The Dwindling Party – This Week’s Links

Let’s bid a fond and fervent farewell to February in the manner to which we have all become accustomed – making a plan for spring cleaning and setting up an eBay account to divest one’s home of various cluttering (but subjectively valuable) items before remembering that the amount of effort that it takes to pack and ship said folderol is ungodly, and so the time is better spent slumped and scrolling the internet for entries into this week’s links, below.

Sproing!

— Katy Hargrove (@katyhargrove.bsky.social) 2025-02-26T15:41:18.632Z

This week’s news.

• Submissions for the Center for Cartoon Studies’ Cartoonist Studio Prize close today, with prizes of $1,000 available for the winners of the long-form and short-form categories – the CSS programming of summer classes and workshops is open for sign-ups now.

• The Cartoonist Cooperative this week announced the launch of its Digital Comics Residency, the organisation’s first paid opportunity for cartoonists, with more details to be announced during May’s Nib & Ink Festival.

• San Diego Comic-Con has announced this year’s class of inductees to the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame, this year including 12 deceased comics pioneers and 9 living persons, selected by a judging panel which comprises William Foster, Michael T. Gilbert, Karen Green, Alonso Nuñez, Jim Thompson, and Maggie Thompson. Eisner voters will be able to elect 6 more inductees from a list of 18 nominees selected by the judges, with the Hall of Fame trophies to be presented at a ceremony in July.

• Elsewhere, the shortlists were announced for this year’s Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, with nominations in the Graphic Novels/Comics category for Kris Bertin and Alexander Forbes’ Hobtown Mystery Stories, Taiyō Matsumoto’s Tokyo These Days, Bhanu Pratap’s Cutting Season, Miroslav Sekulic-Struja’s Petar & Liza (translated by Jenna Allen), and Ram V and Filipe Andrade’s Rare Flavours, with winners to be announced at the Prizes’ 45th anniversary awards ceremony in April.

— Dr Artyom Trakhanov (@vor-bokor.bsky.social) 2025-02-27T13:21:44.102Z

This week’s reviews.

TCJ

• J Webster Sharp reviews the final moments of Edward Gorey’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies - “Inspiration for Gorey’s lines-lines-lines surely come from 19th century drawing and etchings, I see George Cruickshank and H.K Browne in Gorey, both illustrators who both worked for Charles dickens during their careers. The book ‘Cautionary Tales for Children’ by Hilaire Belloc published in 1907 and illustrated by Basil Temple Blackwood absolutely must be the progenitor of The Gashlycrumb Tinies.”

• Sean McCarthy reviews the careful calibrations of Edward Gorey’s The Utter Zoo - “The title is a pun hinging on two meanings of each word: “utter,” a verb meaning to express in words and an adjective meaning to the highest degree; and “zoo,” a place where animals are kept as well as a situation marked by confusion or unrestrained behavior. The pun is a little awkward, and therefore of a piece with the little, awkward creatures inside.”

 

Aftermath

Isaiah Colbert reviews the mesmerising world of Kasumi Yasuda’s Fool Night, translated by Casey Loe.

 

AIPT

• Christopher Franey reviews the character history of Jeremy Adams, Jack Herbert, et al’s Green Lantern #20.

• David Brooke reviews the bold opening of Benjamin Percy, Geoff Shaw, et al’s Red Hulk #1.

• Collier Jennings reviews the balanced focus of Spencer Ackerman, Javier Pina, et al’s Iron Man #5.

• Nathan Simmons reviews the happy medium of Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, et als’s The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank.

• Justin Harrison reviews the muddled pacing of Rick Remender, Eric Nguyen, Jerome Opeña, et al’s Strange Girl: Deluxe Edition.

 

The Beat

• Kathryn reviews the beautiful weirdness of Ashley Robin Franklin’s The Skin You’re In.

• Steve Baxi reviews the collaborative evolution of Tom King, Bilquis Evely, et al's Helen of Wyndhorn.

• Jordan Jennings reviews the strong finish of Ryan Parrott, Eleonora Carlini, et al’s Vicarious #5.

• Jared Bird reviews the heartfelt fun of IDW’s Godzilla vs. America: Godzilla vs. Chicago.

• Diego Higuera reviews the profound lessons of Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, et al’s Absolute Wonder Woman #5.

• D. Morris reviews the frustrating pacing of Peach Momoko’s Ultimate X-Men#12, translated by Zack Davisson.

 

Boing Boing

Thom Dunn reviews the gorgeous richness of Tyler Boss, Adriano Turtulici, et al’s You'll Do Bad Things #1 & #2.

 

Broken Frontier

• Lydia Turner reviews the heart-warming mystery of Hannah Tunnicliffe and Erica Harrison’s Detective Stanley and the Mystery at the Museum.

• Gary Usher reviews the remarkable complexity of Whit Taylor’s Fizzle #4 & #5, and the boundary pushing of Breena Nuñez and Lawrence Lindell's Laneha House #14.

• Andy Oliver reviews the breathtaking lyricism of Rein Lee’s My Taxidermy Angel, the epic sprawl of Asa Wheatley et al’s Sagas of the Shield Maiden Book Four, and the universal truths of Mike Armstrong’s Span.

 

Elements of Madness

Justin Waldman reviews the fascinating explorations of Molly Bernstein and Philip Dolin’s Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse.

 

Four Color Apocalypse

Ryan Carey reviews the heartfelt chronicling of Joe Sikoryak’s When We Were Trekkies, the mutant weirdos of J.R. Williams’ FREEKS!, and the biological imagery of Michael Olivo’s Saints & Sand.

 

From Cover to Cover

Scott Cederlund reviews the impressive grandness of Ram V, Riccardo Federici, Evan Cagle, et al’s The New Gods #3.

 

House to Astonish

Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ Astonishing X-Men Infinity Comic #11, Uncanny X-Men #10, Exceptional X-Men #6, X-Force #8, NYX #8, X-Factor #8, Mystique #5, Laura Kinney: Wolverine #3, Storm #5, and Weapon X-Men #1.

 

Library Journal

• Mary E. Butler has a starred capsule review of the gentle joys of Janine Janssen’s Les Normaux.

• Martha Cornog has a starred capsule review of the twisting interconnections of David Dabel, Carlton Holder, David Lentz, and Rodrigo Catraca’s The Curse of Monte Cristo: A Reimagining of the Novel by Alexandre Dumas.

 

MovieWeb

Julian Roman reviews the fascinating tribute of Molly Bernstein and Philip Dolin’s Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse.

 

The New York Times

Manohla Dargis reviews the straightforward approach of Molly Bernstein and Philip Dolin’s Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse.

 

RogerEbert.com

Glenn Kenny reviews the compelling cogence of Molly Bernstein and Philip Dolin’s Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse.

 

School Library Journal

• Angie Jameson has starred capsule reviews of the immersive horror of Taylor Robin's Hunger's Bite and the profound storytelling of Zoe Persico's How to Talk to Your Succulent.

• Lauren Sullivan has a starred capsule review of the heartfelt emotions of K. O'Neill's A Song for You and I.

• Andrea Lipinski has a starred capsule review of the luminous colours of Eric Colossal's Ghost Town.

• Jenny Arch has a starred capsule review of the character growth of Betty C. Tang's Outsider Kids.

• Carla Riemer has a starred capsule review of the engaging art of Huda Fahmy's Huda F Wants to Know?.

 

Variety

Carlos Aguilar reviews the proficient construction of Molly Bernstein and Philip Dolin’s Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse.

— nico (@nicodelort.bsky.social) 2025-02-26T14:55:15.676Z

This week’s interviews.

TCJ

From 2019, Mark Newgarden interviews Mark Dery about Born to be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey and Gorey’s work and legacy - “It’s important to note that Gorey wasn’t just some postmodern magpie, prying loose any ideas that weren’t nailed down and mashing them up, willy nilly. “I have a strong sense of imitation,” he readily admitted, but maintained that his pack-rat aesthetic didn’t make his work unoriginal because his pastiches always ended up inimitably his own: “So I can afford to indulge this kind of exercise, filch blatantly from all over the place, because it will ultimately be mine.””

 

AIPT

• Chris Hassan speaks with Alyssa Wong about Psylocke, fandom interactions, canonical liaisons, and the realities of jackalopes.

• David Brooke talks to Yoon Ha Lee about Doom’s Division and plotting out narratives with multiple characters, and to Thomas Jane about The Lycan and similarities to filmmaking when it comes to collaborative comics making.

 

artnet

Min Chen interviews Caitlin McGurk about Tell Me a Story Where the Bad Girl Wins, the work of Barbara Shermund, and connecting with Amanda Gormley (Shermund’s half-niece) while researching the book.

 

Autobiographix

Amaris Ketcham talks to K. Woodman-Maynard about adapting Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting, working in watercolours, and the Creating Comics Substack.

 

The Beat

• Diego Higuera speaks with Jim Zub about Skullkickers, crowdfunding the book’s new digest edition, and the series’ approach to fantasy silliness.

• Jared Bird interviews Tyler Boss about You’ll Do Bad Things, the origins of the book, writing as an artist, and Giallo history lessons.

 

D Magazine

Tim Rogers talks to Garry Trudeau about Doonesbury being dropped by the Dallas Morning News over the strip’s attitude towards President Donald Trump.

 

The Federal

Kavitha Shanmugam interviews Appupen and Perumal Murugan about adapting C.S. Chellappa’s Vaadivaasal into a graphic novel, and the difficulties inherent in adapting the story.

 

Filmmaker

Lauren Wissot speaks with Molly Bernstein and Philip Dolin about Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse, the origins of the documentary, and the time actually spent with Spiegelman for the film.

 

Forbes

David Bloom interviews Wendy Pini and Richard Pini about ElfQuest and donating $500,000 to Columbia University to support the university library’s comics conservation efforts.

 

ICv2

Brigid Alverson talks to Terry Kavanagh about 247 Presents, the new line’s retailer focus, Marvel Comics’ history, and some of the titles in the pipeline.

 

Publisher’s Weekly

Shaenon K. Garrity interviews Lee Dean about The Girl Who Flew Away, webcomic inspirations, and the communication of dreams.

 

Quill & Quire

Inderjit Deogun speaks with Cassandra Calin about The New Girl, illustration origins and influences, and making the move from webcomics to graphic novels.

フランス語版が出たので久しぶりに落書きしました。

— 松虫あられ (@matsumushi0412.bsky.social) 2025-02-27T12:48:19.796Z

This week’s features and longreads.

• Here at TCJ, co-editor Sally Madden kicks off Edward Gorey week, celebrating what would have been the author and artist’s 100th birthday - “Gorey’s work silences our thought tornadoes with the reassurance that ennui is inevitable, providing company for our misery, dressed in the endless texture of pretty and grimy broken lines. Gorey's stories give our children a place to go when they're battling with the knowledge of death, a cozy nook to explore crisis and creepiness.”

• Also for TCJ, Cynthia Rose shares memories of personal correspondence with Edward Gorey and the subjects covered in these letters - “But any letter from Mr. G was instructive, because he was never, ever lazy with language. Always reaching for the mot juste, he cherished terms like "habituated", "diverting" and "gelatinous". He made words perform and took the time to make every letter an event. His missives were as lively as those of Dickens and, like his little stories, owed much to Ronald Firbank.”

• From the TCJ archives, originally published in 2014, R.C. Harvey charts the life and works of Edward Gorey - “The pictures in some of his books are as unembellished as Japanese prints, but Gorey’s characteristic manner is to garnish his drawings with meticulous hachuring and pointillist cross-hatching, so intensely applied as to be almost painful in its exquisite punctiliousness. (“It’s partly insecurity,” he once explained: “I mean, where do you leave off?”)”

• More from TCJ's Edward Gorey week, as Corinne Halbert writes in celebration of Gorey's work, sharing personal history with the author's books, chances missed to meet Gorey, and examinations of Gorey's varied personal collections - “Thank you Edward Gorey, for your radiant imagination and your enduring artistic luminosity. My life is much richer because of the experience of absorbing your work. It will continue to enchant and amaze generations of children, artists and adults for centuries to come. Well, as long as the human race can survive itself. When I look up at the stars, I know you’re out there, shining brighter than the sun.”

• Continuing the focus on Edward Gorey, for The New York Times, author Lisa Brown writes on the enduring appeal of Gorey’s books, and why younger readers are continually drawn to the darkness contained therein.

• Also for The New York Times, Sam Thielman and Gabriel Gianordoli present a visually impressive profile of Jaime Hernandez, charting the evolution of Hernandez's Love and Rockets over the past forty years and change, alongside the narrative arc of one Maggie Chascarillo.

• Over at Solrad, Antoine Rozier has an essay on the work of Rumiko Takahashi, themes across Takahashi’s books, including Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura, and the paradoxical nature of the characters and relationships they feature.

• For Shelfdust, Steve Morris continues to hit Spawn de Replay, as Steve Morris considers the eleventh issue of Spawn and what happens when Frank Miller takes Todd McFarlane’s creation in some strange directions.

• For Aftermath, Isaiah Colbert surveys the current selection of manga apps in the west, as Crunchyroll’s return to that platform ecosystem looms on the horizon, and various big names have decided that what readers (*monetisation) want are arcane systems and digital hoops to jump through to access their media.

• Jacob Shapiro returns to The Beat, with a report from this year's ComicsPro retailer summit, writing from the perspective of a retailer, checking in on the publishers in attendance, at an event where proceedings were, somewhat unsurprisingly, overshadowed by the recent bankruptcy announcement from Diamond Comic Distributors and looming tariffs which may or may not be imposed by President Donald Trump.

• From the world of open-access academia, Graphic Medicine review presents the proceedings of last summer’s Graphic Medicine International Collective Annual Conference, featuring a selection of original research, critical analysis, and comics.

• Excerpted from Pluralism in India and Indonesia: Diversity in the Quest for Unity, Leonard Chrysostomos Epafras writes on Ehipassiko’s Komik Borobudur and Tantraz Comics Baladeva, analysing the historical context in which the comics were published, and the way in which these comics address the concept of Indonesian national identity.

• TCJ contributor Jon Holt flags up the publication of Women’s Voices in Manga: Japanese Cultural and Historical Perspectives, edited by Hiromi Tsuchiya Dollase and Masami Toku, and which features interviews with manga artists Watanabe Masako, Mizuno Hideko, and Satonaka Machiko, alongside essays and critical analysis.

• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as the headlines once more focused on the concerns of the hyper-wealthy when it comes to public spending.

No matter how hard your pilgrimage was, once it will be forgotten... ( ರ⁠ ⁠~⁠ ⁠ರ⁠)

— Natalia Rerekina (@rerekina.bsky.social) 2025-02-02T18:10:01.231Z

This week’s audio/visual delights.

• Thick Lines returned from a little winter break this week, as TCJ co-editor Sally Madden took over the venture solo, joined in this most recent episode by Molly Colleen O'Connell for a discussion of Nicole Claveloux’s The Green Hand and Other Stories and the nitty gritty of teaching comics, plus a brief appearance by Caroline Cash.

• Elsewhere, Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come’s Meg Lemke and Calvin Reid discussed a couple of recent graphic novels, in the form of Olivier Schrauwen’s Sunday and Tessa Hulls Feeding Ghosts; and David Harper was joined on Off Panel by Kenny Meyers for a chat about comics-focused software company Sweet and the upcoming launch for new digital comic store Sweet Shop.

• Given the recent glut of coverage for Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse, it seems appropriate to close out this week with that documentary’s trailer, so fill your boots.

I redrew a Jack Kirby FF cover. From 2 years ago today. A fun exercise. It’s always good to study the classics!

— Jonathan Edwards (@jontofski.bsky.social) 2025-02-23T22:24:19.287Z

No more links this week, because I forgot to cancel the order of bubblewrap and boxes and so it’s homemade mech-suit season instead.

variant cover for issue 2 of the newest Oni Press Adventure Time series

— Michael DeForge (@michaeldeforge.bsky.social) 2025-02-26T20:56:48.092Z

The post The Dwindling Party – This Week’s Links appeared first on The Comics Journal.