Today on the site we bring you a review by David Mandl of the new collection of Jay Kinney and Paul Mavridres's Anarchy Comics. It looks fascinating -- I'd read most of the contributors on anything.
Kinney and Mavrides’s creation brought together an irreverent-bordering-on-nihilistic punk sensibility, serious (but never dry or pedantic) lessons in anarchist history, freshly illustrated texts by such infamous revolutionaries as Emma Goldman and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, and that favorite anarchist sport, satirical potshots at mainstream leftists.
Anarchists have always prided themselves on their internationalism—not surprising, since being anti-government is about the only thing all anarchists agree on—and Kinney took that attitude to heart, assembling a far-flung coterie of artists for his comic and emblazoning the catchphrase “International Anarchy!” (or “International Comix!”) on the front cover of every issue for good measure. In its lifetime Anarchy Comics featured contributors from the Netherlands, Germany, England, France, and the US, including Clifford Harper, Spain Rodriguez, the team of Yves Frémion and François Dupuy (aka “Épistolier and Volny”), Gary Panter, Ruby Ray, Gilbert Shelton, Donald Rooum, Melinda Gebbie, and more than twenty others. The majority of the work appearing in the comic was original, but Kinney also commissioned translations of several pieces not previously published in English—most notably the series “Liberty Through the Ages” by Épistolier and Volny.
We also have day four of Gabrielle Gamboa's Cartoonist's Diary of her recent residency at ACA in Florida. Today's entry involves a road trip to Gainesville and SAW.
Elsewhere, as usual, there is more comics-related material to read and listen to on the internet than is good for you.
—The aforementioned Jay Kinney appears on Boing Boing's Gweek podcast.
—Other cartoonists whose interviews you can read or listen to include Jaime Hernandez at EW, Steven Weissman at The Writing Disorder, Marvel Comics: The Untold Story author Sean Howe at The Comics Reporter, and Chris Wright (whose Black Lung was one of last year's best surprises) at Inkstuds.
—Yesterday brought the announcement of the end of the Comics Buyer's Guide after 30+ years of publication. John Jackson Miller has commentary. Longtime readers of the Journal will know that there's a lot of history between CBG and this magazine; if you're a subscriber, today might be a good day to read our very first issue in the archives, which includes a long attack from Gary Groth on CBG and its founder Alan Light. (Actually, Gary himself warns in his recent introduction to the issue that it "should only be read by those with a borderline pathological interest in the histories of comics fandom, The Comics Journal, Fantagraphics, or me; may there be few such unfortunate souls out there." So use your best judgment.)
—In other news I'm not sure what to make of, Brigid Alverson reports that Tokyopop has relaunched its website, and Bart Beaty passes comment on a new presidential selection procedure introduced for the Angoulême festival.
—Misc.: Gary Panter writes a brief appreciation of Dick Briefer, Dangerous Minds resurrects a sadly prescient 20-year-old New Yorker cover from Art Spiegelman, and Eleanor Davis wins a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators.
