Your Danish Cartoons Hangover Update
Ali Charaf Damache was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison in a Philadelphia. He was the Algerian ringleader of a small group that plotted to assassinate post-Danish Cartoons figure Lars Vilks, an artist who made some cartoons in the period of heightened sensitivity following the original newspaper cartoons -- I would suppose at this point, Vilks and the original participating artists have begun to blur together as history does its usual push towards a broader perspective. The chapter of the saga in question took place in 2011, some five full years after the original controversy.
Damache's sentence was I believe the maximum allowed.
* go, read: I don't know their publications arm, but it looks like Barnes & Noble commissioned an article about the giant Complete Earthsea collection out now, the one featuring tons of illustration work by the great Charles Vess.
* not comics: everything about this review runs at such a hard right angle about what I value in art it's kind of breathtaking. Same with the pages of comics shown here.
By Request Extra: Ethan Van Sciver Starts GoFundMe To Support Lawsuit Against Mark Waid Chris Arrant hits all the talking points here. I'm not sure what to call the opportunity to support either side -- or both! -- of a legal dispute, but that both sides are covered sounds extra-depressing. Still, these are important matters and every that wants to should support.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * this is a really, really good idea: a Southern California festival focused on working artists in a variety of fields, including comics. Early September 2019. Jim Demonakos' involvement given his role in developing Emerald City will make this a show of focus for those that follow these festivals as businesses.
* this seems like a good idea. I'm not fired up for variant covers, as I think they introduce a level of distortion into the comics market that's unnecessary and maybe even harmful, but I'm not totally against marking special issues, etc. with this kind of flourish. If they have to exist, and somebody has to get those nice gigs, it's good that some of them will go to creators that are struggling.
* finally: Henryends its long run. Obligatory silent-strip joke: "The protagonist declined to speak to the press." It had been in daily syndication since 1934.
Missed It Multiple Times: Stan Lee 1960s Press Roundtable Show
I'd heard of such footage but hadn't seen it, even missing Sean Howe's apparent posts on it. It's interesting. A lot of Stan Lee's career can be broken down into attempts at a wider media role: the early how-to book, syndicated strips, adult magazine features of the Harvey Kurtzman variety, his elder-statesman of comics role, things like this set of videos, Hollywood idea man, and so on.
Comics By Request: People, Places In Need Of Funding By Tom Spurgeon
* this Facebook thread by longtime indie/alt mainstay Linda Medley jumped to a secondary level of attention from peers and fans concerned about the artist quitting the field forever. There's also apparently a bookmobile for sale. The difficulty of sustaining comics-making at any level should never be taken for granted, not even as a reality for people that are extremely talented. I hope there are enough devoted Medley fans amongst fellow professionals and her longtime base readership to maybe establish a more positive baseline. This supportive post from the very fine illustrator and comics-maker David Lasky provides the URL for Medley's Patreon. I own all of Linda's published work and hope one day to own additional books.
* Mark Waid's gofundme effort to defray legal costs in a suit brought against him by Richard C. Meyer of Comicsgate has done well in its initial ask. Waid's campaign is a little bit more interesting than some other recent efforts designed to combat handwringing legal action because of Waid's positions and relative financial comfort to who usually gets tagged in such legal matters. I gave as someone who wants creators of all types and at all levels of participation to speak openly and freely about what they feel is damaging or aggressively harmful behavior. All lawsuits are a lot of money, which is why it's such a dramatic step that should be held to a very high standard.
* Warren Bernard's admirable support of those sued for defamation by Cody Pickrodt continues. I hope there will be wider comics participation; the amounts given seem to me in anecdotal fashion to be pretty high by individual donor, though my perception might be wrong.
* there are a lot of asks out there right now, compounded by the political season and the spirit of the times including a significant element of hatred against which people and communities at risk need to be protected. I get that this can be frustrating from a variety of angles. I'm working my own personal database for the festival with which I'm involved, while at the same time supporting causes via donation that are more impactful and involve way more serious issues. I urge you to give to everything you feel needs your help and wherever you could make a difference. Our world is better for communal efforts, many of which need some sort of communal support. Don't forget individual artists.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * Klon Waldrip on Old Ground. Rachael Conrad on Check, Please!. Jesse Sublett on Berlin.
* friend to CRGil Roth mentioned in a recent e-mail the free download of a Gardner Dozois tribute issue of NYRSF as something that might interest comics fans. I'm sure it would interest many, but the recommendation struck me because I was recently musing over the lingering impact of Science Fiction culture on comics culture with another friend. I think that influence is pretty significant, and kind of out of sight at this point.
By Request Extra: Mark Waid Starts Legal Defense GoFundMe The writer Mark Waid started a defense fund through fundraising site GoFundMe related to the suit he's facing from ComicsGate founder Richard C. Meyer. Mark is one of comics' more successful working professionals, and thus his fundraiser doesn't have the element of extreme need that, for instance, those sued by Cody Pickrodt have in their ask. No lawsuit is a cakewalk for anyone, though, even those 10 times as wealthy as Waid. In addition, Waid points out that ameliorating some of the costs of this defense -- the initial ask is reasonably low for expectations on this kind of thing -- reflects the shared interest of many in comics that don't care for the high idiocy and hateful principles in practice that among many in a series of destructive, history-warping annoyances have made for this lawsuit.
There's been some giving to do this week. I was happy to include this one on my list. I hope you'll consider it. Good luck to Mark and fuck those he faces in court winning anything.
The Never-Ending, Four-Color Festival: Shows And Events
By Tom Spurgeon
* that's a nice group of artists doing PFC before Angouleme next year. That's one of the free-floating perks/gets of right now.
* I did not see until just a few moments ago that Brian Bendis is doing the Julius Schwartz lecture this year. He's a very effective public speaker, and that should be good. I also didn't realize -- and I could be wrong, maybe it just looks this way -- that they've limited the number of times they've done the lecture, which if true I think will benefit the program in the long run.
* finally: the thing I miss most when I cancel going to a show like I have with this year's Short Run is missing out on the debuts and exclusives. It used to be the parties, but I'm older now.
This Isn't A Library: New, Notable Releases Into Comics' Direct Market
*****
Here are the books that make an impression on me staring at this week's no-doubt largely accurate list of books shipping from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. to comic book and hobby shops across North America.
I might not buy all of the works listed here. I might not buy any. You never know. I'd sure look at the following, though.
*****
JUN181670 BAD FRIENDS GN (MR) (C: 0-1-2) $21.95
I know nothing about this book save for what the publisher Drawn And Quarterly has published here, but it sounds great and some day you just want to go to the comics shop and dive right into something new.
FEB180031 DAVE MCKEAN SHORT FILMS HC (C: 0-1-2) $24.99
This book on the other hand is something I wasn't aware would exist in this form but certainly knew that longtime comics artist and illustrator Dave McKean was a filmmaker. The film work here seems ably supported, and stills from that work might be a uniquely attractive entry point for fans of McKean's comics. That's a fine price point, too.
AUG180345 USAGI YOJIMBO #7 (OF 7) THE HIDDEN $3.99 AUG180373 BEASTS OF BURDEN WISE DOGS AND ELDRITCH MEN #3 (OF 4) CVR A $3.99 AUG180374 BEASTS OF BURDEN WISE DOGS AND ELDRITCH MEN #3 (OF 4) CVR B $3.99
Two solid series, including the conclusion of the latest cycle of work from the great Stan Sakai and his Usagi Yojimbo character. I'd be interested to know how doing the work as a mini-series had an impact on sales as Usagi supported multiple, more open-ended series over the years and there was something about that presentation that spoke to the general high quality of the work Sakai has done storyline to storyline. Mostly, however it's presented, the thrill is new Sakai work. This specific Beasts Of Burden work is comics I have yet to read, but the creators are swell and that's a solid concept that hasn't come near to playing itself out.
APR180447 BILL SIENKIEWICZ MUTANTS & MOON KNIGHTS ARTIFACT ED HC (NET) $125.00
These were some truly fantastic-looking and very odd comics when they were originally published, kind of late-period arguments for the notion that sprung out of the 1970s generation that the way forward for greater expression and literary value in comics was through its dominant genre rather than aside it or even in opposition to it. Any kind of reprinting or printing approach that isn't soft, toilet-paper like paper stock has to be an improvement in presentation. This is one of the few comics of its types where the visual approach has a significant effect on the storytelling in which it was used, giving the mutant work in particular a foreboding, slow pace festooned with peak moments of transformative splendor. Update: This is likely coming out next week now.
AUG18019 ROYALBOILER BRANDON GRAHAM DRAWN OUT COLL TP (MR) $24.99
It's interesting to me that this would be published during Graham's personal period of long reform within the comics industry over the content, direction and intent of some Internet arguments but I'm also never sure how deeply those issues -- which are real as can be -- cut into the consumer appetite for an artist's work. Many of the traditional tools for PR are lost for sure.
AUG181999 AMULET 1-8 BOX SET (C: 0-1-0) $103.92
Just in time for Christmas, one supposes. I'm a great Kazu Kibuishi fan even as I'm not the primary or secondary or tertiary audience for a long fantasy saga at this point in my life. I'm happy for the success of this work and look forward to its conclusion so I can read it all at once. I'm a little confused about a box set this close to the end of serial publication.
AUG182189 ANDY LIFE & TIMES OF ANDY WARHOL GN (C: 0-1-0) $34.99 JUN181907 BANANA SUNDAY GN $12.99 AUG181816 DOG SOLDIERS (MR) $19.99 JUL181884 DRAWN TO BERLIN HC COMIC REFUGEE STORIES NEW EUROPE (MR) (C: $24.99 AUG181543 NATHAN HALES HAZARDOUS TALES HC VOL 08 LAFAYETTE (C: 0-1-0) $13.99 AUG181524 PHOEBE & HER UNICORN GN VOL 08 IN UNICORN THEATER (C: 0-1-0) $9.99 JUN180365 BPRD HELL ON EARTH HC VOL 03 (C: 0-1-2) $34.99
And here we find ourselves in one of those weeks where it's a bunch of book-format comics that dominate the marketplace title-count wise than serial comic books. I would say that happens one our of every eight weeks now: less frequently if you don't count collections of serialized work; more so if you focus on publishing events with a little more oomph. Andy Warhol's work might lead nicely to a comics treatment of his life; it's the execution that will either make or break this SelfMadeHero book, although that's a publisher with a fine record in terms of its biographies. I don't know what iteration of Banana Sunday that is, but I like Colleen Coover's art. Dog Soldiers is the Fillbach Brothers and in its treatment of post-war mental trauma sounds more elegant than demented, like the recent World War I comic where all the soldiers were dogs. Drawn To Berlin features Ali Fitzgerald's work in refugee workshop, which is enough to sell me on its own; Fantagraphics' imprimatur helps, though, as they seem the kind of publisher averse to some of the work cliches that might pop up. I'm not a follow of the Nathan Hale stuff, but the cartooning looks dense and fun. You could argue that the Phoebe & Her Unicorn books are the primary publishing event for which the newspaper strip serves in support, and might not even get an argument from anyone. And there's your Mignola-verse work of the week.
NOV171713 WALT KELLY POGO COMP DELL COMICS HC VOL 06 (C: 0-1-0) $50.00
This is the final volume of comic-book reprints of material featuring Walt Kelly's newspaper strip colossus. I would want to look at this in the story as I think execution would mean a lot here, but it's certainly nice to have that work accessible to readers.
SEP182074 ALISON BECHDEL CONVERSATIONS SC (C: 0-1-0) $25.00
This is at a non-academic price point or really tiny. I try not to participate in this series any longer and only do when the subject matter makes a personal request and sometimes not even then. I just don't like turning my material over to editors I don't know, and I've been burned in the past. I do know that some people consider these interview books a great boon to academia. Anyway, Alison is a great interview: smart, funny and really digs into the questions rather than falls back on talking points.
AUG181944 FANTE BUKOWSKI GN VOL 03 THREE PERFECT FAILURE (C: 0-1-2) $16.99
Noah Van Sciver's third and I think final book with the characters read to me as much funnier than the first two volumes and even breezy. Van Sciver has a nice sense of structuring in his joke-telling, though, and I've become fond of the ridiculous title character and the drama he brings into close orbit. A nice goodbye to Van Sciver's time in Columbus, Ohio.
*****
The full list of this week's releases, including some titles with multiple cover variations and a long, impressive list of toys and other stuff that isn't comics, can be found here. Despite this official list there's no guarantee a comic will show up in the stores as promised, or in all of the stores as opposed to just a few. Also, stores choose what they carry and don't carry so your shop may not carry a specific publication. There are a lot of comics out there.
To find your local comic book store, check this list; and for one I can personally recommend because I've shopped there, albeit a while back, try this.
The above titles are listed with their Diamond order code in the first field, which may assist you in finding comics at your shop or having them order something for you they don't have in-stock. Ordering through a direct market shop can be a frustrating experience, so if you have a direct line to something -- you know another shop has it, you know a bookstore has it -- I'd urge you to consider all of your options.
If I failed to list your comic, that's because I hate you.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * RM Rhodes takes a look at a National Lampoon effort on french comics and how it doesn't really intersect with Metal Hurlant.
* went out and saw Arie Kaplan speak on the subject of Jewish creators' influence on mid-20th Century superhero comics. He's an engaging and very practiced speaker. Good crowd, too, for a paid engagement on a Sunday night.
* not comics: I really enjoyed this venue for the Matthew Thurber signing we had in town a couple of weeks ago. I hope it does well and I hope your PR people will add it to your Columbus tour stop lists.
* Steve Kelley takes the Post-Gazette job from which Rob Rogers was let go for his anti-Trump cartoons. Kelley is a super-solid pro and there's a positive element to any paper keeping a staff cartooning position, but that's a tainted gig and I wish anyone asked had said no -- even as much as I hate backseat driving other people's career choices.
* finally: this page of Dick Giordano inking Jose Garcia-Lopez is quite attractive.
We At Comics Reporter Would Like To Remind Comics...
... that there is nothing wrong with taking one look outside on a gray, Fall morning and deciding to stay in bed all day reading issues of Atari Force.
Assembled, Zipped, Transferred And Downloaded: News From Digital By Tom Spurgeon
I'm sure there are stories I'm missing, but Kate Beaton shutting down one of the five great comics of the 21st Century, the singular and funny Hark! A Vagrant, with a gracious thank you and a promise to keep the archives up, should get this column's sole attention and every other award and sign of respect and gratitude this industry and all its attendant communities can generate. I'm sorry I hadn't noticed until a couple of days ago.
I hope Kate Beaton does whatever she wants for as long as she wants to do it, and I am grateful I was an active comics reader while she was making this work. What a thrill. Thank you, Kate.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up
* I'm certainly not smart enough to even begin to vet the math, but this twitter autopsy of writer Chuck Wendig's firing asserts that in general negative tweets may come from accounts that aren't actually people and accounts that pay attention to key opinion-leaders in whatever limited world viewpoint we're talking to find cues as to who they might attack. That could make for routine pushback against Internet controversy firings.
A Personal Message From This Site To You I'm going to be messing around A LOT with my social media use for the next two months. This will probably involve various stabs at deactivating Twitter, or Facebook, perhaps, or shifting the use I get out of various platforms.
I don't like these virtual places as outlets for human interaction. I think most of them have curdled in the same way message boards did about 15 years ago. At the same time, I'm kind of tied to them as a way of gathering information. That information is very Balkanized, and I admit to some confusion as to why. I know a lot of people that put stuff out there on one platform and just sort of expect that everyone sees it. In the last year or so, I even see people discussing information that is no longer the place it was as people delete and move on. That's weird!
My other problem is that once these platforms are available to me I tend to spend a lot of time on them telling dumb jokes, making lazy commentary and arguing with people for whom the phrase "Life Is Too Short" was invented. I think this has for the last few years been at the expense of writing I could do for the site.
I have no idea where I'm going to be on the other side of this -- I may capitulate and return; I may make permanent some changes -- but I should have things figured out by my 50th birthday in mid-December. 50! That's 43 years in regulation, seven and counting of overtime. Life is a blessing.
It may be the only way I learn what's going on with you. The site will continue to run, and I hope more effectively now that I'm shaking things up to see where they might settle into place.
Bundled, Tossed, Untied, Stacked: Publishing News By Tom Spurgeon
* Ezra Claytan Daniels working with Ben Passmore is an exciting pairing, and a great get by Fantagraphics for a summer book whose appeal should extend deep into Fall. Passmore in particular is set up for a strong 2019 with I believe work on the way from multiple publishers. I also think I recall Fanta having been in the running for Daniels' current Lion Forge work when Upgrade Soul was making the rounds, but I could be wrong about that.
* according to this post, Bill Griffith's next project is a biography of Ernie Bushmiller.
* it took until the fourth issue of the relaunch for the new MAD to make news, with this pointed commentary riffing on Ed Gorey's most famous comic. I've found a couple of things I've read in the relaunched publication as kind of toothless, celebratory satire ("we're making fun of you because we love you a lot"), so I was happy to see this comic. Wanted: more like.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up
* the writer Chuck Wendig addresses issues surrounding his abrupt, recent firing from a Marvel Star Wars title for unrelated Internet activity of a political nature.
* a victorious Paul Karasik declares "Mission Accomplished" in this photo, regarding a beautiful Charles Addams mural discussed here returned to a place of visual access and general, reasonable platform suitability. Man, what a good-looking mural.
* aw, crap, I missed Jason Lutes at the Boston Book Festival. The prepared part of Jason's appearances at these show is first rate. If you get a chance to go, go.
* festivals extra: looks like CAB is a Sunday show this year, which I mention because some of you may be dopes like me that aimed at a Saturday arrival and departure for that weekend rather than a Sunday like a normal person that checks dates. Just double-check, is all I'm saying.
Random Comics News Story Round Up * Tony Isabella remembers Steve Gerber with a brief note. Gerber was a very interesting creator and his legacy looks better every year. I still get a thrill when I see the old Howard stuff. Pop culture worked way differently back then.
* did we talk about John Jennings getting an imprint and a checkbook for the imprint by Abrams? I think we did. It's worth noting again that one aspect of this is Abrams has been so disciplined as a publisher in terms of the number of books it publishers. So for them to go for a whole line, they must be very high on Jennings and what he has planned. Good luck to all involved.
* bundled extra: Oni Press announces a new book with Katie O'Neill. Certainly people have been delighted by the two existing works mentioned in the article.
* festivals extra: I'm not sure why I bookmarked this photo given that it's already fired through our social media, but that's a great look on Jeff's face as he picks up a couple of honors at the end of CXC 2018. I'm right around the corner, by the way. I realized I was blocking the view of those kids.
* finally: not sure how I get to this Etsy shop, or who it belongs to even, but I like the looks of this print.
Festivals Extra: Billy Ireland Announces Barbara Shermund And Latinx Comics Exhibits For Galleries
Announcement here. That's a nice pairing. The Latinx exhibit draws on OSU professor Frederick Aldama's work in that area. I've not seen a bunch of Shermund, so that should be a treat as well, and I've enjoyed past shows with which Caitlin McGurk has been involved.
The party for the former is November 3, while the party for the latter will come in 2019. The exhibits will run through March 2019.
* most of what I hear back from NYCC is positive, particularly how the show was executed. I don't remember a lot of comics announcements that made an impression on me over that four-day period, although I'll look at the new Brian Michael Bendis-directed Wonder Comics line. I was surprised how little we heard from Marvel's publishing efforts. It feels like they need to start taking some shots at the fences. I wouldn't be surprised if they snatch up one of the non-Bendis big writers currently working and completely rework X-Men. There seems some potential energy there, still. I'm sure their TV and movie panels did well.
* finally: here's a Rose City report on the future of Brian Michael Bendis' creator-owned work, the comparative infrastructure for which I think is a significant part of why the writer is at DC right now. It's interesting to me that would end up being announced by Rose City with NYCC coming four weeks later, but announcements happen all the time now.
* here's another story of an artist being robbed while at a convention. It feels like there have been a lot of recent reports. It makes sense to me that there would be an increasing number of thefts. Economic times are tough in terms of people making enough money to get by in the fashion to which they believe they are entitled. We also have more cultural approval of self-determination that includes financial gain, which many use to justify exploitation or outright thievery. I bet every one of these robberies comes with a justification as to why they were done. Anyway, be careful out there. Also remember that a lot of venues are taped, and get on asking for that tape before it's erased.
* I can't remember if I linked to this article on Forbidden Planet or only tweeted it. That's what happens when you get old, kids.
* Michael Dooley profiles Anthony Bourdain's efforts in comics, which were ongoing right up until the time of his passing. I liked Bourdain as a prose writer post his initial bro-soaked works, and he had really good taste as a comics reader, so I'm confused by his comics output. There's not a single page reprinted in that article that doesn't bore me a bit.
Creator: Lauren Weinstein Publishing Information: Youth In Decline, comic book, October 2018, $7.95 Ordering Numbers:
I forgot I put this post up, and I apologize for the lateness and brevity of this content. This is the best comic I've ever read from Weinstein, and I'm a great fan of hers. Telling the story of the birth of her second child, Weinstein pushes all of the right buttons within a direct, empathic narrative. The comic is well-observed, funny (a drawing of husband Tim Holder's face at a specific sight slaughtered me), deliberately paced without being boring, gorgeous to look at and full of wonderfully astute observations on life as lived that never slow things down in ponderous fashion. It's also something of a heroic narrative, with Weinstein herself as the rooted-for protagonist. I got caught up on the achievement of Weinstein making this comic in such an assured fashion at the same time I followed her through the life experience in question.
I teared up twice during my initial reading of this comic: once during a dog story which comes out of left field but also adds to the overall tone without detracting in any way -- a minor miracle within a greater one -- and once when Weinstein describes how her first child reacts to the second. I never cry reading comics. At least within my personal understanding of how comics work, this is testimony to the quality of the story being told and the mastery inherent in its component parts. My opinions may change over time and with subsequent readings, but right now this is one of the two or three best comics I've read this year, and I urge you to seek it out. What a gift.
Raina Telgemeier is widely understood to be the most powerful commercial force in North American comics, and one of the most potent in the world. Two books from her in a calendar year is a big deal, and it confirms some early projections that 2019 may be a loaded year for comics in general.
Bundled Extra: Apparently A New Cromartie High School Serial Starts This Month...? This is also a reminder that someone needs to finish/collect the original serial in omnibus form. Please? Pretty please? I ask so little.
Random Comics News Story Round Up * big piece of comics-related coverage of the day is this interview with Stan Lee, JC Lee and various current members of Team Stan at his home in Los Angeles. This is a heartbreaking piece of journalism, with a comprehensive approach to publishing everything said that gives it more authority than usual, as well as more pathos. Lee sounds exhausted and a bit uncertain of some of what's going on around him. Lee's late wife Joan is a significant, heartbreaking presence within the story. This is also the first time I remember daughter JC Lee participating in a story like this. I don't really know what the motivation behind getting this out there might have been from Lee's perspective, although I can imagine making several guesses based on the resulting story. I very much doubt there will be another public appearance for the longtime industry icon. I'm still skeptical of the $50-70M net worth figure.
This year's refurbished Harvey Awards winners were named during the Friday evening of New York Comic-Con.
I have no measurables by which to determine the success or failure of any individual awards program, although the relaunch of this particular program did drive coverage during the nominations round and right after. The winners strike me as solid but not distinctive, and in fact those taking home a Harvey are many of the same names that took home Eisners. Eisner Awards administrator Jackie Estrada receiving an industry award from the program further blurred the lines a bit. Roz Chast -- sick and unable to make the ceremony -- and Dave Gibbons went into the Harveys Hall of Fame.
I'd be surprised if the program didn't do at least well enough to be done again in 2019.
Calvin Reid served as host.
Your winners in bold. Congratulations to winners and nominees.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * Jane Lindholm and Matthew F. Smith talk to Jason Lutes.
* Sean T. Collins marchesRolling Stone readers through a brief hero history for that goofy Venom character, apparently originally conceived by a Marvel reader who got a Siegel-Shuster sized check from Jim Shooter.
* finally, a bit of assembled extra: this is a smart, encouraging twitter thread by Spike Trotman about the ability of comics creators right now to create from where they are, particularly if they are focused on the more cutting edge on-line distribution systems -- well, cutting edge to me, they seem fairly standard options for this emerging generation.
* this strikes me as unfortunate. There were very passionate arguments at one time about this kind of consumption path for comics, but in my head at least most of them were settled.
* trivia contests in comics will never be the same now that Len Wein is gone and can't express his frustration about missing a question concerning a comic he himself wrote. Killed me every time I saw it.
* Rocko Jerome on the Olivia Jaimes panel at CXC. That's the show I help run. Olivia was great, and we're honored she did the show. She also had legitimate security concerns. As a result, one of the things we did is we switched rooms on that panel due to some structural issues with the rooms and as its own pivot. Communicating that widely via social media would have defeated the purpose of the switch. Some people got burnt on that, and I'm sincerely apologetic. We did not execute that one hundred percent as well as it needed to be executed. That must have sucked. I'm super-sorry. First, please: blame me. I'm not only responsible overall, but I introduced the idea of this specific maneuver. Anyone that wants to inquire after as much of a make-good as I can provide -- and I know I can't match the lousiness of being shut out -- My guess is that with the information I had on my plate I would have made the same decision every time out, even if I might hope to execute specific parts of that plan more effectively. We'll take steps in that direction, too: including plans for some sort of press access at events where it applies. Still, then and now, we will always put the special needs of our guests first. We have to.
* I like that article, by the way, even though I'm responding to an idea floated there. I don't mean for any of that to be an indictment in any way of Rocko's clear prose, smart contextualization and well-observed remarks. I appreciate him designating the story worth covering, and I appreciate the criticism. That's not always easy.
* finally: Chris Britt's recent Brett Kavanaugh cartoon re-introduces the idea of making the a politician's family fair game if the politician brings them up. This is old-fashioned political posturing to an almost 100 percent degree, of course, not a serious investigation of what might or might not be prudent or responsible, but taken straight it's interesting stuff.
Koyama Press Details Spring 2019 Season: Emily Carroll And All-Ages Work From Kuzma, Leighton, Sears Anne Koyama of Koyama Press has announced their Spring 2019 season. There will be four books, one each from artists Emily Carroll, Chris Kuzma, Aaron Leighton and Ben Sears. The Emily Carroll book is considered for older readers, while the other three books are straight-up for kids. It's an impressive-looking line-up, with some of the better artists in comics. Each season of Koyama we have remaining is a special one.
Their press release:
PRESS RELEASE
Castles, quests, demons, and ghosts fill the pages of our Spring 2019 season.
First up, we are incredibly excited to bring Emily Carroll's When I Arrived at the Castle from out of the long shadows and perilous corridors. Drawing on Romanticism, Gothicism, videogames, myth, horror, feminism, furries, and fan culture Carroll's comics are a melange of Atwood and anime, Blake and body horror. With her web comics and short story collection Through the Woods, Carroll has established herself as this generation's preeminent horror cartoonist and here presents a truly modern horror feast preying on the psyche of today's youth.
Next we have Wowee Zonk alum Chris Kuzma making his solo debut with Lunch Quest. Richard Scarry meets Regular Show in this surrealist slacker series of stories. Akin to Pee Wee poking around the Playhouse and finding the frozen vegetables up to no good, and the dinosaurs in the wall dealing with a familial dispute, Bunny has found that his house holds much more crazy than clutter, as he quests for his lunch.
With A Children's Book of Demons, Aaron Leighton has filled a book with demons, but they certainly aren't diabolical, rather these spirits are adorable and iconic -- Leighton is the designer behind Koyama Press' very own icon: Kickass Annie -- each one so well crafted, from their description to their illustration, that you expect them to walk off the page and star in their own Saturday morning cartoon.
For the past four years, Ben Sears has been building an incredible world of quirky characters and rip-roaring adventures under the Double+ banner. In this short time, over three standalone volumes, he has created so much awesome he has likely raised worldwide levels. House of the Black Spot is no exception!
An exciting and decidedly supernatural Spring awaits!
*****
When I Arrived At The Castle, Emily Carroll, Softcover, 72 pages, June 2019, $15.
Publisher's Descripton: "A castle, a killer, and prey all bound and blurred by lust and blood."
Like many before her that have never come back, she's made it to the Countess' castle determined to snuff out the horror, but she could never be prepared for what hides within its turrets; what unfurls under its fluttering flags. Emily Carroll has fashioned a rich gothic horror charged with eroticism that doesn't just make your skin crawl, it crawls into it.
Publisher's Bio: Emily Carroll is a writer and artist of numerous award-winning comics, including the horror collection Through the Woods, which won both an Eisner and the British Fantasy Award for 2014. Her online comics work include numerous short stories, with subject matter ranging from haunted rivers to ravenous hand lotions. Her most recent work is a graphic novel adaptation of Laurie Halse Anderson's 1999 novel Speak. She lives in Stratford, ON with two dogs, one cat, and her wonderful and talented wife, Kate.
****
* Lunch Quest, Chris Kuzma, Softcover, 80 pages, 9781927668658, June 2019, $15.
Publisher's Description: "Sometimes you are so hungry that the only thing you can find in your house is rip-roaring, candy-coloured, side-busting adventure!
"Have you ever been looking for your lettuce, but instead you find skate kids shredding the moon, bunny gladiators astride bumpy frogs, and dance party dance-offs so twisty they put a bag of pretzels to shame? No? Then dig into this collection of comic vignettes to find what you've been missing."
Publisher's Bio: Chris Kuzma is an artist living in Toronto, ON with his wife, two children and their cat. He divides his time between drawing comics, doing freelance illustration and teaching at OCAD University. He is one-third of the Wowee Zonk comics collective. This is his first all-ages graphic novel.
*****
* A Children's Book Of Demons, Aaron Leighton, Board Book, 48 pages, 9781927668665, June 19, $12.
Publisher's Description: "With this handy Necronomicon for kids, and its easy to follow how-to steps, summoning demons has never been so much fun!
"Don't want to take out the trash tonight? Maybe you're swimming in homework? Perhaps that big bully is being a real drag? Well grab your coloured pencils and sigil drawing skills and dial up some demons! But be careful, even if these spirits are more silly than scary they are still demons."
Publisher's Bio: Aaron Leighton is an award-winning illustrator and art director, as well as a fan of all things occult. His first book with Koyama Press, Spirit City Toronto, was published in 2010. Aaron lives in Toronto, ON and spends his free time wrestling with a black cat.
*****
* House Of The Black Spot, Ben Sears, Softcover, 80 pages, 9781927668672, May 2019, $12.
Publisher's Description: "Plus Man and Hank are in it now! They've riled up a ghost, and a ghost with a knack for real estate no less!
"The Double+ gang discover that sometimes greed can extend beyond the grave, as they are thrust into a battle between revolting real estate developers and their ghoulish goon bent on destroying the idyllic Gear Town with ghastly gentrification and the most frightful sight of all... condos!"
Publisher's Bio: Ben Sears is a Louisville, KY based cartoonist, illustrator and musician. His characters Plus Man and Hank have appeared in a number of zines, online anthologies and in the all-ages adventure series Double+ where they have been perpetually in over their heads.
*****
Koyama is a regular major exhibitor at May's yearly TCAF show, and I would expect all of these books to be available by then at that place.
* here's a happy bonus for this week: 
* I haven't seen the work yet, but 
* 
* 
* Klon Waldrip on 
* Evan Narcisse talks to 
* 
AUG180345 USAGI YOJIMBO #7 (OF 7) THE HIDDEN $3.99
* from my point of view 
* Annette Lapointe on 
* RM Rhodes 
* Kim Jooha talks to 
I'm going to be messing around A LOT with my social media use for the next two months. This will probably involve various stabs at deactivating Twitter, or Facebook, perhaps, or shifting the use I get out of various platforms. 
* 
* a victorious Paul Karasik declares "Mission Accomplished" in this photo, regarding a beautiful Charles Addams mural discussed 
* Rob Clough on 
* Tony Isabella 
* John Seroff talks to 
* big piece of comics-related coverage of the day is this interview with 
* Jane Lindholm and Matthew F. Smith talk to 
* 
* Josh Kramer talks to 
PRESS RELEASE
* Gil Roth talks to 
