Features

Beware the Ides of March – This Week’s Links

| March 15, 2024

Ahhh, the changing of the clocks, ushering in the changing of the season, watching for those delightful two weeks of the year where pollen hasn’t built up sufficiently in the atmosphere to trigger acute rhinitis, and the days are now long enough that seasonal affective disorder ceases to be an issue - a sweet and untenable harmony, which is almost, but never quite enough to make one forget to curate this week’s links, below, in a reverie as the world simply moves on, before remembering that tax day is in a month, as reality crashes back in upon you like the Kool-Aid Man.

This week’s news.

Some upcoming dates to add to 2024’s comics event almanac, as the Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards are open for nomination submissions until May 23rd, the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics is open for nomination submissions until May 25th, the Small Press Expo table lottery opens from March 18th through March 31st, and the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo’s exhibitor applications are open from April 1st through April 29th.

This week’s reviews.

TCJ

• Kevin Brown reviews the emotional resonance of Denise Dorrance’s Polar Vortex: A Family Memoir - “However, there are moments of light and joy that also run throughout the book, moments Dorrance clearly wants to share, to remind readers of why she does this thing that so many others have. Ultimately, the book is hopeful, while not sugar-coating the realities of caring for a parent with dementia.”

• Hank Kennedy reviews the valiant efforts of Miguel Ferguson and Anne Timmons’ ¡Brigadistas! An American Anti-Fascist in the Spanish Civil War - “Following a composite character allows the creators to include most of the important incidents of the war, though his Forrest Gump-like presence at so many prominent events strains credulity.”

• Tegan O’Neil reviews the pleasing brushstrokes of Kevin Huizenga’s Fielder #2 - “Like I say, pace is the trick here. Fielder feels slightly overstuffed, but somehow all the different pieces fit and the whole thing just hangs together, despite the various features being wildly different in genre and topic, remarkably similar in tone.”

 

AIPT

• Ryan Sonneville reviews the frantic appeal of Marvel Comics’ Spider-Woman by Pacheco & Perez.

• David Brooke reviews the solid setup of Nicole Maines, Eddy Barrows, et al’s Suicide Squad: Dream Team #1.

• Piper Whitaker reviews the colourful world of Roberto Recchioni, Gigi Cavenago, Werther Dell'Edera, et al’s Batman/Dylan Dog #1.

• Collier Jennings reviews the interesting questions of Morgan Hampton, Angel Hernandez, et al’s Sons of Star Trek #1.

• Andrew Isidoro reviews the intense conclusion of Robert Venditti, Riley Rossmo, et al’s Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #6.

• Alex McDonald reviews the fantastic start of Tom Peyer, Jamal Igle, et al’s The Wrong Earth: Dead Ringers #1.

• Nathan Simmons reviews the beautiful mysteries of Tom King, Bilquis Evely, et al’s Helen of Wyndhorn #1.

• Rory Wilding reviews the varied quality of W. Maxwell Prince et al’s Swan Songs.

 

The Beat

• D. Morris reviews the continuity requirements of Stephanie Phillips, Paolo Villanelli, et al’s Black Widow & Hawkeye #1.

• Sean Dillon reviews the creative confidence of Tom King, Bilquis Evely, et al’s Helen of Wyndhorn #1.

• Tim Rooney reviews the imperfect beauty of Zac Thompson, Bayleigh Underwood, et al’s Nature’s Labyrinth.

• Arpad Okay reviews the juxtaposed messages of Adam de Souza’s The Gulf.

 

Broken Frontier

• Andy Oliver reviews the excellent curation of Jonathan Baylis et al’s So Buttons #13.

• Lindsay Pereira reviews the subtle colouring of Aleshia Jensen’s So Long Sad Love.

• Lydia Turner reviews the iconic hilarity of Benji Nate’s Girl Juice.

 

College & Research Libraries

Dan Forrest reviews the valuable breadth of Comic Books, Special Collections, and the Academic Library, edited by Brian Flota and Kate Morris.

 

Four Color Apocalypse

Ryan Carey reviews the scatological lampooning of Johnny Ryan’s Fatcop.

 

House to Astonish

Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #129, X-Men #32, Weapon X-Men #1, and Ms Marvel: Mutant Menace #1.

 

Kirkus Reviews

Have starred capsule reviews of:

- The fresh humour of Isabel Greenberg’s Young Hag and the Witches’ Quest.

- The stunning artwork of Jes Wibowo and Cin Wibowo’s Lunar Boy.

- The immersive fantasy of Lorian Merriman’s Maelstrom: A Prince of Evil.

 

Montreal Review of Books

• Ashton Diduck reviews the resonant affirmations of Mirion Malle’s So Long Sad Love.

• Emily Raine reviews the raw revelations of Jade Armstrong’s Food School.

• Sarah Mangle reviews the shining visuals of Julie Delporte’s Portrait of a Body.

• Connor Harrison reviews the deceptive simplicity of Rupert Bottenberg’s Between Gentlemen and the charming balance of Thom’s Botanica Drama.

 

Multiversity Comics

• Christopher Egan reviews the enjoyable bizarreness of Matthew Erman, Lonnie Nadler, Robbi Rodriguez, et al’s Golgotha Motor Mountain #1.

• Matthew Blair reviews the narrative problems of Greg Weisman, Humberto Ramos, et al’s The Spectacular Spider-Men #1.

• Kate Kosturski reviews the opening pitch of Josie Campbell, Alessio Zonno, et al’s I Heart Skull Crusher #1.

• Christopher Chiu-Tabet reviews the acquired taste of Tom King, Bilquis Evely, et al’s Helen of Wyndhorn #1.

 

Publisher’s Weekly

Have capsule reviews of:

- The charming themes of Dave Roman’s Unicorn Boy.

- The rollicking fantasy of Vera Brosgol’s Plain Jane and the Mermaid.

- The luminous drawings of Joe Latham’s Haru: Spring.

 

Solrad

Hagai Palevsky reviews the compelling linework of Léa Murawiec’s The Great Beyond, translated by Aleshia Jensen.

This week’s interviews.

TCJ

• Lucy Knisley interviews Lonnie Mann about Gaytheist: Coming Out of My Orthodox Childhood, the core themes and colours of the book, and the inherent problems with banning topics - “Regarding people from the Orthodox community reaching out - I'm completely open to anyone letting me know what they thought, or even if they wanted to have a conversation (especially if it's someone I actually knew growing up). But obviously I don't feel any need for their approval, I just think it would be really interesting to know what they think.”

• Zach Rabiroff interviews Koch Comics Warehouse’s Joseph Koch about the decision to close the location, the history of Sunset Park, and the myriad challenges of contemporary comics retail - “I'm a reader, not a collector. What I enjoy about comics has zero to do with some aspects of it. Certainly all the speculative aspects have never meant much to me. The pop culture stuff, though, I can continue to enjoy. Part of the fun is having somebody walk in with a nifty Elvis collection. But I will certainly not miss worrying about the rent and various kinds of overhead.”

 

AIPT

• Chris Hassan speaks with Steve Foxe, Steve Orlando, and Phillip Sevy about X-Men Unlimited, and the characters who’ll be getting time in the  spotlight.

• David Brooke interviews Sarah Rees Brennan about Women of Marvel, the complexities of Scarlet Witch, and similarities between screenwriting and comics scripting.

 

The Beat

• Heidi MacDonald talks to Brian Azzarelo about The Blood Brothers Mother, collaborating with Eduardo Risso, and the inherent weirdness of the comics industry.

• Diego Higuera chats with Nir Levie about Age of Canaan, the inspiration behind the book, the ugly truths behind hero myths, and scripting methodology.

• Avery Kaplan and Rebecca Oliver Kaplan interview First Second’s Kirk Benshoff about the process stages of book design, and the art of discovering a book’s cover.

 

Forbes

Leslie Katz speaks with Mark Russell and Laci about Death Ratio’d, the dangers of social media, and comics as a perfect format for satire.

 

Publisher’s Weekly

B.A. talks to Books with Pictures’ Katie Pryde about the Comet standard for comics metadata, and why the market and retailers need clear sales figures for periodicals and trades.

 

Women Write About Comics

• Lisa Fernandes chats with Ron Cacace about Archie Comics, favourite runs from the Archieverse, relationship dynamics, and breaking the fourth wall.

• Sydney Heifler interviews Trina Robbins about Gladys Parker: A Life in Comics, A Passion for Fashion, picking outfits for convention panels, Prada collections, and paper doll design.

The passing of Akira Toriyama, creator of the seminal Dragon Ball series, who died on March 1st 2024 at the age of 68, received global coverage, with writing on the life and legacy of the mangaka from The Asahi Shimbun, BBC, CNN, The Escapist, Forbes, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, Le Monde, NBC, NPR, Polygon, Publisher’s Weekly, The Ringer, Slate, Time, USA Today, Vulture, and The Washington Post, amongst others.

This week’s features and longreads.

• Here at TCJ, RJ Casey opens the gate for March’s Arrivals and Departures, sharing thoughts on Eileen Echikson’s Dirt., Molly Stocks’ Convoy, and Molly Dwyer’s Babsy and Maude: MFL Misfortune - “Three artists making challenging work that is totally and completely different from each other. That’s what "Arrivals and Departures" is supposed to be all about. I believe, if you give them the chance, you'll get as much out of these comics as I did. Or not - that’s fine too, because the challenge itself is the good part.”

• Also for TCJ, Joe Sacco’s series of visual columns ‘The War On Gaza’ continues, with previous instalments also available to read here.

• At Publisher’s Weekly, Brigid Alverson marks the 50th anniversary of the Direct Market, speaking with publishers and retailers about the current distro landscape, and how the business of selling comics is changing and evolving.

• For The Guardian, Larry Ryan writes on the enduring success of The Simpsons, speaking with Gary Panter about early comics collaborations with creator Matt Groening and the L.A. punk scene, and the influence that self-published magazines had on the show’s writers’ room.

• As well as the site’s impending 20th birthday, The Beat also celebrates the 200th edition of their Shut In Theater series, inviting comics critics and creators to share what they’re reading at the moment.

• For Shelfdust, Matt Mortal writes on John Lees and Alex Cormack’s The Crimson Cage, and the narrative similarities to be found in the squared circle and plays performed in the round.

• Scott Cederlund wraps up My Claremont Year, over at From Cover to Cover, closing out 12 months in the company of the Uncanny X-Men, looking back on Chris Claremont’s 15 year run on the title, and ahead to what came after.

• From the world of open-access academia, in the Journal of Medical Humanities, Laboni Das and Sathyaraj Venkatesan write on Dana Walrath’s Aliceheimer’s: Alzheimer’s Through the Looking Glass, and how graphic medicine can diverge from and challenge established medical discourse.

• For the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, Daniel Brodén explores the tensions between digital comics colouring and traditional analog techniques, and the hypermediacy that can be found in the comics form.

• Paul O’Brien’s survey of the villains of Daredevil continues, over at House to Astonish, as The Exterminator enters the fray with a confusing gimmick.

• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, for The Daily Cartoonist, and, as it is still 2024, last I checked, election coverage is king.

This week’s audio/visual delights.

• Ben Katchor hosted the latest meeting of the New York Comics & Picture-Story Symposium, as author, cartoonist, and eartoonist Peter Blegvad spoke on Milk: Through a Glass Darkly, the chance cultivation of a collection of quotes and imagery pertaining to milk, and the London Institute of ’Pataphysics’ connection through the work of Alfred Jarry.

• Filed under ‘well, I wasn’t expecting to hear that this week’ is the new track from artist, screenwriter, and director Igort, who can now add singer/songwriter to that list, with the release of New York Decadence, which you too can now listen to with a slightly bemused look on your face.

• Ahead of the release of the new animated special Welcome Home, Franklin, The Los Angeles Times has a video piece from Amy Amatangelo and Lisa McRee on the origins of the cartoon’s titular character, in Charles Schulz’s Peanuts, and Schulz’s friendship with cartoonist Robb Armstrong, who co-wrote the special, and inspired Franklin’s surname, more on which can be read here.

• Four Women in a Hotel Room returns, as part of Publisher’s Weekly’s ComicsPro coverage, as Heidi MacDonald, Brigid Alverson, Ultimate Comics’ Siena Fallon, and Fantom Comics’ Sarahti Gassmalla discussed the status quo of the Direct Market.

• David Harper welcomed IDW’s Scott Dunbier to Off Panel this week, as they spoke about the publisher’s Artist's Editions program, as well as Dunbier’s work at WildStorm, and how the Artist’s Editions sausages get selected and made.

• For SILENCE!, Gary Lactus’ voyage into the deeper meanings of Jerry Siegel and Paul Reinman’s The Mighty Crusaders #4, pp3, as consideration is given to the plight of the working man who also happens to moonlight as a crime fighting vigilante, who bellows every single utterance.

• Some more offerings from the Cartoonist Kayfabe stable, as Ed Piskor and Jim Rugg this week pored over Yoshiharu Tusge’s Nejishiki and the alternate version of Screw-Style to be found in The Comics Journal #250, Mike Mignola’s The Amazing Screw-On Head, Marc Silvestri x Wolverine, Walter Simonson x Star Wars, and then some appreciation of the late Akira Toriyama in Dragon Ball and Manga Theater.

No more links harvested this week, for the soil needs to rest before more can grow.