Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist? – This Week’s Links

We’re into that period of the year in these United Kingdoms where it’s just wall-to-wall fireworks, as we wrap into a bundle the celebrations of All Hallow’s Eve and the attempted bombing of Parliament and decide that this means that there shouldn’t be an hour of darkness in the day that isn’t in some way punctuated by the screams and flashes of pyrotechnic stars, so, this week’s links, below, are a little bit jumpy.

— Richard Perez (@skinnyships.bsky.social) 2026-10-27T17:56:14.940Z

This week’s news.

• Focusing on news out of Japan this week, as right-wing mangaka Yoshinori Kobayashi, author of the controversial series Gōmanism Sengen, has sued the Japanese government over an imperial succession law that would allow adoption of male relatives from former branches of the imperial family tree, in order to preserve the country’s tradition of patrilineal succession to the imperial throne, which Kobayashi alleges would undermine the constitution of Japan and has apparently caused the mangaka personal psychological suffering to the tune of 1 million yen.

• In memoriam, remembering those the world of comics has lost, as news was shared this week of the passing of storied mangaka Tetsuya Chiba, creator of Ashita no Joe, the first manga artist to receive Japan’s Order of Culture, who has died at the age of 87.

ITS HERE! This year's sweet and cozy poster is here to unveil! Thank you to artist Shaina Lu for making such a nice poster.

— Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo (@massmice.bsky.social) 2026-10-23T22:42:28.889Z

This week’s reviews.

TCJ

• Jason P. Woodbury reviews the fervent energy of Johnny Cash, Billy Zeoli, and Al Hartley’s Hello, I’m Johnny Cash - “But the real magic of the comic lies in Harley’s more intimate panels, depicting a wealth of human expression. The facial work on display in one of my favorite sequences even edges into the comedic: Cash, surrounded by beautiful would-be groupies, wears a sly grin while while remarking, “It’s gonna be tough livin’ a Christian life in this business,” with three exclamation marks to sell the point.”

• Tom Scioli reviews the withholding coyness of Frank Miller’s Push The Wall: My Life, Writing, Drawing, and the Art of Storytelling - “Having finished writing the book, he’s had more time to think about it. One of the truisms of the comic book assembly line is that you get plenty of opportunities to do it all over again. The best practice for making a comic is making a comic. He's written his first memoir. Now he knows more about how to write one. His next one should be dynamite. The Wall Pusher Strikes Again!”

AIPT

• Jonathan Waugh reviews the heightened stakes of Kieron Gillen, Geraldo Borges, et al’s Alien vs. X-Men #2.

• David Brooke reviews the brutal climax of G. Willow Wilson, Matt Fraction, Giuseppe Camuncoli, et al’s Batman: Bad Seeds - Sunrise #1.

• Christopher Franey reviews the nostalgic charms of DC’s Superman: The Wedding Album 30th Anniversary Special.

• Collier Jennings reviews the perfect ending of Curt Pires and Juan Gedeon’s Super Mondo Mega Mutts #4.

• Kevin Clark reviews the excellent frights of BOOM! Studios’ Hello Darkness #26.

• Chris Coplan reviews the compelling structure of Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips’ That Texas Blood: Hell Comes to Allison Ranch #2.

• Colin Moon reviews the unemotional shell of Akane Torikai’s Wandering Cat’s Cage, translated by Jocelyne Allen.

The Beat

• Khalid Johnson reviews the varied scares of Rebellion’s Scream! Halloween Special 2026 #1.

• Clyde Hall reviews the unsubtle approach of Matt Miner, Clay McCormack, et al’s Satanic Panic #1.

• Joe Grunenwald reviews the shallow exposition of Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Sanford Greene, Yasmine Putri, et al’s DC All In Saga: Darkseid vs. The World #1.

• Lawrence Marable reviews the interesting progressions of Joe Kelly, Pepe Larraz, et al’s The Amazing Spider-Man #1002.

• Kathryn Hemmann reviews the emotional maturity of Punko’s Stagtown.

• Sean Dillon reviews the brilliant scenes of Rodrigo Terrasa and Paco Roca’s The Abyss of Oblivion, translated by Andrea Rosenberg.

Blogcritics

Jeff Provine reviews the detailed study of Keum Suk Gendry-Kim’s My Friend Kim Jong Un.

Broken Frontier

• Lydia Turner reviews the standout visuals of Darryl Cunningham’s John of the Night.

• Swati Nair reviews the effective restraint of Abi Watson’s Old Souls.

• Gary Usher reviews the sharp satire of Eran Aviram and Aviv Or’s Stardate, and the pleasing energy of Leo Healy and Torgo Wells’ Uncle Zaxlor Sampler.

• Andy Oliver has reviews of:

The meaningful romp of Shannon Spence’s P*nk Lab Grl! Book One.
The haunting intimacy of Noah Freer’s To Catch a Landed Gull.
The self-aware humour of Anna Haifisch’s The Artist: The Portfolio Edition.
The core contrast of Nessie Mooo and Mouette’s Deathmetal: Chapter One.
The stunning intricacy of Joe Killick’s Star Chamber.
The beautiful illustrations of Letty Wilson’s Sgadanach.

Cinegraphia

Sebastian Sparrevohn reviews the formal rhythm of Lee Lai’s Cannon.

Comics Grinder

Henry Chamberlain reviews the deft weaving of Mirko Ilić’s Nightmares and Daydreams.

Four Color Apocalypse

Ryan Carey reviews the expert pacing of Fran Lopez’s I Must Find a Telephone to Call Moscow!.

The Guardian

Clare Millar reviews the vivid imagery of Shaun Tan’s Hometown.

House to Astonish

Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ Uncanny X-Men #37, X-Men United #8, Inglorious X-Force #10, and X-Men Outback #5.

Kirkus Reviews

Have starred capsule reviews of:

The skilful blending of Myisha Haynes’ Seeing Starlight.
The charming details of Kaeti Vandorn’s Friends in the Dark.
The fantastic reworking of Victoria Ying’s adaptation of Paula Danziger’s It’s Snot Funny, Amber Brown.

Library Journal

Emilia Packard has a starred capsule review of the engrossing effectiveness of Yeong-shin Ma’s Hodo: A Life in Two Acts, translated by Janet Hong.
Thomas Batten has a starred capsule review of the exhilarating irreverence of Jesse Moynihan’s Forming.

Montreal Review of Books

• Heather Leighton reviews the identity questions of Lucas Harari and Arthur Harari’s The Case of David Zimmerman, translated by David Homel.

• Jack Ruttan reviews the authentic mood of Alexandre Fontaine Rousseau and Francis Desharnais’ The Conquest of the Cosmos, translated by Pablo Strauss and Mary Thaler.

My cover for ZATANNA #10, out in January!!! This one was a lot of fun!!!!

— Chloe Brailsford (@comixbychloe.bsky.social) 2026-10-24T15:05:47.152Z

This week’s interviews.

TCJ

Mardou presents the second part of a conversation with Nick Abadzis about My Beloved Other, Hugo Tate, and Laika, mentors in the Deadline years, making stories for younger readers, and the importance of marrying words and pictures - “There should always be room for experimentation, to explore, to come upon new facts, new possibilities. If you're absolutely 100% definite you know a thing, you probably don't know much. You’re already narrowing your point of view. Remaining curious and uncynical, beyond your own field of vision, is incredibly important for artistic or creative growth.”

AIPT

• Chris Hassan speaks with Ashley Allen about X-Orcists, moving from limited series to an ongoing book, and writing characters you’re a fan of.

• Chris Coplan talks to Christopher Sebela about Rip Kirby and the challenging aspects of writing such a storied character, and to David M. Booher and Drew Zucker about Canto: The Clockwork Chronicles and the importance of having a hero who helps the people who need help.

The Beat

• Sean Dillon chats with Tyler Crook about Archie in Hell, the timeless appeal of Archie comics, hybrid creative processes, and supernatural inspirations.

• Deanna Destito talks to Cavan Scott about Godfather of Hell, satanic grifts, and impacts of the Diamond bankruptcy on the comics’ publication schedule.

Broken Frontier

Andy Oliver interviews Michael Furler about Helena and Bark Bark Girl, the Swiss comics scene, and the allure of the creative constraints of risograph printing.

Fanbase Press

Barbra Dillon speaks with:

Joe Atalla about Sir Reginald and the Clockwork Heart and working with Goats Flying Press for its publication.
George Northy about Prometheus Craft and underutilised genres in the comics space.
Sarah Kenney, Ishleen Kaur, Jem Barnes, and Jasmine Boyd about Comic Youth CIC and the Environment Agency's Rising Voices: Turning the Tide on Flood Anxiety.

Graphic Memoir

Jonathan Sandler talks to Jack Lewis about Aberfan: A Family Story, the history of the Aberfan mining disaster, and finding the right publisher for a book to be published in Welsh and English.

Publisher’s Weekly

Zach Rabiroff shares conversation with Art Spiegelman about In the Shadow of No Towers and the creative laziness that’s apparently necessary to offload your work to generative AI.

The Scientist

Sneha Khedkar chats with Ian Williams about the evolutionary history of graphic medicine, the growth of the field of graphic medicine, and the looming threat of generative AI.

Smash Pages

JK Parkin talks to Maria Hoey and Leah Hayes about The Shadower and Identical, sense of identity, and misconceptions that people have about identities.

Yatta-tachi

Adam Wescott interviews Marco Kohinata and Yuki Yamaguchi about Akari, their artistic/editorial relationship, manga origins and debuts, and working across different mediums.

Bad Art response to bad art

— Evan Dorkin (@evandorkin.bsky.social) 2026-10-25T02:08:11.214Z

This week’s features and longreads.

• Here at TCJ, as the two-year milestone since the bankruptcy of Diamond Comics Distributors hoves into view, Brigid Alverson reports on the status quo of proceedings, as settlements regarding the consignments left in limbo since January 2025 may actually be coming to fruition - “While at first blush getting $320,000 of the almost $950,000 owed to them doesn’t sound like a great deal for the vendors, they would get to reclaim their merchandise and exit the ever-spiraling vortex of litigation. Their lawyers aren’t working for free, and it’s not hard to imagine that the legal fees could eventually overtake the actual amount in dispute.”

• Also for TCJ, a welcome return for RJ Casey’s Arrivals and Departures, which heads underground, as the tiny microphone is grabbed to impart thoughts on four anthologies, comprising Night Shift, edited by Kelly Froh; Secret Room Press’ Do You Like Me?; Death Spark #3, edited by Thomas Campbell; and Working Cartoonist, edited by Angela Fanche, Dan Welch, Max Burlingame, and George Olsen - “It’s genuinely staggering when risograph printing is utilitarian and not just a cutesy postscript (or way for people to crank up zine prices exponentially?). What ties [Do You Like Me?] together is that all the stories share the same palette — shades of red, pink, and white. You know, the love colors.”

• For Esquire, Edgar Calabia Samar shares thoughts on the five finalists for the category of Best Graphic Novel and Comics in Filipino at the 43rd National Book Awards, which includes Vaughan Tan’s 11:30 to Baguio, Tepai Pascual’s Duty Ka Ba? Komiks 3, Ran Manansala and Jose T. Gamboa’s Elipsis, Doktor Karayom’s Grade 3, and Russell L. Molina and Ace C. Enriquez’s Lunatics.

• For Nippon.com, Nakano Haruyuki reports on the growing popularity of shōjo manga, providing a potted history of the genre, and the evolution of shōjo stories within weekly magazines.

• Continuing the manga focus, over at The New York Times, as Shivani Vora reports on the "Art of Manga" exhibition's move from coast-to-coast, following up its debut in San Francisco with a new run in New York's Brooklyn Museum, speaking with curator Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere about the mangaka featured in the show, and highlighting the work of the recently passed Tetsuya Chiba, whose pages welcome visitors to the exhibition.

• Mainstream coverage of Big Two comics, as Christopher Cruz profiles the creative teams behind DC's breakout Absolute line of superhero comics, for Rolling Stone, talking to Scott Snyder, Kelly Thompson, Jason Aaron, and Deniz Camp about how they approached reinterpreting some of the biggest licensed characters around, and speaking with the retailers who are seeing the influx of readers that the books are bringing into stores on a monthly basis.

• Over at Shelfdust, Kathryn Hemmann peers into the uncanny spaces occupied by Junji Ito’s Alley, and singles out “Town of No Roads” and the dark subversion of postwar nostalgia to be found therein.

• From the world of open access academia, Technology and Culture presents a special edition on graphic novels as public history, examining the role of comics in sharing historical knowledge, with articles on Damian Duffy and John Jennings’ adaptation of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, the balance between historical accuracy and engaging storytelling in graphic histories, and graphic education of the Chornobyl disaster through Matyáš Namai's Chernobyl: The Fall of Atomgrad and Johanna Aulén's Chernobyl's Dogs.

• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, for The Daily Cartoonist, as freedom from the internet age was fleeting, as will be freedom from next month’s midterm elections.

Nancy 10/13/26

— caroline cash (@cashbrowns.bsky.social) 2026-10-24T15:30:57.245Z

This week’s audio/visual delights.

• Beginning this week’s selection with a broadcast from last month’s A2CAF, as Katie Skelly gave a talk on drawing desire in comics, examining the representation of desire in comics and how tapping into pop culture iconography primes reader responses to certain visuals, and sharing personal cultural inspirations.

• NHK World Japan shared a new English subtitled edition of Naoki Urasawa’s Manben, this edition speaking with mangaka Sugimura Shinichi about creative processes, and sharing a day in the studio during work on some of the final pages of series Last Pleasure Boat.

• Ben Katchor hosted two new meetings of the New York Comics and Picture-Story Symposium, as Oskar Cox Jensen gave a talk on the illustrations that accompanied printed ballads of the Georgian era, and Georg Barber (aka ATAK) spoke about new book Sleepy Hollow and analog methods of colour separation.

• Brian Hibbs convened the Comix Experience Graphic Novel of the Month Club, speaking with Insha Fitzpatrick and Ashley Robin Franklin about The Girl Who Loved Monsters and the art of making books for younger readers.

• A quick round-up of some other recent podcast interviews, as Inkstud’s Robin McConnell spoke with Josh Bayer about Utzy and Dusty, Ash HG about East District, and Paul Gravett about the “Queer as Comics” exhibition; Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come returned from New York Comic Con, as Heidi MacDonald spoke with Jeffrey Brown and Czarface’s Eso, and Kate Fitzsimmons talked to Jason Aaron, Kimberly Wang, David Peterson, and Peter Kuper; and Gil Roth welcomed Karl Stevens to The Virtual Memories Show to speak about Pepper and the gravitational pull of cat comics.