Four top artists discuss the history of cartooning, illustration, and caricature as well as their respective careers, in a compendium complemented by a previously unpublished interview with Hugo Pratt and essays on graphic historical fiction. Original.

The third in The Comics Journal's series of oversized coffe-table volumes, this lush collection of art, comics and commentary kicks off with a gigantic, career-spanning interview with legendary illustrator (and cover artist) William Stout, complete with copious illustrations and paintings. There's also an extensive appreciation of the cartoon work of noted humorist James Thurber (including a gallery of Thurber cartoons and a four-page comics tribute by Ivan Brunetti), Paul Gravett's remembrance of the seminal British indy-comix magazine Escape (complete with new strips drawn just for this volume by many of that magazine's noted cartoonists), critical appreciations of numerous fine cartoonists (Lynda Barry, Tom Hart, Michael Kaluta, and more) by the cream of our best critics — and, as if that weren't enough, a 70-page comics section on the theme of "patriotism," with contributions by Joe Sacco, Phoebe Gloeckner, Bill Griffith, Megan Kelso, Peter Bledvag, Carol Swain, Gilbert Shelton, Penny Van Horn, Ho Che Anderson and many, many more!

This Comics Journal Special Edition spotlights master cartoonist Jim Woodring with a spectacular cover painting, two essays on the artist's oeuvre by Donald Phelps and Kenneth Smith, and a new interview. Text-and-art features include an appreciation of the cartoonist W. E. Hill by Zippy creator Bill Griffith (with many examples of Hill's gorgeous tabloid-sized Sunday pages in full color) and Timothy Kreider on B. Kliban.Our comics section's theme this volume is "Cartoonists on Music and Musicians" including many of the greatest names in cartooning today: Mary Fleener, Roger Langridge, Peter Bagge, Penny Van Horn, Spain, Ron Rege, Al Columbia, Jordan Crane, Steven Weissman, Diane Noomin, Megan Kelso, Gerald Jablonski, Justin Green, Mark Kalesniko, Carol Lay, Blanquet, Sam Henderson, Phoebe Gloeckner, Tony Millionaire, Michael Kupperman, John Porcellino, R. Crumb, Bill Griffith, Arnold Roth, David Mazzucchelli, Ivan Brunetti, Matt Groening, C. Tyler, John Kerschbaum, Sherri Flenniken, Richard Sala, Rick Geary, Mack White, and Mark Martin. Rockin' good comics!