Sequential State – the comics criticism archive of Alex Hoffman

Linkblogging #5


Linkblogging is a monthly “go look” feature on Sequential State that I’m using to feature fun comic things aroundthe internet. There is a lot of great stuff to look at on the internet. Thestuff featured is just the stuff I’ve been looking at lately. If I missed yourthing, send me a message!

Crowdfunders:

Lots (and I mean LOTS) of projects to feature this month. If Kickstarter/IndieGoGo isn’t necessarily your favorite thing, jump to the next bold header (although I advise against that, naturally).

Iron Circus Comics (run by the formidable C. Spike Trotman) is publishing the collected The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal omnibus by E.K. Weaver. The webcomic ran from 2009 to 2014, and previous volumes have been self-published by Weaver. $30 gets you a digital and paperback copy of the book. Iron Circus (Trotman) knows how to run a Kickstarter, having run the wildly successful Smut Peddler and Poorcraft series campaigns; this will be Iron Circus’ first third party book, and hopefully a sign of things to come. 

image

Chainmail Bikini, an anthology celebrating women gamers is at nearly double its funding goal at the time of this writing with still 22 days before campaign finish. Edited by Hazel Newlevant newlevant, this anthology is a who’s who of indie comics creators, including Annie Mok, Aatmaja Pandya, Jane Mai, Molly Ostertag, MK Reed, Sophie Yanow, Mia Schwartz, and more. $25 for over 200 pages of comics. 

Earlier this week I interviewed Serafina Dwyer serafina-dwy about the anthology Love in All Forms: The Big Book of Growing Up Queer, and I’d be remiss to not mention it here. I think this book is important. They are sitting at just over 25% completed with nearly a month to go. Another list of talent has signed on for this book.

Finally, Lauren Jordan is running an IndieGoGo for Comfort Food Zine, a food-positive collection of illustrations, recipes, and comics. If you liked Lucy Knisley’s Relish from First Second, this should be right up your alley. 

Read/Listen to this thing:

image

Kris Mukai krismukai  has started up a new podcast called Young Talk where Mukai and a guest read comics and react to them. The first episode’s guest is Laura Knetzger laurark, and the podcast is silly, heartwarming, and triumphant. I think it’s important when new platforms develop that feature artistic work. This podcast brought to my attention one really amazing comic and cartoonist whose work I had never read, and reminded me why I liked two others. If you want that kind of experience, this should be on the top of your list. 

Mukai and Knetzger discussed the following comics *linked here and on the podcast’s page for your viewing convenience*

Miranda Harmon mirandaharmony​- The Freeze
Krystal Difronzo toothandnail – New Leaf
Elias Ericson eliasericson – BREAK

You can find the first episode of the podcast here – and follow the tumblr account here: youngtalkpodcast

Read Rosemary Valero-O’Connell’s Unkind+Unwell, a comic about trauma and obsession.

Cátia Moreira’s comic about losing one way of communicating and gaining another from disruptionzine​. The way Moreira represents sign language here is worth a look.

Cole Ott’s creepy comic Gold.

image

The Nib did a big feature called Whatever We Please for International Women’s Day which was March 8th, featuring the work of Sophie Goldstein redinkradio, Lucy Bellwood lucybellwood , Whit Taylor whimsicalnobodycomics, and other talented women. Thoughts on the c-word, vocal fry, the statistics on the disparities between men and women, and more.

Also for Interational Women’s Day, Zainab Akhtar wrote a piece for the AV Club featuring 10 great women cartoonists.

News/Reviews/Oddities:

Yoshihiro Tatsumi passed away this week. Tatsumi’s manga opened my eyes to something “other,” and reading his work was probably a stepping stone to where I am now. Remembrances at TCJ, including those by Annie Ishii, Joe McCulloch, and Adrian Tomine. RIP.

Sparkler Monthly Mag is looking for more subscribers.

The shortlist for the Slate Cartoonist Studio Prize has been announced – here are the lists for print and webcomics in their entirety:

Print comics:

Arsene Schrauwen, Olivier Schrauwen
Beautiful Darkness, Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoet
Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? Roz Chast
Here, Richard McGuire
The Hospital Suite, John Porcellino
How to Be Happy, Eleanor Davis
An Iranian Metamorphosis, Mana Neyestani
The Love Bunglers, Jaime Hernandez
This One Summer, Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki
Truth is Fragmentary, Gabrielle Bell

Webcomics:

Bikram Addict, Eroyn Franklin
Carriers, Lauren R. Weinstein
Dear Amanda, Cathy G. Johnson
The Hole the Fox Did Make, Emily Carroll
Hollow, Part I, Sam Alden
How San Francisco Sold a Majority Stake To Tech, Susie Cagle
Nod Away, Joshua W. Cotter
Oh Joy Sex Toy! Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan
SuperMutant Magic Academy, Jillian Tamaki
Watching, Winston Rowntree

If nothing else, here are 10 great webcomics for you to read, and some books to check out at the local library. Some things of note here – as a whole, the selected authors in both categories as an overall percentage are significantly less male than other lists of these types (at least it seems that way). Two books from Uncivilized, which is encouraging, given the size of the press. The competition for this prize ($1000 check for each category) is pretty stiff. Jillian Tamaki is the only creator on both lists – 2014 was a good year for comics, and 2015 will continue to be for Tamaki as a printed version of her webcomic SuperMutant Magic Academy is published by Drawn and Quarterly later this year.

And finally, have a look at Katie Skelly’s review of Walter Scott’s Wendy from Koyama Press.


Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.