Recent Reviews
Fiends of the Eastern Front
Rebellion
The Chromatic Fantasy
Silver Sprocket
Time Under Tension
Fantagraphics
Recent Articles
Nate Garcia is America’s Cowboy
Zach Rabiroff chats with one of the best young cartoonists on the busy Philadelphia scene: Nate Garcia, prolific creator of the surreal cowboy Alanzo Sneak and much, much more.
Turkey I’m On Your Side – This Week’s Links
I would never cancel the noble pig, an intelligent and delicious beast.
Arrivals and Departures – December 2023
They said it couldn’t be done: an entire column reviewing comics about ducks. But thanks to the magic of Christmas and the intervention of Santa, to whom I pray each night, RJ Casey has come through.
A Hard Rain Fell on Lucca Comics & Games 2023
The story of what happened when one very prominent Italian cartoonist boycotted the biggest comics show in Europe, and how an entire nation responded.
The Ikegami Ryōichi Spider-Man Interview
Of the early examples of Japanese/American comic book cross-pollination, perhaps the most striking is 1970-71’s Supaidāman, Ikegami Ryōichi’s notoriously bleak, violent, political spin on Marvel’s Spider-Man. In this 2002 interview, translated to English for the first time, Ikegami himself discusses the genesis and the legacy of the project.
Watching Pluto
A few notes on the anime adaptation of a manga adaptation of a manga classic.
As Dark As December – This Week’s Links
Barking Dogs Jingle Bells is the worst holiday classic at the strip club.
Dan Leno: The First Living Person to Have a Comic Title in their Name
Daniel Parker pays homage to not this Comics Journal, but Dan Leno’s Comic Journal: the 1898-99 official comic of the British music hall star, and the first named after a living person.
Who Wrote the Boy Commandos?
In which Steven Brower compares comic and science fiction writer Joseph Greene’s original scripts for several Golden Age classics to the final product, credited to the iconic team of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.
“I Was Always On The Weird End Of The Spectrum”: The Donald Simpson Interview
Cut class, tell the boss you’re sick, hand the kids an iPad – we’ve got an old-fashioned career-spanner here, as Jason Bergman sifts through a megatonnage of work with the one and only Donald Simpson.
Back to December – This Week’s Links
(Christmastime awe washes over my face) Look at all these links! (A toy train toots thru a gingerbread house)
Eternal Breath – Ron Regé, Jr.’s Spiritual Cycle
Hagai Palevsky takes a serious look at spirituality as communicated through the last decade or so of published work by one of the alt-comics greats, Ron Regé, Jr.
Adventures Into Archives
Shock! Tom Shapira plunges into the inky depths of reprint editions of old horror comics. EC! Warren! Atlas! Find out what sets them apart, and what pulls Tom apart, in this ghastly gallivant.
“Oh, Wow. It’s Giant Monsters”: An Interview with Chris Wisnia
A titanic tête-à-tête transcribed! Jake Zawlacki chats with Chris Wisnia, writer/artist of the recent Doris Danger: Giant Monsters Amok, about the delicate balance of parody and tribute (and the behemothic labor involved) in evoking the world of Silver Age monster comics.
Hogarth’s Heiress: Posy at the Pompidou
Cynthia Rose reports on an upcoming exhibition of UK great Posy Simmonds’ work in Paris, with plenty of comments from the artist herself.
Arrivals and Departures – November 2023
It’s almost Thanksgiving, so here’s a big scoop of yams (capsule reviews of recent self-published and small press comics) from your rakish uncle RJ.
Ed Subitzky on Poor Helpless Comics! and Other Funny Business
John Kelly reports from the October 13, 2023 book launch event, hosted by Mark Newgarden & Owen Klein, for Poor Helpless Comics! The Cartoons (and More) of Ed Subitzky, a first-ever collection of work by the National Lampoon cartoonist and comedy writer for David Letterman and others.
I Went Down to Buy a Turkey Tree – This Week’s Links
The news post is taking Black Friday off… it’s ok, nothing’s gonna happen but DEALS.
Seattle’s Short Run Comix & Arts Festival 2023
A brief report from the Short Run Comix & Arts Festival 2023, a free one-day minicomic and zine show held in Seattle.
Yoshiharu Tsuge’s Vagabond Rapists, 1968-1972
From 1968-72, the comics of Yoshiharu Tsuge were awash in surreal, dreamlike texture – and filled with images of sexual violence. Helen Chazan reads deeply to reconcile these elements of Tsuge’s work into a new statement of his oeuvre-spanning theme: the desire to vanish.
Photos from the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival: Small + Indie Press 2023
Are you ready for photos? That’d better be a yes, because Chris Anthony Diaz has a comprehensive document of the first-ever Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival: Small + Indie Press show, held on Saturday, October 7, 2023.
“Thank God for Comics”: The Daniel Warren Johnson Interview
Jake Zawlacki talks science fiction, story construction, personal faith and what’s cool with Daniel Warren Johnson, a standout writer/artist of contemporary American action comics.
Golden Lawns, Village Green – This Week’s Links
I’m feeling better, thanks for asking! It’s great to see the world rumbling along regardless of my participation.
Excerpt: Innocent Omnibus Vol. 1
A preview of the forthcoming English translation of a period seinen manga by cult artist Shin’ichi Sakamoto.
