{"id":7995,"date":"2025-01-01T14:06:58","date_gmt":"2025-01-01T19:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.benzilla.com\/?p=7995"},"modified":"2025-01-03T11:07:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T16:07:00","slug":"comics-stuff-of-note-in-2024-and-what-i-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.benzilla.com\/?p=7995","title":{"rendered":"Comics Stuff of Note in 2024\u2013and What I Read"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, clearly my New Year’s resolution for 2025 should be to post more, as I’ve only done two other posts since my “What I Read in 2024” write-up. That said, I’ll try to make this year’s round-up a little more robust and less of just a list than last year’s–although I will, if for no other reason than my own internet record keeping, list anything I read this year but didn’t comment on explicitly at the very end of this post<\/p>\n

Creating Copra –  Michel Fiffe<\/span><\/h4>\n

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With COPRA wrapping up in 2025, it seems appropriate that in 2024 Fiffe put together this amazing history of COPRA\/self-publishing how-to book. It’s one of my favorite books of 2025 for sure. I wish the art school where I teach would issue one of these to every incoming Comics student and require them to read it. It’s not just a great how-to on  nuts and bolts things like page & panel layout, production, etc.–it also digs into the financial minutiae of self-publishing vs. working with a publisher, and other practical concerns. And, as one would guess given how beautifully put-together COPRA is, it’s a beautiful book production-wise.  I think the only way you can get one of these is via Fiffe’s Etsy shop<\/a>, but there still seem to be copies available.<\/p>\n

Comics Swipes – ed. Phillipe Capart<\/span><\/h4>\n

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I can’t remember how I got wind of this great little book (and I do mean little<\/em>–it’s about 3 x 2.5 inches) but it was one of my favorite purchases of 2024. It is exactly what it purports to be: each spread in the book shows two images–one is the source, the second is a panel from a comic that’s the swipe. Unfortunately it looks like it’s sold out<\/a>. Happy hunting!<\/p>\n

Comics Exhibits!<\/span><\/h4>\n

2024 was an absolutely banner year for exhibits of original comics art. My three favorites among those that Rebecca and I saw, in roughly chronological order:<\/p>\n

Moto Hagio at Angoul\u00eame<\/strong><\/p>\n

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I did a whole post about this one, which you can find here<\/a>, but needless to say, this was an absolutely stunning<\/em> show.  As little as five or six years ago, it was incredibly rare to see shows of original manga pages in the west, but with the continued fervor for manga in France, the Angoul\u00eame festival has really taken up the reins here and run with it. Every year I’ve been (and including the upcoming 2025 show) there’ve been at least two huge shows of manga originals–what a delight. <\/p>\n

Joann Sfar at the Mus\u00e9e d’Art et d’Histoire du juda\u00efsme<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Winter 2024 in France was truly a abundance of riches exhibits-wise. On the way back from Angoul\u00eame, we spent a day in Paris and there were literally more exhibits than we could get to. Ultimately we wound up passing on a Posy Simmonds exhibit (although there will be a Simmonds show at Angoul\u00eame in 2025!) in order to get to the big Joann Sfar show–and it did not disappoint. The show was on three floors, if I’m remembering correctly, and was a career-spanning retrospective. I’m partial to Sfar’s work on Donjon<\/em> and thankfully there were tons of pieces from that on display–including several drawn by Christophe Blain, one of my absolute favorite working cartoonists. Sfar’s color work is often traditional watercolor directly on the page, which afforded a rare opportunity to see a lot of color at an exhibit of comics originals!<\/p>\n

Comics 1964 – 2024<\/em> at the Centre Pompidou<\/strong><\/p>\n

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I’ve been to tons of comics exhibits–here in the U.S., Canada, multiple shows in France, in Japan, etc.–and I’ve never seen anything like this tour de force at the Pompidou this summer. It’s notable obviously for its scale (all five floors had comics stuff on them) and scope (including comics from the U.S., Canada, Europe, the UK, and Japan). Just as laudable to me, though, was that this was a show of comics art at one of the world’s most respected museums and there was a notable absence of any sort of introductory verbiage explaining or justifying why they were doing a major show of comics art<\/em>.  Just as you’d not need to supply any explanation for why you’re exhibiting impressionist oil paintings, the curators here simply took it for granted that comics is an important art form. As Dan Nadel noted in his write-up of the exhibit in ArtForum<\/em>:<\/p>\n

“The exhibition was successful in part thanks to what it didn\u2019t do: no toys, costumes, or figurines; no Pop art; no content warnings for the often difficult images; no ‘this is what a comic is’ didactic material. There were no apologies in this show, and no equivocations. The curators trusted that the public had enough experience with comics that they could simply present the material for viewing.”<\/span><\/p>\n

There’s a beautiful catalog (French and English versions)… but you can also see some of the pictures I took on my ever-expanding thread on the show over at Bluesky<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jim Curious and the Jungle Journey by Matthias Picard<\/span> <\/h4>\n

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This is, I believe, the third in the Jim Curious series–and this installment is just as fun and visually stunning as the previous two.  These are beautiful, wordless, 3-D comics that are I assume intended for kids, but they’re absolutely enjoyable for grown-ups–mostly because of the gobsmackingly beautiful art and well-done 3-D effects. The general conceit of each story visually is that the first few introductory pages are “normal,” but once the titular Jim enters some new world (the sea, the ocean, etc.) the pages become 3-D. Unlike a lot of 3-D comics, the art and imagery here are designed with 3-D in mind and with the 3-D as an essential part of the narrative. My favorite 3-D comics, second only to the O.G. Mighty Mouse Three Dimension Comics<\/em>–so glad to see a new installment this year. <\/p>\n

R.I.P. Bic Velocity Color Ballpoint Pens<\/span><\/h4>\n

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And now some sad news from 2024: Bic has apparently discontinued the color versions of my absolute favorite ballpoint pens for drawing. I started messing around with ballpoint pens for drawing four or five years ago and intially would pick up pretty much any variety of them I happened upon and throw them into my art box to try out. (You can see some of my sketchbook goofing around with ballpoint over at my Instagram page<\/a>.) Over the years I honed down my toolkit to what I thought were the very best pens–and hands down my favorites are the Bic Velocity color pens. Sadly, it looks like as of 2024 Bic is no longer making the Velocity pens in any colors other than black and blue–the traditional colors for writing–which seems like a baffling decision since the creamy, blendable ink in these pens that make them amazing for drawing must make them terrible for actual writing.  RIP Bic Velocity. (P.S. don’t be fooled by the Bic “gel-ocity”line of gel pens. They are, obviously, gel pens, not ballpoints.)<\/p>\n

Antsy & Sucko by Tim Fuller<\/span><\/h4>\n

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I’m a sucker for the ol’ “comics with the original dialog replaced” gag  (my all time fave is Truer than True Romance<\/em><\/a>… a classic of the genre) and this one is a hilariously solid example. Based, obviously, on mid-century Nancy<\/em> and Nancy and Sluggo<\/em> comic book stories,  Antsy & Sucko<\/em> capitalizes on the inherent absurdity of the setups and visuals of the originals and plays them up further for laughs. The production is nicely done as well–the paper patina, off-register printing, etc. is all preserved and the new lettering blends in perfectly. I picked our copies up directly from the creator at SPACE here in Columbus but you can get either a digital or hard copy here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

When We Were Trekkies 1-10 – Joe Sikoryak<\/span><\/h4>\n

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Another absolute favorite read for me in 2024 is this charming biographical coming-of-age comics series about the early days of Star Trek fandom. This was an easy sell for me, given that I’m a huge Star Trek fan and also someone who’s just generally interested in fandom–particularly pre-internet fandom. So I of course loved reading all the stories about day tripping in to NYC to various costume shops for cosplay supplies, attending early SF conventions, etc.  I’ve read a ton of prose books about early Trek fandom, but there’s something wonderful about reading a first-hand account–and one that’s a comic! These read best as a single, complete story–and it looks like you can now get them as a complete box set via Birdcage Bottom Books<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Leroy Automatic Lettering Machine<\/span><\/h4>\n

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I don’t remember how I even became aware that this thing ever existed, but it was a few years ago–and when I did, I immediately set up an Ebay alert for one. Cut to years later in 2024 and I finally got a hit! Needless to say, I bought it. Most comics people are aware of the 50’s-era Leroy lettering set (I have one of those too)<\/a>, the hand-operated mechanical lettering system that created the odd but distinctive lettering seen most notably in E.C. comics and early Wonder Woman comics. This, though, is a 1980’s version that has a digital interface\/keyboard and an automated “scriber” that does the lettering. I assume these things promptly disappeared as “desktop publishing” was becoming a thing by this point, thus rendering things like the Leroy Automatic Lettering Machine obsolete. You can see it in action in this old Twitter post of mine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pentel Fude Touch Brush Sign Pen<\/span><\/h4>\n

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I was given one of these pens for my birthday last year and it’s become new new favorite sketchbook drawing tool. I’ve never tried the colored ones, but the black pen is amazing. Feel-wise it’s sort of halfway between a “dead line” felt-tip tech pen like a Micron and a full brush pen like the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen.  It has a small protruding conical nib that produces just enough line weight variation to give your line-work a bit of life… but without necessitating the sort of conscious attention to hand pressure modulation that a full brush pen requires. Nab one at JetPens<\/a>. <\/p>\n

1986 – Jim Rugg<\/span><\/h4>\n

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Another SPX pickup.  This is a beautifully put-together magazine-size zine focused on everything going on in comics in the year 1986… which, as it turns out, is a stunning amount of stuff: Watchmen, MAUS<\/em>, early translated manga, TMNT and associated riffs\/parodies, the ascendance of Frank Miller, “graphic novels” starting to be a thing, etc. The zine is assembled entirely of press clippings, bits of articles, reviews, editorials, catalog listings, and other source material from the era. Get one now while you still can here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Charlotte mensuel #1 – 3 ed. Vincent Berni\u00e8re<\/span><\/h4>\n

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I’ve really been digging this new French monthly comics magazine. It features a good mix of translated American, manga, and French comics–mostly serialized ongoing stories. The big draw as far as American stuff goes is the Chris Ware story, The Last Saturday<\/em>, that was serialized online by The Guardian<\/em> in 2014, but which has never been printed in physical form until now. More generally, though, Charlotte Mensuel<\/em> is yet another example of a format that I love, yet seems for some reason to only be viable in places other than<\/em> the U.S. : the anthology of serialized comics. There’s 2000 AD Weekly, Judge Dredd Weekly, Shonen Jump, Shoujo Beat<\/em>, etc. I’m not sure why this format historically seems unable to fly here in the U.S. The complaint I usually hear is, “I don’t want to pay for something if I don’t like all the stories,” but that’s the whole point<\/em> of the format: to be able to try out a bunch of things and find a few you like. Of the 20-ish ongoing stories in Charlotte<\/em>, I’m regularly reading maybe 30% of them–which is fine! Anyway, even with international shipping, subscriptions aren’t too bad price-wise<\/a>. <\/p>\n

John Stanley: The Final Pencil Scripts from Marge’s Little Lulu #197 (1970) – ed. Tom Devlin<\/span><\/h4>\n

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I got wind of this via Tom Devlin’s IG and grabbed one immediately from the D&Q booth at CXC. This is a zine that reproduces in full an entire “pencil script” (basically at-size lettered thumbnails) for a previously little-known very late career John Stanley Little Lulu<\/em> story. It had been generally accepted that Stanley’s last Little Lulu<\/em> issue was #135 from 1959, but apparently–and for reasons no one really knows–he did this one-off script for #197. I loved seeing this not just because I’m a huge Little Lulu<\/em>\/John Stanley fan, but also because I love seeing any kind of comics behind-the-scenes process. I also generally force my comics students to do a “dummy” of their stories exactly like this, so I also selfishly enjoyed seeing that this is the method one of my comics heroes used for his work! I don’t think there’s a way to get one of these other than from Tom.<\/p>\n

Short Notes:<\/h2>\n

Marvel Artist Select Series: Fantastic Four by John Byrne<\/strong> – As with all these IDW collections, the production here is gorgeous. The selection of material in this, though, was absolutely baffling. I couldn’t have come up with a more random list of issues from this run with one of those Powerball things.<\/p>\n

Doctor Moebius and Mister Gir by Numa Sadoul, Jean Giraud\/Moebius<\/strong> – I’d been waiting for this oft-delayed book through the whole pandemic and it finally arrived! It’s a fascinating look at the artist as a person\/personality. I was, though left wishing there’d been more nuts-and-bolts craft talk.<\/p>\n

Asadora vol 7 by Naoki Urasawa<\/strong> – This continues to be my favorite ongoing manga. It’s baffling to me that Urasawa, easily one of the absolute best working cartoonists today, has an ongoing (excellent) series and you hear so little talk of it in comics circles.<\/p>\n

Batman: The Court of Owls Saga by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo<\/strong> – I read this in the new “DC Compact Comics” format. I generally love the smaller manga-ish size of this line–and getting a complete story for around $10! The already kinda-murky color, though, didn’t appear to be adjusted pre-press for uncoated newsprint stock and was very muddy in places. Hoping they’ll change this in future installments of the line.<\/p>\n

Sal vol. 1 by E.B. Sciales<\/strong> – This mini of short stories and gag panels about a tiny artist was my favorite pickup at SPX this year. It’s charming, funny, and beautifully-drawn in a sort of classic mid-century cartooning style. <\/p>\n

Daniel Clowes Across the Street by Daniel Clowes<\/strong> – I got wind of this little book via Cartoonist Kayfabe (RIP Ed, you’re missed). It’s a gallery catalog from the recent Clowes exhibit in Paris and it’s a beautiful little volume filled with Clowes’s colored pencil preliminary drawings, a beautiful foldout of an original cover, etc. <\/p>\n

The Follies of Richard Wadsworth by Nick Maandag<\/strong> – Speaking of Clowes… when he was here in Columbus for CXC he mentioned that Nick Maandag was one of his favorite cartoonists, so I of course went to his table and bought a bunch of his books. This book is absolutely laugh-out-loud hilarious. <\/p>\n

Other Stuff I Read in 2024:<\/h2>\n

Anatomy of Comics – Damien Macdonald
\nCopra Master Collection Book One – Michel Fiffe
\nSuddenly One Summer Camp from Hell #1 – by Shelly Bond & Liz Prince
\nDreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga – Frederik L. Schodt
\nPizza, Pickles, and Apple Pie: The Stories Behind the Foods We Love – David Rickert
\nThe Translator Without Talent – Ryan Holmberg
\nOsamu Tezuka: Anime & Manga Character Sketchbook – Haruji Mori\/Osamu Tezuka
\nWatership Down: The Graphic Novel – Richard Adams, James Sturm, and Joe Sutphin
\nThe Cartoonists, God Bless ‘Em – Summer Pierre
\nBlessed Be – Rick Altergott
\nSee You at San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture – Mathew Klickstein
\nAin’t It Fun: Peter Laughner & Proto-Punk in the Secret City – Aaron Lange
\nLeo (FR) – Moto Hagio
\nPaul Bunyan: The Invention of an American Legend – Noah Van Sciver
\nNight Stories: Folktales from Latin America – Liniers
\nJones et autres r\u00eaves (FR) – Franco Matticchio
\nThe Nancy Show: Celebrating the Art of Ernie Bushmiller – ed. Peter Maresca and Brian Walker
\nLes Mondes de Wallace Wood (FR) – various
\nComics (1964\u20132024)
\nDummy #1 – ed. John Kelly
\nThe Popeye Story – Bridget Terry
\nHATE Revisited #1, 2, 3, 4 – Peter Bagge
\nLook Back – Tatsuki Fujimoto
\nThe Comics Journal # 310 – Ed. Kristy Valenti & Austin English
\nCreating Copra – Michel Fiffe
\nLittle Lulu #87
\nCorto Maltese: The Golden House of Samarkand – Hugo Pratt
\nLes Cahiers de la BD #22 – #27 (FR) – ed. Vincent Berni\u00e8re
\nWitch Hat Atelier vol 7 – Kamome Shirahama
\nUnwholesome Love – Charles Burns<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So, clearly my New Year’s resolution for 2025 should be to post more, as I’ve only done two other posts since my “What I Read in 2024” write-up. That said, I’ll try to make this year’s round-up a little more robust and less of just a list than last year’s–although I will, if for no … <\/p>\n

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