Clark Burscough | May 9, 2025
The sun is out, the birds are singing, the bees are stinging, and it’s a relatively calm week at the ol’ comics factory (at the time of publication), compared to recent editions, so enjoy this week’s links, below, as we head into the calm before the storm of the summer convention and festival season.
— 中辻作太朗 / Nakatsuji Sakutaro (@39ar39ca.bsky.social) 2025-04-06T12:00:48.689Z
This week’s news.
• A brace of comics awards news this week, starting things off with the winners of 2025’s Pulitzer Prizes, as Tessa Hulls’ Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir won the Prize for Memoir or Autobiography, and Ann Telnaes was named as the winner of this year’s Prize for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary.
• Elsewhere, Penn State University Libraries announced that Beth Hetland has received the 2025 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize for Tender, of which the judges noted that “The simple art style and occasional grotesque details engage the reader and make them squirm ... The elements of body horror echo the themes of how the images of a perfect life in one's dreams or social media feeds are often a facade, hiding deeper horrors within us.”
• Zehra Ömeroğlu was announced this week as the recipient of Cartoonists Right’s Robert Russell Courage in Cartooning Award, whose ‘taste and smell’ cartoon for LeMan in November 2020 has seen Ömeroğlu subjected to a protracted criminal prosecution due to alleged obscenity.
• In other awards news, The Asahi Shimbun this week announced that Rintaro (aka Shigeyuki Hayashi) is the winner of the Manga Grand Prix at the 29th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for My Life in 24 Frames per Second.
• In memoriam, remembering those the world of comics has lost, as news was shared last week of the passing of artist Jackson “Butch” Guice, whose work appeared in myriad titles for Marvel and DC across a 40 year career, who has died at the age of 63.
Spiky bro
— Evan Palmer (@evanpalmercomics.com) 2025-05-02T20:11:40.010Z
This week’s reviews.
TCJ
• Tegan O’Neil reviews the exciting selection of Alive Outside, edited by Cullen Beckhorn and Marc Bell — “It’s an object into which much care and attention has clearly been poured. A gorgeous object. So impressive that I didn’t realize until I’d had it in my hands for hours that the cover had Mickey Mouse all over it.”
• Frank M. Young reviews the recurring scenarios of Dik Browne’s Party Line Comics — “These strips bring home the point that new technology is always challenged by mankind’s behavior patterns. Then and now, we’re an easily distracted species, and careless actions implode on us. Cue the sitcom laugh-track!”
• Tate McFadden reviews the story quilt of Tara Booth’s Processing: 100 Comics That Got Me Through It — “Booth’s paintings are mostly gouache and intensely colorful without being overwhelming. Her depictions of herself are liable to change from panel to panel with a freedom akin to Aline Kominsky-Crumb’s dynamic, loose style of self-portraiture. These elements come together to create a work which is both incredibly entertaining, yet also formally challenging and wholly original.”
AIPT
• Collier Jennings reviews the solid start of David Pepose, Davide Tinto, et al’s Speed Racer #0; and the excellent rebooting of David Pepose, Eman Casallos, et al’s Captain Planet #1.
• Chris Coplan reviews the familiar gimmick of Benito Cereno, E.J. Su, et al’s Blood & Thunder #1.
• Kevin Clark reviews the successful swashbuckling of Mike Mignola. Christopher Golden, Bridgit Connell, et al’s Lady Baltimore: The Daughters of Medusa #1.
• David Brooke reviews the delightful nostalgia of Marvel Comics’ Fantastic Four Fanfare #1; and the tantalising return of Patrick Horvath's Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring #1.
• Ryan Sonneville reviews the narrative promise of Alex Segura, Phil Noto, et al’s Star Wars #1.
• Jonathan Jones reviews the winning characters of Eve L. Ewing, Carmen Carnero, et al’s Exceptional X-Men: Duty Calls.
The Beat
• Steve Baxi reviews the refreshing honesty of Lawrence Lindell’s We All Got Something.
• Kristina Elyse Butke reviews the enjoyable spice of Ei Eijou’s Fated NOT to Meet, translated by Dylan Jekels.
• Tim Rooney reviews the pitch-perfect start of Alex Segura, Phil Noto, et al’s Star Wars #1; and the stirring debut of Ned Wenlock’s Tsunami.
• Diego Higuera reviews the tonal shift of Jason Aaron, Carmine Di Giandomenico, et al’s Absolute Superman #7.
• Jordan Jennings reviews the engaging messaging of David Pepose, Eman Casallos, et al’s Captain Planet #1; and the gorgeous visuals of James Robinson, Jesus Merino, et al’s Los Monstruos #1.
• Zack Quaintance reviews the satisfying return of Heavy Metal Magazine #1; and the excellent opening of Mark Russell, Juan Doe, et al’s Vanishing Point #1.
Broken Frontier
• Edward Picot reviews the propulsive professionalism of Lindsay Ishihiro’s Motherlover.
• Andy Oliver reviews the vibrant energy of Sanika Phawde’s Wedding Juice and Other Melodramas #1.
The European Journal of Humour Research
Noémi Tudor reviews the innovative explorations of Comic Art and Feminism in the Baltic Sea Region: Transnational Perspectives, edited by Beers Fägersten, Kristy, Anna Nordenstam, Leena Romu, and Margareta Wallin Wictorin.
From Cover to Cover
Scott Cederlund reviews the fantastic mundanity of Gerard Way, Shaun Simon, Chris Weston, et al’s Paranoid Gardens.
The Guardian
Adam Rutherford reviews the pleasing scope of Craig Thompson’s Ginseng Roots.
House to Astonish
Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ Astonishing X-Men Infinity Comic #19, NYX #10, Weapon X-Men #3, Rogue: The Savage Land #4, and Wolverine & Kitty Pryde #1.
Hyperallergic
Dan Schindel reviews the perfect form of Guy Delisle’s Muybridge.
Kirkus Reviews
Have starred capsule reviews of:
• The stellar adventuring of Maple Lam’s Monkey King and the World of Myths: The Battle of the Beasts.
• The emotional astuteness of Sarah Sax’s School Dance.
So what can you do during the Nib & Ink Fest?Buy some comics: nif-shop.cartoonist.coop Sit in on some events: nif.cartoonist.coop/events/ More info? Check it out: nif.cartoonist.coop ALL MONTH LONG! #NIF2025
— Cartoonist Cooperative (@cartoonist.coop) 2025-05-01T20:03:38.419Z
This week’s interviews.
TCJ
• Bill Boichel interviews Cullen Beckhorn and Marc Bell about Alive Outside, the genesis of the project, the joys of curation, production logistics, and future projects — “...we didn’t have a singular vision for this book from the outset, and there were multiple rounds of invitations sent out as we got a sense for what was missing. The idea is that it would do more than just collect either of our ideas of “the best” work being created in a particular mode or within a singular cultural space.”
• Zach Rabiroff interviews Joe Sacco about The War on Gaza, returning to journalistic work, personal history with Palestine, and thoughts on contemporary political shifts — “I think of what I do as normally reporting on the ground. This was journalistic in a certain sense that I was pulling facts out here and there. But really, I thought of The War on Gaza as a political pamphlet. I didn't want to write a polemic, necessarily. Polemics have their place, but they often don't resonate with me. Polemics aren't particularly artistic. I wanted an artistic component.”
AIPT
• Chris Hassan speaks with Fabian Nicieza about Godzilla vs. X-Men, one-shot construction, the importance of Gambit heists, and kaiju influences.
• Collier Jennings interviews Robert Kirkman, Benito Cereno, and E.J. Su about Blood & Thunder, the development of the book, and indirect 2000 AD vibes.
• David Brooke talks to Paul Jenkins about co-creating Sentry and the character’s arrival on the silver screen, and to Joe Casey about Space Quest and honouring the source material.
The Beat
• Jared Bird interviews Gabriel Bá about the return of The Umbrella Academy, the book’s relatively long gestation, and the themes at the core of the story.
• Deanna Destito speaks with Paulina Ganucheau and Coleman Engle about Thundercats/The Powerpuff Girls, crossover construction, and Mojo Jojo villainy.
• Ollie Kaplan interviews Marc Guggenheim about The Adventures of Ulysses Monarch, future archaeology, the WGA strike, and questions around artificial intelligence.
Block Club Chicago
Quinn Myers talks to Peter Miles Bergman and Cody Kasselman about taking ownership of Quimby’s Bookstore, business plans, and the responsibility inherent in taking on the mantle.
Broken Frontier
Andy Oliver speaks with Chris King about Cold Chips, comics origins and inspirations, the importance of pacing, and working across mediums.
Publisher’s Weekly
Heidi MacDonald interviews Boom! Studio’s Michael Kelly about taking on the role of publisher at the company during its integration into Penguin Random House.
Smash Pages
JK Parkin speaks with Taki Soma about Alienated, comic book origins, writing for other artists, and alien mysteries.
Solrad
Sommer Browning interviews Kayla E. about Precious Rubbish, childhood comics addictions, the power of the unconscious, and beginning with a blank page.
University of Victoria
Katy DeCoste talks to Akram al-Saud, Charlotte Schallié, Uğur Ümit Üngör, and Tobi Dahmen about Al-Fazia افلظ یع – the Horror: Surviving Assad’s Prisons, and the power of telling survivors’ stories.
V13
Jay Lang speaks with Jonathan L. Bowen about The Comic Shop, building the film’s store, character developments, and the comics to be found in the film.
Yatta-tachi
Adam Wescott talks to Manga Mavericks Books’ Varun Gupta and Mike Jokoh about moving into the publishing game, blogging and podcasting history, and inspirations for publishing ethos.
Hello, MICE friends! We are now open for exhibitor applications for MICE 2025! Check out the link below for application guidelines and more info.www.micexpo.org/apply
— Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo (@massmice.bsky.social) 2025-05-05T16:54:18.076Z
This week’s features and longreads.
• Here at TCJ, John Kelly writes in remembrance of cartoonist, disc jockey, and comics historian John Peck (aka The Mad Peck, aka Dr. Oldie), who died earlier this year aged 82 — “Despite having very limited drawing skills himself, Peck had a great eye for the work of other artists and blatantly sampled and remixed existing artwork for his own purposes. His artistic style was a combination of swipes, collage, clip art, tracing and vintage advertising image détournement. But whenever a Peck image appeared in a publication, it was immediately recognizable as his, because, like everything else about him, it was ... odd.”
• Also for TCJ, Brigid Alverson recaps the continuing twists and turns of Diamond Comic Distributors’ bankruptcy and (eventual) sale to a new owner subsequent to this, which included 11th hour revelations and a quick rug pull to keep people guessing — “There are still a lot of loose ends to be tied up. The final sale prices will have to be calculated, the debtors paid as much as possible of what they are owed, and the bankers and lawyers paid as well. The fate of Diamond UK remains mysterious; back when the bankruptcy was first announced, there were reports that Universal was considering buying it, but it hasn’t been mentioned since.”
• Finally for TCJ this week, Hagai Palevsky examines Jordan Crane’s Goes Like This, looking beyond the book’s production dazzle to the elusive nature of the carefully curated stories to be found therein — “A key (in my mind, at least) dichotomy within narrative-minded alternative comics lies in what precisely it means to serve as a true "alternative": whether the outright rejection of the simplistic morality of "straight" genre comics (with their simplistic morality and implicit admiration thereof) should manifest as the representation of irredeemably distasteful dirtbags, or as a more nuanced, largely neutral approach to the specifics of human emotion (and the moral landscape consequent).”
• For Shelfdust, Elias Rosner writes on Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard’s The Walking Dead #193, and where the series’ final issue does and does not succeed by shifting from longform storytelling to a singular coda.
• The return of the Mindless Ones continues apace, as this week’s selection of writing on media from across the spectrum of creativity contains questions on what comprises a Warlock of the Nemesis kind.
• From the world of open-access academia, Modernism/modernity has recent articles on R. Sikoryak’s Terms and Conditions: The Graphic Novel, the self-fashioning of Seth, modernist restructuring of history in superhero retcons, Melvin van Peebles and Georges Wolinski’s adaptation of the work of Chester Himes, the modernism of Tove Jansson’s Moomin, the work of Djuna Barnes and the newspaper strip Types Found in Odd Corners Around About Brooklyn, analysis of George Herriman’s Krazy Kat, and the varied inheritances the medium of comics has received from modernism.
• Paul O’Brien’s registry of the villains of Daredevil continues, for House to Astonish, as The Ani-Men 2.0 serve as a footnote in the history of one Frank Miller.
• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as the focus remains squarely upon the myriad machinations of President Donald Trump.
Too wet to erase, but now inked!
— Phil Hester (@philhester.bsky.social) 2025-04-12T04:50:47.635Z
This week’s audio/visual delights.
A few recent interviews from screen and speaker, as Brian Hibbs convened the Comix Experience Graphic Novel Club to speak with Connor B. about Bring Me the Head of Susan Lomond and crafting the book’s dialogue; David Harper welcomed Jonathan Hickman to Off Panel to talk about Aliens vs. Avengers and the allure of the World Cup; Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come’s Calvin Reid interviewed Carlo Quispe, Sandy Jimenez, and Sharon De La Cruz about the Clemente Cultural Center’s 'Historietas: Latinx Comix as Alternative Histories: From the Bronx to the Lower East Side' exhibition.
See Sook-Yin Lee’s acclaimed adaption of Chester Brown’s graphic novel "Paying for It" in a special TCAF+TIFF screening—with live Q&A with Sook-Yin, Chester, and TCAF’s own Ho Che Anderson!To enter to win 2 free tickets, reply and tag a friend you'd take to the screening by Saturday, May 10, 12pm.
— Toronto Comic Arts Festival (@torontocomics.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T14:10:07.094Z
No more links this week, let’s all touch grass until the screen-time cooldown timer ends.
Bouquet camping trip
English (US) · 