Voyage dans la Lune – This Week’s Links

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Clark Burscough | April 3, 2026

A slightly groggy edition of this week’s links, below, as a late night was had in the UK, staying up to watch the Artemis II launch, which, if they’re following the Hergénic school of spaceflight, should mean that a pair of bumbling detectives will be discovered, from their inadvertent hiding spots in the command module, at around 4.30pm ET, and then a full day of hijinks will ensue, culminating in hands being placed on hips and “Ha Ha Ha!” // “Blistering Barnacles!” bellowed, as Global Hypercolor™ beards and hair sprout from the stowaways’ heads. I think? It’s been a while since I read the album, but I assume it’s still the gold standard playbook for translunar missions.

Orbital Harvest for Kitchen Table magazine

— Malachi Ward (@malachiward.bsky.social) 2026-04-01T14:17:34.763Z

This week’s news.

• Starting this week with some comics awards news, as last weekend’s MoCCA Arts Festival saw a fresh class of Awards of Excellence recipients named at the show, with 2026’s awardees comprising Andrew Alexander, Rae Avallone, Nick Bunch, Sophia DeFelice, Olivia Fields, Michel Fiffe, Tintin He, Gakiya Isamu, Vincent Lau, Rebecca Mock, Yoko OK, A.T. Pratt, Kevin Jay Stanton, Kruttika Susurla, and Paradise Systems.

• In memoriam, remembering those the world of comics has lost, as news was shared this week of the passing of mangaka Yoshiharu Tsuge, author of The Man Without Talent and Nejishiki, who has died at the age of 88.

• News was also shared this week of the passing of visual artist Glen Baxter, author of The Impending Gleam, who has died at the age of 82.

• Finally this week, news was shared of the passing of cartoonist José Palomo Fuentes (aka Palomo), creator of El Cuarto Reich, who has died at the age of 82.

Quettel, The Grand Tea Field - a Moon Illustration drawn for Realis (www.kickstarter.com/projects/cru...)

— Everest Pipkin (@everest.bsky.social) 2026-04-02T14:43:43.158Z

This week’s reviews.

TCJ

• Tate McFadden reviews the ultimate optimism of Joe Ollman’s The Woodchipper - “Ollman’s art style, scratchy and brightly colored, depicts his characters with the kind of quotidian ugliness that occurs when you look at a high-definition closeup of a person’s face. His style is an abject mix that's compellingly human in its normalcy, and repulsively ugly in its humanness. Sweat pours from pores, and snot drips from noses as people get worked up in the daily intensities of life. These are intimate portraits of people, but the intimacy is off-putting, like when a stranger sits too close to you at a bus stop.”

• Kevin Brown reviews the narrative echoes of Alex Potts’ Was That Normal? - “Philip wants a different life, but his viewpoint prevents him from finding a way to that life. Potts’ work lays out this contemporary struggle, as so many people feel disconnected between the life they believe others are having and the life they’re living. It's a feeling that seems all too normal these days.”

AIPT

• George Loftus reviews the stylish action of Joëlle Jones, Declan Shalvey, et al’s G.I. Joe Sssilent Missions: Baroness #1.

• Collier Jennings reviews the unexpected directions of Stephanie Phillips, Lee Garbett, et al’s Daredevil #1.

• Deidre Freitas reviews the enjoyable tribute of Marvel Comics’ Eternals 50th Anniversary Special.

• Lily Abreu reviews the fun break of Paul Allor, Salvador Espin, Jethro Morales, et al’s Marvel Rivals: Duel of Kings #1.

• Joe Jones reviews the changing relationships of G. Willow Wilson, Jaime Infante, et al’s Poison Ivy #43.

• David Brooke reviews the emotional insights of Faith Erin Hicks’ Inbetweens.

The Beat

• Steve Baxi reviews the joyous derangement of 2000 AD’s The Complete 2000AD by Alan Moore Vol 1 – Future Shocks & Other Stories.

• Clyde Hall reviews the returning hook of Joe Pruett, Dalibor Talajić, et al’s Kilroy Is Here #1.

• Jordan Jennings reviews the interwoven lore of Michael W. Conrad, Caitlin Yarsky, et al’s Magic: The Gathering – Untold Stories – Jace #1.

• Dean Simons reviews the frenetic satisfaction of Xavier Dorison, Ralph Meyer, et al’s The Undertaker, 1: The Gold Eater & Dance of the Vultures, translated by Tom Imber.

• Zack Quaintance reviews the winning hand of Derek Kirk Kim and Jacob Perez’s Royals #1; and the misfiring pacing of Kevin Smith, Eric Carrasco, Nick Pitarra, et al’s Bizarro: Year None #1.

Broken Frontier

• Lydia Turner reviews the quiet power of Jenny Mure’s Sanctuary.

• Lindsay Pereira reviews the smart messaging of Jessica Campbell’s Hot or Not: 20th-Century Male Artists.

• Andy Oliver reviews the wry humour of Joff Winterhart’s Dear Historian, and the tonal balance of Judy Powell’s Ways to Kill My Mother’s Lover (With Limited Pocket Money and Minimal Mess).

Comics Grinder

Henry Chamberlain reviews the wicked humour of Bjorn Klein and Lucia Faccini’s Black Ties: In Gods We Trust, and the raw sensibility of Brad Neely’s Creased Comics.

History Today

Christopher Harding reviews the accessible approach of Andrea Horbinski’s Manga’s First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905–1989.

House to Astonish

Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ Uncanny X-Men #25, Inglorious X-Force #3, Generation X-23 #2, Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #2, Rogue #3, and Psylocke: Ninja #3.

Library Journal

Thomas Batten has starred capsule reviews of:

• The hallucinatory renderings of Jim Woodring’s Quacky.

• The compelling intimacy of Tillie Walden’s Charity and Sylvia.

• The engaging provocations of Brian K Vaughan, Marcos Martín, and Muntsa Vicente’s Barrier: The Collected Edition.

• The gritty sharpness of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Five Gears in Reverse.

Pacific Affairs

Casey Brienza reviews the noteworthy features of Andrea Horbinski’s Manga’s First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905–1989.

PopMatters

Alyssa Charpentier reviews the evocative visuals of Zack Kaplan, Stephen Thompson, Jahnoy Lindsay, et al’s The Midnight: Shadows.

Publisher’s Weekly

Have capsule reviews of:

• The detailed observations of Yudori’s Lovers of the Empire.

• The sweeping scope of Xiaoyu’s Twin Lotuses, translated by Dan Christensen.

• The kinetic action of Pierre-Henry Gomont’s Soviet Land, translated by Edward Gauvin.

• The gritty realism of Ralph Meyer, Xavier Dorison, et al’s The Undertaker, 1: The Gold Eater & Dance of the Vultures, translated by Tom Imber.

I am SO excited to announce that the Kickstarter campaign for The Comics Staple, a monthly zine about comics, is live. Go make your pledges now!www.kickstarter.com/projects/tif...

— Tiffany Babb (@explodingarrow.bsky.social) 2026-04-01T14:04:21.914Z

This week’s interviews.

TCJ

Aug Stone interviews Jordi Lafebre about I Am Their Silence, soundtracking your books, the allure of storytelling, and navigating the collapse of the Spanish comic book market - “I love the comic language and the fact that comics happen in the reader’s head. You have the panels, but the story, all the movement, everything that's happening is happening in the reader's mind. I love that. I grew up reading comics, and at one point, I felt that they were going to disappear because of cinema and other media. But I feel comics are like poetry. They’re so beautiful. The medium is so beautiful, it's never going to disappear.”

AIPT

• David Brooke speaks with Kerascoët (aka Marie Pommepuy and Sébastien Cosset) about The Court Charade and championing values through your characters, and with Rob Williams about Hidden Springs and the comic’s kaiju road movie structuring.

• Chris Hassan talks to Steve Orlando about X-Men Infinity Comic, the joys of vertical comics, and storytelling differences with the Krakoan era of Marvel’s mutants.

The Beat

D. Morris speaks with Mike Mignola about Uri Tupka and the Gods, plotting out the story between a beginning and an end, and vampiric inspirations.

Book Riot

Eileen Gonzalez interviews Roy Schwartz and Christopher Marte about the work behind the renaming of Delancey and Essex in New York City to Jack Kirby Way.

Broken Frontier

Andy Oliver speaks with Bex Glendining about On Starlit Shores, comic book inspirations, and readers connecting with your characters.

Fanbase Press

Barbra Dillon talks to Taki Soma and Mark Schey about Parapsychologist, supernatural workplace comedies, and fluency in the language of comics.

FreakSugar

Jed W. Keith speaks with Fred Van Lente about Action Philosophers: Modernity Bites, and closing out the Action Philosophers trilogy with Rocketship Entertainment.

GraphicMemoir

Jonathan Sandler talks to Dara Horn about One Little Goat: A Passover Catastrophe, exploring Jewish culture through the medium of comics, and collaborating with Theo Ellsworth on the book.

Hyattsville Life & Times

Nigel F. Maynard interviews Gareth Hinds about adapting the classics to the comics format, choosing future projects, and running the business side of things as an artist.

KCAW

Ryan Cotter talks to Sydney Lindstrom, Tristan Guevin, and Medar de la Cruz about teaching and learning comics and zine making at Sitka’s Pacific High School and the creativity to be found in classrooms.

KQED

Naomi Elias speaks with Nadine Takvorian about Armaveni, the family history covered in the book, and the importance of Genocide recognition for the Armenian community.

The Oregonian

Samantha Swindler chats with Comics Adventure’s Bruce Treat about the store’s upcoming move, Free Comic Book Day, and comics being for everybody.

Print

Steven Heller talks to Michael Sloan about Separation, working with Jake Halpern on the strip for The New York Times, and the life of the family on which it’s based.

Publisher’s Weekly

Zach Rabiroff interviews Brian Michael Bendis about the return of Powers, working with Marvel Comics over a span of decades, and the constant surprise of comics.

Smash Pages

JK Parkin talks to Meera Subramanian and Katy Doughty about A Better World Is Possible and How to Survive the End of the World, and making comics about the climate crisis and environmental activism.

SYFY Wire

Josh Weiss speaks with Patrick Coyle about Bixby Grant, Private Eye, hinting at curses, bringing genres together, and starting your own imprint to build up a rep.

PRESENTING THE 2026 IGNATZ LOGO!!!📣🗣️📣🗣️📣🗣️💙🩷💛🐭🪤It is our honor to bring to you, gentle reader of this post, this year’s Ignatz logo drawn by 2025’s Ignatz Award winner for Promising New Talent, Vicky Yang!We are so pleased to have this from you, Vicky! Thanks tons!

— Small Press Expo (@smallpressexpo.bsky.social) 2026-03-21T13:10:26.990Z

This week’s features and longreads.

• From our esteemed editors, Sally Madden and Chris Mautner, comes an excerpt in comics form from MoCCA 2026’s The Comics Journal at 50 panel, which also featured Gary Groth and Austin English as speakers, and was hosted by Sam Thielman.

• Also from our venerable editors, news arrives out of New York of an impending addition to the increasingly busy comics event schedules, as BODEGA will present the inaugural Brooklyn Expo of Comics in November, with more information available here.

• The passing of mangaka Yoshiharu Tsuge, who died last month at the age of 88, received coverage from Chris Mautner, here at TCJ, ahead of a more formal obituary for the site in the future, with other writing on Tsuge’s life and work appearing at Drawn & Quarterly’s blog, ICv2, The Beat, and Oricon News, while The Japan News had a news item back in February on Chofu City Cultural Hall Tazukuri’s retrospective exhibition of Tsuge’s work.

• For Prospect, Jeremy Noel-Tod writes in remembrance of the life and work of draughtsman and visual artist Glen Baxter, who died last month at the age of 82.

• Elizabeth Sandifer’s Last War in Albion continues, at Eruditorum Press, as the dawn of Vertigo, under editor Karen Berger, gives rise to Grant Morrison’s work on Sebastian O with Steve Yeowell, Kill Your Boyfriend with Phil Bond and D’Israeli, and The Mystery Play with Jon J Muth, and the amalgamation of influences to be found therein.

• Keeping up-to-date with the world of book banning attempts, and we’re also being dragged into the seemingly inescapable digital frontiers of 2026 in this regard, as Claire Woodcock reports for 404 Media on the use of Artificial Intelligence by conservative groups, to screen books for ‘obscenity’ and other such vaguely defined ‘offensive content’.

• For Solrad, Lara Boyle writes on the unclassifiable nature of poetry comics, sharing key select works that formed gateways into the burgeoning field, and explores why poetry comics’ refusal to fit into a strict definition is important for expanding the scope of comics as a medium in general.

• We have firmly shifted from soup mode into spring convention mode, as comics events bottleneck into every available weekend for the next score or so of months, as Heidi MacDonald reported for The Beat on a busy dance card for creators doing the con circuit, and Rob Salkowitz covered the perceived changing demographics of events for ICv2.

• Shelfdust’s Year of Evil continues apace, as this month Steve Morris is looking back to the origins of Black Hand in John Broome and Gil Kane’s Green Lantern #29, and giving consideration to how much of a character reinvention can be applied to a four colour foe, before you arrive at an entirely different level of villainy.

• The Mindless Ones phase back into our reality, as A Brief History of British Comics says a polite ‘hello’ to Death’s Head, and the odds are calculated of chance to hit in Mythos Games and MicroProse’s alien invasion brutality simulator, UFO/XCOM.

• From the world of open-access academia, Unbound: A Journal of Digital Scholarship presents Academizines!, a selection of zines on academic research and creative scholarship, across a broad selection of topics and styles.

• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as the dangers of monarchs, voter disenfranchisement, social media addiction, and ill-advised military action all took their turn at keeping the news cycle moving ever onward.

London’s Queer Comic Fair is back with a WHOLE WEEKEND of queer comics joy this September 26th and 27th 2026. Double the comic fair fun!Entry is FREE. We’re family friendly so bring all your friends. Tell everyone! Get excited! inQ! is BACK![Poster by the brilliant @kitsuneart.bsky.social]

— InQ! London's Queer Comic Fair (@inqcomicfair.bsky.social) 2026-04-02T11:03:01.227Z

This week’s audio/visual delights.

Some recent watches and listens from around the World Wide Web, as Katie Skelly and Sally Madden welcomed Brian Baynes to Thick Lines to discuss Bill Griffith’s Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Schlitzie the Pinhead and the dangers of toaster repair, Ben Katchor hosted the latest meeting of the New York Comics & Picture-Story Symposium as editor and producer Tanja Skale spoke about 33 years of Stripburger, Michel Fiffe presented the final edition of the Fiffe Files on Keith Giffen and dove into Giffen’s later superhero stories at the Big Two, and 2000 AD’s Creator Tapes continued as MOLCH-R spoke with Robbie Morrison about Nikolai Dante and pie van memories.