Friday, March 1, 2024

Second Verse, Same As The First – This Week’s Links

March 01, 2024 Philippines , Pinoy 0 Comments

I spent my downtime this week flicking back-and-forth between reading the first volume of Taiyō Matsumoto’s Tokyo These Days, and firsthand accounts of the AI-driven Glaswegian off-brand Willy Wonka™ experience/debacle, and, reader, if there’s a more extreme juxtaposition to be found regarding the making of aht, and bringing creative works into the world, then, well, I don’t want to know about it, but maybe you would like to know about this week’s links, below.

This week’s news.

• Starting the week with news out of last week’s ComicsPRO annual meeting in Pittsburgh, as ICv2 shares the headlines that DC will be answering the pleas of readers and retailers and shifting their new comic book day for periodicals back to Wednesday this summer, while, across the aisle, Marvel Comics will be setting their base cover price (with some fairly extensive caveats) to $3.99 - if you too are just cuckoo for comics distro logistics minutiae, then a round-up of other news items from the meeting can be read at ICv2 here.

• Tiffany Babb announced the recipients of the inaugural Comics Criticism Mini Grant program, with Armaan Babu, Sean Dillon, Lillian Hochwender, Kelly Kanayama, Carrie McClain, Hagai Palevsky, and Tynan Stewart each receiving an award of $250.

• Elsewhere, the Eisner Awards judges - this year comprising Dr. William Foster, Michael T. Gilbert, Karen Green, Alonso Nuñez, Jim Thompson, and Maggie Thompson - announced their choices for this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, with 19 picks, including Kim Deitch, Gary Groth, Keiji Nakazawa, Ron Turner, and Lynn Varley - the full class 0f 2024 inductees can be found here.

• Anime News Network shared the announcement that Skip and Loafer creator, Misaki Takamatsu, and the Afternoon Magazine editorial team, will be donating 10 million Yen to the Ishikawa Prefecture Relief Fund Account, to support recovery efforts, following January’s earthquake in Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula.

• In memoriam, remembering those the world of comics has lost, and news was shared this week of the passing of storied comics artist Ramona Fradon, co-creator of DC’s Metamorpho, who has died at the age of 97 - Steven Ringgenberg’s obituary for Fradon can be read here at TCJ, and tributes from social media can be read on Fradon’s Legacy page.

This week’s reviews.

TCJ

• Brian Nicholson reviews the assured storytelling of Miguel Vila’s Milky Way, translated by Jamie Richards - “How refreshing it is to read a comic that has a few characters it follows and fleshes out adequately, operating at cross-purposes to each other. The barest requirements, really, of dramaturgy or comedic writing, but so often unfulfilled in comics. The desires that motivate our three leads are sexual, emotional and economic by turns; it is the latter vertices of power and insecurity that separate our scenario from fantasy, grounding us in realism.”

• Tegan O'Neil reviews the amenable synthesis of Dave Baker's Mary Tyler MooreHawk - “It’s a dense read. The book alternates between sections of comics and sections of prose, with the purpose of the latter (roughly 100 pages of the book in whole) being to provide gradual context and insight into the former. The comics are often bewilderingly dense, overstuffed with detail, rewarding a deliberate reading speed. The extended prose sequences that buffer the comics also act as a brake, forcing the reader to progress at a more stately pace than they might otherwise.”

 

AIPT

• David Canham reviews the impressive visuals of Christopher Yost, Val Rodrigues, et al’s Unnatural Order #3.

• Justin Harrison reviews the enjoyable violence of Zoe Thorogood’s Hack/Slash: Back to School #3.

• Collier Jennings reviews the compelling villain of Ryan North, Crees Lee, et al’s Giant-Size Fantastic Four #1.

• Nathan Simmons reviews the community focus of Cody Ziglar, Justin Mason, et al’s Spider-Punk: Arms Race #1.

• David Brooke reviews the solid curation of Marvel Comics’ Women of Marvel #1.

 

The Beat

• Steve Baxi reviews the satisfying complexity of Lucy Sullivan’s Barking.

• Jordan Jennings reviews the throwback format of Titan Comics’ The Savage Sword of Conan #1.

• Cy Beltran reviews the enjoyable tension of Leah Williams, Marguerite Sauvage, et al’s Power Girl #6.

• Tim Rooney reviews the pointless denoument of Zeb Wells, John Romita Jr., et al’s The Amazing Spider-Man #44.

 

Broken Frontier

Andy Oliver has reviews of: 

- The subtle sophistication of Caroline Cash’s PeePee-PooPoo #80085. 

- The potent visuals of Lucy Sullivan’s Barking. 

- The lasting impact of Natalie Norris’ Dear Mini: A Graphic Memoir.

 

Four Color Apocalypse

Ryan Carey reviews the finessed authenticity of Blue Delliquanti’s Adversary.

 

The Guardian

Rachel Cooke reviews the expressive richness of Denise Dorrance’s Polar Vortex.

 

History: Reviews of New Books 

Cord A. Scott reviews the excellent insights of Eliot Borenstein’s Marvel Comics in the 1970s: The World Inside Your Head.

 

House to Astonish

Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comics #127, X-Force #49, and Rise of the Powers of X #2.

 

ICv2

Nick Smith reviews the complex situations of Mazie Lovie’s The Lucky Poor.

 

Multiversity Comics

• Matthew Blair reviews the pacing issues of Dan Watters, Sumit Kumar, et al’s The Six Fingers #1.

• Christopher Egan reviews the sloppy narrative of Keryl Brown Ahmed, Tango, et al’s The Jaguar #1.

• Kate Kosturski reviews the thematic construction of Irene Olmo’s I Don’t Want to Be a Mom, translated by Kendra Boileau.

 

Publisher’s Weekly

Have capsule reviews of:

- The transportative energy of Bianca Xunise’s Punk Rock Karaoke.

- The lustrous palette of Jes Wibowo and Cin Wibowo’s Lunar Boy.

- The compassionate explorations of Robin Easter’s Upstaged.

- The spirited suspense of Shawneé Gibbs, Shawnelle Gibbs, and Emily Cannon’s Ghost Roast.

- The fluid vibrancy of Jonah Newman’s Out of Left Field.

- The expressive figures of Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Faith Schaffer’s The Worst Ronin.

- The immersive recollections of Sarah Mai’s Freshman Year.

- The reflective colouring of Adam de Souza’s The Gulf.

 

Xtra Magazine

H Felix Chau Bradley reviews the intimate complexities of Nino Bulling’s Firebugs.

This week’s interviews.

TCJ

Zach Rabiroff interviews Harry Nordlinger about editing Vacuum Decay, living and working in San Francisco (with responses in the comments on this), parodic works and horror, and the post-pandemic comics boom - “So we are on our own, but there still are big companies that we’re at the behest of. There still are gatekeepers that we have to appease and play nice with. If I post something too risqué and my Instagram account gets banned, that's my entire platform. If I don't have Instagram, I don't know what my comic career looks like.”

 

AIPT

Chris Coplan speaks with:

- Sarah Byam about Billi 99, the book’s return via crowdfunding, and collaborating with the late  Tim Sale on the series.

- Nir Levie about Age of Canaan, the myth behind the story, and shifting between creative techniques.

- Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips about The Enfield Gang Massacre, and their ongoing comics partnership.

 

The Beat

• Zack Quaintance talks to James Rose about The Folio Society’s DC: Batman, and selecting the key entries from the chronology of the caped crusader.

• Deanna Destito chats with David Pepose about Space Ghost, the enduring legacy of the source material, and making the revival accessible for new readers.

 

Forbes

Josh Weiss talks to Scott Snyder about White Boat, the mysteries of the ocean, monsters to be found in the depths, and collaborating on the project with Francesco Francavilla.

 

Gizmodo

Zach Rabiroff interviews Ed Brubaker about Where the Body Was, working with longstanding creative partner Sean Phillips, and Agatha Christie inspirations.

 

NPR

Julie Depenbrock talks to Alice Oseman about Heartstopper, the market catching up to reader demand for LGBTQ* stories, and letting younger readers see themselves in narratives.

 

Perspective

Present a Press Association piece speaking with Jenya Polosina and Anna Ivanenko about using comics to document life in Ukraine following the country’s invasion by Russian forces.

 

Publisher’s Weekly

Rob Kirby interviews Maurice Vellekoop about I’m So Glad We’ve Had This Time Together, the decision to pen a memoir, and the challenges inherent in depicting family history.

 

Rappler

Marguerite de Leon talks to Josel Nicolas about Windmills: Bearings, the difference between komiks and comics, and changing up work to broaden your audience.

 

Smash Pages

JK Parkin speaks with Sarah Byam about Billi 99, meeting Tim Sale for the first time and the book’s origins, and the importance of crowdfunding to facilitate the comic’s return.

This week’s features and longreads.

• Here at TCJ, cartoonist Malcy Duff presents a version of the lecture ‘I Don’t Know What I’m Doing’, which discusses the making of the comic The Uncertain Man and his Trusty Steed, and wider thoughts on the practice and process of cartooning - “I also ask you can we truly improvise with materials that we know so well. I draw every day, and I know what a pen is, I know what it does. I know what a comic is, or at least, what it can be… I know thought bubbles, speech bubbles - at least, I think I know them…”

• Also for TCJ, Joe Sacco’s series of visual columns ‘The War On Gaza’ continues, with previous instalments also available to read here.

• For Solrad, Helen Chazan writes on the shifting fortunes of 2D Cloud over the last few years, culminating in their recent refresh and restructuring, and apparent decision to welcome Blaise Larmee back into the fold.

• Shelfdust’s retrospective on Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi’s The Good Asian continues, as Erika Chung writes on the eighth issue of the series, and the thoughts on internalised racism that its narrative ignites.

• SKTCHD’s David Harper writes on the closing down of ShortBox’s publishing arm, and selects some highlights from the back-catalogue of Zainab Akhtar’s recently-ended comics venture.

• Broken Frontier’s Andy Oliver continues a survey of creators left out in the cold by the unfulfilled Tales from the Quarantine crowdfunding campaign, this edition focusing on the responses and support offered by the wider comics community to those affected.

• From the world of open-access academia, The Ohio State University Libraries’ Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum makes available Drawing (In) The Feminine: Bande Dessinée and Women, edited by Margaret C. Flinn, comprising essays that explore the contributions that women have made to the development of the ninth art.

• In Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, Yuliarti Mutiarsih, Sharfina Ghaisani, and Iis Sopiawati present analysis of the modes and styles of humour to be found in Hergé’s The Adventures of Tintin: Red Rackham’s Treasure (see also: the Wikipedia entry for the various expletives of Captain Haddock.)

• In the Journal of Childhood Studies, Julie Spray presents a study on how making comics with children, in this case on the COVID-19 pandemic, can help researchers better understand the stories that young people wish to tell about themselves and their experiences.

• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as Florida got measles, Alabama defined personhood, and impeachment and election season continued.

This week’s audio/visual delights.

• Checking in with a couple of recent meetings of the New York Comics & Picture-Story Symposium, as Ben Katchor hosted a presentation by K.A. Ryan, and follow-up conversation with Gary Groth, on the life and work of Burne Hogarth in the context of McCarthy-era blacklists; and  Bill Kartalopoulos hosted a talk from Paul Kirchner on a career in visual storytelling spanning 5 decades, the ways in which the creative landscape has changed during this time, and the different challenges inherent in commercial and personal work.

• Calvin Reid was joined by James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook for Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come, as they spoke about Ground Zero Book’s new edition of 7 Miles A Second, originally created with David Wojnarowicz, and the additions to be found in this version of the book.

• Change is in the air for SILENCE! As Gary Lactus and The Beast Must Die reconvene to discuss the future of the podcast, but also do the important(ish) work of reviewing new(ish) comic books in the form of Zoe Thorogood’s It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth, and old(ish) comic books that star one Guy Gardner aka Green Lantern aka Red Lantern aka Warrior.

• Brian Hibbs was joined by Ai Weiwei, Gianluca Costantini, and Elettra Stamboulis for the latest meeting of Comix Experience’s Graphic Novel Club, as they discussed the making of Zodiac, telling your story through comics, and feline friends.

• A quartet of Word Balloon visits, as John Siuntres spoke with Josh Trujillo about Blue Beetle and superhero family members; Brian Volk Weiss, Hunter Gorinson, and Melissa Flores about the launch of the toy-spanning Nacelleverse; Pornsak Pichetshote and Jesse Lonergan about Man’s Best and compatible creative energies, and Howard Chaykin about the Time² omnibus and the team behind the book’s journey to print.

• Closing out the week with a selection of Cartoonist Kayfabe #content from Ed Piskor and Jim Rugg as pages were turned on Alex Ross’ Marvels: Epilogue; Denny O’Neil and John Romita Jr’s Amazing Spider-Man #210, Jim Lee and john Byrne’s X-Men #5, and Al Columbia’s Amnesia No. 2.

That is all for this week, more next time, I vow.

The post Second Verse, Same As The First – This Week’s Links appeared first on The Comics Journal.


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