PW Comics World: More To Come

A tribute to the memory of comics artist John Cassaday (1972-2024); plus promotions and new staff cuts at IDW; webtoon licensing deals; news on manga piracy; AI manga translations; book bans; and upcoming shows and conventions, including SPX, Baltimore Comic Con, and the Brooklyn Book Festival.

Calvin and PW graphic novels reviews editor Meg Lemke discuss two graphic novels: Sole Otero’s ‘Mothballs’, a multigenerational saga about female disenfranchisement and despair, and Charles Burns' ‘Final Cut,’ a stylish meditation on the aimless friend-groups and awkward sexual encounters of the young, and the mesmerizing spectacle of movies and how they are made.

Calvin Reid, Heidi MacDonald, and Kate Fitzsimons report on the AnimeNYC (August 23-25), Flame Con (Aug 17-18), and Fanatics Fest (August 16-18) conventions; preview the upcoming CXC convention and salute Annie Koyama, winner of CXC's Tom Spurgeon Award; scratch their heads over a new publishing launch; pay tribute to memories of the late Joyce Brabner and Elena Salcedo; and look back on Disney’s acquisition of Marvel 15 years ago this week.

Calvin interviews writer Loo Hui Phang about her new graphic novel 'Erased: An Actor of Color's Journey Through the Heyday of Hollywood', created with artist Hugues Micol, an imaginative work that dissects the history of Hollywood filmmaking and its role in shaping American racial stereotypes. The book’s story is based around the fictional life and film career of a charismatic, polemical, indeed mythic, mixed-race character, who emerges from the Hollywood studio system in the 1930s.

This week on More to Come, co-hosts Calvin Reid, Heidi MacDonald, and Kate Fitzsimons report on the Harvey and Ignatz nominations, plus, New York Comic Con expands, Meg breaks down PW’s Fall 2024 Comics and Graphic Novel Preview, and we follow the money at DSTLRY, Colin Kaepernick and AI, VoyceMe, Zestworld, and Apple’s Patreon cash grab.

Calvin and PW graphic novels reviews editor Meg Lemke talk about two distinctive graphic memoirs: ‘The Heart That Fed’ by Carl Sciacchitano, a moving examination of his father’s traumatic combat service during the Vietnam War; and, ‘The Field’ by David Lapp, a lively recollection of a childhood summer in the Ontario suburbs.

A recap of the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con: Marvel shows out, DC goes All-In, new publishing ventures, Eisner award-winners, PW’s Book Buzz panel, the Con Daily, The Beat marks 20 years with Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud, manga and webtoons, pricey food, Covid at the Con and, more.

In part 3 of More to Come's SDCC 2024 coverage, Heidi 'The Beat' MacDonald talks with comics writer Scott Snyder and artist Nick Dragotta about DC's new All In initiative coming this October, and Meg Lemke interviews comics creator Jordan Morris about his new YA graphic novel 'Youth Group', about teen exorcists.

In part 2 of More to Come's SDCC 2024 coverage, PW graphic novel reviews editor Meg Lemke talks with Katie Cook, comics creator of 'Nothing Special'; and interviews comics artist Joe Sutphin and Richard Adams's daughter Juliet Johnson about the graphic novel adaptation of 'Watership Down'.

In part 1 of More to Come's SDCC 2024 coverage, PW graphic novel reviews editor Meg Lemke talks with Eric Nakamura of Giant Robot about the upcoming book 'Giant Robot: 30 Years of Defining Asian American Pop-Culture'; and interviews Patrick Horvath, comics creator of the graphic novel 'Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees'.

A preview of the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, which runs from July 24-28; the 7% decline in 2023 comics and graphic novel sales; DC’s Absolute revamp and move to Discord; American Manga Award nominations; Omnibus Digital’s shut down, and AI art on Etsy.

PRH acquires Boom! Studios; Macmillan’s 23rd Street Books adult GN imprint, DC’s Absolute comics revamp, DSTLRY picks Diamond, Hollywood picks a D&Q graphic novel; Jim Lee gets paid, PW’s Fall Comics and Graphic Novel Preview, and Tapas Entertainment.

Writer Joe Casey talks about his new take on Jonny Quest for Dynamite Comics (along with artist Sebastián Píriz) and his career from Ben 10 to Blood Squad Seven, including the state of corporate comics, working for Image and more.

The coming Webtoon IPO and Blackstone’s $1B acquisition of Japan’s Infocom digital comics platform; job moves: Jamie Rich!; Japan Society, AnimeNYC launch the American Manga Awards; Marvel Rebrands, Get Jiro and Super Mutant Magic Academy go to Adult Swim; VanCAF controversy; AI trouble at DC; and the cost of a table in NYCC’s Artist Alley.

Calvin and PW graphic novels reviews editor Meg Lemke discuss John Vasquez Mejias’s ‘The Puerto Rican War: A Graphic History,’ a dynamic, visually surreal history of violent Puerto Rican nationalist uprisings in the 1950s; and Anna Härmälä’s ‘Singlemothering,’ a funny yet reliable guide to the social and emotional challenges facing single moms.

Frank Miller talks about 'Frank Miller: American Genius', the new documentary about his career, his line of books at Abrams ComicArts, manga and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Also short interviews with cartoonists Joel Priddy, Grace Desmarais, and Kevin Huizenga.

Calvin interviews Eddie Ahn about his new graphic memoir ‘Advocate: A Graphic Memoir of Family, Community, and the Fight for Environmental Justice’, a warm and affable record of his immigrant family and their life in Korea before moving to the U.S. Ahn also discusses his journey from working in the family store to his work as a committed environmental activist, lawyer, and administrator in San Francisco, alongside his equally passionate efforts to continually develop his skills as a cartoonist.

The 2024 Eisner Award nominations; changes at Kickstarter, Webtoon, and Kakao; and the June release of Book 2 of Emil Ferris’ ‘My Favorite Thing Is Monsters'; plus live interviews with Keith Knight, Emma Hayley, Josh O'Neill, and Tom Kaczynski.

An interview with Sara Gómez Woolley, graphic novel author, illustrator, and CUNY assistant professor, and Sandy Jimenez, cartoonist and longtime contributor/editor at 'World War III Illustrated', about the Art of Visual Memory, a class in graphic memoir at the CUNY Graduate Center. With the assistance of Jimenez, Woolley developed and taught the class, producing 'Comics As a Second Language', an anthology of student work offering a wide range of autobiographical comics.

Orange raises millions for a Manga translation AI; creator compensation on Webtoon; ICv2 interviews with Marvel’s Dan Buckley and Boom! Studios’ Filip Sablik; Free Comic Book Day; the Black Comic Book Festival in Harlem; the return of Neil Gaiman’s Miracleman series; and women creators in superhero comics.