The talented MariNaomi has posted a thought-provoking piece titled “Writing People of Color“. Not only does she address some key questions from those who haven’t thought through the implications before, she’s assembled comics and advice from other cartoonists on the subject, including Yumi Sakugawa, Keith Knight, Whit Taylor, Elisha Lim, Jennifer Camper, Maré Odomo, and Frederick Noland. A very insightful and useful read.

The folks behind the Man at Arms YouTube video series have just launched Super-Fan Builds. It’s a similar show, only a bit less violent, as they expand creative vision beyond weapons. In this first episode, the team builds a backyard swing based on Groot from the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. It’s an amazing piece, although I found myself wondering just who was paying for the almost two weeks of time it took and how much the whole thing cost. […]

Good premise, good creators, good characters… let’s hope this title lives up to its promise! Operation S.I.N. #1 is available January 7 (the day after the show debuts). It’s the first part of a five-issue miniseries written by Kathryn Immonen and drawn by Rich Ellis, the story of secret agent Peggy Carter and Howard Stark trying to capture “a supremely powerful alien energy source” that’s found in Russia during the 1950s Cold War. Of course, since she’s got a TV […]

The WHO Shop in London, “the premier retailer of Doctor Who products and related merchandise”, is celebrating its 30th anniversary in conjunction with Titan Comics with a trio of exclusive comic variant covers with a holiday theme. The covers below, left to right, are by Lee Sullivan and for Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #5, Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor #5, and Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #3​. The comics are 4.99 pounds each, but since the store has a […]

2D Cloud will be publishing MariNaomi‘s autobiographical Turning Japanese in September 2015, but in the meantime, you can read the first eight chapters at their website. The book is described as A graphic memoir about working in illegal hostess bars in San Jose and Tokyo, attempting to connect with a culture that had eluded Mari until early adulthood. It’s interesting stuff, with a different view of Japanese culture than some will have seen.

I always welcome a new Hope Larson comic, and Reframed is a little gem — short, but pointed. She reflects on student photographers, art school, sniper shots, and a scene from her work Gray Horses in her distinctively solid, curvy, lightly toned style.

Mike Dawson (Freddie & Me, Troop 142, Angie Bongiolatti) has posted a thought-provoking comic about raising a daughter. The strip takes off from this shirt about being a “feminist father”. Dawson continues to ponder what it means to fill that role, given certain standard jokes and expectations. Much as I dislike the attitude that too many men have that equal rights don’t matter until you have a daughter (or that equal marriage rights don’t matter until your kid comes out, […]

Ben Towle (Oyster War) answers the question I asked above at Quora. Artists might choose to work digitally, eliminating potential sales of the original art pages, for the following reasons, according to him: * It’s faster, allowing the artist to accomplish more work. * The benefit of page sales might be overestimated, since many originals aren’t in much demand. Purchasers want cool action scenes or splash pages, not the majority of work that gets the storytelling done. * And here’s […]