This Week in Gaiman, Diamond, Book Banning, and Joe Casey— The Comic Bookmarks February 9th, 2025

It’s a bit of a quiet week so let’s just dive into some of what happened.

Previously on FC2C

“The music of the future needs a future to exist in.”— Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard’s The Power Fantasy Volume One: The Superpowers

The question in The Power Fantasy isn’t if the world is going to end but how is it going to end?

From Cover to CoverScott Cederlund

Headlines

Neil Gaiman Hit With Rape & Human Trafficking Suits After Months Of Allegations; Estranged Spouse Amanda Palmer Also Named In Multi-State Filings

‘Sandman’ author Neil Gaiman has been hit with rape and trafficking lawsuits months after allegations against the author arose.

DeadlineDominic Patten

From everything that’s been reported, the rape lawsuit makes sense but I don’t know if we’ve talked about this from the human trafficking aspect even though it’s all right there and is equally horrifying. More and more, it looks like there are actual consequences that could take place here against Gaiman and Palmer.

Children’s Book Council Launches Graphic Novel Advocate Award

The inaugural CBC Graphic Novel Advocate Award has named four winners whose efforts help to maintain this format in schools, libraries, and bookstores across the country.

PublishersWeekly.comPamela Brill |

This is a great way to highlight the work of people who are supporting comics in libraries and doing a lot to fight for them.

Authors Against Book Bans responds to the DOE statement supporting book banning in American public schools

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— Authors Against Book Bans Rhode Island (@aabbri.bsky.social) January 25, 2025 at 7:49 AM

In case, like me, you missed the DOE’s statement supporting book banning, here it is…

U.S. Department of Education Ends Biden’s Book Ban Hoax

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced that it has dismissed 11 complaints related to so-called “book bans.”

U.S. Department of Education

A hoax? Like it isn’t happening?

Business

Dark Horse downsizes

Dark Horse has reportedly laid off more than a dozen staffers, as troubles at their parent company may have caught up with them.

The BeatHeidi MacDonald

UPDATED: Layoffs at IDW this week confirmed

IDW Media Holdings has confirmed yet another round of layoffs, as the comics industry continues to downsize in these challenging times

The BeatHeidi MacDonald

Two from The Beat about a couple of stalwarts of the Direct Market facing issues. IDW seems like they’re been barely hanging on for years now. And there’s been a doom-and-gloom perception of Dark Horse ever since they lost the Star Wars franchise that they’ve just never really been able to shake.

A New Chapter (11) for Diamond - The Comics Journal

A follow up to Diamond’s January 14, 2025 chapter 11 filing.

The Comics JournalBrigid Alverson

Brigid Alverson provides a thorough accounting of Diamond’s bankruptcy. What I really haven’t seen in any of the reporting around Diamond is the perspective of retailers who have stayed with Diamonds almost exclusively over the past couple of years. I know that they’re out there (or at least, they were out there,) buying wholesale as much stuff as they could but I don’t think I’ve seen any of those stores included in pieces like this.

The Funny Pages

Preacher #10. Written by Garth Ennis, drawn by Steve Dillon (RIP), and colored by me. Vertigo. 1996. This is a color guide, and is how most comics were colored then. Dyes & gouache. #comics #colors #vertigocomics #preacher #colorguide #chickenfucker

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— Matt Hollingsworth (@matthollingsworth.com) February 3, 2025 at 12:04 PM

Hourly Comic Day 2025 — Lucy Knisley

Lucy Knisley

Reviews & Features

Top Ten Comics Bill Hader Should Read

Suggestions for Bill Hader to add to his getting-back-into-comics reading list, from inside our virtual Criterion Closet.

The BeatArpad Okay

Honestly, we need more pieces like this. Hader is one of those guys who seems really thoughtful on what he watches and I’d enjoy hearing him talk about some of the comics listed here. Dreaming now about him talking about Ronald Wemberly’s Prince of Cats as Okay suggests here.

Pacifists of Steel: On The Final Year of Joe Casey’s Adventures of Superman and The Limits of Superheroics in the 21st Century

20 years ago today, this blog launched . It started as a group blog, but, quickly, became smaller and bigger with me taking over as the even…

Chad Nevett

Congrats to Chad Nevett on 20 years of Graphic Content. I don’t think I’ve ever read Joe Casey’s Superman. Maybe I need to go back-issue diving to find it.