
Derik A. Badman (please tell me that's not a nom de plume!) lists
The Seven Pleasures of Reading Comics. Unlike
the usual lists of this ilk, this is one that you could use to convince your parents/lovers/professors of the artistic value of four color floppies.

Has
Craig Thompson's Carnet De Voyage opened the door to a new breed of American comics: the travelogue? According to
The Comics Reporter's interview with French Milk author/artist Lucy Knisley, it has. Oh, and in the very last paragraph of the interview, Knisley drops a hint as to the untapped genre door she plans to kick open: the cooking comic.

Over in the NYTimes, Douglas Wolk (author of last year's esteemed
Reading Comics)
has a nice write up of two new Hernandez Bros. comics --
The Education of Hopey Glass and
Love & Rockets New Stories Vol. 1. Bonus gift tip: If you have a special someone embarking upon a career in the teaching profession, get them
The Education of Hopey Glass, a.s.a.p.! They'll thank you for it.