Get it? Statuettes of R. Crumb's Mr. Natural, hand-carved from sandstone by artisans in Bali, now available from The Official R. Crumb Gallery. Garden gnome hat not included. (Via Boing Boing.)

(For cheaper Mr. Natural thrills, The Book of Mr. Natural hardcover edition is only 12 bucks during our 3-day Inventory Reduction Sale!)

I just read over at The Comics Reporter that the next issue of the great underground comix zine Mineshaft is coming soon. The issue features new work by R. Crumb and a host of others (see above), and cover art by Pat Moriarity, no stranger to suggestive covers with several of our Tijuana Bibles volumes under his belt. Go, subscribe!

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "First off: a round of applause to Kim Thompson for his translation of The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec. The French title of the first volume translates literally as 'Adele and the Beast,' and that was the title of the previous American version (20 years or so ago) — but 'Pterror over Paris' is way funnier, and in line with the overheated, not entirely serious style of this book. ...[T]his is really charming stuff... and it's super-fun." – Douglas Wolk, TIME/Techland

• Review: "This is a powerful tale about creativity, morality, verity and above all, responsibility which demands that the reader work for his reward. As an exploration of imagination it is subtly enticing, but as an examination of Mankind’s unchanging primal nature The Sanctuary is pitilessly honest. Abstract, symbolic, metaphorical yet gloriously approachable, this devastatingly clever saga is a 'must-see' for any serious fan of comics and every student of the human condition." – Win Wiacek, Now Read This!

• Review: "In collecting all the (mostly) non-Locas, non-Palomar odds’n'ends from the initial run of Love and Rockets from both Gilbert and Jaime — and Mario too, the 'sometimes Y' to Beto and Xaime’s AEIOU — Amor y Cohetes reinforces [a particular] conception of the brothers’ working relationship. It’s not one-upsmanship, it’s not trading eights, it’s more a matter of pulling from a collective pool of ideas about comics." – Sean T. Collins, Attentiondeficitdisorderly

• Interview: For the L.A. Times Hero Complex blog, Deborah Vankin talks to Robert Crumb (actually an outtake from a slightly longer Crumb interview done for a feature on Joyce Farmer running in the print version of the Times soon): "Maybe I’m less angry. I don’t know. Actually, I’m not less angry. When I go back to America, after a few days I am once again filled with this kind of angry alienation and disgust with this thing there that America has got — you have no idea how pervasive it is there. The public relations and propaganda put out by the corporate mono-culture there is so pervasive."

Look what just turned up: a handful of copies of the first hardcover edition of The Complete Crumb Comics Vol. 11: Mr. Natural Committed to a Mental Institution! This means that we now have all 3 editions of this volume in stock and available to order: the original hardcover, the deluxe signed hardcover, and the 2008 softcover reprint. Quantities are very limited so act fast if you want it.

As part of our warehouse move, we've stumbled across a tiny cache of hardcover editions of the COMPLETE CRUMB COMICS VOLUME 11, first editions complete with signed plates. Even though the REGULAR hardcovers, which have long been sold out too, are selling for north of $100 from on-line stores we're offering these signed ones (only one per customer!) for the original $75 price. What a bargain!

We also found some signed plates for COMPLETE CRUMB VOLUME 10, and can thus once again offer this hardcover for $75. (The only other signed hardcover still in stock is COMPLETE CRUMB VOLUME 6.)

There are VERY FEW of these left, so we'd encourage anyone who wants to buy them to call us at 1-800-657-1100 muy pronto. Trust snail mail or even the website's 24-hour turnaround and you may be S.O.L.

In the spirit of the Covered blog comes Repaneled, with artists interpreting their favorite comics panels, such as Robert Goodin's version of Johnny Craig, top, and James Ward Edward Clark's version of R. Crumb, above. Give it a bookmark, and we'll be bringing you future entries by and of Fantagraphics artists in future Things to See posts.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "The real reason to read Lucky in Love, of course, is DeStefano's art, which is intensely expressive and cartoony, among his best work, with fabulous panel designs, wonderful grotesque characters, and amazing energy throughout." – Andrew Wheeler, The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

• Review: "The Book of Mr. Natural by the legendary and infamous... R. Crumb is a gorgeous mini-coffee table comic book published by Fantagraphic Books. [...] This book is for Mr. Natural’s legions of cult followers, 60’s believers, as well as new and younger readers who can hack the raunchy non-PC wisdom the guru ejaculates." – Phil Semler, San Francisco Book Review

• Review: "Culled from the output of postcard self-publisher and Wisconsin native Norman Pettingill, this triumphant collection of outsider art offers an insider view of a world that most viewers of the work probably won’t enter. Pettingill’s concern was with the insular existence of backwoods hunters, from their lodges to their excursions, pulling humor from the grotesque and bawdy elements in a style that mixes the works of cartoonists like Basil Wolverton and Harvey Kurtzman, and the sweeping tapestries of Hieronymous Bosch. Satire abounds, but no matter how ugly it gets, it’s never vicious — this weirdness is all part of the landscape of Pettingill’s life." – John E. Mitchell, North Adams Transcript

• Interview: Comic Book Resources' Shaun Manning has a thought-provoking chat with our own Kim Thompson about his translation projects, including our recent Jacques Tardi books and the upcoming Milo Manara collections for Dark Horse: "Generally, my core belief is that you have to betray the source material to remain faithful. The Italians have the phrase, 'Traduttori, Traditori,' meaning, 'translators, traitors,' which most would read as an insult but I read as sound advice."

• Interview in the Future: Drew Friedman will be the guest on Bob Andelman's Mr. Media show on BlogTalkRadio on October 4 at 11 AM (not sure what time zone) — start prepping your questions for the call-in session!

At his blog, Drew Friedman wishes Robert Crumb a happy 67th birthday with a selection of his favorite Crumb work and his cover illustration for The Life & Times of R. Crumb. Happy birthday Bob, and congratulations for picking up the Harvey Award for Best Artist over the weekend.

Periodic clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources:

• Bleeding Cool presents this R. Crumb sketch which was printed on the front page of Brazilian newspaper O Globo

• Bob Fingerman depicts "Another Day in Hell"

• Two unpublished Jason pages: a gag strip starring "D.V." and an aborted Poe adaptation

• This week's "I, Anonymous" spot by Steven Weissman 

• This week's Maakies by Tony Millionaire (still on Facebook while his new website is being built — if that last link doesn't work try this)

• New Mome contributor D.J. Bryant has a strip in this week's issue of The Stranger — it's not online so I took a snap of it

• Looks like maybe a new Cold Heat page from Frank Santoro? Also figures in conflict

• I don't usually editorialize here but Phineas X. Jones's version of Usagi Yojimbo #36 at Covered is awesome

• Drew Weing's Set to Sea pages 122 & 123

• A partial scan (with color checker card) of an unpublished 1954 Jim Flora woodcut print, Sheffield Island

• Debbie Drechsler draws skinks

• Paul Hornschemeier's latest t-shirt design for his Forlorn Funnies Shirt Shop

• Josh Simmons & Wendy Chin bring us Quackers vs. Buzzers, Quackers vs. Pony Cheetah, & Quacker loves Bunny; also from Josh, these scary guys

• Renee French draws a portrait of Tim Kreider; also these sketches and this photo

• Steve Brodner's animated take on Charlie Rangel

• A new Truth Serum strip by Jon Adams

• Ray Fenwick made a t-shirt design for Nike