Comics news was like a fireworks show this week: Right around the time your vision cleared from the first whizbang, a new tidbit popped up to distract you. Another jailed artist gained his freedom, DC dropped some big announcements, Marvel tried to keep up, Dark Horse attempted to hide its anti-LGBT policies behind a digital…
A Fistful of Comics: Crowdfunding Roundup, June ’18
I spent this last week catching up on the comics I’ve gotten from Kickstarters over the course of the last like, year, so that means I’m allowed to buy more, right? I’m certain that’s how this works. June is practically bursting with good campaigns—from massive webcomic collections, to DIY flipbook kits, to queer zine fairs—so…
Compact Magazine: A Look at Women in New Zealand’s War-Time Comics
It’s widely accepted that World War Two offered women temporary opportunities to step into male-dominated roles. In the case of New Zealand, they may have joined the newly established auxiliary forces, or taken on civilian roles made vacant when men enlisted. When I found that the war-time New Zealand Air Force magazine Contact – a…
Don’t Eat That: Tapas’s Incubator Program
When it comes to the publishing industry, my background is largely in fiction prose. I’ve spent years reading and researching fiction publishing contracts, learning what the terms mean and what the red flags are. I’ve seen all sorts of rights and royalties fuckery attempts from the incompetent and the outright scammy, sometimes with tragic, “Here’s…
Under the Sea with Ether: The Copper Golems #1
Ether: The Copper Golems #1 Matt Kindt (Writer), David Rubin (Artist) Dark Horse May 16, 2018 Ether: The Copper Golems, a continuation of Kindt and Rubin’s earlier Ether series, came out recently and found its way into my hands and eyeballs. Ether follows scientist-adventurer-detective Boone Dias as he explores and studies a fantastical dimension called “The…
Long Lost’s Matthew Erman and Lisa Sterle on Influences, Living Spaces, and What’s to Come
Long Lost’s fusion of southern Gothic aesthetics with family drama has quickly made it one of my favorite ongoing series. Though everything is shrouded in a supernatural mystery, it’s the relationships that keep me reading, the hints of the supernatural serving to heighten the tension that grows with every issue until it feels that the…
A Contract with God: Curator’s Collection Venerates its Maker
A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories: Curator’s Collection Will Eisner John Lind (editing and design) Kitchen Sink Books, an imprint of Dark Horse Comics May 30, 2018 A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories: Curator’s Collection offers two volumes, showcasing Will Eisner’s celebrated artistry. The first volume gathers his sketches and pencil…
Dangerous Curves Ahead: Backways #5
Backways #5 Justin Jordan (co-creator, writer), Eleonora Carlini (co-creator, artist), Silvia Tildei (colorist), Marshall Dillon (letterer) Aftershock comics May 2018 In the final installment of its “All the Forgotten Things” arc, Backways answers the question of whether newly-discovered whisperer (someone who can talk to the dead) Anna will rescue her girlfriend Sylvia from the grasp…
Gunblast Girls Review: A Distressingly Problematic Space Romp
Gunblast Girls Volume 1: In Your Face, Loser! Crisse (Writer and Artist), Besson (Colours) Le Lombard April 18, 2018 Mercenary Zdenka has a job to finish which will leave her wealthy beyond her imagination. But to complete her mission she needs help and not just from the Gunblast Girls, her crew. Zdenka already has the…
A Walk Through Hell: Garth Ennis’ New Modern-Day Horror
A Walk Through Hell #1 Garth Ennis (Writer); Goran Sudžuka (Artist); Ive Svorcina (Colorist); Rob Steen (Letterer); Andy Clarke & Jose Villarrubia (Regular Cover Artists) AfterShock Comics May 16, 2018 Content warning: gun violence A Walk Through Hell is the latest story from the mind of Garth Ennis (Preacher, Crossed), drawn by Goran Sudžuka (Y:…
Previously On Comics: Freedom and Accessibility
Before we begin: I don’t even need to write about it. Just…look at it. It’s beautiful.
My First Comic: It Started with Spider-Man
Like so many, my first comic was Archie. Readily available on the shelves of supermarket aisles next to the gum and tabloid magazines, waiting for me to browse through it as I waited for the long line to tick down to our turn at the register. I don’t remember specific stories, but I have vague,…
