A career length conversation with GB Tran, a cartoonist and educator who came to comics via super-heroes and then turned to memoir with Vietnamerica. In this conversation, he talks about how his methodical approach to artistic work, and the surprising emotional reactions readers bring to his work.
Mike closes out the week with some new tools, some more teaching, and a whole lot of VIOLENCE. (Drawings of violence!)
It’s Friday: you made it. From here on out, smooth sailing–you’ve just got one last task before you. Take a deep breath. Situate your ass between its cheeks. Now get to clicking. The comics news awaits!
The influential artist and image-maker intent on expanding the popular interpretation of what “fantasy” implies catches us up on how he went from SVA to Dopesmoker, from MTV to psychedelia, and what he’s got planned for the future.
Mike Shea-Wright is an illustrator and public school teacher in New York, NY. Current focus is a quarterly mini-comic & art mail Patreon, and printing a couple projects for his Gumroad that are just sitting on his computer ready to ride. He also enjoys printmaking, bookbinding, and figuring out which left-behind student drawings will make good tattoos. He is @susan_saranwrap on Instagram.
Today, Mike is messing around with some new tools, letting The Conformist inform his thoughts and pace his training: it’s a classic Cartoonist’s Diary situation!
A look a the career of beloved British comics writer, Si Spencer, whose sudden passing has taken many by surprise in the UK comics community.
TCJ’s annual coverage of Garfield makes an earlier than usual appearance in today’s Diary (try to spot ’em all!). But what’s this? Pluggers to boot? My cup, she runneth over!
J.M. DeMatteis talks about the real life inspiration behind the influential and shocking conclusion of Kraven’s Last Hunt: the violent death of Ernest Hemingway.
How many second graders can you fit into one art class? Fix that theoretical number of children in your head before cracking open today’s Cartoonist Diary. Fix it in there with a nail gun. Then click “Continue reading”.
Information: it’s what you want, and it’s been guaranteed. But what kind, you ask? What kind of information do we have at hand? Information about comics, the kind you ingest with your eyes, after using your fingers to click. Step up and begin: the attainment of knowledge awaits!
We’re living through a Golden Age of Spain Rodriguez, so it’s time for Paul to catch us up on the recent reprints and biographical work (including a documentary) on the motorcycle riding Marxist radical who never stopped creating.
Alex catches up with political cartoonist Matt Lubchansky, whose Antifa Super Soldier Cookbook arrives in April. In this conversation, Lubchansky talks about making satire work, their disinterest in straight lines and Paul Verhoeven’s impeccable precognition.
By way of helping to celebrate Black History Month, we take a look at a couple of 30th year anniversaries. Robb Armstrong, it sez here in this promotional blurb, is the first Black cartoonist to have a comic strip with Black characters to run for 30 consecutive years. To honor the 30th anniversary of his… Read more »
The news is coming in hot, and these days, they might try to steal it from you AFTER it’s been served: so get to clicking before it’s too late. Clark has it broken down into categories like reviews, news, interviews–and when it comes to prioritization, pal, you better just take all of it. Safety in numbers!
Benjamin Marra talks with filmmaker, musician and cartoonist S. Craig Zahler about how role playing games, his love of legit comics and making movies brought him to the next project: writing and drawing his first graphic novel, The Forbidden Surgeries of the Hideous Dr. Divinus.
Patrick Rosenkranz memorializes the influential ZAP cartoonist, who passed away on February 7th, 2021.
Kate Lacour spoke to four cartoonists (Phoebe Gloeckner, Julia Gfrörer, Dame Darcy & Nina Bunjevac) about how their dollmaking practice engages (and expands) their art making. Then, to confirm what she has found, Kate checks in with a doll to see what they think!
The news–news born and devoted to the subject of comics–returns to you in its purest form: via the linkage of Clark’s nimble fingers. Imagine yourself fired across the cylinders of time, reading the reviews, news and interviews that make up this thing we study. Learning begins now!
Richard Short’s Klaus comics just saw their biggest collection yet, by way of Breakdown, and Joe Decie caught up with the creator about what it’s like, keeping up with the world’s most thoughtful cat.
Andrew White catches up with Madeleine Jubilee Saito about how she came to webcomics, creating in the Midwest, how Christianity informs and illuminates her work, and what her commitment to “30 Days of Comics” has taught her.
2021 is off to a roaring start, and who knows what news stories will attempt to stand between you and your comics awareness? Arm yourself with the links you need to stay informed about the sequential narrative you remain obsessed with: and then arm yourself again, with petulance!
RJ Casey’s last day at Fantagraphics is Friday, Ed ended his tenure at Koyama in December. I thought it would be a good time to catch them on the way out the door.
Ian Thomas talks with MK Czerwiec (the ComicNurse) about the growing passion the medical field has for comics, and how the popular website Graphic Medicine has expanded its focus over the last few years to encompass that growth–as well as how the project began!
