Sloping into the new year hoping for some refreshing change and renewal, but then immediately slamming into a newly erected wall of “we’re going to apply unregulated tech in ways that will be fundamentally detrimental to the people who work within the industries with which we’re engaged,” and deciding instead to shove the groundhog out of the way and go back to sleep in the dirt for six months? This week’s links is BACK!
had to grind for this view 😮💨
— Koboldscrossing (@koboldscrossing.bsky.social) 2026-01-07T14:09:42.131Z
This week’s news.
• Kicking off a brand new year with some awards news from across the winter season, as the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo and Boston Comic Arts Foundation announced Cathy G. Johnson as the latest recipient of the Underground Visionary Award, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan announced Laica Chrose’s Winged as the Gold Award winner of the 19th Japan International MANGA Award.
• In calls for submissions news, the Cartoonist Cooperative announced the opening of this year’s Minicomic Awards with a deadline of Jan. 31, the Center for Cartoon Studies announced the opening of this year’s Cartoonist Studio Prize with a deadline of February 28, and Kuš! Comics opened the call for their 2026 Comics Residency with a deadline of Jan. 31.
• In memoriam, remembering those the world of comics has lost, as news was shared at the end of 2025 of the passing of Kiriko Nananan, creator of Strawberry Shortcakes and Blue, who died in December 2024 at the age of 52 — the formal announcement of Nananan’s death was withheld from the public for a year in accordance with Nananan and her family’s wishes.
a blessing of burning stars
— Sloane (@sloanesloane.bsky.social) 2026-01-07T16:33:39.023Z
This week’s reviews.
TCJ
Tom Shapira reviews the sweet spot of Sammy Harkham’s Crickets #9 — “There’s something joyous about this story, something old-fashioned that never falls into the pit of sheer retro. Whether future issues of Crickets can carry-on with this level of energy and style is a question for a different time. It is quite possible that this type of story isn’t sustainable long term. Even if the rest of the story falters, or if Harkham never comes back to it, “The San Fernando Kid” is worthwhile on its own terms.”
Against the Current
Hank Kennedy reviews the talented teams of Between the Lines' Partisans: A Graphic History of Anti Fascist Resistance, edited by Raymond Tyler and Paul Buhle.
AIPT
• Maxwell Majernik reviews the shifting control of Erica Schultz, Giada Belviso, et al’s Laura Kinney: Wolverine - My So Called Perfect Life.
• Jonathan Jones reviews the promising refresh of Steve Orlando, Bernard Chang, et al’s Sorcerer Supreme #1.
• Diane Darcy reviews the mistimed hits of Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Dustin Nguyen, Giuseppe Camuncoli, et al’s DC K.O.: Red Hood vs. The Joker #1.
• Joe Jones reviews the topical entertainment of G Willow Wilson, Davide Gianfelice, et al’s Poison Ivy #40.
• David Brooke reviews the moody chills of Scott Snyder, Frank Tieri, Joshua Hixson, et al’s Absolute Batman: Ark M Special #1.
• Collier Jennings reviews the poignant finale of Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, Timmy Heague, Scott Koblish, et al’s Archie vs. Minor Threats #4.
• Colin Moon reviews the welcome adventures of Fantagraphics’ Mickey Mouse: The Phantom Blot's Double Revenge #1; and the wonderful encapsulation of Donald Duck: The Golden Pineapple #1.
The Beat
• Zack Quaintance reviews the solid landing of Jason Aaron, Juan Ferreyra, et al’s Absolute Superman #15.
• Kathryn Hemmann reviews the emotional immediacy of Cathy Malkasian’s Shadows of the Sea.
• Clyde Hall reviews the recognisable world of Jeremy Haun, Mike Tisserand, et al’s Murder Podcast #1.
• Tim Rooney reviews the appealing start of Inaki Miranda, Roy Miranda, et al’s Arcadia #1.
• Gianni Palumbo reviews the sexy thrills of Leah Williams, David Baldeon, et al’s Voyeur #1.
• Jared Bird reviews the solid return of Jeremy Haun, Jason A. Hurley, Emanuela Lupacchino, et al’s The Beauty #1.
• Jordan Jennings reviews the delightful start of Tim Seeley, Stefano Simeone, et al’s NO Place #1.
• Khalid Johnson reviews the masterful creativity of Stephanie Williams, Letizia Cadonici, et al’s Roots of Madness.
• Ricardo Serrano Denis reviews the signature humour of Darryl Cunningham’s Elon Musk: American Oligarch; and the memorable horror of Cullen Bunn, Marika Cresta, et al’s Deluge #1.
Broken Frontier
Andy Oliver reviews the worthwhile cause of Samidoon: Comics for a Free Palestine, and the eloquent honesty of Bex Ollerton's Lavender Clouds: Comics About Neurodivergence and Mental Health.
Comics Grinder
Paul Buhle reviews the historical trip of Fantagraphics’ Atlas Comics Library No.8: Snafu.
Counterfire
Eilidh Stewart reviews the vivid history of Between the Lines' Partisans: A Graphic History of Anti Fascist Resistance, edited by Raymond Tyler and Paul Buhle.
From Cover to Cover
Scott Cederlund reviews the magical balance of Paul Pope’s Total THB Volume 1, and the nostalgic charms of Linus Liu's Cat Mask Boy.
House to Astonish
Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ X:Men: Age of Revelation Infinity Comic #7-9, X-Men Book of Revelation #3, Rogue Storm #3, Last Wolverine #3, Omega Kids #3, Radioactive Spider-Man #3, Expatriate X-Men #3, Cloak or Dagger #3, Undeadpool #3, X-Vengers #3, and a debrief on the Revelation event comics following publication of X-Men Age of Revelation Finale #1.
The Long Haul
Hank Kennedy reviews the representative sampling of Franklin Rosemont: Surrealism, Bugs Bunny, and the Blues: Selected Writings on Popular Culture, edited by Abigail Susik and Paul Buhle.
The New York Times
Michael Wallis reviews the frontier deconstruction of Noah Van Sciver’s Calamity Before Jane.
The Observer
Killian Fox reviews the extraordinary delight of Astrid Goldsmith’s The Crystal Vase.
The Washington Post
Mark Dery reviews the playful wit of Gregory Hischak’s E Is for Edward: A Centennial Celebration of the Mischievous Mind of Edward Gorey.
Yatta-tachi
Kai reviews the contemplative romance of Dayoo’s Lovers on the Last Train, translated by Kat Skarbinec.
My first Nancy strip, for New Year’s Day 2026❣️
— caroline cash (@cashbrowns.bsky.social) 2026-01-01T22:27:28.008Z
Last year’s best-of-the-year lists.
• Compiling the remaining best-of lists that came through after the filing date of the final links round up of last year, as The Beat selected favourites from DC, Marvel, and the Direct Market, with other round-ups of bepanelled books coming from Broken Frontier, ComicBook.com, Forbes, GamesRadar, The Hollywood Reporter, IGN, Polygon, and Screen Rant.
• Four Color Apocalypse’s Ryan Carey, meanwhile, put in the hard graft curating Top 10 lists for original graphic novels, contemporary collected editions, vintage collected editions, ongoing series, single issues, and special mentions.
Here's my guy Morton
— Sophie Campbell 🏳️⚧️ (@mooncalfe1.bsky.social) 2025-12-28T19:49:58.084Z
This week’s interviews.
AIPT
• David Brooke interviews Torunn Grønbekk about Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Shiver of Christmas Town and working within giant IPs.
• Chris Coplan speaks with:
- Deniz Camp about Ultimate Endgame and sticking to the plan.
- Abbey Luck about Pig Wife and personal resonances.
- Dave Chisholm about Is Ted OK? and adding to your creative repertoire.
- Alex Paknadel about Cyclops and family parallels.
The Beat
• Ollie Kaplan talks to WEBTOON’s Yongsoo Kim about changes afoot for the platform’s creator initiatives, and growth strategies for 2026.
• Billy Henehan interviews Scott Dunbier about Artist’s Editions and Act IV Publishing, and the upcoming publication of Jim Aparo’s DC Classics Artist’s Edition.
• Taimur Dar speaks with Philip Kennedy Johnson about Superman and moving on from the Distinguished Competition to the House of Ideas.
Fanbase Press
Barbra Dillon talks to:
- Shannon Eric Denton about Monster Forge and crowdfunding campaigns.
- Cerece Rennie Murphy about next month’s Virtuous Con and controlled chaos.
- Rae Allen about Carmen Red Claw: Belly of the Beat and The Manderfield Devil.
- Garth Ennis about Babs: The Black Road South and collaborating with Jacen Burrows.
Steven Heller chats with Steve Brodner about The Greater Quiet, shortening cartooning response times, and art as protest and dissent.
Publisher’s Weekly
• Susana Polo interviews Adam Rose about Huge Detective, the book’s Australian setting, and considerations of perspective for stories about giants.
• Shaenon K. Garrity speaks with Ravi Teixeira about Heaven, West Virginia, the book’s Appalachian locale, and tea recipe research.
Smash Pages
JK Parkin presents conversation with Tom Hart and Jesse Mechanic about Rosalie Lightning and The Last Time We Spoke: A Story of Loss and making comics about grief and grieving.
Solrad
• Lara Boyle interviews Mattie Lubchansky about Simplicity, Sondheim influences, building the world of the story, and the book writing process.
• Aria Baci speaks with Laura Pérez about Ocultos, Nocturnos, and Totem, illustrative influences, the nature of reality, and comics making processes.
Yatta-tachi
Adam Wescott talks to Conrad Groth about Takumigraphics, working with Mangasplaining on publishing outputs, and putting out work from the Taiwanese, Korean, and Filipino comics scenes.
Tough and rough guy.
— Bhanu pratap (@bhanupratap.bsky.social) 2026-01-04T11:31:30.233Z
This week’s features and longreads.
• Catching up with recent articles here at TCJ, Gina Gagliano covers the implosion of library distributor Baker & Taylor, and speaks with publishers and librarians about what this means for the industry — “With all these distributors moving to fill the gaps that B&T is leaving, many publishers are feeling optimistic about the possibilities — or at least that this change doesn’t have to be a complete disaster.”
• Also at TCJ, Frank M. Young writes on Mort Walker’s Beetle Bailey, on the occasion of the publication of Mort Walker’s Beetle Bailey: 75 Years of Smiles and Lexicon of Comicana, and the decline of the newspaper comic strip — “Walker’s well-aimed swipes at military foibles softened through the 1960s. By then, Bailey’s cast did less real-world Army things. They were characters gathered in a neutral container where their quirks became fodder for comedy. Walker expanded the strip’s cast; farm boy Zero and philosopher Plato gave him more personalities to riff upon. Zero’s naïve ways were frequent feedstuff; Plato’s discourses became a recurrent theme in the Sunday episodes.”
• On a similar topic, at TCJ, William Schwartz covers the periodicals keeping comic strips and cartoons in print, focusing on new kid on the block The Ducktown Weekly — “Thumbing through an issue of The Ducktown Weekly, I found the experience a surprisingly zen one. There's something nice about being able to focus on these little newspaper extras without the distractions of devices or, for that matter, more generally depressing news. Maybe don't take that as too much of a compliment though. Much of the stagnancy that affects regular newspapers still affects The Ducktown Weekly.”
• More for TCJ, as Dave Kiersh writes in remembrance of cartoonist, illustrator, and author Dan Moynihan, who passed away last month at the age of 52 — “Whimsical, upbeat and playful. This is the world that Dan wanted to live in. It was not always easy for him to find an audience for his work. So much time was spent trying to reach out to editors and agents. He was never discouraged though — Dan self-published and even sold his comics directly to kids and families at numerous festivals or through Kickstarter and Etsy. Those who knew his work, knew it was earnest, made with great skill, humor and professionalism.”
• TCJ played host to a fresh comic from Malcy Duff, who presented The Tunnel to cap off 2025 — “This strip was inspired by seeing "children's drawings" in film. Often, these images will be made by adults attempting to recreate a child’s drawing, instead of asking an actual child to draw them. As interesting as these images can sometimes be, like an actor playing themselves on a scripted reality TV show, the drawings appear to have been drawn by an amnesiac pen tracing the wrong past. It made me wonder ... what did we learn from our childhood drawings — what have we remembered and what have we forgotten?”
• Finally for TCJ, more than forty contributors and alumni shared their thoughts on the best comics of 2025, providing an extensive list to help (as I’m currently doing) work through the titles you missed out on from last year.
• Elizabeth Sandifer’s Last War in Albion continues, over at Eruditorum Press, as the '90s upheaval of the Direct Market forms the backdrop for the introduction to American readers of one Mark Millar.
• For Current Affairs, Hank Kennedy writes on the place of comics in the history of anti-communist and -socialist propaganda, and the messaging from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s that still proliferates through media today.
• Some looks ahead to the newest of years, as Heidi MacDonald presents results of The Beat’s Creator Survey for 2025/2026, Rob Salkowitz presents comics industry forecasts for the year ahead for ICv2, and Amaris Ketcham and Nora Hickey share some comics New Year’s resolutions for Autobiographix readers.
• Over at Solrad, Logan Phillips writes on the storage and conservation of classic comics periodicals, and the importance of properly preserving cultural artefacts.
• For the Cartoonist Cooperative, Jake Buccella writes on the connections between comics and theatrical productions, the visual/textual interplay of comics, and common comics making and reading processes.
• Tom Ewing’s Discourse 2000 odyssey continues, over at Freaky Trigger, as recent stops on the timeline of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic include check-ins with the stalwart Walter the Wobot and the radblasted wastes of the Cursed Earth.
• For The New York Times, Elisabeth Egan profiles Dav Pilkey and examines the cultural phenomenon of Dog Man, as the 14th volume in the series looks set to continue Pilkey’s run of form at the top of bestseller lists.
• A trio of pieces for Shelfdust from EIC Steve Morris, as considerations were given to festive lessons learned from Scott Lobdell and Marie Severin’s What The…?! #16; the narrative formatting of Mike Carey, Peter Gross, and Ryan Kelly’s The Unwritten #17; and the enduring villainy of the Clown Prince of Crime originated in Bill Finger and Bob Kane’s Batman #1.
• Another triptych from across the end of the year just gone, as a trio of Mindless Ones newsletters covered the joys of annuals, classic toys, battling bots, and comics favesies of 2025.
• Paul O’Brien’s registry of the villains of Daredevil continues, over at House to Astonish, as Denny O’Neil’s '80s run continues with surprisingly non-singular appearances for Crossbow and The Trump.
• From the world of open access academia, a new issue of the Journal of Anime and Manga Studies appears, including articles on Carnophallogocentrism in Yuki Kaori’s Godchild, material time and non-essential space in manga imagery, adaptations of the Atlantis myth in manga and anime, the Bildungsroman of Hitoshi Ashinano’s Yokohama kaidashi kikō, and the character-building philosophy of Itô Junji’s horror stories.
• In Alight, Jackson Choi writes on Tamiki Wakaki’s The Screw People and its engagement with the idea of the Panopticon and contemporary philosophies on the subject of social control and conformity.
• For Via Panoramica, Mariano Falzone writes on the interplay between various forms of The Punisher from the turn of the millennium, examining the American superhero monomyth and urban vigilantism through the lens of Volition’s 2005 video game The Punisher.
• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, for The Daily Cartoonist, as continuing American imperialism was, apparently, on the New Year’s resolution list for 2026, both abroad and at home.
Front and back cover of the latest zine I'm sending out to the zine tier on my patreonwww.patreon.com/c/MichaelKup...
— Michael Kupperman (@mkupperman.bsky.social) 2025-12-16T16:54:36.924Z
No more links this week, but time and tide wait for no one.
Griffith 🤍 #berserk
— Eileen Kai Hing Kwan 🦇 (@whereiseileen.bsky.social) 2025-12-22T21:46:18.197Z
English (US) · 