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.
Bundled, Tossed, Untied, Stacked: Publishing News By Tom Spurgeon
* this would seem to be potentially significant news if you combine the continued popularity of the game and the fact that bookstores have done really well recently with concepts based on gaming.
* here's a more standard book and TV-show related deal. I suppose it's possible there are enough fans interested in that narrative for a book like this to work, maybe even tremendously so, although I suspect that for most a version with live actors is key.
* finally, Michael DeForge reminded me at his CXC spotlight panel yesterday of this news from a few months back. That will be a hell of a book, and it's a series that DeForge says he never would have quit had he been able to afford its continuation. That book should trigger another round of appreciation for DeForge.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * Frank Young on Buz Sawyer.
* Ann Telnaes expresses righteous anger over the cycle of history repeating itself in the nasty and every-way-you-look-at-it depressing Brett Kavanaugh circus. It's funny how these days you find institutional memory in people, rather than institutions.
* I'm not sure I have a whole lot to put here today. I find searching Kickstarter difficult if not impossible anymore, in terms of yielding results that aren't the same results and I find both Kickstarter and Indiegogo difficult in terms of loading results with successful fundraisers rather than just fundraisers. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
* one thing I will mention, in case it's the only thing I'm able to post: I hope people will consider donating to the crowdfunder for people that are being sued by Cody Pickrodt. People have been generous but the number of people that have given worry me; that's roughly 1 out of every five people that attends an SPX, where I would think quadruple that number would have a direct interest in supporting. I think those numbers should be more significant, and I further feel that a significant number of creators at all levels and in all forms should give. There will be corporate donations and ways to goose this to make it happen, but it would be nice if we get the biggest possible showing out of the initial, standard ask before Warren Bernard smartly -- and he'll do it smartly -- primes the pump. The strongest initial response we can muster is not on the organizers or the beneficiaries. It's on us.
* people keep giving to Jim Wheelock, although at this point I think it's fair to hope for an angel to do a major step-in, if one is out there.
* finally: one that I lost track of because I never saw it was the Comics Comics project with which Brendan Wright was involved. It did fine.
* not comics: don't know how I stumbled onto this article because I don't seek out this kind of thing, but I think I agree with its general thrust -- or at least as much as I picked up on a single, quick read. There's a lot of frustration for people that comes with being set up to pursue dumbass goals, and there's hardly any mention of the public good, period. When financial goals become abstracted, the realities of what to buy and when and how can be manipulate to make your life less meaningful and pleasurable. I think cartoonists know about this a little more than other people because of the scale inherent to our profession. It can be a good life, the comics life, despite its hardships.
Festivals Extra: Olivia Jaimes Confirmed For CXC 2018 (PR) OLIVIA JAIMES TO APPEAR AT CXC 2018! New Nancy comics sensation to attend first comics show since taking over Ernie Bushmiller's legacy newspaper comic strip... Jaimes headlines supplementary round of CXC guests including Keiler Roberts, Mark Siegel Dustin Harbin and Georgia Webber... The Columbus, Ohio-based show readies its fourth show for September 27-30.
(Columbus, Ohio; September 17, 2018) -- Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) has announced Olivia Jaimes, the popular newspaper comic strip cartoonist responsible for Nancy, as a special guest for its comics festival in late September.
CXC 2018 will be the first major festival appearance for Jaimes, who took over the legacy feature in May 2018. The sharp contrast between Jaimes' efforts and then-recent Nancy strips brought a surge of attention to the cartoonist and the feature. Jaimes' Nancy mixes modern references with classic Bushmiller tropes involving formal play and multi-layered gag work.
Jaimes' appearance at CXC 2018 is sponsored by GoComics.
Jaimes will participate in one public panel on Sunday at 3:30 PM, and a pair of non-public events designed to mark the historical moment of the cartoonist's initial success. Cell phones and recording devices will be collected at the door of Jaimes' Sunday event and returned to their owners afterwards.
Those wishing for more details and developments are encouraged to watch and to follow the show's Twitter and Facebook accounts.
"We're incredibly excited to have a cartoonist of Jaimes' caliber at the show," said CXC Executive Director Tom Spurgeon. "The new Nancy is a deserved sensation and we look forward to celebrating this moment in Jaimes' career and in comics history."
Also attending the show in featured guest roles will be the cartoonists Keiler Roberts, Dustin Harbin, Mark Siegel and Georgia Webber.
Keiler Roberts will appear on Friday (the Koyama Press panel) and Saturday (both at her own table and in a spotlight panel) in support of her new book Chlorine Gardens and to help celebrate the presence of Annie Koyama and Koyama Press.
Dustin Harbin is another Koyama Press veteran, and will moderate the Koyama spotlight panel at 1:30 PM on Friday, September 28 at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum. 

He will appear at his own table at the Expo and Book Fair, Saturday-only.
First Second Editorial Director Mark Siegel will be in Columbus in support of his creative work, primarily his collaborative contributions to the Five Worlds series. He will twice appear at the Expo and Book Fair on Saturday: first in conversation with cartoonist and exhibiting guest Zack Soto, and then in a featured signing.
Georgia Webber is sponsored by Fantagraphics and will appear in support of her new release, Dumb: Living Without A Voice, with a related presentation on Saturday at the Expo/Book Fair.
Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit devoted to showcasing the best in comics and cartooning, promoting the city of Columbus as an international arts destination and assisting with the career development of young creators.
Pickrodt Defamation Filing And Support Brief Cataloged On-Line
Here is a PDF of the complaint, excising pages two pages which were public-record style publication of the exact addresses involved: https://goo.gl/7HFCBa.
Please let me know if there's something in that document that remains troubling to publish on a site like this one.
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.
*****
JUL182097 PASSING FOR HUMAN GRAPHIC MEMOIR HC $28.00
Liana Finck is one of the funniest cartoonists and writers working, and this is only a second -- I think -- full-length book. I am greatly looking forward to devouring this.
JUL181751 TRENCH DOGS GN $18.95 JUL181748 BEST OF DON WINSLOW OF NAVY COLLECTION HC VOL 01 $29.95
Two from the Naval Institute Press' new comics initiative. The Trenchdogs one is crazy: think of that Joe Sacco World War I single-panel thing but with anthropomorphic and just scene after scene ending in terrible, madness-inducing violence. Some of you just smiled broadly at that description, and may god help you. The Winslow is a pretty standard Craig Yoe collection of the feature.
JUL181907 BLAMMO #10 (MR) $8.00 JUL180973 FRANKLIN RICHARDS FANTASTIC YEAR #1 $7.99 JUL181544 TRUE STORIES #4 (MR) $5.99 JUL181411 LUMBERJANES #54 $3.99 JUL181412 LUMBERJANES #54 SUBSCRIPTION DOZERDRAWS VAR $3.99 JUL180457 USAGI YOJIMBO #6 (OF 7) THE HIDDEN $3.99 JUN180516 MISTER MIRACLE #11 (OF 12) (MR) $3.99 JUN180517 MISTER MIRACLE #11 (OF 12) VAR ED (MR) $3.99 JUL180704 WILD STORM #17 $3.99 JUL180705 WILD STORM #17 VAR ED $3.99 JUL180850 DICK TRACY DEAD OR ALIVE #1 (OF 4) CVR A ALLRED $3.99 JUL180851 DICK TRACY DEAD OR ALIVE #1 (OF 4) CVR B TOMMASO $3.99
A solid week in comic-book comics, starting with Noah Van Sciver's dense, frequently compelling issue of Blammo! -- the best issue yet! It's worth every penny. I have no idea why any mainstream comic book would cost $7.99, but this one does. True Stories is more from Derf of the short-story variety. Lumberjanes I note the issue number. The next two are popular DC books -- and I like the Warren Ellis written Wildstorm when I see them, but why random issues like both of these have to have variant covers still confuses me. Finally, I'm curious about the Allred/Tommaso team-up on Dick Tracy, a character I've never terribly cared for.
MAY181234 OVER GARDEN WALL ONGOING TP VOL 05 $14.99
I got confused by the way this was coming out a few years back and haven't quite caught back up.
JUL181146 STAR WARS #54 $3.99 MAR180985 STAR WARS DOCTOR APHRA HC VOL 01 $34.99 JUL181148 STAR WARS LANDO DOUBLE OR NOTHING #5 (OF 5) $3.99
How broadly and deeply appealing are the Star Wars characters? Can they carry this many series?
JUL182349 20TH CENTURY BOYS TP VOL 01 PERFECT ED URASAWA $19.99
You want all of Urasawa's material in your collection: just make sure what is new and what is repackaged material.
JUL181758 ANNIE SULLIVAN & TRIALS OF HELEN KELLER GN $12.99 JUL181759 ANNIE SULLIVAN & TRIALS OF HELEN KELLER HC GN $17.99
Joseph Lambert's beautiful book. Let's all hope we get more.
JUN181979 BE YOUR OWN BACKING BAND GN FULL COLOR EDITION $12.00
Liz Prince. Full color at that price point seems pretty good to me.
JUN181814 DOG MAN GN VOL 05 LORD OF FLEAS $9.99 JUL181575 BIG NATE GOES BANANAS TP $9.99
Two juggernaut series with a new edition on the same day.
JUL182220 CHARLESGATE CONFIDENTIAL HC $22.99 JUL188259 ILLEGAL HC GN $19.99
Know very little about either series but I like the covers and they look like sober efforts so I'd pick both up for a closer look.
JUN181570 LOOKERS EMBER #11 (MR) $5.99 JUN181587 LOOKERS EMBER #11 EXPLOSIVE (MR) $5.99 JUN181590 LOOKERS EMBER #11 EXPLOSIVE NUDE (MR) $7.99 JUN181588 LOOKERS EMBER #11 EXPLOSIVE NUDE TORN (MR) $7.99 JUN181591 LOOKERS EMBER #11 EXPLOSIVE WINDY NUDE (MR) $7.99 JUN181585 LOOKERS EMBER #11 GGA HOMAGE (MR) $5.99 JUN181586 LOOKERS EMBER #11 GGA HOMAGE NUDE (MR) $7.99 JUN181576 LOOKERS EMBER #11 LUSCIOUS (MR) $5.99 JUN181577 LOOKERS EMBER #11 LUSCIOUS NUDE (MR) $7.99 JUN181571 LOOKERS EMBER #11 NUDE (MR) $7.99 JUN181579 LOOKERS EMBER #11 RED HOT (MR) $5.99 JUN181580 LOOKERS EMBER #11 RED HOT NUDE (MR) $7.99 JUN181583 LOOKERS EMBER #11 SEXY SPIES (MR) $5.99 JUN181584 LOOKERS EMBER #11 SEXY SPIES NUDE (MR) $7.99 JUN181581 LOOKERS EMBER #11 WORKOUT (MR) $5.99 JUN181582 LOOKERS EMBER #11 WORKOUT NUDE (MR) $7.99 JUN181573 LOOKERS EMBER #11 WRAP (MR) $5.99 JUN181574 LOOKERS EMBER #11 WRAP NUDE (MR) $7.99
How is this a good use of space and time?
MAY182026 SEA OF THIEVES TP $16.99
Noted that this is a gaming comic and we are starting to become awash in such comics.
JUL181916 CHECK PLEASE HOCKEY HC GN VOL 01 (OF 2) $23.99
Ngozi Ukazu's collegiate hockey romance makes its broader mainstream press debut. I'm looking forward to reading a bunch of these stories in one sitting.
*****
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.
* this article about a cancelled comic book series is interesting in part for all the times you don't get articles about cancelled comic book series. I do wonder about the size of the audience that is interested in how these series develop but isn't aware of the freelancing element, but that's a minor quibble. It doesn't speak very well about the general editorial direction at Marvel with a veteran editor in charge if they lose creative effort through editorial mishandling.
* finally: here's a conversation between Darryl Ayo, John P and Leela Corman about the value of getting older in comics
Ted Rall To Comics Industry On Response To Cody Pickrodt’s Defamation Suit: You’re Doing It Wrong Here. It's an odd article processed through Rall's experiences suing and being sued.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * J. Caleb Mozzocco dives into a small selection of various Civil War 2-related event trades. That is such a sentence to write.
* Matt Furie has a trial date for the litigation against Alex Jones and his accompanying media mini-empire over use of Furie's character Pepe The Frog. It's fun to watch Furie run around and seizing back control over the character's use as he's able to do so, and the general applying of his interesting is I think more important than anyone case. If there cases more important than others, the symbolism of this one given Jones' general public awfulness would be sweet.
* Joe Quesada is the latest mainstream industry professional to jump in and correct perceptions regarding some of the logic behind recent alt-comics cultural critics of comics lines.
* finally: I enjoyed reading this comic from Kelly Froh: "How It Is Now."
The 2018 Ignatz Awards were held Saturday night in its usual sizable conference room during SPX in Bethesda, Maryland. A raucous speech by Ben Passmore was one of several ceremony highlights during what was felt by many to be a longer than usual program.
The nominees are named by a jury selected by the previous year's jury, but the awards themselves are voted on by SPX attendees during the Saturday before that evening's show.
This year's jury was Leila Abdelrazaq, Kevin Czap, Mita Mahato, Carolyn Nowak and Taneka Stotts.
Winners In Bold:
OUTSTANDING ARTIST
* Yvan Alagbé -- Yellow Negroes and Other Imaginary Creatures
* Ivy Atoms -- Pinky & Pepper Forever
* Tommi Parrish -- The Lie and How We Told It * Richie Pope -- The Box We Sit On
* Sophie Standing -- Anxiety is Really Strange
*****
OUTSTANDING COLLECTION
* Beirut Won't Cry -- Mazen Kerbaj
* Blackbird Days -- Manuele Fior
* Language Barrier -- Hannah K. Lee * Sex Fantasy -- Sophia Foster-Dimino
* Super Late Bloomer: My Early Days in Transition -- Julia Kaye
*****
OUTSTANDING ANTHOLOGY
* La Raza Anthology: Unidos y Fuertes -- ed. by Kat Fajardo & Pablo Castro * Comics for Choice -- ed. by Hazel Newlevant, Whit Taylor and Ø.K. Fox
* Ink Brick #8 -- ed. by Alexander Rothman, Paul K. Tunis, and Alexey Sokolin
* BOTTOMS UP! Tales of Hitting Rock Bottom -- ed. by J.T. Yost
* Lovers Only -- ed. by Mickey Zacchilli
*****
OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC NOVEL
* Why Art? -- Eleanor Davis
* Run for It: Stories of Slaves Who Fought for Their Freedom -- Marcelo D'Salete
* Uncomfortably Happily -- Yeon-sik Hong
* The Lie and How We Told It -- Tommi Parrish
* Anti-Gone -- Connor Willumsen
*****
OUTSTANDING SERIES
* Ley Lines -- Grindstone Comics & Czap Books
* Nori -- Rumi Hara
* Bug Boys -- Laura Knetzger
* Gumballs -- Erin Nations * Frontier -- Youth in Decline
*****
OUTSTANDING MINI-COMIC
* Dog Nurse -- Margot Ferrick
* Greenhouse -- Debbie Fong
* Common Blessings & Common Curses -- Maritsa Patrinos
* Mothball 88 -- Kevin Reilly * Say It With Noodles: On Learning to Speak the Language of Food -- Shing Yin Khor
*****
OUTSTANDING MINI-COMIC
* Recollection -- Alyssa Berg * How to Be Alive -- Tara Booth
* Hot Summer Nights -- Freddy Carrasco
* Whatsa Paintoonist? -- Jerry Moriarty
* Baopu -- Yao Xiao
*****
OUTSTANDING ON-LINE COMIC
* Woman World -- Aminder Dhaliwal
* The Wolves Outside -- Jesse England
* A Fire Story -- Brian Fies * Lara Croft Was My Family -- Carta Monir
* A Part of Me is Still Unknown -- Meg O'Shea
*****
PROMISING NEW TALENT
* Iasmin Omar Ata -- Mis(h)adra
* Tara Booth -- How to Be Alive
* Xia Gordon -- The Fashion of 2004
* Rumi Hara -- Nori and the Rabbits of the Moon
* Tommi Parrish -- The Lie and How We Told It
*****
OUTSTANDING STORY
* Yellow Negroes and Other Imaginary Creatures -- Yvan Alagbé
* Why Art? -- Eleanor Davis
* Rhode Island Me -- Michael DeForge * How the Best Hunter in the Village Met Her Death -- Molly Ostertag
* The Lie and How We Told It -- Tommi Parrish
* Larry Shell, who raised money from the comics community in 2017 for back property taxes, is asking professionals assist his latest financial crisis by donating original art for an eventual benefit auction. Via PDF: 0_999_Benefit_Auction_2018_Str.pdf. I've never seen an ask like that one, I don't think, but if you were one of those that worked with Shell at some point, I figure you might be interested.
* finally: The Fuhrer And The Trampblew past its initial ask in several days, and still has a lot of time left. In terms of tone and narrative construction it reminds me a bit of Jazz Age Chronicles, which was my dad's favorite 1980s indie comic.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * Michelle White on Sheets.
* Steve Foxe talks to Henry Barajas. Foxe also talks to the creative team behind one of those Neil Gaiman extended universe comics about a specific scene. I like directed interviews, but I have to admit to zero interest in this particular franchise. They're not for me, of course. HIllary Brown talks to Lisa Hanawalt.
* finally: Alec Berry looks at the details of defense aimed at helping those sued for defamation by Cody Pickrodt. I heard different things about that article on the floor of SPX, and look forward to examining it in full. I also look forward to revisiting the Journal's coverage of the Charles Brownstein mid-Ohio incident.
Pickrodt Eleven Official GoFundMe Established Please donate. If you can't donate right away, wait a few days and then please donate. If you're older and you've been around long enough to have an okay job and not have to do math in your head every time you go out to lunch, please donate more. Also share it in your various feeds. The money spent on this will be obscene. Good on SPX for stepping in and helping out in this fashion.
Go, Read: Rachel Thorn Suggest A Third Reason For The Decline Of Comic Book Readership In The 1950s Makes sense to me, although I'd love to see some numbers supporting the assertion that lots of copies of comics were bought in kiosks before public travel. It's not like my memory is full of images suggesting public transport was a significant reading place for comics. Still, it makes a whole lot of sense and had to play some factor.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * Rob Clough works his way through a pair of mini-comics.
* this is an amazing interview with Jim Woodring, but pretty much all of his interviews dive into the amazing at some point or another. It's like his comics work; each book seems to be moving toward this awesome, perfect state just as each interview seems to build on moments from past one. Poochytown is incredible, with some of the post stunning two-page spreads of Woodring's glorious career. I've read it four times now.
* here's Mark Kniight defending his Serena cartoon. I am going to catch up to that one, but not watch it right now and not just because I had video presentations on-line taking the place of proper, I-control-it prose. The initial defenses I saw tried to shift the argument against the cartoon into minor side-areas to the obvious criticism one would have. There are better visual than what we got, Wright is skilled enough to find them. When he doesn't, it really does suggest that certain visual strategies are used because of the very specific cultural weight they bring to the arguments in play.
* finally, this RJ Casey editorial about Amazon's involvement with SPX is getting people riled up. Comixology is a sponsor of the show I run as well, and they've basically just cut me a check. Fantagraphics itself does a significant amount of its business through Amazon. It's good to ask these question, especially with the horrifying elements of the larger corporation on display. As was the case with Eric Reynolds recent editorial, the best point for right now is that we cannot pretend a company that big can operate without having an impact on everything around them. I haven't given up just yet on supporting my local food co-op and buying the occasional bag of chicken breasts for $6.48 at some place with a high ceiling and a Subway just inside the front door.
The Never-Ending, Four-Color Festival: Shows And Events
By Tom Spurgeon
* it's all SPX right now; the people with stuff to do on Friday are rolling into the North Bethesda Marriott AS WE SPEAK. See you tomorrow; I'm driving over. I'm writing this before Labor Day. If I was good at working on CXC, I'm going to reward myself with side-trip to Falling Water on my way to the show. If I wasn't, I'm driving straight through.
* one nice-looking event up in Canada that will open this weekend but run into 2019 is this one.
Go, Read: A Response To Trolling On The Serena Williams Cartoon
I like this response to a piece of trollage about the recent Serena Williams cartoon. Cartooning and caricature are super-hard. If you don't have the skills or a solution does not present itself to you to make a cartoon without plugging into elements of deeply offensive cultural history in a nasty way that swamps any point being made, maybe don't do the fucking cartoon. That's true of just about every expression in every art form where there are easy shortcuts or flat-out modes that bring with them elements that inform the final effort. It's also always good to question why this approach works within the statement you're making, if there's an alignment there.
It's just a deeply unfortunate cartoon, at best, and the newspaper crying about the PC police because people are responding negatively to something like this can go fuck itself. How we got to the point where the enjoyment of free expression came with a feeling of entitlement towards the results of that expression that encompasses other people's reactions to it, I don't know.
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.
*****
JUN181751 DEMENTIA 21 GN (MR) $24.99
That is just one attractive cover, and getting to read more Kago seems like a great idea to me. That's a nice pairing, with Fantagraphics, too.
MAY181184 TONY MILLIONAIRE SEA MONSTER COLORING BOOK SC $16.99
I'll buy anything with Tony Millionaire's name on it, except the stuff I can't afford. I still don't understand how we got into a cycle of coloring books for a while there, a cycle I suppose continues even when I'm not paying attention to it.
MAY180323 ALCOHOLIC TENTH ANNIVERSARY EXPANDED EDITION TP (MR) $19.99
Man! Ten years! We're all going to die in 20 minutes! I'd like to re-read this, I remember thinking there were some very interesting moments in there, although this kind of book is generally not in the mainstream of what I read. Congrats to Mr. Ames and Mr. Haspiel, though.
JUN181887 PROVOCATIVE COLETTE (MR) $24.99
There's a Colette film coming out, and I'm always interested in looking at Goetzinger's work -- she died just at the end of last year. There's something about the stark qualities of some of the art and the artist's general persona that makes me think that there could be some reclamation of the artist here.
JAN180393 ABSOLUTE BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE HC $49.99
Fifty dollars or five dollars, this is one handsome and repeatedly unpleasant book. It's so good-looking that I don't believe its creators will ever talk its audience out of it.
JUN188003 LOEG TEMPEST #1 2ND PTG (MR) $4.99 JUN180748 LOEG TEMPEST #2 $4.99 JUL180471 BPRD DEVIL YOU KNOW #10 $3.99 JUL180234 HEAD LOPPER #9 CVR A MACLEAN (MR) $5.99 JUL180239 HEY KIDS COMICS #2 (MR) $3.99 JUL180258 MAGE HERO DENIED #12 (OF 15) $3.99 JUL180310 SCALES & SCOUNDRELS #12 CVR A GALAAD $3.99 JUN180274 WICKED & DIVINE #39 CVR A MCKELVIE & CUNNIFFE (MR) $3.99
I am totally behind on the LOEG material. I tend to laugh a lot when I read those books and it might help that I generally don't take them as books of great import or significance. I assume there's a pointed satirical viewpoint in play that's definable and which can be pulled apart and analyzed, but I'm still at the point where I'm pointing at the page and saying, "Hey, Mary Poppins." I'm right there on the surface for that kind of stuff. What else? Here's this week's Mignola-verse title. There is probably an interest story about the overlapping production schedules of those books, although the driver is how they're created, for sure. I really love Head Lopper and glad the book is back. Not sure where Howard Chaykin is going with this lickety-split narrative about the American comic book industry that tends to bounce through time connected by catty conversations. I'm having fun, though. There's a nice Gil Kane scene in there. Matt Wagner's last few issues of the latest Mage cycle have found their focus a bit more effectively than the first trade's worth, in my opinion. There are some intriguing ideas about life direction in there, too. I think that's it for Scales & Scoundrels; a comic I enjoyed but can't make too much of a case on its behalf in terms of its overall market viability as a serial comic book. It just seems any material that works like that works in trade. Wicked & Divine loses me occasionally narrative-wise but despite the story build makes it pretty easy for readers to find multiple entry points along the way.
JUL182133 FLOCKS GN (MR) $21.95
I am about halfway through this book -- a rare Secret Acres effort -- about trying to find a way to reconcile a growing sense of gay identity with stern religious beliefs supported by a culture fearful of all but a few orientations and outlooks. I have to reserve judgment because a lot is going to depend how this comes together... or doesn't.
JUN181596 HELLINA #1 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE A (MR) $8.99 JUN181597 HELLINA #1 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE B (MR) $8.99 JUN181598 HELLINA #1 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE C (MR) $8.99 JUN181599 HELLINA #1 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE D (MR) $8.99 JUN181609 HELLINA #1 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE NUDE (MR) $16.99 JUN181608 HELLINA #1 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE TOPLESS (MR) $9.99 JUN181600 HELLINA #2 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE A (MR) $9.99 JUN181601 HELLINA #2 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE B (MR) $8.99 JUN181602 HELLINA #2 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE C (MR) $8.99 JUN181603 HELLINA #2 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE D (MR) $8.99 JUN181611 HELLINA #2 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE NUDE (MR) $16.99 JUN181610 HELLINA #2 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE TOPLESS (MR) $9.99 JUN181604 HELLINA #3 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE A (MR) $8.99 JUN181605 HELLINA #3 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE B (MR) $8.99 JUN181606 HELLINA #3 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE C (MR) $8.99 JUN181607 HELLINA #3 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE D (MR) $8.99 JUN181613 HELLINA #3 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE NUDE (MR) $16.99 JUN181612 HELLINA #3 (OF 3) COSTUME CHANGE TOPLESS (MR) $9.99
The fact that the market still encompasses this kind of material kills me. So much effort is put into serving such a specific collection of fetishes, and there always seems to be more sprawl per book than any other kind. Once you accept the reality of what this means, very little about the resulting culture shocks.
JUL182297 P CRAIG RUSSELL JUNGLE BOOK & OTHER STORIES FINE ART ED $125.00
I am always interested in Russell, although these special editions kind of pivot on the quality of the production and the cleverness of the presentation. I'm not casting aspersions, I'm just saying you have to look at these up close and I haven't yet.
APR181501 PYONGYANG A JOURNEY IN NORTH KOREA GN (CURR PTG) (MR) $18.95 APR181695 SMURFS 3IN1 GN VOL 01 $14.99 JUL181731 VALERIAN COMPLETE COLLECTION HC VOL 06 $29.99
This is all material you probably want in a standard, broad comics collection, but you may not have any of it. Or you may already have it. I wonder if Pyongyang reads any differently in the present political context. I remember liking that book in part because of how much the country and its people as encountered by Delisle thwarted the usual march towards understanding.
JUL181944 RX GRAPHIC MEMOIR $28.00 JUL181694 THREE ESCAPES OF HANNAH ARENDT GN $28.00
I've started but not finished both of these as well. I'm enjoying the RX one. It's breezy, but there are some really scary observations in there.
JUN181671 WOMAN WORLD GN (MR) $24.95
I like this cover, too. I'm always interested to see which newer -- to traditional print audiences, anyway -- cartoonists are selected for a work relationship by which alt- or arts-publisher. All apologies for a brain-tired week. Comics continue to yield thrills on an almost weekly basis. I'm glad to be here even when the best I can do is let things wash over 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.
* I'm linking to this article on membership vs. subscriptions so that I can come back and read it later on.
* congratulations to all of those winning non-division awards at this year's Harveys, including the always under-appreciated Jackie Estrada. I still sort of wish that that Harveys had distinguished themselves more sharply against the competition by becoming a humor award, but I wish for a lot of things I neither deserve nor get. I'll shut up about that now.
* finally, Drew Friedman shows us the inside of the Nick Meglin memorial booklet.
Bundled, Tossed, Untied, Stacked: Publishing News By Tom Spurgeon
* not sure I all the way knew that James Romberger's Ground Zero Books would expand its self-publishing past supplying copies of 7 Miles A Second to the Whitney for their David Wojnarowicz retrospective to just making copies of the books available generally. Romberger promises his "long-gestating" critical work Steranko, The Self-Created Man in October.
* I just heard about a new book coming out from a cartoonist that I thought was never, ever going to release more work. Seriously, the biggest surprise for me since Steven Gilbert's return; let's hope it's as fruitful. Not a big name at all. The good news is they are likely to find more of an audience for their work now than when they were originally published.
* finally: Rick Veitch shows off the cover for a new iteration of Brat Pack, available soon.
* I don't want to give a lot of time to Mark Knight's dumb and offensive cartoon of Serena Williams, although it's interesting to watch all the deflective strategies at work. You can extend people out to make additional arguments and then claim you're holding your own when they stalemate according to a generous measure of those things. But this isn't one of those arguments, or shouldn't be. You just don't draw people that way any longer. If you do so anyway, you do so knowing exactly what you're doing. The thought that there's a serious inquiry into the issues surrounding the end of the US Open is kind of silly, given that Williams' opponent is depicted as being of a different race and wholly different look here than in reality. No, this is a nasty broadside with a nastier subtext. If you make powerful pictures, you're going to be judged on the effect those images have.
* no one 30 years on either side of him has had, is having or will have a stranger career in proximity to comics than David Choe, but this one defined largely by poking people with the Muhammed stick until they threaten to kill you comes close.
Missed It: The Valkyries Issue Disbanding Statement Last Thursday
I'm not sure exactly what the status of this is because some of the supporting links have been removed -- a lot of news stories about comics culture happen these days where statement or even accounts are deleted are changed after their initial posting because of the fluidity of social media and the real-time pressures of developing reactions. I will update as best I can. But an article at the on-line magazine The MNT by Jazmine Joyner about the women-in-comics-retail organization The Valkyries and their failings in working with women of color led to further discussion on-line and then the statement which is characterized in Ayres' article. It looks like it led to this follow-up statement that the original statement was problematic in many of the same ways that the criticism of the group encompassed. There are contentious moments along the way, such as a discussion as to how much responsiveness depends on the volunteer presence of the affected communities within the larger one, and how much even suggesting that is proof of the problems argued and a noxious blame-shift.
It is difficult running any kind of comics organization, and this particular one had a mix of initial, high-profile exposure and super-broad mandate that can make any organizational development fraught with hazard. It is a continual, rough but ultimately rewarding and necessary process in multiple areas. One of the less-discussed elements of dealing with Comicsgate alt-righters asserting themselves as a separate entity opposed to the mainstream thrust of comics is recognizing how much of their points of view and assumptions have been and continue to remain in the broader comics-culture DNA. There is always hard work to be done.
Comics By Request: People, Places In Need Of Funding By Tom Spurgeon
* it's pretty quiet now in anticipation of the effort of those that have been sued for defamation by Cody Pickrodt, I think. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) particularly about men and women that are in direct need. In the meantime, one such person is Jim Wheelock and it would be great to see the effort on his behalf gain some traction.
* Shannon Wheeler has put up five handsome pen-and-ink illustrations in his Etsy shop. These are not tied into a specific need, let alone a pressing one, but I do like to point out things like this. It's a really great time to be a consumer of comics and comics-related material; there is so much at your fingertips.
* I see more and more reports like this one from Jeff Parker, of items being taken off of tables. There are enough of them for me to think there's a driving factor, but god knows what it could be. There's no drastic shift in economic status although there are losses in health insurance and a general slowdown in wages earned. I think there's a general shamelessness in people asserting perceived needs and wants, although maybe not enough for book-swiping. It could just be an asshole among many assholes, which is an eternal problem. At any rate, watch your stuff.
* congratulations to Mike Luckovich, Charles Rodriguez and Gary Varvel for winning the Advancing American Democracy Award. I'm not sure what that even means, but okay. It does seem to be given out in honor of our greatest president, Benjamin Harrison.
* finally: that is a really interesting choice for first commercial offering featuring the Olivia Jaimes Nancy. I want one, too.
The FPI blog has finally closed up shop as its main motivating force Joe Gordon (with Kenny Penman) announced several days ago. The idea seems to be that site resources will move towards driving people to the physical store and to purchasing more directly than a community-service style content site and indirect tools of reviews and coverage.
The final two posts are appropriately from their most consistent, quality critic, Richard Bruton, and the final from Gordon himself. Gordon's piece is gracious and goes over the main names and achievements with credible aplomb.
I will miss the site. Some sites are tanks, with a lot of consistent posts and a broad understanding of their mission. This was one of those blogs for me. Sites like that have a place even for those that might be more directly interested in the editorial tastes of another site, or specific writers, perhaps even a few that stand in contrarian disagreement with the general take of the bigger sites.
A couple of things spring to mind. First is that these kinds of stories always represent a human cost. I hope everyone involved finds what they need to replace or even improve upon what working on the site brought them. If you're a hiring person moving into the comics space, please consider people with a proven track record like those here.
The other thing is that I've been in comics long enough to see a lot of things run from beginning to end. I think we're in a stage as an industry where these cycles are shrinking, where stores close down before the owners' hair turns gray, where publishing initiatives and even great characters and work can't match Superman when it comes to extended longevity. It'll be a defining factor of the industry as it moves forward. Tomorrow, though, it will move forward without one of its main blogs of the last decade and a half. Congrats to them, and best of luck in the future.
The Never-Ending, Four-Color Festival: Shows And Events
By Tom Spurgeon
* it's pretty much SPX in my circles from about mid-August through the mid-September show itself. Should be a peak year for the show embroiled in the challenge to community that is the Pickrodt defamation suit.
* Portland is a great comics city. It's where Image is! And Dark Horse! John Callahan lived there! Rose City has become a successful show; the photos always show a lot of happy people and that guest list a bunch of great comics-makers. I'd love to go, but Fall is tough and trips out west even tougher these days. Portland all by itself can handle filling those seats, though.
* the Thought Bubble show is in a couple of weekends. That show has a fine reputation. Warren Ellis as headliner intrigues. Comics has moved in a direction where doing a show doesn't seem like it would be a futile act, and it's always interesting to have his perspective on the way the tribes are organized.
Random Comics News Story Round Up
* I was fairly slaughtered by Lauren Weinstein's issue of Frontier, which I got to read last night. Hard to imagine a better comic than that one this year. You should buy that one. More than that, you should immediately read it.
* Gerry Conway writes about price and access, mostly as a way to shift the interested fan communities and professional ranks out of arguments where the end result is comics as a mainstream medium. That ship sailed in the late 1940s and they took the pier up via price raises in the '70s and '80s.
* Paul Levitz makes the point that for the emerging late '60s in the 1970s generation the loss of comics creators means either your peers or the group of cartoonists to whom you looked up and from whom you sough acceptance and approval at your first job.
* finally: an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg. There are some very distressing outcomes for cartoonists who have assumed Facebook to be a 100 percent free space for self-expression.
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.
*****
JUN181666 BERLIN HC COMPLETE EDITION (MR) $49.95 JUN181667 BERLIN TP BOOK 03 CITY OF LIGHT (MR) $24.95
Hey, my old friend and neighbor from the Seattle days stuck with that thing he was working on and got the whole thing done while we're still young enough to raise a glass in its honor. I'm looking forward to some critical attention to this book, I think people stopped talking about it about 2/3 or the way through and beyond its surface handsomeness, which I suspect will be a key to how I end up reading, I'm not sure how much I know about how it works. Good of them to do that third volume in the series, too.
JUL181915 CHECK PLEASE HOCKEY GN VOL 01 $16.99
Hey, it's the new kid on the block, Ngozi Ukazu's gay hockey romance webcomics of much addictiveness turned into the lead batter in First Second's Fall 2018 line-up. This book will also have the decided advantage of the very engaging author appearing on its behalf over the next few months. I'm a fan of both.
JUL182004 UPGRADE SOUL GN $19.99
I didn't have any idea there was a new Ezra Claytan Daniels and egad it's a fine-looking thing. For sure. I'd buy it with this ugliest cover, though, as Daniels is one to watch.
MAY180371 HELLBOY OMNIBUS TP VOL 04 HELLBOY IN HELL $24.99 MAR180338 BATMAN BY JEPH LOEB AND TIM SALE OMNIBUS HC $125.00 FEB180296 BATMAN BY SCOTT SNYDER & GREG CAPULLO BOX SET 3 $59.99 JUL180261 MONSTRESS TP VOL 03 (MR) $16.99 JUL181856 SUPERNATURAL LAW TP GRANDFATHERED IN $16.95 JUL181618 TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA HC NEW PTG $21.99 JUL181897 COMPLETE PEANUTS TP BOX SET 1967-1970 $39.99 JUL181896 COMPLETE PEANUTS TP VOL 10 1969-1970 $22.99 JUL181918 CREEPY CASE FILES MARGO MALOO GN VOL 01 $9.99
Man, look at all the publishing strategies at work. Some fine comics in here, too, or at least interesting ones. I'm a serial comic Hellboy buyer, and I'm pretty sure that's not the way to collect those comics. The Batman comics stood out to me because of two different approaches by DC's might bookselling program, both featuring creator-forward sales strategies despite the price differential. Monstress I also like better in serial comic form. There's something about the density of it that makes smaller chunks work a bit better for me, although the narratives have a bit more clarity when you get 100 pages at a time. Hey, it's Batton Lash! I try to buy those in any comic shop that will carry him. I'll be sad when the industry no longer allows for this kind of self-publishing, but maybe that's years away, yet. I didn't know a new edition of Tales was necessarily on anyone's demands list, but sometimes just putting something out there will kick up an audience. Still love Peanuts. The '60s were probably the strongest period, as much as I became fascinate with the false starts and odd choices of the 1970s. As far as the last I think that's a re-solicit or something along those lines. Whatever it is, Drew Weing is a fun cartoonist and that's a fun comic.
JUL181409 GIANT DAYS #42 $3.99 MAY181886 KAIJUMAX SEASON 4 #2 (OF 6) (MR) $3.99 JUN180249 SNOTGIRL #11 CVR A HUNG $3.99 JUL180330 THIEF OF THIEVES #40 (MR) $3.99 JUL180333 WALKING DEAD #183 CVR A ADLARD & STEWART (MR) $3.99
This week's comic book. I always buy John Allison. I always Zander Cannon, too, although that's not a rule as much as I just sort of end up buying everything Zander does -- if not right away, than later on. It's amazing he's done four series on this monsters in prison thing. I haven't quite figured out the rhythms of Snot Girl to the point where it's a regular read, but I like that it's different, I like that it's humor. On that basis alone, I hope it succeeds. Thief Of Thieves has been having fun with comics' formal properties in terms of time and pacing on this last go-around; if you're a fiend for that kind of thing you might like it. Walking Dead continues to lurch forward the way a zombie might. I enjoy reading it, although this new plot line with a rigid community system seems to present a scenario that needs to address broader information about the world entire. They're usually pretty okay about picking up on those things.
JUL181931 OTHER PEOPLE GN $25.00 MAR181928 YRAGAEL URM THE MADMAN HC $34.99
Here are a couple of final volumes for your considerations. Joff Winterhart's work hit much harder in the UK than it did over here, so having a omnibus volume out gives us a chance to address that here in the US. I hope to take advantage. That last book is Druillet and just look at that damn thing. We talk a lot about cartoonists who are designers but very few obviously work out of that set of strengths as opposed to making a visit to that neighborhood every now and then. Also: just look at that damn thing! Hell, the title alone is a delight.
*****
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.
* Graham Nolan shares his creative process with Mike Lynch -- or at least via Mike Lynch's blog -- here and here.
* this article on the infantilization of American popular culture focuses on one contributing: the choice to aim for a nostalgia market versus the choice to recast and reboot for the same-aged audience as the first time only with adjustments.
* Sara Grochowski talks to Jarrett J. Krosoczka about his new memoir. I've read it. It's a very personal look at the cartoonist's upbringing.
* I thought this was a story about DC creating "essential" content from scratch, but it's just a new story being published in a catalog. That's quite the let-down. I don't know if it's worth mentioning, but I like comics company catalogs. That's an essay for a different time, though.
* this progression of limited series to series to graphic novel series is kind of interesting to me as it suggests there's no real dominant format for material in the sales range that a BOOM! has. That company's always been a little fluid as a matter of course, though.
* this Progressive article notes that Fantagraphics will publish a volume of Paul Krassner's work in 2019.
* finally: I missed this article about Oni's early 2019, from a couple of months ago. That line-up intrigues me because I can't find a consistency to it, or something that indicates a line identity. Don't get me wrong: I want all the companies' lines to look like that.
* I'm not sure if the new DC streaming service is going to have a significant impact on comics or not; I guess we'll see. I can't imagine it's for me, although I do like those scenes on that Wonder Woman TV show where everyone thinks Diana Prince is unattractive. That's probably not enough for me to pick up a streaming service. I am due an adult's dive into the Superman TV show, though, one more before I die, if I could hook up with some late-night run of the series. That might be fun.
* finally: check out this nice image from Gregory Benton.
PRESS RELEASE
* Gil Roth talks to 
* Frank Young on 
* Noah Berlatsky on 
* Tegan O'Neil on 
* Mel Schuit on 
* Matt Seneca on 
* Henry Chamberlain on 
(Columbus, Ohio; September 17, 2018) -- Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) has announced Olivia Jaimes, the popular newspaper comic strip cartoonist responsible for Nancy, as a special guest for its comics festival in late September.
* Rob Clough on 
JUL181751 TRENCH DOGS GN $18.95
* Todd Klein on 
* J. Caleb Mozzocco 
* Michelle White on 
* Rob Clough works his way through 
* Todd Klein on 
JUN181887 PROVOCATIVE COLETTE (MR) $24.99
* Robin Enrico on 
* not sure I all the way knew that James Romberger's Ground Zero Books would expand its self-publishing past supplying copies of 7 Miles A Second to the Whitney for their David Wojnarowicz retrospective to 
* Rob Clough on 
* Rob Clough on 
* go, see: 
* wow, look at 
* Abraham Riesman on 
JUL182004 UPGRADE SOUL GN $19.99
* Danko Jones talks to 
* Ara Osterweil on the art of 
