“Here are the female descendants of Wilhelm Busch’s Max and Moritz. Like Busch’s awful boys, it’s impossible not to cheer these two through all their silliness and well-deserved comeuppances.”

Booklist on Kinky & Cosy.

From Robot 6:

Chris Mautner: “You know who’s great? Lewis Trondheim. Trondheim continues to reveal his life to readers on a weekly basis over at his Web site (and the NBM blog), most of which has been collected in his “Little Nothings” series. The lastest book, My Shadow in the Distance, offers more of the same, and such a wonderful same it is.”

Also on Little Nothings, this from Don McPherson at Eyeoncomics:

“This collection of one-page, slice-of-life cartoons are eminently relatable, and the universality of Trondheim’s ‘toons becomes even more apparent when one considers this book is a translation of work originally crafted and presented in French.”

Bookgasm on Ernie Colon’s new Inner Sanctum, says it’s fun if be it predictable…:

“Colón’s art, however, is a pleasure throughout.” —Rod Lott 

Also on Inner Sanctum from Comics Bulletin:

“This book is a hell of a lot of fun, an anthology of wonderfully drawn short tales, all of which amuse and delight and feature terrific artwork. And Ernie Colón’s storytelling chops are still a glory to behold.”

Paste Magazine on Bubbles & Gondola: “7.2. Full of small surprises, pleasurably mopey.”

Stargazing Dog still gets comments, this from Warren Peace:

“It’s really nice to see a book like this get release on American shores, aspiring to neither high artistic statements or in-your-face excitement, but still lodging itself firmly in the heart.”

The Cleveland Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com calls Salvatore 2 a ‘delightful follow up.”

Ernie Colon gets an excellent interview over at Comics Bulletin by Jason Sacks. And Andrew “Captain Comics” Smith over at Scripps Howard News Service has this to say about it:

“[Colon] can scare the pants off you. I highly recommend “Inner Sanctum,” which ought to come with a reinforced belt.”

Smith (same review) also has come around on Salvatore. Where he hated vol.1, now with volume 2:

“An Eventful Crossing” has changed my mind entirely. All the stories are progressing dramatically and are holding my interest, and what I interpreted as inane, random dialogue in the first book has transformed into solid (and funny) characterization. I was wrong to dismiss this book as an artist’s self-indulgence, and hope now to correct my error. “Salvatore” is initially hard to embrace, because it is a story that refuses to conform to expectation and classification. But it’s that very quality that’s making it a unique and entertaining read for me now.”

Gene Ambaum at Unshelved, a site beloved by Librarians, recommends Trondheim’s Little Nothings 4:
“I read everything by Trondheim that’s available in English. But I would have picked this up for the cover alone.”

It is also reviewed at Playback:stl.

Comic Book Resources chooses Rohan at the Louvre as one of 12 to look forward to this year.

“Geary’s historical mysteries always sparkle with clarity, both in the artwork and plot.”

Joe Sutliff Sanders, Teacher Librarian on Geary’s Sacco & Vanzetti

First an interesting factoid: the creator of the Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time show, Pendleton Ward cites Joann Sfar and Dungeon as a strong influence in this interview on USA Today’s Pop Candy column. 

Stargazing Dog is #3 on Panel Patter, #5 on Comics Worth Reading, on the best list of Kuriousity, and #1 on SFSite/Nexus Graphica. 

Catherine Dacey at Manga Critic had this to say of it:

“Perhaps the best compliment I can pay Murakami is to acknowledge just how much Stargazing Dog moved me. Not in a cheap, dog-in-peril sort of way, but in the same way that Vittorio de Sica’s Umberto D. touched me: as a beautiful meditation on the human-canine bond, one that acknowledges the complexity and inequality of that relationship, as well its enduring power. One of 2011′s best new manga.”

Pop Matters reviewed the Opera set we’re offering combining all of P. Craig Russell’s Opera adaptations:

“What Russell also manages to do with these works is to advance the narratives, offering a supremely dramatic graphic rendering, yet still enabling the ‘music’ to come through.”

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reviews the latest Salvatore:

 ”Nicolas De Crecy offers a delightful follow-up to his graphic novel about a lovelorn, fondue-loving dog.” 

Comics Worth Reading chimes in on it:

“It is Salvatore’s journey into temptation when he picks up a hitchhiking beauty that carries this book along. Rich in character and filled with one remarkably strange moment after another, this one is well worth your time.”

Back to the top ten lists: The Onion’s AV Club puts Rick Geary’s Sacco & Vanzetti as #8.

Comics Worth Reading put also Little Nothings 4 in a best 10.

Wow! What a treat between Christmas and New Year’s! Author Duane Swierczynski chooses 3 favorite true crime graphic novels on today’s All Things Considered on the NPR network, heard by millions across the country, and one of them is Rick Geary’s The Terrible Axe-Man of New Orleans!

“For a decade now (sic) Geary has been serving up delightfully grizzly novels… but my favorite is the Terribile Axe-Man of New Orleans.”

Try TWO decades, Duane, but hey we love it! This just ran on the East Coast, you might still be able to catch it on your radio!

See or hear the full review.

First, NPR’s Monkey See put Stargazing Dog in their top list. From the initial review:

“Throughout, the dog remains steadfastly loyal, his expression largely unchanged from the eager, hopelessly-in-love dog-smile you see there on the cover. That’s what Murakami’s getting at: the resiliency of the bond tying us to dogs, and them to us, and how it provides a blissfully uncomplicated comfort amid our increasingly complicated lives.”

Graphic Novel Reporter’s John Hogan puts our Sky Over the Louvre in his bhest of 2011 list: “A beautiful combination of art and story.”

Fearnet puts Geary’s Sacco & Vanzetti on their list: “proves the master of drolly impish cartooning hasn’t lost his touch, as it presents a pair of protagonists (anarchists, no less) strangely sympathetic in their relevancy to today’s world.”

And this latest news: Alan David Doane at Trouble with Comics puts 2 of ours out of his top ten books for 2011! Little Nothings 4 and Geary’s Sacco & Vanzetti.

Here’s what they say On Trondheim’s Little Nothings: “The humor is gentle and understated, full of appreciation for quiet moments, personal reflection, and self-deprecation. While each page could be considered a separate gag the effect is nothing like reading a collection of newspaper strips. Part of the reason is that the author is comfortable with letting a final moment on the page simply exist without ending, leaving you with a quiet smile and not locked in to that beat-beat-pause-punchline form that American comic strips slavishly follow. The book is an extremely easy read. You find moments that will make you think as well as plenty of moments that will make you smile. This isn’t a book that goes for the guffaw but rather the knowing wink. Readers will recognize these Little Nothings as moments that everyone has in their life, but it takes someone like Trondheim make us to realize how much we all should be paying more attention to them.”

 Of course, Little Nothings continues to be a once a week feature on this blog.

They also commented on Geary’s Sacco & Vanzetti: “Any book in Geary’s Murder series (A Treasury of XXth Century Murder or A Treasury of Victorian Murder) would be a great read for any teen or adult interested in historical fiction or true crime stories. His books are always meticulously researched and reported and his writing style is never dry – always lively and engaging. Mistaken identity, false imprisonment, doubt on both sides fill all of Rick’s stories to the point that the reader realizes that maybe they never really can know what truly happened.”

Speaking of Libraries: College & Research Library News also commented on Saco & Vanzetti in their November issue: “With a precise eye for detail and the ability to summarize a complex case with remarkable conciseness, Geary sets the standard for graphic historical narrative.”

TCJ.com is excited about our P. Craig Russell Opera set out this week.

And CBR’s Robot 6 is excited about our announcement of ROHAN AT THE LOUVRE, the next in the Louvre series, being solicited now in comics stores for February release.

For Kinky & Cosy: “Could easily kick Bart Simpson’s butt and love it”

Bubbles & Gondola: “Boast[s] whimsical drawings with surreal, dreamlike plots.”

+ Graphic Novel Reporter has a nice holiday gift guide that can also stand in as a best of 2011.

Stargazing Dog gets another appreciative nod this time from the Smithsonian magazine online.

And Booklist is about to publish this review of it:

“Reading this graphic novel is the emotional equivalent to listening to NPR’s StoryCorps—moving, beautiful, and ultimately heart-wrenching.”

Dungeon  Monstres 3 and 4 get good reviews from Unshelved, a favorite comics blog amongst Librarians, calling the series “a fabulous array of five inter-related graphic novel series.”

“The companionship of Daddy and his dog stands for something that is attainable in our lives — even in an era when so many other dreams are being dashed. No wonder this book resonated so much in its native land.”

Seattle Post Intelligencer on Stargazing Dog

“Geary works his magic once again. This would be an excellent choice for schools and libraries looking for literary graphic novels, for teachers who want to spark discussion of the case, and for any teens looking for an enthralling nonfiction read.”

School Library Journal on Geary’s Sacco & Vanzetti.

TV Personality John Hodgman (The Daily Show) has some nice things to say about our series Dungeon over at Newsarama.

Happy Gobble Gobble.