Friday, August 23, 2024

Like A Friend – This Week’s Links

August 23, 2024 Philippines , Pinoy 0 Comments

I could have sworn it was the last week of August, but apparently that’s next week, so this week’s links, below, are being curated alongside a frantic attempt to cram in all the things I forgot to do this summer - put a bunch of comics on a popular online auction site, fix the skirting board that keeps popping out when the spin cycle kicks in, replace my bike’s brake fluid, go to a barbecue and then remember I don’t really like barbecues, etc., etc.  – which I suppose will soon become all the things I forgot to do this autumn, and then it’ll be Christmas again, and the cycle will begin anew, as I install a series of productivity apps which are instantly ignored in favour of trying to determine why it is that my YouTube algorithm is so doggedly focused on woodturning???

This week’s news.

• Returning once again to the comics crime files, as this week it was reported that Michael David DeChellis, owner and operator of Hero Restoration, a comic book restoration company that was shut down in 2023, has been arrested for multiple counts of first degree aggravated theft, first degree theft, and racketeering, after a number of customers reported that their comic books had not been returned after being submitted for restoration, with some of the comic books having been sold online at a later date, and losses to the victims totalling over $300,000.

• Elsewhere, Majid Novsarka, aka Majid Freeman, appeared in court in London last week under charges of encouragement of terrorism and supporting Hamas, following social media posts made on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) relating to the attacks on the offices of French magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015.

• Comics awards news, as Cartoon Crossroads Columbus this week announced that Annie Koyama, former publisher of Koyama Press and organiser of the Koyama Provides fund of micro-grants, will be this year’s recipient of the Tom Spurgeon Award, which seeks to honour those who have made substantial contributions to the field of comics, but are not primarily cartoonists - Koyama is quoted as being “thankful to have found a way to stay connected to a community that I love, by directly supporting artists, especially cartoonists. Tom reached out to me in the early days of the press, when I had seemingly come out of nowhere and he continued to support the press and my plans beyond the press, for which I’ll always be grateful.”

• New comics publishing endeavours news, and announcements were made for the launches of Jamie S. Rich, Jeremy Haun, Filip Sablik, and Eric Gitter’s new company, which is, as yet, unnamed; and Mad Cave Studios shared details of Nakama Press, a new manga, manhua, manfra, and manhwa imprint.

This week’s reviews.

TCJ

Brian Nicholson reviews the varied specimens of Pantheon Books’ Rescue Party: A Graphic Anthology of Covid Lockdown, edited by Gabe Fowler - “Contributors approached the project with a spirit of play, which allows for experimentation with form and straightforwardness of sentiment. No one seems to be seeing this as a branding exercise or opportunity for exposure. Artist bios in the back of the book contain neither Instagram handles or the URLs to Etsy stores. On a certain level, this borders on malpractice, considering the high profile this offers to artists who are all somewhat obscure. It is also arguably utopian, in keeping with the worldview strips often espouse.”

 

AIPT

• Rory Wilding reviews the narrative looseness of Ram V, Filipe Andrade, et al’s Rare Flavours.

• Collier Jennings reviews the mythos additions of Sam Humphries, Brandt&Stein, et al’s Power Rangers: Infinity #1.

• David Brooke reviews the solid action of Erica Schultz, Luciano Vecchio, et al’s Venom War: Venomous #1.

• Colin Moon reviews the narrative housekeeping of Jason Loo, Luigi Zagaria, et al’s The Sentry: Legacy.

• Ryan Sonneville reviews the missed opportunity of Fabian Nicieza, Scot Eaton, et al’s Cable: United We Fall.

• David Brooke reviews the killer layers of Kyle Starks, Piotr Kowalski, et al’s Where Monsters Lie: Cull-De-Sac#1.

• Chris Coplan reviews the perfect pacing of Lee Loughridge, Andrew Robinson, et al’s Standstill #1.

 

The Beat

• Jared Bird reviews the rich world building of Wyatt Kennedy, Luigi Formisano, et al’s Nights Volume 1.

• Nancy Powell reviews the nuanced contrasts of Sherri L. Smith and Christine Norris’ Pearl.

• Beau Q. reviews the breezy gimmicks of Lee Loughridge, Andrew Robinson, et al’s Standstill #1.

• Clyde Hall reviews the killer bargain of Mark Millar, Juanan Ramírez, et al’s Night Club 2 #1.

• D. Morris reviews the shallow violence of  Jonathan Hickman, Greg Capullo, et al’s Wolverine: Revenge.

• Diego Higuera reviews the mixed bag of Leah Williams, Matteo Lolli, et al’s Gotham City Sirens #1-3.

 

Broken Frontier

Lydia Turner reviews the creepy hilarity of Steve Thueson’s The Night Never Ends and the uncanny atmosphere of Vicente Cifuentes’ Murdervale.

 

From Cover to Cover

Scott Cederlund reviews the direct connections of John Porcellino’s King-Cat Comics & Stories #83.

 

House to Astonish

Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ X-Men: From the Ashes Infinity Comic #1, X-Men #2, X-Factor #1, Hellverine #4, Wolverine Annual #1, and Savage Wolverine Infinity Comic #3.

 

Hyperallergic

Sarah Hromack reviews the visual distinctiveness of Pantheon Books’ Rescue Party: A Graphic Anthology of Covid Lockdown, edited by Gabe Fowler.

 

Kirkus Reviews

Have starred capsule reviews of:

- The unforgettable contrasts of Tina Cho and Deb JJ Lee’s The Other Side of Tomorrow. 

- The hopeful glimmers of Simina Popescu’s Leap.

 

Solrad

Hagai Palevsky reviews the independent intents of Yamada Murasaki’s Second Hand Love, translated by Ryan Holmberg.

 

Women Write About Comics

Louis Skye reviews the interpersonal relationships of Gail Simone, David Marquez, et al’s Uncanny X-Men #1.

This week’s interviews.

TCJ

Conrad Groth interviews Sole Otero about Mothballs, the inescapable power of comics, and the real-life, architectural, and familial inspirations for the book - “I think because from the very beginning, when I thought about writing this book, I wanted to make something that was literally magical realism. It’s the cliche of a South American author, but I love it. I love the idea about this naturalization of magic around us.”

 

AIPT

• Chris Coplan speaks with Meriam Carnouche and Christian Carnouche about Tunis to Sydney, the anxieties behind the book, and collaborative processes.

• Chris Hassan talks to Gail Simone about Uncanny X-Men, the universality of mutantkind, upcoming backstories, and putting characters in the spotlight.

 

Anime News Network

Kalai Chik interviews Gou Tanabe about The Shadow Over Innsmouth and the challenges of visualising Lovecraftian horrors; and Kenichi Sonoda about Bubblegum Crisis and sticking with analog techniques.

 

The Beat

• Deanna Destito speaks with Declan Shalvey about The Terminator, story timelines, time travel as a tool for creating drama, and eschewing fan-favourite characters.

• Diego Higuera talks to Bill Morrison about The Complete Adventures of Roswell, Little Green Man, resurrecting the character, and the Bongo Comics years.

• Samantha Puc interviews Elaine Tipping about Pathways: Chronicles of Tuvana, character evolutions, fantasy inspirations, and dot tones.

 

Broken Frontier

Andy Oliver talks to Mike Armstrong about WIP Comics, cartooning origins, anthology considerations, and choosing projects.

 

Forbes

Josh Weiss interviews Mike Mignola about the upcoming "Hell, Ink, and Water: The Art of Mike Mignola" exhibition, and the decisions behind curating the show.

 

Forward

Nora Berman speaks with Ari Richter about Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz, crafting your own identity, and documenting familial stories of survival.

 

ICv2

Milton Griepp interviews First Second’s Mark Siegel about dividing publishing lines into kids’ and adults’ imprints, brand identities, and championing great voices.

 

NPR

Scott Simon talks to Ken Krimstein about Einstein in Kafkaland, packing in history and artistic imagination, the ambition of Einstein, and the enduring fascination of Prague.

 

Polygon

Matt Patches interviews Al Ewing about All-New Venom, team-writing versus solo-writing, shifting away from grand cosmic narratives, and bringing a new look to symbiotes.

This week’s features and longreads.

• Here at TCJ, Andrew Farago writes in remembrance of activist, author, and advocate Joyce Brabner, co-writer of Our Cancer Year, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 72 - “Real War Stories drew negative attention from both the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice, who publicly questioned the veracity of the autobiographical accounts depicted in its pages. Brabner stood by her sources and had carefully documented all of her interviews for Real War Stories, and with military Naval court records supporting those accounts as well, the Department of Defense ultimately withdrew their official objection to the comic book.”

• Also for TCJ, excerpted from The Comics Journal #310, Gary Groth presents part of the introduction to an extensive profile of Gerald Scarfe - “Scarfe had come to Esquire’s attention when, in 1963, they ran a feature on Private Eye. In the article, Esquire censored a cover that showed a cubistically pixilated John F. Kennedy about to hit the nuclear button, replacing him with another figure instead.”

• Four Color Apocalypse’s Ryan Carey co-organised, and subsequently reports from, this year’s Insert Name Comics & Zine Fest, which took place last weekend in Minneapolis.

• Steve Morris continues Shelfdust’s look back at Journey Into Mystery, as issue 644 sees Kieron Gillen and Carmine di Giandomenico present powerful moments alongside a muted threat.

• From the world of open-access academia, in a moment of classical synchronicity, Jakub Zbądzki writes on the influence of ancient Greek poetry on Walter Simonson’s The Mighty Thor #363-366, while Matthew Nickerson writes on the embracing and subversion of Homeric concepts of heroism by Spider-Man.

• For the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, Aisling Kinsella and Anna-Sophie Jürgens examine the tensions between eco-feminism and eco-terrorism present in recent comics featuring the character of Poison Ivy, and changing depictions of Pamela Isley in the face of our contemporary climate crisis.

• Paul O’Brien’s registering the villains of Daredevil continues, for House to Astonish, as the jurisprudence of Mr Fear III is put on trial.

• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as the final quarter of this election year continues, while war rages overseas.

This week’s audio/visual delights.

• NHK released a freshly subtitled edition of Naoki Urasawa’s Manben, with this episode putting the spotlight on Nishi Keiko, currently working on Hatsukoi no Sekai, with discussion of the art of showing not telling, and unique pen grips.

• Al Kennedy and Paul O’Brien opened the doors of the House to Astonish once again, this edition looking back on all the news that spewed forth from the maw of San Diego Comic-Con, and reviewing the melodramatic jousting of S.I.R. and the QR code of the Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special.

• Brian Hibbs welcomed Carlos Sánchez to the latest meeting of the Comix Experience Graphic Novel Club, as they discussed Rune: The Tale of a Thousand Faces, working with Deaf consultants on the book, and the specificity of paper choices.

• 2000 AD’s Thrill-Cast returned from San Diego Comic-Con with a recording of their spotlight panel at the show, as Simon Bisley, Gail Simone, and Hayden Sherman waxed lyrical about Misty, Slaine, and Strontium Dog.

• Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come looked ahead to upcoming comic conventions, as Calvin Reid, Heidi MacDonald, and Kate Fitzsimons discussed the nominees for this year's Ignatz and Harvey awards, and broke down the financials of various attempted money making schemes focused on funnybooks.

• David Harper was joined by Dustin Nguyen for this week’s episode of Off Panel, as they spoke about The Art of Descender, crowdfunding campaigns, current projects, Wildstorm experiences, and collaborations with Jeff Lemire.

• Gil Roth welcomed Jess Ruliffson to the latest edition of The Virtual Memories Show, as they discussed Invisible Wounds, the photographs that inspired the making of the book, and the realities of returning from military service overseas.

No more links this week, because volume 2 of Richard Corben’s Den just landed on my doorstep, and so I’m clearing my schedule for at least 7 days.

The post Like A Friend – This Week’s Links appeared first on The Comics Journal.


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