Johanna Draper Carlson

I’ve been reviewing comics for fifteen years, reading them for multiple decades, and running Comics Worth Reading since 1999. My credits include:

• Graphic Novel and Manga Reviewer, Publishers Weekly
• Contributing Writer, PiQ Magazine
• Columnist, “Graphic Novels Worth Owning”, Comics Unlimited
• 2007 Judge, 2007 Glyph Comics Awards, honoring the best in black comic books and creators
• 2007 Judge, 2007 Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics
• Contributor, The Savage Critics (2007-2008)
• Contributor, The Comics Journal #269
• Submissions Editor, Saucy Goose Press (Smut Peddler, 2003-2005)
• Contributing Editor, Comicology (2000-2001)
• Online Editor/Webmaster, DC Comics (1996-1997)
• Contributor, The Guide to United States Popular Culture

Please email me with comments or questions. For information on submitting review copies, please read that post.

KC Carlson

KC Carlson has been working in comics since 1972, where, as a teenager, he stripped the covers off unsold comics to return to the publishers for a local magazine distributor. Since then, he has worked for DC Comics (as editor on The Legion of Super-Heroes, Zero Hour, and Superman), the Westfield Company, Capital City Distribution, several retail comic shops, and many other places, continuing to destroy comics at every step. He also once worked as a “pooper-scooper” for a dog show. (Guess which one paid better?)

KC writes the occasional piece for Westfield Comics. Links to his writing can be found in the KC category (feed) at this site.

KC and Johanna have been married since 1999. They met at a comic book convention and share a love of the Legion and the Monkees.

Rob Vollmar

Rob is a writer of and about comics and manga from Norman, Oklahoma. Rob writes commentary and reviews for magazines like The Comics Journal and World Literature Today as well as having authored manga columns such as “The Occidental Tourist” (Ninth Art) and “International Geographic” (Comic Book Galaxy). His favorite contemporary manga-ka include Moyoco Anno, Naoki Urasawa, and Matsuri Akino but if anyone ever drew more fabulously than Kyoko Ariyoshi, he hasn’t seen it yet.

Rob created and wrote The Castaways and Bluesman, as well as the webcomic Inanna’s Tears. He manages a direct market comics shop (Atomik Pop! Norman branch) and reviews manga for this site. For more information on his tastes, view his recommendations of seven classic manga.

Ed Sizemore

Ed says, “I started reading comics in my early youth. My only claim to fame as a writer is having four letters printed in the fan mail column of Arion, Lord of Atlantis. I quit reading comics when I joined the Navy after high school and didn’t rediscover them until about ten years ago. At the same time, I was beginning to explore a then little known art form called anime. A couple of years later, I read my first manga. Currently, I read mostly manga but make an exception for people like Steve Ditko, Mike Mignola, Ted Naifeh, and Josh Howard. My favorite manga artists are Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy, Phoenix, Black Jack), Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell), Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha, Maison Ikkoku), and Ken Akamatsu (Love Hina, Negima). I’m also very interested in academic writings about anime and manga.”

Ed has previously reviewed two manga exhibits, one on shojo and one at the Smithsonian, and an academic journal for this site. View all of his contributions.