The Menace of Megalith — This Week’s Links

January draws to a close, and, while the trees are still skeletally bare, the remains of last year’s leaves ground into dirt beneath the ever onward march of progress, here, up in the northern hemisphere, the days are lengthening again, somewhat, which means that, rather than doomscrolling eternally in the dark, one can spend a growing portion of the day doomscrolling with the light of Sol weakly shining down on one’s face, while compiling this week’s links, below.

Pinecrabs

— Zé Burnay (@zeburnay.bsky.social) 2026-01-24T12:41:20.369Z

This week’s news.

• Beginning this week’s selection with some comics and protests news, as Greg Ketter, owner of Minneapolis’ DreamHaven Books and Comics, went viral this week, after being photographed walking through a billowing cloud of tear gas, while protesting following the killing of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in the local area - TCJ also has an interview with Ketter up on the site today.

• Apparently impending lawsuit news, kicking off 2026's slate of comics legal cases on the books, as the launch this week of the new Le Grand Off festival in Angoulême, replacing the Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême for this year, following various protests and boycotts at the manner in which 9e Art+ and Franck Bondoux have managed the festival, has spurred Bondoux to announce that legal action could be pursued with festival owner FIBD against the Association for the Development of Comics in Angoulême, which would presumably make for a completely ordered transition to new management and have no lasting repercussions for the festival as a whole, of course.

• Comics prizes news, as the American Library Association announced the winners of the inaugural editions of the Outstanding Comics for Young Adults and Adults Awards, with Juni Ba et al’s The Boy Wonder named Young Adult in the Category of Fiction Winner; Anders Nilsen's Tongues named Adult in the Category of Fiction Winner; Briana Loewinsohn’s Raised by Ghosts named Young Adult in the Category of Nonfiction Winner; Peter Kuper's Insectopolis named Adult in the Category of Nonfiction Winner; Kami Garcia, Gabriel Picolo, et al’s Teen Titans named as Young Adult in the Category of Series Winner; and Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda's The Night Eaters named as Adult in the Category of Series Winner.

• Prizes yet to be won news, as the judges of the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame this week announced the inductees for 2026, with honours going to Bob Bolling, Gerry Conway, Denys Cowan, Edwina Dumm, Mike Friedrich, Oliver Harrington, Don Heck, Abe Kanegson, Lee Marrs, Go Nagai, Paul S. Newman, Héctor Germán Oesterheld, Tom Palmer Sr., Bud Plant, Mike Royer, Dave Sim, Jimmy Swinnerton, Carol Tyler, and Rick Veitch, and a further group of inductees to be selected by voters in the comics industry later this year.

• In other Will Eisner news, it was announced this week that the intellectual property of Eisner, including the rights to the character of the Spirit along with an unpublished 72-page Spirit story from 1996, as well as the wider Will Eisner library, are being put up for sale by the Eisner estate, with no word yet on the expected value of the sale.

• Portland’s Helioscope collective this week announced their new mentorship program, picking up from the studio’s first mentoring program that ran from 2004-2020, with the first class of mentees in this new edition comprising artists Claire Scott and Emilie Kelly — applications for the next class of mentees will open later this year.

• The Cartoonist Cooperative announced this week that they had taken over stewardship of the online home of Hourly Comics Day, this year celebrating its 20th anniversary, along with a linked, now rather late-in-the-day announcement that the date of the annual online event has been moved from Feb. 1 to Feb. 8 going forward, in order to not divide attention from the start of Black History Month.

• In memoriam, remembering those the world of comics has lost, as news was shared this week of the passing of artist Sal Buscema, illustrator of myriad titles for Marvel Comics, DC, and more, across a storied career, who has died at the age of 89 — TCJ’s obituary for Buscema can be read here.

Une petite promenade à la campagne.

— -Boulet- (@bouletcorp.bsky.social) 2026-01-26T21:29:57.884Z

This week’s reviews.

TCJ

• Tom Shapira reviews the engaging mess of Pat Mills and Oliver Ledroit’s Requiem Vampire Knight Omnibus, Volume 1 — “A good value for money, if nothing else, though the reproduction leaves much to be desired. The fatter volume and soft cover make several scenes disappear into the middle of the many large spreads. Lettering (and bubble placement) is particularly bad throughout (just check out the choices for the cover). At best its dull tones clash with the rest of the work, at worst it makes it too hard to understand who is speaking which line.”

• Frank M. Young reviews the assured eccentricities of Joe Brainard et al’s The Complete C Comics — “I love the loose, reckless feeling of Brainard’s art. He draws freehand and his figures often distort as a result. A few fudged drawings are scritched into oblivion; others achieve a tentative, airy vibe that is fascinating for what it doesn’t contain. The 12-page strip “The Nancy Book,” by Padgett and Brainard, breaks a traditional comics narrative into a million slivers; the reader admires the rubble as they take a cautious stroll through it all.”

AIPT

• Jonathan Waugh reviews the limited scope of Marvel Comics’ Star Wars: Darth Maul: Black, White, & Red.

• David Brooke reviews the brutal closure of Benjamin Percy, Julius Ohta, et al’s Punisher: Red Band #5.

• Piper Whitaker reviews the weak presentation of Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, et al’s Absolute Wonder Woman #16.

• Deidre Freitas reviews the compelling questions of Deniz Camp, Javier Rodriquez, et al’s Absolute Martian Manhunter #8.

• Kevin Clark reviews the solid romance of DC’s Supergirl Next Door #1.

• Collier Jennings reviews the superhero dynamics of Saladin Ahmed, Federico Vicentini, et al’s Amazing Spider-Man 2026 Annual.

• Chris Coplan reviews the growing stakes of Matt Bors, Fred Harper, et al’s Toxic Avenger Comics #7.

The Beat

• Masha Zhdanova reviews the appealing dynamics of Mari Costa's The Demon of Beausoleil.

• E.B. Hutchins reviews the incisive rawness of Tess Fowler-Gutierrez’s Take the Fall.

• Gianni Palumbo reviews the special journey of Herik Hanna and Charlie Adlard’s Altamont.

• Arpad Okay reviews the cerebral construction of J Marshall Smith’s Testament.

• Jared Bird reviews the brilliant continuation of Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar, Baldemar Rivas, David Messina, et al’s Bug Wars – The Spyder Wytch Special #1.

• Zack Quaintance reviews the lingering surprises of Daniel Ziegler and Nick Cagnetti’s Spirit of the Shadows #1.

• Jordan Jennings reviews the enjoyable execution of Justin Jordan, John Bivens, et al’s Malevolent #1.

• Tim Rooney reviews the character actualisation of Steve Orlando, Bernard Chang, et al’s Sorcerer Supreme #2.

Broken Frontier

• Gary Usher reviews the unique brilliance of Steve Willis’ The Tragedy of Morty, Prince of Denmarke.

• Andy Oliver reviews:

The teasing surrealism of Walker Tate’s Laser Eye Surgery.
The sweet nostalgia of David Robertson’s For the Record: A Lifetime of Loving Music.
The astonishing craft of Keezy Young’s Hello Sunshine.

Four Color Apocalypse

Ryan Carey reviews the revelatory fun of Corinne Halbert’s Scorpio Venus Rising #1-4.

The Guardian

Eddy Frankel reviews the singular anxiety of R. Crumb's There’s No End to the Nonsense at London's David Zwirner Gallery.

House to Astonish

Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ X-Men #24, Inglourious X-Force #1, Spider-Man & Wolverine #9, X-Men of Apocalypse #2, Rogue #1, and Psylocke: Ninja #1.

The Nation

Jeet Heer reviews the wry charm of Sook-Yin Lee's motion picture adaptation of Chester Brown's Paying For It.

The New York Times

Chris Azzopardi reviews the emotional realities of Sook-Yin Lee's motion picture adaptation of Chester Brown's Paying For It.

Rain Taxi

Hank Kennedy reviews the unfortunate omissions of Harold Schechter and Eric Powell's Dr. Werthless.

The Skinny

Heather McDaid reviews the relatable exploration of Sophie Burrows’ Crushing.

Solrad

Hagai Palevsky reviews the crowd-pleasing approach of Takano Fumiko’s Miss Ruki, translated by Alexa Frank.

Yatta-tachi

• Alex Henderson reviews the impressive efficiency of inee’s Love Bullet, Volume 1, translated by Masaaki Fukushima.

• Kai reviews the sweet romance of Yu Machio’s I Don’t Know How to Love, translated by Jan Cash.

Join us this weekend for our Zine Making Workshops on Saturday, Jan. 31 and Sunday, Feb. 1. We'll provide supplies (including recycled comics), but you're welcome to bring your own. Bonus: it's free for all! cartoonart.org/calendar/2026/1/31/zine-making-workshop#zines #diy #handson #free

— Cartoon Art Museum (@cartoonart.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T07:46:56.475Z

This week’s interviews.

TCJ

Emily Rems interviews Tessa Hulls about Feeding Ghosts, webs of belonging, cautionary tales of process evolutions, and moving to work in service to rivers — “Feeding Ghosts never came from a place of desire: I made it from love and duty, with the goal of healing my relationship with my mother. But at no point did I ever want to make a book, and I have never wavered from that. I’m an extremely multidisciplinary artist who likes to make work from a place of being in the world, and I see each project I take on as a relationship that chooses the medium it wants to come out in.”

AIPT

• Chris Hassan speaks with Alex Paknadel about Cyclops, pitching pitches, the many masks of Scott Summers, and the allure of the character to his psychic romantic partners.

• David Brooke talks to Joshua Williamson about Iron Man, heading across the aisle to Marvel Comics, and the appeal of Tony Stark as a leading man.

• Chris Coplan chats with Matt Kindt and David Lapham about Knight City, creative collaboration, comics colouring anxiety, and the realities of the superhero lifestyle.

CBC

• Candace Maracle interviews Jay Odjick and KC Oster about KABOOM!, the similarities of the comics form to petroglyphs and wampum belts, and family inspirations.

• Luke Beirne speaks with Boum about The Jellyfish, the book’s original origins as a short film proposal, and personal experiences of vision loss and loss of an eye that inspired the story.

Fanbase Press

Barbra Dillon talks to:

• Matt Bors about Toxic Avenger and having the key to the city of Tromaville.

• Theresa Arzola about Beyond the Road and the scary aspects of publishing an autobio story.

• Matt Garvey about The Skim and the specifics of casino heist planning.

• Derek McCaw and Moni Barrette about Horror Not Hate and the book’s crowdfunding campaign.

Publisher’s Weekly

• Meg Lemke interviews Gary Groth about the origins of Fantagraphics and The Comics Journal, tenacity in the publishing game, and what makes for a good comic.

• Rob Kirby speaks with Tillie Walden about Charity & Sylvia, the research residency behind the book, and what readers should take away from the story of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake.

• Christopher Burkhalter talks to Marcello Quintanilha about The Lights of Niterói, growing up with football as a taboo, and the family inspirations behind the book’s characters.

• Shaenon K. Garrity interviews Gemma Correll about Anxietyland, finding the humour in mental health struggles, and the eternal inspiration of the humble pug.

• Sophia Stewart speaks with Paloma Celis Carbajal and Charles Cuykendall Carter about curating New York Public Library’s ¡Wepa!: Puerto Ricans in the World of Comics exhibition.

• John Maher and Tobias Carroll talk to Craig Thompson about Ginseng Roots, mid life crises, comparisons to Blankets, and differences between the serialised issues and the graphic novel.

• Brigid Alverson interviews Liz Frances about Street Noise’s fifth anniversary, keeping the foot on the gas, eschewing investor involvement, and distribution routes.

Smash Pages

JK Parkin chats with Robert Mgrdich Apelian and Shaina Lu about Fustuk and Noodle & Bao, culinary interests, and integrating food and family themes into comic works.

Solrad

Aria Baci speaks with Caroline Cash about Nancy, comics making origins and influences, the queerness of nonlinear storytelling, and making everything by hand

#iceoutcomics#iceout

— Myisha Haynes (@palaceofposey.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T22:25:47.191Z

This week’s features and longreads.

• Here at TCJ, Bob Levin writes on Joe Sacco’s The Once and Future Riot and the journalistic journey on which the book takes the reader — “A slain person is a slain person. Each leaves behind resentment and grief. Which deaths becomes a focus of attention is a matter of a reporter’s drives, a public’s demands, a media’s cravings. So the choice of subject for Sacco suggests something beyond the number of tears shed or garments rent is determinative.”

• Also for TCJ, Bread Tarleton reports on the experience of tabling at 2025’s edition of the Short Run Comix Festival, which took place in November of last year — “When I talked to attending friends and family, there was mention of an awkward self-consciousness about looking at zines on the tables and not purchasing them. This definitely exists for audiences at every show, but it was felt notably like there was a hesitation from the crowd to flip through books and zines. Whether that behavior is simply too much fear of disappointing sellers for the members of the audience to truly engage I was unsure.”

• More festival reportage for TCJ, as Hagai Palevsky returns from 2025’s edition of the Thought Bubble Festival with thoughts on books purchased there, including Karl Christian Krumpholz’s In the City, Nadia Schlosser’s Mollusc, and Carol Swain’s Another Way Out — “I don’t see people very much these days, really—a shocker, I’m sure—and often conventions, and the days of travel that surround them, are essentially an opportunity to shotgun as much interaction as I can, to regulate the dysregulated. It doesn’t work, really, but it charges those encounters with a unique energy.”

• Finally for TCJ this week, Brian Nicholson writes on Paul Pope’s THB, now becoming freshly available as Total THB from 23rd Street Books, and the various forms the comic has taken over the years — “I think it’s fucking great that Pope provides this apocryphal or filler material, that build out his sci-fi world while doubling down on the fact that these comics have as their ideal audience teenage girls who will allow themselves to appreciate something fun and disposable that does not take itself too seriously.”

• Tom Ewing’s Discourse 2000 continues, over at Freaky Trigger, as Gerry Finley-Day et al’s Ant Wars fails to reach the heights of 2000 AD’s creature feature classics, Shako and Flesh, and has at its heart some good old fashioned British xenophobia.

• From Cover to Cover’s Scott Cederlund writes on Mark Russell and Mike Feehan’s Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, and the subversive (and timely) focus the book takes on 1950s America and the House Un-American Activity Committee.

• For Shelfdust, Andy Tuttle’s ongoing Stephen King endurance run reaches King, Bernie Wrightson, and Michelle Wrightson’s Creepshow, adapting the film of the same name.

• Autobiographix’s Amaris Ketcham shares thoughts on various graphic medicine titles read while sitting in the oncology waiting room, including Miriam Engelberg’s Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person, Brian Fies’ Mom’s Cancer, Marisa Acocella Marchetto’s Cancer Vixen, Kimiko Tobimatsu and Keet Geniza’s Kimiko Does Cancer, Hayley Gullen’s This Might Surprise You, and Jennifer Hayden’s The Story of My Tits.

• Recently gone live on the World Wide Web, Accessible Lines pairs the work of cartoonists and illustrators with audio descriptions of the images in their voices, in a project funded by the British Council and founded by Hatiye Garip.

• A new week means a new Mindless Ones newsletter, sure as sunrise is followed by sunset, and this week A Brief History of British Comics assesses the sharpness of Dragon’s Claws and Geoff Senior.

• Paul O’Brien's accounting of the villains of Daredevil continues, for House to Astonish, as Denny O’Neil’s run of introducing short-lived baddies continues that run of form, and closes out, with the Council of Ten.

• From the world of open-access academia, in Strenæ, Ilaria Filograsso writes on the output of Italian publishing house Becco Giallo, considering Paolo Castaldi’s Etenesh, L’Odissea di una migrante, Francesca Vaccaro and Elena Mistrello’s Sindrome Italia: Storia delle nostre badanti, and Takoua Ben Mohamed’s Sotto il velo in the context of the growing body of comics based on the testimonies of migrants and refugees.

• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as all eyes continue to be on the federal government and ICE’s continued harassment and murder of innocent civilians.

sad books

— Annie Wu (@anniewu.bsky.social) 2026-01-25T03:08:42.352Z

No more links, because that electricity is needed to power the Ozymandias-like array of SAD lamps still blazing away until such time as spring has fully sprung.