* online publication The MNT is suspending publication. According to the newsletter:
The MNT will be wrapping up at the end of November, and will no longer be posting on the website moving forward. Firstly: thank you all for your support across the last three years. You've allowed us to pay comic critics to write about comics honestly, openly, and independently, and that's a huge deal. We've been thrilled to be able to operate in a way which lets critics say what they want to say, rather than what the comics industry wants to hear them say. It's been a massive success, in basically every way, and running the MNT has been a complete joy. That said? It's time to close doors for now.
I'm not saying those doors *won't* get kicked right back open in the New Year.
I liked that model and I think there may still be some life to it, so let's hope there's something to that final line. Congrats to those involved on their run.
* this is either a slightly late list of Halloween-related webcomics for 2019 or a really early one for 2020.
* I sometimes lose track of things, but it looks like we're still waiting on finding out what the new promised era of The Far Sidewill entail, which to me indicates new material is on the table because I can't think of this long a decision about simply repackaging old material.
* finally: here's a Korean business start-up that works the public relations field with a webcomic as one of its core offerings.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * that great stalwart of writing-about-comics Graeme McMillan talks to the new stewards of the John Constantine character. It's not a kind of creation in which I take a a natural interest, but it's certainly a part of the modern media landscape, including the comics corner of it. That's a well-conceived character in term of making a kind of baseline template in the Doctor Who tradition, although I think there are some elements that keep the iterations themselves from developing legs. Constatine's a lot like Wolverine in that respect. We'll get a streaming series before too long to test this. I don't have a long history of comics starring that character, although I tend to prefer heroes that are scrambling to keep their shit together than ascendant badasses dunking on various dummies, although the latter version has probably been what's kept the character around for this long.
* festivals extra: SPACE will be held mid-July this year. That's my hometown show, and having CXC has almost certainly put a damper on this sister-show to juggernaut SPX. I have hopes for it, though. We need as many comics-only shows as we can muster.
This Isn’t A Library: New, Notable Releases From 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.
*****
SEP191874 ARAB OF THE FUTURE GRAPHIC MEMOIR SC VOL 04 1987-1992 $30.00
I didn't read books from this series when it debuted and kind of dominated awards attention for a time, but I like this one set in the author's teenage years. Its methodical approach makes bearable the chaotic emotional landscape of the author's parent and the unique-to-the-US setting drives interest into some of the more stereotypical teenage tropes regarding an innocent narrator and the up-and-down of social standing. There's even a narrative through-line about wasps that I found as creepy a bit of foreshadowing as I've read in a long-form narrative in years and years. I'm interested in the rest of the series.
AUG192292 HOLY HANNAH GN $24.95
I ran into Will Dinski at SPX and the book looked worth pursuing. You don't get a lot of self-directed larger works in this specific world of comics as much as you might think. Definite want-to-see.
AUG192296 JEFF SMITH CONVERSATIONS SC $25.00
I'm not always a fan of these interview collections, but this one features Jeff Smith, was assembled by Frederick Aldama and I may even have stuff in there. I can't remember.
AUG190334 HELLBOY WRAPPING PAPER $9.99 AUG190333 UMBRELLA ACADEMY WRAPPING PAPER $9.99
I'm all about independent comics marketing items, and I recall that I used to just use comics this way, particularly when one gave a lot of CDs and DVDs.
JUL190666 WILD STORM TP VOL 04 (RES) $16.99
If this is the recent material, I enjoyed reading it in serial form.
APR190694 JOHNNY BOO HC VOL 10 MIDNIGHT MONSTERS $9.99
James Kochalka is forever.
AUG190275 HELLBOY & BPRD LONG NIGHT AT GOLOSKI STATION $3.99 AUG191417 GIANT DAYS AS TIME GOES BY #1 CVR A SARIN $7.99 AUG191418 GIANT DAYS AS TIME GOES BY #1 CVR B SARIN $7.99 AUG190038 CHRONONAUTS FUTURESHOCK #1 (OF 4) CVR A FERRY (MR) $3.99 AUG190039 CHRONONAUTS FUTURESHOCK #1 (OF 4) CVR B FERRY (MR) $3.99 AUG190040 CHRONONAUTS FUTURESHOCK #1 (OF 4) CVR C CHAREST (MR) $3.99 AUG190041 CHRONONAUTS FUTURESHOCK #1 (OF 4) CVR D CANETE (MR) $3.99 AUG190042 CHRONONAUTS FUTURESHOCK #1 (OF 4) CVR E NOWLAN (MR) $3.99 AUG190043 CHRONONAUTS FUTURESHOCK #1 (OF 4) CVR F BLANK CVR (MR) $3.99 AUG190044 CHRONONAUTS FUTURESHOCK #1 (OF 4) CVR G MACUTAY (MR) $3.99 AUG190047 CHRONONAUTS FUTURESHOCK #2 (OF 4) CVR A FERRY (MR) $3.99 AUG190048 CHRONONAUTS FUTURESHOCK #2 (OF 4) CVR B B&W FERRY (MR) $3.99 AUG190049 CHRONONAUTS FUTURESHOCK #3 (OF 4) CVR A FERRY (MR) $3.99 AUG190050 CHRONONAUTS FUTURESHOCK #3 (OF 4) CVR B B&W FERRY (MR) $3.99 AUG190051 CHRONONAUTS FUTURESHOCK #4 (OF 4) CVR A FERRY (MR) $5.99 AUG190052 CHRONONAUTS FUTURESHOCK #4 (OF 4) CVR B B&W FERRY (MR) $5.99 JUL198872 USAGI YOJIMBO #2 2ND PTG $3.99 AUG198879 DIE #8 2ND PTG (MR) $3.99 AUG190989 FANTASTIC FOUR GRAND DESIGN #1 (OF 2) $5.99 AUG190990 FANTASTIC FOUR GRAND DESIGN #1 (OF 2) PISKOR VAR $5.99 AUG190991 FANTASTIC FOUR GRAND DESIGN #1 (OF 2) SCIOLI VAR $5.99
Here are the comic-book comics that caught my attention this week, not always for reasons of straight-up perceived merit. There's a Mignola-verse comic and then the beginning of a last something (comic? series?) for the Giant Days book. I'm not sure why the Chrononauts needs variant covers to emboss its stunt of publishing all of its issues at the same time, but those comics are pure TV series fodder now and don't really need to function like comics. Good to see that new Usagi series do well; Usagi has always had a lot of strength as a serial. Second printings for an eighth issue is also a positive sign. I am curious about Tom Scioli's take on the Fantastic Four characters, given he's a character without personal recollection of its primetime run.
JUL191359 CEREBUS TP VOL 04 CHURCH & STATE II REMASTERED ED $42.00
No idea what this is beyond the obvious description of the words in its title, but I hadn't known this work was occasionally available through the shops at all so I thought I'd mention it.
JUN191772 HEAVY METAL #295 CVR A ENG (MR) $9.99 JUN191773 HEAVY METAL #295 CVR B CORREA (MR) $9.99 JUN191774 HEAVY METAL #295 CVR C BEDERMAN (MR) $9.99 JUN191775 HEAVY METAL #295 CVR D MOSQUERA (MR) $9.99 JUN191776 HEAVY METAL #295 CVR E PYLE (MR) $9.99
There seems to be some editorial disruption at this iteration of Heavy Metal; I guess we'll see in the months ahead how serious a disruption it may be.
AUG191809 EVERETT RAYMOND KINSTLER ARTISTS JOURNEY 1942 1962 HC $44.95
Kinstler is one of the more interesting artists to pass through comics, and I'm always interest in seeing a book about such artist. A definite check-out for sure.
JUL192200 A MARVELOUS LIFE AMAZING STORY STAN LEE HC $29.99
This is Danny Fingeroth's Stan Lee book, and I'm reading it right now in the hopes of interviewing him. I'm enjoying it so far. Fingeroth worked with Lee, under Lee and above Lee at Marvel -- I think he's had all three perspectives -- so the book should be interesting for its author's perspective.
*****
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 don't really follow the television element of the various superhero "universes" very closely, nor its show-running major players, but the fact that someone can come full circle on the Green Lantern movie interests me a bit. I was sick that year and that film was so poorly received my brother jokingly suggest my body made itself sick so I wouldn't have to see it. It's also interesting to me how durable in a way these properties can be these days in terms of being used for media effort after other media efforts have done poorly, which isn't necessarily a resiliency that media properties used to have, except maybe in the low-stakes world of comics.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up
* sad to hear that Mitch Berger is in the final stages of hospice care, and our every best wish for every single good moment to come his way. Berger was involved in the fabric of comics' intersection with legal matters for several years, and was a foundational member of the CBLDF.
* I never know what to make of the Facebook marked-safe feature, but it's encouraging to wake up in the morning and see people offer up good news as to their safety. These kind of life disruptions are part of life right now, and we wish everyone the best negotiating these potentially horrific moments.
Comics By Request: People, Places In Need Of Funding By Tom Spurgeon
* it's been about a year since an official update, but various tweets by the cartoonists benefiting from monies raised to defray costs that come from being sued by Cody Pickrodt have indicated some need in finishing off legal matters for those still beinig pursued. Folks have generously responded. Donate through here. The need is immediate. Every dollar helps.
* MICE has complete another year and non-profit festivals can always use the support of those who've bome and had a great time. Maybe start here.
I've been sneaking out links to these interviews from Gil Roth as they've been posted, but I realized this morning it's a pretty strong group taken all together: Sylvia Nickerson, Chris Ware, Kate Lacour and Frank Santoro. It's one of my favorite places on the comics Internet.
1. Nighthawk
2. Owl-Man.
3. The Cockroach.
4. Moon Knight.
5. The Shroud.
*****
Sean Kleefeld
1. The Black Fox
2. The Knight Watchman
3. Batmanuel
4. Bat-Bat
5. Blue Falcon
*****
Tom Bondurant
1. Open-Window Man (from the China Mieville-written Dial H series) (image above)
2. Nite Owl II
3. Prometheus
4. The Wrath
5. Nightwing (the Kandorian one)
*****
Andrew Mansell
1. Blue Falcon
2. Nightwing of Kandor
3. Owl-man
4. Midnighter
5. Midnight Mink (image above)
Weekend Reminder: Fund For Those Sued By Cody Pickrodt Depleted; Three Still Facing Action People are giving again, which is swell. If you can do so and you agree with the necessity of that support, please consider joining them.
Assembled Extra: Upgrade Soul App Preview Available Preview here. I couldn't make head or tails of the information dump they sent along with it, which was something like 30 graphs long. I like the work as a comic, though, and I'm sure it's intriguing in this form as well. Good luck!
Random Comics News Story Round-Up
* in what is beginning to look like it's going to become a longterm Amazon question for comics companies, consumers and, well, everyone: a story about Seattle politics that will continue to be watched closely; the ALA named Amazon and Macmillan as companies of concern for their digital practices. Advanced warning: I'm printing any comment I get on this!
By Request Extra: Defense Fund Raised On Behalf Of Those Sued by Cody Pickrodt Could Use Assistance
According to this tweet by Rob Clough and subsequent statements by Clough and Hazel Newlevant, it looks like the defense fund generated to defray legal costs by a group of comics community members sued by Cody Pickrodt is running out of money, and could use additional funding. The bulk of the money from the public sphere came in 2018. In his tweet, Clough identifies three members of the original group of 11 as being in specific need of additional support. In a follow-up tweet, defendant Hazel Newlevant describes in rough terms the resources situation.
I hope that you'll join me in making a donation. I think it's important that lawsuits aren't allowed to facilitate a chilling effect on speech based largely -- if not solely -- on the resources involved and on political positioning. Please consider a new or additional gift, and thank you to those who have both through this Fund and in other ways.
The Never-Ending, Four-Color Festival: Shows And Events
By Tom Spurgeon
* there are a few more quality shows for 2019, with the big ones to my mind coming in the arts festival space: Short Run and CAB. You should go to either one you're able to attend. Or both. Short Run may be the last real regional show because it is freaking hard to get to Seattle the way our travel infrastructure has developed. And CAB has a peerless programming slate year after year because of its access to NYC cartoonists and cartoonists that want to visit NYC. Avail yourself.
* Heidi MacDonald on Baltimore Comic-Con. How that show was described by those in attendance was as interesting as the show itself, and I hope I can write something down in the next few days. I had a really good time, although that's not a part of comics with whom I enjoy a lot over overlap in interests. It was a lot like that one WonderCon where a lot of press people were sponsored by the show. It was nice to see Kevin Nowlan talk and to see a lot of happy people enjoy being in costume and buying old funnybooks and having them signed. I sometimes wonder if I will get rid of my comics soon except as needed for work, and then only for work right in the moment. I don't own any other media. I don't get much use out of the bulk of comics I have. Anyway, I had very gracious hosts for which I'm appreciative and it was nice seeing old friends like Dean Haspiel and old heroes like Howard Chaykin. My hometown retailer was even there. I met Paul McSpadden. It was that kind of show.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * bundled extra: the fourth book in Terri Libenson's series of same-school hybrid books about the interconnected lives of a group or middle-schoolers has its cover reveal. Although not aimed at me content-wise, I liked the first three books in that series re-reading them this summer and think they are cleverly constructed.
This Isn’t A Library: New, Notable Release From 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.
*****
OCT170523 SCREWBALL CARTOONISTS WHO MADE FUNNIES FUNNY HC $59.99
This looks good and also looks like humongously stuffed with material. I'm not always sure I believe the provenance of this kind of material as a gatherable thing, but the individual cartoonists are almost always interesting and fun. This strikes me as a strong Christmas-present candidate, and of course we are starting to see those from a dozen to two dozen times in any given week.
AUG190171 CRIMINAL #9 (MR) $3.99 AUG191422 LUMBERJANES #67 CVR A LEYH $3.99 AUG191431 STEVEN UNIVERSE ONGOING #33 CVR A PENA $3.99 AUG190473 ACTION COMICS #1016 YOTV $3.99 AUG190282 HELLBOY AND THE BPRD SATURN RETURNS #3 (OF 3) $3.99 AUG190163 ASCENDER #6 (MR) $3.99
That doesn't mean the comic-book comics go away, though. With Walking Dead gone, Criminal may be the vital quality serial genre comic book in North American right now, depending on how the mutants, Batmen, Supermen and Telgemeier family are doing at any given time. The teenage protagonists might take you back to Lowlife-era Brubaker a bit. The Lumberjanes and Steven Universe comics I mention for the number of issues they done. That's a really basic thing I do, check in on number of issues done, but it still surprises me with comics like these. Action Comics just feels like it's finishing a 50-issue run, and of course the Mignola-Verse material is on a run three times that length. At least. Ascender is the flip-approach epic by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen, and I think is one of the stable elements of their line.
JUL190653 NAOMI SEASON ONE HC $19.99
This is a collection of Brian Bendis' new-character launch done in the midst of core DC books. It seems admirable as all hell, but it's a sideways treatment to core DC supeheroing that rarely gets over until 20 years have past.
MAY190623 GRAMERCY PARK HC $19.99
This is a slight off-key European album type comic: familiar but breaking with the look a bit. When people talk about European comics working their way into the market, this is the kind of book that pops to mind.
MAY190947 TIMELYS GREATEST HC GOLDEN AGE SIMON & KIRBY OMNIBUS $150.00 AUG192074 ADV OF TINTIN COMPLETE COLLECTION SET $200.00
Christmas is the time of the massive comics set. Marvel's done surprising well through the years with giant collections and Simon/Kirby is always of interest in a right-brains. The better comics collections have a significant chunk of Tintin, even if we haven't agreed on a format, let alone an edition, of what that should be.
JUL191922 COMPLETE PEANUTS TP BOX SET 1971-1974 $39.99 JUL191921 COMPLETE PEANUTS TP VOL 12 1973-1974 $22.99
The best of this century giant collections projects rolls on. I have to imagine the single volume/double volume nature of the books makes them hard to keep in print, which would also indicate to me that if you're not done picking them up yet there might be effort involved in making sure you're buying when they're selling. They are of course, sublime comics.
AUG191964 OPEN BORDERS GN $19.99 AUG191965 OPEN BORDERS HC GN $27.99
Some non-fiction comics on the subject of immigration policy. I'd certainly look at this.
AUG191591 ZITS TREASURY TP NOT SPARKING JOY $18.99
The Scott/Borgman hit strip keeps its successful publishing program moving along. That is a very well executed strip with a very bland story -- you know the range of behavior available to the lead when standing 20 feet away from the comic. There's still a place for that kind of work is my guess.
AUG191820 ART OF THE DEVIL ILLUSTRATED HISTORY HC $45.00
Another gift book, with Devil images. My mom would worry about me if I were to receiving one in the mail... so please send them to my office.
JUL191845 DAYBREAK HC NEW ED (MR) $21.95
This is a fun comic by the almost always fun Brian Ralph. The soon-to-drop film/TV version looks like it has little to do with the comic, but that doesn't make the comic worse!
*****
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 * Joe Gordon on Book Of Forks.
* just re-read this 2018 Eric Reynolds interview about Amazon Print-On-Demand for a project on which I'm working. I'd forgotten about the article until Reynolds reminded me.
Festivals Extra: A Chat With ReedPOP’s Mike Armstrong
A few bits of hard news from can be found here. This includes second-year Keystone numbers, expected expansion at Javits for NYCC by 2021, and a brief discussion of NYCC more generally. A go-read.
* I'm not a big fan of overlapping treatments of core material as a way to best exploit these popular characters, but we are certainly in the age of that now. I have a specific hope this is not what companies will do with large character libraries for the sake of emphasizing a few characters over a wide range. Make sense this will happen, though.
* this kind of thing is a big example of it, although I think DC's desire to kind of reoriented the core of their publishing efforts to all-ages standalone books is genuine.
* finally: here's an old-school PR piece on a graphic novel due in early 2020. Don't see as many of those as you used to, except for a few significant books.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * these lists are always a little weird, and I never quite know what to do with them. This one seems as smart and well-intentioned as any of them. I'm not 100 percent positive that Watchmen naturally drives people to political commentary and pop formalism. I think I might go with 1980s political allegory, maybe? Or just other accomplished comics.
* I have almost no connection to Star Wars and even less to its related comics talent, but I am susceptible to seeing the amount of time involved -- I was a eight year old when the first movie came out -- and I frequently remember the number of people that have been lost between then and now.
* so does anyone now past a hunch or supposition what the current state of on-line dissemination of information might be? I get the sense that people have moved past various forms of social media communication to not putting anything out there at all, but I have no idea if my hunch is right.
It was a genial, affectionate awards program, that moved at a less-than-two-hours clip. Jose Luis Garcia Lopez (Hero Initiative) and a very surprised Louise Simonson (Dick Giordano) won the career-spanner prizes.
I participated in this year's program as a judge. I was flattered to be asked and was treated totally above-board.
Winners in bold.
*****
BEST CARTOONIST (WRITER/ARTIST)
* Echorise
* Enjelicious * Terry Moore
* Sean Murphy
* Jim Woodring
*****
BEST WRITER
* Brian Michael Bendis
* Richard Dent
* Rylend Grant
* Jeff Lemire
* Scott Snyder * Brian K. Vaughan
*****
BEST ARTIST OR PENCILLER
* Joe Bennett
* Shawn Daley
* Ezra Claytan Daniels
* Steve Ellis
* Ronilson Freire
* Dan Mora
* Dustin Nguyen
* Ryan Ottley * Sean Phillips
*****
BEST INKER
* J.P. Mayer
* Mark Morales
* Ron Randall * Fiona Staples
* Sana Takeda
*****
BEST LETTERER
* David Aja
* Arechan
* Taylor Esposito
* Jared K. Fletcher * Todd Klein
*****
BEST COLORIST
* Tamra Bonvillain
* Steve Conley
* Matt Hollingsworth
* Rachel Smythe
* Dave Stewart
* Matt Wilson
* YaongYi
*****
BEST COVER ARTIST
* Travis Charest
* Nick Derington
* Dan Mora
* Sara Richard
* Alex Ross * Fiona Staples
* Jim Woodring
*****
BEST SERIES
* Batman: White Knight, DC Comics
* Bitter Root, Image Comics * Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Dark Horse Comics
* Blammo, Kilgore Books
* The Highest House, IDW Publishing * The Immortal Hulk, Marvel Comics
* Venom, Marvel Comics
*****
BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY
* Aberrant #4, Danger Zone
* Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise, Dark Horse Comics
* Champions #24, Marvel Comics
* Klaus and the Crying Snowman, BOOM! Studios * Swamp Thing Winter Special, DC Comics
*****
BEST ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL
* The Ghost, The Owl, Action Lab Entertainment * My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, Image Comics
* Son of Hitler, Image Comics
* Upgrade Soul, Lion Forge
* Woman World, Drawn & Quarterly
*****
BEST ANTHOLOGY
* Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman, DC Comics
* All We Ever Wanted: Stories of a Better World, A Wave Blue World
* Femme Magnifique: 50 Magnificent Women Who Changed the World, Black Crown/IDW Publishing
* Grief, Source Point Press
* Twisted Romance, Image Comics * Where We Live, A Benefit for the Survivors in Las Vegas, Image Comics
*****
BEST HUMOR COMIC
* Bluechair, WEBTOON
* Get Naked, Image Comics
* Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell, WEBTOON * MAD, DC Comics
* Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons, IDW Publishing
*****
BEST COMIC STRIP OR PANEL
* Amazing Spider-Man, Stan Lee/Larry Lieber, King Features Syndicate
* Bloom County, Berkeley Breathed, Andrews McMeel Universal
* Doonesbury, Garry Trudeau, Andrews McMeel Universal
* Garfield, Jim Davis, King Features Syndicate
* Luann, Greg Evans, Andrews McMeel Universal * Nancy, Olivia Jaimes, Andrews McMeel Universal
* Pearls Before Swine, Stephan Pastis, Andrews McMeel Universal
* All the Answers, Simon & Schuster
* The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York, Abrams ComicArts
* Hey, Kiddo, Graphix
* I Moved to Los Angeles to Work in Animation, BOOM! Studios
* Let's Make Comics!, Watson-Guptill * Where We Live, A Benefit for the Survivors in Las Vegas, Image Comics
*****
BEST KIDS COMIC OR GRAPHIC NOVEL
* Aquacorn Cove, Oni Press
* Be Prepared, First Second Books
* Jupiter Jet, Action Lab Entertainment
* The Nameless City: The Divided Earth, First Second Books
* The Prince and the Dressmaker, First Second Books * Punk Taco, Adam Wallenta Entertainment
*****
BEST PRESENTATION IN DESIGN
* Absolute Sandman Overture, DC Comics
* Berlin, Drawn & Quarterly
* Madman Quarter Century Shindig, IDW Publishing
* My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, Image Comics
* Only Living Boy Omnibus, Papercutz
* Persephone, BOOM! Studios
* Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise Gallery Edition, Abstract Studio/Graphitti Designs
* Yellow Negros and Other Imaginary Creatures, New York Review Comics
FFF Results Post #519—Be A Clone, Be A Clone, And You Will Never Be Alone
On Friday, CR readers were asked to "Name Five Favorite Close Copies Of Superman." This is how they responded.
*****
Mario Filipe
1. Superman from the Acme Novelty Comics.
3. Supreme.
2. True-Man.
4. Mr. Majestic.
5. Superdupont.
Netflix announced today that it has secured the rights to Jeff Smith’s award-winning and New York Times best-selling international comic book series, BONE, with plans to develop an animated series that follows the iconic Bone cousins on an adventure through a vast, uncharted desert and into a mysterious valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures.
BONE has been published in over 30 countries since 1991, with over 9 million copies in print in North America alone. It is among TIME Magazine's "Ten Best Graphic Novels of All Time" and winner of more than 40 national and international publishing awards, including the Eisner Awards, Harvey Awards, and The French Alph Art. BONE was a pioneer in comics publishing for kids as the launch title for Scholastic's graphic novel imprint, Graphix Books, when it debuted in 2005.
"I've waited a long time for this," says Smith, creator of the BONE graphic novels. "Netflix is the perfect home for BONE. Fans of the books know that the story develops chapter by chapter and book by book. An animated series is exactly the way to do this! The team at Netflix understands BONE and is committed to doing something special -- this is good news for kids and cartoon lovers all over the world."
Jeff Smith is an American cartoonist whose other award-winning and acclaimed comics include SHAZAM! The Monster Society of Evil, RASL, Little Mouse Gets Ready!, and BONE: Tall Tales. Smith splits his time between Columbus and Key West with his wife and business partner, Vijaya Iyer, where he is working on his current project TUKI: 2 Million BCE.
This is well-timed in terms of the work now having multiple generations of devoted fans. The announcement coming after the Great Disney Streaming Movie Dump Of 2019 indicates the high regard this acquisition is held by the film/TV company. Smith's an animator and the work should be suited for adaptation this way. If it works, Smith will be among the few creators directly benefiting from this kind of adaptation. I hope it's good. Congratulations to Smith and Vijaya Iyer.
Festivals Extra: CAB Announces Programming For 2019 Festival
From their press release sent 10/10/19:
Comic Arts Brooklyn returns on November 2nd with a must-see celebration of modern cartooning featuring Chris Ware, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Art Spiegelman, and hundreds of cutting-edge artists and publishers.
Brooklyn comics store Desert Island presents its eleventh-annual free festival at Pratt Institute, which draws exhibitors and guests from around the world to Pratt's 42,000 sq ft ARC building, the second-largest room in Brooklyn. CAB director Gabe Fowler welcomes new co-curator Courtney Menard, a printmaker and illustrator who has helped bring new voices to the festival and emphasize a commitment to print as an art form.
This year's show includes a full day of free talks and lectures on Pratt's campus, including:
- Chris Ware interviewed by Art Speigelman and Francoise Mouly about his career since appearing in their RAW magazine in 1991
- Aline Kominsky-Crumb interviewed by Lauren Weinstein about the lives and loves of alter ego Honeybunch Kominsky
- Charles Burns and Gary Panter discussing 'Drawing as a way of Thinking'
- Kim Deitch and Nina Bunjevac interviewing each other about 'The Sublime Detail'
- Frank Santoro discussing Pittsburgh and experimental memoir with Calvin Reid
- 'Decolonising Comics,' exploring why comix and zines are spearheading the conversation around decolonization
- 'Invisible Wall: Drawing Across Borders,' a surrealist-activist drawing game between artists from New York and Mexico
All this, plus over 300 artists and exhibitors selling comics, artists' books, prints, and ephemera, including endless rare, self-published, and exclusive material.
That's always a great show with an amazing floor and strong panel participation. I encourage everyone who can go to go.
* by request Extra: Shannon Wheeler launches a modest kickstarter for his book about the recent Whistleblower Report re: Ukraine, etc. Sounds like a good bet.
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.
*****
AUG191929 REINCARNATION STORIES HC KIM DEITCH $29.99
Books from the great Kim Deitch usually end up in my personal top five any year they're released, and this one looks like a better-than-usual offering in the cartoonist's reliably consistent later-period career. It's certainly the book for which I feel the greatest force of anticipation.
JUL190589 MAD MAGAZINE #10 $5.99
Not sure where this is placed in the extended phase out or even a potential return, but there is sure to be one or two pieces in here of interest and one wishes the forces involved having it go away weren't powerful ones.
AUG190459 SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN #1 (OF 3) $7.99 AUG190558 SUPERMANS PAL JIMMY OLSEN #4 (OF 12) $3.99 AUG190846 X-MEN #1 ARTGERM VAR DX $4.99
The first book is Gene Luen Yang's interpretation of a Superman adventure when the character was more about general social justice than a neutered, "heroic" personality making as many people as possible feel good. The second book is the latest Fraction/Lieber effort with the oddball Jimmy Olsen character. I'm not sure the series has hit its full stride yet, but I like its tone and flavor, this kind of break with straight-face seriousness in comics being seen as this dismaying thing. The third is a variation-cover comic for the relaunch of the X-Men comic after a summer spent moving the pieces around changing emphases in a long-overdue sense. I'll look in for a while, sure.
AUG191587 BABY BLUES COLLECTION TP SURVIVING GREAT INDOORS $18.99
I'm a fan of the successful; newspaper strip model for publishing: these gigantic books combined with smaller ones. They very much seem to suit what writer Jerry Scott is up to with his various efforts.
AUG191932 BRAIN BATS OF VENUS BASIL WOLVERTON HC VOL 02 $44.99 AUG192430 DRIFTING CLASSROOM HC VOL 01 PERFECT ED UMEZZ $34.99
The first is the second volume of the Sadowski biography, the second is I don't know which version of that story. I know you probably won't both in a weighty comics connection of any kind. Wolverton is so fun to look at, my goodness.
JUN191844 UNPLUGGED AND UNPOPULAR GN $12.99 JUN191845 UNPLUGGED AND UNPOPULAR HC GN $19.99
This stands in for the books that are high-concept pieces executed in an almost house style by an all-ages publisher. I don't hold out much for the idiosyncrasy of its execution, but I'm one of those that think this kind of work is the new mainstream so pay attention to it I shall.
MAR191802 FRANK THORNE GHITA EROTIC TREASURY ARCHIVAL PX ED VOL 02 (MR $150.00
I have no interest in the debatable erotic qualities of Frank Thorne's artwork, but I love to look at it as inky, abstract shapes and find much of it beautiful. I will always look at a new book.
JUL191794 RAINA TELGEMEIER MINI POSTERS $12.99 JUL191795 RAINA TELGEMEIER MY SMILE DIARY $14.99
There's not a lot of Raina-related material, so this stroke my eye. One of the cartoonists of right now.
JUL191907 COMICS JOURNAL #304 $14.99
Always happy to see the Journal, even if I can't score backstage passes at this point. It's a good interview, with an interesting cartoonist.
*****
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 lot of folks find it very easy to grant legitimacy to the use of one story's set of symbols and ideas to foster a completely different story's set of symbols and ideas, but I sort of lack that gene in a way it all looks like a lot of strained arguing to me. I hope the show is good because having it be bad just means peole will be exposed to a bad TV show, but I'll never be show how to think of something like this. I found Mary Poppins similarly weird, and much more effort was spent building a continuity of tone. One thing I'm sure might help is the idea of people dressing up and committing violence on one another seems of a kind with the violent ugliness of modern American culture.
* OTBP: Modesty Comics. Don't know if it's all as obscure as a selected title might be, but it isn't a group with which I'm familiar.
Bundled, Tossed, Untied And Stacked: Publishing News By Tom Spurgeon
* I wish I had something smart to say about reviving characters using the image of an actor playing the the character on screen somewhere. I think I may be against it, but it kind of thwarts me thinking through it clearly. I think with my background being theater rather than film, I don't invest a kind of hard reality in specific depictions that those who are wholly film-oriented might.
This was sent to me by a friend and I will sort through it, but I don't want to impede anyone else interested in the story from doing the same in a timely manner. As a legal narrative it's interesting, too, casting names related-to-Stan like Gill Champion and the late Arthur Lieberman as villains out to exploit characters and goodwill created by Lee. I would imagine most readers of the situation generally would take a step back from the more florid career claims made on Lee's behalf, but I don't know that for certain. Should be interesting to see how this unfolds and certainly JC is a major person of interest -- probably the major person of interest -- from which to be heard.
The one-year anniversary of Lee's death will arrive on November 12.
* Dan Nadel's Crumb biography is publishing news now, so people can complain about it to me openly instead of privately. Nadel is one of the most interesting writer about comics in the medium's history and it seems time for a treatment of the underground legend. He'll have access to the artist and his archives, apparently.
* Kurtis Findlay talks to Paul Tumey. I don't like this particular link and its formatting, as it goes through a feed, but it should work. Matthew Phelan talks to Olivia Jaimes.
* here's a list of best cartoonists/illustrators on Instagram.
Bundled Extra: Abrams Releases Spring List Details For 2020
Here are the Spring 2020 listings for Abrams, as disseminated late last week by the publisher. All in their words.
January 28 -- Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, by Octavia E. Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy and illustrated by John Jennings
The follow-up to Kindred, the #1 bestseller, comes Octavia E. Butler's groundbreaking dystopian novel.
In this graphic novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower, by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, the award-winning team behind the #1 bestseller Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, the author portrays a searing vision of America's future. In the year 2024, the country is marred by unattended environmental and economic crises that lead to social chaos. Lauren Olamina, a preacher's daughter living in Los Angeles, is protected from danger by the walls of her gated community. However, in a night of fire and death, what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny . . . and the birth of a new faith.
March 3 -- Glass Town: The Imaginary World of the Brontes, by Isabel Greenberg
Glass Town is an original graphic novel by Isabel Greenberg that encompasses the eccentric childhoods of the four Bronte children -- Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne. The story begins in 1825, with the deaths of Maria and Elizabeth, the eldest siblings. It is in response to this loss that the four remaining children set pen to paper and created the fictional world that became known as Glass Town. This world and its cast of characters would come to be the Brontes' escape from the realities of their lives. Within Glass Town the siblings experienced love, friendship, war, triumph, and heartbreak. Through a combination of quotes from the stories originally penned by the Brontes, biographical information about them, and Greenberg's vivid comic book illustrations, readers will find themselves enraptured by this fascinating imaginary world.
April 7 -- Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, by Derf Backderf
On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard gunned down unarmed college students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University. In a deadly barrage of 67 shots, 4 students were killed and 9 shot and wounded. It was the day America turned guns on its own children -- a shocking event burned into our national memory. A few days prior, 10-year-old Derf Backderf saw those same Guardsmen patrolling his nearby hometown, sent in by the governor to crush a trucker strike. Using the journalism skills he employed on My Friend Dahmer and Trashed, Backderf has conducted extensive interviews and research to explore the lives of these four young people and the events of those four days in May, when the country seemed on the brink of tearing apart. Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, which will be published in time for the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, is a moving and troubling story about the bitter price of dissent -- as relevant today as it was in 1970.
April 14 -- Labyrinth: An Existential Odyssey, with Jean-Paul Sartre by Ben Argon
As graduates embark on the next phase of their lives, what better way to get them accustomed to the rat race they are about to enter than by introducing them to the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre? Cleverly told through the story of a pair of rats trapped in the labyrinth of existence, this allegory humorously conveys the key ideas of Sartre's existential philosophy in graphic-novel form -- accessible for students and readers of all ages. In addition, two reputable Sartre scholars have contributed the introduction and afterword: Gary Cox, a British philosopher with a doctorate from the University of Birmingham, and Christine Daigle, professor of philosophy at Brock University in Canada.
Apri 14 -- I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf, by Grant Snider
It's no secret, but we are judged by our bookshelves. We learn to read at an early age, and as we grow older we shed our beloved books for new ones. But some of us surround ourselves with books. We collect them, decorate with them, are inspired by them, and treat our books as sacred objects. In this lighthearted collection of one- and two-page comics, beloved New York Times illustrator Grant Snider explores bookishness in all its forms, and the love of writing and reading, building on the beloved literary comics featured on his website, Incidental Comics. With a striking package including a die-cut cover, I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf is the perfect gift for bookworms of all ages.
April 21 -- Drawing the Vote: An Illustrated Guide to Voting in Americab by Tommy Jenkins, illustrated by Kati Lacker
Coinciding with the 2020 US presidential election, Drawing the Vote, an original graphic novel, looks at the history of voting rights in the United States and how it affects the way we vote today. Throughout the book, the author, Tommy Jenkins, identifies events and trends that led to the unprecedented results of the 2016 presidential election that left American political parties more estranged than ever. To balance these complex ideas and statistics, Kati Lacker's original artistic style makes the book accessible for readers of all ages. At a time when many citizens are experiencing challenges and apathy about voting and skepticism concerning our bitterly divided government, Drawing the Vote seeks to offer some explanation for how we got here and how every American can take action to make their vote count.
May 5 -- A Gift for a Ghost, by Borja Gonzalez
In Borja Gonzalez's stunning graphic novel, two parallel stories reflect and intertwine in a tale of youthful dreams and desires. In 1856, Teresa, a young aristocrat, is more interested in writing avantgarde horror poetry than making a suitable marriage. In 2016, three teenage girls, Gloria, Laura, and Cristina, want to start a punk band called the Black Holes. They have everything they need: attitude, looks, instinct... and an alarming lack of musical talent. They've barely started rehearsing when strange things begin to happen. As their world and Teresa's intersect, they're haunted by the echo of something that happened 160 years ago.
May 5 -- Marvel Comics Mini-Books, by Marvel Entertainment
In 1966, Marvel printed what the Guinness Book of World Records certified as the world's smallest comic books. Smaller than a postage stamp, and sold in gumball machines across the country, these six books told the quirky origin stories of Marvel's most beloved characters at that time: the Amazing Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the Mighty Thor, Captain America, Sergeant Nick Fury, and Millie the Model. Marvel Comics Mini-Books reproduces facsimile editions of all six books in one affordable box set -- along with a seventh book written by Mark Evanier that details the history and creation of these rare, vintage collectables.
May 12 -- Fire on the Water, by Scott MacGregor and illustrated by Gary Dumm
This original graphic novel imagines the lives of blue-collar workers involved in the real-life Lake Erie tunnel disaster of 1916 in Cleveland. Author Scott MacGregor and illustrator Gary Dumm tell the intersecting stories of a brilliant African American inventor, Ben Beltran (based on the real-life Garrett Morgan, Sr.), desperate immigrants tunneling beneath Lake Erie, and corrupt overseers who risk countless lives for profit. As historical fiction, Fire on the Water sheds light not only on one of America's earliest man-made ecological disasters but also on racism and the economic disparity between classes in the Midwest at the turn of the century.
May 12 -- Marvel Value Stamps: A Visual History, by Marvel Entertainment
In 1974, Marvel Comics publisher Stan Lee devised an ingenious promotional campaign -- Marvel Value Stamps, which appeared on the letters pages of their monthly comics. Readers could cut out all 100 of these super hero and super villain stamps and place them in a special mail-order booklet. Once complete, these stamp books could then be redeemed for special discounts and exclusive merchandise. The program was so successful, a second set was released in 1975. And now, for the first time, these original stamp books, stamps, and all of the surrounding ephemera and source material are collected into one must-have volume for collectors and fans, along with text from Marvel Comics historian Roy Thomas.
July 7 -- Magic: The Gathering: Legends: A Visual History, by Wizards of the Coast and Jay Annelli
The world of Magic: The Gathering is home to many fantastical characters and creatures, but perhaps none so intriguing as its legendary creature cards, which include dragons, demons, angels, goblins, vampires, merfolk, wizards, and more. These legendary cards harken back to Magic's early history, having been introduced in one of the first sets of Magic cards (1994's Legends) and in yearly expansions all the way through spring 2020's most recent set.
Magic: The Gathering: Legends showcases high-quality reproductions of the most iconic card art. in many instances for the first time outside of the card frame -- along with accompanying creature and character histories, written by Jay Annelli. This collection also offers exclusive insight into the art and mythology behind some of Magic: The Gathering's most powerful, popular, and enduring legends and legendary creatures.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * this is an interesting-sounding project. It would be great to have a facility like this in New York, and certainly I'm interested in the preservation of Joe Kubert's artistic legacy. That said, this kind of thing is really, really hard to do, and being in New York increases some of the resources of available to a project like this one but may make everything more expensive. There are a lot of failed such efforts in comics' history. I wish them the best, and I'll be first in line for a public opening.
* festivals extra: NYCC has a very active "Artist's Alley," and the Internet is filled with anecdotes about artists doing very well selling goods there. It's not my favorite way to conceive of an art form I love, but I'm happy with those that add to their bottom line that way.
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.
*****
MAR191688 HANDBOOK TO LAZY PARENTING GN $12.95
All of the books I've read in this series have been amusing, even if I couldn't quite track them volume to volume. I'll definitely own one by Christmas, and probably have given one as a gift.
JUL192279 GINSENG ROOTS #1 $5.00 AUG190879 POWERS OF X #6 (OF 6) $5.99 AUG190768 USAGI YOJIMBO #5 CVR A SAKAI $3.99 AUG190512 EVENT LEVIATHAN #5 (OF 6) $3.99
Intersting comic-book format day. Ginseng Roots has already had an interesting pathway to publication, including fevered talk of orientalism evident in its creation. One thing that hasn't been covered as much is Thompson's desire to do serial comic-book style comics, which is interesting in that his Blankets was the first initial thrown bomb in the war of book format vs. comic book formats. Powers Of X ends the initial Jonathan Hickman written recalibration of Marvel's storied X-Men enterprise. I thought it very clever and in its action sequences appropriately thrilling. No idea where they go from here. I wish there were fewer variant covers. Usagi Yojimbo is always of interest, now and forever, and the comic-book form is its best form, I think. Event Leviathan reads like someone taking a bunch of toys -- in this case, DC's detective characters -- and putting them onto a newspaper placed on a table to see what we've got. I'm a sucker for talky things like this, though.
AUG191962 MAKER COMICS GN DRAW A COMIC $12.99 AUG191963 MAKER COMICS HC GN DRAW A COMIC $19.99
I would imagine a series of comics about making would have to have a pretty good comic-book making issue, and starting today I can stop imagining and start analyzing. I like how-to comics about comics and hope it goes well.
AUG191941 PEANUTS EVERY SUNDAY HC VOL 07 1981-1985 $49.99 AUG191577 PHOEBE & HER UNICORN GN VOL 10 UNICORN WHISPERER $9.99
I love these Sunday full-color reprints of Peanuts, although the Sunday series seems smaller in retrospect, just fewer numbers overall. Dana Simpson's Phoebe series is at 10 volumes now, which is pretty great.
JUN190301 BALTIMORE OMNIBUS HC VOL 01 $34.99 JUL190826 JOHN BYRNES MARVEL CLASSICS ARTIFACT EDITION HC $125.00
Two reliable creator from the mainstream/genre side of comics. I am always interested in at least looking at anything with which Mike Mignola is involved. I used to feel that way about John Byrne, and still do with whatever overisized edition Scott Dunbier dreams. I will look at both!
JUN190332 RAIN HC VOL 01 $24.99
It's been such a strong year that a Bryan and Mary Talbot graphic novel is kind of just popping up as its own market force. I'm interested to seeing how they do.
*****
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.
Bundled, Tossed, Untied And Stacked: Publishing News By Tom Spurgeon
* this Graeme McMillan article about a new Wolverine series is also a summary of all the mutant titles moving forward after the recent reconceptualization. I'm interested in what the core conflicts will look like.
* finally: Eric Reynolds bemoans the extent to which the market is given over to nostalgia books, many of which if not most of which are of dubious long-term merit. I get the short-term economic factors in play, but also feel very strongly that comics is at its best facilitating new material.
Given out over the weekend just past in conjunction with New York Comic Con. Winners In bold.
*****
BOOK OF THE YEAR
* Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home, by Nora Krug (Scribner)
* Berlin, by Jason Lutes (Drawn & Quarterly)
* BTTM FDRS, by Ezra Claytan Daniels and Ben Passmore (Fantagraphics) * Hey Kiddo, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Scholastic Graphix) [pictured above]
* Kid Gloves, by Lucy Knisley (First Second)
* Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell (First Second)
* My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
* On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden (First Second)
* Upgrade Soul, by Ezra Claytan Daniels (Lion Forge)
* When I Arrived at the Castle, by Emily Carroll (Koyama Press)
* Hey Kiddo, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Scholastic Graphix) * Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell (First Second)
* Mr. Wolf's Class #2: Mystery Club, by Aron Nels Steinke (Scholastic Graphix)
* New Kid, by Jerry Craft (HarperCollins Children's Books)
* On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden (First Second)
*****
BEST MANGA
* Frankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection, by Junji Ito (VIZ Media)
* Mob Psycho 100, by ONE (Dark Horse Manga) * My Hero Academia, by Kohei Horikoshi (VIZ Media)
* Our Dreams at Dusk, by Yuhki Kamatani (Seven Seas)
* Smashed, by Junji Ito (VIZ Media)
* Witch Hat Atelier, by Kamome Shirahama (Kodansha Comics)
*****
BEST EUROPEAN BOOK
* Corto Maltese, by Hugo Pratt (IDW Publishing)
* O Josephine, by Jason (Fantagraphics)
* Radiant, by Tony Valente (VIZ Media)
* Red Ultramarine, by Manuele Fior, translated by Jamie Richards (Fantagraphics)
* Waves, by Ingrid Chabbert and Carole Maurel (Archaia)
*****
BEST COMICS ADAPTATION AWARD
* Alita: Battle Angel, by 20th Century Fox, based on Battle Angel Alita (Kodansha USA)
* Avengers: Endgame, by Marvel Studios, based on The Avengers (Marvel Comics)
* The Boys, by Amazon Studios, based on The Boys (Dynamite Entertainment)
* Captain Marvel, by Marvel Studios, based on Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics)
* Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, by Netflix, based on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Archie Comics)
* Doom Patrol, by DC Universe, based on Doom Patrol (DC Comics)
* Marvel's Spider-Man, by Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive, based on Spider-Man (Marvel Comics) * Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, based on Spider-Man (Marvel Comics) [pictured below]
* The Snagglepuss Chronicles, by Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival and Die-Cast, based on Exit, Stage Left!: The Snagglepuss Chronicles (DC Comics)
* Umbrella Academy, by Netflix, based on The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse Comics)
****
In addition, Maggie Thompson won the comics pioneer award and Mike Mignola, Alison Bechdel and group of MAD creators -- Will Elder, Jack Davis, John Severin, Marie Severin, Ben Oda -- were all inducted into the program's Hall of Fame.
* finally: hey, David Heatley is on tour. I liked a few of David's comics when he had a short run as a cartoonist of interest by alt-comics fans. One of them I thought was subsequently made worse by how to collect it. I'll certainly check this book out.
Go, Watch: Carta Monir Interviews Ivy Atoms At CXC 2019 For Atoms’ Columbus Comics Residency
Thank You to Columbus Museum Of Art and Columbus College Of Art & Design for sponsoring this wonderful program. Ivy's work will be up at the museum until like April or something in 2020 -- go see it!
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * Megan Kelso talks to Marc Bell. Amy Gunia profiles Badiucao. Rick Bradford profiles BN Duncan. Jae Choi profiles Elizabeth Im.
* I wish these attractive people all the best, but I'm enough of an old-school comics guy to be skeptical of executive hires when there's not a ton of easy-to-cite notable work being released. Tiered structures might maximize a line's execution into the marketplace, but the work has to be there. If I'm reading this correctly, the company cites two noteworthy books in a calendar year and blames the market for generally underperforming. There's not a memo or initiative that turns that recent track record into a thriving publishing house.
Random Comics News Story Round-Up * Alex Dueben talks to Kate Lacour.
* Matt McGloin, who I'm guessing based on that name is also starting quarterback at LSU, says Cyberfrog Bloodhoney is kind of meh. That's one of those prove-a-political-point comics. It somehow costs $25. I'm sure anything else I learn about it will make me barf on my shirt. It looks like an early Image comic book, so I guess some people might like the look of it based on that formulation.
CR Review: The American Dream Creator: Shing Yin Khor Publishing Information: Zest Books, Softcover, 160 pages, 160 pages, August 2019, $16.99. Ordering Numbers: 1942186371 (ISBN10) 9781942186373 (ISBN 13)
I liked this book. It's modestly conceived and disarmingly executed. If you step back from it, or push your way through its pages with propulsive speed, Shing Yin Khor's memoir of a trip on the old Route 66 from California to Chicago feels like a collection of marketing tag words setting up a series of encounters between the Malaysian-born artist's perception of America with the famous roadway's echoes of a cultural stamp that holds on even after a fade from vibrant times that by most measures ended almost 40 years ago.
It's almost that there is so little to occupy our attention in the foreground of The American Dream? that this forces us to focus on the whole pictures. Road trips are still road trips, no matter the occasion: referenda on a traveler's state of mind. The cartoonist's detail work maintains an open dialogue with what we encounter, distinguished crucially in scenes where we experience the blend of nature into a kind of quotidian but enthusiastic boosterism. I greatly appreciate books like this, because there are not spectacular truths to be had, scales fall from no one's eyes, people fight to be heard about the gentle moments and tableau. With fits and starts The American Dream? makes the case that every grand landscape and cultural self-identity has a longer and more honest existence as something that is gone.
CR Review: The Red Zone Creators: Silvia Vecchini, Sualzo Publishing Information: Amulet, hardcover, 136 pages, September 2019, $15.99. Ordering Numbers: 9781419733680
According to the supporting material within the book itselves, The Red Zone was the creators' attempt to reach out to people, especially children, feeling the impact of the mid-decade Italian earthquakes: homelessness, separation from loved ones and pets, psychological stresses and in some case simply how to pass the time. I enjoyed those aspects of the title; the way of life now observed in the present moment made a lot of sense as an interruption of a happier, more stable day to day. The emotional reactions felt real, and there's a noticeable lack when it comes to pressing the issues driving those scenes that give them a quiet authority. The work's awards suggests that the kids audience came to trust the authors as well.
It doesn't engage as fully and originally as a work that might stand the ages. The Red Zone is a nice book; it doesn't feel like an important one. I'll remember the book but not its component elements. Some narrative moments felt like cliches -- a boy missing his dog, a misunderstood bully -- but convinced as scene work appropriate to the broader situations involved. We live in times where we have to consider these kinds of wholesale interruption, these quiet shifts from one reality to the other. I might have wished for more accrued detail; artist Sualzo seems skilled enough to make more specific some of the situations faced by the core group of kids. I'm not certain that isn't a selfish wish, though, certainly a wider need catches more of the children for whom this book is intended as an aid.
* that great stalwart of writing-about-comics Graeme McMillan 
AUG192292 HOLY HANNAH GN $24.95
* Mark Newgarden talks to 
* not sure I'd seen a publisher's listing for the 2020 Andi Watson: 
* bundled extra: the fourth book in Terri Libenson's series of same-school hybrid books about the interconnected lives of a group or middle-schoolers has 
AUG190171 CRIMINAL #9 (MR) $3.99
* Joe Gordon on 
* 
* Robert Boyd on 
* Ed Park on 
* Austin Price on 
AUG190459 SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN #1 (OF 3) $7.99
* 
* 
* 
April 7 -- Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, by Derf Backderf 
* hey, 
* 
JUL192279 GINSENG ROOTS #1 $5.00
* Leonard Pierce on 
* Sarah McIntyre 
* 
* Ryan C. on 
Articles, Posts, Tweets, Etc.
* Megan Kelso talks to 
* Alex Dueben talks to 
Creator: Shing Yin Khor
* 
Creators: Silvia Vecchini, Sualzo
