Sequential State – the comics criticism archive of Alex Hoffman

Category: Features

  • Review: DEALING WITH WINTER zine, an anthology edited by Mickey Zacchilli Mickey Z. sent over a copy of DEALING WITH WINTER zine a new anthology from pricetapes edited by Zacchilli, with contributions by a lot of talented artists. The book is 47 pages, risographed single-tone (mostly burgundy, but also teal and purple) pages on an…

  • 2X2: Invisible Ink vs. CHICAGO

    I’ve been reading a lot of books published in 2015 as a way to “get under the hood” of the year’s publishing output. I’m specifically trying to push through books that appeared on the 2015 10th Annual Publishers Weekly Graphic Novel Critics Poll, which “infamously” nominated Scott McCloud’s dudder of a comic The Sculptor as Best…

  • Critical Conversations: CM & Alex Hoffman Discuss The Arab of the Future by Riad Sattouf

    In October 2015, Macmillan released The Arab of the Future by Riad Sattouf. Translated from French, the book was a #1 French best-seller and is the first of what will eventually be a three part trilogy of memoirs by the French cartoonist. The Arab of the Future is a book that centers on a young…

  • sequentialstatement: Episode #7: Hello 2016! Alex and Nick talk about moving into the new year. Music by Today’s Man. Comics That Challenged Me in 2015 ListSequential Statement Top 5 Reviews of: Barrier the new Panel Syndicate book by Brian K Vaughn and Marcos MartinKurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, V1-3 by Eiji Otsuka and Housui YamazakiMIND MGMT…

  • Review: SuperCakes by Kat Leyh I have been known to read a superhero comic from time to time, despite my routine coverage here at Sequential State avoiding most superhero books. Still, there are a few that grab my attention. The latest superhero comic I really enjoyed was Thor: The Mighty Avenger, which was an all-ages…

  • Review: Solanin by Asano Inio This week marks the release of one of the more highly-anticipated manga of the publishing year, A Girl on the Shore from Asano Inio. In 2010, I reviewed an earlier piece by him, Solanin, and I wanted to revisit that work before I wrote about his latest comic. Solanin is…

  • A Year In Review: 2015

    I did a year in review for Sequential State in the year 2014, and I think it’s appropriate I think to do the same for 2015. Some quick metrics for the interested: Posts: 91Books Reviewed: 83Interviews: 4Con Reports: 1Audio & Video Content: 6Followers:  1103 The numbers look better (to be expected given the age of…

  • Comics That Challenged Me in 2015: The Complete List

    The 2015 list, in no particular order: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6  Dumb 1 & 2, Georgia Webber [@geewebber] (Retrofit Comics [@retrofitcomics]) Crickets #3-4, Sammy Harkham [@sammyharkham] (self-published) I Love This Part, Tillie Walden [@tilliewalden] (Avery Hill) The Basil Plant, Laura Lannes [@lauralannes] (self-published)…

  • Comics That Challenged Me in 2015: Part 6

    Happy Monday – today is the last day of my list; tomorrow the full list will go up for your complete review. Please send me an ASK or shoot me an email at sequentialstate _at_ gmail _dot_ com if you have any feedback. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 |…

  • Comics That Challenged Me in 2015: Part 5

    Welcome back to the latest Comics That Challenged Me in 2015 piece. I generally don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t see a lot of value to them, generally speaking. But with the recent controversies with the Angouleme Grand Prix, I was thinking about talented women cartoonists, and decided to make a resolution. My resolution…

  • Comics That Challenged Me in 2015: Part 4

    Happy Wednesday. Hope you’re having a wonderful new year. I don’t generally make too much fuss about a new year, but this year I wanted to try to resolve to write a little bit more frequently. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Complete…