The Comic Bookmarks- VanCAF, Emil Ferris @ CPL, new Manga Awards, Marvel fumbling Pride comic, a couple of returns to the blogosphere and more…

It's the end of Krakoa and I feel fine.

Scott Cederlund

Jun 9, 2024 — 9 min read

From Mad Magazine #1 (1952)- art by John Severin

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Comic Bookmarks, our regular link post. Since I started this site, I’ve been searching for ways to to this kind of thing on a consistent basis. Since the earliest days of the comics blogosphere, I think our biggest currency has been sharing what other people are doing. That started with link posts. Dirk Deppey’s Journalista at The Comics Journal and Tom Spurgeon’s Comics Reporter were the two big writers who shared links to others‘ posts. Clark Burscough‘s weekly link columns at TCJ continue in the fine tradition of Deppey and Spurgeon and is a Friday-morning must read. Eventually social media took over that responsibility, where we would Hope that a tweet with a link in it would go viral, helping to promote a piece of news, an interview, or a review. But we all know where social media is today. It’s still there but it’s lost its reach as the social media companies attention has wandered and they’ve tried to get into other stuff.

If social media is going to abdicate any responsibility or function to help promote good writing, maybe it’s time for sites like this one (as small and tiny as it may be) to take it back.

What We’re Up To

Headlines

Ryan Adamdzeski writes about how Marvel's Pride comic this year is focusing on "allies." An unnamed Marvel employee is quoted saying, "I thought, ‘they're really erasing us,’” and later in the article stated, “I'm trans in November. I'm trans in December. If you're only working with me in the month of June, there's a huge problem." And the book is weird too- it doesn’t seem as focused around these theme as DC’s Pride book this year does. Marvel’s is more of a short story collection that happens to have some queer characters in it. And Wolverine. It has Wolverine.

Over at the Beat, Dean Simons has an comprehensive rundown of the VanCAF's ban of cartoonist Miriam Libicki at their most recent show, as well as the fallout that happened after it, including changes in the VanCAF organization. This is probably the most in-depth view of these events and definitely worth the read.

I recently saw or heard something about the film business and its recycling of properties– that it was easier to sell something as "The Fall Guy" than it was to try to sell a new, original film about a stuntman. It talked about how there's an audience that knows and understands what "The Fall Guy" is so you don't have to explain it to them. Half of the sell is done with because they know the concept just from the title. This article seems a bit less cynical about rehashing concepts since it just seems to be good business nowadays.

Love this. Can't wait to see what Caroline Cash does with Nancy and Sluggo.

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Comic Sites on Comic Sites

I can't say that I was ever a consistent follower of Multiversity. Not because of quality or anything– they just focused on an area of comics that I wasn't as interested in anymore. But you've got to hand it to them for everything that they accomplished.

I'm thrilled to see the return of Panel Patter and Rob & James entering the fray again. James already has a preview of this past week's books up. I'm coming around on the importance of these kind of posts, highlighting work that's coming out any week that you should pay attention to. I almost missed that Precious Metal was out this week and had to take a run back to the comic shop to pick it up. And Rob has a review of the latest G.I. Joe spinoff Scarlett, a surprisingly swell action comic. I loved what Kelly Thompson and Marco Ferrari did in that comic and it sounds like Rob liked it a lot too.

And speaking of returns to the arena...

Another friend is back at it. Matt ran the always enlightening Warren Peace Sings the Blues and is now back with a newsletter that you can subscribe to in the link above. If the first week is any indication, he'll be covering a wide range of topics and mediums.

Manga

This is an award program to pay attention to. Looking at the judges, it’s being run by people with extensive knowledge of manga so I’m looking forward to seeing what wins here.

This is an interesting move. It will be interesting to see what goes through this program to become full series.

Announcement: From the Eisner Award-winning creator of Goodnight Punpun comes a new world where human rights are for sale and without them, you’re nothing—a mujina. Mujina into the Deep, by Inio Asano, releases Spring 2025. pic.twitter.com/KHAgdmQEtB
— VIZ (@VIZMedia) May 31, 2024

Just a month or so ago, my son was mocking me for being at the bookstore and flipping though any Inio Asano book just because I was waiting for something new from him. This one is already on the Viz app and is pretty good.

Business

ICv2 is just using data from the ComicHub point-of-sale system for this? Only 125 stores are now driving this kind of analysis? Honestly, I'm not interested in talking sales but this just seems like a way of trying to hold on to an outdated way of talking about the business of comics.

The Funny Pages

FRITZI RITZ. APRIL 1952

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— NANCY COMICS BY ERNIE BUSHMILLER (@nancycomics.bsky.social) Jun 2, 2024 at 6:33 AM

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We've all been there, Mike.

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Interviews

I remember reading Altergott's strips in the pages of Pete Bagge's Hate and wondering what was up with this guy? I haven't gotten my hands on this book yet but looking forward at some point to catching up with Doofus.

I missed this event last Wednesday at the Chicago Public Library. I need to watch this and then sit down with the book.

Reviews & Features

Men’s Health?

They almost had me and then Mark Waid picked Strange Adventures. The pick and the picker count for a double strike to me.

But honestly, there’s some great stuff in this list.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately on what the end of this X-Men era means to me but I don’t know if I really have my head wrapped around it. In some ways, I’m surprised that it lasted 5 whole years and in other ways, I‘m disappointed that it only lasted 5 years. There was always going to be a shelf-life to this concept but the upcoming return to a status quo just feels like a lack of imagination. Maybe I’m wrong there but I probably won’t be sticking around long enough to find out.