Recent Reviews
Recent Articles
Who Wrote the Boy Commandos?
In which Steven Brower compares comic and science fiction writer Joseph Greene’s original scripts for several Golden Age classics to the final product, credited to the iconic team of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.
“I Was Always On The Weird End Of The Spectrum”: The Donald Simpson Interview
Cut class, tell the boss you’re sick, hand the kids an iPad – we’ve got an old-fashioned career-spanner here, as Jason Bergman sifts through a megatonnage of work with the one and only Donald Simpson.
Back to December – This Week’s Links
(Christmastime awe washes over my face) Look at all these links! (A toy train toots thru a gingerbread house)
Eternal Breath – Ron Regé, Jr.’s Spiritual Cycle
Hagai Palevsky takes a serious look at spirituality as communicated through the last decade or so of published work by one of the alt-comics greats, Ron Regé, Jr.
Adventures Into Archives
Shock! Tom Shapira plunges into the inky depths of reprint editions of old horror comics. EC! Warren! Atlas! Find out what sets them apart, and what pulls Tom apart, in this ghastly gallivant.
“Oh, Wow. It’s Giant Monsters”: An Interview with Chris Wisnia
A titanic tête-à-tête transcribed! Jake Zawlacki chats with Chris Wisnia, writer/artist of the recent Doris Danger: Giant Monsters Amok, about the delicate balance of parody and tribute (and the behemothic labor involved) in evoking the world of Silver Age monster comics.
Hogarth’s Heiress: Posy at the Pompidou
Cynthia Rose reports on an upcoming exhibition of UK great Posy Simmonds’ work in Paris, with plenty of comments from the artist herself.
Arrivals and Departures – November 2023
It’s almost Thanksgiving, so here’s a big scoop of yams (capsule reviews of recent self-published and small press comics) from your rakish uncle RJ.
Ed Subitzky on Poor Helpless Comics! and Other Funny Business
John Kelly reports from the October 13, 2023 book launch event, hosted by Mark Newgarden & Owen Klein, for Poor Helpless Comics! The Cartoons (and More) of Ed Subitzky, a first-ever collection of work by the National Lampoon cartoonist and comedy writer for David Letterman and others.
I Went Down to Buy a Turkey Tree – This Week’s Links
The news post is taking Black Friday off… it’s ok, nothing’s gonna happen but DEALS.
Seattle’s Short Run Comix & Arts Festival 2023
A brief report from the Short Run Comix & Arts Festival 2023, a free one-day minicomic and zine show held in Seattle.
Yoshiharu Tsuge’s Vagabond Rapists, 1968-1972
From 1968-72, the comics of Yoshiharu Tsuge were awash in surreal, dreamlike texture – and filled with images of sexual violence. Helen Chazan reads deeply to reconcile these elements of Tsuge’s work into a new statement of his oeuvre-spanning theme: the desire to vanish.
Photos from the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival: Small + Indie Press 2023
Are you ready for photos? That’d better be a yes, because Chris Anthony Diaz has a comprehensive document of the first-ever Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival: Small + Indie Press show, held on Saturday, October 7, 2023.
“Thank God for Comics”: The Daniel Warren Johnson Interview
Jake Zawlacki talks science fiction, story construction, personal faith and what’s cool with Daniel Warren Johnson, a standout writer/artist of contemporary American action comics.
Golden Lawns, Village Green – This Week’s Links
I’m feeling better, thanks for asking! It’s great to see the world rumbling along regardless of my participation.
Excerpt: Innocent Omnibus Vol. 1
A preview of the forthcoming English translation of a period seinen manga by cult artist Shin’ichi Sakamoto.
Retail Therapy Pre-Mortem Edition: Geoffrey’s Comics and Hi De Ho Comics
In light of the news that two California comics retail institutions will be closing at the end of the year, Zach sits down with Geoffrey Patterson II of Geoffrey’s Comics and Hi De Ho Comics.
A Visit with M.S. Harkness in Pittsburgh
Matt Petras reports from a visit the cartoonist M.S. Harkness paid to The Copacetic Comics Company in Pittsburgh, upon the release of her new book, Time Under Tension.
“You Don’t Need Permission”: An Interview with Lawrence Lindell
Cartoonists in conversation today, as Whit Taylor interviews Lawrence Lindell, artist and publisher of minicomics and zines, whose debut graphic novel Blackward was recently published by Drawn & Quarterly.
November Has Come – This Week’s Links
Got the bug at a Halloween party last weekend, and honestly it’s what I deserve for socializing.
Adult Comics
A reader of comics since the days of EC and MAD in the 1950s, Bob Levin now grapples with the idea of AI comics, through a book that purports to critique AI by using it.
The Keith Giffen Tribute
Critics, cartoonists and colleagues pay tribute to the late Keith Giffen, as assembled by Austin English.
Keith Giffen, November 30, 1952 – October 9, 2023
Noted and notorious, a superstar behind the scenes – Keith Giffen was one of the major players of superhero comics in the American direct market for nearly half a century. Andrew Farago unpacks the work and the influence of Giffen, who died earlier this month.
“This Book Is About My Hatred Of Chaos”: Daniel Clowes on Monica
There’s been a few Daniel Clowes interviews in the last few weeks, but none go as deep as John Kelly does today. Learn the secrets of Monica – or at least as many as the author is willing to tell.
