May 11, 2018

ICYMI -- Small Press Comics Criticism and Whatnot for 5/4/18 to 5/11/18

Highlighting some great small press comics criticism being published, as well as other random things that have caught my eye over the past week.

COMICS CRITICISM

* Katie Skelly reviews MEAN GIRLS CLUB: PINK DAWN by Ryan Heshka, writing "Heshka swerves into pop surrealism and sly satire, touching on both the gorgeous and grotesque with equal ease."

* Michelle White on Carol Swain's GAST in which "Seeds of darkness add up over the course of the narrative, evoking a prevailing mood that, while far from sprightly, doesn't descend into bleakness either."

* Mexi Gremillion looks at TSU AND THE OUTLIERS by E. Eero Johnson, "a strange reality of urban legends."

* Rachel Sheir on Aline Kaminsky-Crumb's reissued and updated collection, LOVE THAT BUNCH, "a satisfying epic of modern feminism."

* Megan Purdy reviews EARTHA by Cathy Malkasian, writing "Its combination of gentleness and fierce social and political commentary makes it a surprisingly affecting read."

* Shea Hennum on LAND OF THE SONS by Gipi. "Presenting itself in an anarchic parade of anger, impulse, and violence, [it] moves with a rare energy."

* Ryan C. reviews Georgia Webber's DUMB, saying "It takes guts to lay yourself bare like this, but there's not an ounce of self-indulgence on offer here, and that puts it a good few steps ahead of many autobio comics right there."

* Kevin Bramer has this short, plot-recap heavy review of Katherine K. Wirick's NERVENKRANK #2. I link it here because I'm intrigued by the work Wirick is doing.

* Rob Clough on Josh Pettinger's GOITER #2 in which "Pettinger's deadpan drawing style makes the humor in this comic extra dry, as he lets the events themselves drive the humor, rather than funny drawings."

* Robin Enrico reviews CUIDANDO by Kelly Fernandez which "has Fernandez examining how the work of childcare has had an impact on both her life and the lives of members of her family."

* Jason Sacks on Agustin Comotto's PRISONER 155, "a compelling graphic novel that displays a remarkable empathy for its subject in a series of subtle gestures and small moments of strength."

* Sam Ombiri looks at BACK IN BLECK by Johnny Ryan.

* Elisa Shoenberger has a list of 50 WEBCOMICS YOU HAVE TO CHECK OUT NOW over on Bookriot, and, while I more often than not hate it when someone tells me how to live my life, Shoenberger has a pretty diverse and interesting list.

WHATNOT

* The amazing WOMEN WRITE ABOUT COMICS (from which many links on ICYMI have come throughout the years) needs to change web hosts due to "a lot of downtime, broken links and images, loss of ad revenue, and a lot of frustration." Check out their Indiegogo campaign to see how you can help. And in further WWAC news, with the departure of Megan Purdy and Claire Napier, Wendy Browne has stepped up to become the site's new PUBLISHER.

* Speaking of Megan Purdy (for the third time in this post), read her and Jon Erik's piece on The MNT site called SIX DEBUT BOOKS AT #TCAF WE'RE EXCITED FOR and then remind her she shouldn't end sentences with a preposition. Actually, screw that petty shit. Instead, tell her to buy a copy of that new Richie Pope book and send it to me.

* Alex Graham has a comic up on Vice called BABY CLOWNS IN A CASTLE KEEP GETTING FIRED that you should probably read. Once you read it, you'll know why I told you to go read it.

* Rob Kirby presents an excerpt from cartoonist Elizabeth Beier's THE BIG BOOK OF BISEXUAL TRIALS AND ERRORS.

* Alex Dueben interviews ZACK SOTO about his Kickstarter for The Secret Voice and his work in general.

* Hillary Brown interviews HOPE LARSON about All Summer Long, "music, inclusiveness and being a 'big dork' as a teenager".

* I enjoyed reading Francesca Segal's personal piece over on The Millions titled MY WINTER WITH EDITH WHARTON. Maybe it's because of that amazing winter I spent in Lenox.

* According to a REPORT recently released by the Anti-Defamation League, from the end of January 2017 through January 2018 there were 4.2 million Anti-Semitic tweets posted on Twitter which underscores "the powerful harassment that exists and the ease with which a relative handful of users can infect our shared social media environment with negative stereotypes and conspiracy theories about Jews."

TWO POEMS by Cal Freeman.

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