Clark Burscough | March 20, 2026
Aww yiss, it is false spring time, my dudes, and I do not care that the sun will inevitably betray the northern hemisphere once more, going back into hiding for a few weeks after this brief spell of glorious basking – just slap those intermittent rays straight onto my retina like a nicotine patch – it’s time for this week’s links, below, to feel vaguely human, again, for the first time in 5 months.
she is excited for spring!!!!
— Gwen!!! (@poodlewool.bsky.social) 2026-03-01T01:16:51.797Z
This week’s news.
• Starting this week with news of how the United States and Israel’s war with Iran is affecting comics publishing, as, alongside various no-fly zones in the region, cargo shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has decreased over 95% since the start of the month, due to an ongoing Iranian blockade, and container ships utilising the waterway have been fired upon and damaged, including one carrying upcoming Fantagraphics publications Atlas Comics Library No. 9 and Roberta Gregory’s Bitchy! The Exasperating Existence of Midge McCracken, which now look unlikely to meet their original publication dates in June, as their transit vessel has sustained damage and sought refuge in a safe port.
• In other military news, a memorandum recently issued by the Pentagon has called for sweeping changes to the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, following claims that the publication is overly “woke”, and, while the paper will retain its editorial independence, it will be banned from publishing comic strips, amongst other things deemed unsavoury by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — more on Stars and Stripes history of comic strip publication can be read here.
• Elsewhere, House Resolution 7661, aka the "Stop the Sexualisation of Children Act," aka the "Don't Say Trans Act," moved out of committee and into the House of Representatives this week, with the American Library Association having already denounced the Resolution at its initial introduction, which would allow Congress to control school curricula and what books are stocked in school libraries — Book Riot has a breakdown of the various anti-intellectual aspects of the bill, and the manner in which it could be used to defund public schools, along with ways to contact Representatives regarding the proposed law.
• In other legal news, checking in with the state of copyright law pertaining to Artificial Intelligence in 2026, the Supreme Court this month declined to take up the appeal of computer scientist Stephen Thaler, whose claim for copyright protections for AI generated images had been denied by the U.S. Copyright Office, which keeps in place the determination that human authorship is needed for copyright or patent protections to apply, with legislators across the pond in Europe and the UK also starting this month to define the legal protections that should be in place, in order to protect human creativity from tech-company AI data-mining and iterative generation.
• Elsewhere on the digital frontier, Forbes shares news of a fresh round of investment for comics app GlobalComix, as the company raised $13 million dollars in new capital, acquired the manga platform INKR, and promoted executive Henrik Rydberg up into the role of CEO. Never a dull moment.
• In memoriam, remembering those the world of comics has lost, as news was shared of the passing of editor and historian, former TCJ contributor, Brian Doherty, author of Dirty Pictures: How an Underground Network of Nerds, Feminists, Misfits, Geniuses, Bikers, Potheads, Printers, Intellectuals, and Art School Rebels Revolutionized Art and Invented Comix, who has died at the age of 57.
— john JASON saeteroy (@johnjasonsaeteroy.bsky.social) 2026-03-18T05:48:01.929Z
This week’s reviews.
TCJ
• Jake Zawlacki reviews the elevated horror of W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo’s Ice Cream Man: The Mortal Coil Shuffle — “Mortal Coil works because it takes its medium seriously. Much like the turn of a comic page builds dramatic tension, so does the flip of a card. If at first that tension is simply the novelty of the form—a reader/player curious just how this is going to work—then by the end it bears real dramatic stakes.”
• Tegan O’Neil reviews the structural limitations of Christopher Cantwell and Tyler Crook’s Out of Alcatraz — “It’s a page turner. Because every move is a bad move when you’re on the run, their luck starts at terrible and gets worse. Two out of three of the escapees are violent thugs, and the third is a flake. They get bogged down in Redding, Calif., by a peckerwood rancher who wants to blackmail our guys into killing his wife. Take it from hard-earned personal experience: there is no worse place in the world to get bogged down than Redding, Calif. I don’t even like driving through it.”
AIPT
• Tiffany Leigh reviews the relative refresh of Greg Rucka, DaNi, et al’s Batwoman #1.
• David Brooke reviews the boisterous fun of Skottie Young, Jorge Corona, et al’s Lobo #1.
• Collier Jennings reviews the brutal action of Tony Fleecs, Carmine Di Giandomenico, et al’s Deathstroke: The Terminator #1.
• Jonathan Waugh reviews the bombastic silliness of Gerry Duggan, Javier Garron, et al’s Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe.
• Lily Abreu reviews the heartbreaking grief of Nick Winn, Agustin Morales, et al’s Adventure Time #11.
The Beat
• D. Morris reviews the ambitious return of Paul Jenkins, Christian Rosado, et al’s The Sentry #1.
• Steve Baxi reviews the mixed bag of Steve Lafler's Crazy for You, adapting the writing of Paul Theroux.
• Jared Bird reviews the compelling spookiness of Mike Mignola, Rachele Aragno, et al’s Leonide the Vampyr: The House of Yonda #1.
• Zack Quaintance reviews:
- The fantastic start of Jude Ellison S. Doyle, Caitlin Yarsky, et al’s Dead Teenagers #1.
- The smart whimsy of Anouk Ricard’s Animan, translated by Montana Kane.
- The genre deconstruction of Sylvain Runberg and Grun's Space Relic Hunters, translated by Dan Christensen.
Blogcritics
Jeff Provine reviews the hypnotising details of Bérénice Motais de Narbonne’s Metadoggoz, translated by Montana Kane.
Broken Frontier
• Ray McGrother reviews the brimming visuals of Lily Vie’s Ornithomancy.
• Andy Oliver reviews the communicative strengths of Alexandra Gallant-Lee’s This Place is a Prison, These People Aren’t Your Friends and the nuanced opening of Nikesh Shukla and Camille Aubry’s Mad Villain #1.
From Cover to Cover
Scott Cederlund reviews the shared wavelength of Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez's Love and Rockets #17.
House to Astonish
Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ X-Men United #1, Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #2, Magik & Colossus #2, and Logan: Black, White & Blood #3.
Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics
Varsha Singh reviews the much-needed ideas of Emma Dawson Varughese’s Visuality and Identity in Post-Millennial Indian Graphic Narratives.
Quill & Quire
Jaclyn Qua-Hiansen reviews the resonant storytelling of Faith Erin Hicks’ Inbetweens.
Solrad
Tom Shapira reviews the open-ended beauty of Kevin O’Neill’s Silent Pictures.
Desk snapshot, working on the comic, little by little
— Luchie 🍳 (@heyluchie.bsky.social) 2026-03-18T11:11:46.142Z
This week’s interviews.
TCJ
Gina Gagliano interviews Linnea Sterte about A Garden of Spheres, workflow rotation and Art Nouveau, life online/offline, and relatively fancy book designs — “In general I'm kinda shit at pitching. Both the part where I'm supposed to give a neat summary and also the part where I'm supposed to say it's a bit like x-popular-thing and also y-popular-thing, only the stuff that inspired me is like a sci-fi book from the '70s I read eight years ago then forgot the actual plot of. I'm too lazy to go pestering everyone with my half-baked ideas so it's nice to be able to make my comics then come to this tiny publisher like a cat with a dead bird and they're grateful for it.”
AIPT
Chris Coplan talks to Jonathan Djob Nkondo about Peaceful Remission and Wandering and the connective loneliness in the books, and to Joe Palmer about Destination Kill and the single image that inspired the book.
The Asahi Shimbun
Shoko Mifune speaks with Masamune Shirow about The Ghost in the Shell, the spread of invasive technologies, the failings of humans, and the contemporary AI boom.
The Beat
Jared Bird talks to Simon Spurrier about The Voice Said Kill, the chaotic bubbling out of the story, and finding the balance when writing fictional characters.
Fanbase Press
Barbra Dillon interviews:
- Magnetic Press’ Mike Kennedy about the crowdfunding campaign for Jonathan Djob Nkondo’s World Between Worlds.
- Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Caitlin Yarsky about Dead Teenagers and 90s horror/comedy inspirations.
- Ben H. Winters about Benjamin and collaborating on the book with Leomacs.
FreakSugar
Jed W. Keith speaks with Bruno Redondo about The DC Art of Bruno Redondo, the genesis of the project, and the collaborative effort of curating the artwork that appears in the book.
ICv2
• Rob Salkowitz talks to Atom Freeman and Joseph Keatinge about Comics! The Magazine, and catering to differing format choices between retail generations.
• Milton Griepp interviews ComicsPRO President of the Board Joe Murray about the organisation's ongoing evolution in the face of contemporary comics market upheaval.
The Los Angeles Times
Chuck Schilken speaks with Marshawn Lynch about Beast Mode 510, embracing public perception of yourself, and bringing the personality of Oakland to the page.
Polygon
Tasha Robinson chats with Felicia Day about The Lost Daughter of Sparta, the realities of mythological tales, and collaborating with Rowan MacColl on the book.
Publisher’s Weekly
Erika Hardison talks to Sofia Szamosi about Bad Kid: My Life as a “Troubled Teen”, the therapeutic nature of making the book, and sharing the message that there are no bad kids.
t2
Subhalakshmi Dey interviews Kate Evans about Patchwork: A Graphic Biography of Jane Austen, the process of summarising Austen’s life, and in-depth research of the Regency era.
Do you remember the first time you saw a guy get all his teeth knocked out of his head
— Annie Wu (@anniewu.bsky.social) 2026-03-19T04:31:38.770Z
This week’s features and longreads.
• Here at TCJ, Cynthia Rose writes in remembrance of storied artist Clément Oubrerie, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 59 — “Yes, he was a wonderful draftsman of incredible talent. Some of the paintings and sketches he made for personal reference are even better than the art in his pages. But his profession is blessed with many gifted souls. What really amplified Clément Oubrerie's art was an inherent irreverence that amplified his genius for envisioning character.”
• Also for TCJ, Tiffany Babb reports from the Forever, City Hunter! exhibition at Tokyo’s Ueno Royal Museum, and shares a selection of photographs of the original Tsukasa Hojo art that was to be found therein — “The experience was a far cry from your typical stuffy gallery offering, featuring character cutouts, photo opportunities (a large model of Kaori’s 100t hammer graced the entrance, and the exhibit featured multiple built-out models including a life-sized Cat’s Eye Cafe manned by an Umibozu standup), and even piped-in sound matching the pages on display (i.e. rain sounds for a rainy scene) to add to the atmosphere.”
• Finally for TCJ this week, Andrew Farago writes in remembrance of acclaimed colourist Tatjana Wood, who passed away last month at the age of 99 — “Wood, for her part, knew that her legacy spoke for itself, and politely declined nearly every interview request or convention invitation that came her way in her later years. She spent her retirement among friends and indulging her other artistic talents, such as dressmaking, crafting theatrical costumes, and weaving intricate pictorial loom tapestries.”
• For Quill & Quire, François Vigneault contrasts the fictional worlds to be found within Jon Claytor’s Nowhere and Chris W. Kim’s Closing Act, comparing the loops and labyrinths into which they take readers.
• Over at Shelfdust, Sean Dillon writes on the penultimate issue of Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows’ Providence, examining the singular thesis statement presented for the series as it inexorably spins towards its conclusion.
• For GraphicMemoir, Jonathan Sandler reports from the R. Crumb: There Is No End to This Nonsense exhibition at London’s David Zwirner Gallery, taking in the sights as a relative newcomer to Crumb’s work.
• For ThePrint, Krishan Murari shares conversation from the recent Comics as Witness roundtable session at Delhi’s Foundation For Indian Contemporary Art Reading Room, marking ten years since the publication of First Hand: Graphic Non-Fiction from India, edited by Orijit Sen and Vidyun Sabhaney.
• Arms and legs inside until the newsletter comes to a complete stop, as the Mindless Ones newsletter includes the retrieval of one Elektra Natchios from back-bin imprisonment.
• Not a million miles away, Paul O’Brien continues House to Astonish’s documenting of the villains of Daredevil, as the genesis and demise of one-and-done Trixter also welcomes to the book a certain Todd McFarlane.
• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as President Donald Trump continues to commit one of the classic blunders.
G Y R O
— ᴄᴀʟᴜᴍ ᴀʟᴇxᴀɴᴅᴇʀ ᴡᴀᴛᴛ (@calumalexanderwatt.bsky.social) 2026-03-18T08:24:18.938Z
This week’s audio/visual delights.
Catching up with some recent viewing and/or listening from across the World Wide Web, as Comix Experience’s Graphic Novel Club returned and Brian Hibbs spoke with Eric Powell and Lauren Davis, Mel Hilario, and Katie Longua; Ben Katchor hosted a Will Eisner Week meeting of the New York Comics and Picture-Story Symposium, as Karen Green, Dean Haspiel, Arie Kaplan, Charles Kochman, and Danny Fingeroth spoke on the history of comic books fought fascism; Off Panel’s David Harper spoke with Skottie Young about Lobo and with Laura Hudson and Tim Leong about Exploit; Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come’s Heidi MacDonald spoke with Atom Freeman about Comics! The Magazine and Prana’s comics sales charts; and 2000 AD’s Molch-R and KLO-E spoke with Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard about the return of Brink.
trying (some new stuff)
— Richie Pope (@richiepope.bsky.social) 2026-03-19T01:19:01.107Z
No more links, there are bicycle roadworthiness checks to be undertaken, and then reality checks regarding post-winter cycling fitness to be encountered.
Selfie
— Andi Watson (@andicomics.bsky.social) 2026-03-09T15:29:25.303Z
English (US) · 