Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
It’s a sign, I think, of how accepted comics for young women have become (in contrast to the bad old days of a couple of decades ago, when comics were superhero stories for young men) that we finally have a horse book. The horse book used to be a staple of fiction for girls. But horses are generally acknowledged to be easier to write about than to draw, which may be one reason it’s taken so long to get a […]
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It’s a famous phrase, at least amongst comic creators. “Comics will break your heart,” reportedly said Jack Kirby, expressing how many people love and are hurt by a tough business with little room for success. It’s also the title of a comic-centered teen romance novel by incredibly productive and talented cartoonist Faith Erin Hicks. (I previously wrote about a few of her inspirations for the story.) It’s a great choice, as Hicks uses the kind of background fans are familiar […]
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The online programming for this year’s Cartoon Crossroads Columbus — another entry on the long list of “events I wanted to go to this year before pandemic” — starts tomorrow, October 1, and there are some great options available. The show schedule is here for your browsing pleasure, but a few things I want to highlight are: “Financial Wellness for Artists” and “Your Art Is a Business”, two financial-focused webinars (registration required) that help guides artists in dealing with the […]
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Minx was DC’s imprint aimed at teen girls, first announced in 2006. It ran for two years before being shuttered in fall 2008 due to distribution struggles (not reaching the bookstores they aimed for) and potentially, lack of interest. I thought I’d sum up its history and releases, now that it would have been old enough to have read itself. DC was somewhat late to the party, since Scholastic had already launched Graphix and there were tons of girls reading […]
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That’s a joke title, based on people getting squidgy about the coronavirus. But already I’m hearing about people pulling out of the soon-upcoming Emerald City Comic Con because of travel and infection concerns. I went to C2E2 in Chicago, where I had the pleasure of rooming with Brigid Alverson and Heidi MacDonald, who make every show better. Here are some thoughts and experiences. (If you want to hear us talk about some of this, check out the podcast — episode […]
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I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while, but … C2E2, the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, starts tomorrow. I’m excited to be there and to catch up with friends. The guest announcements were… odd. There’s a list of Comic Guests, which does not include the majority of the graphic novel creators I’m excited to see. They — Faith Erin Hicks, Lucy Knisley, Noelle Stevenson — are listed under Literary Guests, which … well. This artificial distinction may […]
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Author Rainbow Rowell (Fangirl) and artist Faith Erin Hicks (The Nameless City, Friends With Boys) team up for a lovely seasonal story about friendship and crushes and moving on to a new stage of life in Pumpkinheads. Josiah and Deja are working their last night at the Pumpkin Patch (which is more like a minor amusement park, with food booths and attractions and a giant corn maze). It’s Halloween, after which the patch shuts down, and they’re getting ready to […]
Read moreIt’s that time of year, when we start thinking about ghosts and goblins and jack-o-lanterns and things that go bump in the night. There are plenty of comics and graphic novels with ghosts in them, but not all are scary. Here are some great reads that happen to have spirits in them. Archival Quality by Ivy Noelle Weir and Steenz, Oni Press After struggling with mental health issues, Celeste takes an archivist job at a creepy local museum. A ghost […]
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