This is historical. Most years, there is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. This year, for the first time in 48 years, the Board refused to select one, ignoring the three finalists and selecting “No Award”. The finalists were Lalo Alcaraz, Ruben Bolling (Tom the Dancing Bug), and Marty Two Bulls Sr. This Poynter article explains how the process is supposed to work: [No winner is awarded] if a finalist doesn’t receive a majority vote among the […]

It has been announced that Wizard World Chicago will be held as a live event October 15-17 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. There is no word yet on who will be exhibiting, which guests will be appearing, what tickets will cost, or any other specifics. But given how quickly shows are staking out weekends in the last quarter of the year, it’s important for a major show to get on the calendar. We’re told more […]

Enigma by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo was one of the Vertigo imprint launch titles. The eight-issue miniseries was first released in 1993. Collected in 1995, I recommended it in 2006. It’s an astounding story about dreams and superheroes and imagination and childhood heroes as inspiration to acknowledge one’s true self. Now, the Dark Horse imprint Berger Books is bringing out Enigma: The Definitive Edition (October 2021, $24.99), a hardcover collection with extras “including development art, color sketches, and behind-the-scenes […]

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) has announced that their plans this year will incorporate a combination of in-person and online events and will take place from September 30 to October 3 in Columbus, Ohio. Announced guests so far include * Shary Flenniken (Trots and Bonnie) * Victoria Jamieson (Roller Girl) * Chris Samnee (Daredevil) * Lewis Trondheim (too many to list) But the announcement I found intriguing was the Tom Spurgeon Award, “named after CXC’s founding executive director [who passed away […]

After first being announced back in 2018, as of yesterday, Diamond’s Pullbox online service is now available. It’s intended to be an easy way for potential customers to track what’s coming in to their local comic shop and to send them orders for more items. But you don’t have to have a shop connection to use it. I set it up to track a few release items through Diamond — and already, I found that a manga series I like […]

The Deadliest Bouquet, now crowdfunding, is a family story about murder. Written by Erica Schultz and illustrated by Carola Borelli, it’s set in 1998 and shows the sisters Rose, Poppy, and Violet coming together, in spite of their differences, after their mother’s death. Jasmine owned a flower shop, but it was only a cover. Her children went in different directions. Poppy is a wife and mother. Violet is a wild child. Rose resents being left behind by the others. They […]

I appreciate how much work goes into a well-crafted graphic novel, but darn! It’s so hard to wait for a good story. Bloom, a charming coming-of-age romance by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau published by First Second in 2019, will have a followup. This story of two young men falling in love at a family bakery while thinking about how to start their “real life” is a slow rise, much like bread. It took a while to grow on me, […]

Here’s a great thing to watch. Leila del Duca talked with Anina Bennett and Heidi MacDonald in March about Friends of Lulu, the non-profit formed to get women and girls into comics that existed from 1995-2011. The group was incorporated May 25, 1995, and its tax-exempt status was revoked as of May 15, 2010. The news that the group was defunct came out a year later. If you’d like to revisit the early days, I’ve posted the first year of […]