Friday, June 28, 2024

The Sun is a Wondrous Body – This Week’s Links

June 28, 2024 Philippines , Pinoy 0 Comments

It’s heatwave and hay fever season, but the links just keep coming, no matter how hot a laptop might get, or how much pollen may be streaming in through open windows, so please enjoy this week’s selection, below, brought to you by the heady combination of antihistamines and foot baths filled with ice cubes.

This week’s news.

• Starting this week on the stock exchange, as digital comics platform Webtoon Entertainment made its debut on the Nasdaq after setting its market value at $2.67 billion, putting 15 million shares up for sale at a price of $21 each, with an overall aim to raise $315 million dollars in this initial public offering.

• Elsewhere, sticking with the world of digital platforms, manga publisher Shueisha this week launched a new josei and shōjo portal, named Rimacomi+, offering similar free and tiered memberships to other platforms on the market. Shueisha was named this week as one of a group of manga publishers that have invested in the AI translation company Mantra, which will use Large Language Models to facilitate its translations, a process which has been condemned by the Japan Association of Translators.

• A whistle-stop round-up of comics industry news out of the US market, as this week Dark Horse and Marvel Comics announced a multi-year publishing partnership on a series of artbooks, BOOM! Studios shared the news that President of Publishing and Marketing Filip Sablik is leaving the company, and Fantagraphics named former TCJ editor Tucker Stone as their new Executive Director of Communications and Marketing, with Stone’s predecessor, Jacq Cohen, having taken up the role of Director of PR and Marketing for Tapas Entertainment.

• In memoriam, remembering those the world of comics has lost, as news was shared of the passing of Peter B. Gillis, writer of Strikeforce: Morituri, Doctor Strange, and Shatter, who has died at the age of 71.

• News was also shared of the passing of therapist and WildStorm editor Sarah Becker, who worked on such titles as Gen 13, DV8, StormWatch, and WildC.A.T.s, and who appeared on MTV’s reality series The Real World in 1996. She died at the age of 52.

This week’s reviews.

TCJ

• Kevin Brown reviews the diverse styles of Marjane Satrapi et al’s Woman, Life, Freedom, edited by Alba Beccaria - “One idea that runs throughout the book, no matter the writer or artist, is the importance of names. At times, there are entire pieces devoted to listing several names of people the government tortured and/or killed, with a description of their lives, helping the reader see the humanity the government has snuffed out. There’s even a list of Iranians around the world who have succeeded after leaving the country, revealing the brain drain that several writers comment on.”

• Brian Nicholson reviews the serious silliness of Max Huffman’s Hypermutt - “It is easy to see this as satire, and especially early on, Huffman foregrounds the gags. But the comic grows increasingly abstract and weird, the backdrop of the world becomes understandable as science fiction. The cartooned abstraction of its methods allows the physically impossible to be depicted making it clear these characters are playing God.”

 

AIPT

• Michael Guerrero reviews the magical strengths of Mariko Tamaki, Javier Rodríguez, et al’s Zatanna: Bring Down the House #1.

• Christopher Franey reviews the rollercoaster intensity of DC’s Absolute Power – Ground Zero #1.

• Piper Whitaker and Eric Thomas review the wacky action of Leah Williams, Eduardo Pansica, et al’s Power Girl #10.

• David Brooke reviews the cosmic conflict of Derek Landy, Salvadore Larroca, et al’s Thanos Annual #1.

• Collier Jennings reviews the toothsome surprises of Jed MacKay, Pepe Larraz, et al’s Blood Hunt #4.

• Colin Moon reviews the attempted refresh of Margaret Stohl, Ramon Rosanas, Michele Bandini, Carlos Pacheco, et al’s Captain Marvel.

• Alex Schlesinger reviews the deranged dystopia of Marvel Comics’ Sins of Sinister.

 

The Beat

• Kerry Vineberg reviews the fantasy noir of Peter Hoey and Maria Hoey’s In Perpetuity.

• Sean reviews the poetic devices of Aminder Dhaliwal's A Witch’s Guide to Burning.

• The team also have reviews of the various tie-ins to Marvel Comics Blood Hunt event, including Blood Hunt: Magik #1, Union Jack The Ripper: Blood Hunt #2, and Vengeance of the Moon Knight #6.

• And it was another busy new comics day this week, as:

  • Sean Dillon reviews the number theory of James Tynion IV, Martin Simmonds, et al’s Department of Truth #23.
  • Clyde Hall reviews the balanced presentation of James Tynion IV, Michael Avon Oeming, et al’s Blue Book 1947 #5.
  • Jordan Jennings reviews the flowing physicality of Tommy Lee Edwards, Mindy Lee, et al’s Gatchaman: Ken Deathmatch.
  • Christian Angeles reviews the skilful transposition of Marc Bernardin, Shawn Martinbrough, et al’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys.
  • Khalid Johnson reviews the heartfelt conclusion of Ram V, Filipe Andrade, et al’s Rare Flavours #6.

 

Broken Frontier

• Lydia Turner reviews the disturbing brilliance of Beth Hetland’s Tender.

• Andy Oliver has reviews of:

 

Comic Week

Michael Mazzacane has reviews of the aesthetic differences of Todd McFarlane, Szymon Kudranski, et al’s Misery #1; the creative synergy of Erica Schultz, Ze Carlos, et al’s Rat City #3; and the reinforced connections of Sean Lewis, Todd McFarlane, Valerio Giangiordano, et al’s Monolith #2.

 

Four Color Apocalypse

Ryan Carey reviews the incredible detail of Kevin Barry’s Mandalas.

 

From Cover to Cover

Scott Cederlund reviews the welcome return of Peter Bagge’s Hate Revisited #1.

 

House to Astonish

Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ X-Men: From the Ashes Infinity Comic #2, Wolverine: Blood Hunt #2, and Deadpool vs. Wolverine: Slash ‘Em Up Infinity Comic #1.

 

Polygon

Zoë Hannah reviews the character choices of Casey Gilly and Felia Hanakata’s Julie and the Blue Guitar.

 

PopMatters

Luis Aguasvivas reviews the unique structuring of Aminder Dhaliwal’s A Witch’s Guide to Burning.

 

Publisher’s Weekly

Have capsule reviews of:

 

Solrad

Daniel Elkin has capsule reviews of the exploratory questions of Kit Anderson’s Safer Places, the unique cataloguing of Simon Moreton’s Minor Leagues No. 12, and the different perspective of S. Meralli and PF Radice’s Al Capone.

This week’s interviews.

adobo magazine

Sam Ledesma interviews Cat Aquino and Dominique Duran about Champion of the Rose, the origins of the series’ story, and the Philippine-Spanish colonial-history research that went into it.

 

AIPT

• Chris Hassan speaks with Alex Paknadel about X-Men: From the Ashes, the origins of the project, and other upcoming books.

• David Brooke chats with Gail Simone, Aly Fell, and Letty Wilson about the return of Misty, the appeal of spooky stories, and the true horror of interior backgrounds.

Chris Coplan talks to:

 

CBC

Craig Norris chats with Anna Humphrey about Fluffle Bunnies: Buns Gone Bad, collective nouns, animal mischief, and childhood shyness.

 

The Irish Times

Sheila Wayman interviews Marita Hennessy, Ian Williams, MK Czerwiec, and Jane Burns about the upcoming annual international graphic medicine conference.

 

The Los Angeles Times

Chuck Schilken speaks with Ronda Rousey and Mike Deodato, Jr. about Expecting the Unexpected, real-life inspirations, and action choreography.

 

Publisher’s Weekly

• Brigid Alverson talks to Marc Bernadin about Anansi Boys, approaches to adaptation, and changes from the source material.

• Tiffany Babb chats with Zoe Thorogood about Life Is Strange, journeys to San Diego Comic-Con, and storytelling processes.

• Cheryl Klein speaks with Solomon J. Brager about Heavyweight, poking fun at yourself, the history of German colonies and the Holocaust, and expanding the idea of what Jewish identity means in the present.

• Pooja Makhijani interviews Jay Jay Patton about Dear Dad: Growing Up with a Parent in Prison - And How We Stayed Connected, and overcoming the taboo of talking about incarceration.

This week’s features and longreads.

• Here at TCJ, M.S. Harkness reports from last month’s Nancy Fest at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum, and what the multimedia celebration of Ernie Bushmiller’s creation had to offer - “A morning with Ernie Bushmiller By Tom Gammil was maybe what you heard most about on social media, and rightly so. We all took some time to eat dinner after the panels and hurry back as quickly as possible for a good seat in the Schultz auditorium for a ninety minute musical. It was hilarious, chaotic, heartfelt and perfect.”

• Also for TCJ, Zach Rabiroff writes on the recently escalated controversy surrounding the decision to credit Roy Thomas as a co-creator of the Marvel Comics character of Wolverine, the history of Thomas’ claims, and the various interested parties involved - “But there is a principle here beyond the mere making of money, and that is the direction in which it flows. Wolverine is a character that belongs to no one save for the Walt Disney Company. To the extent that there is any egalitarian pattern to the history of the comics industry, it has been in its halting and gradual progress toward sharing the fruits of its characters’ profits with the human beings who invented them.”

• More for TCJ this week, as Hagai Palevsky writes on the discovery, publication, and curation of Frank Johnson: Secret Pioneer of American Comics, Vol. 1: Wally's Gang Early Years (1928-1949) and The Bowser Boys (1946-1950), and the placement of Johnson’s work in the wider comics history timeline - “There is a romance in the idea that a work heretofore undiscovered might sweepingly change all we know about the artform and its history, but the standard feels unfair to burden any artist with, let alone someone who was only making this thing for his own enjoyment (as valid a cause, to be sure, as revolution).”

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

• For ICv2, Rob Salkowitz reports on the kerfuffle surrounding artist Francesco Mattina’s alleged use of AI image generation for a recent cover for DC, Mattina’s subsequent firing, and why this is likely to be a merry-go-round that keeps on whirling for a while yet.

• Over at Publisher’s Weekly, Brigid Alverson writes on the response of librarians in the U.S. to widespread book bans aimed at graphic novels, speaking with publishers and librarians about the importance of keeping diverse titles available to younger readers.

• For Reactor, Paul Morton looks back on the work of writer Peter B. Gillis, who died last week at the age of 71, examining Gillis and Sal Buscema’s 1983 comic What If…? #44, ‘What If Captain America Were Revived Today’, placing the seminal speech delivered by Captain America therein in the historical context of the time, and in Gillis’ wider body of work.

• Broken Frontier presents a new creator’s commentary, as A.C. Esguerra discussies the making of alternate-history romance Eighty Days, and the various stages of their storymaking process.

• For Shelfdust, Martyn Pedler looks back on Peter Milligan and Michael Lark’s Shade The Changing Man #58, the twist at the heart of the issue, and what we talk about when we talk about Shade.

• From the world of open-access academia, produced for the the DH Benelux 2024 conference, Giorgio Busi Rizzi and Sara Zanetti present a poster proposing a preliminary survey of Italy’s Linus and France’s Charlie, in order to facilitate further study of their cultural significance, and that of European magazines of their ilk in general.

• For the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, Annebella Pollen writes on the nine issues of the 1940s publication Camera Comics, and its engagement with young photographers of the time, examining the cultural expectations placed on children of the time and the different forms of media aimed at them.

• Paul O’Brien’s census of the villains of Daredevil continues, for House to Astonish, as the Thunderbolts appear, but, once again, it’s not those Thunderbolts, although these Thunderbolts did have a bit of staying power.

• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at the Daily Cartoonist, as presidential debate fever gave way to the Ten Commandments.

This week’s audio/visual delights.

• Gil Roth welcomed Bob Fingerman to the latest edition of The Virtual Memories Show, as they spoke about That’s Some Business You’re In, four decades of making art, and enjoying creator-owned work over work-for-hire.

• Al Kennedy and Paul O’Brien opened the doors to House to Astonish once more, as this episode discussion was given to various recent books from the direct market, and remembrances were given for the recently passed Don Perlin and Peter B. Gillis.

• Brian Hibbs welcomed Vera Brosgol to the latest meeting of Comix Experience’s Graphic Novel Club, as they discussed Plain Jane and the Mermaid, creators critiquing creators, and the confidence that reluctant younger readers can gain from reading graphic novels.

• 2000 AD’s Thrill-Cast returned, as MOLCH-R was joined by John Higgins, discussing a career in comics colouring, including work on Watchmen and Batman: The Killing Joke, and memories of Steve Dillon.

• David Harper was joined by James Tynion IV for this week’s episode of Off Panel, as they spoke about the return of The Department of Truth and The Nice House by the Sea, influences from other comics creators and writers in other media, and crowdfunding lessons learned.

• Calvin Reid, Heidi MacDonald, and Kate Fitzsimons reconvened for a new edition of Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come, as they discussed Webtoon’s IPO, Blackstone’s buyout of Infocom, and recent controversies at VanCAF and DC.

No more links this week, please, the UK is not designed to go above twenty degrees celsius (68 degrees fahrenheit).

The post The Sun is a Wondrous Body – This Week’s Links appeared first on The Comics Journal.


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