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[aethucyn]

All the Comics 2019

Series I read as they came out:

Archie Assassin Nation Batman Universe Black Panther By Night Catwoman Die Exorsisters Ghosted in L.A. Ghostspider Giant Days Gwenpool Strikes Back Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy Invisible Kingdom Laguardia Last Stop on the Red Line Lazarus: Risen Lois Lane The Magnificent Ms. Marvel Man-Eaters Monstress Ms. Marvel Once & Future King Paper Girls Pretty Deadly: The Rat Redlands Sabrina the Teenage Witch Sleepless Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider Spider-man and Venom: Double Trouble Steeple Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl The Unstoppable Wasp West Coast Avengers The White Trees The Wicked + the Divine

Graphic Novels & Trade Paperbacks

The Life of Captain Marvel Margaret Stohl Carlos Pacheco Batgirl Vol. 4: Strange Loop Hope Larson Sami Basri Jessica Jones: Blind Spot Kelly Thompson Mattia De Iulis Doom Patrol Vol 2: Nada Gerard Way Nick Derington Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings Sarah Graley Batman Vol. 8: Cold Days Tom King Lee Weeks Hilda and the Troll Luke Pearson Batwoman Vol. 3: Fall of the House of Kane Marguerite Bennett Fernando Blanco X-23: Family Album Mariko Tamaki Juann Cabal Andre the Giant: Life and Legend Box Brown How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less Sarah Glidden Get Your War On David Rees March Book One John Lewis & Andrew Aydin Nate Powell Barbarous Vol 1 Ananth Hirsh Yuko Ota Barbarous Vol 2 Ananth Hirsh Yuko Ota March Book Two John Lewis & Andrew Aydin Nate Powell March Book Three John Lewis & Andrew Aydin Nate Powell The Real Folk Blues: A Cowboy Bebop Fanbook Anthology ed. Zainab Akhtar Batman Detective Comics Vol 2 The Victim Syndicate James Tynion IV Alvaro Martinez Off Season James Sturm Kiss Number 8 Colleen AF Venable Ellen T. Crenshaw Cleopatra in Space: Fallen Empires Mike Maihack Batman Detective Comics Vol 3: League of Shadows James Tynion IV Marcio Takara The Hero Business Season Two Bill Walko When I Arrived at the Castle Emily Carroll The Weather Man Jody LeHeup Nathan Fox The Girl Who Married a Skull & Other African Stories ed. C. Spike Trotman ed. Kate Ashwin ed. Kel McDonald ed. Taneka Stotts F*ck Off Squad Nicole Goux Dave Baker The Breakaways Cathy G. Johnson Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me Mariko Tamaki Rosemary Valero-O'Connell Batman Vol. 9 The Tyrant Wing Tom King Tom Taylor Mech Cadet Yu Volume Two Grek Pak Takeshi Miyazawa Sincerely, Harriet Sarah W. Searle The Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire Part One Michael Dante DiMartino Michelle Wong Avatar The Last Airbender: Imbalance Book Two Faith Erin Hicks Peter Wartman Snotgirl: vol 2: California Screaming Bryan Lee O'Malley Leslie Hung Skyward: Vol 1 Joe Henderson Lee Garbett Shuri: Vol 1: The Search for Black Panther Nnedi Okorafor Leonardo Romero Crowded: Vol 1: Soft Apocalypse Chrisopher Sebela Ro Stein Ted Brandt I Hate Fairyland: Vol 1: Madly Ever After Skottie Young I Hate Fairyland: Vol 2: Fluff My Life Skottie Young I Hate Fairyland: Vol 3: Good Girl Skottie Young I Hate Fairyland: Vol 4:  Sadly Never After Skottie Young California Dreamin' Penelope Bagieu Runaways: Best Friends Forever Rainbow Rowell Kris Anka Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles Mark Russell Mike Feehan My Brother's Husband Gengorah Tagame Rice Boy Evan Dahm FTL Y'all ed. C. Spike Trotman ed. Amanda Lafrenais Gothic Tales of Haunted Love ed. Hope Nicholson ed. S.M.Beiko The Immortal Hulk: Or is he both? Al Ewing Joe Bennett X-23: X-Assassin Mariko Tamaki Diego Olortegui Ant-Man and the Wasp: Lost and Found Mark Waid Javier Garron Power Man and Iron Fist: The Boys Are Back in Town David Walker Sanford Greene Iceman: Thawing Out Sina Grace Alessandro Vitti Iceman: Absolute Zero Sina Grace Robert Gill Song of Aglaia Anne Simon Batman Detective Comics: Vol 4 Deus Ex Machina James Tynion IV Alvaro Martinez Harley Quinn: Broken Glass Mariko Tamaki Steve Pugh The Immortal Hulk: The Green Door Al Ewing Joe Bennett Power Man and Iron Fist: Civil War David F. Walker Flaviano Cosplayers Dash Shaw Bad Machinery: The Case of the Modern Men John Allison Is This How You See Me? Jaime Hernandez a city inside Tillie Walden The Immotal Hulk: Hulk in Hell Al Ewing Joe Bennett Slowly but Shirley Catalina Rufin Stage Dreams Melanie Gillman Homunculus Joe Sparrow Verse Book One Sam Beck Laid Waste Julia Gfrorer Gorgeous Cathy G. Johnson Cosmoknights Hannah Templer The Hard Tomorrow Eleanor Davis Pumpkin Heads Rainbow Rowell Faith Erin Hicks Funky Town Mathilde Van Gheluwe Pleading with Stars Kurt Ankeny Avatar The Last Airbender: Imbalance Book Three Faith Erin Hicks Peter Wartman The Love Bunglers Jaime Hernandez Spider-man Life Story Chip Zdarsky Mark Bagley Are You Listening? Tillie Walden November Matt Fraction Elsa Charretier Rusty Brown Chris Ware Dangerously Chloe Volume 3 David Lumsdon Jason Waltrip The Astonishing Ant-Man: Small-Time Criminal Nick Spencer Ramon Rosanas Doctor Aphra: Aphra Kieron Gillen Kev Walker Moonstruck Grace Ellis Shae Beagle

Minis

Maids no. 1 Katie Skelly Frontier #18 Tiffany Ford Two of Us Jessi Zabarsky Visiting Alivia Horsley Sobek James Stokoe Resort on Caelum Wren McDonald Boogsy Michelle Kwan Frontier #19 Hannah Waldron Maids no. 2 Katie Skelly Frontier #20 Anatola Howard Minotaar Lissa Treiman Pass the Baton Hana Chatani Cry Wolf Girl Ariel Ries At the Edge of the Stream at Dusk Jen Lee Cavity Michelle Theodore Hsthete Melanie Gillman David, I Love You Eileen Marie The Cutest Curse Laura Terry Churn Amelia Onorato An Eye for an Eye Kimberly Wang Women on Paper: 3 Stories Anna Christine Liminal State Maria Photinakis Melusine, The Collector and the Gift of the Pearls Edie Voges Infinite Wheat Paste Issue 3 Pidge Anew Dillon Gilbertson Anastasia Longoria Big Wally James McGarry Sam Bennett Frontier #21 Derek Yu Frontier #22 Tunde Adebimpe

Graphic novel is a stupid term that often encompasses things that are not novels, but I used it as a blanket term for anything comics I read that were bound rather than stapled. Minis are shorter works, stapled, and generally self-published by the artist, or done by a small press like Shortbox or Youth in Decline. I was totally lazy about crediting creators on series because my actual list for that is a grid, keeping track of each issue. Similarly, when listing creators on trades, I tended to only list writer and artist which is enough for some books, but sometimes there are many more, inkers, and colorists and letterers, and maybe I’ll do better next year.

Support your local library, your local comic shop (especially Hub Comics if you’re in the Boston area), and indie comic shows like MICE. 

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Every prose book I read in 2019

Get in Trouble by Kelly Link Binti by Nnedi Okorafor Binti: Homeby Nnedi Okorafor Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner Comics Will Break Your Heart by Faith Erin Hicks The Heavens by Sandra Newman Bowlaway by Elizabeth McCracken Hark by Sam Lipsyte Kindred by Octavia Butler What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson Infomacracy by Malka Older Mirror, Shoulder, Signal by Dorthe Nors The Great Perhaps by Joe Meno Null States by Malka Older Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata Everything Under by Daisy Johnson Vallista by Steven Brust Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi State Tectonics by Malka Older The Impossible Fairy Tale by Han Yujoo The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi The UnAmericans by Molly Antopol The Silk Road by Kathryn Davis We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix The Word Pretty by  Elisa Gabbert St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised By Wolves by Karen Russell Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher Gingerbread by  Helen Oyeyemi I Like to Watch by Emily Nussbaum The Burning Girl by Claire Messud Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern The Monster of Elendhaven  by Jennifer Giesbrecht Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire

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Every movie I saw in the theater 2019

Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse Captain Marvel Us Shazam Avengers: Endgame Booksmart Godzilla: King of Monsters Men in Black International Spider-man: Far From Home The Kitchen Ready or Not Downton Abbey The Farewell Parasite Jojo Rabbit Knives Out Little Women

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Best Comics of 2018

Choosing my favorite comics of the year is comparing Tuesdays and Teacups. How can you compare a 22 year in the making work of historical fiction about the rise of the Nazis with, well, anything? So, I’m just trying to lean into the differences. I love humor, and drama, and action, and sometimes things I don’t entirely get where the artist’s reach exceeds their grasp. I like books that are beautiful objects, and zines on unevenly cut paper. I love championing books that I feel haven’t been discussed enough and seeing people whose work I’ve followed for a while take the next step. Below, are the books I keep thinking about.

 My favorite comics of the year:

I Am Young by M. Dean Fantagraphics I have been looking forward to this collection of stories since I heard that Dean had one the first Creators for Creators grant. I had already been a fan of hers, buying her comics at Topatocon ’15 and MICE ’16, and followed her irregularly updated webcomic, “The Girl Who Flew Away.” Her work is often quiet, small slices of life, told through internal monologues, letters, diary entries. They’re set in the past, but often are looking further into the past. Lisa in Strange Magic is at her prom in 1978, but thinking of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds from the 1960’s. This helps to alleviate the feeling of an era captured in amber that can come from using the past as a setting. Dean’s art is beautiful and expressive, and she’s particularly adept at using unconventional layouts to enhance her stories.

Did You See Me? By Sophia Foster-Dimino Shortbox

On Twitter, Emma asks David for an apology for knocking her over. When he says, he was asleep at the time she claims they met, she tells him that he did it in his dream. When he encounters her in his next dream, he apologizes. From there, the comic follows as the two of them get to know each other better through Twitter and dreams. Foster-Dimino varies her style throughout, Twitter is distinct from real life, distinct from dreams.

 John, Dear by Laura Lannes Retrofit

Our female narrator is sure she loves John more than he loves her. In the course of re-assuring her, he says she’s been through a lot, and is sure her skin condition will clear up soon. Unaware of any skin condition, she checks herself in the mirror and finds holes in her skin, dark spots of non-existence. The comic is not just in black and white, but cycles between black and white pages. At times, the images so faint on the black, the reader has to strain to see them. An eerie comic of body horror and metaphor.

What the Body is For by Madeleine Witt (Self Published)

A poetry comic originally posted on Instagram from February 14th-April 1st of 2018. The timing is not coincidental, we begin in winter, the palette entirely blue tones on beige paper, a brief tinge of red 8 pages in, but subsumed again by the blues. We get early thaws and flowers blooming, only for another cold snap to kill them off. But as we get towards spring, “Your body is good, your body is dying, and your body will rise again” as we finally begin to get the reds of spring we feel we deserve. A spring rebirth that coincided with Easter and Passover of the year.

The Divided Earth (Book 3 of the Nameless City Trilogy) by Faith Erin Hicks, Colors by Jordie Belaire First Second

The son of a general from an occupying army befriends a street rat from the city, together they save the day. There are complications and setbacks, but no real surprises. But there are also no missteps, no flaws, no moments where somebody does something out of character to move the plot along. Hicks lands every story beat, her plotting is tight. The action is clear, the movement vibrant, character expressions readable. I’ve worried that this series has been overlooked, and am hopeful that now that it’s complete, it will earn its place as a classic.

 Why Art? by Eleanor Davis Fantagraphics

An undercurrent of Davis’ work has been asking the question, why stories? Why art? So, it’s not surprising she chose to tackle it head on. The book begins as a tongue-in-cheek primer. It categorizes art in terms like ‘large art’ or ‘orange art.’ (particularly glib since the book is in black and white). By the time Davis starts telling us about a group show that goes awry due to calamitous weather, it’s easy to lose track of the title’s premise, one just follows the story with its strange twists and turns until Davis finally brings us to an answer.

Chimera by Aliza Layne & Natalie Reiss from Tim’rous Beastie Anthology Iron Circus Oh my god, this comic creeped me out. It’s about those wasps that parasite onto a queen bee to have a hive build a wasps’ nest instead. Seriously, it creeped me out and as that’s the point, good work! Also, this is such a solid anthology, and anthologies are a rough business. A lot of organization necessary, and there’s a difficult middle-ground you need to achieve finding some form of cohesion without repetition. But months after I’ve read it, it’s Chimera that sticks with me.

Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal Drawn and Quarterly

After men become extinct, we follow the activity of a town of women. We follow a character working through her unrequited crush, we see a new doctor come to town, we see the town strengthen its ties with other towns. But the series is best when it the characters encounter their own ignorance of the past, exploring the grand architecture of a Starbucks, finding and treasuring a Paul Blart DVD, musing about how a more technologically advanced society must pamper women experiencing cramps. And, there is one strip that had me laughing for five minutes, and was the funniest joke I read/heard all year.

Radishes (from Girl Town) by Carolyn Nowak Top Shelf

Two girls skip school to go to a market. They get freezies, shop for clothes, look at puzzles and contend with a creepy dude. Kelly is outgoing, adventurous, up for anything, while Beth is less comfortable with herself, always deflecting attention back to her friend. Their final stop is a magical food stand where things get maybe a bit too real for Beth. It’s a beautiful, tight, little story, and is my favorite of the collection.

Young Francis by Harley Lin Adhouse Books

A story about finding your way into adulthood. Frances is working as a paralegal, working overtime just to maintain her position in a highly competitive law firm. As things start to align for Frances, she pulls back. Is the promotion what she wants? Is she afraid of success, or has she just wrapped up too much of her identity into being somebody who suffers?

Since this is already long, going to do quick entries for the rest.

Best single issues of on-going monthlies:

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #31 by Ryan North, Erica Henderson, Rico Renzi Marvel Comics

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man by Chip Zdarsky & Chris Bachalo Marvel Comics

 Best New Series:

Flavor by Joseph Keatinge and Wook Jin-Clark Image

 Best Story Arc of an on-going series:

Ms. Marvel: Teenage Wasteland by G. Willow Wilson & Nico Leon Marvel Comics

 Best On-Going Series:

Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda Image

 Best Comic that’s also kind of Homework:

Berlin by Jason Lutes Drawn + Quarterly

 Books that repackaged free online content into absolutely beautiful physical editions that are a wonder to behold:

The Last Halloween by Abby Howard Self published

Girls with Slingshots omnibus by Danielle Corsetto Iron Circus

 Best YA not previously mentioned:

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden First Second

All Summer Long by Hope Larson Farrar Straus Giroux

 Best Books I read this year that were actually came out in 2016 & 2017:

 100 Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg Little Brown

My Pretty Vampire by Katie Skelly Fantagraphics

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Favorites of 2016: Comics

I read so many comics this year, single issues, trade paperbacks, self-released minis, kickstarter projects, plus subscriptions to two small publishers (Retrofit and Youth in Decline) kept new comics showing up in the mail at a pretty regular basis. Not everything was was new in 2016, but new to me.

Creators (people who I read enough great stuff by that it’s easier to list them than have them crowd out the other lists)

1) Eleanor Davis writer & artist: How to Be Happy, Libby’s Dad, BDSM.

2) Hope Larson writer & artist on Solo, writer Goldie Vance, Compass South (and I haven’t even started reading her Batgirl run).

3) Tom King writer: The Omega Men, Vision, The Sheriff of Babylon.

4) John Allison writer: Giant Days, writer & artist: Bad Machinery (on-going webcomic and two print volumes) and Mordawwa.

5) M. Dean writer & artist: Baby Fat, Strange Magic & ongoing webcomic The Girl Who Flew Away.

Single works:

1) Beautiful Dark by Fabien Vehlmann & Kerascoet.

2) The Fish Wife by Melanie Gillman

3) The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks

4) Hellbound Life by Kaeleigh Forsyth & Alabaster Pizzo

5) We All Wish For Deadly Force by Leela Corman

Ongoing series:

1) Shutter (particularly issue 23).

2) Mockingbird

3) Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

4) Saga

5) Space Battle Lunchtime.

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Favorites of 2016: Books

Fiction:

1) The Borrower by Rebeeca Makkai 2) The Throwback Special by Chris Bachelder 3) Duplex by Kathryn Davis 4) What the World Will Look Like When All The Water Leaves Us by Laura van den Berg 5) Version Control by Dexter Palmer I read less non-fiction so I’ll just list the one that felt crucial to this year: The Confidence Game: Why We Fall For it Every Time by Maria Konnikova Poetry (all the books of poetry I read this year to completion, all are worth your time and mney):

Goat in the Snow by Emily Pettit

Resurrection Party by Michalle Gould

The French Exit by Elisa Gabbert

Tender Data by Monica McClure

Garments Against Women by Anne Boyer

This Version Earth by Soraya Shalforoosh

Instructions for Building a Wind Chime by Adriana Cloud

I love you here's a giant worm by Alli Simone Defeo

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OMG SPOTIFY IS CLEVER AF 😂

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MOCKINGBIRD #8 Cover by Joëlle Jones

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Peanuts

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Saturday was MeCAF (Maine Comic Arts Festival) in Portland, ME. Fun show in a new location (seriously, Portland, your library is fab). I’ll post a little something about all the books I bought as I read them.

First up, “Compass South” by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock. 

This book will officially come out June 28th, but Rebecca was selling copies at the show. Orphaned twins Alex and Cleo come up with a scheme to trick a man out of his fortune by pretending to be his twin sons. But first, they have to get from New York to San Francisco. Along the way they meet another pair of twins. People get shanghai’ed, there are pirates, quicksand, storms, in other words Adventure! Mock’s artwork is great, her character’s faces expressive and the action clear.

The book is the first in a series, so while it ends at a reasonable conclusion, there are mysteries still to be solved.

I also purchased Rebecca Mock’s postcard pack.

Recommended for kids and adults, anybody who has considered running off to the sea.

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The Marvel Universe totally has it coming.

The word’s out! There’s going to be a Squirrel Girl original graphic novel! I’m so proud of our girl.

THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL BEATS UP THE MARVEL UNIVERSE! OGN Written by Ryan North Art and cover by Erica Henderson Proof that we’re living in the best of all possible worlds: THERE’S GONNA BE A SQUIRREL GIRL GRAPHIC NOVEL! It’s a stand-alone adventure that’s both great for new Squirrel Girl readers, and also for people who ALREADY know about how she can talk to squirrels and also punch really well! Behold: a story so HUGE it demanded a graphic novel! A story so NUTS that it incorporates BOTH senses of that word (insanity AND the weird hard fruit thingies) (they’re fruits, did you know that?) (I didn’t until I looked them up just now, so looks like we’re all learning science from this solicit text for a comic book!) Squirrel Girl has defeated Thanos, Galactus, and Doctor Doom. TWICE. But in this all-new graphic novel, she’ll encounter her most dangerous, most powerful, most unbeatable enemy yet: HERSELF. Specifically, an evil duplicate made possible through mad science (both computer and regular) as well as some Bad Decisions. In other words, SQUIRREL GIRL BEATS UP THE MARVEL UNIVERSE!

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This girl is magic.

Omg

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Catwoman’s 1940s “Kitty Car” seems well overdue for some toy tie-ins.

(Images from Detective Comics #122, 1947)

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CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR BUDDY JILLIAN TAMAKI FOR HER IGNATZ AWARDS 2015 WIN!!

“SexCoven” from Frontier #7: Jillian Tamaki won in the category of “OUTSTANDING STORY” !!! [You can get a copy here]

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Boston Comic-Con Day 1: Creators

amyreeder Artist & co-creator of “Rocket Girl”

ericafailsatlife Artist on The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and the upcoming Jughead comic. Also co-creator of baby’s First Mythos.

philnoto artist on the run of Black Widow that just concluded.

Annie Wu artist on Black Canary. Showing off the BC sketch she did for me.

drawgernaut (Stacey Lee) artist on Silk.

jasonlatour writer on Spider-Gwen.

shelligator & bradenlamb artists on Adventure Time comics, and The Midas Flesh.

Holly Foltz creator of Unpleasant People.

altar-girl whose work is new to me, but I thought her Jubilee was awesome.

[aethucyn]

HOW WE VIEW WRITERS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JULY 14 2015

Several people have alerted me to the fact that I’ve been nominated in the SPECIAL AWARD FOR HUMOR IN COMICS category for this year’s HARVEY AWARDS for my work on SEX CRIMINALS. While it is an honour, of course, to be nominated, it sadly continues a trend in comics which simply cannot continue: it ignores the writer.

Comics, for the most part, is a team effort. Pencillers, inkers, writers, letterers, Jordie; all of these roles are integral to the creation of a comic book and, time after time, positions like writers are routinely ignored in reviews, news and awards. Is it the fact that they’re invisible to the process? That when you’re reading a comic you’re noticing the beautiful drawings, the vibrant colours, the well-placed and designed lettering? Possibly. But it doesn’t mean writers aren’t integral to the process, or aren’t human beings who need to be noticed a lot.

With that being said (or, more accurately, WRITTEN), I simply cannot accept this HARVEY AWARDS nomination as it stands. I urge the awards committee to change the ballot to say “Chip Zdarsky and Matt Fraption, SEX CRIMINALS, Image Comics.” If it does not get changed to exactly that wording, I will ask them to remove my name from the ballot completely, allowing the awards to replace my position with another middle-aged white man.

Comic book writers are important. They are crude storytellers—desperately describing what they wish to see yet cannot create—but storytellers nonetheless.

So, the next time you open a comic on a Wednesday and see a powerful, beautiful, full-colour rendering of Captain America punching a horse in the face, remember that it probably started with a writer, typing out the words “Panel 4: Cap pnches horse in face.”

Chip Zdarsky President Zdarsco, Inc. • FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JULY 14 2015

I thought chip (Steve) was nominated for a HARD-y award. I misheard. How did you get this number?

Matt Fraction Treasurer Milkfed Criminals Masterminds, Inc.

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THE AVENGERS’ JOHN STEED Art by Francesco Francavilla

Saddened by the news of Patrick Macnee, just a week after Christopher Lee’s passing (both were 93 years old and they played in the same movie as Holmes and Watson at some point). We’ll never forget all of his great performances, specially the ones as John Steed in the 60′s AVENGERS.

So long, Patrick. FF