PW Comics World: More To Come

In a special crossover episode, Heidi MacDonald and Brigid Alverson talk to comics retailers Siena Fallon, COO/managing partner of Ultimate Comics, and Sarahti Gassmalla, manager at Fantom Comics to talk about the recent ComicsPro meeting, what's hot in comics shops, and why Wednesday is new comics day.

Calvin interviews comics creators James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook, the artist and colorist that worked in collaboration with the late artist and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz to create his acclaimed graphic memoir ‘7 Miles A Second,’ originally published by DC/Vertigo in 1996 and later by Fantagraphics in 2013. The book is now available from Romberger and Van Cook’s Ground Zero Books.

A potential Marvel and DC collaboration; the ALA’s GNCRT Adult and Kids Graphic Novel Reading Lists; the French comics market's sales boom; James Tynion’s Tiny Onion media venture; the Warner Bros/Funimation content debacle; the MCU is back; and revisiting our Brian “Box” Brown interview.

Heidi talks to Brian "Box" Brown about his cartooning career, including his Andre the Giant graphic novel, his time running Retrofit Press and his current comic strip, Legalization Nation. He also talks about his career path and changing direction in an industry without a safety net.

A salute to the winners of the 2024 Angoulême International Comics Festival awards; judges for this year’s Eisner Awards; the Chengdu Hugo awards debacle; business news—ICV2 Direct, Kadokawa/DSTLRY, Depuis/Kodansha, and the cancellation of Diamond’s Retail Summit.

Calvin moderates “The Comet Cometh”, a panel discussion on Tim Fielder’s forthcoming graphic adaptation of W.E.B. Du Bois’ celebrated 1920 Afrofuturist short story “The Comet,” featuring Afrofuturist scholars Reynaldo Anderson and Julian Chambliss. Part of Carnegie Hall's, “Dancing On the Precipice” festival, the panelists explore Du Bois’s life and career as a Black scholar, Pan African activist and Afrofuturist and the creation of the graphic novel.

The most anticipated graphic works coming in the spring; AnimeNYC 2024 sells out in 2 hours, and partners with Japan Society; comics journalism category dropped by Eisners awards; comics retailers speak; Diamond Book speaks too; Superman’s copyright; and Ramona Fradon retires.

Meg Lemke and Calvin Reid discuss three graphic titles in our Stargazing review feature: graphic memoirs by Edel Rodriquez, author of ‘Worm: A Cuban American Odyssey,’ and Ai Weiwei, author of ‘Zodiac: A Graphic Memoir’, and Manon Debaye’s graphic novel ‘The Cliff.”

The winners of the PW Graphic Novel Critics Poll, plus we recap the Top Ten comics stories of 2023, break down The Beat’s annual creator survey, applaud 50 years of the Direct Market, and report on Steamboat Willie in the public domain, and Disney’s corporate crisis.

Greason and Fielder discuss the creation of ‘The Graphic History of Hip Hop’, a comprehensive history of the music and its components that is being distributed throughout the New York City public schools.

A recap of the biggest news and trends of the past year, including the fight against book bans, graphic novel sales and retail distribution, changes at ReedPop and DC, new graphic novel imprints, unions at Image and D&Q, and a few of our favorite titles and artists.

A talk with coauthors Nic Watts and Sakina Karimjee about their graphic adaptation of C.L.R. James’s 1934 play, 'Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History', a companion to Black Jacobins, James’ celebrated history of the Haitian Revolution.

A recap of the news from AnimeNYC 2023, the 'New York Times' Best Books list, the current state of page-rates for comics creators, and rice pudding, plus an interview with Shaenon Garrity to discuss her recent feature on the popularity of webtoons and webcomics and their migration into print.

Heidi interviews Eisner-nominated comics creator Matt Lesniewski, artist and writer of 'Faceless and the Family' from Oni Press,'The Freak' from AdHouse, and artist of 'Mind MGMT: Bootleg' from Dark Horse, among others, about his career and distinctive artistic style.

Children’s author Dan Santat's graphic memoir ‘A First Time for Everything,’ wins the 2023 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature; farewell to the Comixology app; the new union at Drawn & Quarterly; a legal dispute between Fantagraphics and Emil Ferris over ‘My Favorite Thing is Monsters’; the state of comics and comics retailing (yet again); and a preview of AnimeNYC 2023.

Calvin interviews comics creator Dave Chisholm about his new work ‘Miles Davis and the Search for the Sound,’ a graphic biography of the celebrated jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and cultural icon.

A spotlight on the graphic novels selected for PW’s Best Books of 2023; plus the departure of DC executive Pam Lifford; DC’s new compact graphic novels; Bodies, the comics-inspired hit Netflix series; the revival of Marvel's Ultimate imprint; Dashtoon and comics AI, and the founding of Smudge, a new manga horror imprint.

Calvin visits Cartoon Crossroads Columbus and interviews Jay Kalagayan, executive director of CXC; Matt Bors, political cartoonist, and editor-founder of political comics online site ‘The Nib’, which closed in 2023; Raeghan Buchanan, creator of the nonfiction graphic work, ‘The Secret History of Black Punk: Record Zero’; Ben Passmore, political comics creator and author of ‘Your Black Friend’ and ‘Sports is Hell’; and Evan Salazar, creator of the comic 'Rodeo'.

Calvin, Heidi, Kate, and PW comics reviews editor Meg Lemke, recap the news and events at the recent New York Comic Con 2023 including personal reactions to the crowds of fans on the show floor, the programming, industry trends, the Harvey Awards, and the many parties held during this year's New York Comic Con. Plus interviews with Cat Stagg, Martin Morazzo, Yanick Pacquette, and Saladin Ahmed recorded in Artists Alley.

Interviews from New York Comic Con 2023: Calvin Reid talks to writer Doug Latino and Eisner-winning artist Gideon Kendall of the funny memoir comic 'WAIT... It Gets Worse', and comics artist and creator N. Steven Harris 'Watson and Holmes', 'Octobriana and the Underground'.