Clark Burscough | September 5, 2025
Dog days and doldrums? Outta here! Time to welcome in new school supplies, the changing colours of the leaves, plastic Hallowe’en tat, pumpkin spiced everything, and, of course, this week’s links, below.
One layer doodle
— Chan Chau (@aluhnim.bsky.social) 2025-09-02T22:31:54.981Z
This week’s news.
• Checking back in with a story from May of this year, as Canada looks set to follow in the footsteps of its neighbour to the south, with the provincial government of Alberta looking to remove "inappropriate" books from school libraries — having originally claimed this would not lead to a widespread book ban — with a widespread book ban of more than 200 titles (including a large number of graphic novels and manga) set to be implemented in Edmonton, per internal documents, leading to government officials claiming "malicious compliance" from the local school board, before temporarily pausing the rollout of the legislation leading to the ban, in order to refine its wording, following outcry from free-speech groups and authors, alongside claims of victory from right-wing lobbying groups, and all as a possible teachers’ strike looms in the region.
• Elsewhere, Star Fruit Books’ Matt Haasch announced that the manga publisher would be going on a small hiatus, due to Haasch’s diagnosis with lymphoma. A GoFundMe campaign in support of Haasch’s living costs during ongoing medical treatment can be donated to here.
• News from the rapidly-evolving sphere of generative artificial intelligence, as GalaxyCon this week announced a ban on all AI-generated artwork across its slate of shows, coming hot on the heels of Dragon Con organisers having apparently removed an exhibitor from its artist alley at the weekend for breach of its own AI art ban. Various lawsuits alleging copyright infringement by owners and operators of AI models are currently in play, and those that have already closed out are generating yet more trials to deal with claims of piracy with regards to the materials used in the training of said models.
Lily pad hot milk
— Julie Benbassat (@juliebenbassat.bsky.social) 2025-08-27T16:39:31.610Z
This week’s reviews.
TCJ
• Brian Nicholson reviews the light-hearted appeal of Natsujikei Miyazaki’s And The Strange And Funky Happenings One Day, translated by zhuchka — “The cadence to the stories has very little happening within a single page, with each idea finding a conclusion at the end of a story. Each page unto itself feels decided more by the balance of visual elements for the sake of overall composition than as a way to convey a narrative idea. To excerpt a page feels like I am showing you not a full sentence, but a beautifully wrought clause that may lack either subject or object.”
• Leonard Pierce reviews the creative expertise of Erik Kriek’s The Pit — “There's nothing particularly unique or unprecedented in what happens next. Old wrongs are unearthed, ancient texts are discovered, dreams are disturbed by frightening portents, and domestic bliss is gained only to be shattered. It's not the originality of the story that draws readers into the world that Kriek lays out; it's at the craft and skill with which it's accomplished.”
AIPT
• Alex Schlesinger reviews the excellent characters of Steve Foxe, Edgar Salazar, Peter Nguyen, et al’s Alien: Paradiso.
• Kevin Clark reviews the fantastic beginning of James Robinson, Phil Hester, et al’s The Adventures of Lumen N. #1.
• Nathan Simmons reviews the fantastic choreography of Sean Peacock’s Blood Honey #1.
• Michael Guerrero reviews the captivating start of Matt Fraction, Jorge Jiménez, et al’s Batman #1.
• David Brooke reviews the cinematic opening of Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Scott Godlewski, et al’s Adventures of Superman: The Book of El #1.
• Colin Moon reviews the toothless approach of Evan Narcisse, Greg Pak, Eder Messias, et al’s Sam Wilson, Captain America: Better Angels.
• Collier Jennings reviews the fresh approach of Tate Brombal, Jacob Phillips, et al’s Everything Dead and Dying #1; and the cosmic shake-up of Steve Foxe, Jonathan Hickman, Francesco Manna, et al’s Imperial War: Exiles #1.
The Beat
• Khalid Johnsons reviews the beautiful craft of Kieron Gillen, Steve Leiber, et al’s Closer #1.
• Clyde Hall reviews the suspenseful twists of Brendan Columbus, Danilo Beyruth, et al’s Black Diamond #1.
• Jordan Jennings reviews the unparalleled execution of James Robinson, Phil Hester, et al’s The Adventures of Lumen N. #1.
• Merve Giray reviews the comforting familiarity of Aki Akimoto’s Mechanical Marie, Volume 1, translated by Eleanor Summers.
• Kathryn Hemmann reviews the timely reflections of Adam Ellis’ Let Me in Your Window.
• Kristina Elyse Butke reviews the underexplored setups of Kaede Yunami’s The Desert Butterfly Yearns to Be Caught, translated by Christine Dashiell.
• Zack Quaintance has reviews of:
• The expansive coherence of Caza’s Arkadi and the Lost Titan, translated by Montana Kane.
• The surprising thoughtfulness of Chip Zdarsky, Rachael Stott, et al’s White House Robot Romance #1.
• The compelling setup of Tate Brombal, Jacob Phillips, et al’s Everything Dead and Dying #1.
• The stunning opening of Matt Fraction, Jorge Jiménez, et al’s Batman #1.
Broken Frontier
• Andy Oliver reviews the vibrant fun of Zinezilla’s Zineapalooza and the inventive escapism of April Newton’s I ♡ Kill.
• Gary Usher reviews the unique perspective of Hal Weaver’s Reluctant Sadist #9.
• Edward Picot reviews the honest humour of Hayley Gullen's This Might Surprise You: A Breast Cancer Story.
Four Color Apocalypse
Ryan Carey reviews the deadpan fun of Walker Tate’s Laser Eye Surgery.
House to Astonish
Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #34, X-Men #21, Phoenix #14, Deadpool/Wolverine #9, Wolverine & Kitty Pryde #5, and Emma Frost: The White Queen #3.
Los Angeles Review of Books
Graham J. Murphy reviews the effective explorations of Badiucao and Melissa Chan’s You Must Take Part in Revolution.
Solrad
Nicholas Burman reviews the fantasy canvas of María Medem’s Land of Mirrors, translated by Aleshia Jensen and Daniela Ortiz.
We all have those days 🪓⚔️🥊💀 #altcomics #indiecomics #comicbooks #scorpiovenusrising #gauntlet #artwork
— Corinne Halbert (@corinnehalbert.bsky.social) 2025-09-01T02:26:20.749Z
This week’s interviews.
TCJ
Robert Aman interviews Ilan Manouach about Tar Wars, childhood and adult reading habits, professional experience with regards to Katz, and thoughts on authorship — “Selling books is, in my view, a very antiquated model. Who actually makes money from selling books? Only a handful of very successful writers. Hardly any comics artists earn a living that way. For most cartoonists, the royalties they receive at the end of the year — after spending months or even years on a book — are absurdly low. They barely cover basic utilities.”
AIPT
• Chris Hassan speaks with Erica Schultz about Laura Kinney: Sabretooth, the joys of time jumps, and crossover character coordination.
• Chris Coplan talks to Ryan Parrott about It Killed Everyone But Me, the rules of horror, and the perceived reluctance of horror to engage with empowerment.
• David Brooke chats with Ronda Rousey about Expecting the Unexpected, writing the character you want to see, and making the fights the story.
• Jennifer Chu talks to Jeanine Schaefer, Judith Stephens, and Margaret Stohl about Super Visible: The Story of the Women of Marvel Comics and community support.
The Beat
• Gregory Paul Silber interviews the Civics for All Comics Group’s Jenna Ryall, Brian Carlin, and Joe Schmidt about using comics in an educational context.
• Samantha Puc talks to Joseph Illidge about new creative agency Illuminous and plans to support comics creators through its work.
Fanbase Press
Barbra Dillon speaks with Andrew Clemson about Bete Noir and collecting the crowdfunded comic’s completion, with Karenza Sparks about The Corus Wave and working with Avery Hill on the book, with David Hartman about Monster Drive-In: Isle of Evil and grindhouse inspirations, and with Iolanda Zanfardino about No Saints Nor Poets #1 and NSFW variant covers.
Forbes
Daniel Foster interviews Bazooka Candy Brands’ Tony Jacobs about the return of Bazooka Joe comics to the world of gum after a decades-long hiatus.
News 5 Cleveland
Damon Maloney speaks with Westlake Porter Public Library’s Victoria Vogel and John Carroll University’s Matt Hands about the importance of graphic novels for younger readers.
Steven Heller talks to Dirk Uhlenbrock about Spitzer, the magazine’s coverage of all forms of illustration, and reflecting the importance of illustration in communication.
Smash Pages
JK Parkin interviews Štěpánka Jislová and Sofia Szamosi about Heartcore and Bad Kid: My Life as a Troubled Teen, body image, and using art to process your thoughts.
— Alex Tomlinson (@alextomlinson.com) 2025-09-02T15:02:12.882Z
This week’s features and longreads.
• Here at TCJ, Shaenon Garrity considers Kamome Shirahama’s Witch Hat Atelier in the context of the increasing fluidity of and crossover between the traditionally codified manga sales demographics — “Another oft-repeated message is that art has power; there’s a reason society tries to restrict it to a small, trained group of elites. Qifrey impresses on his apprentices the importance of using magic for the greater good. Witches are taught to consider the possible repercussions before making even minor spells and contraptions public: a cold flame could be useful, for example, but what if it causes children to grow up without a healthy fear of ordinary fire?”
• Also for TCJ, Daniel Meyerowitz shares the secret of the work of Fumiko Takano, ahead of this month’s English-language publication of Miss Ruki, translated by Alex Frank, and the surprises to be found therein — “What follows is one of the best portrayals in comics of two people getting to know each other. With touching nuance, Takano draws us into the personal ballet of these two, advancing and retreating with little signs, stretches, semaphore. If this were a love story, the artist would show us the usual succession of romantic milestones. But charting the almost invisible signs of a deepening friendship requires a different set of skills. This is one of Takano's gifts, a constant in her widely varying catalog.”
• More for TCJ, as co-editor Sally Madden shares a survival pack of summer reading, including comics and (gasp) prose, with a paean to enjoying a good book in the out-of-doors — “Do you have a new best friend or did you just meet someone else who also loves Quinto's Mafalda? It's hard to tell! Our precious darling was lovely linework to behold, but now the strip has been translated by Frank Wynne for Elsewhere Editions so we can enjoy the little urchin, Little Dot and Nancy all at a birthday pool party at last.”
• Over at the Albuquerque Journal, John Miller profiles the New Mexico comics scene, speaking with creators and retailers about the ever-evolving funnybooks market.
• For Shelfdust, Hank Kennedy looks back on Mike Grell and Ed Hannigan’s Green Arrow #5, marking the depiction of gay characters in a DC comic from 1988, compared to the approach (or lack thereof) of Marvel Comics at the time.
• From the world of open-access academia, in Geographica Helvetica, alongside French-language writing on the subject from Dolorès Bertrais, Carolin Schurr and Giada Peterle consider Juliet Fall’s Bornées: Une histoire illustrée de la frontière / Along the Line: Writing with Comics and Graphic Narrative in Geography, and the importance of the book in expanding the form of contemporary research into boundaries and borders.
• Summer ends, but the Mindless Ones endure, as marks are made to share the examination of Grant Morrison et al’s Doom Patrol and Deniz Camp and Javier Rodríguez’s Absolute Martian Manhunter.
• Paul O’Brien’s survey of the varied enemies of Daredevil continues, over at House to Astonish, as a pair of big-hitters in previous editions are followed up by the messy debut and departure of Ladykiller.
• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, for The Daily Cartoonist, as school shootings, trade tariffs, ongoing genocide in Gaza, and vaccine denial made for grim reading.
Now that The Comics Courier issue 2 is safely in folks' hands, it's time to announce the roster for The Comics Courier issue 3!Say hello to... comicscourier.com
— Tiffany Babb (@explodingarrow.bsky.social) 2025-09-01T17:03:31.189Z
No more links today, because the culmination of Silksong’s 7-year development cycle will today either cure everything that ails me, or leave me staring into an even deeper abyss than before.
The Ignatz Awards are happening promptly at 9:30 PM Saturday night, September 13th in the White Oak Room. It’s open to all and free to attend with cartoonist Mimi Pond serving as keynote speaker.Vote, purchase tickets and more by going to the smallpressexpo.com link below.
— Small Press Expo (@smallpressexpo.bsky.social) 2025-09-01T19:56:54.788Z
English (US) · 