The Janusian tradition of looking from the past towards the sprawling future continues, with such important questions as “will I have time to file this week’s links, below, and still make my train if I continue not to be able to find my keys for the next two hours?” demand answers in an increasingly querulous tone.
1994
— Patrick Kyle (@patrickkyle.bsky.social) 2026-01-12T02:10:23.723Z
This week’s news.
• Starting our latest selection on the continent once again, as the previously mooted replacement for this year’s Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême has received its official reveal, with Le Grand Off de la bande dessinée taking place from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, with a programme of free events across the city of Angoulême, ahead of plans for a complete restructuring of the festival for 2027.
• Comics prizes news, as Broken Frontier announced the winners of this year’s Broken Frontier Awards, with Mariko Tamaki named as Best Writer, Keezy Young named as Best Artist, and Donya Todd’s The Witch’s Egg named as Best Graphic Novel.
• In memoriam, remembering those the world of comics has lost, as news was shared this week of the passing of cartoonist and comics academic Diana Green, creator of Tranny Towers.
• News was also shared of the passing of cartoonist, painter, and engraver Sergio Tarquinio, illustrator of many western comics across a career that spanned decades, who has died aged 100.
Underdrawing WIP
— Molly Mendoza (@mollymendoza.bsky.social) 2026-01-13T00:57:13.780Z
This week’s reviews.
TCJ
Kevin Brown reviews the clear-eyed realities of Katriona Chapman’s The Pass — “Chapman creates rich characters, and she mirrors that richness in her art, using lush colors throughout the work, giving the visuals a density that matches the characters' depth. Her approach is largely realistic, not quite to the detail of a painting, but reminiscent enough, while still retaining enough of a comics feel. The artwork provides the necessary heft to go along with a story where characters are clearly struggling to understand what they want their lives to be.”
• Hagai Palevsky reviews the critical limitations of Eike Exner’s Manga: A New History of Japanese Comics — “The overall thesis appears to be one of subsumption, as either the cartoonists themselves or their stylistic influence filter from the outskirts into the mainstream; the inadvertent implication is shockingly dismissive, failing to engage with a deeper ideology of independent art outside the prism of commerce.”
AIPT
• Jonathan Waugh reviews the heartfelt action of Tony Fleecs, Justin Mason, et al’s The Thing: The King of Yancy Street.
• David Brooke reviews the emotional hook of Erica Shultz, Luigi Zagaria, et al’s Rogue #1.
• Michael Guerrero reviews the messy progression of Dan Watters, V. Ken Marion, et al’s Nightwing #134.
• Collier Jennings reviews the enjoyable diversion of Jeremy Adams, Cian Tormey, Pat Boutin, et al’s DC K.O.: Green Lantern Galactic Slam #1.
• Joe Jones reviews the escalating conflict of Kieron Gillen, Caspar Wijngaard, et al’s The Power Fantasy #15.
• Christopher Franey reviews the timeless action of John Layman, Jacob Edgar, et al’s The Rocketeer: The Island #1.
• Colin Moon reviews the fulfilling intimacy of Katriona Chapman’s The Pass.
The Beat
• Jared Bird reviews the fascinating finale of Tate Brombal, Jacob Phillips, et al’s Everything Dead and Dying #5.
• Clyde Hall reviews the undead politicking of B. Clay Moore, Mack Chater, et al’s Bloodland #1.
• Tim Rooney reviews the winning weirdness of Kristen Gudsnuk’s Touched by a Demon #1.
• Matt Ledger reviews the tense thrills of Torunn Grønbekk, Danilo Beyruth, Patricio Delpeche, et al’s Catwoman #83.
• D. Morris reviews the faltering characterisation of Tim Seeley, Michael Sta. Maria, et al’s Inglorious X-Force #1.
• Zack Quaintance reviews the refreshing tone of Katriona Chapman’s The Pass.
• Samantha Puc reviews the deft examinations of Archie Bongiovanni's Leo Rising.
• Dean Simons reviews the escalating betrayals of Antoine Ozanam and Antoine Carrion's White Shadows, translated by Dan Christensen.
Blogcritics
Jeff Provine reviews the iconic cast of Nathan Gelgud’s Reel Politik; and the gripping mystery of Marc Torices’ Cornelius: The Merry Life of a Wretched Dog, translated by Andrea Rosenberg.
Broken Frontier
• Lydia Turner reviews the refreshing boldness of Kate Evans’ Patchwork: A Graphic Biography of Jane Austen.
• Andy Oliver reviews the idiosyncratic approach of Mort Walker’s The Lexicon of Comicana; and the engaging narration of Ginette Kolinka, JDMorvan, Victor Matet, Ricard Efa, Cesc F. Dalmases, et al’s Adieu Birkenau, translated by Edward Gauvin.
Comics Grinder
Henry Chamberlain reviews the keen observations of Nathan Gelgud’s Reel Politik.
From Cover to Cover
Scott Cederlund reviews the core friendships of Sammy Harkham’s Crickets #9.
Gay City News
Gary M. Kramer reviews the uneven fun of Michael Bates and Gene Scheer’s operatic adaptation of Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.
Kirkus Reviews
Have starred capsule reviews of:
- The spirited adventure of Jorge Aguirre and Andrés Vera Martínez’s Monster Locker: Nine-Tail Trouble.
- The emotional resonance of Lily Kim Qian’s Until We Meet Again.
- The beautiful visuals of Mari Costa’s Forgive-Me-Not.
- The poignant humour of Rex Ogle and Dave Valeza’s Fruitcake.
- The devastating history of Nadine Takvorian’s Armaveni.
- The graceful details of Brandon Dumais and AJ Dungo’s Skating Wilder.
- The impressive craft of Campbell Whyte’s Luna Express.
Publisher’s Weekly
Have starred capsule reviews of:
• The informative innovation of Miriam Naiem, Yulia Vus, and Ivan Kypibid’s A Brief History of a Long War: Ukraine’s Fight Against Russian Domination.
• The seductive fearlessness of Hubert and Virginie Augustin’s Joe the PIrate: The Life and Times of Marion Barbara Carstairs, translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger.
Solrad
Lillie Hochwender reviews the vital reminders of Joshua Barkman’s Life After Life.
Yatta-tachi
Wendeego reviews the compromising formatting of UNNI's I Love Amy, Volume 1, translated by AH Cho.
#19お面だあぁぁぁぁぁぁ！！！
— Joe Sparrow (@torpordust.bsky.social) 2026-01-20T18:25:37.579Z
This week’s interviews.
TCJ
John Kelly presents a two-part conversation with Glenn Head about Chartwell Manor and Asylum, the core of being a cartoonist, and the evolution of RAW and Bad News — “What I really think about is the truthfulness of the work. And this isn't just about getting the facts right, but about looking at it through a self-critical lens, like where am I in all this? How am I complicit? I mean, what I don’t like in autobiography is trauma being invoked without being processed. It's a label in place of insight. The question always has to be, "Why does this still matter to me? What did this experience mean?" Without that, it's just a string of anecdotes, or a car crash on the highway.”
AIPT
• Chris Coplan speaks with Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Caitlin Yarksy about Dead Teenagers and the narrative appeal of time loops, with Eddie Raymond about Strangers Publishing and business model evolutions across the Covid-19 pandemic, and with Kristen Gudsnuk about Touched by a Demon and recurring themes across a body of work.
• Chris Hassan talks to Eve L. Ewing about X-Men United, X-office editorial retreats, psychic and physical spaces, and juggling a big cast of characters.
The Beat
Jared Bird interviews Dave Chisholm about Is Ted Ok?, the mysteries and puzzles at the heart of the story, and the difficulties of marketing books in the contemporary age.
GraphicMemoirBlog
Jonathan Sandler talks to Astrid Goldsmith about The Crystal Vase, the book’s exploration of intergenerational trauma, and the ways in which women's voices are erased from history.
Steven Heller speaks with Jarrett Dapier about Wake Now in the Fire, the student activists featured in the book, and the fight against the banning of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis by the Chicago Public School system in 2013 that the book tells the story of.
Publisher’s Weekly
Amanda Ramirez talks to Robert Mgrdich Apelian about Fustuk, celebrating the culture of the Middle East, culinary research, and selecting a colour palette.
VTDigger
David Goodman interviews Alison Bechdel about Spent, Dykes to Watch Out For connections to Minneapolis, the current climate, and digital processes and using AI.
back in the suffering mines
— Linnea Sterte (@decassette.bsky.social) 2025-12-28T19:03:45.518Z
This week’s features and longreads.
• RJ Casey pays heed to the first of 2026’s Arrivals and Departures, with quickfire reviews of Bryce Martin’s Terra Mea #0, Charlotte Pelissier’s The Loser Zeitgeist, Adam de Souza’s Mutt Mag #1, Derick Jones’ Nosebleed #3, Ava Pom’s Am I… In Love?, Paul Nagel’s Titanic Comics #1, Rachel Avallone’s Carrying a Pearl: A Comics Collection, Sarah Kirby’s Rat, Ellen Addison’s Tranquil Bliss, and Odin Cabal’s Terry and Dory #1 — “I once had an idea to compile an anthology solely of cartoonists detailing how they peel oranges. That’s when I wore a younger man’s clothes and made questionable choices. Now I’m wise, goddammit!”
• Also for TCJ, Andrew Farago writes on the passing of cartoonist and right-wing podcaster Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, who died earlier this month at the age of 68 — “News of his death elicited mixed reactions online, with relative silence and mild, qualified praise from his colleagues, cheers and mockery from those still embittered over his hurtful and hateful commentary during the final decade of his life, empathy from those saddened by his rapid decline in health if not his rapid fall from grace, and tributes from Donald Trump’s White House, including a disturbing AI-generated illustration of J.D. Vance, Donald Trump, and Dilbert, each rendered with a vacant stare and large, toothy smile, despite the fact that Adams had deliberately designed his character with no visible mouth.”
• A pair of recent essays from Josh Lambert’s Albatross Junkyard, as considerations were given to the heavy subject matter of Kayla E’s Precious Rubbish and the fascinating honesty at the core of Michel Fiffe’s Copra.
• Some more commentary on the passing of Scott Adams, as the Dilbert creator’s later-in-life shift into the MAGA-sphere is explored by Joel Stein for The New York Times and Nitish Pahwa for Slate.
• Isaiah Colbert writes for Aftermath on Shin-ichi Sakamoto’s manga adaptation of Jirō Nitta’s The Climber, and the arresting way in which the book brings readers into the world of scaling great heights.
• Tom Ewing’s Discourse 2000 continues, over at Freaky Trigger, as this time out the story of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic crash lands on Death Planet, and the strip’s treatment of its female lead is examined.
• For Shelfdust, Rob Cave writes on Jason Lutes’ Berlin #14, the issue’s focus on the life, death, and life after death of Nazi Horst Wessel, and contemporary parallels to the death of far-right influencer Charlie Kirk.
• The Mindless Ones appear on the horizon with another newsletter clutched in hand, as this week’s edition includes writing on Marvel UK’s Strip, psychogeography, Gilles Châtelet, and Jean-Luc Godard.
• Paul O’Brien’s survey of the villains of Daredevil continues, over at House to Astonish, as The Cossack makes a blinding debut before disappearing once more into nonexistence.
• From the world of open-access academia, for the International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, Abdulazeez Jaradat, Ahmad S. Haider, Israa Al-Qudah, and Mohammed Dagamseh present a study on Arab political cartoons representing President Donald Trump.
• For the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, Vladimir Cortal San Martin presents a paper on comics engagement with the Unidad Popular years in post-dictatorial Chile, providing a close reading of Nicolás Cruz and Quique Palomo's El Golpe: El Pueblo 1970–1973.
• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as government crackdowns in Iran and the United States vied for centre stage with the proposed annexation of Greenland.
Will Psyduck pass his driving test??
— Hannah Lock (@hannahlock.bsky.social) 2026-01-16T16:14:37.873Z
No more links this week, as trains and taxes wait for no one, and the keys were in a bag that hasn’t been used in weeks, of course.
So I haven’t worked at the tattoo shop in awhile but apparently I left my shrek done in the style of Sorayama there hahaha
— Lizzie Kodpuak née Acid Lich (Gröbnerpilled era) (@acidlich.bsky.social) 2026-01-20T23:35:23.148Z
The post Infinite wrath and infinite despair — 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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