Friday, June 7, 2024

Give Or Take A Million – This Week’s Links

June 07, 2024 Philippines , Pinoy 0 Comments

It’s another one of those weeks where, after writing the words billion and million more times than you would usually care to, courtesy of this week’s links, below, you figure that maybe just throwing some money at out of print books and artist’s editions isn’t such a big deal, actually, no matter what your accountant might say in increasingly fraught tones, because capitalism is all just imaginary gibberish anyway, and the system will probably collapse before you retire, so go wild - you can’t take it with you.

This week’s news.

• Picking back up with one of last week’s stories, as the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival issued a formal apology for a previously issued statement that banned artist Miriam Libicki from attending any future iterations of the event, due to former service in the Israel Defense Forces, as detailed in graphic memoir Jobnik!, with VanCAF’s most recent statement (in which the festival refers to itself as ‘ramshackle’) giving more information on the conversations had with Libicki about attending this year’s event, in light of Israel’s continued military violence in Gaza, and further stating that “At the time of the first statement VanCAF had no staff and an extremely diminished board. The vast majority of individuals involved in the first statement have since independently resigned, with the remainder staying on to assist in this transition period.”

• Bloomberg reports that investment company Blackstone has acquired a controlling 55.1% stake in digital manga distribution company Infocom, operator of the Mecha Comic app, amongst others, from the Teijin tech group for $1.7 billion, outbidding competing offers from Sony and rival investment firm KKR.

• Elsewhere, Naver Webtoon’s path to listing on the Nasdaq market continues apace, with estimations that the firm could seek to raise $500 million at a valuation of $4 billion for an initial public offering, although the company saw a net loss of $145 million on revenue of $1.28 billion last year, and such valuations are being further complicated by concerns surrounding pressure currently being put upon Naver by the Japanese government over its ownership of LY Corp, which operates the messaging app Line and also owns a large stake in Webtoon, following a massive data breach at the end of last year.

• ICv2 reports that IDW are in the process of raising capital through a private placement of shares, backed by the Jonas family, and IDW CEO Davidi Jonas, to support licensing and general corporate purposes. IDW last year delisted itself from the New York Stock Exchange, and laid off nearly 40% of its workforce, as part of a costs saving exercise.

• Moving away from investments to awards news, it was announced that Roz Chast has been awarded the inaugural Thurber Prize for American Humor in Cartoon Art, and the National Cartoonists Society announced the shortlist for 2023’s Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.

• Finally this week, creator-owned company Ghost Machine and the Joe Kubert School announced the launch of the Ghost Machine Future Superstar Scholarship, which will fund tuition and supplies for one third-year student during the 2024-25 semesters.

This week’s reviews.

TCJ

• Tom Shapira reviews the diminishing returns of Alan Grant, John Wagner, and Robin Smith’s The Bogie Man: The Incomplete Case Files - “Smith is an interesting choice as an artist for this project. Not a natural comedy-artist, his extremely well rendered illustrations of Glasgow could come of any straight-faced noir story, which ends up for the best: The joke sells a lot better when the Bogie Man is drawn like he’s a part of a classic mystery while around him people engage in their daily shenanigans.”

• Hagai Palevsky reviews the risky approaches of Beth Hetland’s Tender - “Where Hetland shines is in her sense of heightening. She establishes the visual language of routine — her monochrome colored-pencil purple, her three-tiered pages with neat, uniform gutters between panels — in a manner that is so intuitive that it approaches invisibility, thus ensuring that any break away from this pattern is not only noticed but glaring.”

 

AIPT

• Kevin Clark reviews the engaging horror of Christofer Emgård and Tomás Aira’s Beyond the Pale #1.

• Connor Boyd reviews the perfect start of Gerry Duggan, Garry Brown, et al’s Falling in Love on the Path to Hell #1.

• Collier Jennings reviews the weighty action of Jason Aaron, Tom Waltz, Chris Burnham, Gavin Smith, et al’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Alpha #1.

• Chris Coplan reviews the important questions of Peter Milligan, Raül Fernandez, et al’s Profane #1.

• David Brooke reviews the numerous ninjas of Kelly Thompson, Marco Ferrari, et al’s Scarlett #1.

• Jonathan Jones reviews the satisfying conclusions of Marvel Comics’ X-Men #35 / Uncanny X-Men #700.

• Colin Moon reviews the historical legacy of Fantagraphics’ The Complete Web of Horror, edited by Dana Marie Andra.

 

The Beat

• Arpad Okay reviews the compelling weirdness of Rafael Zaiats’ Makinaphobe.

• Zack Quaintance reviews the brilliant concept of Boum’s The Jellyfish, translated by Robin Lang and Helge Dascher.

• Cy Beltran reviews the nuptial fun of Marvel Comics’ X-Men: The Wedding Special #1.

• There’s also a round-up of a jam-packed week for new series starting, as:

  • Clyde Hall reviews the powerful horror of Christofer Emgård and Tomás Aira’s Beyond the Pale #1.
  • Ricardo Serrano Denis reviews the successful transposition of Alex Paknadel, Troy Little, et al’s Cult of Lamb #1.
  • Jordan Jennings reviews the engaging focus of Josh Trujillo, Joshua Cornillion, et al’s Godzilla Rivals: Mothra vs. Hedorah #1.
  • D. Morris reviews the textured details of Darcy Van Poelgeest, Ian Bertram, et al’s Precious Metal #1.
  • Steve Baxi reviews the promising setup of Peter Milligan, Raül Fernandez, et al’s Profane #1.
  • Tim Rooney reviews the hardboiled violence of Jason Aaron, Tom Waltz, Chris Burnham, Gavin Smith, et al’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Alpha #1.

 

Broken Frontier

• Lydia Turner reviews the thoughtful depictions of Elizabeth A. Trembley’s Look Again.

• Lindsay Pereira reviews the confident poignancy of Aminder Dhaliwal’s A Witch’s Guide to Burning.

• Ellie Egleton reviews the vibrant spookiness of Matthew Erman and Shelby Criswell’s Heebie Jeebies.

• Andy Oliver has reviews of:

 

Comic Week

Michael Mazzacane reviews the visual storytelling of Sean Lewis, Valerio Giangiordano, et al’s Monlith #1; and the genre mashing of Erica Schultz, Ze Carlos, et al’s Rat City #1-2.

 

From Cover to Cover

Scott Cederlund reviews the heart-wrenching emotions of Melissa Mendes' The Weight #13 & 14.

 

The Harvard Crimson

Claire C. Swadling reviews the striking structuring of Lynda Barry’s What It Is.

 

House to Astonish

Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #141, Rise of the Powers of X #5, Wolverine #50, Hellverine #1, and X-Men: The Wedding Special #1.

 

Kirkus Reviews

Have starred capsule reviews of:

 

New York Journal of Books

Marissa Moss reviews the emotional honesty of Victoria Ying’s adaptation of Paula Danziger’s Amber Brown is Not a Crayon.

 

Publisher’s Weekly

Have capsule reviews of:

  • The emotional tenderness of Cassandra Calin’s The New Girl.
  • The instant classic of Charles Burns’ Final Cut.

 

Solrad

Ian Cordingley reviews the sharp critique of Ulysse Malassagne’s Kairos, translated by Anne Smith and Owen Smith. 

 

Women Write About Comics

Caitlin Sinclair Chappell reviews the captivating characters of Chip Zdarsky, Kris Anka, et al’s The Whisper Queen: A Blacksand Tale #1.

This week’s interviews.

TCJ

Zach Rabiroff interviews Pure Folly Books’ Edward Uvanni about the store’s closure and shifting to an online model, realities of the contemporary retail rental market, and the predatory nature of mainstream comics marketing - “We're in late-stage capitalism. Everything is being drained. It's tough, especially if you're a small business, because margins are going down, shipping is going up. Back-issue prices are on the decline. After a couple years of highs, foot traffic is down for a lot of folks. I know that some stores are seeing pretty serious declines in sales, even if they're not talking about it publicly. It's going on.”

 

AIPT

• David Brooke chats with Alec Robbins and Kit Wallis about High on Life, the relationship of the comic to its video game source material, and current reading tastes.

• Chris Coplan speaks with Jim Starlin about Breed and creator copyright considerations, Darcy Van Poelgeest about Precious Metal and making comics by feel, and Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson about Vampirella: Dark Reflections and affinities for the character.

 

The Beat

Diego Higuera talks to Mac McClintock and Patrick McEvoy about Gorgo Legacy, the joys of giant monsters and the history of the creature, and the book’s Cold War setting.

 

BingUNews

Eric Coker chats with Karen Moy about Mary Worth, the title character as the linchpin of a wider cast, and the path from medical advertising to comic strip writer.

 

Broken Frontier

• Ellie Egleton interviews Michael Avon Oeming about William of Newbury, reader reactions to the book, comics career advice, and comics in the classroom.

• Katriona Chapman talks to Tim Bird about Adrift on a Painted Sea, distancing yourself from reality using visual metaphor, and varied meanings of the sea.

 

Print

Steven Heller speaks with The Norman Rockwell Museum’s Stephanie Plunkett and guest curator Steve Brodner about the new ‘What, Me Worry? The Art and Humor of MAD Magazine’ exhibition.

This week’s features and longreads.

• Here at TCJ, Eric Reynolds writes in remembrance of comics scholar and former Comics Journal News Editor John Francis Ronan, who passed away last month at the age of 62 - “John’s anti-authoritarian streak often got him into trouble. In that same parking lot where the dumpster was, John was known to defiantly park in the Chancellor’s personal parking spot. Why? Because (to paraphrase John) UCI is a public university, created for the proletariat for the higher knowledge and advancement of our great civilization. Everyone should have equal access to property, which is really everyone's property. He truly believed that he had just as much right to park in that spot as the Chancellor. Eventually, his car was booted and towed.”

• Also for TCJ, Andrew Farago writes in remembrance of Latino Comix Expo co-founder Ricardo Padilla, who passed away in April at the age of 57 - “The first Latino Comics Expo took place at the Cartoon Art Museum May 7-8, 2011, and was truly a family affair, with Rosalind and Sophia’s tireless efforts proving essential to the event’s success. (Ricardo’s beloved mother, Hermila, would join in the following year, catering the event herself to ensure that every artist and volunteer could enjoy an authentic, home-cooked Mexican meal while at the museum.)”

• A Spanish language version of the above is also available here, courtesy of Jose 'Kuseh' Iturriaga and Guido-Visión.

• A first-time link source, for me, at least, as Men’s Health provide their guide to comics, including a cavalcade of comics creators’ reading recommendations, and essay from Chris Claremont on the need for consequences in superhero stories, and a piece from William Goodman on the character of Hank Pym and superhero comics’ narrative history of violence against women.

• For the Los Angeles Times, Bethanne Patrick profiles the late Harlan Ellison, visiting Ellison’s former home with J. Michael Straczynski, literary executor of Ellison’s estate, to speak about the author’s legacy and upcoming reprinted works.

• Shelfdust returns from a brief hiatus, as Steve Morris writes on Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber’s Superman: Leviathan Rising Special #1, kicking off a chain of pieces on Superman’s best mate, Jimmy Olsen.

• Over at From Cover to Cover, Scott Cederlund writes on the return of Miracleman, as Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham reach The Silver Age, continuing superhero comics’ contemporary deconstructionist tradition.

• From the world of open-access academia, for Revista Española de Estudios Norteamericanos, co-editors Marica Orrù and Anna Marta Marini present the second part of a two-part dossier of papers and essays on the traditions of superhero narratives and how modern interpretations subvert these, with 2023’s first part of the dossier also available here.

• Paul O’Brien’s cataloguing of the villains of Daredevil continues, for House to Astonish, as, this edition, Nighthawk is definitely not Batman for any of DC’s copyright lawyers in the audience.

• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as Donald Trump’s 34 felony convictions made history and headlines.

This week’s audio/visual delights.

• David Harper welcomed Jim Starlin to this week’s edition of Off Panel, as they discussed the return of Breed, approaches to storytelling, picking your publishers, and maintaining motivation.

• Mangasplaining returned for a mini-episode, as Christopher Woodrow-Butcher spoke with American Library Association’s Graphic Novel and Comics Roundtable President Robin Brenner about promoting manga in libraries.

• Calvin Reid was joined by Eddie Ahn for the latest episode of Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come, as they spoke about Advocate: A Graphic Memoir of Family, Community, and the Fight for Environmental Justice, environmental activism, and developing your cartooning skills.

No more links this week, so maybe I’ll go and ask for all my savings to be cashed out in the form of mercury dimes and finally make that Scrooge McDuck swimming pool fantasy a reality.

The post Give Or Take A Million – This Week’s Links appeared first on The Comics Journal.


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