Today on the site: R. Orion Martin on lianhuanhua, or Chinese pulp comics.
Most of the lianhuanhua that can still be found in China were printed in the late 1970s and 1980s during the last heyday of pulp comic publishing, but their history reaches back much farther. The lianhuanhua industry began in Shanghai during the 1920s and 30s, though some scholars trace the origins of the format to Song Dynasty scrolls. Using newly imported printing techniques, publishers began releasing periodicals that contained stories and illustrations. They called these works “lianhuanhua” (linked images), though there were various regional names. Some of these stories were text accompanied by images while others used speech bubbles or text inserted into the image. The most popular series from the magazines were reprinted in palm-size paperbacks, and before long rental shops sprung up in alleyways throughout the city. For a few coins, patrons could sit down on wooden stools and read several dozen lianhuanhua.
Elsewhere:
Visits: Lena Dunham's illustrator of choice, Joana Avillez, is interviewed over at the SVA blog. Heeb Magazine chats with Art Spiegelman while Grant Morrison gets the Interview Magazine treatment.
Fun: Great Spanish pulp covers of the previous century!
Less fun but more important: A "Gamergate" primer at NY Mag.
