By various (Fantagraphics Books)
ISBN: 978-1-60699-146-6
This is a bit of a departure for me as I’m usually banging on about all aspects of sequential and graphic narrative in assorted book forms, and tend to shy away from actual periodicals, but this just arrived and on the principle that if it looks like a book (quacks like a book, floats like a book…?)
The Comics Journal is without doubt the foremost English-language publication dedicated to the capital A art of comics; highlighting events domestic and global, interviewing creators, disseminating facts and even advertising product. They’ve done it competently, passionately and proudly for decades. You may not always agree with the opinions expressed – editorial or from the many insiders who have been featured – but you’d be an idiot to ignore or dismiss them if you care at all about the industry or the medium.
This latest offering, in a comfortingly substantial square-bound format, black and white with lots of colour (where necessary and not just as a glossy, shiny lure for the easily distracted) features a short chat with Peter Bagge delivered in cartoon form by Noah Van Sciver, and an extensive interview (wrangled by Diego Assis) with Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá; Brazilian artists most notable here thus far for the superbly innovative The Umbrella Academy.
Web-comics maestro Nicholas Gurewitch talks at length to Shaenon Garrity about his life and astonishingly impressive body of work whilst Michel Fiffe lets the hugely underrated Trevor Von Eeden tell his story his way as he describes where he’s been and what he’s now up to (and very tempting it looks, too), whilst Bill Randall previews Jiro Taniguchi’s upcoming manga A Distant Neighborhood (including a beautiful 12 page translated extract.
Also included are reviews of Jules Feiffer’s Explainers (and for our take just click here: Explainers), The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, Gilbert Hernandez’s Speak of the Devil, Jim Woodring’s The Portable Frank, The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessey & Aaron McConnell and Ron Regé Jr.’s Against Pain as well as mini-reviews of Seth Tobocman’s Disaster and Resistance: Comics and Landscapes for the 21st Century and Alex Bones/Chris Bones’ Waldo’s Hawaiian Holiday.
The highlight (at least for this old coot) is Jared Gardner’s retrospective Percy Crosby and Skippy, a copiously illustrated examination of the seminal newspaper cartoonist and illustrator which includes 31 pages of rollicking, rambunctious hi-jinks from the Great Depression era strip itself, although R.C. Harvey’s fascinating exploration of the quandary facing America’s political cartoonists, The Inevitable Racism: Obama and Caricature and Freedom of Speech comes close by confronting an issue that many journalists and commentators seemingly won’t: does the President’s ethnicity buy him an easy time in the press and especially from the politico/satirical media?
With features on foreign publications, cultural overviews, coming comics and the ever-entrancing news section Journal Datebook this is a cracking edition that will inform and enflame every serious devotee.
Heck, even the adverts are entertaining and compellingly readable…
www.tcj.com
© 2009 Fantagraphics Books, Inc. All images/photos/text © their respective copyright holders.