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Review: The Fever Closing by Liam Cobb
It’s hard to stay current with all of the independent comics scenes across the English-speaking world, but I have recently been keeping track of Liam Cobb, a UK-based cartoonist whose stock seems to be on the rise. Cobb has done quite a few self-published books over the last two years, but The Fever Closing is…
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Review: Diana’s Electric Tongue by Carolyn Nowak
Review: Diana’s Electric Tongue by Carolyn Nowak Carolyn Nowak’s comic Radishes won a 2016 Ignatz award and was one of my favorite comics from SPX 2015. Now Nowak is back with a new 70 page full color comic, originally released with a special cover through the international ShortBox comics box program and now out self-published from…
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Review: Decelerate Blue by Adam Rapp and Mike Cavallaro
I recently found a copy of Decelerate Blue at the local library, and picked it up on a whim. I have the habit of doing this for First Second books, which are often in abundant supply in the graphic novel-centric public library space. The book is 200+ pages long, mostly black and white with some color pages…
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Review: Angel of a Rope by Adam Buttrick
Review: Angel of a Rope by Adam Buttrick I recently got a copy of Angel of a Rope from Domino Books, the publisher and distro run by Austin English. English’s comics are quite dense, and it wasn’t a surprise to find that the books he distributes are similarly inclined. Adam Buttrick’s work recently came to my attention…
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Review: Book of Void by Viktor Hachmang
The UK-based publisher Landfill Editions is best known in the USA for its anthology series Mould Map, but they also publish a selection of shorter works. I recently picked up a copy of Viktor Hachmang’s debut comic Book of Void. This is a 20-page comic with jet-black dust jacket and an obi band, and is printed mostly…
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Review: Snotgirl, vol. 1, script by Bryan Lee O’Malley, art by Leslie Hung, colors by Mickey Quinn, and letters by Maré Odomo
Snotgirl is Bryan Lee O’Malley’s latest project, and his first monthly comic book. I heard the hubbub about the book when the first issue came out, but I recently picked up a copy of the first trade paperback to see how the story held up. I enjoyed Seconds, ’Malley’s latest graphic novel, but I find myself…
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Review: Draw Blood by Ron Hotz
Last year at TCAF, I met up with cartoonist Ron Hotz and he handed me a copy of Draw Blood. Draw Blood is a 68+ page graphic novella published in 2016. Ron writes a webcomic called Best Day Evr! that’s been running since 2014. Best Day Evr! is a high school drama featuring anthropomorphic characters and Draw…
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A Response to Critical Jam #11: Scanlations
pebblesandjamjam: Welcome to Critical Jam, J.A. Micheline’s monthly column on criticism. I don’t write about unlicensed Japanese comics. I’d like to. There are some incredible BL cartoonists and books that I’d like to tell you about, for example, but the thing is: no English-language publishers have picked them up for translation, so as far as…
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Review: Ancestor by Matt Sheean & Malachi Ward
Imagine a world where the internet lived inside your head – where you would see a person’s name and their life history in your visual field as you were introduced, where you can share memories with a thought, and you can run programs to perform physical tasks to the utmost perfection. This is the introduction…
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Comic Review: A Zoo In Winter by Jiro Taniguchi
A little over a month ago, reports from Japanese sources announced the passing of Jiro Taniguchi. Taniguchi was a master draftsperson and cartoonist whose work has been championed by the small publisher Fanfare (in partnership with Spanish publisher Ponent Mon). They have been publishing his work since the mid-00s. Taniguchi’s best-known works have been characterized…
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Review: Burrow by Marnie Galloway
Everyone tells you that having a child will change your life. What they don’t generally mention is the physical pain of it, that unique and special torture called sleep deprivation. Depression and anxiety grow unchecked, your ability to remember fades. You see things that aren’t possibly there. You recede into yourself, and your animalistic lower…
