Clark Burscough | November 14, 2025
The last November edition of this week’s links, below, as European travels and upcoming federal holidays take our remaining Fridays off the board, however, to open with a couple of news items: it has been a week focused on collective actions, as Kickstarter United announced an end to its 42 day-strike, after securing concessions to various contract protections sought from their crowdfunding platform employers; and the association of the Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême announced that a new selection process for the managing organisation of the festival will be held, excluding current contract holder 9eArt+, following increased calls for a boycott of the 2026 edition of the event from creators and publishers, after years for the festival mired in controversies, as 9eArt+ had previously had a contract renewal through 2036 announced earlier this month.
☀️🏳️
— Julot du Lac @YCON (@cy-lindric.bsky.social) 2025-11-06T22:38:12.932Z
This week’s reviews.
TCJ
• Joe McCulloch reviews the varied menu of Jirō Taniguchi and Masayuki Kusumi’s The Solitary Gourmet, translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian with Chitoku Teshima -— “I had to chuckle, flipping between the first chapters and the last — Taniguchi had so completely figured himself out by 1994 that his work from 2015 looks very similar. There is a softer, misty quality to his 21st century pages, however, which I suspect is the result of switching to digital tones; his figure work becomes very slightly looser, with Inogashira stretching a bit into a more oval form, his expressions a little more caricatured, his nose longer — is this the impact of French cartooning?”
• Hank Kennedy reviews the cramped slog of Ian Rosenberg and Mike Cavallaro’s Free Speech Handbook: A Practical Framework for Understanding Our Free Speech Protections — “Free Speech Handbook is weighed down by an overabundance of text on each page. For the most part, these are not speech balloons or narrative captions, just block after block of text. Rosenberg quotes extensively from various lawyers and judges, who are already a verbose bunch.”
AIPT
• Justin Harrison reviews the enjoyable evolution of Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans, et al’s Die: Loaded #1.
• David Brooke reviews the stylish revamp of Fred Van Lente, Jonathan Lau, et al’s Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt #1.
• Jonathan Waugh reviews the shallow return of Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood #1.
• Colin Moon reviews the macabre accuracy of Miguel Villa’s Comfortless, translated by Jamie Richards.
• Collier Jennings reviews the irreverent intrigue of Dan Houser, Lazlow, David Lapham, et al’s American Caper #1.
• Christopher Franey reviews the character focus of Morgan Hampton, Fernando Pasarín, Ig Guara, et al’s Green Lantern Corps #10.
• Maxwell Majernik reviews the throwback hijinks of J. Michael Straczynski, Sean Damien Hill, Ron Lim, et al’s 1776 #1.
• Landon Kuhlmann reviews the enjoyable surprise of Dan Slott, Paco Medina, et al’s Spider-Boy: Full Circle.
The Arts STL
Jon Osia Scorfina reviews the singular perspective of R. Cumb's Tales of Paranoia.
The Beat
• D. Morris reviews the exciting ambition of Bryan Hill, Carlos Nieto, et al’s Ultimate Black Panther #22.
• Diego Higuera reviews the emotional heft of Dan Watters, Hayden Sherman, et al’s Batman: Dark Patterns #12.
• Jordan Jennings reviews the confusing combination of Greg Weisman, George Kambadias, et al’s Gargoyles X Fantastic Four #1.
• Clyde Hall reviews the missed details of Fred Van Lente, Jonathan Lau, et al’s Peter Cannon Thunderbolt #1.
• Jared Bird reviews the strong start of Mike Mignola, Rob Williams, Laurence Campbell, et al’s Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Ghost Ships of Labrador #1.
• Khalid Johnson reviews the interesting ideas of Peter Milligan, Piotr Kowalski, et al’s Liquidator #1.
• Ricardo Serrano Denis reviews the unique journey of Ben Ross Davis’s Hexas.
• Sean Dillon reviews the fascinating mysteries of Vivian Nguyen's The Fool, The Absolute Mad Woman.
• Tim Rooney reviews the big questions of Andrew Wheeler, Rye Hickman, et al’s Hey, Mary!, and the endless creativity of Wes Craig et al’s Colossal Kaya.
Broken Frontier
• Lydia Turner has reviews of:
• The expressive lines of Rebecca K Jones’ Seasons.
• The lingering incisiveness of Annabel Hewitson’s Mære.
• The scientific detail of Karenza Sparks' The Corus Wave.
• The confident debut of Edward “Rohkova” Welch’s Visions of the Phantomfield Book One: Counting Shabbits.
• Gary Usher has reviews of:
• The flowing visuals of Aaron Losty et al’s The Hanging.
• The immersive world of KA Sandholm’s Angry Duck, Volume 1.
• The surreal deconstruction of KitsuneArt’s Through the Looking Glass.
• The wonderful humour of Robert Sienicki’s Under Pressure.
• The disgusting delights of Samanta R. Batllori’s Dead on Arrival.
• Andy Oliver has reviews of:
• The interconnected reflections of Chrissy Williams and Tom Humberstone’s I Know the Way Out.
• The impressive harmony of Leeds Comics Collective’s Mixtape of Mystery.
• The frenetic energy of Bobby Joseph and Abbigayle Bircham’s My Dad Fights Demons!.
• The dark delights of Joe Stone’s Spite.
• The brutal honesty of Chad Bilyeu and Juliette de Wit’s The Re-Up #5 and #6.
• The strong curation of MD Penman et al’s GREB: The Little Guys Anthology.
• The oozing vibrancy of Abs Bailey’s Mother.
• The emotional intensity of Cara Brown’s Star!.
• The rewarding experimentation of Shri Gunasekara’s Runner.
• The careful storytelling of Manon Wright’s Magic and Memory.
• The claustrophobic horror of Erika Price’s Worms, Book the Second.
• The narrative twists of Claudia Matosa’s The Last Day of Rain #3 and #4.
• The enticing atmosphere of Bex Glendining’s On Starlit Shores.
• The excellent introduction of Kamila Krol’s Fine Young Ladies.
• The welcoming curation of WIP Comics’ ∞ Anthology.
• The fascinating revisitation of Dan White’s Secret Oranges: Early Comics 2005-2008.
• The witty observations of Viraj Joshi’s Eliza – The Ghost in Every Machine.
• The glorious cynicism of Mark Stafford's Magical.
• The kinetic dynamism of Gustaffo Vargas’ Altiplano.
Four Color Apocalypse
Ryan Carey reviews the worthy challenge of Mara Ramirez’s Flea.
From Cover to Cover
Scott Cederlund reviews the neat trick of Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans, et al’s Die: Loaded #1.
House to Astonish
Paul O’Brien has capsule reviews of Marvel Comics’ X-Men Age of Revelation Infinity Comic #1, Amazing X-Men #2, Binary #2, Laura Kinney: Sabretooth #2, and Longshots #2.
Kirkus Reviews
Have starred capsule reviews of:
• The fascinating characters of Mike Carey, Pablo Raimondi, et al’s Ghostbox, Volume 1.
• The inspiring message of Jarrett Dapier, AJ Dungo, et al’s Wake Now in the Fire: A Story of Censorship, Action, Love, and Hope.
Yatta-tachi
Wendeego reviews the flawless execution of Fumiko Takano's Miss Ruki, translated by Alex Frank; and the dream logic of Ding Pao-Yen's Not Ready for Real Life, translated by Orion Martin and Xinmei Liu.
past few weeks have been uphill enough that i didn't notice a new picture was out, so hey: new picture!(as always, the black and white version, and much sharper jpegs, over at the blog-- tozo.today/cover-gi-joe...)
— tonči zonjić (@tozo.today) 2025-10-12T20:26:30.925Z
This week’s interviews.
TCJ
Jason Bergman interviews Trudy Cooper and Doug Bayne about Oglaf, falling out of love with a project, being easily distracted, and the joys of letting a comic be stupid — “You're always going to offend somebody. You're always going to stumble. There were strips that we did back then that we'd never do now. Lots of consent issues in some of those early strips. We definitely upset some people and rightly so. You live and you learn and you grow and you've got to get rid of that programming. Especially when you grow up when those sorts of things weren't, you know, no one batted an eye.”
AIPT
• Chris Coplan speaks with Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans about Die: Loaded, the core idea behind the comic, and bringing a neglected character to the fore.
• Chris Hassan talks to Tim Seeley about Undeadpool, the joys of X-Men, pitching books to the X-office, and working with Carlos Magno.
• David Brooke chats with Sam Humphries about New Avengers, editorial character picks, and what makes a good leader.
The Beat
D. Morris talks to Geof Darrow about Shaolin Cowboy, revisiting old work for a new collection, and samurai flick inspirations.
Broken Frontier
Andy Oliver interviews Jason Measures about Beyond the Black Void and anthology bonding, Beatrijs Brouwer (aka Beastly Worlds) about Shimmer Paths and analog methods, and Sarah Graley about Pizza Witch and following your dreams.
Decibel
J. Bennett chats with Del James about Consensual Violence, Lucha Libre film inspirations, and the fluctuating joys of professional wrestling.
Fanbase Press
Barbra Dillon speaks with:
- Shannon Eric Denton, Jeff Mariotte, and David Hartman about Sword of the War-Monster and fantasy fandoms.
- John Luzar about General Washington and the Liberty Tree and shifting values in the contemporary United States.
- Neil Kleid about Medieval and building off of Mark Twain’s influences.
- Jordan Thomas and Chris Matthews about Exorcism Island and enduring friendships.
- Chris Mancini about Alpha Cat and crowdfunding challenges.
- A.J.O. Mason about Under the Castle and real life haunted houses.
- Siya Oum about Neo Wonderland and its decades long journey to print.
- Jamie Mustard about Hybred and working with Street Noise Books.
- Marc Chalvin about Pigeons! and questions of democracy and freedoms.
- Hayley Gullen about This Might Surprise You: A Breast Cancer Story and cartoons as connection.
FreakSugar
Jed W. Keith talks to:
- Kenny Porter about The New Space Age and real world parallels.
- Andrew Aydin about Islands in the Sky and the work of the Appalachia Comics Project.
- Hannah Klein and Lisaa Sterle about Dying Inside and media inspirations.
- Hannah May Rose and Utkarsh Ambudkar about The Guy in the Chair and favourite spy films.
- Rob Williams about Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Ghost Ships of Labrador and finding tonal balance.
- Melissa Flores about Power Rangers: Prime and favourite Rangers.
Solrad
Julian Bata interviews Matt Forsythe about Adventure Time, gallery shows, the imagined divide between comics and picture books, and the homogeneity of the contemporary YA boom.
The Swarthmore Phoenix
Xinto Xu talks to Barbara Yelin about Aber Ich Lebe, the details that become apparent when making a graphic novel, and learning by talking to experts in their fields.
Todo Alicante
Carlos G. Fernández speaks with Keum Suk Gendry-Kim about My Friend Kim Jong-Un and keeping an open mind, and with Alison Bechdel about Spent and the importance of laughter.
Hello, MICE friends! Two pieces of news, we want to show you our gorgeous poster art for MICE 2025 by Matt Smith! And…our Exhibitors Page is live! Check out the link below for a sneak preview at who’s coming to MICE!www.micexpo.org/exhibitor-li...
— Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo (@massmice.bsky.social) 2025-10-24T21:30:22.471Z
This week’s features and longreads.
• Here at TCJ, Greg Hunter writes on recent entries to Gilbert Hernandez’s oeuvre, including Lovers and Haters, Roy, Blubber, and Proof That the Devil Loves You, analysing the singular nature of Hernandez’s body of work, and the thread of unpredictability running through it — “It’s arguments like this, embedded in releases like Blubber and Roy, that make these superficially frivolous late works impossible to fully dismiss. For all the provocations of recent Fritz stories, their literary merit is clearer by comparison, and their connections to Gilbert's most celebrated comics is more direct. But in appreciating the range of his current output—the uncomfortable interaction of freedom, amusement, reference, and hostility — Blubber and its ilk are, again, nearly essential.”
• Also for TCJ, Steven Brower, author of Roy Kuhlman: Reluctant Modernist, looks back on Kuhlman’s cartoon work and shares choice examples from Kuhlman’s illustrations and comic strips, with more available in a recent piece from Print’s Steven Heller — “Even when not directly employing cartooning, his designs often contained a cartoonist’s light-hearted touch, both on his book and magazine covers.”
• For Inside Story, Ian Topliss examines the generational relationships of Alison Bechdel’s Spent, contrasting Bechdel’s previous works, as Bechdel’s focus has evolved across the decades.
• The BBC’s Alpesh Karkare and Janhavee Moole report on the recent fires at the warehouse of Mumbai’s Amar Chitra Katha, which resulted in the loss of hundreds of original pieces of artwork, writing on the importance of Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle to Indian comics history.
• Comics Grinder’s Henry Chamberlain writes in remembrance of the life and work of cartoonist and illustrator Dalton Webb, news of whose passing was shared earlier this month.
• Four Color Apocalypse’s Ryan Carey shares thoughts on titles purchased from this year’s edition of Short Run Comix Festival, including Grayson Bear’s Word from the Bird, Jim Blanchard’s I Survived! and UK Killers, Alyssa Annette Block's V, Max Huffman’s Bootleg Jughead, Chris Cajero Cilla’s That Away Comix, and Christina Lee’s Object and The Doctor Is In.
• The Mindless Ones’ newsletter contains yet more of A Brief History of British Comics, as cheers are given to the short-lived Toxic!; and consideration is given to the bookending covers of Grant Morrison, Chris Weston, and Gary Erskine’s The Filth.
• Mike Peterson rounds up the week’s editorial beat, for The Daily Cartoonist, as ink and pixels continue to predominantly feature the visage of President Donald Trump, as the US government shutdown comes to a close.
Following from our announcement that Quindrie Press will be closing at the end of 2026, I want to make people aware that in Spring 2026 we will be opening a one-off comic fund for UK creators. More details will be released next year.Sign up to our newsletter: quindriepress.com/newsletter
— Quindrie Press (@quindriepress.com) 2025-11-12T12:33:10.473Z
No more links this month, and so, next time: looks like best of the year lists are back on the menu!
The Blue Whale rises.
— The Happiest Cloud (@lillhappycloud.bsky.social) 2025-11-07T18:51:05.001Z
English (US) · 