An Intellectual Carrot – This Week’s Links
The wind is threatening to blow the walls off my building right now, but nothing stops the news! Join us in our affront to nature by clicking these links.
Features
Comics and Revolutions: A Report from the Beirut Comic Art Festival
Eszter reports back from Beirut, with a look at the variety of comics, aesthetic concerns, philosophical questions and political grapplings that took place at The Beirut Comic Art Festival, which took place earlier this month.
Getting Away from Already Being Pretty Much Away from It All: Ted McKeever, Pencil Head and Leaving Comics
An examination of Ted McKeever’s final narrative comic, a kiss-off to the comic book industry, with comparisons to other famous Fuck You features.
“Life Is Weird and Wild and You Never Know”: An Interview with Steve Lafler
In this sprawling conversation, we catch up with Steve Lafler’s time making music in Mexico, raising children in houses laden with autobiographical comics, his return to the States and his most recent work, powered by Kickstarter support.
I Don’t Like The Sound Of Them Apples – This Week’s Links
“I can’t think of a hotter set of links than this.” -Scott Hott, World’s Hottest
Excerpt: Discipline
Check out this extended look at Dash Shaw’s latest graphic novel, Discipline, courtesy of NYRC!
“Whatever The Image Is, It’s Gotta Fit”: An Interview With Hurk
Joe Decie catches up with cartoonist Hurk just as Avery Hill prepares the release of his “crime caper” graphic novel, Jinx Freeze. Has Hurk forgiven the Trix rabbit? What are his favorite parts of making comics? How seriously should one take people who wish to be taken seriously? The answers to these questions, and more, are only to be found here.
Marvel Comics’ 1984 Dune movie adaptation: An Oral History
A new movie adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal SF fantasy Dune opens this week, but we’ve got something a little more old-school: an oral history of Marvel’s 1984 comic book adaptation of David Lynch’s divisive first film of the book.
From My Laboratory In The Castle East – This Week’s Links
Oh my soul! That is a lot of links!!
“Sometimes You Don’t Realize Value Systems Are Completely Off”: A Scene Report From the Philly Comics Expo
The first-ever edition of the Philly Comics Expo was held on October 2, 2021, and we’ve got a massive report! Featuring interviews with three exhibiting artists, reviews of nearly a dozen comics, and plenty of observations on this celebration of the small press.
Comix Experience Talks Lost on Planet Earth with Magdalene Visaggio & Claudia Aguirre
The second in our line of sponsored videos from the Comix Experience Graphic Novel of the Month Club interview series finds proprietor Brian Hibbs in discussion with two creators bringing an original digital comic to print format.
“Are You Glad You Did It?”: An Interview with Douglas Wolk
Now that he’s on the other side of reading every single Marvel comic ever published, Douglas Wolk is catching up with Laura Hudson on whether that was (or was not) a good idea, what sort of lessons that etched into his subculture, and laying down some dogma for future cultural archaeologists to grapple with.
Journey Into Marvel/Disney’s Copyright Wars
Michael Dean reports on the recent legal efforts of individuals, heirs and estates to pursue copyright terminations for Marvel superhero characters, and share in the mammoth profits generated by the properties those creators made possible.
Excerpt: Ex Libris
Thanks to Uncivilized Books, we’re pleased to share this excerpt from Ex Libris, by Matt Madden.
Takao Saitō, 1936-2021
Remembering a pioneer of Japanese comics, the creator of the mighty Golgo 13 and an icon of the gekiga era.
Fresh Air: Comics in Dialogue at the Arab Comics Initiative
Comics maker, academic and convention curator Lina Ghaibeh speaks with TCJ about how political upheaval, COVID-19 and the ongoing impact of the devastating Port of Beirut explosion in 2020 has failed to stop the Arab Comics Initiative upcoming festival, which opens in Beirut this week.
Charlie Brown and Me
Charles Schulz’s Peanuts celebrated its 71st anniversary this weekend, and we are commemorating the occasion with a new perspective: the first-ever English translation of a 1999 essay on the strip by artist and scholar Natsume Fusanosuke, who compares the Schulz characters with those of the similarly massive Japanese media franchise Doraemon.
Trouble Every Day – This Week’s Links
These robots are sad about the crypto economy. But you will be happy when you see all the news! I mean, it’s not happy news, really… but you’ll be happy it’s there.
Metamorphosis – The Comics of Sophie Campbell
When did the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles turn to community building? If you’ve been following the work of Sophie Campbell, it makes perfect sense.
More and More Comic Books is the Point: Small-Press Publishers and Lunar Distribution, a Roundtable
RJ Casey sits down with Lunar Distribution co-owner Christina Merkler and the principals of three small-press comic book publishers that have recently inked distribution deals with Lunar, for the purposes of surveying the new retail landscape of 2021.
My, My, My, My, My, What A Mess – This Week’s Links
That’s right: there’s news this week about Spawn! There’s also a lot of comics news that isn’t about Spawn, sure. But how could we neglect updating you about Spawn related developments? Come on inside and get you some for yourself!
Ditko Con 2021
A visit to the first-ever comics convention dedicated to the life and works of Steve Ditko, held in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 2021.
Making It Just in Time: Author-Creator Matsumoto Taiyō
Artist and scholar Natsume Fusanosuke returns with an expansive 2018 essay on Matsumoto Taiyō, translated by Jon Holt & Teppei Fukuda. The ever-popular Matsumoto is here positioned as the exemplar of a sea change in manga history, as the power of serial magazine editors just started to decline, making room for new ideas.
