Clark Burscough | April 10, 2026
It is an absolutely bafflingly insane time to be plugged into the news on a daily basis right now, so the house of this week’s links, below, instead spent the last week breathing into paper bags, and seeking spiritual centring from the paying of respects to a certain young man who was placed into a cave for our sins and then rose again to save the world — that’s right, it’s time for a fresh playthrough of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, as one of the household continues their education on the creations of Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, while select (canonically confusing) passages from the manga adaptations of Akira Himekawa are read aloud. Hey, DJ, play the item-get sound effect!
— Jillian Tamaki (@dirtbagg.bsky.social) 2026-04-05T01:14:25.984Z
This week’s news.
• Checking in with the latest news from Diamond Comics Distributors’ bankruptcy proceedings, since the whole shebang was last covered here by Brigid Alverson in March, following the shift from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, as ICv2 reports on continued toing-and-froing regarding the release of consignment inventory, that has been held since Diamond went under, and a confusing change of ownership ensued, with motions for release of inventory denied while a mooted appeal is filed regarding the termination of agreements relating to said consignments. We’re into month 16 of the bankruptcy proceedings, with over 1250 dockets filed, and nearly a year out from the last public facing update from Diamond (somewhat unsurprisingly) on their operational implosion, with more litigation on the horizon, and no real end in sight.
• Elsewhere, in the comics crime files, Mark Evanier shared news that he was recently the target of a robbery at his home, with over 200 pieces of original art stolen, comprising comics pages and covers, and issued a plea for people to keep an eye on forums and auction sites for the pieces in question appearing for resale — a full list of items taken can be found here.
• Prizes news, and nominees for this year’s 86th Annual Peabody Awards, honoring excellence in storytelling, were announced this week, with nods in the Documentaries category given to Molly Bernstein and Philip Dolin’s Art Spiegelman: Disaster is my Muse and Matt Wolf’s Pee-wee as Himself — winners in all categories to be announced April 23rd.
💨
— JIMMY KNIVES (@jimmyknives.bsky.social) 2026-04-08T20:05:55.739Z
This week’s reviews.
TCJ
• Tom Shapira reviews the consummate respect of Hugo Pratt’s Corto Maltese: Fable of Venice and Other Stories, translated by Dean Mullaney and Simone Castaldi — “Pratt, one of these rare comics scribes who had experienced the wide world before trying their hand at making art, doesn’t treat other countries as mere canvasses for adventure. In some of the best Corto Maltese stories, such as The Ethiopian, Corto is a mere visitor and observer; sometimes assisting and sometimes being dragged along other people’s stories.”
• Tegan O’Neil reviews the pleasurable violence of Patrick Kindlon and Maurizio Rosenzweig’s Gehenna: Naked Aggression — “It’s a packed narrative, wound tight like a spring. Purely propulsive. The plot is Gehenna staying alive. She kidnaps a kid, runs into a building and up stairs, barricades herself in an apartment to reload her guns, and shoots her way out. That’s the first eight pages, the first chapter of the serialized sequence. The finished product is built around providing a full story every eight pages, such that the finished whole feels pleasantly packed.”
AIPT
• Diane Darcy reviews the nuanced heroics of Sophie Campbell et al’s Supergirl #12.
• George Loftus reviews the stilted combination of Declan Shalvey’s Thundercats x Silverhawks #1.
• Deidre Freitas reviews the gripping developments of Al Ewing, Eleonora Carlini, et al’s Absolute Green Lantern #13.
• Justin Harrison reviews the excellent cliffhanger of Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans, et al’s DIE: Loaded #6.
• Kevin Clark reviews the contemporary themes of Dan Abnett, Manuel Garcia, et al’s Flash Gordon #0.
• Alex Schlesinger reviews the exciting start of Ryan O’Nan, Tim Seeley, et al’s Pretty Hate Machine #1.
• Colin Moon reviews the packed gags of Fantagraphics’ Uncle Scrooge: A Little Something Special and Other Tales of Fiendish Foes.
• Chris Coplan reviews the meta layers of Igor Kordey’s Texas Kid, My Brother.
The Beat
• Joe Grunenwald reviews the fantastic debut of Jeff Lemire, Rafael De Latorre, et al’s The Fury of Firestorm #1.
• Clyde Hall reviews the creative storytelling of Aaron Campbell, Tim Seeley, et al’s Everyone Loves a Jewel Thief #1.
• Jared Bird reviews the delightful surprise of Gabriel Hardman et al’s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero – SSSilent Missions: Crimson Guard #1.
• Zack Quaintance reviews the moody horror of D.B. Andry, Tim Daniel, Maan House, et al’s Estuary: A Ghost Story #1.
• Tim Rooney reviews the successful juxtaposition of Adam Tierney, Sean Peacock, et al’s Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre Presents Romeo & Juliet & Godzilla #1.
• Khalid Johnson reviews the rich atmosphere of Sarah Gailey, Haining, et al’s Neighborhood Watch #1.
• Jordan Jennings reviews the propulsive energy of Robert Kirkman, Ludo Lullabi, et al’s Transformers #31.
• Lawrence Marable reviews the impressive construction of Joshua Williamson, Jan Bazaldua, Carmen Carnero, et al’s Iron Man #4.
• Sean Dillon reviews the delightful melody of Dave Baker and Nicole Goux’s Punk’n Heads; and the heightened impact of Dino Buzzati's Poem Strip, translated by Marina Harss.
Broken Frontier
• Kay Sohini reviews the timeless themes of Alex Potts’ Was That Normal?.
• Lindsay Pereira reviews the excellent absurdity of Cedar Van Tassel's Appleguy & Beefwood.
• Andy Oliver has reviews of:
- The alluring incompleteness of Dark & Golden’s 2x Carol Swain.
- The sensual etherealness of Alxndra Cook’s Sparrowsong.
- The vital importance of ThirdBear Press’ Boxes #4, edited by Steven Ingram.
Four Color Apocalypse
Ryan Carey reviews:
- The gut-punch impact of Ariel Cooper’s Always Hungry Never Perfect.
- The admirable cleverness of Monica Caicedo’s The Mad Scientist.
- The bristling volatility of Emily Zimmer’s Vore-Tex.
From Cover to Cover
Scott Cederlund reviews the kinetic flow of Jesse Lonergan's Faster.
House to Astonish
Paul O’Brien reviews the interchangeable aspects of Jed MacKay, Netho Diaz, et al’s X-Men #28; and the format failings of Marvel Comics’ Logan: Black, White & Blood #4.
The New York Times
Sam Thielman reviews the punchy swashbuckling of Hugo Pratt’s Corto Maltese: Fable of Venice and Other Stories, translated by Dean Mullaney and Simone Castaldi
The Observer
Killian Fox reviews the nuanced satire of Lizzy Stewart’s The Wreck.
Publisher’s Weekly
Have capsule reviews of:
- The resonant insights of Chad Anderson and Remy Burke’s Gay Mormon Dad.
- The bold complexities of Leise Hook’s Names and Faces.
- The valuable honesty of Elisabeth Belliveau’s Birth Story.
- The entertaining prose of Frank Miller’s Push the Wall: My Life, Writing, Drawing and the Art of Storytelling.
- The keen introspection of Riad Sattouf’s The End of the Arab of the Future: A Youth in the Middle East, 1992-94, translated by Sam Taylor.
- The haunting accounting of Marcelo D'Salete’s Tiodora's Letters: An Enslaved Woman's Fight for Family and Freedom, translated by Andrea Rosenberg.
UNF Spinnaker
Mindy McLarty reviews the striking sincerity of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper.
Yatta-tachi
Penn reviews the engrossing world of Frederick L. Jones and Issaka Galadima’s Clock Striker, Volume 1.
New Orb. Originally a screen print for musician Noah Gundersen
— Malachi Ward (@malachiward.bsky.social) 2026-04-07T14:01:51.545Z
This week’s interviews.
TCJ
• Alex Dueben interviews Kasia Babis and Seth Tobocman about Breadcrumbs: Coming of Age in Post-Soviet Poland and War in the Neighbourhood, art and political activism, social and ethical boundaries, and the Polish political landscape — “[Kasia Babis:] To circle back to politics in art: comics, like editorial cartoons, [have been] very close to politics from the beginning. I think it's especially true in Poland, when comics and satire was often used to fight the communist regime. Now I think people kind of get a little bit defensive when it's used against the current system, because they immediately jump to, you don't like what's what's going on now? You can go back to what was before and it was so bad.”
• Gina Gagliano interviews Robert Mgrdich Apelian and Nadine Takvorian about Fustuk and Armaveni: A Graphic Novel of the Armenian Genocide, cultural identity, and making books with two audiences in mind — “[Robert Mgrdich Apelian:] I think that overwhelmingly, stories of the Middle East are full of trauma and suffering. But joyful stories are the ones I wanted as a kid. Maybe it was short sighted to want to read things that were fun and adventurous, but I also wanted to create that to some extent. I wanted to celebrate Armenian joy.”
AIPT
• Chris Hassan speaks with Ashley Allen about Magik & Colossus, the return of the Rasputin siblings, and collaborating with Germán Peralta.
• David Brooke talks to Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque about Absolute Green Arrow and shifting the character into a horror setting, and Matthew Rosenberg about If Destruction Be Our Lot and telling stories with a little bit of everything for the reader.
• Chris Coplan interviews D.B. Andry about Estuary, collaborations with Tim Daniel, coastal horror, and the themes at the heart of the book.
Autobiographix
Nora Hickey and Amaris Ketcham talk to Nadine Takvorian about Armaveni, making comics and unlearning illustration lessons, and the joys of historical research.
The Beat
• Taimur Dar speaks with Colin Stein about Rise of the TMNT, history with the Ninja Turtles, and the various new aspects that Rise brings to the Turtles’ canon.
• E.B. Hutchins interviews Zoe Tunnell about Seven Wives, cult compound research, and the fun challenge of writing a murder mystery with a victim who deserved their fate.
Bookmunch
Pete Wild talks to Joff Winterhart about Dear Historian, relative project speeds, creative influences, and drum kit setups.
Fanbase Press
Barbra Dillon interviews:
- Nicole Goux and Dave Baker about Punk’n Heads and long term creative collaborations.
- Jordan Clark about Ancestral Recall and character connections.
- Norm Harper and Meaghan Carter about The Iron Barge and where book two of the series is headed.
- Tara Madison Avery and Michael Varrati about Four Seasons of Fear and curating the queer horror anthology.
Forbes
Rob Salkowitz speaks with Dynamite’s Nick Barrucci about the success of The Boys both on the page and the screen, and post-Diamond bankruptcy distro realities.
FreakSugar
Jed W. Keith talks to Todd Mignola about The Crown: A Tale of Hell, and Hellboy family connections, and to Mark Russell about Dog Tag and military history research for the series.
GraphicMemoir
Jonathan Sandler shares conversation between Mimi Pond and Posy Simmonds about The Mitford Sisters and Me from a recent event in London.
The Guardian
David Barnett speaks with Alex de Campi about Dan Dare: First Contact, the origins of the classic comic’s return, and updating proceedings for a contemporary audience.
Publisher's Weekly
• Amanda Ramirez talks to Yevgenia Nayberg about Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters, and trying to forget that you know the future when creating a work of graphical memoir.
• Present a conversation between J.D. Amato and Sophie Morse about The Endless Game, their creative collaboration on the book, and trusting the process.
RetroFuturista
Dominique Musorrafiti interviews Alan Moore about disowned comics works, evolving understandings of magic, and writing to please yourself.
Smash Pages
JK Parkin talks to Nicole Goux and Dave Baker about Punk’n Heads and music scene memories, and to D.B. Andry about Estuary and ‘West Coast Horror’.
Solrad
Tasha Lowe interviews Steve Lafler and Paul Theroux about Crazy for You, how Lafler’s adaptation of Theroux’s work came about, and characters and themes in the book’s two stories.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Mason Adams speaks with John Rose about Snuffy Smith, initial professional connections with Fred Lasswell, and keeping on keeping on.
You mean a shrimp fried this rice?
— Grim Wilkins (@grimwilkins.bsky.social) 2026-04-09T04:55:01.718Z
This week’s features and longreads.
• Here at TCJ, Andrew Farago writes in remembrance of cartoonist and author Sam Kieth, who passed away last month at the age of 63 — “On occasion, Kieth would admit that maybe The Maxx had struck a chord with fans because it was different, weird, out of the ordinary, and possibly even pretty good, but he would always stop just short of actually praising his own work. When a friend told him that The Maxx was the most interesting and best-written Image Comic of the ‘90s, he said, 'Yeah, but that’s like being the skinniest kid at fat camp.'"
• Following last month’s news that the Pentagon and current Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth would indeed be following through on intentions to bring Stars and Stripes’ output in line with the current U.S. administration, ombudsman Jacqueline Smith writes on the reader response to the forced removal of syndicated comic strips and editorial cartoons from the newspaper.
• On the same topic, for FAIR, Hank Kennedy writes on the global trend of right wing administrations and groups targeting comics creators and cartoonists, highlighting the reporting on the freedoms of cartoonists and caricaturists by Cartooning for Peace, Cartoonists Rights, and Reporters Without Borders, and examines the worsening situation for artists in the U.S. under the current regime.
• For The Assembly, Jessica Wakeman speaks with contributors to the Islands in the Sky anthology, exploring the stories to be found in the comic that came out of people’s experiences during Hurricane Helene, and talks to Andrew Aydin about the importance of the Appalachia Comics Project.
• Zack Quaintance presents the sophomore edition of Self-Published Saturday, over at The Beat, as consideration is given to the contrasting chiropteran crimefighting to be found in Jim Mahfood’s Savage Street Vigilante and Jesse Lonergan’s We Right at Night.
• For Shelfdust, Thomas Maluck writes on Jinushi’s Smoking Behind the Supermarket With You, translated by Amanda Haley, and the grounding of the story that eschews the usual tropes of your average manga rom-com.
• Aftermath’s Isaiah Colbert writes on the recent conclusion of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga phenom, Chainsaw Man, which dropped a surprise finale last month, and the meta commentary on media and audiences that runs through Fujimoto’s works.
• More Mindless Ones magicks, as an Easter focus is given to alien eggs, before returning to the important topic of comicked books, in the form of Spider-Man and Zoids, 52, and the lasting impact of 2000 AD on the psyche of the UK.
• From the world of open-access academia, currently in advance publication, the Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies presents a special volume on comics, gender, and politics in the Arab world and Turkey, with features on the work of Lena Merhej, Lina Ghaibeh, and Arab comics collectives that formed during the Arab Spring.
• Paul O’Brien’s survey of the ne’er-do-wells of Daredevil continues, for House to Astonish, as Ann Nocenti’s run continues, and a guest spot from Black Panther brings Wheeler and American private military company actions in African nations (briefly) into the book’s remit.
• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as the U.S. bid farewell to Pam Bondi, as well as the last remaining social norms usually expected of the ‘Leader of the Free World’ and their associates, apparently.
— Katherine Lam (@katherinelam.bsky.social) 2026-03-29T21:58:39.114067Z
No more links, for now, just adventures with Link, for the next week or so.
Sooo, I was asked to draw a variant cover for the new flamboyant series of Jessica Priest She-Spawn by @gailsimone.bsky.social and Ig Guara, chez @mcfarlanecomics.bsky.social 💫It should be up for preorder, I think.
— beluga's kin (@emmartian.bsky.social) 2026-04-09T12:10:44.483Z
English (US) · 