A quieter period on the news front than there has otherwise been, of late, cooling down the weekly cycle as the weather in the northern hemisphere starts heating up, which is not to say that there are not still links to be had, as shown below, just that there are fewer, although not zero, never zero, items about lawsuits and company finance reports — back to normal next week, I’m sure, for the fans of judicial instruments in the house.
Join us on Sat., June 21, for the free Comics Art Fest at the main branch of the SF Public Library. There'll be hands-on activities, workshops, and local creators including Wahab Algarmi, currently featured in our Emerging Artist Showcase. sfpl.org/events/2025/06/21/celebration-comic-arts-fest
— Cartoon Art Museum (@cartoonart.bsky.social) 2025-06-17T16:37:44.747Z
This week’s reviews.
TCJ
• Tate McFadden reviews the attentive consistency of Alex Graham’s The Devil’s Grin: Book One — “Most talking animal comics rely on the innate recognizability of cartoon animals(show anyone on the planet an outline of the mickey mouse fun house clan and they can probably name one). Graham, however, unseats our stability, and thus our comfort, by making her characters uncomfortably difficult to taxonomize.”
• Kevin Brown reviews the systemic realities of Badiucao and Melissa Chan’s You Must Take Part in Revolution — “Badiucao’s primary palette is black and white, leading to each panel looking like sketches done via woodblock printing with heavy ink. Backgrounds are full of grays and blacks even when characters are in nature or out during the day. In the same way that the political world is dark, the world that Badiucao draws is bleak.”
AIPT
• Collier Jennings reviews the returning weirdness of Gerard Way, Gabriel Bá, et al’s The Umbrella Academy: Plan B #1; and the perfect ending of IDW’s Star Trek: Omega #1.
• Chris Coplan reviews the effective foundation of Joseph Illidge, Tim Seeley, and Christian Rosado’s Bloodletter #1.
• Jonathan Waugh reviews the strong characterisation of Mark Waid, Adrian Gutierrez, et al’s Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #40.
• David Brooke reviews the managerial focus of Amy Chu, Andrea Di Vito, et al’s Emma Frost: The White Queen #1.
• Kevin Clark reviews the sharp start of Cherish Chen, Gabriel Guzman, et al’s Star Wars: Doctor Aphra – Chaos Agent #1.
• David Canham reviews the layered emotions of Ileana Surducan’s The Lost Sunday.
The Beat
• Javier Perez reviews the inspiring message of George Takei, Steven Scott, Justin Eisinger, and Harmony Becker’s It Rhymes With Takei.
• Sean Dillon reviews the softened starkness of Jeff Whitehead, Ryan Carr, et al’s adaptation of George A. Romero’s The Amusement Park.
• Arpad Okay reviews the flowing lines of Aaron Losty and Matt Emmons’ Daystar.
• D. Morris reviews the bleak farewell of Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribić, et al’s Aliens vs. Avengers #4.
• Matt Ledger reviews the smart storytelling of Ryan North, Mike Norton, et al’s Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #1.
• Javier Perez reviews the perfect balance of Ben H. Winters, Leomacs, et al’s Benjamin #1.
• Zack Quaintance reviews the new territory of James Tynion IV, Tate Brombal, Isaac Goodhart, et al’s The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos: Children of the Night #1.
• Jordan Jennings reviews the accessible storytelling of Connor McCreery, V.V. Glass, et al’s The Last Witch: Blood and Betrayal #1.
• Kristina Elyse Butke reviews the steamy snapshot of Dokueki’s My Adorable Betrothed, translated by Christine Dashiell.
Blogcritics
Jeff Provine reviews the unique lines of Eagle Valiant Brosi’s Black Cohosh.
Broken Frontier
• Gary Usher reviews the encouraging complexity of Jeff Lok’s Totality, and the perfect construction of Kazimir Lee’s Low Orbit.
• Andy Oliver reviews the uplifting sincerity of DC’s DC Pride 2025 #1, the rewarding reading of Wave Blue World’s Young Men in Love: New Romance, and the tactile intensity of Rein Lee's Sour Grapes.
Comics Grinder
Henry Chamberlain reviews the power dynamics of Arvind Ethan David, Ilias Kyriazis, et al’s adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s Trouble Is My Business.
House to Astonish
Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ Exceptional X-Men #10, Phoenix #12, Magik #6, Deadpool & Wolverine #6, and Giant-Size X-Men: Dark Phoenix Saga #1.
Publisher’s Weekly
Have starred capsule reviews of:
• The disarming balance of Eagle Valiant Brosi’s Black Cohosh.
• The raunchy fun of Rick Remender, Brian Posehn, Brett Parson, et al’s Grommets.
• The prickly poignancy of D. Boyd’s Denniveniquity.
• The stunning compositions of Yvan Alagbé’s Misery of Love, translated by Donald Nicholson-Smith.
School Library Journal
• Andrea Lipinski has starred capsule reviews of the quirky sweetness of Guy Bass and Pete Williamson’s Stitch Head, and the realistic relationships of Kat Fajardo’s Miss Camper.
• Taylor Skorski has a starred capsule review of the expressive details of Rey Terciero and Claudia Aguirre’s Dan in Green Gables: A Modern Reimagining of Anne of Green Gables.
• Ashley Leffel has a starred capsule review of Owena White and Suzana Harcum’s Tripping Over You.
Yatta-tachi
• Alex Henderson reviews the self-deprecating humour of Hiranishi Mieri’s The Girl That Can’t Get a Girlfriend.
• Masha Zhdanova reviews the elegant rendering of Kuzushiro’s The Moon on a Rainy Night, Volume 1, translated by Kevin Steinbach.
• Reuben Baron reviews the wholesome fluff of Kurano’s I Cross-Dressed for the IRL Meetup Volume 1, translated by Jocelyne Allen.
We are back! Get your applications in for CALA 2025 at comicartsla.com before the deadline of June 30.
(And please share to spread the word!!)
— Comic Arts LA (@comicartsla.bsky.social) 2025-06-10T13:21:22.506Z
This week’s interviews.
AIPT
• Chandler Poling speaks with Daryl Lawrence about True North, the magic of Alpha Flight, scoping exercises, and the importance of editors.
• Chris Coplan talks to Heather Antos about IDW’s Star Trek line of comics, the legacy of Gene Roddenberry’s vision, and the realities of working on transmedia properties.
Autobiographix
Nora Hickey interviews Lion’s Tooth’s Cris Siqueira and Shelly McClone-Carriere about the Milwaukee bookstore, and the fractal communities of the comics scene.
The AV Club
Toussaint Egan speaks with Fabrice Giger about Métal Hurlant’s return, crowdfunding test markets, the death of comic book magazines, and production processes.
The Beat
• E.B. Hutchins interviews Kendra Wells about Real Hero Shit 2: Harder Than It Looks, reader receptions to the series, and sequel escalations.
• Christian Angeles speaks with Marguerite Bennett and Bev Johnson about Flash Gordon: The Girl From Infinity, science fiction histories, and alien editorial questions.
Dying Scene
Forrest Gaddis talks to Ben Snakepit about Return to the Snakepit, daily comics and evolving processes, and bandmate connections.
Fanbase Press
Barbra Dillon speaks with Jordan Clark about Ancestral Recall and working with AHOY to publish the series, with Allan Liska and Ben Liska about Buck Rogers and the Cyber Lords and crowdfunding the comic on Kickstarter, and with Peter Bune about Deathgasm 1.5: The Director’s Cut and picking up where the original movie left off.
Forbes
Rob Salkowitz interviews Humanoid’s Fabrice Giger about the return of Métal Hurlant and the decision to head down the crowdfunding route in a shifting market, and with Philippe Labaune and Paul Pope about the new ‘Paul Pope ф Pulp Hope’ exhibition at Philippe Labaune Gallery.
Islington Tribune
Dan Carrier speaks with Gareth Brookes about adapting Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler, and the book and its author’s place in British history.
Mindless Ones
Illogical Volume talks to Craig Collins about Ales of the Unexpected, reader ambivalence, and Cajun complexities.
The New York Times
George Gene Gustines speaks with David Steingberger about the launch of the Neon Ichiban digital comics platform, and how it differs from Comixology, which Steinberger co-founded.
Publisher’s Weekly
Rob Kirby interviews Katie Fricas about Checked Out, the incredible work of librarians, and the intimidatory nature of book bans.
Sloboden Pečat
Toni Dimkov speaks with Reinhard Kleist about Low, the joys of seeing your work translated, and the research behind biographical graphic novels.
Style Weekly
Gabriella Lacombe talks to Brian’s Books’ Brian Baynes about the store’s opening, the variety of items on the shops’s shelves, and the importance of looking beyond the mainstream.
The 2025 American Manga Awards nominees & Manga Publishing Hall of Fame announcement is now up on @publisherswkly.bsky.social / @pwcomicsworld.bsky.social https://ift.tt/hQeJYpt...
This week’s features and longreads.
• Here at TCJ, Brigid Alverson picks up the recent pieces fracturing off of the Diamond Comic Distributors snafu, already in progress, as lawsuits and questions from interested parties are continuing to pile up — “Even before the bankruptcy filing, retailers were having issues with Diamond, starting around the time Diamond closed its Plattsburgh, N.Y., distribution center in November 2024. “I have had one on-time shipment from Diamond since October,” said Rob Kaylin, owner and general manager of Comic Logic in Ashburn, Va. “I haven’t had a complete or on-time order from Diamond since they closed the distribution center in Plattsburgh.””
• Also for TCJ, Helen Chazan reports from this year’s Toronto Comic Arts Festival, the first event at the festival’s new calendar slot in June, and its new physical space in the Mattamy Athletic Centre, and the attendant highs and lows that come with such a move — “The joy of reading comics is, after all, one of the simple pleasures of being alive - and as people with pronouns swarmed my table and others to snap up transgender pornography and independent expression, I could not shake the feeling that this comic arts festival was in some way also a festival of transgender life.”
• More, here at TCJ this week, as Ayumi Naraoka and Jon Holt present a translation of a chapter from Shimizu Isao’s 2014 volume Hokusai Manga: The Origin of Manga, discussing giga cartoon books of the Edo period that became popular during the lifetime of Katsushika Hokusai — “One wonders what attracted Hokusai to these giga books. I get the feeling that instead of the kinds of expressions of simplified and refined cartoons, Hokusai was more interested in the kind of depictions of the people and their customs done by Sōkyūshi, Maki Bokusen, and Aikawa Minwa. In particular, I bet Hokusai showed his appreciation for Bokusen’s Garden of Crazy Pictures for its new kind of visual expression and its ability to produce laughter from its readers.”
• Finally for TCJ, Malcy Duff presents The 95 Year Old Character, with Duff’s other comics at TCJ available to read here — “In 2025 some famous comic characters became public domain after their 95-year-old copyrights expired. This brought up some interesting questions to me about the relationship between the cartoonist and the character. I think about the moment these mortal and immortal entities were intertwined like a tennis match, and the conversation these two tennis players had over the net at the end.”
• For Publisher’s Weekly, Ash Holland speaks with comics librarians, retailers, and nonprofit organisers about the community action taking place in the face of continued attempts at book bans across the United States.
• Over at Shelfdust, Holly Raymond continues an examination of the work of J.M. DeMatteis with a look back at the thrumming anxiety of (the Sal Buscema pencilled) Spectacular Spider-Man #182, and the building trauma to be found in serialised superhero comics.
• More on the current kerfuffle over Diamond Comics Distributors’ sale, and the lawsuits and countersuits spinning out of it, as The Beat dips into Sparkle Pop’s recently filed case against Alliance, and the allegations regarding both company’s business practices contained therein.
• The Buenos Aires Herald previews the upcoming English-language translation of Quino's Mafalda, charting the history of the strip in a time of upheaval for Argentina, and putting its cast of characters into the sociopolitical context of the time.
• For Broken Frontier, A. Mauri gives a behind-the-scenes look at the making of How to Love Yourself, and discusses approaching your own experiences with compassion after the fact.
• More, more, more from the Mindless Ones, as this week consideration is given to the confused position of Occupy Comics, and the navigational aid of K. Briggs’ The Return (& Other Short Comics).
• From the world of open-access academia, in Feminist Formations, Margaret Galvan looks back on the lesbian comics and zine community of the '90s, contrasting the broader view that zine networks afford of the period than the more limited editorial scope of grassroots newspapers and underground comix.
• For American Periodicals: A Journal of History & Criticism, Adam Sonstegard examines the work of Charles Chesnutt, as appearing in Puck, and the mix of base stereotypes, "meta-minstrelsy," and social critiques to be found therein.
• In the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, Michael Connerty presents analysis of the publishing output of Alfred Harmsworth between 1890 and 1920, and the differentiation of titles targeting younger readers from those intended for an older audience during this period of British history.
• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as military parades were surprisingly ineffective at quelling discontent vis-à-vis people being rounded up by masked federal agents.
Today's the day!
We are happy to publicly announce the winner of the $1000 Make More Comics Grant for 2025: Oliver Arthur and his comics Seeds! @oleekah
— 100% Comics (@100percentcomics.bsky.social) 2025-06-16T02:20:35.885Z
This week’s audio/visual delights.
A few offerings from the ever growing collection of sound and moving images on the internet, as NHK World released an officially translated episode of Manben with Urasawa Naoki visiting Chiba Tetsuya’s studio (and nap room) to discuss a 60-year career in manga making, Off Panel’s David Harper spoke with Ethan S. Parker and Griffin Sheridan about their writing partnership and Kill Your Darlings, and Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come featured Heidi MacDonald’s visit to this year’s Toronto Comics Art Festival to speak with various cartoonists attending the event.
Thought Bubble & Travelling Man have teamed up to present micro-bursaries for nine UK-based early career comic creators. Each recipient will receive £400 in cash, and a table at Thought Bubble Comic Convention 2025.Find out more and submit your name here: thoughtbubblefestival.com/microbursaries
— Thought Bubble Festival (@thoughtbubbleuk.bsky.social) 2025-06-18T11:02:14.431Z
No more links this week — there’s a heatwave sans A/C here in the UK, so all electronic devices are just ancillary sources of warmth and must be powered down.
SEEKING SUMMER ARCHIVAL INTERNWe are looking for an assistant to archive and document the Paradise Systems Chinese comics library. Must be comfortable reading Chinese comics (simplified and traditional) and writing about them in English. A background in translation is a plus.
— Paradise Systems 格物天下 (@paradisesystems.bsky.social) 2025-06-13T14:49:16.625Z
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