Forever an Enigma: The History and Meaning(s) of Peter Milligan’s and Duncan Fegredo’s Postmodern Classic
Exactly 4,000 words on the sweep and meaning of the quintessential Vertigo era superhero comic, newly reissued in a deluxe collected edition.
Article Archive
Catching Up with Tom Kaczynski
Publisher, cartoonist and thinker, Tom Kaczynski has his hand in as many art forms and intellectual pursuits as one can. Craig Fischer caught up with him about all of them not once, but twice.
Me I Want A Hula Hoop – This Week’s Links
What a spread of links! I bet you thought the feasting was over; you fool… you fool!
Remembering Two Titans of Manga: Shirato Sanpei and Saitō Takao
Artist and scholar Natsume Fusanosuke remembers two authors of landmark manga in this compendium of recent newspaper writing, presented in English for the first time.
Going to Pieces – Peacemaker Lost and Found
They say nobody prays harder for peace than the soldier… but for what does the Peacemaker pray? Tom Shapira sifts through the rubble of another Charlton concept blown to bits in the blood & thunder of the 1980s.
“These are Modern American Family Comics”: The Derek M. Ballard Interview
We speak with Derek M. Ballard about growing up in the South, learning comics from catalogs, creating cartoons with Pendleton Ward, all in an attempt to figure out how he got this good, and how it is that he keeps getting better.
A Portrait of a Manga Scholar Offering His Arm to Shirato Sanpei
Ryan Holmberg remembers Shirato Sanpei, one of the masters of politically-informed action comics, who died this past October.
The Art of Graphic Narrative: An Apology for the “Lascaux Hypothesis”
Sometimes you’ve got to take a step back, look at the whole picture of comics, and figure out: what kind of language are we using here? What is this art form we’re talking about, and are we doing an accurate enough job talking about it? Also: CAVES.
True and Recognizably Human: A Conversation with R. Kikuo Johnson
R. Kikuo Johnson and James Romberger discuss Johnson’s new graphic novel No One Else, his illustrations for The New Yorker, what he redrew for the new edition of his book The Night Fisher, and why he’s sticking with comics.
A Wrenched Virile Lore – This Week’s Links
Did you know Clark’s birthday is coming up? Happy birthday! There will be no column next week because the Americans are doing something with food.
Funny Book Round Up
Congratulations, you’re in for a lucky-number-seven capsule reviews of all sorts of comics. Recent, good superhero comics! Small-press erotic comics! Decades-old alternative comics! Extremely unhappy commercial Japanese comics! Austin English brings you everything under the sun, and you should thank him.
Another Look At Bill Mauldin
There’s never a bad time to talk about Bill Mauldin, but it’s especially a good time when you’ve got a whole bushel of Maulidin trivia, history and gossip to share thanks to Bob tracking down a copy of 2020’s Drawing Fire: The Editorial Cartoons of Bill Mauldin.
“I Wanted to Create a World”: An Interview with Lane Milburn
Lane Milburn’s newest graphic novel Lure sees the cartoonist making a departure from his previous work. In this conversation, he goes into how those changes came to be, the different kinds of non-comics work he takes on to support himself, and the dark business of “graphic recording”.
Guy On The March: Memories of being a cross-country tentmate with artist and cartoonist Guy Colwell
Today is the 35th anniversary of the conclusion of 1986’s Great Peace March of 1986. Michael Tisserand, who participated in the March, is celebrating by telling the lesser known story of the great Guy Colwell, who served as the March’s cartoonist. (A gallery of Colwell’s work is, of course, on hand).
Roadside Picnic – This Week’s Links
Your local food court may be abandoned, littered with the debris of a departed era, but we have not abandoned: the links!
Takahashi Rumiko and the Turning Point in the History of Manga and Anime
In a 2019 essay, artist and scholar Natsume Fusanosuke considers the historical impact of manga icon Takahashi Rumiko and her Urusei Yatsura on the audience for Japanese comics and animation at the dawn of the otaku era.
Excerpt: Generous Bosom #4
An exclusive preview of Conor Stechschulte’s Generous Bosom #4, courtesy of Breakdown Press awaits you!
Poetry Interrupted! Liberatore’s Sensitive Side
Cartoonist Nate Doyle visits an NYC showing of Tanino Liberatore’s work at the Philippe Labaune Gallery, and reports back that yes, there’s more to the artist of RanXerox than extremely big muscles being used in extremely violent fashions.
“Outside Our Sad Little Country, They Can Actually Achieve Something”: An Interview with Łukasz Kowalczuk
Łukasz Kowalczuk returned to making comics as an adult, fueled by memories of slime, a love of 80s licensed properties and role playing games. Since then, he’s translated Prison Pit, organized conventions and increased the world supply of neon-colored Polish comics by a healthy margin!
November Rain – This Week’s Links
Nobody is ever going to fix my roof; water is just going to keep dripping in until the rainy season passes. Luckily, the supply chain has not disrupted the delivery of these links – digital insulation to warm your soul.
Jeffrey Catherine Jones’ Unknown Muse
Robert K. Elder uncovers the little known story behind the model and muse behind some of Jeffrey Catherine Jones’ iconic painting and illustration work.
Comix Experience Talks The Good Asian with Pornsak Pichetshote & Alexandre Tefengki
Brian Hibbs of Comix Experience speaks to creators Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefengki about The Good Asian, their much-admired period crime series from Image.
Excerpt New Realities: The Comics of Dash Shaw
Greg Hunter takes an extended look at Dash Shaw’s Cosplayers in this excerpt from Hunter’s upcoming book,
New Realities: The Comics of Dash Shaw.
Speaking Out of the Silence: A Conversation with Dash Shaw about Discipline
In this conversation between Dash Shaw and Greg Hunter which took place earlier this month via Brooklyn’s Community Bookstore, Shaw discusses the background to his latest graphic novel Discipline, how his own Quaker upbringing informed its depictions of silence, and the real world Civil War letters that birthed the project.
