A relatively quiet edition of this week’s links, as most of the comics-based press and PR machinery in North America is currently focused on east coast happenings, with this year’s edition of New York Comic Con, but there’s still plenty enough to tide us over until we find out just what’s to occur in the biggest of apples.
Going for a walk with my buddies
This week’s news.
• Continuing the recent theme of news stories that involve the closure of an app and proximity to webtoon and infinite scroll platforms, as it was announced that Marvel Unlimited will be shutting down after nearly two decades of service, replaced next month by the imaginatively titled Marvel Comics app, which will be operated by Webtoon as part of its partnership deal with Disney – Webtoon’s share price is still markedly down since its partnership with the House of Mouse was announced last year, and the company is currently pursuing various avenues of AI integration with its platform.
• In memoriam, remembering those the world of comics has lost, as news was shared this week of the passing of writer/artist Matt Howarth, creator of Those Annoying Post Bros and Savage Henry, amongst many others, who has died at the age of 72.
Hey LA, next month is Heavy Manners Comics Fair! October 17th and 18th, featuring over 40 artists spread across two days. It’ll be an indie comics paradise. See ya there!
This week’s reviews.
• Tom Shapira reviews the shallow suffering of Garth Ennis, Becky Cloonan, et al’s The War— “It’s the feel-bad comic of the year. It’s undoubtedly powerful. And yet … “powerful” isn’t the same as “good.” Getting punched in the gut is powerful; I still wouldn’t advise it. Certainly not over and over again.The Waris powerful because it touches on stuff that is immediate and raw. Its fears are ripped from the headlines — the possibility of a nuclear war, that kind from which there is no escape and even the survivors would envy the dead.”
• Helen Chazan reviews the ominous details of Lily Thu Fierro and Generoso Fierro’s The Interpretant— “The Interpretantis a challenging work of comics that asks us to consider our world, ourselves, and each other, the language we use, our very perceptions. As a story and as an aesthetic experience, readers are encouraged to enter a state of contemplation away from yet deeply within the expectations of narrative. At its core,The Interpretantis not so much a revelation as it is a story about revelations, of communication after isolation, of speaking to each other, of speaking to ourselves.”
• Jonathan Waugh reviews the dark surprises of Benjamin Percy, Kev Walker, et al’s Midnight Fantastic Four #1.
• Collier Jennings reviews the gruesome spin of Phillip Kennedy Johnson, ScieTronc, et al’s Midnight Spider-Man #1.
• David Brooke reviews the striking visuals of Mike Mignola, Cyrille Pomès, et al’s Hellboy in Hell: Nothing but Blood #1.
• Chris Coplan reviews the fresh ideas of Matt Bors, Felipe Sobreiro, et al’s The Toxic Avenger vs. The Noxious Offender #1.
• Kevin Clark reviews the mixed successes of Matt Kindt, Alison Sampson, Brian Hurtt, David Lapham, et al’s Flux House Presents #1.
• Robert Reed reviews the forgettable humour of Mike Costa, Brian Kolek, Ryan Browne, et al’s Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre Presents: The Kaiju of Oz #1.
• Jon Osia Scorfina reviews the wise concision of Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco’s Requiem for Gaza.
• Sarah Boslaugh reviews the astounding variety of Abrams ComicArts’ The Simpsons Comic Strip Cavalcade.
Matt Ledgerreviewsthe expert tuning of Michael Walsh et al’sJonah Hex and the Shadow of Death #1,and the packed plotting of James Harren et al’sThe Demon #1.
Vasudevan Mukunth reviews the true collaboration of Felix Cheon, Ritwick Roy, and Riddhi Trivedi’sA Mild Case of Mass Hysteria.
Paul O’Brien hascapsule reviewsof Marvel Comics’DNX#2, X-Men #38, Fantastic Four #17, Uncanny X-Men #38, Tomb of Apocalypse #2, Gambit: Wanted #3,andAlien vs X-Men #1.
Killian Fox reviews the unexpected gravitas ofI Can’t Stop Thinking About Horses and Sex.
• LB Bryant reviews the strong start of River Slan’s Dungeon Elf: What’s a Dungeon without Treasure Chests? Volume 1,translated by Alethea Nibley and Athena Nibley.
• Borealis Capps reviews the questionable humour of Bunzaburou Nagano and Shinichi Yuhki’s Let’s Run an Inn on Dungeon Island (In a World Ruled by Women), translated by Jess Leif.
I got to do a cover for Shaolin Cowboy (!!!???!!!)
This week’s interviews.
Madeleine Jubilee Saito interviewsSwati “Lucky” Srikumar and Maia KobabeaboutOpting Out, heavy promotional schedules, the joys of collaboration, and organically infused vibes —“[SLS:] Lots of times I get frustrated because I’m disabled, I’m in pain, and I need to be in bed all day. I had to learn how to handle that frustration and not feel bad about it. Like I said earlier — that grace of like, “Yeah, you’re going through it, bud. I didn’t get it done today, I’m gonna try again tomorrow.” Tension and anxiety don’t really work — I need to give myself the space to breathe and let myself cook.”
• Chris Hassan speaks with Alex Paknadel about X-Men: Incursions, multiversal decay, protagonist decisions, and artistic briefs.
• David Brooke talks to Paul B. Rainey about Murder School, the personal inspirations for the book, the elements of childhood that linger into adulthood, and artistic USPs.
• Chris Coplan chats with Si Spurrier about Rampant Swine, the realities of Arthurian legends, structuring the metre to fit the tale, and interrogating myths.
Sylrgoing history, bringing subplots to the fore, and how perspectives change as one ages
Amaris Ketcham chats withTeresa RobertsonaboutTwins, forty years of illustration, challenging your ingrained artistic style, and the bonds formed by loss.
• Javier Perez talks toCurt PiresaboutLost FantasyandFireborn’supcoming crossover, the challenges of indie superhero comics, and finding new creative collaborators.
•David Cirone speaks with Acme Comics’Jermaine Exum about thirty years of comics retail, the difficulties in predicting direct market demand, and the diversifying markets bringing people into stores.
Amos Barshad interviewsJoe SaccoaboutRequiem for Gaza, personal attachments to Gaza, the visceral nature of the world, and early comics influences.
- Alexandre Fontaine RousseauaboutThe Conquest of the Cosmosand the book’s exhibit origins.
- Humberto AvilaaboutDumb Remindersand expressing personal experiences with disability.
- D.P. Brown and Grant Lankardabout the launch of Comicsburgh and the indie collective’s upcoming slate of releases.
- Ivan BuhancovaboutTeneaand how the creative collaboration with artist Misagi came about.
- Corrina S. BechkoaboutSabrina the Teenage Witchand the enduringly relatable nature of the eponymous character.
- Matt Wagner and Kelley Jonesabout book four ofDraculaand considerations for the story’s conclusion.
- Leeanne M. Krecicabout involvement in theLights Outanthology and history with the source material.
- Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Caitlin Yarsky about Dead Teenagers and the enduring allure of teen horror stories.
Jonathan Sandler talks toEliza FrickeraboutCan’t Not Won’tandCould Try Harder, conveying emotional urgency on the page, and the act of turning the creative lens inwards.
Kimberly Nordyke speaks withJoey Lawrence and Matthew LawrenceaboutThe Lawrence Brothers Detective Agency, the vacation origins of the book, and analog cravings.
Paramita Ghosh interviewsJoe SaccoaboutThe Once and Future Riot, the realities of politics, how the investigation of the Muzaffarnagar riots came about, and getting to the truth of events.
William Brangham speaks withAndrew AydinaboutIslands in the Skyand the work of the Appalachia Comics Project, and filling in the information gap left by the mainstream media.
As part of this year’s Banned Books Week, Eileen AJ Connelly chats with librarian and teacher Jillian Rudes about the increasing trend of manga being banned in school libraries.
Jesse Kavadlo talks toDrew LermanaboutConversations with Don DeLillo, the enigmatic nature of DeLillo, and repeating comic strip structuring.
Christian Holub chats withTodd McFarlaneaboutSpawn, creative longevity, convention panels, and the various links in the chain of the comics industry.
JK Parkin interviewsBen Hatke and Lily Kim QianaboutHome/WorldandUntil We Meet Again, the tug of home and not-home, and getting some miles under your feet.
Gianluca Costantini speaks withSeth TobocmanaboutWorld War 3 Illustrated,a life lived in comics, and experiences on the Lower East Side.
Emilio Cirri talks toSalvador LarrocaaboutIron ManandStar Wars, career beginnings with Marvel Comics, artistic evolutions, and leaving the House of Ideas.
Adam Wescott chats withItaru Kinoshita and Tomoka MatsumuraaboutDinosaur Sanctuary, their creative/editorial relationship, and important dinosaur facts.
South Carolina bridge from memory
This week’s features and longreads.
• Here at TCJ, Frank Kursztejn writes on the work of Jesse Marsh on Dell-Western’s Tarzan and Korak, Son of Tarzan, and the de— “His negation of melodrama can be difficult to examine. Marsh was a famously quick artist. An issue ofTarzan, reportedly, took no longer than a weekend. According to Manning, Marsh did not believe a cartoonist should labor excessively over a single panel, or even a page.”
• For the Nieman Foundation, Andrew Deck reports on the increasing prevalence of cartoons generated by Large Language AI Models to have human cartoonists’ signatures appended to them, speaking with Brendan Loper, Emily Flake, Jason Adam Katzenstein, and Joe Dator about the realities of life for cartoonists in the age of generative AI.
• Tim Schneider writes for The Art Newspaper on the Brookyln Museum’s newly opened “Art of Manga” exhibition, transferring from San Francisco’s de Young Museum, and the ways in which the exhibition is engaging with creators, fans, and publishers.
• Shelfdust’s Steve Morris continues tripping the Plastic Fantastic, as Jack Cole’s Police Comics #2 continues the introduction of Plastic Man to the world, and some big conceptual swings bring with them some big misses in the form of 1940s racism.
• For the Hindustan Times, Tanisha Saxena shares a selection of comics recommendations from authors Harsho Mohan Chattoraj, Sarnath Banerjee, Sumit Bardhan, Nidhi Arora, Orijit Sen, and Debjyoti Bhattacharya.
• A week anew brings with it a Mindless Ones newsletter, as alternate dimension comics from the hypermind of Grant Morrison are considered, while the physical dimensionality of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen is the next item to be Suggested for Mature Readers.
• From the world of open-access academia, a trio of recent pieces from the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, as Chang-Huei Ge considers the reconfiguration of monstrosity in modern gourmet fantasy manga, Jacob Hyde examines Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta’s The Visionthrough the lens of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice,and Claudia Stern presents a study on Chilean cartoonist Pepo’s comic strip Condorito and its appropriateness as an historical document.
• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as questions were asked of President Donald Trump’s seemingly diminishing cult of personality, war on the pillars of a free and fair society, and military withdrawal from the United Kingdom.
This week’s audio/visual delights.
• Ben Katchor hosted the latest meeting of the New York Comics and Picture-Story Symposium, as Jason Shaffer, author of Performing Patriotism: National Identity in the Colonial and Revolutionary American Theater, shared a presentation on the cartooning work of David Claypoole Johnston, and the cross-influencing between Johnston and George Cruikshank.
• The return of Inkstuds continues, as Robin McConnell spoke with Dash Shaw about Like Swimmersand Blurry, differences between filmmaking and comicsmaking, use of thought bubbles, and the comics colouring archetype that Like Swimmersembodies.
• Checking back in with Publisher’s Weekly’sMore to Come, as Heidi MacDonald returned from last month’s Small Press Expo, having walked the halls and spoken with Paul B. Rainey about Murder School,Arizona O’Neill about Opioids & Organs, and Steve Lafler about 1956.
• Brian Hibbs convened the Comix Experience Graphic Novel Club once more, as Mark Mosedale and Si Smith joined proceedings to speak about Gigs, the clear path to making comics, engaging with the community and reading habits, and creative processes.
• Closing out the week with a trio of Virtual Memories Show episodes, as Gil Roth talked to Emil Wilson about The Nightingales and the visual style of the book, Alison Fensterstock and Michael Tisserand about Bunny Matthews: His Life, Art, and Obsessions and the indelible cultural connection between Matthews and New Orleans, and Karl Christian Krumpholz about In The City and not having the City be a specific city.
No more links this week, the seasons are a-changing, so it’s time to remember where the electric blanket was stored away back in spring.
