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— clarice tudor (@claricetudor_) April 18, 2023
This week’s news.
• Starting off the week with awards news, and The Beat and the Center for Cartoon Studies announced the winners of this year’s Cartoonist Studio Prize , with James Spooner winning 2023’s Print Comics category for The High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere , and Hal Schrieve winning this year’s Webcomics category for Vivian’s Ghost.
• Elsewhere, the National Cartoonists Society announced that Brian Walker will receive 2023’s Silver T-Square Award , a prize presented to persons who have demonstrated outstanding dedication or service to the Society or the profession of cartooning, at this year’s Reuben Awards in September.
• The Comics Studies Society announced the opening of submissions to the Frederick Luis Aldama Emerging BIPOC Comics Studies Leadership Award , which seeks to recognise an outstanding emerging BIPOC comics scholar who has demonstrated extraordinary service to the study of comics in academia - the deadline for applications is June 1st.
• In memoriam , remembering those the world of comics has lost, and news was shared this week of the passing of comics historian and scholar Maurice Horn, who died at the end of last year, aged 91.
• News was also shared of the passing of prolific cartoonist Ed Koren, who was first published in The New Yorker in 1962, who died last Friday, aged 87.
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— Satoshi Kurosaki (@tonkatukurochan) April 18, 2023
This week’s reviews.
TCJ
Tegan O’Neil reviews the scrupulous sumptuosity of Will Morris’ Gospel #1-5 - “Out of the blue, with no fanfare whatsoever, the most absurdly confident comic book art simply appears. A giant enters our midst, all in a moment. Truth be told, Morris draws more than a little like Paul Smith, to my eye. With perhaps a bit of Mark Buckingham. His figures are sleek, his lines organic. It’s very easy art to look at.”
AIPT
• Collier Jennings reviews the enjoyable crossover of Stan Sakai’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo: WhereWhen #1 .
• David Brooke reviews the unique scares of Steve Foxe, Piotr Kowalski, et al’s All Eight Eyes #1 .
• Piper Whitaker reviews the beautiful psychedelia of Katie Skelly’s The Agency .
• Ben Morin reviews the mild amusements of Kenny Porter, Jahnoy Lindsay, et al’s Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow #1 .
• Timothy O’Neil reviews the solid shenanigans of Marvel Comics’ Guardians of the Galaxy by Al Ewing .
• Rory Wilding reviews the varied themes of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26 , translated by Amanda Haley.
The Beat
• Eoin Rogers reviews the shallow nostalgia of Edgar Camacho’s Super Trash Clash , translated by Leigh Walton.
• Masha Zhdanova reviews the action-packed delights of Joe Chouinard’s Clown Corps .
• Zack Quaintance reviews the dense satire of Matt Bors, Ben Clarkson, et al’s Justice Warriors .
• Cori McCreery reviews the excellent pacing of Gustavo Duarte’s DC Silent Tales #1 .
• Avery Kaplan reviews the satisfying conclusion of Jordan Ifueko, Alba Glez, et al’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #5 .
Broken Frontier
Andy Oliver has reviews of:
- The careful curation of Dorling Kindersley’s The Most Important Comic Book on Earth: Stories to Save the World , edited by Paul Goodenough.
- The thoughtful explorations of AK Press’ World War 3 Illustrated #52: Frontlines of Repair .
- The character-driven horror of Sarah Peploe, Fraser Campbell, Gavin Mitchell, et al’s The Berg .
- The global perspectives of kuš! Comics’ š! #44 .
- The accessible messaging of Trang Nguyen and Jeet Zdung’s Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear .
- The damning indictments of Norman Thelwell’s The Effluent Society .
- The intricate world-building of Jimmie Robinson’s Junk Rabbit #1 .
- The appropriate bleakness of Last Gasp's Slow Death Zero: The Comix Anthology of Ecological Horror , edited by Jon B. Cooke.
Multiversity Comics
• Robbie Pleasant reviews the cosmic adventuring of Jackson Lanzing, Colin Kelly, Kev Walker, et al’s Guardians of the Galaxy #1 .
• Gregory Ellner reviews the crossover collision of Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Tochi Onyebuchi, Carlos Magno, et al’s Captain America: Cold War Alpha #1 .
Publisher’s Weekly
Have capsule reviews of:
- The devastating rawness of Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s Sunshine .
- The earnest energy of Joana Estrela’s Pardalita , translated by Lyn-Miller Lachmann.
- The high-concept satire of Peter Rostovsky’s Damnation Diaries .
- The fantastic frights of Emily Carroll’s A Guest in the House .
- The heartfelt warmth of Christine Suggs’ ¡Ay, Mija! My Bilingual Summer in Mexico .
- The resonant catharsis of Jennie Wood, Dozerdraws, et al’s Paper Planes .
- The immersive environments of Van Jensen and Jesse Lonergan’s Arca .
Solrad
• Keith Silva reviews the vengeful bite of Roddy Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander’s Blacula: Return of the King .
• Hagai Palevsky reviews the off-kilter charms of Erik Svetoft’s Spa , translated by Melissa Bowers.
Women Write About Comics
• Bishop V Navarro reviews the well-paced narrative of Jeff Lemire, Gabriel H. Walta, et al’s Phantom Road #1 .
• Masha Zhdanova reviews the convoluted fantasy of Chanmi Lee, aesp, et al’s adaptation of Romance Machine K’s Disobey the Duke if You Dare , translated by Judy Hur.
