After Summer Merrily – This Week’s Links

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Clark Burscough | August 29, 2025

A Deftones-themed end to this week’s links’ summer, as a new LP arrives, right as preparations are made to go Back to School, providing something of a distraction from the business as usual in the world of comics, detailed below, with the increasingly fractious bankruptcy of Diamond Comic Distributors bubbling away in the background, as autumnal developments in that particular sphere will likely dictate what this year’s holiday retail season looks like for many publishers and bricks and mortar stores.

— tama (@tama00001234.bsky.social) 2025-08-22T23:17:13.056Z

This week’s news.

• Comics prize news, as the winners of this year’s American Manga Awards were announced, with Sumiko Arai’s The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All named as Best New Manga, Hyuganatsu and Nekokurage’s The Apothecary Diaries named as Best Continuing Series, and Studio Proteus receiving this year’s induction into the Hall of Fame. The full prize ceremony, which includes an acceptance speech from Frederik L. Schodt, last year’s Hall of Fame inductee, can be watched here.

• Elsewhere, L'Association des critiques et journalistes de bande dessinée announced the shortlist for this year’s Prix Comics ACBD de la Critique, which comprises Craig Thompson’s Ginseng Roots, Juni Ba and Chris O’Halloran’s Robin: The Boy Wonder, Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay’s Somna, James Sturm and Joe Sutphin’s adaptation of Richard George Adams’ Watership Down, and James Tynion IV and Fernando Blanco’s W0rldtr33, with winners to be announced in October at this year’s Quai des Bulles festival.

• In memoriam, remembering those the world of comics has lost, as news was shared this week of the passing of artist Dave Taylor, storied illustrator for various DC, Marvel and 2000 AD titles, who has died at the age of 61 due to prostate cancer.

• News was also shared of the passing of writer, artist, publisher, and Comicfix founder Mort Todd, former Editor of Cracked and the Marvel Music imprint, who has died at the age of 63.

— こりゆ (@trnoao.bsky.social) 2025-08-23T12:57:44.007Z

This week’s reviews.

TCJ

• Tate McFadden reviews the tonal shifts of Simon Hanselmann’s You Will Own Nothing and You Will Be Happy #1-4 and Boys In Prison — “Megg & Mogg is so often beholden to the standardized grid structure — Hanselmann has said he “believes in the grid" — that departures in layout are often few and far between. YWONAYWBH feels a bit more free-form and loose, as if the calamity that has befallen the world is so great it’s broken through the bounds of the grid itself. The stakes are far higher, with very real and immediate danger to the characters, but at the same time all of the worries which once plagued them are gone.”

• Thomas Campbell reviews the literary vein of Cameron Arthur’s Hidden Islands — “Like the best of his work, Night has a strong vision and mostly pulls it off. There’s themes of alcoholism being passed down, refusing to leave the nest, and sticking with a relationship past its due date. Night is novelistic in scope, but highlights Arthur’s tendency toward restraint and leanness.”

• Tom Shapira reviews the unfulfilled promise of Karl Stock’s Cover Story: The 2000 AD Design Art of Robin Smith — “It’s a bit too nice, too close to the people involved with too little space to actually explore its subject in depth. Still, there is value to be found in Cover Story. If nothing else it shows how much is done behind the scenes: Smith’s cover sketches aren’t just a rough notion of an idea, they are often extremely close to the finished object; to such a degree that makes you wonder why he isn’t credited.”

AIPT

• Kevin Clark reviews the rough start of Christopher Priest and Alessandro Miracolo’s Sonja Reborn #1.

• Colin Moon reviews the missed opportunity of Frank Tieri, Michael Sta. Maria, et al’s Sabretooth: The Dead Don’t Talk; and the fantastic adventures of Carl Barks’ Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold.

• Ryan Sonneville reviews the scattered narrative of Geoffrey Thorne, Jim Towe, Marcus To, et al’s X-Force: The Solution; and the solid brawling of Jed MacKay, Ryan Stegman, Emilia Laiso, et al’s X-Men: Hostile Takeover.

• David Brooke reviews the gripping opening of Zack Kaplan, Stephen Thompson, et al’s Masterminds #1; and the bold refresh of Al Ewing, Pasqual Ferry, et al’s The Mortal Thor #1.

• Collier Jennings reviews the violent action of Dan Watters, Michele Bandini, et al’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder #1; and the compelling start of Kyle Higgins, Mat Groom, Erica D’Urso, et al’s Immortal Legend Batman #1.

The Beat

• Jared Bird reviews the chaotic cool of James Harren’s Ultramega, Volume 2.

• Diego Higuera reviews the transformative shift of Deniz Camp, Javier Rodriguez, et al’s Absolute Martian Manhunter #6.

• D. Morris reviews the intriguing experiments of Victor Lavelle, Jonathan Hickman, Cafu, et al’s Imperial War: Black Panther; and Stephanie Phillips, Jonathan Hickman, Emilio Laiso, et al’s Imperial War: Planet She-Hulk.

• Khalid Johnson reviews the interesting conflicts of D.B. Andry, Tim Daniel, Chris Evenhuis, et al’s Red Vector #1.

• Clyde Hall reviews the appealing aesthetic of James Tynion IV, Dani, et al’s Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man #1.

• Jared Bird reviews the solid fun of Mike Mignola, Giuseppe Manunta, et al’s Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: Professor Harvey Is Gone #1.

• Jordan Jennings reviews the excellent execution of Dan Watters, Michele Bandini, et al’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder #1.

• Tim Rooney reviews the quirky beginning of Zack Kaplan, Stephen Thompson, et al’s Masterminds #1.

• Arpad Okay reviews the inspired presentation of Aaron Losty et al’s The Hanging.

• Sean Dillon reviews the surrealist air of Samuel R. Delany and Mia Wolff’s Bread & Wine: An Erotic Tale of New York.

• Kevin McCloskey reviews the imaginative explorations of Gonzalo Rocha's Posada – La Vida No Vale Nada y La Hoja Suelta Un Centavo.

• Merve Giray reviews the thought-provoking questions of Jun Mayuzuki’s Farewell, Daisy, translated by Amanda Haley.

Broken Frontier

• Lindsay Pereira reviews the beautiful nuance of Lee Lai’s Cannon.

• Andy Oliver reviews the engaging mechanics of Rob Jackson’s Silent Planet, the appealing energy of Kiera Won’s Toto Bunny Zine #1 & #2, and the frenetic satire of Émilie Gleason’s Animal Denial (mini kus! #131).

Four Color Apocalypse

Ryan Carey reviews the open-ended meditations of Scott Finch's Introverts #1-21.

House to Astonish

Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ Astonishing X-Men Infinity Comic #33, Exceptional X-Men #12, Wolverine #12, and Psylocke #10.

Information & Culture

Malcolm Noble reviews the archival importance of Margaret Galvan’s In Visible Archives: Queer and Feminist Visual Culture in the 1980s.

School Library Journal

• M. Brandon Robbins has a starred capsule review of the heartwarming charms of Bobby Podestra’s North for the Winter.

• Angie Jameson has a starred capsule review of the hilarious wit of Scott Campbell’s Cabin Head and Tree Head.

• Allison McLean has a starred capsule review of the standout cleverness of Summer Benton’s Zilbo’s Forest: What’s Up With That?.

September 11 at 6:30pm, we’re hosting LAAB magazine editor Ronald Wimberly & BLACK ARMS TO HOLD YOU UP author Ben Passmore for an author event ahead of SPX!

— Fantom Comics (@fantomcomics.bsky.social) 2025-08-25T21:55:31.153Z

This week’s interviews.

TCJ

• Tate McFadden interviews Sam Szabo about Enlightened Transsexual Comix, Boston musical history, anthology desires, and commonalities in the lifecycles of trans creatives — “I've kind of been on a weird trip this year where I've been writing a lot about childhood memories and people in my life who were really impactful to me. And when you're that deep in it, it's sometimes hard to know how much of the personal significance of that stuff is going to be conveyed to somebody who has not lived your life and has not met these people. That's your job as the writer to make them feel that.”

• Alex Dueben interviews Mike Curato about Flamer and Gaysians, not filtering yourself, escaping the white gaze, and writing processes — “Yes, it's for the community. I want them to feel like this is for them. And it's not just my own fantasies of who people are. Which is something that we experience so much, right? People don't do their homework. And we see these sort of two-dimensional queer Asian people over and over. When we do make it into a mainstream story?”

AIPT

• Chris Hassan speaks with Jed MacKay about X-Men: Age of Revelation, narrative planning, storytelling consequences, and picking your team.

• David Brooke talks to George Northy and Rachele Aragno about Yuletide and making the horror personal, and to Tyler Mane about The Last Spartan: Red Tape and relating to your protagonist.

Anime News Network

Wonhee Cho interviews Penguin Random House’s Whitney Leopard about new manga and manhwa imprint Ink Pop and editorial focus.

Artnet

Min Chen speaks with Chip Kidd about The Avengers in the Veracity Trap!, visual storytelling in Western comics, and missing out on dinosaur royalties.

Autobiographix

Amaris Ketcham interviews Julie Campbell about childhood reading, stylistic evolutions, and nonfiction work compared to fiction.

The Beat

• Ollie Kaplan and Avery Kaplan talk to Adam Rose about Huge Detective, giant murders, core themes, and reader receptions.

• Zack Quaintance speaks with Lewis LaRosa about Carbon Based: The Art of Lewis LaRosa, working with Oni Press on the tome, and looking back on older work.

CBC

Michelle Villagracia interviews Katie Sawatsky about Blackmouth, moving from comics to video games and back again, and horror as a perennial favourite.

Fanbase Press

Barbra Dillon speaks with Brian Gonsar about Dracula’s Brunch Club and age-appropriate horror, with Ben Kahn about Renegade Royale and making your co-writer laugh, and with Damian Alexander about Absolutely Everything and the importance of graphic medicine stories.

Paste

Lacy Baugher Milas talks to Maggie Stefvater about The Raven Boys: The Graphic Novel, visual arts origins, and the changing Young Adult market.

Print

Steven Heller interviews John Kelly about Dummy, the magazine’s sophomore return, the origins of the publication’s title, and covering the history of the Air Pirates.

Racket

Patrick Strait talks to Ben Katzner about Muddy Waters Too, collaborating with Redman, stand-up specials, and New York Comic Con trips.

Today

Ayanna Miller speaks with Tony Weaver Jr. about Weirdo, using stories to help people, connecting with your audience, and rhyming challenges.

Winnipeg Free Press

Emma Honeybun interviews Nyali Ali and Jonathan Dyck about this year’s upcoming Prairie Comics Festival, and the event’s growth over the years.

Hey! Look at this!The “Exhibitor” badge was brought to you by Awesome Ashley Robin Franklin! And, the “Staff” badge is by @igotkittypryde.bsky.social!Thank you both so much for providing us with this beautiful and soon-to-be, wearable art.So, where are the other badges? 🤔Watch this space!

— Small Press Expo (@smallpressexpo.bsky.social) 2025-08-27T16:30:05.431Z

This week’s features and longreads.

• Here at TCJ, Satomi Newsom and Jon Holt present a translation of Takekuma Kentarō’s essay on the line-making and artistic-implements of mangaka, from 1995’s Manga no yomikata (How to Read Manga) — “Come to think of it, all manga after Tezuka’s appearance, including the work of the gekiga artists, is a history of separating people from backgrounds through the different approaches to making lines. To draw lines for their characters (omosen), Tezukians would use the kabura-pen to create that middle line; the gekiga group would use the G-pen to make their thick lines for people.”

• Also for TCJ, Hagai Palevsky hails a taxi-focused comic book and two arrive at once (as always), delivering markedly different rides, in the form of John Brosnan and Kev Hopgood's Night Zero and Martí Riera Ferrer's The Cabbie — “...the conscious choice of artistic lineage is an active authorial stance, and a stance that rather limits the potency of one’s self-expression at that. In channeling another artist’s voice in an immediately-recognizable way, the common ground must be semiotic. This becomes a problem when the secondary artist’s intent is to refute the first, finding themselves torn between ‘pure’ refutation (i.e. a didactic overcorrection that as a work of art is almost universally dissatisfying) and a more half-hearted middle ground."

• A pair of recent articles for The New Yorker, as Jon Allsop writes on Tove Jansson’s Moomins, and the enduring appeal that is leading to new generations discovering Jansson’s characters with each passing decade; and Matt Alt profiles mangaka Takeru Hokazono, as part of a piece examining the continued successes of Weekly Shōnen Jump.

• Another recent article on the contemporary manga industry, as Alina Joan Ito writes for Tokyo Weekender on the experience of working as a foreign mangaka in Japan, speaking with Spanish artist Konata about working on Meaheim.

• For Solrad, Antoine Rozier writes on Rumiko Takahashi’s Ranma ½, considering the realism of the manga in the wider literary sense of the term, and also the lenses through which the series’ themes can be viewed.

• Over at Shelfdust, Steve Morris continues a retrospective of Mike Carey and Peter Gross’ The Unwritten, as the fourteenth issue of the comic drapes more layers of narrative onto the plot already in progress, and considers the role of fandoms in the development of creative media.

• A fresh Mindless Ones missive, with continued thoughts on Grant Morrison et al’s Doom Patrol, and the recently collected Absolute Batman and Ultimate Black Panther, amongst other media.

• Four Color Apocalypse’s Ryan Carey shares photos from this year’s edition of Insert Name Zine Fest, which took place last weekend at Squirrel Haus Arts in Minneapolis.

• Comics Grinder’s Henry Chamberlain shares a report from a recent workshop at the Cartoon Art Museum, supporting the graphic novel George’s Run: A Writer’s Journey Through The Twilight Zone.

• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as Russian influence on the West continues to be a headline topic of discussion, alongside the varied machinations of the current inhabitants of the White House.

new illustration for your eyeballs

— jess marfisi (@jessdrawz.bsky.social) 2025-07-29T02:09:43.301Z

This week’s audio/visual delights.

Sally Madden returned with more Thick Lines, this episode joined by His Name Was Dusk, to extensively consider Paco Roca’s Arrugas (Wrinkles), in three different editions, alongside some tabletop RPG chat; Print celebrates 20 years of the Design Matters podcast with a dip into the archives from Debbie Millman, revisiting conversations with Lynda Barry, Alison Bechdel, Roz Chast, Seth, and Chris Ware; On with Kara Swisher welcomed Bechdel and Ann Telnaes to the show this week, as they discussed how artists hold powerful individuals accountable; David Harper welcomed Ed Brubaker to Off Panel, as they spoke about the return of Criminal and collaborating over a span of decades with Sean Phillips; and we close out the week with some interviews from Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come, as George Takei spoke about It Rhymes with Takei, and a visit to AnimeNYC brought with it conversations with Denpa Books’ Ed Chavez and webtoon creators Haga and Kang Jiyoun.