CR Sunday Interview: Bruce Worden I made a decision to formally volunteer some CR time and resources to the non-profit behind my other gig, helping run Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC). I'd like to think there was a time when people were cautious about crossing strings of involvement, but I also know how tough it is in my fifties to sort of naturally generate comics-related content of any sort, let alone carefully screened material that serves both avenues. I hope you'll forgive me, but it should mean a burst of CR-ready material, so I'm going to jump right in.
Bruce Worden is one of the more interesting exhibiting guests with whom I work at CXC. The Michigan based cartoonist and educator seems like one of those increasingly welcome regional stalwarts: older cartoonists for whom finding an audience isn't a bridge to somewhere. I think it's rich place for comics, and links to its past where these avenue of expressions were the rule rather than the exception. I also think his endorsement of John Allison's Bad Machinery comics says something about how these worlds of meaning are constructed now. I second that recommend, and suggest the next time you have a chunk of time to read them, to seek those comics out.
I appreciate Bruce talking to me for today, which will probably be Labor Day Weekend. In addition to the links above, he will be Table #1 at the end of month CXC Expo, the weekend anchor to the Cartoon Crossroads 4-day show. I'll be buying stuff there, and I hope you'll choose to meet him if nothing else. I very much enjoy Bruce Worden, and you should, too.
The following was edited a tiny bit for flow. -- Tom Spurgeon
*****
TOM SPURGEON: Bruce, I'm happy to talk to you because I've seen you at several show since moving to the Midwest but I don't know you very well. Do you have a standard comics-related secret origin. What your early comics reading like, and is there a story to how you returned to them as an adult?
BRUCE WORDEN: When I was a kid I wanted every comic book I laid my eyes on. So I realized early on that I couldn't afford to "get into" comic books. I thought they were cool, and I loved the characters and logos and knowing the secret identities and everything. But I knew I couldn't start collecting them, and I never did. Comic strips, on the other hand, came to our house in the newspaper every day! Far Side. Calvin & Hobbes. Garfield. B.C. Crankshaft. Momma. Tumbleweeds. I read them over breakfast nearly as far back as I can remember, and I can say without a doubt that they influenced what I've been doing with my drawings ever since. As an adult I became a scientific illustrator, using drawings to tell concise, little stories about some biological process or other, often in sequential panels. It's the same thing as comics, man. It's always been the same thing, and I couldn't be happier about it.
SPURGEON: I got the sense when I was running into you mid-decade that making and selling your comics was a new thing for you. How did you end up taking that step? When did comics become a creative outlet you wanted to place in people's hands?
WORDEN: It was a perfect storm of lifestyle changes. 1 -- my part-time job left me free to pursue a freelance illustration career in my extra time. 2 -- My wife and I had a baby, which immediately put everything in perspective. 3 -- The economy tanked, and we lost a load of money. At the time, it just seemed crystal clear to me that I had to sink the freelance career. With the new baby, I wasn't going to spend my free time struggling to make other people's art for them. It was time to make my art, to start checking projects off my list of ideas instead of only adding to it. And to do it, I was going to invest the money I would've been putting into a retirement account into those projects instead.
SPURGEON: What was it like for you as you started to build an audience? I know sometimes it gone be very strange to have these measurements by which you can tell one comic sold more than another, or people react to in different ways. What do you remember about that transition?
WORDEN: I was choosing to invest in my own future instead of some CEO's, and to make that work I had to find a way to get a return on my own investment. And I'm only realizing right now that my approach has been very much like a CEO's investment strategy: diversify. As I mentioned, I'd been working in art ever since school, so the idea of using it to make money has always been a part of my ideology. What I never did, though, was settle into a signature style. I always try -- try! -- to tailor the illustrations to suit the story. So what I ended up doing was building small audiences for each book, rather than a single audience for me-the-illustrator. Maybe not the smartest way to go, but it does make it a little easier to admit when -- and why -- one book sells better than another. It also means I show up at comic book festivals with some books that are illustrated, but aren't really comics. Oops!
SPURGEON: Were you always funny? You seemed to show up with a grounded and smartly developed sense of humor. What do you find humorous? What are some of the positives -- and maybe a negative or two -- of expressing that humor in comics form?
WORDEN: Aw, thanks! I don't know that I was always funny. I certainly used humor as a deflection, growing up a skinny nerd in a macho culture. I suppose I think I have exactly the right sense of humor for me, but sometimes it can be a little dry -- or, I don't know, dismissive? dark? -- for other people. Basically, I get the feeling sometimes people think I'm an asshole because of it. Which I guess is better than being bullied all the time. See? Deflection! [Spurgeon laughs]
Anyway, I can't stand insult humor; so even if you think I'm an asshole, you'll have to admit I'm not telling jokes at your expense. I grew up with that, having to "hold your own" against someone just mercilessly mocking you for being you, under the pretense of "Hey man, I'm only teasing." So, yeah, I guess I sought out something a little more nuanced, and I found it in the comic strips I loved best -- which meant I had to question my love of Garfield, had to seriously question all the gender-role strips like Andy Capp or Born Loser. But luckily I also had MAD Magazine, Monty Python, and Weird Al to show me how to use humor in a smarter way.
Still, as you suggest, expressing it in comics does always feel like a risk to me, because, well, what if I flub the joke? Can't go back and retell it. Gotta get the wording right, gotta get the pacing right. Carve it in stone, print a hundred copies, pray the joke lands. And pray it holds up over time, right? But I can't really imagine making comics that aren't, at their core, trying to be funny. My gut reaction to comics is to laugh.
SPURGEON: Where did the interest in homophones begin, and how did that transform into the sustained expression of the blog? In fact, how has that experience been overall? Because working something out in that specific, accessible on-line form seems like something from a time machine now a little bit.
WORDEN: You won't believe it, but it's the plan that worked out exactly as I hoped. The idea started because I can't seem to read all the way through anything anymore without finding a spelling error. And I'm not talking about tweets and texts, I mean stuff that claims to be professionally edited. Most of the time it's that someone has used the wrong word, a homophone -- words that sound alike, but are spelled differently -- for the word they intended. "Then" instead of "than." "It's" instead of "its." Affect/effect. Their/there/they're. The kind of thing that happens when a writer doesn't really pay attention, and their "editor" is just a spell-check program.
So I thought what would be more helpful than shaking my fist at the world would be to create a visual descriptor -- an illustration -- for each word to help people remember the difference. Then it could be a fun little desktop reference book. A homophone dictionary. But it was going to take a long time to do the work, and I didn't really want anyone else telling me what to draw for each pair of words. So I started it as a weekly blog -- to put myself on a schedule to get the work done, to build an audience for the book while I was still creating the content, and so the existing work -- and audience -- could speak for itself when it was time to find a publisher. Because I really, really dislike the pitching process with traditional publishers. But I knew Homophones Visualized needed a bigger publisher than what I can do myself at Black Market Books, so I just let the blog build and build until someone -- Chronicle Books -- finally saw the value in it. It only took, what, seven years?
SPURGEON: With how much seriousness do you take that kind of wordplay? Are you evangelical about it in a way I sometimes hear some folks can be? Do you encounter people who are more serious than you are or even obsessed with that kind of wordplay? "I'm not a grammar nazi, but..."
WORDEN: No, I feel like the illustrations do the work for me at this point. There's so much more weight behind sending someone a link to a well-designed illustration explaining their typo, than there is just leaving "THEIR" in the comments section, y'know?
Passive-aggressive? Maybe. But it's like saying "let's compare how much time I spent helping people remember these spelling differences, to how much time you spent crafting that bland think-piece." Haha. Oh man, that sounds petty, maybe I am a nazi.
Well, the reason I think I'm not is because I realize language is totally fluid, regionally different, and always changing. So it's not really worth being stuck-up about it. But I am constantly getting comments on the blog insisting that some pair of words aren't homophones because in some other part of the world, in someone else's mind, "a" and "ah" would never be pronounced the same, or whatever. I mostly just let that roll off my back. I did have a week-long argument with one guy, though, who kept escalating and telling me I had no authority to speak about the English language because he disagreed that "fir" and "fur" are pronounced the same. (Though he never did explain how or where they might be different. And the dictionary certainly seems to agree with me about it.)
SPURGEON: Do you have specific ambitions for your comics? What would be a satisfying outcome for you in terms of the expressive part of your life that counts on the comics world?
WORDEN: Obviously I see how I could be more ambitious about them than I have been. I could -- should? -- quit my job and commit full-time to comics and picture books. Dedicate myself to it in the way successful people dedicate their lives to their work. But honestly, I'm always balancing that stuff with everything else -- family, travel, and the other things I enjoy about my life outside of art. I'm not trying to work myself to death, even with work that I love. So I think I need to be comfortable at a lower level of ambition.
Let's look at it this way: I invested monetarily in these projects nearly ten years ago, kept expenses modest, earned a little money, but was always spending more than I was earning on this part of my life. With the Homophones Visualized deal last year, I'm probably breaking even over the last decade. That's pretty good for a side job. And I've made a hell of a lot of friends and acquaintances doing this, which is priceless. So how about I aspire for the next decade to turn a profit, and hang onto those friends? Then turn a profit over the next five years, and the five years after that, and then maybe every year after that? And keep those friends close. And give back when I can. That sounds hella ambitious to me. Honestly, though, I'd probably be "satisfied" if I just keep creating projects that manage to find their audience, and don't land my family in the poorhouse.
SPURGEON: What will you be taking in front of the kids during CXC’s all-ages track? Is it my imagination that because of that great show in Ann Arbor that all of you in Michigan are kids-comics people? In fact, how would you define that community more generally? Hows does where you live play into what you do?
WORDEN: Oh yeah, that's just your imagination, dude! [Spurgeon laughs]
Michigan comics aren't just for kids. You're referring to A2CAF (formerly Kids Read Comics), which has grown into quite a solid institution here. And if that show defines our community, then it does make it hard for folks who don't make kid-centric work to feel like we're part of the clique. To their credit, since they changed the name to A2CAF, I think they really are trying to expand the range of cartoonists they invite to exhibit. But is the audience really ready for Kam Komics' Michigan Muthafukas or Jeff Manley's Romancing the Strip or Carolyn Nowak's No Better Words alongside Raina Telgemeier's latest release? Time will tell.
At CXC this year, I'll be leading a one-hour all-ages workshop on how to draw hands. It's a session I developed last year at my son's middle school. I led occasional drawing and cartooning classes there over the last few years, and finally realized all the kids really wanted to learn was to how-to-draw-hands, how-to-draw-eyes, how-to-draw-noses, etc. So last year I came up with a series of focused workshops like that, and I'm super excited to bring one of them to CXC this year! Wait, oh shit, I am kid-centric, aren't I?
SPURGEON: Is there a homophone appropriate to comics conventions/selling comics/making comics?
WORDEN: There is if you stop by my table:
SPURGEON: What's the last good comic you read? What's the last great one?
WORDEN: I'm going with a three-way tie for the last good comic I read: Ngozi Ukazu's first Check, Please! book #Hockey which was the most fun book I read all summer. Jackson Ziegler's Smell the Roses -- a short sci-fi comic that sucks you into its world completely and immediately. And Jim Benton's Dog Butts and Love. And Stuff Like That. And Cats. -- a collection of his webcomics which are hilarious and super-poignant all at the same time.
WORDEN: I discovered them a year or two ago, and have been re-reading them this summer. They're so good, dude! Like, I don't know how he even does it. The stories are perfectly plotted, the dialogue is perfect, the jokes are perfect, the drawings I thought were weird and sparse but it turns out they're perfect too. And, I don't know, it seems like it's not even his main series! It's like a side-series in the same world as Scary Go Round and Giant Days, but focuses on the schoolkids. I just don't know how he does it. He's created a whole world, and found a voice that lets him do anything he wants in that world. And what he seems to want to do is write hilarious and heartfelt stories with rock-solid structure and believable characters. They're the best comics. The. Best.
*****
Homophones Visualized, Bruce Worden, Chronicle Books, 208 pages, hardcover, 9781452180038, August 2019, $14.95
*****
CR is a sponsor of Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, September 26-29 2019. Bruce will be appearing at the expo's table #1 on the latter two day and providing us with a panel at the Expo on September 28. The show is free. Guests on hand this year range from Bruce to Hellen Jo to P. Craig Russell to Pidge Carlisle to Terry Moore. My thanks to a few CXC folks for helping facilitate this chat with Bruce. Hope to see you there. Come have fun with us.
Gramercy Books
2424 E Main St
Bexley, OH 43209
614-867-5515
gramercybooksbexley.com
Maverick's Games and Comics
2312 E Dorothy Lane
Kettering, OH 45420
937-294-4900
jackmavericks.com/
The Book Loft Of German Village
631 S 3rd St
Columbus, OH 43206
614-464-1774
bookloft.com
The Laughing Ogre
4258 N High St
Columbus, OH 43214
614-267-6473
laughingogreohio.com
Two Dollar Radio Headquarters
1124 Parsons Ave
Columbus, OH 43206
614-725-1505
twodollarradiohq.com
Wexner Center Store
1871 N High Street
Columbus, OH 43210
614-292-3535
store.wexarts.org/books/comics-cartoons
OKLAHOMA
Literati Press
3010 Paseo
Oklahoma City, OK 73103
literatipressok.com
ONTARIO
The Beguiling
319 College St
Toronto, ON
M5T 1S2 Canada
416-533-9168
beguilingbooksandart.com
OREGON
Floating World Comics
400 NW Couch St
Portland, OR 97209
503-241-0227
floatingworldcomics.com
PENNSYLVANIA
Atomic City Comics
638 South St
Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-625-9613
facebook.com/atomiccitycomics/
Phantom Of The Attic Comics
411 S Craig St 2nd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-621-1210
pota-oakland.com
QUEBEC
Librarie Drawn & Quarterly
211 Rue Bernard O
Montréal, QC
H2T 2K5 Canada
1-514-279-2224
mtl.drawnandquarterly.com
SASKATCHEWAN
Comic Readers Regina Downtown
105 – 2125 11th Avenue
Cornwall Professional Building
Regina, SK S4P 3X3 Canada
306-779-0900
comicreadersregina.wordpress.com/regina-downtown/
facebook.com/ComicReadersDowntown/
Generacion X
Calle de la Puebla, 15
28005 Madrid, Spain
34-915-21-99-85
generacionx.es/
Molar Discos y Libros
Calle de la Ruda, 19,
28005 Madrid, Spain
34-911-72-57-40
molarmucho.tumblr.com/
TEXAS
Austin Books & Comics
Plaza 5000
5002 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78751
512-454-4197
austinbooks.com
UNITED KINGDOM
Dave's Comics
5 Sydney St
Brighton BN1 4EN, UK
44-1273-691012
davescomics.co.uk/
Family Store
33 Kensington Gardens
Brighton BN1 4AL, UK
familystoreuk.com/
Gosh! Comics
1 Berwick St
Soho, London
W1F 0DR UK
44-20-7437-0187
goshlondon.com
Orbital Comics
8 Great Newport St
Covent Garden, London
WC2H 7JA UK
44-20-7240-0591
orbitalcomics.com
UTAH
Dr. Volts Comics Connection
2043 E 3300 S
Salt Lake City, UT 84109
801-485-6114
drvolts.com
VIRGINA
Big Planet Comics
426 Maple Ave. E.
Vienna, Virginia 22180
703-242-9412
bigplanetcomics.com
Local Heroes
1905 Colonial Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23517
757-383-6810
localheroescomics.com/
Telegraph Art & Comics
211A W Main St
Charlottesville, VA
434-244-3210
telegraphcomics.com/
Velocity Comics
819 W Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23220
804-303-1783
velocitycomicsrva.blogspot.com
WASHINGTON
Analog Coffee
235 Summit Ave E
Seattle, WA 98102
206-390-7670
analogcoffee.com
Arcane Comics And More
15202 Aurora Ave N
Shoreline, WA 98133
206-781-4875
arcanecomicbooks.com
Comics Dungeon
319 NE 45th St
Seattle, WA 98105
206-545-8373
comicsdungeon.com
Danger Room
201 W 4th Ave
Olympia, WA 98501
360-705-3050
dangerroomoly.com
Destiny City Comics
218 St Helens Ave
Tacoma, WA 98402
253-234-7112
destinycitycomics.com
Elliott Bay Book Company
1521 10th Ave
Seattle, WA 98122
206-624-6600
elliottbaybook.com
Fantagraphics Bookstore And Gallery
1201 S Vale St
Seattle, WA 98108
206-557-4910
fantagraphics.com/flog/bookstore/
Outsider Comics And Geek Boutique
223 N 36th St
Seattle, WA 98103
206-535-8886
outsidercomics.com
Phoenix Comics and Games
113 Broadway E
Seattle, WA 98102
206-328-4554
http://phoenixseattle.com
Push/Pull
5484 Shilshole Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
206-789-1710
pushpullseattle.com
The Comics Place
105 E Holly St
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-733-2224
thecomicsplace.com
The Dreaming Comics And Games (Will Close End Of September)
5226 University Way
Seattle, WA 98105
206-525-9394
dreamingcomics.com
*****
I appreciate your help, but I won't be able to process any more suggestions until after October 7! There's a good chance that anything sent in between now and then will be deleted. Sorry about that. I need to declutter for the Fall festival. Thanks!
CCAD is helping us call attention to its achievements and its continuing promise by bringing to its stage Nib founder Matt Bors, editors Eleri Harris and Matt Lubchansky, and cartoonists like Whit Taylor and Rob Rogers who have published work there. For a special treat, CCAD is bringing in the legendary Tom Tomorrow for an appearance. He will be interviewed on stage.
This event will be free because all of our events are free, plus we hope you might spend some of that money on a subscription for the publication. Rampant over-capitalism and the demand that the value of a return on an investment in art and journalism need start at seven figures, these are not sustainable ideas, let alone optimal ones. Let's do what we can on behalf of this publication and its displayed excellence. I hope to see many of you on the 28th.
* not comics: these articles are an everyday occurrence, and I suppose there's some value in figuring out how emerging generations process art as entertainment. The general theme of these articles is that there's much less of a looking-back element to younger people culture when it comes to some popular art. The number are so small with comics that I don't think that the curatorial aspect of older art will be threatened. I bought an HT Webster book this afternoon. There will probably be a noticeable difference in older content from more popular forms.
* here's a comics-event (mostly) driven list of things that happen that can be argued are important to Marvel. It's interesting to me that the movie and TV shows seem to have brought back a keen interest in that company as its own origins of creative energy.
By Request Extra: Dave Kellett’s Latest Crowdfunder
It's Anatomy of Authors, a collection of his comics on that subject. He's a bit over 70 percent there, which is usually a strong sign of success on one's ask.
The Never-Ending, Four-Color Festival: Shows And Events
By Tom Spurgeon
* I am really looking forward to the 25th anniversary SPX, this year's Short Run and our own, fifth CXC. I think we're going to have a Fall of good shows across the board. That whole world and its relationship to comics itself, is changing rapidly. I get asked questions that your average con-goer didn't even conceive of five years, and I think that's all for the greater good.
* finally: here's an article about research and academic opportunities at San Diego con, including the framework for sharing/exploring those elements provided by the show itself.
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.
*****
MAY191795 COLLECTED TOPPI HC VOL 02 NORTH AMERICA $24.99
This is a weird week. I hope that shops are taking advantage of selling work that's not exactly the specific format and genre of these new X-Men comics, because I think there's more opportunity driving readers were the most creative work is rather than running a made-up algorithm in your head as to what people want. This day wan't particularly helpful in shaping that. This Toppi stuff looks great as individual illustrations. I'm not sure I'm ready for seven volumes of it, but I might buy a book or two of it. I feel like I'm missing something obvious from today's list.
APR190278 GIRL IN THE BAY TP (MR) $17.99
I don't know this work but I like it when comics companies put out new work by creators that have a track record that might indicate the ability to find a corner in the array of works out there now. I'd surely look at it.
MAY190495 ORION BY WALTER SIMONSON TP BOOK 02 $34.99 JUN190842 MARVEL COMICS #1000 $9.99 JUN191040 MARVEL VISIONARIES TP JOHN BUSCEMA $34.99
There are a lot of choices a company can make in presenting older material. Here are three. I prefer the first: just reprinting odd runs and series where they can find life as an additional sales option -- this the kind of thing that usually leads me to obsessively buy back issues rather than a new collection, but I am not the ideal customer here. I have little to no interest in things like Marvel Comics #1000 except for imagining all the characters sitting backstage together. John Buscema was a wonderfully skilled and facile artist, and a presentation that focuses on art might be the best way to experience the creator if you don't have access to the drawings he drew on the back of original art pages.
JUN190470 ACTION COMICS #1014 VAR ED YOTV DARK GIFTS $3.99 JUN190568 BATMAN WHO LAUGHS HC $29.99
Here are two of what I'd imagine would be difficult about creating serial-driven mainstream comics: the crossovers are a disruption, and some characters that are asked to carry a lot of weight may be goofier than their status implies. I still like making that "Batman Who Crafts" joke, though.
JUN190614 WATCHMEN TP NEW EDITION $24.99
In a Toy Story like movie about comics hanging out in a comics shop, I can imagine all the other trades saluting this one as it makes it way down the aisles. Don't know if there are changes invalidating it or making it a less attractive object.
JUN190905 AVENGERS #23 $3.99 JUN190907 AVENGERS #23 MCKONE BOBG VAR $3.99 JUN190990 DOCTOR STRANGE #18 $3.99 JUN190991 DOCTOR STRANGE #18 MARTIN BOBG VAR $3.99
The lates round of major relaunches at a mainstream comics company are starting to show the first signs of aging. I can't tell the difference between these objects and similarly named ones from other time periods, which has to be a bad sign.
JUN190821 HOUSE OF X #3 (OF 6) $4.99 JUN190825 HOUSE OF X #3 (OF 6) ASRAR CONNECTING VAR $4.99 JUN190827 HOUSE OF X #3 (OF 6) CHRISTOPHER ACTION FIGURE VAR $4.99 JUN190824 HOUSE OF X #3 (OF 6) DEKAL CHARACTER DECADES VAR $4.99 JUN190823 HOUSE OF X #3 (OF 6) PICHELLI FLOWER VAR $4.99 JUN190826 HOUSE OF X #3 (OF 6) YOUNG VAR $4.99
I'd rathe Marvel not finesse its X-Men relaunch to squeeze more sales, but maybe that's just me.
JUN191848 INVADER ZIM #46 CVR A C $3.99 JUN191849 INVADER ZIM #46 CVR B CAB $3.99
Good old fashioned "if you like this..." sales success.
JUN192126 ONE PIECE GN VOL 91 $9.99
Ninety-one!
APR181874 HEATHEN TP VOL 02 $14.99
This is more of an old-fashioned sales success: not so much the reorders but slow build of a potential variety player.
JUL192177 NAO OF BROWN SC GN $34.99
I remember this being very pretty; would certain look at it today.
MAR191686 GRASS GN $29.95
I thought this might be an adaption of Sherri Tepper's book, but it's a political book I've never heard of. Nice cover, though, and I'd be happy to give it a chance.
*****
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 * this short post at The Beat tying in Art Spiegelman's withdrawal of a Marvel-related essay after changes were asked of it with a less publicized effort to finesse material in an essay related to Simon and Kirby's Captain America character and presenting that character more generally has a lot to interest. I think the way to use art that has a specific point is to allow space within its creation for specific points. Pushing for apolitical or supposedly balanced-out points of view rarely works as cultural positioning or as compelling art of its own. Corporate-owned art may have its strengths, I'm at least open to hear about things like stewardship and broader creative opportunities that thwart polemics, but facilitating politics with the tools used to standardize a set of superpowers an action figure is supposed to evince doesn't seem to be one of them.
* finally: you should avail yourself of all these workshops these days, the ones that interest you, if you're a workshop-goer. There are a lot smart cartoonists out there with practical wisdom to impart.
Bundled Extra: BIBF Report At PW Here's a write-up of the latest Bejing International Book Fair that indicates publishers are finding a niche for illustration-driven book with non-fiction and other works that contrast against comics from Japan and Korea. That would totally make sense. I can't even imagine the publishing opportunities across the board in China.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * renewed attention to the X-Men corner of the Marvel universe has me relooking at architecture and equipment, because that's where I always go with that one.
* I think Bob Levin is one of the great writers about comics of all time and is a great writer, period. I would be happy to see him take on book from the FU Press for the rest of my life. Here he is on the latest from Casanova Frankenstein.
Here are your 2019 Ignatz nominees. These fell into a weird part of my day, so my apologies for not having them up. I don't see anything on which I'd choose to remark in a trends way. These seem like appropriate choice given the shape of this part of the wider field. Congratulations to all those nominated and good luck on SPX weekend.
For those not up to speed on how the Ignatz work, the awards are nominated by committee and voted on the weekend of the show by those in attendance. This year's judges were MK Czerwiec, Kelly Froh, Rob McMonigal, Nola Pfau and Chris Kindred.
Somebody is usually very sweet and someone is usually very cutting and critical at the awards show; both are entertaining.
Comics By Request: People, Projects In Need Of Funding By Tom Spurgeon
* after my first look at this Shelly Bond-related project, my memory is that it was in a strong position early-on and maybe not as much right now. It definitely has some work to do in its last few days to meet its initial goal.
* Dustin Harbin did a comic for NYT about his gofundme experience after jacking up his face. I like reading that article with the contextual stuff in a different place -- it helps me see the story more clearly. It is, Harbin notes, a terrible system.
* speaking of which, is there any out there that .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) I don't think a lot of folks have publicly gone there in a significant way and I also know from talking to people that a lot of folks continue to share Dustin's risk to significant injury. I would love to know what people are thinking, and I don't have a good grasp of that right now.
Fesivals Extra: Ignatz Nominees; Ringos Final Ballot
* I am far too out of touch to be the ideal judging candidate for The Ringo Awards, but I think my opinions are pretty good ones and deserve to be in the mix so I'm not going to turn it down. Plus that's a nice city and a well-regarded show. Final ballot here. I'm betting Yvan Alagb&233; was me. That's a really good book, though. Congratulations to all the nominees and see you in Baltimore.
* I am far too out of touch and not just my diabetic feet to be the ideal snarking candidate for the Ignatzes. Actually, I don't even feel like doing that. These seemed fine to me. There are a lot of good books there and it's hard to argue about the works around which this specific iteration of the award has clustered. Congratulations to all of you as well.
* I liked this Brian Hibbs article that everyone's read but me about doing business with Diamond in a day where periodicals are a smaller part of that market. I'm not sure I had that easy a grasp on the shipping elements of what Diamond does, so I'm thankful.
The Never-Ending, Four-Color Festival: Shows And Events
By Tom Spurgeon
* hey, fellow Hoosiers! I wish there were an Indiana-centric comics convention when I was a kid, or at least on bigger than a single room at the Holiday Inn. That must be great.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * I quite liked this article at The Beat on the Hugo awards, which apparently use a run-off driven voting process and were also giving awards linked to awards slates from a certain number of years ago. That must be a fun thing for which someone can cast a vote. I have no idea how that would work out in comics. Probably poorly. Also congratulation to the pair of Hugo Awards run by sometimes comics-maker Charles Vess, for his collaboration with the late foundational writer Ursula LeGuin on her Earthsea narratives. The comics award repeated with Monster, but it was apparently very close.
* cartoons by Carlos Latuff get dragged into one of the stories about congresspeople accused of having opinion that break with some perceived and argued mainstream for political opinion. Any idea of politicians endorsing or promoting cartoon work is usually a precursor to stridency more than anything worth considering.
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.
*****
MAY191685 VIVISECTIONARY HC (MR) $24.99
I read this book in advance of its release into the Direct Market and liked it quite a bit. The drawing is beautiful, but the book now totally assembled has a greater cohesion that I might have thought possible. I felt like I was reading a narrative created from some abstract strategies, not a series of sequences, and I had wondered about that going. I have no idea where Lacour is going from here, and that's exciting, too. Also, that's one sturdy die-cut.
JUN191817 STAY HC $19.99
I think I'm going to stop trying to puzzle which Trondheim books/collaborations we're getting and which ones we aren't and just enjoy his popularity and prolific nature book to book. We don't always get to see this many books from a creator, so enjoy it while it lasts.
APR191256 CHARLES SCHULZ LINUS HC PEANUTS $14.99
I may not enjoy Peanuts books that aren't the Fantagraphics collections, but I find the publishing strategies involved extremely interesting. Of course a strip this ubiquitous is going to see a number of formats rise to meet it. I hope the production matches the conception.
JUN190294 HELLBOY AND THE BPRD SATURN RETURNS #1 (OF 3) $3.99 JUN190466 SUPERMAN YEAR ONE #2 (OF 3) MILLER COVER (MR) $7.99 JUN190465 SUPERMAN YEAR ONE #2 (OF 3) ROMITA COVER (MR) $7.99 JUN190542 SUPERMANS PAL JIMMY OLSEN #2 (OF 12) $3.99 JUN190543 SUPERMANS PAL JIMMY OLSEN VAR ED #2 (OF 12) $3.99 JUN190053 CRIMINAL #7 (MR) $3.99 MAR190246 SNOTGIRL #14 CVR A HUNG $3.99 MAR190247 SNOTGIRL #14 CVR B OMALLEY $3.99 MAY199027 POWERS OF X #1 (OF 6) 2ND PTG SILVA VAR $5.99 JUN190835 POWERS OF X #3 (OF 6) $4.99 JUN190841 POWERS OF X #3 (OF 6) ASRAR CONNECTING VAR $4.99 JUN190838 POWERS OF X #3 (OF 6) BENGAL CHARACTER DECADES VAR $4.99 JUN190840 POWERS OF X #3 (OF 6) CHRISTOPHER ACTION FIGURE VAR $4.99 JUN190837 POWERS OF X #3 (OF 6) WEAVER NEW CHARACTER VAR $4.99 JUN190839 POWERS OF X #3 (OF 6) YOUNG VAR $4.99
Hey, comic books! Always happy to see books from the Mignola-verse. I think that first issue of Superman: Year One looks very handsome even though I have my doubts I'll be terribly interest in the story. Brubaker and Phillips are as sure of a bet that exists in comics this century. The Snotgirl comics I like for what I imagine might be reasons that the people don't like the series. I certainly have very little idea as to where the hell it's going, which strikes me as important. The run of supplementary editions and new comics to the X-Men series would seem to be a boon for that side of the industry. It's been very clever so far.
MAY190044 SAGA COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 (MR) $59.99
I'm not sure this is worth noting by itself -- I mean, of course it is -- but if this is the first indication the series is coming back to print, that's outright publishing news these days.
APR190708 CORTO MALTESE THE EARLY YEARS TP $19.99
I hope this is a little kid with a tiny raft and that hat and that facial hair. Whatever it actually is, it's probably gorgeous.
JUN192001 SKY IN STEREO GN VOL 02 (MR) $13.99
I really loved the first volume of this book, to the point I was emotional invested in the protagonist's fate. I hope she's okay and it's swell I get to find out soon.
*****
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 * it's odd to see a list of traditional genre series representing comics for the late summer consider how many titanic graphic novels there are either right this moment or imminent. I remain struck by how balkanized along very specific aim-and-purpose lines comics remains. I hope those series are all as good as they can possibly be, though, for sure.
* not comics: ICE has re-upped with the company that uses Amazon to facilitate support services, the matter at the heart of recent protests and quite a bit of interest from within the comics community. This will be a story until it isn't.
* "adorable" and "heartwarming" usually aren't the main adjectives in a comics article, but why not? Also, the three of these I've read are adorable and heartwarming.
By Request Extra: The Nib Unveils Its First Official Fundraiser
Here. In addition to just wanting this to do well, I'm certain there will be news value in tracking their strategies to keep the publication alive. Good luck and may god bless.
Comics By Request: People, Places In Need Of Funding By Tom Spurgeon
* money to save retail establishments is a traditionally rough go on the social media driven sites, but this gofundme seems off to a better than average start. As always, I wish anyone that feels a need the best of luck in not feeling that way.
* good on Art Spiegelman pulling a piece of political commentary from an essay he was commissioned to write. It will have a longer life in this form than if it had run in its original form. I've yet to catch up to the piece, but want to; Spiegelman's a good writer on comics and culture.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * Noah Van Sciver praises Michael Kupperman's All The Answers. There's a significant element of that book's discussion since publication that it was somehow under-discussed, and I've never been able to figure that out. I'm going to guess that the construction there is that it resembles books from the recent past that did get the kind of widespread approbation, a kind of rhetorical momentum that has its own energy. But to be honest, I've read enough terrible "the book of the year is every book you read" headlines to know that hasn't been the case for many books of recent vintage -- maybe zero of them if you disqualify Emil Ferris. It's a possibility that the bulk of us may shrug our shoulders through Berlin, Clyde Fans and Rusty Brown by this Christmas. Holy hell. We still do have the "good superhero comic" phenomenon, and that seems fairly intact, but that's a different thing: a smaller pool with a different function. Maybe that should be expected. There is no monolithic critical apparatus for comics these days, and it may have seemed like there was one only because of a time when a bunch of writers wrote similarly voluminous, detailed responses to major works as a way of standing out before social media made more specific, arch, content-light interaction its own thing and people began to distrust that kind of climb-Mt.-Olympus writing as stuck in its writers' own heads. That said, I heard a lot about All The Answers. I would imagine any serious fan/fan of serious comics would want to read it and has a chance to do so. I'm not spending this morning writing about Olivier Schrauwen.
* there are structural peculiarities. One thing that's still the same that may continue to shape this is that there are certain elements of comics publishing that don't want to engage with other elements. I've written a lot about Michael Kupperman -- like a lot -- but never received a copy of the book, let alone was pitched an interview or other coverage. Comics has always been bad at that, and I'm not certain why. I just assume that kind of engagement isn't valued or rewarding enough. I'm not being sarcastic, I can see 100 scenarios where resources are better spent elsewhere. And while I know I need to find things on my own, there's a lot to write about and my professional life sometimes resembles a Transformer that changes from a food truck to a dumpster fire. I'll take the book on my desk over the one on my computer screen, and both of them over one that's a rumor. The fewer books I write about I'm less likely to score that gigantic investment of a physical copy. So it goes. And yet, having never seen it, I know about All The Answers and I know about some of its awards and about once every six weeks I seem to have read about this lack of coverage and whose fault that is, so there has to have been some work done. This is complicated even further when not everyone likes a work. And a good work isn't necessarily one that appeals to everyone. We can still agree on that, right? It's a buyer's market for smart work with which to engage, and most people can be talked out of hard to score work someone warned them away that simply might not look appealing without a lot of effort. It's tough out there. I have multiple book credits and I've done two signings. Two in my life.
* I hope that all the quality works find the audience, critical and otherwise, they deserve. It's hard to measure that, though. Maybe those of us that didn't can take a second look at few books of recent vintage -- All The Answers, sure, but also One Dirty Tree or perhaps Yellow Negroes -- and maybe all of us can dig in and focus on the next round of potentially great works from this fall before lurching into our best-of-decade battles. The Santoro and Huizenga I think are very good, and Eleanor Davis is in the midst of a powerful win streak. Mutts turns 25 this year and two potentially great strips turn one (Jaimes' Nancy and Liniers' Macanudo). I don't know if there are enough readers for all of these books, or enough writers about the better ones, but certainly someone will think it's not enough on every single book's behalf.
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.
*****
JAN198511 DOG MAN GN VOL 07 FOR WHOM BALL ROLLS $12.99
Dav Pilkey's work on both this latest series and the Captain Underpants material is really due a major critical piece by one of the better writers out there. I don't think that happens in a preview article, although I like the Pilkey's comics whenever I read them, and enjoy their visual stamp a lot; I like looking at these comics. They're the comics of the moment for sure.
MAY191758 DUNKIRK ONE SHOT GLANZMAN CVR 2ND PTG $9.99
I don't want to question whatever series of events has given us a bunch of Sam Glanzman war comics edition in the late 2010s, but I'm happy to look at them every time I see them in the shot. Glanzman always does the work, and his fealty to a certain kind of accuracy in the depictions makes for its own through-line in the comics. The cover here with the mix of naval craft, their functions and their modernity relative to one another all make me take notice. I hope there are more of these.
JUN191263 ONCE & FUTURE #1 (OF 6) $3.99 JUN190694 USAGI YOJIMBO #3 CVR A SAKAI $3.99 MAY199082 SECOND COMING #1 2ND PTG (MR) $3.99 JUN191368 SECOND COMING #2 (MR) $3.99
Hey, it's comic-book comics, including two series positioning themselves for a strong sales run. Once & Future is apparently doing advance scarcity in a way that drives buzz, while Second Coming is starting a cycle of re-orders and multiple printings that is either more advance work or the first fruits of earlier exposure to those comics. In between is Usagi Yojimbo, which is eternal and which if there are comics in heaven I will read 1000 years' worth.
APR190279 BORGIAS TP (MR) $29.99
I don't have a refined aesthetic for either comics-maker involved here, although I'm interested in the potential of the result. Exceedingly handsome comics likely to be the result. I'd have to do a pretty serious reading to say anything else. I have no idea of its public reputation.
APR190315 EC ARCHIVES CRIME SUSPENSTORIES HC VOL 04 $59.99 DEC180652 JOKER THE BRONZE AGE OMNIBUS HC $99.99 FEB190976 MARVEL MASTERS OF SUSPENSE LEE & DITKO OMNIBUS HC VOL 01 $100.00
Hey, it's the expensive books section. I haven't found a way back into the EC comics with either the latest more tradition title-by-title reprinting or the black and white Fantagraphics, author-to-author presentation, but that's always been about where I am oriented than what the comics reveal to me. Never quite understood the Joker, but the move to completely unpleasant serial-killer comics would seem to me fun to watch in fits and starts. As for Steve Ditko, give me a look at every last page: that's an intriguing way to look at the world -- very 20th Century, and might be more flattered by a writer with Lee's lack of heft.
JUN191758 SCIENCE COMICS CATS NATURE & NURTURE HC GN $19.99
I haven't been paying a lot of attention to these First Second science comics, so one with a bunch of cat would seem a friendlier-than-usual re-entry point. Everybody likes cats.
MAY191414 ARCHIE ART OF FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA HC $24.99
This has to be attractive; if I have my doubts about playing around too much with the Archie formula, it comes from the narrative flexibility more than the artists they have presenting these various takes. Francavilla is very talented.
JUN191315 YOU ARE MY FRIEND STORY MR ROGERS & NEIGHBORHOOD PICTUREBOOK $17.99
It makes sense that there would be some Fred Rogers culture in comics form, and I'd definitely want to see the books if only for a flip-through.
APR191970 DRUILLETS THE NIGHT (LA NUIT) HC (RES) (MR) $24.99
When in doubt, dig your way into an impressive artist and see what results.
*****
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.
* a consumer of Canadian media expresses some exhaustion with Trump-related cartoon coverage. One of the things that may happen as there are fewer opportunities for cartoonists in media more generally is that the pool of talent interested in different approaches might go down a bit.
Cartoonists Molly Crabapple And Eli Valley Among NYC Amazon/ICE Protestors This is probably the best article so far on the involvement of artists Eli Valley and Molly Crabapple in protests designed to drive attention to and disrupt connections between Amazon.com and ICE organized by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice for their #JewsAgainstICE campaigns. Looks like Valley has since been suspended from Twitter. I'm sure there will be more to come and that there are potential outcomes for comics work both directly linked to this issue and for political orientation within comics more generally. It bears watching and recurrent attention.
FFF Results Post #528—Jumping The Gun
On Friday, CR readers were asked to "Name Four Comics Works Likely To Be On Your List Of Best Ten Comics Of The Decade 2010-2019, And Name One You Think Might Possibly Sneak In Once You've Read It." This is how they responded.
* never liked Sinestro, although he's an appropriate match in that he also avoids making a deep commitment to the inherent structural metaphors of the main conce
* here are the CXC 2019 Thursday/Friday events that involve that mighty institution, our venue partner and ally the Wexner Center For The Arts. Our events are free unless there's something structurally impossible for us to do it without charging something, but we sometimes ticket to work on crowd control and to anticipate decade. It should be clear event to event what's need. I really like the range of animation we'll see. We are very lucky to have such skilled partners.
* here's another piece on comic-shop customers abandoning agreed-upon relationships regarding comics held back for subscribers. I never liked that system, I don't think most people extend that kind of courtesy to things they pay for, and I think that's even more frayed a relationship now than it was when I was in a comic shop on every Wednesday. But yeah, don't do this. And maybe we make mental space and take a forgiving stance towards shops that abandon the practice altogether.
* finally: speaking of difficult issues, what it means when an aberrant-acting personality enjoys cartoon work, and if that's an endorsement of anything, or reflective of elements of that work, continues to vex a lot of people. I think ideas are rarely actionable, but I wouldn't leave bed for 30 years if I thought something I created led in any way to widespread violence.
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.
*****
JUN191740 ANTHOLOGY OF MIND GN (MR) $24.99
Tommi Musturi short stories in different styles? Yes, please.
FEB192024 AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES HC 1940-44 $44.95
This is the first of many comics this week where I'm no sure if it's been out or not but I know I eventually want it so let's list them all today. I'm never going to read all the comics stuff I want.
JUN191304 GIANT DAYS #53 $3.99 JUN190273 BERSERKER UNBOUND #1 (OF 4) CVR A DEODATO $3.99 JUN190274 BERSERKER UNBOUND #1 (OF 4) CVR B MIGNOLA $3.99 JUN190524 LOIS LANE #2 (OF 12) $3.99 JUN190525 LOIS LANE #2 (OF 12) VAR ED $3.99
Not the strongest showing for classic comic book formatted comics, but it's worth noting the production juggernaut that is Giant Days, the level of other-cover support given Berserker Unbound and the Lois Lane boy is a limited series -- I probably knew that but I didn't recall that when I pondered the title this morning. Great character, Lois Lane. Hard to tap one of those great approaches for modern superhero narratives.
JUN191736 EMPRESS CIXTISIS HC (MR) $16.99
New Anne Simon, extension of the same world used last time. I like the look of this material.
JUN191730 POE CLAN MANGA HC VOL 01 MOTO HAGIO $39.99
Another book I will own one day that I'm not sure has been published quite yet. I'd look.
JUN191764 PEEP SHOW UNCENSORED & BEAUTIFULLY SEXY ENGLISH ED SC (MR) ($44.99)
Joe Matt is back, baby! Actually no, check that, this is just sexy pictures. Not that Joe isn't handsome.
MAR190747 WALTER SIMONSONS STAR WARS ARTISTS EDITION HC $125.00 FEB190977 KIRBY RETURNS KING SIZE HC $100.00 MAY191993 GEORGE HERRIMAN COMPLETE KRAZY KAT IN COLOR 1935-1944 HC $200.00 APR191956 STAN LEE STORY TASCHEN HC $200.00
There aren't many alternate universes where I could buy all of these expensive book, but it would be a fun one. I want them all, and am curious most about the Stan Lee Taschen.
*****
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.
* got not one but two Fantagraphics sell-into-bookstores catalogs last weekend. I'm not seeing anything that surprises. I'm pretty sure I knew they're working with Mr. Fish now, which is a potentially strong pick-up for them. It does seem like those catalogs overall offer a greater emphasis on newer cartoonists and existing series, which makes sense as that's what the whole bookstore-oriented industry is focusing on doing.
* finally, Paul Gravett reminds us of comics coming out next month. This looks to be a potentially great Fall season.
* Matt O'Keefe looks at product announcements from this year's Gen Con. There was a time I would have felt comfortable reading into product announcements and making proclamations about the state of licenses but now I just point at the links.
Go, Read: DC Comics As Part of AT&T’s Current Corporate Vision
Rob Salkowitz covers the intersection of business, culture and comics for a number of publications including ICv2.com and Forbes. I liked his writing the last few weeks on various DC-related moves that fairly baffled me coming into them cold, and here's a summary article that explains the foundations of that analysis.
It will be incredibly odd if the thing that wrecks the industry part of the direct market part of the comics industry is too much success of one kind, but nowhere near enough success according to a resulting new standard, but it wouldn't be so odd as it would suck that a bunch of people might end up out of work. Their just cancelling a Warren Ellis-written comic to seemingly straighten out the artistic rotation on those books isn't the kind of article anyone saw five, ten years ago and seems more "everything's broken" than most schedule adjustments tend to seem.
Lex Luthor, a surprisingly resilient character for the overall DC Comics empire
* the Jai Nitz harassment story receives significant regional news attention. Nitz is gone from comics now, in a way that rhetoric might suggest will be forever. There is a strong point made that even when this is true, it doesn't mean those who were harassed get to make that kind forceful, strong withdrawal from the pain of the incident in question.
* not comics: for those helping bring to life a billion dollar movie, Avengers Endgame creatives sure can't let go being second-guessed by fans about the idea that maybe Hulk was scared of supreme bad guy Thanos from the previous movie's butt-kicking. I just like the focused attention there and the repeated hitting on that point, as if that other reading was abominably and unforgivably stupid.
Assembled, Zipped, Transferred And Downloaded: News From Digital By Tom Spurgeon
* here are some webcomics that could ostensibly -- according to the article -- replace some of your comic book store reading. I don't know that one kind of comic ever really replaces another one for one, but hey, new comics to go look at.
* festivals extra: I didn't see Heidi MacDonald's extended think piece on SDCC 2019 until just now. It did feel like there were a bunch of reductions across the board, especially in flourishes brought in by other industries. That thing where they announced like four years of movie and TV shows at Marvel was a focused follow-up that matched the heyday of the Twilight movie in its own way. A lot of things that were still there were smaller than the last time I saw them. There are ascendant things: toy culture is still a hot thing there; that X-Men relaunch received a lot of attention and not in a consolation prize way, and the all-age book publishers seemed to have as much institutional strength as the mainstream comics people. Chris Ware was giving away books and posters, received an inkpot and seemed generally pleased to be there. I had a good time.
I made a decision to formally volunteer some CR time and resources to the non-profit behind my other gig, helping run Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC). I'd like to think there was a time when people were cautious about crossing strings of involvement, but I also know how tough it is in my fifties to sort of naturally generate comics-related content of any sort, let alone carefully screened material that serves both avenues. I hope you'll forgive me, but it should mean a burst of CR-ready material, so I'm going to jump right in.
SPURGEON: I got the sense when I was running into you mid-decade that making and selling your comics was a new thing for you. How did you end up taking that step? When did comics become a creative outlet you wanted to place in people's hands?
Still, as you suggest, expressing it in comics does always feel like a risk to me, because, well, what if I flub the joke? Can't go back and retell it. Gotta get the wording right, gotta get the pacing right. Carve it in stone, print a hundred copies, pray the joke lands. And pray it holds up over time, right? But I can't really imagine making comics that aren't, at their core, trying to be funny. My gut reaction to comics is to laugh.
Well, the reason I think I'm not is because I realize language is totally fluid, regionally different, and always changing. So it's not really worth being stuck-up about it. But I am constantly getting comments on the blog insisting that some pair of words aren't homophones because in some other part of the world, in someone else's mind, "a" and "ah" would never be pronounced the same, or whatever. I mostly just let that roll off my back. I did have a week-long argument with one guy, though, who kept escalating and telling me I had no authority to speak about the English language because he disagreed that "fir" and "fur" are pronounced the same. (Though he never did explain how or where they might be different. And the dictionary certainly seems to agree with me about it.)
Michigan comics aren't just for kids. You're referring to 
* not comics: 
MAY190495 ORION BY WALTER SIMONSON TP BOOK 02 $34.99
* 
* renewed attention to the X-Men corner of the Marvel universe has me relooking at architecture and equipment, because that's where I always go with that one.
* Dustin Harbin 
* Daniel Elkin on 
* Ryan Flanders 
* I quite liked 
JUN191817 STAY HC $19.99
* it's odd to see 
* Rob Clough on 
MAY191758 DUNKIRK ONE SHOT GLANZMAN CVR 2ND PTG $9.99
* Philippe Leblanc on 
* Philippe Leblanc on 
* Philippe Leblanc on 
* Andy Oliver on 
* Anya Davidson on 
FEB192024 AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES HC 1940-44 $44.95
* 
* go, read: 
* Rachel Cooke on 
