Today on the site Ken Parille brings us part one (of two) of his 2014: Comics, New and Old.
While not quite a “year in review,” this two-part column looks at forty comics I read in the closing months of 2014, books that inspired some end-of-the-year reflection on “The State of American Comics,” present and past. These graphic novels, online comics, comic books, and comics tracts — a third of which appeared in 2014 — represent a range of genres: horror, memoir, religious, superhero, children’s, travel, propaganda, hate, and more. In some entries, I review the comic and in others I use it as an occasion to explore issues such as comics theory, critics vs. fans, feminism, narrative instability, “pop art,” and the “holistic interpretation” fallacy. I include my “2014’s Best” and wonder if we’re really living in, as everyone proclaims, a “New Golden Age of Comics.” (Part II will appear soon.)
Elsewhere:
The great Dutch underground cartoonist Peter Pontiac passed away this week. He was not well-known here, but was an active cartoonist since the 1970s. Artist Marcel Ruijters has an appreciation here. Pontiac's web site is here.
The Rumpus interviews Tomi Ungerer.
I enjoyed this gif-report from Bruce Bickford's studio.
Michael Dooley on provocative graphic art.
And a tour of a ADHD, creative home to Ben Jones.
TCJ-contributor and Vice comics editor Nick Gazin's recent Run the Jewels logo is discussed over here.
