Features

Deep Pan, Crisp, and Even – This Week’s Links

| December 22, 2023

Well, barring one of the major publishers suddenly deciding that, actually, comics will be printed on edible paper from now on (still better than the glossy rubbish we get for most periodicals these days, amirite? Tip your servers), we’re looking at a full lid for 2023, a year that was filled with some highs, and a lot of lows, the vast majority of which centred around litigation of some kind, and, I truly believe, as will be represented in some future links round-up, this week’s selection being available below, will be surpassed by whatever new delights 2024 has in store. Comics bless us every one!

This week’s reviews.

TCJ

Tegan O’Neil reviews the dark density of Pat Mills, Kevin O’Neill, Jesus Redondo, et al’s Nemesis the Warlock - The Definitive Edition Volume 1 - “Smear away the blood and viscera, focus on the drawings. Focus on the mortification, if you will. The shame that courses like fire through the pistons of the heart. The overwhelming disgust with the obligations of the corporeal. You’ve still got a sharpened pike stabbed through your head. Everything smells sharp, like ozone. Is this shock? The figures on the page seem to have been skinned, fat and flesh pulled back to reveal muscle and chrome. The two most basic textures of the organic: muscle and chrome.”

 

AIPT

• Collier Jennings reviews the brutal brawling of Jason Aaron, Doug Mahnke, et al’s Batman Off-World #2.

• David Brooke reviews the relatable juxtapositions of Tom King, Daniel Sampere’s Wonder Woman #4.

• Michael Guerrero reviews the satisfying conclusion of Tom Taylor, Stephen Byrne, et al’s Nightwing #109.

• Lukas Shayo reviews the new direction of Joshua Williamson, Bruno Redondo, et al’s Superman #9.

• Keigen Rea reviews the spinning wheels of Mark Waid, Jesus Saiz, et al’s Doctor Strange Volume 1.

• Alex Schlesinger reviews the thoughtful vibrancy of Dan Watters, Germán Peralta, et al’s Loki: The Liar.

 

The Beat

• Tim Rooney reviews the skippable entertainment of Marvel Comics’ Star Wars: Revelations #1.

• Sean Dillon reviews the opening chapter of Tom King, Peter Gross, et al's Animal Pound #1.

• Steve Baxi reviews the quintessential appeal of Grant Morrison, Dan Mora, et al's The Complete Klaus Deluxe Edition.

• D. Morris reviews the character focus of Yusuke Watanabe and Sanami Suzuki’s The Great Yokai War: Guardians, translated by Motoko Tamamuro and Jonathan Clements.

 

House to Astonish

Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #117, X-Men Red #18, and Dark X-Men #5.

 

Kirkus Reviews

Have starred capsule reviews of:

- The emotional intensity of G. Neri and David Brame’s Safe Passage.

- The poignant mourning of Debbie Fong’s Next Stop.

- The empowered protagonists of Kekla Magoon, Cynthia Leitich Smith, and Molly Murakami’s Mission One.

- The pitch-perfect fantasy of Mike Cavallaro’s Eowulf: Of Monsters & Middle School.

 

Library Journal

Martha Cornog has starred capsule reviews of:

- The graceful art of Hilnama’s I’m a Terminal Cancer Patient, But I’m Fine.

- The devastating rawness of Erin Williams’ What’s Wrong? Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine.

- The inspiring challenges of MK Czerwiec’s Taking Turns: Stories from HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371.

- The lyrical tragedy of Rick Louis and Lara Antal’s Ronan and the Endless Sea of Stars: A Graphic Memoir.

- The empathetic realism of Jess Ruliffson’s Invisible Wounds: Graphic Journalism.

- The bold narrative of Lucy Knisley’s Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos.

- The dynamic history of Héloïse Chochois’ The Body Factory: From the First Prosthetics to the Augmented Human, translated by Kendra Boileau.

 

Multiversity Comics

Matthew Blair reviews the welcome strengths of Erica Schultz, Sergio Davila, et al’s Daredevil: Gang War #1.

 

Publishing Research Quarterly

David Huxley reviews the erudite analyses of The Comic Book Western: New Perspectives on a Global Genre, edited by Christopher Conway and Antionette Sol.

This week’s The Best Comics Lists of 2023.

The end of the year brings with it, inevitably, inexorably, inescapably, and implacably, Best Of lists from across the internet and in the pages of traditional print media, so, if you’re looking for something to distract from those long winter nights, then here are some entirely subjective rankings of the best comics, graphic novels, manga, and webtoons of the year, from people with whom you will/will not agree [delete as appropriate].

• Heading up the category marked ‘lists from websites still managing to keep the lights on in a fractured media landscape’ there are classic Best Ofs from The Beat for comics, manga, and webtoons (as well as a separate list for horror comics - they’re back/never went away, baby!); CBC’s traditional list of the best of the year from Canada; a pair of lists from the gestalt Newsarama/Games Radar website entity for comics and manga; duelling lists for The Guardian from Rachel Cooke and James Smart; and there are more rankings to be had from AIPT (in two parts), Cosmopolitan, Nerdist, NPR, Polygon, Popverse, Publisher’s Weekly, and The Washington Post.

• Similar to the above, but from the perspective of retailers, you’ve got lists from Barnes and Noble, Bookshop, Gosh! Comics, and Powell’s; and for the view from the libraries there are lists from Booklist, the Library Journal, and New York Public Library, as well as School Library Journal’s lists for graphic novels and manga from 2023.

• For an audio-visual element to your year-end listings, there are reviews of 2023 from David Harper’s Off Panel and Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come, and Gil Roth’s Virtual Memories Show includes a number of cartoonists discussing their choices for favourite books of the year.

• More esoteric lists, but still lists nonetheless, and so valid for our purposes here at The Best of The Bests of the Year Census Bureau, ICv2’s Rob Salkowitz runs down the top comics industry news stories from a markedly litigious year, with a similar rundown from John Maher for Publisher’s weekly’s coverage from the year, while the Journal of the American Medical Association presents the Graphic Medicine International Collective’s selections for best graphic medicine of 2023, and The New Yorker goes full SEO metrics mirrorshades overload by presenting the most-liked cartoons of the year from their Instagram profile.

This week’s interviews.

TCJ

Zach Rabiroff interviews Nate Garcia about the comics comprising The Nate Garcia Library, Texas childhood memories, early cartoonist inspirations, Rapidograph care routines, cowboy evolution, and the influence of How I Met Your Mother - “Three people—Sammy Harkham, Simon Hanselmann, and Kamagurka & Herr Seele who did Cowboy Henk—really showed me the beauty of a 12-grid comic. Not a 9-grid comic where there are rectangles. I'm talking 12, where they’re square, and you’ve got to fit everything you need in that square. And when you read it, it's hitting you like an animated movie.”

 

AIPT

• Chris Hassan speaks with Fabian Nicieza about Cable, being educated on the younger version of the eponymous mutant, history with the character across generations.

• David Brooke chats with Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly about Duke, the origins of the project, and presenting a different version of the G.I. Joe character.

 

Anime News Network

Jairus Taylor interviews Yoshifumi Tozuka about Undead Unluck, childhood mangaka origins, the depression of the undead, and Street Fighter mains.

 

The Beat

Noam Steinerman talks to Scott Hoffman about Nostalgia and Wag, multimedia influences to storytelling, and childhood comics favourites.

 

ICv2

Dan Gearino speaks with Jonni Levas about the origins of the Direct Market, the rise and fall of Sea Gate Distributors, and leaving comics behind.

 

Kotaku

Chris Neill interviews Chris Gooch about In Utero, the academic origins of the book, giving priority to the story, and Digimon influences.

 

Multiversity Comics

Mark Tweedal chats with John Allison about The Great British Bump-Off, refining the story’s original idea, and giving every murder suspect their due.

 

Women Write About Comics

Alenka Figa presents the third and final part of a conversation with Jamila Rowser on writing comic scripts and the realities of business as a freelance creator.

This week’s features and longreads.

• Here at TCJ, Tom Shapira writes in remembrance of artist Ian Gibson, who passed away last week at the age of 77, looking back on Gibson’s work in the pages of 2000 AD, Action, and Valiant, as well as titles for American publishers - “Or rather, you could say that it was Gibson who made 2000 AD; he was not alone, obviously, but it's very easy to underestimate how much he contributed to those early issues. In the first year alone he drew nearly 1/3 of Judge Dredd stories, starting in the middle of the “Robot Wars” arc with prog #14, 28 May, 1977, and helping to establish the world of the strip with stories such as “Luna 1,” “The Academy of Law” and “The Troggies.””

• Also for TCJ, Grant Geissman writes on the life and work of comics historian, author and scholar Roger Hill, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 75 - “Roger’s enthusiasm for—and knowledge about—comics and comic art was both massive and infectious, and from 1967 he wrote extensively about the subject. He would leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of tracking down artwork he wanted for his collection, and because of all the required sleuthing involved he became known among his fellow collectors as “The Art Detective.””

• Finally for TCJ this week, Robert Aman profiles cartoonist Joakim Pirinen, looking back at the enduring success of Socker-Conny, and Pirinen's wider body of work across various media, and speaking with Pirinen about recurring themes of anxiety across these works and the realities of creating a hit like Socker-Conny - “Another reason not to focus too much on Socker-Conny is that Pirinen raised the artistic stakes in later albums. Since the 1990s, he has explored the comic medium in a more elaborate and experimental fashion, including figures, styles, motifs, and various form of interaction between words and images. In every album, he employs a variety of styles and expressions depending on the story.”

• The Beat’s Heidi MacDonald continues the site’s coverage of discussions surrounding the direct market, and whether the figures support the supposition that reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated.

• For NPR, Rachel Treisman writes on the latest generation to discover the joys of a certain beagle named Snoopy, and why the creations of Charles Schultz are so enduringly popular, as the strip’s 75th birthday approaches.

• Over at Shelfdust, Thomas Maluck examines the nuanced execution of Yoshitoki Oima’s A Silent Voice, and the depictions of bullying, and possible paths to reader edification, contained therein.

• Mike Peterson rounds up the last of the year’s editorial beats, over at The Daily Cartoonist, as freedoms remained relative, there is not much peace to be had this Christmas, and the 14th Amendment has entered the chat.

No more links remain this year, and so onwards to a quiet period of reflection upon all that we have learned and failed to learn in 2023 CE.