Take Me Round Again — This Week’s Links

A real pick-your-poison week for contemporary opiates of the masses, as the Winter Olympics and Super Bowl arrive in lock step, meaning that myriad distractions are piling up, leaving increasingly scant mental bandwidth remaining for the compilation of this week’s links, below.

Bringing The War Home

— Ben Passmore (@benpassmore.bsky.social) 2026-01-29T21:51:24.183Z

This week’s news.

• Starting our latest selection with a trio of stories that connect Japan’s ongoing international soft power strategies with its strained diplomatic relations with China, as the last week or so saw cooperation between the Content Overseas Distribution Association and Chinese authorities to shut down manga piracy site Bato.to and prosecute the alleged operator of the site; backlash over the promotional collaboration between popular manga and anime franchises Detective Conan and My Hero Academia, the latter of which is controversial in China due to a character whose name was associated with Japanese war crimes in World War II; and the cancelling of a Pokémon event that was due to take place at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, a controversial Shinto shrine that commemorates Japanese soldiers who died in various wars, including a large number of convicted war criminals.

• House of Ideas news, as Marvel Comics’ parent corp The Walt Disney Company this week announced that Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro will be taking over as Chief Executive Officer of the multimedia giant from next month, succeeding Bob Iger in the role.

• The Beat shares the news that publisher DSTLRY, founded by David Steinberger and Chip Mosher, and whose founding creator group have an equity stake in the company, have paused their upcoming slate of publishing, due to fallout from the bankruptcy of Diamond Comics Distributors.

• In other distributor news, Oni Press and Penguin Random House this week announced that they have entered into a multi-year exclusive distro deal, for both trades and periodicals, as the comics distribution dodgems continue to ping about with wild abandon.

• Finally this week, author Neil Gaiman issued a statement regarding sexual assault accusations that first came to light in 2024, claiming that the allegations are part of a ‘smear campaign’, and referred readers to a number of confusingly written Substack posts by a pseudonymous author apparently discrediting the allegations, alongside some promotion for a yet-to-be-published new book. A sexual assault lawsuit against Gaiman was dismissed in the U.S. last year, after it was ruled that the jurisdictional authority for the case should be New Zealand.

A busy month kicks off today with our free Zine Making Workshop!Our monthly Draw and Chill is next Sunday, February 8, Brian Walker (Beetle Bailey, Hi and Lois) joins us on February 15, and Rupert Kinnard (Cathartic Comics) is here on February 16!https://ift.tt/WZGVCpd

— Cartoon Art Museum (@cartoonart.bsky.social) 2026-02-01T20:24:05.150Z

This week’s reviews.

TCJ

• Richard Pound reviews the welcome surprise of The Art of Milt Gross, Volume 1: Mastering Comic Pantomime — Judge 1923-24, edited by Paul C. Tumey — “The pacing in certain strips can seem a little bit off, and some of the punchlines don’t quite live up to their promise, while the cramped layouts and tightly drawn figures (well, tight for Gross) are a long way from the boisterous, scrawled line of his more famous work. But that’s all part of the pleasure in a collection like this.”

• Leonard Pierce reviews the epic ambition of Ben Wickey’s More Weight — “Wickey's illustrations are magnificent throughout, always exaggerated, teetering ever on the brink of loose, careening madness, but always holding together. His cartoonish, forbidding faces make Salem's lunacy seem even darker while maintaining the sense of how ridiculous all of it was; every time the situation escalates, this blend of black humor and deadly earnestness drives home what a razor-sharp atmosphere must have permeated the town.”

AIPT

• Kevin Clark reviews the rich plotting of Jason Aaron, Kewber Baal, et al’s Thundarr the Barbarian #1.

• Colin Moon reviews the inconsequential fun of Steve Foxe, Ivan Fiorelli, et al’s New Champions: Change is Coming.

• David Brooke reviews the unsettling finale of Christian Ward, Tristan Jones, et al’s Event Horizon: Dark Descent #5; and the kaiju setup of Gerry Duggan, Javier Garrón, et al’s Godzilla: Infinity Roar #1.

• Joe Jones reviews the compelling continuation of Murewa Ayodele, Federica Mancin, et al’s Storm: Earth's Mightiest Mutant #1; and the exciting shift of G. Willow Wilson, Davide Gianfelice, et al’s Poison Ivy #41.

• Collier Jennings reviews the character focus of Hannah Rose May, Kelsey Ramsay, et al’s The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace #1; and the subversive start of Brett Bean et al’s D’Orc #1.

• Jonathan Waugh reviews the perfect matchup of Steve Orlando, Travis Mercer, et al’s DC x AEW #1; and the impressive scripting of Ashley Allan, German Peralta, et al’s Magik and Colossus #1.

The Beat

• Zack Quaintance reviews the unpredictable nature of Joe Ollman’s The Woodchipper, and the impeccable cartooning of Simon Roy’s A Star Called Sun.

• Jordan Jennings reviews the exciting hook of Matt Kindt, David Lapham, et al’s Knight City #1.

• Clyde Hall reviews the enjoyable twists of Jason Aaron, Kewber Baal, et al’s Thundarr the Barbarian #1.

• Matt Ledger reviews the corporate synergy of Jeremy Adams, Ronan Cliquet, Carmine Di Giandomencio, Kieran McKeown, Pablo M. Collar, et al’s DC K.O. Boss Battle #1.

Broken Frontier

Andy Oliver has reviews of:

The visual splendour of Kay Sohini’s This Beautiful, Ridiculous City.
The shifting themes of Heather Loase’s The Boy and the Worm (mini kuš! #135).
The atmospheric tension of Mao’s Rain in Tears (mini kuš! #136).
The handsome reproduction of Rea Irvin’s The Smythes, edited by R. Kikuo Johnson and Dash Shaw.

Comics Grinder

Henry Chamberlain reviews the seamless pacing of Matt MacFarland’s Cookies and Herb.

Four Color Apocalypse

Ryan Carey reviews the quiet moments of Katriona Chapman’s The Pass.

Kirkus Reviews

Have starred capsule reviews of:

The sensitive explorations of Jennifer Lee and Leuyen Pham’s As I Dream of You.
The emotional resonance of Sherine Hamdy and Mya El Mir’s Landing in Place.
The nuanced plotting of Mike Dawson’s The Hidden Dominion of Geordie James.

Library Journal

Thomas Batten has starred capsule reviews of:

The mordant humour of Joe Ollman’s The Woodchipper.
The human appeal of Pierre-Henry Gomont’s Soviet Land: A Tragicomic Thriller.
The rewarding interrogations of Michael DeForge’s All the Cameras in My Room.
The sprawling narrative of Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki’s Billy Bat, Volume 1, translated by Kristi Iwashiro.
The gleeful chaos of Anouk Ricard’s Animan, translated by Montana Kane.

Meanjin

Nina Culley reviews the tender nuances of Lee Lai’s Cannon.

The Observer

Killian Fox reviews the beguiling strangeness of Roman Muradov’s All the Living.

Publisher’s Weekly

Have starred capsule reviews of:

The unsentimental bluntness of Joe Ollman’s The Woodchipper.
The swift pacing of Charles Soule, Steve McNiven, et al’s Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell.
The rich symbolism of Stephanie Stalvey’s Everything in Color: A Love Story.

The Tyee

Dorothy Woodend reviews the cumulative wonders of Joe Ollman’s The Woodchipper.

Yatta-Tachi

Anne Estrada reviews the light-hearted fluff of Chiuko Umeshibu’s Yankee & Carameliser, translated by Emma Schumacker.

— Luchie (@heyluchie.bsky.social) 2026-02-04T13:49:30.721Z

This week’s interviews.

TCJ

• Jean Marc Ah-Sen interviews D.McFadzean about Fever Dream, working with Conundrum Press, visits to the MAD offices, and confronting creative burn out — “As for the zoetropic effects, I love it when wordless sequences in comics seem to animate with the movement of the reader’s eye, and it’s something I try to do whenever it fits the story. It’s one of those things that make comics feel like magic—they become alive when activated by the reader.”

• Zach Rabiroff interviews DreamHaven Books’ owner Greg Ketter about going viral while protesting, keeping up with sales spikes, and the sense of community in Minneapolis — “I was a co-founder of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which we started in response to prosecution of [the Illinois comic shop] Friendly Frank’s back then. And Denis Kitchen called me, and right away, and we started fundraising, and then we started the permanent CBLDF. I was on the board for the first 20 years, and then I moved on. I've always been a free speech advocate. That's been my main thing.”

AIPT

Chris Coplan speaks with Mike Perkins about Invader Comics and supporting creators, and with Simon Roy about A Star Called the Sun and focusing on the intersection between history and everyday life.

Anime News Network

• Rebecca Silverman talks to Kazumi Yamashita about Land and Wonder Boy, industry changes experienced over four decades of making manga, and future projects.

• Andrew Osmond chats with manga curator Rei Yoshimura about the evolution of shōjo manga across the decades, domestic and international shōjo trends, and the work of Moto Hagio and Riyoko Ikeda.

The Beat

• Taimur Dar interviews Jason Aaron about Thundarr the Barbarian, Saturday morning staples, comic book reading habits, and going big with the book’s story.

• Ben O’Grady talks to Zander Cannon about the realities of life and protests in Minneapolis at the moment, and community organisation to protect and combat against ICE raids.

The Irish Times

Genevieve Carbery speaks with Hannah McCann about St. Brigid & Me, receiving the First Graphic Novel Award, and the changing perceptions of graphic novels.

Polygon

Brian VanHooker talks to Peter Cuneo about Superhero Leadership: 28 Ways to Lead with Courage, Strength, and Compassion and lessons learned as Marvel’s CEO.

Windspeaker

Shari Narine interviews Jay Odjick about Kaboom!, the need for widening access to established publication routes and platforms, and using Anishinaabemowin in the book to give readers a learning opportunity for the language.

sleepwalkin

— Richie Pope (@richiepope.bsky.social) 2026-02-03T18:55:44.498Z

This week’s features and longreads.

• Here at TCJ, Greg Hunter writes on the contemporary stretching to infinity of the concept of the superhero comic, taking last year’s Deadpool/Batman and Batman/Deadpool issues as the event horizon — “Perhaps because it happened gradually, the reduced use of the Marvel method is not always treated as a discrete event in comics history. Here at the end, though, ultimate hindsight suggests Marvel’s phasing out of this approach is as pivotal a moment as any other. Given so many of the superhero genre’s fundamental strengths — color and shape, costume and design, dynamic movement — a reader wonders about a dimension where artists had more historical latitude as storytellers.”

• Also for TCJ, Zach Rabiroff writes on Lenny Schwart’s recent play at the Daydream Theatre Company, The State of Florida Versus Mike Diana, comics history as relates to obscenity laws in the United States, and Mike Diana’s thoughts on it all — “But the play’s most memorable moments really do owe themselves to absurd reality. On stage, the play’s biggest laugh comes a line taken from the court transcript when Diana was asked what he had learned from his experience: “I learned I don’t want to be in jail.””

• Elizabeth Sandifer’s Last War in Albion continues, over at Eruditorum Press, and this chapter is a biggie, as in-depth considerations are given to Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s From Hell, the book’s origins in Taboo, Moore’s artistic collaborations, and the magickal, philosophical, historical, and cultural thinking to be found and explored in From Hell.

• For Solrad, David Barclay writes on the unique suitability that comics as a form has for telling stories of post-societal collapse, and how that form can best serve narratives focused on the fracturing of the world.

• Over at The Guardian, Astrid Goldsmith, author of The Crystal Vase, writes on the contemporary approach to sharing Jewish history through family comedies, and shares the personal history that culminated in The Crystal Vase.

• Shelfdust’s Year of Evil continues, as this month Steve Morris looks back to the 1960s origins of Magneto in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s X-Men #1, and considers the relatively simple beginnings of Max Eisenhardt.

• For Prospect, Frank M Young writes in celebration of Olivia Jaimes and Caroline Cash’s contemporary shake-up of Ernie Bushmiller’s Nancy, and the importance of taking risks with legacy strips to engage with new audiences.

• Brian Hibbs returns with a fresh edition of Tilting at Windmills, for The Beat, as a round up of sales for 2025 from San Francisco’s Comix Experience are shared, in lieu of comprehensive sales reporting from BookScan.

• A brand-new Mindless Ones newsletter arrives to the in-tray, shining like a beacon in the winter darkness, as A Brief History of British Comics hits CRISIS point.

• Paul O’Brien’s survey of the villains of Daredevil, for House to Astonish, bids a confused hello to Sunturion II, and a briefer, also confused, hello to Abe the janitor.

• From the world of open-access academia, for the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, Amy Matthewson examines Sassa Taiga’s manga adaptation of Isabella Bird’s Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, as well as the manga’s translation into French Sébastien Ludmann, investigating the act of translation in this context and making environments and cultures accessible to non-domestic readers.

• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, for The Daily Cartoonist, as attempts at culture washing from the house that Bezos built weren’t quite enough to distract from arrests and harassment of journalists and children.