classic Michael Jackson illustrations from Drew Friedman

A double batch of Online Commentary & Diversions:

• List: Bdzoom reports that l'Association des Critiques et journalistes de Bande Dessinée (ACBD) has placed Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw on their summer reading shortlist (there's Tardi on there too)

• Review: "Nell Brinkley was an icon for several generations of women... The art [in The Brinkley Girls] has been beautifully restored, a task that must have been pure torture given the density of Brinkley's drawings and that sophisticated color work. My hat's off to whoever did that fabulous job." - Allan Holtz, Stripper's Guide

• Review: "At one point in her comic-style memoir [You'll Never Know Book 1: A Good and Decent Man], Carol [Tyler] talks to us directly and says, 'The war was never really buried under tons of mental concrete. Rather, it was an active shaper of life, affecting moods and outcomes ... more than anyone ever knew.' Indeed. This is an important and deeply spiritual contribution to American culture." - David Crumm, Read the Spirit

• Review: "[You'll Never Know Book 1: A Good and Decent Man] is not your blood and guts portrayal of a ruthless soldier but rather an investigation into the emotional costs that war has on the combatant and the family that they sire, presenting a familiar story of the 'greatest generation' in an unfamiliar way." - Quentin Williams, two.one.five Magazine

• Review: "...Supermen! [is] a beautifully designed volume of early American comics... The edition is both aesthetically pleasing and sturdy, featuring clarified reprinting of the colour strips, covers, and scattered elements of advertisements and back matter." - Michael Leader, Den of Geek

• Review: "[West Coast Blues] is everything you would expect from a suspense thriller... Visually the comic book is also great. It's everything you would expect from Tardi... I don't believe that anybody else than him would have been able to visually translate Manchette's novel so well. It's like they worked together and that the comic book is the original material. Bottom line, this is another great comic book by Tardi. If you have never read anything by him you should. Luckily for North American readers, Fantagraphics announced that they that they were going to translate Tardi's work starting this fall." - Patrick Bérubé, Comic Book Bin

• Review: "You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation!... gathers all the remaining material that the alcoholic, abusive [Fletcher] Hanks did during his brief tenure as a comic book creator in the late 1930s and early 40s... [T]here’s still plenty of weird and wonderful tales to delight and disturb... [and] there are panels here that are rather stunning in their ability to create tension and drama... The work remains strange, powerful, funny, terrifying and yes, at times beautiful..." - Chris Mautner, Robot 6 (be sure to read the comments for an important clarification from editor Paul Karasik)

• Review: "Fans of Norwegian cult comics star Jason are in for something of a treat with Low Moon... what we have here are five stories, each of which would’ve previously warranted a collection in its own right, delivered together in one delicious hamper of Jason goodness... There’s never been a better time, then, to jump aboard the Jason train... This is as essential as comics gets." - Bookmunch

• Review: "It’s hard to think of a modern cartoonist with a more recognizable drawing style than Norway’s Jason... But Jason’s storytelling is just as distinctive as his drawing style... [and] the artist’s narrative approach has grown more adventurous over the years. Jason’s latest collection, Low Moon, is evidence of this trend... The reader, meanwhile, just lapses into a giddy comics coma." - Casey Jarman, Willamette Week

• Preview: Previews posts 7 pages from Low Moon. Have we mentioned it's in stores today?

• Preview: Action Yes throws a big spotlight on Abstract Comics with "A Quick Introduction to Abstract Comics" by Tim Gaze; several excerpts from the anthology, including part of editor Andrei Molotiu's introduction; and new comics (one, two) from Molotiu; not only that, the same issue includes new visual poetry from our very own Nico Vassilakis

• Interview: Brian Heater of The Daily Cross Hatch concludes his 2-part chat with "the visionary" Jason. Sample quote: "I worked in a furniture factory for nine months... I really hated it. So I went to art school instead. Turned out to be not that much of a difference, of course."

• Interview: The hosts of The Comix Claptrap podcast "talk comics shop and try to get LA gossip from talented cartoonist, John Pham, of Sublife, Kramers Ergot 7 and Mome fame"

• Plug: At The Geek Curmudgeon Rick Klaw says "I've been eagerly awaiting" the new Fletcher Hanks collection You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation!; previously, of Prince Valiant Vol. 1: 1937-1938 he simply says "WOW!"

• Plug: In addition to the previously linked online excerpt, New York Magazine also drops Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 1 by Michael Kupperman into the "Lowbrow/Brilliant" quadrant of their "Approval Matrix" in the print edition

• Plug: "Low Moon: It’s the latest from Jason. Or, in other words, it’s one of this week’s absolute must-reads." - J. Caleb Mozzocco, Newsarama

• Plug: "Pick of the week: Low Moon... [B]y this point Jason has proven himself to be one of the stellar talents in Fantagraphics' roster (which is really saying something, by the way) and this collection of short stories... should likely only cement that reputation as the artist plays with such traditional genres as the Western, film noir, and alien abductions. All offered with the usual dollops of sardonic humor and heartfelt sympathy." - Chris Mautner, Robot 6

• Plug: "Jason is sly and brilliant. [Low Moon] is highly recommended." - Corey Blake

• Plug: "Low Moon: New Jason, from Fantagraphics. All I need to know... This guy's a treasure." - Jog - The Blog

• Plug: John Jakala of Sporadic Sequential takes us to task for the smaller trim size of Luba vs. Palomar, but concedes "the smaller size is actually easier to handle when reading. OK, you win this round, Fantagraphics"

• Events: Publishers Weekly reports on the panels at the 2009 MoCCA Festival, including the Humbug panel with Al Jaffee & Arnold Roth and Paul Karasik's Fletcher Hanks presentation

• Speaking of whom: Paul Karasik posts an all-too-rare blog entry, this time on the sequential storytelling of Renaissance master Giotto

• Things to see: Richard Sala unearths an alternate, unused cover for Peculia and the Groon Grove Vampires

• Things to see: A new batch of sketchbookery from Anders Nilsen

Still catching up with Online Commentary & Diversions. There's more, but I'm out of time, so more catch-up tomorrow!

• Review: "The backbone of the family, and also its Achilles heel, Luba is a larger-than-life personality who jumps off every page, whether she's the focus of the segment or just a background player. [Gilbert] Hernandez collects over 100 stories here, ranging from graphic novellas to single-page episodes, with his usual dizzying cocktail of sexual intrigue, humor and soap opera-style angst." - Publishers Weekly (Starred Review - near end of page)

• Review: "[You'll Never Know Book 1] becomes a meditation on how the 'art' of our lives, its story, is found all around us, if we but pay attention... [R]ecommended... [and] illuminating." - Mark London Williams, The SF Site: Nexus Graphica

• Review: "There are two excellent interviews in the back of [Blazing Combat]... The interviews are part of what makes the comic so fascinating. Of course, it wouldn’t matter if the stories weren’t good, and they are... [Archie] Goodwin does a fine job keeping each story fresh and even getting into the heads of the characters... It’s a testament to Goodwin’s ability that he manages to write 28 (generally) anti-war stories, but never feels like he’s simply repeating himself... The art helps the book shine, as well... There’s not a poorly-illustrated story in the entire book, and some are eerily beautiful... These are both excellent comics and fascinating historical documents, and Blazing Combat is totally worth a read." - Greg Burgas, Comic Book Resources

• Review: "...[T]here’s an undercurrent in this anthology [Boody: The Bizarre Comics of Boody Rogers] that points to something curious and bizarre that’s worth the same sort of glance as a fake freak in a smarmy sideshow." - the johnandjanaverse

• Profile: Publishers Weekly talks to Trina Robbins about editing our "luscious" collection The Brinkley Girls: The Best of Nell Brinkley's Cartoons from 1913-1940. Sample quote: "It's just fascinating to me that you can open your dictionary and go to G and find Gibson Girls but you can't find Brinkley Girls under B."

• Profile: I don't think I would have guessed that Joost Swarte was influenced by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, but so says he: The Walrus spotlights Swarte, who provides a cover illustration for the current issue, and whose long-gestating Fantagraphics collection Modern Swarte is still in the works

• Interview: Zak Sally professes a longstanding crush on Maggie & Hopey in a Q&A with Minnesota Reads

• Interview: At Newsarama, Zack Smith enjoys a lengthy chat with Jules Feiffer (and breaks the news to him that Explainers is nominated for an Eisner Award... oops, sorry Jules)

• List: Moolies posts his/her (?) "Top 10 graphic novels," including Safe Area Gorazde by Joe Sacco ("It's truly appalling reading, and the reason is because he's such a great artist, and a great listener too"), Peter Bagge's Buddy Bradley saga ("There's so much painful and embarrassing truth in Bagge's work, and it's carried along by a sharp, wisecracking sense of humour"), and Love and Rockets ("A stunning, extraordinary, even feminist (or humanist) body of work... It's always a joy, and I'm so glad they're still writing these stories")

• Plug: "We should all learn about Nell Brinkley in college. So if you’re currently in college, go check out The Brinkley Girls already. And if you’re out of college already, well go check it out anyway, because everyone seriously needs to see this book—Brinkley was that good." - J. Caleb Mozzocco, Newsarama

• Plug: "As fans of art and cool things in general we are thankful to a friend who sent us the following link to: The Brinkley Girls: The Best of Nell Brinkley's Cartoons from 1913-1940, edited by Trina Robbins... Nell was an amazing illustrator." - The GIV Family Blog

• Plug: Joakim Gunnarsson raves about the "fantastic" black & white edition of Prince Valiant Vol. 1, with photos

• Plug: Comic Book Junkie takes note of our video previews on YouTube (which are also visible, alongside extensive photo previews, in our Flickr stream)

• Plug: Annika in London recommends Leah Hayes's "beautiful book" Funeral of the Heart for the second time

• Plug: 999 spotlights Jason's Low Moon and, according to the Google translation from Spanish, calls us "blithe kids"

• Things to see: Airforce Amazons illustrates a blog post of topical world events with a two-page spread from Joe Sacco's Safe Area Gorazde

• Things to see: Friedman (Drew) does Ferrell (Will) for the NY Observer

Your Online Commentary & Diversions return from a short vacation. More catch-up tomorrow.

• Review: "[C.] Tyler’s fluid, expressive linework, complemented by subtly overlaid watercolors, gives ideal visual expression to a narrative that’s at once sensitive and hard-nosed. [You'll Never Know, Book 1] is Tyler’s first book-length effort, but decades of drawing mostly autobiographical stories have honed her skills, enabling her to produce a work that ranks in quality with the graphic memoirs of Alison Bechdel (Fun Home) and Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis)." - Gordon Flagg, Booklist (Starred Review; no link)

• Review: "Norwegian-French cartoonist Jason’s new book [Low Moon] is the first premiered in hardcover in the U.S. and contains his most minimally formatted stories... If you’re into genre fiction, have a sense of humor but no time for condescension, and haven’t encountered Jason yet, wait no longer." - Ray Olson, Booklist (Starred Review; no link)

• Review: "This is the best thing I have ever been sent to review. I didn't think that this book would ever exist but now it does and it'd better than I could have imagined... The eleven issues of Humbug are faithfully reprinted in this two-volume hardcover set and it comes in a fancy and sturdy box. The magazines were funny and beautiful with art by Will Elder and Jack Davis and some other folks. If you don't buy this book then I don't want to know you... There is no excuse for not buying this right now. Sell your hair, blood, or skin to get it." - Nick Gazin, Vice

• Review: "Luba encompasses everything a turn-of-the-21st-century graphic novel should be: paraliterary or lowbrow tropes of comics, pornography, soap opera, blended seamlessly with a highbrow literary accomplishment of pathos and familial history. It is as profane as it is dense. Almost postmodern in its self-reference... and frequently silly in its blatant cartoonishness, Luba is surreal and bizarre and arousing and gut-wrenching and hilarious." - Dusty Horn, CarnalNation

• Review: "If you grew up 'different'... you’ll find a lot that’s familiar in A Mess of Everything. [Miss] Lasko-Gross is close enough to this material to keep it particular – she avoids the sweeping gesture and the grand statement at all times – and distanced enough from it to see it as part of her past, fodder for stories rather than a raw wound. It’s a fine book from a very talented creator, and I expect we’ll see much more from Miss Lasko-Gross as the years go on." - Andrew Wheeler, ComicMix

• Review: "...[Miss Lasko-Gross] displays... subtlety and balance in her portrayal of her teen-age years... [I]n its portrayal of the importance and tenuous nature of teenage friendships, [A Mess of Everything] glows with sharp recognition." - Chris Mautner, Robot 6

• Review: "One title I haven't been able to put down is The Brinkley Girls: The Best of Nell Brinkley's Cartoons from 1913-1940, edited by Trina Robbins... I was blown away by what I discovered within these pages... The images are sexy, glamorous, colorful -- Brinkley clearly appreciated and understood her subjects, and some of her work made me feel as if I were stepping right into the flapper era." - Whitney Matheson, USA Today Pop Candy

• Review: "[Uptight #3] is very very good... The plot [of 'Vicissitude'] is a bitter little thing, steeped in infidelity, alcohol, career dissatisfaction, hints of class self-consciousness, and frustration with the path your life has taken -- like a Pulp song, almost.... Crane's Sam and Jack stories unfold like the pipes and vents upon which this tale centers: they bend and twist and wind in comically baroque ways, yet Crane's control of his visuals and the story's tone are so self-assured that it all seems completely logical, like a mind consciously built it this way and if you have a little faith, it'll work like it's supposed to." - Sean T. Collins

• Review: "Just a quick mention of what may turn out to be my favorite damn cover of 2009... check out Uptight issue #3..." - Blair Butler, G4 Fresh Ink Online (video; review starts around 1:34)

• Plug: "Jason is really one of the best cartoonists at work today, and you should check out this reading." - Paul Constant, The Stranger, recommending last Saturday's appearance by Jason at our Seattle bookstore

• Interview: Brian Heater of The Daily Cross Hatch got some face time for a Q&A with Jason at the 2009 MoCCA Festival. Sample quote: "I think it’s fun to bring different genres together and try to bring in something new, to see it from a new angle, that it’s a bit more than just a pastiche."

• Interview: "Frankly, I think it's a losing game to try to generalize about the relationship between biography and literature." - Chris Ware, interviewed by Joan Luna at 13 Milliones de Naves (translation from Google)

• Preview: ICv2 takes a peek at our upcoming collection Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons

• Preview: The Geek Curmudgeon looks forward to From Wonderland with Love: Danish Comics in the Third Millennium 

• Events: Zane Austin Grant of PopMatters reports from the "Ah, Humbug!" panel with Al Jaffee and Arnold Roth at the 2009 MoCCA Festival

• Things to see: At Truthout.org, a Drew Friedman illustration from Time illustrates a Bill Maher editorial from the Los Angeles Times

• Staff news: Fantagraphics warehouse manager and noted practitioner of visual poetry Nico Vassilakis has a new book, Protracted Type, which can be purchased or downloaded here

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."

All 30 copies of Luba: Collectors Edition are spoken for. The Gilbert Hernandez sketch above is in copy #2/30, owned by Ty Buttars, a.k.a. Twitter user grendel33, who shared this snapshot on Twitpic. If you've received your copy, we'd love to see your sketch too -- post it somewhere on the web and let us know in a comment here!

The regular edition of Luba is, of course, still available.

Online Commentary & Diversions returns (probably) Tuesday next week, as your humble correspondent travels to and from the MoCCA Festival. Fortunately, looks like things are quiet out there (as I doom myself saying that):

• Review: "[Luba] seems more and more like a great book every time I pick it up. I guess I shouldn't be surprised... It's going to be until the end of the year before I can attempt a bigger piece on the book... I feel I can wait that six months before a summary statement because there won't be many works in this calendar year better than this one, and if there [are] I'll be so happy I won't care... For now I just want people to know how good it is and remind folks that it's out there. It's a good read, too... It's going to be a good year spent in this book's company." - Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

• Review: "To say they don’t make them like this anymore is a gross understatement... [The Brinkley Girls: The Best of Nell Brinkley's Cartoons 1913-1940] is a very welcome introduction to an artist whose skills need to be seen to be believed, and an even more welcome reminder that newspapers used to offer readers a lot more than just news and commentary — they also used to offer honest-to-God fine art." - J. Caleb Mozzocco, Las Vegas Weekly

If you're one of the first 10 people who ordered the exclusive Luba: Collectors Edition (signed, numbered, and sketched in by Gilbert Hernandez, with a special deluxe cloth binding), your copy is on its way to you this week. Gilbert is sending them back to us in batches of 10, so the next 10 orders will go out as soon as we get the next shipment from him. Only 30 copies exist and they are nearly all spoken for, so if you've been on the fence about ordering it, get off that fence and make your order now! It's the ultimate collectible for the elite Beto fan, available ONLY direct from Fantagraphics.

600-page black & white 7" x 10.25" hardcover • $100.00
SOLD OUT

Today's hot batch of Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "...[T]he furtive griminess that Jason wrings from his stock character designs is impressive to behold... [Y]ou'll enjoy any number of his typical moments of storytelling grace..." - otherwise Tom Spurgeon is unfortunately somewhat sparing in praise for Jason's Low Moon at The Comics Reporter

• Review: "Miss [Lasko-Gross]' previous book, Escape from 'Special,' launched her fearless plan to produce an autobiographical trilogy. [A] Mess [of Everything] tackles the high-school years, which involve mean girls, mean boys and plenty of awkward social situations. Each anecdote is super-short with cringeworthy dialogue that you'll identify with and will remind you of how fortunate you are to have lived through that rough period." - Whitney Matheson, "Three Graphic Novels You Should Read Immediately," USA Today Pop Candy

• Review: "I’ve read some crazy comix, and while he won’t scare you under the sheets like S. Clay Wilson, [John] Kerschbaum can be as raw as R. Crumb, Peter Bagge, and [Johnny] Ryan, who may be his closest comix cousins... No fan of adult funny animal comics (like Fritz the Cat) will want to miss Petey & Pussy... Petey & Pussy is some funny shit." - Leroy Douresseaux, Comic Book Bin

• Interview: The Pull List podcast talks to Bob Fingerman about his latest releases, including Connective Tissue

• Plug: Jeet Heer gives a nice shout-out to Humbug ("amazing") in this interview on the topic of "Cartoon Conservativism" (worth reading in its own right) with Inside Higher Ed

• Plug: "I’m really looking forward to [You'll Never Know Book 1: A Good and Decent Man by C. Tyler]: a graphic memoir and family drama exploring the person we try to present to the world, and reality." - Corey Blake

• Plug: "Fantagraphics is shortly to publish a new edition of Prince Valiant, Hal Foster's legendary, Golden Age comic strip of knights, swashbuckling, romance and chivalry... Foster's artwork is amazing. Foster was an exceptional talent in an era of exceptional talents."  - OK Erok

• Plug: "The fifth issue of Tales Designed to Thrizzle is in and it's even weirder than the last one. See aliens give a bloke sexy lady legs! Twain plus Einstein plus enraged badger! Hobo fashion! If you've not read any of Michael Kupperman's stuff before now's yer chance..." - Gosh! Comics

• Analysis: The following academic journal article contains discussion of Daniel Clowes and especially the Hernandez Brothers: "Artif[r]acture: Virulent Pictures, Graphic Narrative, and the Ideology of the Visual." Mosaic: Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature 28.4 (December 1995): 79-109 by William A. Nericcio (link courtesy the author, via Facebook)

• Events: This Portland art show at Guapo Comics & Coffee features Andrice Arp and lots more local talent

• Things to see: Conan O'Brien by Drew Friedman, for the NY Observer. Freckles, liver spots; tomato, tomahto

• Things to see: Hairy Green Eyeball presents a Vaughn Bodé "Cheech Wizard" story