Random Comics News Story Round-Up

* Gerry Giovinco writes on a recent surge of interest in creators' rights.

* folks sometimes forget that the critic and writer Matt Seneca makes comics; his latest post includes a lengthy and striking-looking one. I'm looking forward to digging into it later today.

* the writer James Vance takes on all of comics' big issues in 300 words or less.

* Jeet Heer defends Art Spiegelman from the usual rounds of attacks that come when the iconic underground/alt cartoonist wins an award, as he just did by being named Grand Prix winner at Angouleme. I would go to Arcade and RAW before Breakdowns, I think, for the wingman position in figuring out the ultimate virtue of Spiegelman's career, but I agree with Heer it's a career worth receiving any award an organization wishes to lob his way. Heer's comparison of Spiegelman to certain writers proves compelling and isn't something most critics would do with the directness and confidence Heer brings to it, so that's another thing that makes this worth reading. Part of me, however, believes the kind of critics that rip into Spiegelman's entire career in that kind of reactionary, "it's not fair!" way operate in such a strident, fight-for-the-sake-of-fighting way that to calmly and rationally list an artist's accomplishments and discuss them out loud almost works in those critics' favor. It gives them the summary to summarily dismiss. To look at it another way, Jeet Heer just made the best case for Spiegelman post-Grand Prix. He also may have just made the best case against Spiegelman post-Grand Prix, simply by rephrasing those attacks in non-moron and deeming the bulk of them worthy of such a response. Still: good reading, and for the vast majority of folks Heer's intent in discussing the art involved remains way more important than the back-and-forth between critics. I'll also agree with Heer that history judges Spiegelman in kinder fashion than many do now.

* congratulations to the CBLDF in funding their Transmetropolitan art book project.

* Frank Santoro discusses serialization.

* Richard Cook looks at a bunch of editorial cartoons about Egypt and some of the basic choices made by the cartoonists. J. Caleb Mozzocco takes a similar approach to Groundhog Day cartoons.

* Mark Evanier passes along word that we should all try to wish Al Jaffee a happy forthcoming milestone birthday.

* the science fiction-oriented site io9 republishes and discusses a safe sex public service announcement starring Death from The Sandman. It's weird to see a character presented in a way that its broad appeal is assumed from an era when comics supposedly didn't have that kind of broad appeal. I always think that The Sandman material should have a bigger popular culture footprint by now, but maybe that's just me.

* Johanna Draper Carlson recommends a few of the hourly comics from the other day.

* the Marvel core creators are in one of their regular creative retreats, the first in the Axel Alonso era. I wish I had thought of monitoring tweets from the participants, but I'm not that smart. Weekly Crisis is: One, Two.

* Warren Ellis made me laugh.

* not comics: does this mean a rich nerd can't currently buy a Bottled City Of Kandor for a table in their home. They should team up with the Sea Monkeys people.

* congratulations to Rickey Purdin on scoring his dream job. Farewell to former Dark Horse marketing coordinator Aaron Colter in what I hope was not a dream job.

* finally, Rob Steibel uses a recent plot-point springboard and article about same to talk about Marvel's current creative legacy from the point of view of someone who's been watching the company for a very long time.
 
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