This week I read one [1] bad book and two [2] decent comics, which I think averages out this span of seven [7] days as sitting in the ‘win’ column. And, to be frank, I will take any wins I can get, in the current climate.
You know what else count as wins? This week’s links do, of course! They’re waiting for you below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-0feCLAug-/
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4,000 Holes in Blackburn, Lancashire… This week’s news.
• Award season is firmly upon us, presumably with a plethora of virtual ceremonies this year, and the Ringo Awards are opening their ballots for nominees, running until 25th June - as these are open to pros and fans, you can expect a fair amount of lobbying from creators, which begs the question, do you vote with your heart?
• For those who’d like to skip straight to award shortlists that have already been finalized, we’ve got two of them for you, as the LA Times’ Book Prizes announce their best graphic novel/comic, with the winner coming later today; and Slate and the Center for Cartoon Studies’ 8th annual Cartoonist Studio Prize nominees having also been announced, with the final winners chosen next month.
• As the comics community acclimatizes to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve got notice of some more digital events coming up, with the Vancouver Comics Art Festival taking submissions for its online programming later this year, following the cancellation of physical gatherings in the local area last month; and YallStayHome Book Festival takes place next week, featuring a Q&A with Sam Maggs, and live hangout with Mariko Tamaki and Rainbow Rowell.
• Meanwhile, one of the last holdouts of the summer convention scene, San Diego Comic Con, continues moving slowly towards cancellation, with California’s governor stating that the likelihood of mass gatherings over summer are “negligible at best” under current conditions, which is bad news for the city’s already beleaguered tourist trade; and Reed Exhibitions have finally bowed to pressure and cancelled this year’s Book Expo, rather than simply postponing it until Summer, which was their initial ‘plan’.
• There are some more COVID-19 related fundraisers taking place this week, as the Hero Initiative offer up some one-to-one virtual experiences with comic creators; and #Creators4Comics has taken over twitter with a whole swathe of auctions to raise funds for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (BINC), which is worth dipping into, just to experience the unbridled chaos of it all.
• Unfortunately, it looks like the above initiatives may be all the more essential, in the short-term, as federal funding programs for small businesses have run out of funds, and will not be accepting new applicants, until more relief money can be signed into law.
• In creator funding news, ShortBox is branching out into the world of micro-grants, with five £100 grants available for independent cartoonists this month, and another five becoming available through May, June, and July - if you'd like to help support the program then you can donate to the fund as it continues.
• In some genuinely good health news, among a tide of mostly bad, Jim Starlin is returning to Dreadstar, via a new crowd-funded project; and he’s illustrating it as well as writing, following successful therapy for a hand injury sustained a few years ago.
• No longer content to simply sail the seas, and fight adjacent to the seas, Popeye the Sailor is now teaming up with TheSeaCleaners project to clear plastic pollution in the seas! All together now - ah gah gah gah gah gah.
• Comics said goodbye to one of the all time greats last week, as MAD Magazine stalwart Mort Drucker sadly passed away, aged 91 - Steven Ringgenberg provides an obituary here at TCJ, and Craig Fischer has a celebration of his work, while The Daily Cartoonist has a nice round-up of writing on his career.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-GcFu8jB8I/
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Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger… This week’s reviews.
TCJ
• Robert Kirby reviews the second part of Joakim Drescher’s ‘refreshingly bizarre’ space adventure, Motel Universe 2: Faschion Empire.
• Roman Muradov reviews Olivier Schrauwen, Ruppert & Mulot’s ‘beautiful and repellent’ saturnalia, Portrait of a Drunk.
AIPT
• Rory Wilding reviews Jonathan Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu, et al’s reinvention of the children of the atom, X-Men volume 1; and Russ Dobler takes a look at the messy space opera of Annihilation: Scourge from an all-star team of Marvel staple creators.
• David Brooke reviews Jeff Lemier, Michael Walsh, et al’s superhero crossover collection, Black Hammer/Justice League: Hammer of Justice; and Ed Brubaker, Marcos Martín, and Muntsa Vicent’s new ‘post-YA’ mystery series, Friday.
• Connor Christiansen reviews Joshua Dysart, Alberto Ponticelli, et al’s LA murder mystery, Goodnight Paradise.
• Christopher Franey looks back at Chuck Dixon, Scott Beatty, Scott McDaniel, et al’s Nightwing Year One arc, as the character arrives in the live-action Titans show.
• Zachary Whittaker reviews the return of the crime-fighting music-fanatics of Carly Usdin, Nina Vakueva, et al's Heavy Vinyl Vol. 2: Y2K-O!.
The Beat
• Avery Kaplan reviews the emotional coming-of-age of Laura Lee Gulledge’s The Dark Matter of Mona Starr.
• Joe Grunenwald and Hussein Wasiti look back on Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, et al’s Matt Murdoch/Wilson Fisk showdown, Daredevil: Born Again.
• John Seven reviews Olivier Bocquet and Jean-Marc Rochette's vertiginous autobiography of growing up as a mountain climber, Altitude, translated by Edward Gauvin.
Booklist (starred reviews)
• Jesse Karp reviews Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru’s historical superhero story, Superman Smashes the Klan.
• Summer Hayes reviews Tyler Feder’s memoir of loss and healing, Dancing at the Pity Party.
• Maggie Reagan reviews the second volume of Ngozi Uzaku’s story of love and hockey, Check, Please! Book 2.
Broken Frontier
• Andy Oliver has reviews of the anarchic children’s anthology Cor!! Buster Easter Special, the all-ages anarchy of James Riding’s James + Jack in Crazyland, a tale of feuding ice cream vendors in Matthew Dooley’s Flake, and the haunting graphic medicine of Daniel Bristow-Bailey’s The Screaming.
• Tom Murphy reviews Michael DeForge’s latest graphic novel exploration of changing societies, Familiar Face.
• Jenny Robins reviews the surreal Odyssey of Connor Willumsen's Bradley of Him.
Four Color Apocalypse
Ryan C has reviews of the (possible) tone-poem at the heart of Keren Katz’s The Backstage Of A Dishwashing Webshow, the gorgeous weirdness of Larkin Ford’s Goat Song, the curious fascination of Lane Yates and Garrett Young's The Garden, and the legal learning of R. Sikoryak’s Constitution Illustrated Sampler.
House to Astonish
Paul O’Brien continues his look-back at Marvels recent mutant-periodicals with a review of Jonathan Hickman, Rob Reis, et al’s New Mutants #1-9; and Benjamin Percy, Joshua Cassara, et al’s X-Force #1-9.
Hyperallergic
Dan Schindel finds accelerated technological alienation in Michael DeForge’s Familiar Face.
Kirkus
Have an extremely early review of Tom Scioli’s unauthorized biography of one of the medium’s greats, Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics.
Multiversity
• Christa Harder revisits Matt Fraction, Christian Ward, et al’s psychedelic science fiction epic, ODY-C.
• Jodi Odgers is on a similar trip into the past, looking back at Matt Fraction, Gabriel Bá, et al's surrealist science fiction spy series, Casanova.
• Kate Kosturski reviews Thi Bui’s illustrated memoir of growing up in Vietnam and the US, The Best We Could Do.
• Frida Keränen takes a look back at Neil Gaiman, John Bolton, et al’s Harry Potter pre-empting, The Books of Magic.
• Brian Salvatore reviews Youssef Daoudi’s graphic novel exploration of jazz and the life of one of the greats in Monk!.
• Christopher Egan looks back on Fábio Moon & Gabriel Bá's magic-realist dissection of life and death, Daytripper.
Newsarama
• Kat Calamia reviews the second chapter of DC’s digital-first continuation of one of my favorite cartoons growing up, Batman: The Adventures Continue.
• Matthew Sibley reviews the first issue of Magdalene Visaggio, Claudia Aguirre, et al’s new science fiction series, Lost on Planet Earth.
• Michael Govan looks back on Allan Heinberg, Jim Cheung, et al's first volume of superhero upstarts, Young Avengers.
Popmatters
Hans Rollman reviews Frank “Big Black” Smith, Jared Reinmuth and Ameziane’s graphic novel Big Black: Stand at Attica recounting Smith’s brutal treatment in the New York State prison.
Publisher’s Weekly
Has a capsule review of:
• Yvon Roy’s graphic memoir, Little Victories: Autism Through a Father’s Eyes;
• Paco Roca's elegantly moribund tale, The Winter of the Cartoonist, translated by Andrea Rosenberg;
• Christian Lax' action-packed graphic novel, The Red Mother With Child, translated by Montana Kane;
• A. Degan's existential science fiction superhero parody, The Marchenoir Library;
• Zao Dao's avant-garde fantasy, Cuisine Chinoise: Tales of Food and Life, translated by Brandon Kander and Diana Schutz.
Solrad
• Rob Clough reviews Frank Santoro’s multi-generational memoir, Pittsburgh.
• Ryan Carey reviews Michael DeForge's confrontation of societal change, Familiar Face.
Women Write About Comics
• Rachel Knight reviews the next installment of the Kurt Busiek-masterminded (now possibly on a COVID-19-related hiatus) series, Marvels Snapshots Fantastic Four #1.
• Louis Skyle reviews Janelle Hessig’s isolationist tale, Big Punk.
• Wendy Browne reviews the first issue of Greg Gustin, V. Gagnon, et al’s musical science fiction series, Dr. Love Wave and the Experiments #1.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-44GEmjedz/
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Sometimes words have two meanings… This week’s interviews.
TCJ
Keith Silva has a new installment of the Retail Therapy series of interviews, this week talking to the owner of San Francisco’s Comix Experience, Brian Hibbs, about (amongst other things) the digital publishing debate in the context of COVID-19.
2000 AD
Richard Bruton chats to Olivia Hicks, Shelli Paroline, and Braden Lamb, ahead of the publication of their story, Daisy Jones’ Locket, in The Cor!! Buster Easter Special.
AIPT
David Brooke talks to Valiant Comics’ Drew Baumgartner on what it is that assistant editors do, and how comics get made (the Valiant way).
The Beat
Zack Quaintance talks to Stephan Franck about his new crowd-funded neo-noir graphic novel, Palomino, which is this week's PR Push Award winner, as you'll see below.
Booklist
Have an interview with Gale Galligan ahead of the publication of their next entry in the series of Babysitter Club graphic novels, Logan Likes Mary Anne!.
The Daily Cartoonist
It’s cartoonist Rob Harrell’s turn to undergo the three word answer Q&A, and I can approve of choosing a question about snacks to be one of the three to elaborate on.
Multiversity
Erik Hyska talks to Matt Kindt about his current project, Crimson Flower, and using Patreon for crowdfunding a comic during a pandemic.
National Press Club Journalism Institute
Interview Michael Cavna about his ongoing coverage of cartoons and cartoonists during the COVID-19 pandemic.
New York Times
Gal Beckerman talks to Tom Gauld about his working space, inspirations, and working on scientific cartoons, ahead of the publication of his new book, Department of Mind-Blowing Theories.
Newsarama
• Interview the New York Times’ Grant Snider, ahead of the publication of his new book I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf, about the intricacies of planning virtual book launches.
• Talk to Xplain the X-Men’s Jay Ededin about his upcoming Marvel writing debut in X-Men: Marvels Snapshot, the next issue of the series revisiting classic Marvel continuity, overseen by Kurt Busiek.
• Talk to Stephan Franck in this week's second interview about his new neo-noir graphic novel, Palomino.
Publisher’s Weekly
Brigid Alverson talks to Box Brown about his new graphic novel, Child Star, and his affinity to the 80s.
School Library Journal
Elizabeth Bird interviews Karim Shamsi-Basha Irene Latham, and Yuko Shimizu about their new illustrated story of life in the Syrian Civil War, The Cat Man of Aleppo.
Solrad
Alex Hoffman talks to Tinto Press publisher Ted Intorcio about crowd-funding a line of books during a pandemic.
SYFY Wire
• Karama Horne talks to Erica Schultz about her, Marika Cresta, et al’s adventure tale Forgotten Home.
• Tres Dean interviews George C. Romero and Matt Medney about continuing the “...of the Dead” legacy in a new comic for Heavy Metal.
Women Write About Comics
Wendy Browne interviews author Adrienne Resha about her love of Ms Marvel, aka Kamala Khan; chats to Kate Karyus Quinn, Demitria Lunetta, and Maca Gil about creating new heroes for DC’s line of YA graphic novels; and talks to Stephan Franck in this week's third interview about his new crowd-funded series exploring the LA country music scene of the 80s.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-vP3eUhk1D/
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A cloudy day in Metropolis… This week’s features and long-reads.
• Here on TCJ, Timothy Jackson takes a look back at the life and work of cartoonist Sam Joyner, following his passing away last month.
• Joe McCulloch has made another of his essays available on Medium, and this time it’s One Day You Will Be Dead - Taiyō Matsumoto’s “№5”, In a Glass Cage, his cautionary tale on not linking a comic with a single proprietary app, originally published in 2017’s Critical Chips 2.
• Architecture and design magazine Dezeen have a piece by Owen Hatherley, examining the nuanced depictions of the development of modern architecture in the comic book form.
• Over at The Washington Post, Stefano Pitrelli talks to Milo Manara about his ongoing series of paintings of key workers, and how he’s faring while undergoing lockdown during the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy.
• Polygon have a piece up looking at the impact of COVID-19 on creators working in the direct market, as Chloe Maveal talks to those currently feeling the strain.
• Broken Frontier has a new edition of Inside Look, this week with Michael Lomon giving some creator commentary on his indie book, The Palace of Tears.
• Over at The Guardian, Adam Roberts introduces readers to the ‘inspiring friendship’ at the core of Tintin: The Shooting Star, in a new edition of My Favourite Book as a Kid.
• ShelfDust has a bumper crop of writing this week, with Charlotte Finn’s series A Year in the Big City, looking back at issue 15 of Astro City and its robots as metaphor; Alex Lu continuing the adventures of the Seven Critics of Victory, looking back at Manhattan Guardian #4; Caitlin Rosberg looking back at the debut of everyone’s favorite space-horse, Beta Ray Bill; and the Annotated Giant Days series hits issue 22.
• Deserving of an entry all in itself, ShelfDust EIC Steve Morris also brings us the writerly version of the #6FanArts meme doing the rounds, with pieces on Batroc the Leaper, Jessica Jones, Detective Chimp, Captain Carrot, X-Cutioner’s Song, and (my fav of the immortal weapons) Fat Cobra, as suggested to him on Twitter.
• SYFY Wire’s Jeff Spry has a list of 8 graphic novels that depict optimistic worlds, if you’re trying to avoid dystopias while quarantining, while Multiversity’s James Dowling has compiled a list of comics to make you smile.
• Speaking of, Multiversity continues its remixed Saturday Morning Panels feature, and this week looking at the best moments from licensed comics, although it doesn’t have that bit from Transformers vs GI Joe with “GUN GOD MEET YOUR AVATAR” so I shake my head.
• Chris Coplan continues his remixed feature, Judging by the Cover, looking at a selection of his favorite covers from comics past. No new comics? No problem.
• Timed nicely for the Easter weekend just gone, Polygon has a couple of interesting pieces on depictions of religion in comics, with Alan Kistler looking at DC and Marvel’s depictions of religious figures and themes under the censorship of the Comics Code Authority; and Rob Bricken doing a deep-dive into DC’s most God-hatingest character, The Phantom Stranger.
• For more comics and religion content, Multiversity’s X-Men analysis series, Mutantversity, took a look at the X-Men’s relationship with religion, where that takes them as a team, and the mirror the comics hold up to readers’ beliefs.
• The Beat have put together their list of the ‘75 Most Anticipated Graphic Novels for Spring 2020’, but the publication of these may presumably be affected by the current pandemic.
• This could easily have gone in the comics section below, but it’s a long-read, so I’ll use my arcane powers to have it sit here, in the features section; as ABC News’ polling website FiveThirtyEight brings in Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal’s Zach Weinersmith, to help the editorial team explain why it’s so difficult to accurately model pandemics.
• Meanwhile, XKCD's Randall Munroe is tackling the hot-button subject of what the sky would look like, if you were stood on the surface of a rapidly spinning star. Somehow.
• We take a quick trip into Birthday Corner, in order to wish a happy 71st to Dave Gibbons, and 13th Dimension has some of his classic Dr Who covers, from the series that absolutely terrified me as a small child.
• Also at 13th Dimension, The Spider’s Web returns, as Archie Comics co-president Alex Segura looks back on Denny O’Neil’s run on The Amazing Spider-Man.
• The Guardian’s Stephen Burgen reports on the revival of notorious Spanish comic El Víbora, as it makes a surprise return, during COVID-19 lockdown.
• Robert Secundus explores the medium of poetry comics, using Ice Cream Man’s Quarantine Comix as a jumping off point to trace the relationship between rhythm and flow.
• Publisher’s Weekly brings an exclusive preview of Gene Yuen Lang’s essay Superman and Me, the afterword to his new graphic novel, with artist Gurihiru, Superman Smashes the Klan.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-6wWVCjmnn/
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Comic books are coming true… This week’s comics offerings from the web.
• One of the big comic launches, this week, was the surprise drop of Ed Brubaker, Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente’s new ongoing series Friday, which you can get part 1 of now, as a pay-what-you-want download from Panel Syndicate.
• Melanie Gillman has been secretly organizing an anthology of recipe comics (I bloody love recipe comics) for quarantine times, and you can get it now on Gumroad.
• Iron Circus Comics spent the Easter weekend previewing the first 40 pages of Evan Dahm’s new book, The Harrowing of Hell, which you can read now for free on their Instagram.
• MariNaomi has made their Patreon-exclusive illustrated exercise guide available for free, during a time when people may need some inspiration for home workouts.
• Michael Kupperman has a new comic up on the Harper’s Magazine website, with the history of Mae West’s cinematic revolution.
• The Toronto Comics Art Festival is helping out exhibitors who can no longer attend, due to the show having been cancelled due to COVID-19, by showcasing titles that would have launched at the event, over on their Instagram.
• Nira Liu has a new comic about how Lil Wayne helped him come to terms with his own identity.
• There’s a new issue out of independent manga and comics zine Bubbles, which you can grab a copy of now.
• Adam de Souza has made a selection of his comics free-to-download; and Al Gofa is currently selling original work and commissions, and has made his story Chevalier Bataille free-to-read in support of this.
• Tom Gauld brings us an Easter egg hunt with Werner Herzog; and if you’ve never seen the interview where Herzog gets shot with an air rifle part way through, to which his response is “it’s not significant,” then rectify that.
• Ronald Wimberley is serializing his martial arts comic GRATNIN: KGMR on webtoon, and will have accompanying commentary up on his Patreon page.
• The Nib continues their COVID-19 coverage with a long-form comic by Joyce Rice, Eleri Harris and Sarah Mirk looking back at the 1918 Spanish Flu; and Joey Allison Sayers addressing the elephant in the room.
• You can also get 2 free issues of The Nib all this month, specifically the Family and Empire issues, by heading to their website.
• The Paris Review has an excerpt from Blutch’s Mitchum, which is out now in newly translated form, as well as a brief biography of the French cartoonist.
• Publishers Weekly has a ten page preview of Giant, the new graphic novel by Mikaël, which arrives next month.
• Solrad have added a couple of new weekly comics to their Presents… line-up, with Tom Lake’s Near Death Turtle, and Karl C Krumpholz’ The Lighthouse in the City joining the roster.
• Over at The New Yorker, Paul Karasik has a comic about the death of musician John Prine, and what his music taught people the world over.
• Kori Michele has made a number of their comics available as pay-what-you-want downloads, including a Doug fan-comic (made with Pat L.), and zines dedicated to Pet Shop Boys and Smashmouth.
• Tom Humberstone has made his and poet Chrissy William’s collaboration comic First Of Many available for free.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-2jY_4j5g5/
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I love to watch things on TV… This week’s recommended watching.
• CBR have an exclusive first-look at new documentary The Illumination of Jim Woodring, which explores the life and work of the prolific cartoonist, and you can stream the entire film now.
• The Kubert School have a couple of new video interviews with hosts Anthony Marques and Fernando Ruiz talking to Ken Lashley and Soo Lee about their work in comics.
• Tom Gauld took over D&Q's Instagram, as part of their new At Home series, and showed viewers around his work space while answering reader-submitted questions.
• Also on Instagram, SKTCHD have a new episode of Off Panel Live! coming up on Sunday, with guest Declan Shalvey.
• The AdvoCates Book Club have a new episode up, with discussions of Mr Miracle and I Kill Giants for your viewing pleasure.
• Drawn to the Shop has some hybrid comic store interviews and live-drawing with artist/host Tyler Crook, and so far he’s checked in with Portland’s Cosmic Monkey and Books with Pictures.
• The BBC travelled to Antarctica, to talk to Sarah Airriess about her upcoming graphic novel on early polar explorers.
• The Original Drink And Draw Social Club have a couple of new episodes up, talking to Howard Chaykin and Larry Hama, while also drinking and drawing with hosts Dave Johnson, Dan Panosian, Joe Quesada, Jeff Johnson, and Ben DeFeo..
• For some more Joe Q content (qontent?), he welcomed Humberto Ramos onto his Mornin’ Warm-Up show, to discuss his work and do some sketching, and gave a lesson in storytelling in comics solo, before welcoming Ramos back to chat on the subject.
• The Center for Cartoon Studies has some more COVID-19 dispatches, checking in with creators during the pandemic, and this week James Sturm is talking to Melissa Mendes and Seth.
• On a similar note, Inkpulp are continuing their quarantine chronicles, and have new episodes up with Jeff Dekal, Jim Mahfood and Tommy Lee Edwards, and then Jim Mahfood, Tommy Lee Edwards, and Matteo Scalera, positing a nightmare scenario where the line-up grows incrementally, with a new addition each episode, until everyone on earth is trapped within.
• If you’re using your own quarantine downtime to get in some illustration practice then Matt Laskowski has made a series of tutorial videos for drawing perspective available for free.
• A couple of relaxed Twitch streams to dip into, as Abby Howard and Robert Wilson IV were both sketching and chatting on their channels during the week.
• Another week, another batch of Cartoonist Kayfabe streams, as the gang welcomed Brendan McCarthy for a virtual chat; and discussed Dave Cooper’s Weasel, Art Spiegelman and R. Sikoryak's Narrative Corpse, Bijou #8, and Donatello issue 1.
• SYFY Wire's Mike Avilla is talking to Tom King about his writing on Strange Adventures, in a new episode of Behind The Panel.
• Jason Latour’s comic creator interview series The Drawl has a couple of new episodes this week, continuing his discussion with Elsa Charretier about her work, and hosting an AMA with questions sourced from social media.
• Kevin Eastman celebrated the 36th anniversary of the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic with a livestream talking about the inception of the comic, the films that spun-off from it, and his life and career.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-9zqOaDQWB/
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The sounds of the city, baby… This week’s easy-listening.
• Molch-R continues his Lockdown Tapes for 2000 AD, catching up with Ned Hartley and Pye Parr about the new Easter special of kids’ favourite, Cor!! Buster; and talking to the nicest man in comics, Dan Dare artist, Ian Kennedy.
• There’s a new episode of SILENCE! and host Gary Lactus is crowdsourcing the comics chat, with a series of listener call-ins, including Kieron Gillen.
• Word Balloon keeps the hits coming, as John Siuntres talks to guests Declan Shalvey, Brian Bendis, Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp, Howard Chaykin, and comics documentary film-maker Ken Viola.
• Multiversity’s Panels in Motion has a new episode this month, looking at Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel, Persepolis, and its animated adaptation.
• ShelfDust Presents returns with another favourite first issue, and this week Matt Lune is talking to Tiffany Babb about Bitch Planet #1.
• AIPT bring us another Comic Book Club, which sees David Brooke and Forrest Hollingsworth diving into Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s superhero magnum opus, All-Star Superman.
• There’s a new episode of Publishers Weekly’s More To Come podcast, and hosts Calvin Reid, Heidi MacDonald, and Kate Fitzsimons are analysing the troubles faced by comics retailers locked down due to COVID-19.
• Off Panel hits a major milestone with its 250th episode, and David Harper is marking the occasion with a smörgåsbord of discussion topics.
• War Rocket Ajax are talking to James Tynion IV this week, chatting about his work on Batman, indie books, and more.
• The Virtual Memories show has been continuing its COVID-19 check-ins with creators, and there’s a new episode with host Gil Roth talking to cartoonist Jennifer Hayden.
• Alin Rauțoiu has a new episode of Borderless, this time talking to Dan McDaid about his career in US comics.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-7m8VGp7ao/
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No dark sarcasm in the classroom… This week’s links for younger readers.
• Will Sliney has teamed up with Irish broadcaster RTÉ for his online how-to-draw classes, taking viewers through different aspects of illustrating stories and creating characters. Also includes: VIKINGS.
• Drawn & Quarterly would like to know if you’ve been making time, during this pandemic, to draw monsters? If you can’t answer in the affirmative to this then Lynda Barry can help rectify this terrible state of affairs!
• Have you ever wanted some of hip hop’s finest to read you a classic bedtime story? Silly question, of course you have - and Moon Lane Children’s Books & Toys know this too, so they’ve set their YouTube channel to work.
• The Kubert School have a new, all-ages, Saturday morning drawing class, and this week it’s comic artist Maria Sanapo with tips on how to draw Wonder Woman.
• First Second’s Sketch School series of videos continues, this week welcoming Investigators creator John Patrick Green to the show, with a lesson on how to draw his character Mango.
• The Festival of Library Diversity is starting a series of webinars for young writers as part of their FOLD Academy, which you can sign up for online, or watch after broadcast.
• Kansas City Public library are running weekly lessons on how to make comics, over on their YouTube channel, with new episodes every Wednesday.
• If you’d like to prove my secondary school teachers wrong, and show superhero comics are a valid educational form, then Arpad Okay has put together a study guide over at The Beat for Shadow of the Batgirl.
• SYFY Wire’s Jeff Spry has put together a starter pack of 8 kid-friendly comics, if you’re looking for a jumping on point for younger readers needing distraction during lockdown.
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That’s all the links for this week, I hope you’re finding the wins where you can, and staying positive in the face of… *gestures vaguely at, well, everything* and I’ll be back with another batch next week.
Stay well, stay home, be kind.
