Taking a brief break from setting up for decorative gourd season, and the drafting of this week’s links, below, to carefully slip the Royal Mail’s recent Peanuts first day cover set out of its protective packaging and gently celebrate the 75th anniversary of the comic strip’s launch, before sealing it back away into an airtight vault and returning to the assembly and erection of a giant plastic lawn skeleton.
— Uzair Rashid (@uzairrashid.bsky.social) 2025-09-23T15:25:06.119Z
This week’s news.
Catching up with some recent occurrences in the digital manga space, as last month saw the closure of another high-profile manga piracy site, Comick.io, which has now changed focus to become a tracking/wiki database, after a recent wave of takedown notices from license holders were issued to sites hosting titles illegally; online service Manga Planet announced that it will be shuttering its digital platform on March 31, 2026, due to issues with payment processors, relating to the hosting of adult content, choosing instead to focus on print releases in the face of a “changing online landscape”; and Crunchyroll’s digital manga platform will be launching next week as a premium add-on to its streaming services, with licensed titles at launch from publishers including AlphaPolis, COMPASS, Square Enix, VIZ Media, and Yen Press.
This week’s reviews.
TCJ
• Hagai Palevsky reviews the nagging issues of Walker Tate’s Laser Eye Surgery — “...the book becomes less a thriller than a character piece of the mid-period Eightball mold: a sad-sack defined solely by his life’s indignities. (A rare full view of the protagonist’s face only stands to reinforce the Clowes resemblance: see the careful hatching, the head-on angle, and the deadened expression.)”
• Gina Dawson reviews the cultivated chaos of Molly Colleen O’Connell’s The Shriekers — “O’Connell’s drawing has a lot of music to it, with the improvisational energy of early aughts Laura Owens paintings. More than one strip includes a saxophone with a surprise inside (Snakes! Spiders!) and another includes an “ear horn” that pulls a carrot shaped parasite out of, well, an ear. The lines of her drawing move accordingly, skronking with the horns.”
AIPT
• Alex Schlesinger reviews the heartwarming sweetness of Peglo’s To the Stars and Back, Volume 1.
• Marvel Maximus reviews the magical selection of DC’s Zatannic Panic! #1.
• Nathan Simmons reviews the perfect start of Karl Kerschl, Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Marco Ferrari, et al’s Gotham Academy: First Year #1.
• Collier Jennings reviews the successful approach of Erik Larsen, Andrea Broccardo, et al’s Spider-Man Noir #1.
• David Brooke reviews the harrowing allegory of James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder, Martin Simmonds, Joshua Hixson, et al’s The Department of Truth #0.
• David Canham reviews the uninspiring questions of Mark Russell et al’s Vanishing Point.
The Beat
• Samantha Puc reviews the delightful romance of Caroline Cash’s Adventure Time Bubbline College Special #1.
• Khalid Johnson reviews the raised stakes of Zack Kaplan, Fico Ossio, et al’s Kill All Immortals II #1.
• Jordan Jennings reviews the brisk pacing of Chris Gooch, Oliver Ono, et al’s Starship Godzilla #1.
• Clyde Hall reviews the smooth launch of Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, Scott Hepburn, et al’s Minor Threats: The Last Devil Left Alive #1.
• Zack Quaintance reviews the rich horror of Frank Barbiere, Morgan Beem, et al’s The Author Immortal #1.
• Jared Bird reviews the dreamlike brilliance of Romuald Giulivo, Jakub Rebelka, et al’s The Last Day of H.P Lovecraft #1, translated by Mercedes Gilliom.
• Tim Rooney reviews the impenetrable start of Sabir Pirzada, Paul Davidson, et al’s Spirits of Violence #1.
• Diego Higuera reviews the thematic balance of Karl Kerschl, Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Marco Ferrari, et al’s Gotham Academy: First Year #1.
• Kathryn Hemmann reviews the thrilling history of Sole Otero’s Witchcraft, translated by Andrea Rosenberg.
• Merve Giray reviews the flashy fun of Hiroshi Fukuda’s Rock is a Lady’s Modesty, Volume 1, translated by Ajani A. Oloye.
Broken Frontier
Lydia Turner reviews the exciting chaos of Vaso Michailidou’s Hibernating.
House to Astonish
Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ Astonishing X-Men Infinity Comic #37, X-Men #22, Storm #12, Spider-Man & Wolverine #5, and Emma Frost: The White Queen #4.
ICv2
Milton Griepp reviews the surprising breadth of Wes Eastin’s documentary Shopping for Superman.
Kirkus Reviews
Have starred capsule reviews of:
- The emotional intelligence of Alyssa Bermudez’s Run Home.
- The heartwarming gentleness of Kaz Windess’ Worm and Butterfly are Friends Always.
- The heartfelt excitement of Dan Santat’s Sidekicks: Thick as Thieves.
- The impressive execution of Javi De Castro’s The Spectacular Space Loop.
Solrad
Jason Sacks and Daniel Elkin present a review from the archives of the shifting style of Elijah Brubaker’s Reich.
Yatta-tachi
• Reversea reviews the formal experimentation of 9banta’s Zigoku’s Foreman, Volume 1, translated by Ethan Cook.
• Wendeego reviews the earnest insights of Chiaki Yagura’s ALTERNATIVE [SELF LINER NOTE], translated by Mike Jokoh.
It's that time: ShortBox Comics Fair is here! Over 140+ all-new, original comics created by artists from around the world, gathered exclusively in one place -for October only!And it's all online, with all digital comics: no shipping, no waiting, no travelling.https://ift.tt/RAGS23E
— ShortBox Comics Fair (@shortboxcomicsfair.bsky.social) 2025-10-01T07:00:44.188Z
This week’s interviews.
TCJ
• Brian Nicholson interviews Molly Colleen O’Connell about The Shriekers, meditation practices, musical theatre inspirations, and learning by making — “I’ve done some shorts like stop-motion. I did a really dumb Stripp Mall animation but it's not as complex as the comics. It was important to me to try all these things out, find out what I liked about them, and then come back to comics, appreciating comics for the value you have in world-building, but also you have [to have] economy to get out enough of a story that people can hold on to.”
• From the archives, on the occasion of this week’s 75th anniversary of the first Peanuts strip, comes Gary Groth’s 1997 interview with Charles M. Schulz, originally published in The Comics Journal #200: “I think a comic strip is very important to have a change of pace. That's why I have such a good group, I've got a repertory company. And I can do things that are really stupid, and give them to Snoopy, things that are really corny, kind of dumb. But they become funny because Snoopy doesn't realize how corny and dumb they are. Or else he and Woodstock will say something which is just silly, and they'll laugh and laugh and they'll fall off the doghouse on their heads or something.”
AIPT
• Chris Hassan speaks with Stephanie Phillips about Binary, redefining mutant mainstays, and the secret of the series’ villain.
• Chris Coplan interviews Daniel Kraus and Dani about ATHANASIA and stories with superheroes that aren’t about superheroes, and Zack Quaintance about Macabre Valley and the Venn diagram between journalists and comics writers.
The Beat
• Zack Quaintance chats with P.J. Holden about Terran Omega, the comic’s inspirations, and creative processes.
• Javier Perez speaks with Tom King about Love Everlasting, reaching the book’s midway point, and working on adaptations of titles for the big and small screens.
CBS
Loureen Ayyoub talks to Mari Yamazaki about work featured in the de Young Museum’s new "Art of Manga" exhibition, which is open now through to the new year.
Fanbase Press
Barbra Dillon interviews:
- Adam Lawson about Mad Dog Morgan and working with The Lab Press on the book.
- Joana Mosi about The Mongoose and the book’s publication in French- and English-language formats.
- Patrick Lugo about Undead Kung-Fu Ghost Killer and crowdfunding realisations.
- Mister & Mischief (aka Jeff Crocker and Andy Crocker) about Infinite Right Answers and dividing up the work.
- Sylvain Runberg and Grun about Space Relic Hunters: Smugglers, Rebels, and Sacred Ruins and keeping construction of chaos coherent.
FreakSugar
Jed W. Keith speaks with Jake Smith about RoboWolf, the metafictional origins of the book, and aiming for that retro 80s aesthetic.
The Hollywood Reporter
Borys Kit interviews Inanna Sarkis about Inanna The Name She Lost, the real-life inspirations for the book, and looking to ancient mythology for the comic’s wider narrative.
ICv2
Jesse Criscione talks to Mark Spears about Mark Spears Monsters: The Monster and the Wolf, crowdfunding successes, and blind bag covers.
Mission Local
Noma Faingold interviews Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere about curating the de Young Museum’s new "Art of Manga" exhibition, speaking with other Bay Area locals about the importance of the medium.
The New York Times
George Gene Gustines speaks with Manuel Martínez Nazario about the New York Public Library’s new “¡Wepa! Puerto Ricans in the World of Comics” exhibition, source from Nazario’s collection, and how the donation of comics to the library came about.
Pride Source
Hank Kennedy talks to The Vault of Midnight’s Jacki Van Tuyle about the Michigan store’s curation ethos, and the importance of resisting modern censorship of comics and graphic novels.
San Francisco Chronicle
Todd Inoue speaks with Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere about curating the de Young Museum’s new "Art of Manga" exhibition, touring the show and detailing a series of events celebrating its launch.
The San Francisco Standard
Sam Mondros talks to cosplaying attendees at the public opening of the de Young Museum’s new "Art of Manga" exhibition.
Blep.
— Bhanu pratap (@bhanupratap.bsky.social) 2025-09-18T18:42:48.048Z
This week’s features and longreads.
• Here at TCJ, Brigid Alverson writes on the legal saga between the Frank Frazetta estate and J. David Spurlock and Vanguard, charting the history between Spurlock and the Frazetta family and how things ended up in the courtroom — “Spurlock’s statement hints at a lingering disagreement: He maintains that the 2010 agreement allowing him to continue to publish Frazetta: The Definitive Reference is still in force, even though Frazetta Properties terminated the agreements in 2018. Spurlock sued Frazetta Properties, Frazetta Girls, Holly Frazetta, and Sara Taylor over that termination in 2019, and in 2023 the jury in that case found in the Frazettas’ favor on some counts of the complaint and Spurlock's in others.”
• Also for TCJ, Zack Davisson writes in remembrance of Matt Haasch, founder and publisher of independent manga publisher Star Fruit Books, who passed away in September due to lymphoma — “The one solace I take from all this is one of Matt’s last posts, as he lay on his hospital bed with a feeding tube, stunned at the outpouring of cards, comments, and contributions to his GoFundMe. Matt said, “I knew people loved me but not this much lol.””
• More for TCJ, as Chris Anthony Diaz presents photographs from last year’s Philly Comics Expo, organised by Tom Marquet and Gina Dawson of Partners & Son — “Philly is a nice place to visit for a weekend, especially if the weather was sunny like it was this past year. And I hope PCX becomes a festival that is highly regarded and anticipated by fans and cartoonists to attend and enjoy for years to come! Philadelphia is fast becoming the major indie/alternative comics scene of up and comers with Gina and Tom's Partners and Son and PCX celebrating all those talents. PCX 2025 will be held on October 4th, 2025.”
• For CBC, in the wake of Alberta’s recent bans on books in school libraries taking aim primarily at graphic novels, Rukshar Ali reports on the province’s history in the field of banning comics, and the 1950s founding of the Advisory Board on Objectionable Publications.
• Anna Kaufman writes for USA Today on the 75th anniversary of Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts, speaking with Jeannie Schulz about the strip’s legacy, and Schulz’s famous fans.
• More observances of Peanuts’ 75th birthday, as NPR’s Here & Now spoke with cartoonist Michael Cavna about the strip, Chris Lagrow wrote on the impact of Peanuts for The Post-Journal, and Catharine Hughes covers the history of the comic for The New Statesman.
• Over at Shelfdust, Kate O’Donoghue looks back on Peter David and Todd Nauck’s Young Justice #27, primarily featuring a high-stakes super-powered game of baseball, and how certain concepts and characters become embedded in the collective psyche.
• For FAIR, Hank Kennedy writes on the importance of political cartooning in the United States, and how the profession is under attack during the second Presidency of Donald Trump.
• A fresh Mindless Ones missive, with remembrance of Mark Stewart (AKA Amy Poodle), and writing on the work of Alan Moore and Grant Morrison, plus British comics history observations relating to summer holidays favourite Whizzer and Chips.
• From the world of open access academia, for the Berkeley Journal of Entertainment and Sports Law, Nicholas Stamates and Ken Penders present a history of Penders’ copyright lawsuits against Archie Comics and Sega, and subsequent suits from other creators, pertaining to the Sonic the Hedgehog comics and associated properties, and how these have impacted creator rights in the US.
• Over at House to Astonish, Paul O’Brien’s survey of the villains of Daredevil continues, as this week we are introduced to Frank Miller and Klaus Janson’s subterranean King of the Sewers.
• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, for The Daily Cartoonist, which turns 20 this weekend, as freedom of speech continued to bump up against good old fashioned Presidential vendettas and, well, speeches.
A2CAF: Small and Indie Press is coming up soon! Can you help us get the word out? We want to make sure that lots of folks know about this special free event at @aadl.org!
— Athenaeum Comic Art (@athenaeumcomicart.bsky.social) 2025-09-23T22:26:24.189Z
This week’s audio/visual delights.
• Ben Katchor hosted the latest meeting of the New York Comics & Picture-Story Symposium, as academic and historian Laurence Grove presented a talk on the 200th anniversary of the Glasgow Looking Glass, and the debate surrounding other also-rans for the honour of the first ever published comic.
• Henry Chamberlain welcomed Joe Sacco to Comics Grinder, as they spoke about The Once and Future Riot, political realities and the difficulty of finding objective reporting in contemporary journalism, and the current shift in governance in the United States.
• Brian Hibbs was joined by James Robinson for Comix Experience’s Graphic Novel Club, as they discussed Welcome to the Maynard, comics making origins, Big Two publishing realities, and plans for the future.
• Some recent podcast outings, as Off Panel’s David Harper spoke with John Allison about The Great British Bump-Off: Kill or Be Quilt and with David Brothers and Nick Dragotta about Good Devils: Don’t Play Fair With Evil; Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come featured Meg Lemke’s interviews with Tom Devlin and Lee Lai at SPX, alongside Heidi MacDonald’s report from the show; and Gil Roth was joined by Kayla E. on The Virtual Memories Show to talk about Precious Rubbish and the graphic design work on the book.
Taking a Riso class.Week 2.
Links are done for now, as the nights draw in, and gentle rappings can be heard at one’s chamber door.
Let's go!
— Marie Enger (@soengery.bsky.social) 2025-10-02T01:59:13.753Z
The post Grey October – This Week’s Links appeared first on The Comics Journal.
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.
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