PW Comics World: More To Come

Co-host Heidi MacDonald's Eisner-nominated blog "The Beat" amicably parts ways with Polarity/Lion Forge; upcoming coverage from Angouleme; the top 100 comics sellers of the 2010's; and a deep dive into the fannish experience of watching 'The Witcher'.

Calvin Reid interviews interviews writer Cecil Castellucci and artist Jim Rugg about the updated edition of 'PLAIN Janes', a pioneering 2007 YA graphic novel about a teen girl guerilla art collective, released by DC’s now-defunct Minx line of YA graphic novels. The new hardcover 'PLAIN Janes' combines the original two volumes and a previously unpublished third volume, and will be released this month by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

A look forward at 2020, with the top selling books of 2019; trends and exciting new comics and graphic novels for spring 2020, including new adaptations of classics, a new edition of Cecil Castellucci & Jim Rugg's 'The PLAIN Janes', the forthcoming library adult graphic novel list and much more.

Calvin Reid presents a talk on the historical development of the U.S. comics and graphic novel marketplace, recorded in July 2019 at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, in conjunction with their exhibit 'Beyond the Cape! Comics and Contemporary Art'. The exhibition was curated by Kathy Goncharov.

A look back on 2019 and the past decade in comics and graphic novel publishing including the meteoric rise of kids's comics (Dav Pilkey has been named PW's Person of the Year); the survival and growth of independent bookstores and comics shops; the increasing diversity of creators and characters in comics; the rebound of the US manga market; the rise of comics on TV, film and streaming media (and the dominance of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and much more.

PW editor Meg Lemke discusses 'Pittsburgh' by Frank Santoro, and 'Commute' by Erin Williams. Then, highlights a stellar list of 17 lesser known treasures in the Stargazing 2019 Graphic Novel Holiday Gift Guide.

MTC marks the passing of comics journalist Tom Spurgeon and queer cartoonist Howard Cruise; and recap news about Anime NYC 2019; 'Prince of Cats' to become a Spike Lee film; Kate's visit to Japan and China; and the cohosts look back over our 400 podcasts on comics and graphic novel publishing.

Calvin Reid interviews novelist, comics creator, and publisher, Bill Campbell, founder of Rosarium Publishing, discussing Rosarium's list of graphic novels, science fiction and its diverse list of authors; writing a new graphic novel, 'Baaaad Muthaz' (with art by David Brame); and the issues facing black publishers in independent publishing.

PW's Best Books Adult Graphic Novel list; Anime NYC preview; Comics Arts Brooklyn 2019; Walking Dead actors boycott the Walker Stalker conventions; and a discussion of fandom and the departure of the Game of Thrones creators from Star Wars.

Calvin Reid interviews comics writers Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker about 'Naomi," a new book with artist Jamal Campbell coming from DC this month.

MCU head Kevin Feige named Marvel Comics chief creative officer; ALA adds a graphic novel reading list for adults; 'Watchmen' on HBO; 'Bone' and Webtoon animation deals; 'Drops of God’ gets digital revival and the future of niche manga; and Eleanor Davis’s new graphic novel ‘The Hard Tomorrow’.

Interviews with cartoonist, nurse and editor MK Czerwiec (‘Graphic Medicine Manifesto’); cartoonist Tom Tomorrow ('This Modern World'); and comics writer, editor and historian Tom Spurgeon, executive director of the Cartoon Crossroads Columbus comics festival, recorded at at this year’s event.

A post-mortem discussion of New York Comic Con 2019, including the programming, events, services—food, security, bathrooms!—at the Javits Center and other show venues. The cohosts also discuss questions surrounding “5G,” a rumored revamp of the DC Universe said to include shocking character deaths, replacement characters, and a definitive reshuffling of the DCU timeline.

Interviews with Eisner-winning artist Bill Sienkiewicz; 'Blade Runner 2019' writer Mike Johnson; and short interviews with comics creators Cat Staggs, Amy Reeder, Erik Larsen, Charles Soule, Mark Silvestri, Vanessa 'V.R.' Del Rey, and Colleen Doran.

An interview with writer Mark Russell and artist Richard Pace about their controversial humor comic 'Second Coming', in which Jesus and a superhero becoming roommates. Also, Ahoy Comics editor/writer Stuart Moore offers information about Ahoy Comics, which took over the publication of the controversial series.

Interviews with Juan Díaz Canales (writer) and Juanjo Guarnido (artist) of the Spanish noir comic 'Blacksad'; Amie Wright, President of the Graphic Novels and Comics Roundtable; and science fiction great N.K. Jemisin.

Major leadership and organizational changes at Diamond Comics Distributors; a preview of New York Comic Con 2019; groundbreaking cartoonist Lynda Barry gets a MacArthur Genius Grant; SPX recap, IDW's Black Crown imprint shuts down; and Japan launches global crackdown on manga pirates with Philippines extradition and a US lawsuit.

Interviews with Hannah Templer - known for the 'G.L.O.W.' comic - talks about her debut book 'Cosmoknights', a feminist space opera from Top Shelf; and James Romberger discusses 'For Real #1', a new series from Uncivilized Books, and his story 'The Oven', an imaginary take on Jack Kirby's World War II combat experiences; plus a new Star Gazing segment with Meg Lemke on 'King of King's Court' by Travis Dandro and 'Rusty Brown' by Chris Ware.

The Amazon controversy at SPX; ICv2's new Insider Edition event at NYCC; the Young Avengers graphic novel banned in Rio for a same sex kiss; PW's Lynda Barry profile; and a discussion of the growth of the Webtoon webcomic platform.

Heidi 'The Beat' MacDonald interviews graphic novelist Mariko Tamaki ('This One Summer') about her new YA graphic novel 'Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass' (with art by Steve Pugh) that gives a new backstory for Harley and The Joker, as well as her novels, her award winning graphic novel 'This One Summer' and making the transition from prose to comics writer.