Sequential State – the comics criticism archive of Alex Hoffman

Author: Alex Hoffman

  • The Rest of the Best

    The Rest of the Best

    As you know, SOLRAD is up and running full steam. My list of the Best 20 comics of the decade is now live over there, so I’d encourage you to check it out. One of the things I said in my intro is that there was a final pass list of over 100 books, which…

  • What’s Next @ Sequential State

    What’s Next @ Sequential State

    Hey everyone! It’s been quiet here at Sequential State. Let me tell you why. Today, on January 1st, 2020, SOLRAD launched. SOLRAD is the culmination of over 9 months of work, and I hope it is positioned as a potential future vision for comics criticism and journalism in a world where critical discourse becomes harder…

  • Review: The Man Who Came Down the Attic Stairs by Celine Loup

    Review: The Man Who Came Down the Attic Stairs by Celine Loup

    I’ve never loved horror movies. I’m not interested in jump scares or splatter effects. But I love horror comics, often because they force their readers to re-examine the world and their assumptions of it. And that’s exactly what Celine Loup‘s graphic novella The Man Who Came Down the Attic Stairs does. Loup published a more…

  • Review: Bad Gateway by Simon Hanselmann

    Review: Bad Gateway by Simon Hanselmann

    Welcome back, dear reader. On Monday, I ran an interview with Simon Hanselmann that I hope you take the time to read. The initial focus of the interview (although it ended up being fairly far-ranging) was Hanselmann’s latest graphic novel, Bad Gateway. Clocking in at 176 pages, Bad Gateway is Hanselmann’s latest collection of Megg…

  • Interview: Simon Hanselmann – “My greatest wish is that I could freeze time.”

    Interview: Simon Hanselmann – “My greatest wish is that I could freeze time.”

    I sat down with Simon Hanselmann at the Small Press Expo this year in North Bethesda, Maryland to talk about Bad Gateway, his latest graphic novel. Published by Fantagraphics earlier this year, Bad Gateway advances the plot of his Megg and Mogg comics past the events that appear in his first graphic novel Megahex. It’s…

  • SPX Panel: Blurring The Visual Lines in Fantasy Fiction

    SPX Panel: Blurring The Visual Lines in Fantasy Fiction

    Hello dear reader! It’s been a bit of quiet time at Sequential State as I work on Fieldmouse Press, the brand new nonprofit publisher I launched with Rob Clough, Dan Elkin, and Ryan Carey, at the beginning of the month. During all the hubbub, I also planned and moderated two panels at SPX. Here’s the…

  • PRESS RELEASE: Small Press Comics Critics Announce Formation Of Nonprofit Publishing House Fieldmouse Press

    Fieldmouse Press Board of DirectorsField Mouse Pressinfo@fieldmouse.press For Immediate Release9/3/2019 Small Press Comics Critics Announce Formation Of Nonprofit Publishing House Fieldmouse Press Grass Valley, CA: Today, veteran comics critics Daniel Elkin, Alex Hoffman, Rob Clough, and Ryan Carey announced the formation of a new, non-profit publishing company, Fieldmouse Press (www.fieldmouse.press), establishing a visionary, ambitious, and…

  • Review: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, Written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Rosemary Valero O’Connell

    Review: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, Written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Rosemary Valero O’Connell

    The 2019 Small Press Expo Ignatz Award nominations were announced last week, and Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero O’Connell’s new graphic novel, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me garnered nominations in three categories, which is a stunning accomplishment. Mariko Tamaki is a well-known author of comics. Her graphic novel This One Summer (illustrated by…

  • Enemies of the State #005 – The Breakaways by Cathy G. Johnson

    Enemies of the State #005 – The Breakaways by Cathy G. Johnson

    Enemies of the State is a monthly virtual book club discussion on a recently published comic, featuring a rotating cast of comics critics. Episode #5 of Enemies of the State is an interview between critic Alex Hoffman and cartoonist Cathy G. Johnson about her comic The Breakaways, a 2019 middle grade graphic novel from First…

  • Review: Trans Girls Hit the Town by Emma Jayne

    Review: Trans Girls Hit the Town by Emma Jayne

    As a cis-gendered white man, I have the privilege of “public privacy.” I’m not going to get yelled at or threatened with a police call if I’m talking in another language in a coffee shop. I can walk down a street by myself and not get harassed or catcalled. I can get in a rideshare…

  • Review: Pope Hats #6: Shapeshifter by Hartley Lin

    Review: Pope Hats #6: Shapeshifter by Hartley Lin

    AdHouse Books has been publishing Pope Hats for nearly a decade. The series has been critically lauded, and a new issue is often the cause for celebration. The last few years have been revelatory for the series and its creator. With the publication of Young Frances (a collection of issues #1-3 and #5 of Pope…