Cities in Flight — This Week’s Links

10 hours ago 5

I spent Earth Day this week as is traditional — eyes puffed and streaming, sneezing uncontrollably, as Mother Nature’s immunoglobulin E hypersensitivity-driven attacks on my person have started up once again, with trees billowing pollen directly into my face at every turn — but for now let’s spend Friday as is traditional, by reading this week’s links, below.

— 西村ツチカ (@tsuchika.bsky.social) 2025-04-14T23:17:01.185Z

This week’s news.

• Starting this week with a return to a story from earlier this year, as an open letter from numerous authors and comics industry professionals, calling for the boycott of next year’s edition of the Angoulême International Comics Festival, was shared with L’Humanité – signatories to the letter support the call for an outright boycott, due to alleged mismanagement of the festival by company 9th Art+, which is apparently seeking to merge with the festival’s founding association to cement its position as managing body of the event — accusations came to light ahead of 2025’s edition of the festival that a communications manager for 9th Art+ was fired after filing a rape allegation during the festival in 2024.

• Elsewhere, it was reported that author Neil Gaiman has filed a claim for $500,000 against one of the women who came forward earlier this year with accusations of sexual misconduct against the writer — Caroline Waller signed an nondisclosure agreement with Gaiman in 2021, for the sum of $275,000. Gaiman claims the confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses have been breached.

• A crowdfunding check-in, as Don Simpson shared news of Kickstarter’s initial decision to suspend the launch of the funding campaign for Megaton Man: Multidimensions, which was flagged as ‘potentially prohibited under trade restrictions’ due to one of the contributors living in Iran - Kickstarter later apologised for the subsequent delays to the campaign’s launch, which is now live through May 22nd.

• In comics publisher personnel news, Drawn & Quarterly announced that Lucia Gargiulo has been promoted to the role of Editor at the publisher, while Tracy Hurren and Julia Pohl-Miranda have had their respective titles at the company updated to reflect their co-ownership of D&Q.

• Finally this week, in comics prizes news, the nominees for the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year were announced by the National Cartoonist Society, with Dave Blazek, Tauhid Bondia, Will Henry, Mark Parisi, Dana Simpson, and Mark Tatulli all in the running, winner to be announced in August at this year’s NCS Conference.

spring cleaning

— 🌞 LINNEA !! (@godweaver.bsky.social) 2025-04-04T19:47:56.493Z

This week’s reviews.

TCJ

• Tate McFadden reviews the understated ruminations of Powerpaula’s All My Bicycles — “Many good memoirs don’t have the clarity of a character arc that a novel or play might provide. Human lives don’t lend themselves to such a structured path. The vignette nature of All My Bicycles lends the book the feel of a short story collection rather than a single narrative, which makes the lack of linear progression an invitation to become a part of Powerpaula’s development. In drawing her stories she makes it clear she is in the middle of understanding herself.”

• Hank Kennedy reviews the great service of David Lester and Marcus Rediker's Revolution By Fire: New York's Afro-Irish Uprising of 1741, a Graphic Novel — “Many of Lester’s compositions are stunning, beginning with the eye-catching cover. His spreads of executions and revolts have a weight to them that will take readers' breaths away. He is also at home with smaller, more intimate moments, whether between Ginn and Kelley or the conspirators plotting at Hughson’s Tavern. Although the present volume is in a smaller format than his previous two works, this does not diminish the impact of Lester’s art one iota.”

AIPT

• David Brooke reviews the gory start of Benjamin Percy, Marcelo Ferreira, et al’s Predator vs. Spider-Man #1.

• Eric Thomas and Piper Whitaker review the awkward ending of Leah Williams, David Baldeón, et al’s Power Girl #20.

• Collier Jennings reviews the narrative milestone of Joshua Williamson, Dan Mora, Eddy Barrows, Jamal Campbell, et al’s Superman #25.

• Landon Kuhlmann reviews the traditional formula of Si Spurrier, Stephen Green, et al’s The Witcher: The Bear and the Butterfly #1.

• Chris Coplan reviews the exciting gimmick of Cullen Bunn, A.C. Zamudio, et al’s Arcana Royale #1.

• Kevin Clark reviews the eye-opening account of Akvile Magicdusté’s The Bees: The Women Who Rocked Lithuania, translated by Erika Lastovskytė.

• Colin Moon reviews the bizarre mysteries of Gerard Way, Shaun Simon, Chris Weston, et al’s Paranoid Gardens.

• Michael Guerrero reviews the riveting perfection of Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond: The Definitive Edition, Volume 2.

The Beat

• Zack Quaintance reviews the winning repetition of Mike Marlow, Zach Howard, Steve Ellis, et al’s Moonshine Bigfoot #1; and the gambling horrors of Cullen Bunn, A.C. Zamudio, et al’s Arcana Royale #1.

• Jordan Jennings reviews the slick simplicity of Rory McConville, Marco Itri, et al’s Medieval Spawn #1.

• D. Morris reviews the shock value of Benjamin Percy, Marcelo Ferreira, et al’s Predator vs. Spider-Man #1.

• Matt Ledger reviews the wild spectacle of Simon Spurrier, Vasco Georgiev, et al’s The Flash #20.

• Kathryn Hemmann reviews the sweet optimism of Ariel Slamet Ries’ Strange Bedfellows.

• Javier Perez reviews the strong characters of Image Comics’ The Horizon Experiment, Volume 1, edited by Pornsak Pichetshote and Will Dennis.

• George Carmona III reviews the spiritual roadmap of Damian Duffy and John Jennings’ adaptation of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Talents.

Broken Frontier

• Gary Usher reviews the seamless combinations of Katie Lane’s Single Camera Sitcom.

• Lindsay Pereira reviews the sweeping vistas of Lomig’s John Muir: To the Heart of Solitude.

Four Color Apocalypse

Ryan Carey reviews the shifting perspectives of Powerpaola’s La Poderosa #1 - Come With Me; and the conceptual hodgepodge of 2dcloud's EGIRL #1, edited by Katherine Dee.

From Cover to Cover

Scott Cederlund reviews the restless beginnings of Inio Asano’s Mujina Into the Deep, Volume 1.

House to Astonish

Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ Astonishing X-Men Infinity Comic #18, Exceptional X-Men #8, Wolverine #8, X-Factor #9, and Cable: Love & Chrome #4.

Kirkus Reviews

Have starred capsule reviews of:

• The bittersweet conclusion of Tillie Walden’s Clementine, Book 3.

• The otherworldly atmosphere of Aviaq Johnston and Athena Gubbe’s The Haunted Blizzard.

• The engrossing richness of Yudori’s Raging Clouds.

Library Journal

Martha Cornog has a starred capsule review of the heartwarming immersion of Mike Curato’s Gaysians.

The New York Times

Dwight Garner reviews the ideal sleekness of Dan Nadel’s Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life.

RIP

— Marie Enger - CAKE (@soengery.bsky.social) 2025-04-21T14:02:54.892Z

This week’s interviews.

TCJ

• Zach Rabiroff interviews Rebecca Burke about being arrested and detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement while recently travelling between the States and Canada — “This is happening to other people. Immigration officers are really cracking down and wanting to show big numbers. I was just someone who wasn't squeaky clean. I've become one of those numbers, and more and more people coming in after me were also having the same kind of reaction I had when I first came in: I don't know why I'm here. That was the common response of the people who came in a few days before me.”

• Ian Thomas interviews Kent Worcester about A Cultural History of the Punisher, the polycrisis of the 'long seventies', first introductions to Frank Castle, and comics academia — “Enter superheroes. I was struck by how certain stories and characters spoke to the larger cultural/political questions I was interested in. This meant my reading habits were urban focused. If a costumed hero prowled the streets of Manhattan, or one of the outer boroughs, muttering about bleeding hearts, I was there. I had no time for stories set in outer space or mystical dimensions.”

AIPT

Chris Hassan speaks with Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing about Giant-Size X-Men, the orchestrations of Tom Brevoort, and time travel emotions.

Autobiographix

Amaris Ketcham interviews Glynnis Fawkes about Persephone's Garden and 1177 BC, when books grow to epic proportions, future projects, and challenges inherent to telling nonfiction stories.

The Beat

• Deanna Destito talks to David Pepose about Space Ghost Annual, capping off a year on the book, and villainy outside the Council of Doom.

• Samantha Puc interviews Magnetic Press’ Mike Kennedy about the publisher’s tenth anniversary, business phases, and future plans.

Broken Frontier

Andy Oliver speaks with Guru Comics’ Talvinder Sehmbi about the company’s genesis, publishing ethos, and business learning curves.

The Guardian

Phil Hoad interviews Guy Delisle about Muybridge, personal parallels with Eadweard Muybridge, and narrative research.

Interview

Al Freeman speaks with Dan Nadel about Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life, comic book entry points, the importance of Maus, and the fantasies of R. Crumb.

The Los Angeles Times

Jevon Phillips shares thoughts from John Jennings about adapting Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Talents, and keeping the graphic novels true to the source material.

Print

Steven Heller talks to David Day about The Peculiar Manicule, collecting Hallmark calendars, and the subversive designs to be found within them.

Publisher’s Weekly

Amanda Ramirez interviews Calista Brill about Creaky Acres, the book’s genesis, comparing comics editing and writing, and the collaborative process.

🤷‍♀️

— Nicole Rifkin (@nicolerifkin.bsky.social) 2025-04-23T13:45:50.202Z

This week’s features and longreads.

• Here at TCJ, Tammi Morton-Kelly reports on this year’s MoCCA Arts Festival, which took place at New York’s Metropolitan Pavilion last month — “MoCCA 2025 managed to attract one of the most eclectic crowds imaginable–people from indescribably diverse backgrounds, each with unique experiences and perspectives that pulsed and rippled in countless interactions over the course of two days. MoCCA accomplished this though the comic art— a language of worlds with an unequivocal gravitational pull.”

• Also for TCJ, Brigid Alverson recaps a hectic few months for the direct market, following Diamond Comics Distributors’ filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the start of the year, charting a course for what may come next for new owners Alliance Entertainment — “Statistics aside, Alliance has something that Diamond has notoriously lacked: Modern, automated picking and processing systems that allow them to move and distribute packaged products fast.”

• For more on just what Alliance Entertainment’s money has bought, over at ICv2, Milton Griepp tallies up the various fees and costs that are on the ledger from Diamond’s copybook.

• For LitHub, Dan Nadel shares an excerpt from Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life, charting the formative years of R. Crumb, and the development of Crumb’s obsession with ‘displays of physical strength and flexibility.’

• For Print, Steven Heller writes in remembrance of Brad Holland, who passed away earlier this year aged 81, sharing excerpts from Holland’s introductory essay to an exhibition of recent works at Milan’s Galleria Nuages.

• Over at Shelfdust, MJ O’Neill looks back on Scott Snyder, Brian Azzarello, and Jock’s Batman #44, its divergence from the rest of the arc the story appears within, and the societal issues that Batman and Bruce Wayne consistently fail to overcome.

• Lecturer and comics maker Damon Herd takes the reins of Broken Frontier’s Covers Album this week, sharing inspirational, aesthetic, and nostalgic examples of favourite comics covers.

• From the world of open access academia, for humanities, Peter Admirand examines Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen’s Descender and Ascender series for examples of the key traits of sacrificial love.

• For Historical Research, Frederick Hyde writes on the depiction of the British Army in the pages of Punch between 1841 and 1861, and the changing attitudes towards military administration during this time.

• Paul O’Brien’s registry of the villains of Daredevil continues for House to Astonish, as the Mind-Master’s introductory arrival is both late and convoluted, just as it should be.

• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as your regular political chaos coverage was briefly interrupted by the passing of Pope Francis.

best of friends

— Kate Beaton (@katebeaton.bsky.social) 2025-02-07T18:35:42.944Z

This week’s audio/visual delights.

Some recent offerings from across the airwaves, as Sally Madden was joined by Sam Szabo to discuss the Thick Lines of Ed Subitzky’s Poor Helpless Comics!, Gil Roth welcomed Ari Richter to The Virtual Memories Show to discuss Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz: A Graphic Family Memoir of Trauma & Inheritance, Off Panel’s David Harper spoke with Craig Thompson about Ginseng Roots, and Heidi MacDonald interviewed James Tynion IV about Exquisite Corpses for Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come.