A Walker By Any Other Name: Multiple Ways of Looking at a Cartoonist
Bob Levin examines three wildly different comic memoirs by the artist Jesse Reklaw, illuminating and contradicting one another in productive ways.
Article Archive
“This Is Not Only What I Want To Do, But What I Need To Do To Be Happy”: An Interview with Philadelphia Cartoonist Steven Arnold
Zach is back on the Philadelphia scene for a long talk with Steven “S.R.” Arnold, a collaborator on half a decade’s worth of self-published and anthology comics, recently struck out solo with the bleak and funny slice-of-life specials Perry Midlife and Perry Shitlife.
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out – This Week’s Links
Bought myself some new pants at the Tedrick Street dump.
Arrivals and Departures – January 2024
RJ filled his arms with comics from November’s Short Run Comix & Arts Festival, and now he’s pouring approximately half of them into your lap with the first Arrivals and Departures of 2024!
David Kunzle, 1936-2024
An obituary for one of the most notable of the early scholars of comic strip history: David Kunzle, author of the massive two-part History of the Comic Strip among other studies of art, politics, and society.
Remembering David Kunzle
Comics scholar Charles Hatfield remembers the late David Kunzle, one of the pioneers of the comics studies field.
“I’ve Had The Life That I Wanted When I Was 10 Years Old”: A Conversation with Dave Gibbons
Jason Bergman sits down with the British comics superstar and co-creator of several very famous genre comics to discuss his recent autobiography.
A Hazy Shade of Winter – This Week’s Links
After the storm a couple of guys from down south came out of the building like “look at all this goddamn snow.” I turned on my car to heat the windshield, and they started taking selfies in the glow of the lheadlights.
John M. Burns, 1938-2023
Tom Shapira remembers John M. Burns, a massively prolific artist whose work covered virtually every corner of UK comics for over half a century. Burns died on December 29.
Jean-Christophe Menu: On L’Association, the State of French Comics, and His Return As a Publisher
Kicking off a new year with one of the icons of European alternative comics, as Robert Aman interviews Jean-Christophe Menu: cartoonist, critic, editor, co-founder of the game-changing L’Association, and founder of his own 21st century endeavor, L’Apocalypse.
You’re My January Friend – This Week’s Links
A new year… the perfect time to settle old scores! (Unsubscribes from grocery store mailing list.)
A Book Report from Thought Bubble 2023
Hagai Palevsky recalls last November’s Thought Bubble Comic Convention through reviews of books by four artists: Erika Price, Peony Gent, Tyler Landry and A Liang Chan.
The Best of 2023, as Decreed by Our Contributors
Our print edition will offer a focused “Best of 2023” in the near future. This is… different.
Deep Pan, Crisp, and Even – This Week’s Links
The last links of the year?! Don’t worry, we’ll be back again before you know it…
Roger Hill, Early Comics Fan, Historian and Scholar, Dies at 75
Author and historian Grant Geissman remembers Roger Hill, a prominent figure in early comic book fandom, known for zines, books and essays from the 1960s through right now. Hill died December 6, 2023, aged 75.
Teddy Bears and Ink: Joakim Pirinen
Robert Aman is back with another expedition into the wilds of Swedish alternative comics! This time, he profiles cartoonist Joakim Pirinen, purveyor of ill-tempered brutes, desensitized bourgeoises, and soft bears that bare the artist’s soul.
Ian Gibson, 1946-2023
Remembering Ian Gibson, one the crucial early artists of 2000 AD and co-creator of one of the most beloved UK comics of that era, The Ballad of Halo Jones.
Nate Garcia is America’s Cowboy
Zach Rabiroff chats with one of the best young cartoonists on the busy Philadelphia scene: Nate Garcia, prolific creator of the surreal cowboy Alanzo Sneak and much, much more.
Turkey I’m On Your Side – This Week’s Links
I would never cancel the noble pig, an intelligent and delicious beast.
Arrivals and Departures – December 2023
They said it couldn’t be done: an entire column reviewing comics about ducks. But thanks to the magic of Christmas and the intervention of Santa, to whom I pray each night, RJ Casey has come through.
A Hard Rain Fell on Lucca Comics & Games 2023
The story of what happened when one very prominent Italian cartoonist boycotted the biggest comics show in Europe, and how an entire nation responded.
The Ikegami Ryōichi Spider-Man Interview
Of the early examples of Japanese/American comic book cross-pollination, perhaps the most striking is 1970-71’s Supaidāman, Ikegami Ryōichi’s notoriously bleak, violent, political spin on Marvel’s Spider-Man. In this 2002 interview, translated to English for the first time, Ikegami himself discusses the genesis and the legacy of the project.
Watching Pluto
A few notes on the anime adaptation of a manga adaptation of a manga classic.
