April 2031 – This Week’s Links

And so, if 2024 quickly entrenched itself as the year of the lawsuit, 2025, as demonstrated in this week’s links, below, appears hellbent on setting a new record pace for key topic selection, by bringing tariffs screeching to the fore, with chaotic and increasingly worsening impact for manufacturers, distributors, retailers and buyers — we can look, for example, to other industries, also populated in part by smaller publishers and indie creators, that utilize overseas production setups, as a bellwether — following a fleetingly brief period of something akin to normality, after the shipping and production delays experienced during the height of the COVID pandemic. Buckle up.

This week’s news.

• Starting the week out with news from the retail sector, as Things From Another World announced the impending closure of its website on April 30th, with ICv2 sharing a statement from parent company Dark Horse, which cites changes to the market post-2021 as a driver for having “made a number of tough decisions in recent weeks” — Dark Horse was acquired at the end of 2021 by Swedish media investment company Embracer Group, which subsequently underwent a massive restructuring and cost reduction program after the collapse of a $2 billion investment deal, with recent adaptations of Dark Horse properties having arrived to poor reviews.

• Elsewhere, Viz Media announced that Ken Sasaki will be moving into the role of the company’s Chairman & Executive Advisor, with Brad Woods taking over as CEO — the press announcement notes the company’s "next phase of global expansion," as a recent interview with the company’s Media Director of Publishing Sales, Sarah Anderson, noted that Viz’s manga sales were up in 2024, but tariffs may lead to price increases, following on from the publisher having recently increased its prices for the first time in nearly two decades.

• In comics prizes news, the Society of Illustrators announced 2025’s class of inductees to its Hall of Fame, which this year includes Marie Severin and Peter Arno.

• In memoriam, remembering those the world of comics has lost, as news was shared this week of the passing of cartoonist Hy Eisman, whose work appeared in the strips Little Iodine, The Katzenjammer Kids, and Popeye, amongst others, who has died at the age of 98.

This week’s reviews.

TCJ

• Kristian Williams reviews the historical cautions of Gilbert Shelton, Ted Richards, Gary Hallgrenand, and Willy Murphy’s Give Me Liberty! A Revised History of the American Revolution - “The story even has a moral. When a young recruit, fearful that the fighting will end before he can kill a redcoat, rushes needlessly into the war's final battle, he is struck in the head by a cannon ball. Near death, he is granted a vision of previous and future revolutions, with their piles of severed heads and the eventual replacement of one ruling class with another. He awakes to pronounce a warning: "'Revolution' is a vicious circle and an and illusion!"”

• Hagai Palevsky reviews the shared sentiments of Jurijs Tatarkins, Jindrich Janiček, and Giulia Cellino’s Welcome to Casa Baba - “Casa Baba is simultaneously a space and a non-space: part of the Baba Jaga Europe’s initiative attempt to "open up" a pan-European culture independent of borders and national traditions, it is a residency insofar as its artists live elsewhere for a set period of time, but they do not live in the same physical space, instead swapping countries three ways – for the 2024 residency, Latvian cartoonist Jurijs Tatarkins was in Prague, Czech artist Jindrich Janiček was in Rome, and Italy’s Giulia Cellino was in Riga.”

 

AIPT

• Piper Whitaker reviews the passionate relatability of Chlóe Wary’s Season of the Roses, translated by Jenna Allen.

• Collier Jennings reviews the character payoffs of Christopher Cantwell, Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Davide Tinto, et al’s Star Trek: Lore War #1.

• Chris Coplan reviews the interesting beginning of Doug Wagner, Daniel Hillyard, et al’s I Was A Fashion School Serial Killer #1.

• David Brooke reviews the solid execution of Charles Soule, Steve McNiven, et al’s Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell #1.

• Maxwell Majernik reviews the blockbuster action of Al Ewing, Iban Coello, et al’s Venom War.

 

The Beat

• Avery Kaplan reviews the fanged feast of Page Hender’s The Confessional.

• Kathryn Hemmann reviews the intricate construction of Barbara Mazzi’s Hourglass.

• Jordan Jennings reviews the engaging themes of Alex de Campi, Skylar Partridge, et al's Reversal.

• Arpad Okay reviews the pure cartooning of Sanikah Phawde’s Wedding Juice and Other Melodramas.

• Jared Bird reviews the unique setting of Doug Wagner, Daniel Hillyard, et al’s I Was A Fashion School Serial Killer #1.

• Clyde Hall reviews the haunting appeal of Michael W. Conrad and Dave Chisholm’s Plague House #1.

• Zack Quaintance reviews the crackling energy of Al Ewing, Jahnoy Lindsay, et al’s Absolute Green Lantern #1.

• D. Morris reviews the creative showcase of Charles Soule, Steve McNiven, et al’s Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell #1.

 

Broken Frontier

• Lindsay Pereira reviews the brutal action of Shirato Sanpei’s The Legend of Kamui, Volume 1, translated by Richard Rubinger, Noriko Rubinger, and Alexa Frank.

• James Calderbank reviews the innovative storytelling of Tom King, Bilquis Evely, et al’s Helen of Wyndhorn.

• Lydia Turner reviews the vibrant palette of Alex Newton’s Freelancer.

• Andy Oliver reviews the winning ingredients of Deniz Camp, Javier Rodriguez, et al’s Absolute Martian Manhunter #1; and the eerie quietness of Kit Anderson’s Safer Places.

 

From Cover to Cover

Scott Cederlund reviews the transcendental experience of Deniz Camp, Javier Rodriguez, et al’s Absolute Martian Manhunter #1; and the narrative explorations of Christopher Cantwell and Tyler Crook‘s Out of Alcatraz #1.

 

House to Astonish

Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #15, X-Manhunt Omega, Uncanny X-Men #12, Laura Kinney: Wolverine #4, Rogue: Savage Land #3, Weapon X-Men #2, and Wolverine: Revenge #5.

 

In Common

Laura McCarthy reviews the powerful choices of Craig Thompson’s Ginseng Roots.

 

Library Journal

Tom Batten has starred capsule reviews of:

• The unsettling horror of Erik Kriek’s The Pit.

• The immersive innovation of Paul Karasik, David Mazzucchelli, and Lorenzo Mattotti’s adaptation of Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy.

• The striking visuals of Alison Bechdel’s Spent: A Comic Novel.

 

Solrad

Tom Shapira reviews the mixed successes of Atillio Micheluzzi’s The Farewell Song of Marcel Labrume, translated by Jamie Richards.

 

Yatta-tachi

Bill Curtis reviews the subverted tropes of Kazune Kawahara’s A Star Brighter Than The Sun Volume 1.

This week’s interviews.

TCJ

• Jean Marc Ah-Sen interviews Paul Pope about PulpHope2 and PulpHope: The Art of Paul Pope, career considerations, creative drives, and the subjects of dreams - “I think it's the same with picture-making. A lot of my life has been spent trying to gain this aptitude to be able to draw through pictures — to depict through pictures what I see in my mind. A lot of times it goes beyond realism or beyond trying to make somebody laugh, beyond impressing somebody with a detailed drawing. It’s about actually getting across an emotional state and hopefully reaching other people so that they can see it and feel it in the same way, or get sparked to feel their own things.”

• Tina Horn interviews Sol Brager about Heavyweight: A Family Story of the Holocaust, Empire, and Memory, Auschwitz beach reads, keeping the book accessible, and fascist symbols and regalia - “Far too many comics writers treat artists as sub-contractors who are just producing their visions. Or aren’t thinking about the art as a crucial part of the meaning of the work, just as illustrations backing up the text. My training is in writing– I started out studying poetry and journalism and for a long time mostly produced academic writing. I taught myself how to draw and feel like I’m still learning how to make comics. The more comics I make, the more I find the words and images to be inseparable parts of one project.”

 

AIPT

• Chris Hassan speaks with Gail Simone and Murewa Ayodele about X-Manhunt Omega, improvisation in superhero comics events, and what’s ahead for the mutant line of books.

• Chris Coplan interviews Dan Slott and Jorge Jiménez about Summer Superman Special and Superman Unlimited, ages of science fiction, and project logistics.

• David Brooke talks to Miyuli about Morgana and Oz and magical evolutions, Tim Seeley about Red Sonja vs. The Army of Darkness and mismatch buddy comedies, Joe Kelly about Amazing Spider-Man and focusing on the person inside the costume, and Ben H. Winters and Leomacs about Benjamin and science fiction influences.

 

The Beat

Ollie Kaplan speaks with Nick Winn about Adventure Time, timeline planning, sword lore, and lessons learned from working in animation.

 

Broken Frontier

Andy Oliver talks to Tiffany Babb about The Comics Courier, the appeal of a physical product, critical engagement, and the upcoming crowdfunding campaign for issue 2.

 

io9

James Whitbrook interviews Tom King, Bilquis Evely, and Matheus Lopes about Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, collaborative headspaces, and film crossover sales bumps.

 

The Ithacan

Gianna Izzo speaks with Katharine Kittredge, Riley Rhoder, and Hailey Hubbard about the Graphic Novel Advisory Board, The GNAB Review, and the group’s upcoming ITHACON plans.

 

The Los Angeles Times

Jevon Phillips talks to Ridley Scott, Jesse Negron, Tom Moran, Tom Sanders, Dave Elliott, and Bill Sienkiewicz about Modville, getting the project off the ground, and finding a place in a crowded market.

 

Publisher’s Weekly

Present a conversation between Gary D. Schmidt and Ron Koertge about A Day at the Beach, the book’s origins, comparing collaborations, and manuscript trades.

 

Smash Pages

Preview an upcoming Picture + Panel talk from Tina Lugo and Marjorie Liu by speaking with the two creators about the allure of monsters and telling stories about them.

This week’s features and longreads.

• Here at TCJ, we have comics on the internet, as there’s an excerpt from the upcoming seventh volume of Rust Belt Review, and an April 1st peek behind the velvet curtain that adorns the TCJ editorial office and hides the work of co-editors Sally Madden and Chris Mautner from the hoi polloi.

• Elsewhere, but maintaining the theme of comics presented on the World Wide Web, MUBI presents Going to the Movies, a series serialised in MUBI’s Weekly Edit newsletter, and then presented in full online, as in this first comic from Dash Shaw.

• Shifting our gaze over to the presentation of comics in physical form, as Polygon’s Susana Polo and Oli Welsh discuss Deniz Camp, Javier Rodriguez, et al’s Absolute Martian Manhunter, and the physical gimmick to be found in the book’s first issue.

• Some recent reading round-ups from across the internet, as Kay Sohini writes for The Washington Post on María Medem’s Land of Mirrors, Rachel Ang’s I Ate the Whole World to Find You, Jason Novak’s Kafka’s Manuscript, and Anders Nilsen’s Tongues; and Oliver Sava writes for the AV Club on Image’s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, John Allison and Max Sarin’s The Great British Bump-Off: Kill Or Be Quilt, Nicolas Wouters and Mathilde Van Gheluwe Magda: Intergalactic Chef (translated by Anne Marie Boulanger), Guy Delisle’s Muybridge, and Paul Karasik, Lorenzo Mattotti, and David Mazzucchelli’s adaptation of Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy.

• Ahead of an airing of Art Spiegelman: Disaster is my Muse later this month, PBS’ American Masters presents a visual timeline of Spiegelman’s life and work, alongside clips from the documentary.

• For The Beat, Jacob Shapiro writes on the retailer’s perspective on (rapidly worsening) trade tariffs introduced by the administration of President Donald Trump, and what these will likely mean for the comics industry in the U.S. and further afield.

• Ed Nawotka covered the graphic novel presence at this year’s Bologna Book Fair, as creators, consumers, educators, and publishers all interact to drive (and respond to) the expansion of the market for younger readers.

• Over at Broken Frontier, David Gallagher presents another Covers Album, this edition looking at favourites from the House of Ideas, and singing the praises of John Buscema, Tom Palmer, Greg LaRocque, Mike Esposito, George Pérez, and Al Vey.

• From the world of open-access academia, in the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, Robert Aman writes on Rune Andreásson’s Bamse, analysing the comic’s content during the 1970s, and exploring the socialist perspectives to be found therein.

• From the Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov, Bogdan-Alin Imbri and Marius-Mircea Crişan write on Doug Moench and Kelley Jones’ Batman & Dracula trilogy, and exploring the concept of human fallibility through the lens of Gotham’s dark knight.

• In Interpretation and Translation Studies, Alesch Maurice presents a study on the translation of the Dark Phoenix Saga from English to Japan, and the differences in gendered language to be found in the three translations produced since the run’s original publication in the 1980s.

• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as questions of international relations, education standards, economic trends, world peace, and trade wars abound.

This week’s audio/visual delights.

A brief selection of multimedia interviews from across the web, as Jenette Kahn spoke with the BBC’s Jane Wilkinson about shaking up DC Comics, Torunn Grøenbekk joined MOLCHR and KLO-E for this week’s 2000 AD’s Thrill-Cast to speak about Night Witches, Zander Cannon chatted with Off Panel’s David Harper about Kaijumax and Sleep, and Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come team discussed the recent acquisition of Diamond Comic Distributors by Alliance Entertainment.

No more links this week, as all time at the family computer must now be spent frantically Ask Jeevesing “how to do more with (a lot) less."

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