April 19, 2018
Go, Listen: Jaime Hernandez On Virtual Memories
posted 1:30 am PST |
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The Never-Ending, Four-Color Festival: Shows And Events
By Tom Spurgeon
*
here's some more advance press for the ACE Universe show headed to ECCC-serviced Seattle. I think that's a pretty easy feature to seel a newspaper. One thing that discourages me about this becoming a competing model is that name is so terrible. It's like a hardware show name.
* just noticed that Wizard
moved its Columbus show back to June from post-San Diego Con. I wonder if that means the show has done well enough that it's no longer on the rumored chopping block. Two years ago in particular that looked like a show they were running out there to return lousy attendance figures.
* there's been a lot of regional and local press coverage of smaller shows recently, but it's all celebrity guests and drooling-over-cosplay pieces so I'll pass.
* finally:
TCAF TCAF TCAF. That's all my friends are talking about, anyway.
posted 1:25 am PST |
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If I Were In Lucerne, I'd Go To This
posted 1:20 am PST |
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If I Were In Columbus, I'd Go To This
posted 1:20 am PST |
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If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This
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Forthcoming Comics-Related Events, Through May 2018
*****
April 20
*
If I Were In Lucerne, I'd Go To This (Fumetto)
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If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
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If I Were In San Diego, I'd Go To This (SDCF)
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If I Were Near Lake Como, I'd Go To This (LCCAF)
April 21
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If I Were In Lucerne, I'd Go To This (Fumetto)
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If I Were In Las Vegas, I'd Go To This
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If I Were In Dublin, I'd Go To This (Dublin Comics Festival)
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If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
*
If I Were In San Diego, I'd Go To This (SDCF)
*
If I Were Near Lake Como, I'd Go To This (LCCAF)
April 22
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If I Were In Lucerne, I'd Go To This (Fumetto)
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If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
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If I Were In San Diego, I'd Go To This (SDCF)
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If I Were Near Lake Como, I'd Go To This (LCCAF)
April 23
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If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
April 24
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If I Were In Montreal, I'd Go To This
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If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
April 25
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If I Were In Toronto, I'd Go To This
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If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
April 26
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If I Were In Minneapolis, I'd Go To This
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If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
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If I Were In Toronto, I'd Go To This
April 27
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If I Were In Jersey, I'd Go To This (East Coast Comicon)
*
If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
*
If I Were In South Texas, I'd Go To This (South Texas Comic Con)
* If I Were Near Saarbrücken, I'd Go To This (Symposium)
April 28
*
If I Were In Jersey, I'd Go To This (East Coast Comicon)
*
If I Were In Columbus, I'd Go To This (SPACE)
*
If I Were In Minneapolis, I'd Go To This
*
If I Were In Berkeley, I'd Go To This
*
If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
*
If I Were In South Texas, I'd Go To This (South Texas Comic Con)
April 29
*
If I Were In Jersey, I'd Go To This (East Coast Comicon)
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If I Were In Columbus, I'd Go To This (SPACE)
*
If I Were In Berkeley, I'd Go To This
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If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
*
If I Were In South Texas, I'd Go To This (South Texas Comic Con)
April 30
*
If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
*****
May 1
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If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
May 2
*
If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
May 3
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If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
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If I Were In Portland, I'd Go To This
May 4
*
If I Were In SF, I'd Go To This
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If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
*
If I Were In NYC, I'd Go To This
May 5
*
If I Were In Portsmouth, I'd Go To This (PCC)
*
If I Were In Chattanooga, I'd Go To This (Chattanooga Zine Fest)
*
If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This (TingFest)
*
If I Were Anywhere In The World, I'd Go To This
*
If I Were In Columbus, I'd Go To This
*
If I Were In NYC, I'd Go To This
May 6
*
If I Were In Portsmouth, I'd Go To This (PCC)
*
If I Were In NYC, I'd Go To This
*
If I Were In Manchester, I'd Go To This (northwestzinefest)
May 9
*
If I Were In NYC, I'd Go To This
May 10
*
If I Were In Brooklyn, I'd Go To This
May 11
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If I Were In Toronto, I'd Go To This (TCAF)
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If I Were In London, I'd Go To This
May 12
*
If I Were In Toronto, I'd Go To This (TCAF)
*
If I Were In Las Vegas, I'd Go To This
May 13
*
If I Were In Toronto, I'd Go To This (TCAF)
May 18
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If I Were In Chicago, I'd Go To This (CZF)
*
If I Were In San Juan, I'd Go To This (PRCC)
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If I Were Near Detroit, I'd Go To This (MCCC)
May 19
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If I Were In Vancouver, I'd Go To This (VanCAF)
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If I Were In Philadelphia, I'd Go To This (ECBACC)
*
If I Were In Chicago, I'd Go To This (CZF)
*
If I Were In Chicago, I'd Go To This
*
If I Were Near Swansea, I'd Go To This (Swansea Zine Fest)
*
If I Were In San Juan, I'd Go To This (PRCC)
*
If I Were Near Detroit, I'd Go To This (MCCC)
May 20
*
If I Were In Vancouver, I'd Go To This (VanCAF)
*
If I Were In San Juan, I'd Go To This (PRCC)
*
If I Were Near Detroit, I'd Go To This (MCCC)
May 24
*
If I Were In Chicago, I'd Go To This
May 25
*
If I Were In Montreal, I'd Go To This (FBDM)
*
If I Were Near Riga, I'd Go To This (RZF)
May 26
*
If I Were In Montreal, I'd Go To This (FBDM)
*
If I Were Near Riga, I'd Go To This (RZF)
May 27
*
If I Were In Montreal, I'd Go To This (FBDM)
*
If I Were In Pasadena, I'd Go To This (LAZF)
*
If I Were Near Riga, I'd Go To This (RZF)
May 31
*
If I Were Near Erlangen, I'd Go To This
*****
Events For June 2018 Onward Listed Here
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*****
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posted 1:15 am PST |
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Go, Listen: Keren Katz On Process Party
posted 1:10 am PST |
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Random Comics News Story Round-Up

* Jog on
Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction Vol. 1. Rob Clough on the comics of Kevin Budnik. Françoise Mouly on
Why Art?.
*
congrats to Robert Meyers on his new position at Valiant.
* veteran industry and news/culture commentator Jeet Heer
writes about his changing perspective on the character Apu from
The Simpsons.
* bundled extra:
The Beat has a preview of the next Shannon Wheeler effort,
Memoirs Of A Very Stable Genius. I like the look of the art.
* finally: Abraham Riesman
talks to Frank Miller about a sequence from
The Dark Knight Returns whose approach is clearly yanked from Bernard Krigstein.
posted 1:05 am PST |
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Happy 64th Birthday, Steve Schanes!
posted 1:00 am PST |
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Happy 50th Birthday, Mark McMurray!
posted 1:00 am PST |
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Happy 93rd Birthday, Jim Ivey!
posted 1:00 am PST |
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Happy 65th Birthday, Martha Thomases!
posted 1:00 am PST |
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Happy 41st Birthday, Max Riffner!
posted 1:00 am PST |
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Happy 68th Birthday, Michael Dowers!
posted 1:00 am PST |
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April 18, 2018
Go, Look: Alii Bartoldus
posted 1:30 pm PST |
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Your 2018 Doug Wright Award Nominees; Duncan Macpherson To The Giants Of The North HOF
A slew of prominent cartoonists including
Guy Delisle,
Joe Ollmann,
GG,
Jesse Jacobs and
Connor Willumsen sit on top of this year's nominees press release from
the Doug Wright Awards. The wonderfully limited category program (three) also named the late
Duncan Macpherson into its
Giants of the North hall of fame.
Nominees are as follows.
*****
The 2018 Doug Wright Best Book Award, (best English-language GN published in Canada):
*
Hostage (Drawn & Quarterly) Guy Delisle
*
I'm Not Here (Koyama Press) GG
*
Crawl Space (Koyama Press) Jesse Jacobs
*
The Abominable Mr. Seabrook (Drawn & Quarterly) Joe Ollmann
*
Anti-Gone (Koyama Press) Connor Willumsen (pictured above)
*****
The 2018 Doug Wright Spotlight Award / "The Nipper" (comics-maker or team deserving of wider recognition):
*
Kris Bertin and Alexander Forbes, The Case of the Missing Men (Conundrum Press) (pictured above)
*
Gillian Blekkenhorst, All-Inclusive Fully Automated Vacation and House of Strays
*
Eric Kostiuk Williams, Condo Heartbreak Disco (Koyama Press)
*
Jason Loo, The Pitiful Human-Lizard Nos. 12, 13 and 14 (Chapterhouse Comics)
*
Jenn Woodall, Magical Beatdown Volume Two and Marie and Worrywart
****
The Pigskin Peters Award (experimental, unconventional, avant-garde):
*
The Dead Father, Sami Alwani (pictured above)
*
The Death of the Master, Patrick Kyle
*
Crohl's House Nos. 1 & 2, Alexander Laird, Jamiel Rahi and Robert Laird
*
Creation: The First Three Chapters, Sylvia Nickerson
*
Potluck, Wavering Line Collective
*****
Duncan Macpherson (1924-1993) was an editorial cartoonist at the
Montreal Standard,
Toronto Star and at
Maclean's. He was born in 1925, served during the Second World War. He studied art in Canada and the US. He began his career with the
Montreal Standard in 1948. He won multiple awards for his work, including six
National Newspaper Awards and the
Royal Academy Medal. He died in 1993.
The nominating committee was Adrian Doran, Alexander Hoffman, Betty Liang, and Conan Tobias. This year's jury is Bo Doodley, Jim Muroe, Marc Ngui and Pamela Marie Pierce. The DWAs are held the evening of May 12 during TCAF weekend. Dustin Harbin is your host.
*****
*****
posted 1:35 am PST |
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Go, Look: Alexa Sharpe
posted 1:30 am PST |
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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.
*****
FEB181546 DIE LAUGHING HC FRANQUIN (MR) $19.99
I thought I was going to have to finesse a top choice from this week's comics listing and then I noticed that Fantagraphics is publishing the most interesting material from one of history's great cartoonists, so please consider this. The last time I visited the late Kim Thompson's house, Kim dumped some northern European country's version of the Artist's Edition on my lap, with each book featuring a different Franquin story. For some reason, Franquin never getting over in North America seems to enhance this volume. Take a look.
FEB181574 CRAFTY CAT & GREAT BUTTERFLY HC $13.99
FEB181570 BE PREPARED GN $12.99
FEB181571 BE PREPARED HC GN $22.99
FEB181572 CITY ON OTHER SIDE GN $16.99
FEB181573 CITY ON OTHER SIDE HC GN $23.99
Three from First Second and MacMillan. The second book listed is by Vera Brosgol, who should be a name in this general category of comics for as long as desired. The Harper book caught my attention, though, because its author always always always had style to burn and I haven't really kept up with the resulting career. I'd like to do so, even in a category that's not for me.
FEB180142 ACTION COMICS #1000 $7.99
FEB180058 USAGI YOJIMBO #2 (OF 7) THE HIDDEN $3.99
JAN180526 ASSASSINISTAS #4 CVR A HERNANDEZ (MR) $3.99
FEB180643 KICK-ASS #3 CVR A ROMITA JR (MR) $3.99
FEB180646 LAZARUS #27 (MR) $3.99
FEB180653 MAGE HERO DENIED #8 (OF 15) CVR A $3.99
Comic-book format comics is dominated this time out by Action Comics #1000 -- a genuinely impressive anniversary coupled with what every hit comics need right now in the form of Bendis to DC PR juice and a general "you should buy this" directive aimed at the bulk of shop-goers. Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor and Jimmy Olsen are basically the Beatles of mainstream comics characters, and the act of exploitation that has driven Supes' publishing career may enter the mind peripherally or not at all. I'd like to see the current Gilbert Hernandez-drawn comic, and am overdue. The
Kick-Ass offers nothing new to my eye, although JR JR is always sort of interesting. If Mark Millar ran Marvel Comics, the entire 1970s would have been
Nova after
Nova. It's never not amusing to note "
Lazarus returns." That's a handsome issue. So was the latest Matt Wagner, as the story starts to settle into basic beats and action scenes.
DEC170090 BPRD HELL ON EARTH HC VOL 02 $34.99
Long live the Mignola-verse.
DEC171192 CYANIDE & HAPPINESS TP GUIDE PARENTING BY 3 GUYS W NO KIDS $9.99
The convention presence and the occasional flashes of media coverage suggest these creators do well in whatever format they choose.
AUG171508 WALTER SIMONSON BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ART ED HC SGN $250.00
AUG171509 WALTER SIMONSON BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ART ED HC SGN REMARK $400.00
JAN181065 THOR BY WALTER SIMONSON TP VOL 03 NEW PTG $29.99
I remember the
Galactica stuff being handsome work and I love pretty much everything Walter Simonson, but the signatures there seem to be what is pushing it out of my price range. The
Thor stuff is enjoying an anniversary year and I look at it whatever form they publish, although I shudder to think there might have been a gap when this material wasn't available.
DEC170540 SKIPPY HC VOL 04 COMPLETE DAILIES 1934 - 1936 $49.99
I am so grateful this exists in equal measure as I am completely unable to invest in the volumes at this moment.
FEB181544 BLACKBIRD DAYS HC (MR) $22.99
This is Manuele Fior, who has had as solid recent publishing history as anyone. I know I've read some of this material, so I'd take a long look to see if I've read it all.
JAN181660 LAND OF THE SONS HC (MR) $29.99
Gipi! The last three entries on this list including this one are ridiculous, and I hope stores are clever enough to load up and keep all three around long enough to find readers.
OCT170543 JOE KUBERT TARZAN AND THE LION MAN ARTIST ED HC $125.00
I love looking at Joe Kubert, and I'm not a huge fan of his
Tarzan work in color, so this works out just perfectly for me.
*****
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.
*****
*****
*****
posted 1:25 am PST |
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If I Were In Lucerne, I'd Go To This
posted 1:20 am PST |
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If I Were In London ON, I'd Go To This
posted 1:20 am PST |
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Go, Look: Life Outside The Circle
posted 1:10 am PST |
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Random Comics News Story Round-Up

* Irene Velentzas on
Bodie Troll.
* Alenka Figa on
Leaving Richard's Valley.
*
a free speech award to the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists. Comics-savvy John Lewis was on the jury, apparently.
*
if you're in Detroit this weekend, go see the great Gene Luen Yang.
* finally: I'm glad they took it down but even if everyone loved having the cartoon as a t-shirt,
it wasn't theirs to sell. Sheesh.
posted 1:05 am PST |
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Happy 66th Birthday, Roger Salick!
posted 1:00 am PST |
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Happy 58th Birthday, Darryl Cunningham!
posted 1:00 am PST |
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Happy 61st Birthday, Thierry Groensteen!
posted 1:00 am PST |
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