- 2025 Mar 25
Detained Comics Artist Returns Home
Welsh comics artist R.E. Burke returned home to the U.K. on March 17 after being detained last month by ICE agents during her backpacking trip across North America.
Square Enix Teams with PRH
Square Enix Manga & Books has partnered with Penguin Random House on the newly launched Comic Partner initiative, a new retailer support program to “promote adoption of more manga in comic bookstores nationwide.”
IDW and Alien Ink a Distro Deal
IDW Publishing will handle sales, marketing, and distribution for Alien Books, including to the direct market and bookstores.
Oni and Magnetic Partner on Distro
Oni Press will oversee distribution of Magnetic Press via its distribution partners to the direct market, Diamond and Lunar, and the book channel, Simon & Schuster.
Texas Bill Could Ban Anime and Manga
Senate Bill 20 could potentially make it a felony to possess anime and manga that appear to depict minors in an “obscene” manner, reports Comic Book.
NASA Deletes Women Astronauts Comics
NASA has deleted two comic books about women astronauts from its websites in an apparent response to the Trump administration’s purge of “DEI” content from federal agencies, according to Futurism.
Graphic Novels Cut from Pa. High School
Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer, and Craig Thompson’s Blankets were all removed from the Radnor High School library, per the National Coalition Against Censorship.
Nnedi Okorafor’s Journey to Comics
The BBC profiles the award-winning Nigerian American comics author, who has written characters including Spiderman, the X-Men, and the Avengers.
When the Left Came After Comics
The Comics Journal explores the anti-comics movement of the 1950s.
- 2025 Mar 11
More Trouble for Comics Publishers
Ablaze Publishing and Alien Books have laid off staff following Diamond Comic Distributors’ bankruptcy, reports CBR.
Comic-Con Comes to Spain
San Diego Comic-Con will launch a Spanish spinoff in Málaga this September, per Bleeding Cool.
The Boom in Children’s Comics
Sales for manga and superhero comics are exploding among children in the U.K., reports the Guardian.
British Comics Artist Detained by ICE
Rebecca Burke has been detained for more than a week due to a visa issue during her backpacking trip around North America, according to the Guardian.
A Marvel Contract Tirade
Eisner Award–winning comics artist Dustin Nguyen slammed Marvel for what he described as poor contract rates and poor treatment of its creators, per CBR.
Diamond Comic’s Bankruptcy Auction
Bleeding Cool ponders how the Diamond Comic Distributors auction will affect collectors.
Talking Manga Sales
ICv2 spoke with Viz Media director of publishing sales Sarah Anderson about the company's 2024 numbers and the boom in box sets.
Massive Publishing President Departs
Kevin Roditeli is stepping back from his role as cofounder and president of the comics publisher Massive to focus on creating comics of his own.
New Film Spotlights Jack Kirby
Kirbyvision, a documentary about the legendary co-creator of Captain America, is in development with filmmaker Ricki Stern set to direct, according to Variety.
Gaiman Dismisses Allegations
Neil Gaiman has called a former nanny’s rape allegations against him a “sham,” claiming WhatsApp messages prove his innocence, per the Hollywood Reporter.
Stanley “Artgerm” Lau Talks Shop
CBR chatted with the comic book cover artist about his career and how much AI has changed the publishing world.
Toy Drama
Comics Beats investigates whether McFarlane Toys is out of the picture now that Mattel has gotten the DC toy license back.
Remembering Video Game Mags
The Guardian revisits what it was like working at video game magazines in the 1980s.
- 2025 Feb 25
NYC Hearts Society of Illustrators
A historic grant from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Grant Award will support the Society of Illustrators’ free year-round art education programs for underserved NYC youth.
Comic Arts Fest Sets Debut
The first annual Comic Arts Fest, presented by Francophone cultural institution L’Alliance New York, will be held March 28–30 in Manhattan.
Diamond’s Bankruptcy Filings Continue
Comics Beat digs into Diamond’s declining revenue, Steve Geppi’s credit card bill, and more from the comic distributor's recent bankruptcy filings.
Columbia’s Comics Archive Lands Donation
ElfQuest creators Wendy and Richard Pini are donating $500,000 to Columbia University to endow and conserve the school library's collection of comics and graphic novels, per Forbes.
Collision of the Big Two
Marvel and DC Comics are coming together again with a new crossover for the first time in 20 years, reports Gizmodo.
Tea Fougner Talks Comics
The Comics Journal spoke with the former editorial director of comics at King Features Syndicate about the industry and how comic strips have changed.
Two Iconic Series Celebrate 20 Years
Adult Swim and Nickelodeon are celebrating the 20th anniversaries of Robot Chicken and Avatar: The Last Airbender, respectively, with new productions, reports Cartoon Brew.
Cartoon Network’s Latest GN Adaptation
AV Club unpacks the trailer for the animated adaptation of Roye Okupe’s graphic novel series Iyanu: Child of Wonder.
- 2025 Feb 11
RIP KC Carlson
The DC editor, who also wrote comics and worked as a comics retailer, died on February 8 at the age of 68.
Young Readers Embrace Graphic Novels
Fast Company considers how the graphic novel boom is changing children’s relationship with books, with data showing graphic novels can have a positive lifelong impact.
Netflix Cancels ‘The Sandman’
The series adaption of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman will end with its second season following recent sexual assault allegations against the author, per Variety.
Chatting with Avi Ehrlich
Silver Sprocket’s Avi Ehrlich talks with the Comics Journal about the state of indie comics and the potential dangers posed by the Trump administration.
MoCCA ’25 Announces Featured Guests
Charles Burns, Badiucao, and Jaime Hernandez are among the featured guests for SI MoCCA Arts Festival, slated for March 15-16 in New York City, reports the Beat.
NYC Gallery to Celebrate Will Eisner
Philippe Labaune Gallery in New York City will open an exhibition celebrating the life and work of pioneering cartoonist Will Eisner on February 13, reports Boing Boing.
Black Panel Crowdfunds
Black Panel Press, a Canadian indie publisher of international graphic literature, has launched a GoFundMe campaign following the bankruptcy of Diamond Comics Distribution.
‘ClosetWorld’ Hits Kickstarter
Hangar 19 Studios owner Matt Yocum has launched a crowdfunding campaign for a hardcover print run of ClosetWorld, an all-ages graphic novel written by Yocum and illustrated by Eisner-nominated artist John Amor.
Superman Estate Sues Warner Bros.
The estate of Superman creator Joseph Schuster is suing Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Comics, which it owns, claiming they lack the rights to release the upcoming Superman film in a handful of key territories, reports Deadline.
King to Pen Third ‘Talisman’ Book
Stephen King, who cowrote the 1984 novel The Talisman and its 2001 sequel Black House with the late Peter Straub, is “channelling” Straub to write the third book in the series, per Slash Film.
- 2025 Jan 28
Matt Gagnon Is Leaving Boom!
The longtime editor-in-chief of Boom! Studios will leave the comics and graphic novel publisher in March.
Darrin Bell Arrested
The Pulitzer Prize–winning cartoonist was charged this month with possession of more than 100 videos of child pornography, per the New York Times.
The Diamond Collapse Will Affects Indies
In the wake of the bankruptcy filing at Diamond Comic Distributors, reports the Beat, small comic book publisher American Mythology announced that it may not survive the unfolding comics distribution crisis.
A West Coast Manga Exhibit
A new exhibit at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, “Art of Manga,” will spotlight 10 of the field’s leading artists, reports Artnet.
All the Books to Read This Spring
It’s cold, it’s grey, it’s bleak—but winter, at the very least, brings with it a glut of anticipation-inducing books. Let the Millions be your guide.
Where to Start with K-Comics
The genre has exploded in popularity over the past few years. Anime News Network offers a look at Manta’s offerings.
This Year’s Onscreen Superheroes
The Wrap has the details on the new Captain America movie, a Superman reboot, and more.
Animated Films to Look for in 2025
The Dog Man movie, the latest Wallace & Gromit entry, and two animated films following the life of Jesus of Nazareth are among the titles Cartoon Brew spotlights for the coming year.
2025’s Most Anticipated Anime Series
Cowboy Bebop creator Shinichiro Watanabe sets his sights on the future again with a new original series, among other top picks for the year from Vulture.
- 2025 Jan 14
Tell Us About Manga and Webtoon Trends
For a feature, we’d love to hear from publishers on what trends characterize forthcoming first volumes or standalone original graphic novels in the manga, manhwa, webtoons-to-print, and other Asian pop comics categories.
Jacq Cohen Moves to Abrams
After less than a year as Tapas Entertainment’s director of PR and marketing, the Fantagraphics veteran will now manage PR for Abrams ComicArts, Kana, Megascope, and Surely.
The Beat’s Person of the Year
The biz has spoken: the 2024 Comics Industry Person of the Year is cartoonist Daniel Warren Johnson.
On Tariffs and Comics
For the Comics Journal, industry expert Gina Gagliano offers a staggering deep dive into what the proposed Trump tariffs would mean for comics publishing.
Love and Theft
Did a bestselling romantasy novelist steal another writer’s story? The New Yorker investigates.
Change of Race
Dungeons & Dragons has replaced the word “race” with “species” in its latest version, and divorced several character traits from biological identity. Some longtime players are upset, reports the New York Times—and so is Elon Musk.
The Good Ol’ Days
The Times looks at wildly popular comic strips including Bloom County, Calvin and Hobbes, Cathy, and The Far Side, which peaked in the 1980s but left their mark on the funny pages.
Lord of the Screens
Director Kenji Kamiyama explains to Anime News Network why The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an “unprecedented opportunity” for anime.
Toss a Coin to Your Trailer
Polygon offers a look at the forthcoming Witcher game, which features Geralt of Rivia’s adopted daughter, Ciri, as the protagonist.
Thundercats, Whoa!
40 years after they were first published, the original comics are getting a lavish reissue from Dynamite, per GamesRadar.
Define Copying
Comics artist Rian Gonzales was caught copying another’s work, the Beat reports—but she insists she was only referencing and not tracing.
Taking Copra Home
Michel Fiffe, the one-man comics publishing powerhouse who “does the work of an entire bullpen,” talks with the Comics Journal about the end of his Suicide Squad–inspired magnum opus.
- 2024 Dec 10
Will AI Save Manga from Pirates?
Japan’s Cultural Affairs Agency is using artificial intelligence to search the web for illegal reproductions, per the Times of London.
How Good for Comics Is Hollywood?
The comics-to-screen pipeline often encourages comics publishers to prioritize seeking media adaptations over building strong publishing models, argues the Beat.
The Summer Hikaru Died On Screen
The horror manga series of the same name will soon see its anime adaptation hit Netflix, per Animation Xpress.
Dark Horse Teams with Studio Hermitage
The two companies will partner on Horror at Crane Mansion, a comics miniseries set in the world of the Our Brilliant Ruin tabletop role-playing game, reports Polygon.
Kodansha Print Club Launches
The new program from one of the U.S.’s largest manga companies will bring digital-first favorites to print, per Good E-reader.
Every Book to Screen Adaptation of 2024
Vulture wants to make sure you don’t miss anything before turning the page on this year.
- 2024 Nov 26
A Big Win for Kate Beaton
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands has won this year’s Jan Michalski Prize for Literature, a Swiss prize for exceptional works of fiction or nonfiction published in any language.
RIP Ryan McCardle
The Fantagraphics book designer died this month from a rare form of bone cancer.
A High Price for Indie Comics
Can indie comics publishers survive rising prices? As single issues jump from $3.99 to $4.99, smaller publishers are having to get creative with their offerings, reports A.V. Club.
Comics X-odus
The denizens of what was once called Comics Twitter are headed to Bluesky, per the Beat.
Anime NYC Adds a Day
The three-day anime and manga festival will add a fourth day next year, per the Beat.
The Expanse of Production
The team behind the TV adaptation of James S.A. Corey’s Expanse series is launching a multi-platform content company with a major development deal at Amazon MGM Studios.
Comics Against Hate
We Are Brooklyn, a project of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, collects comics by nonprofit professionals celebrating the borough’s diversity, per the JTA.
Burns’s Turn
The New York Times unpacks how Charles Burns reinvented the romance comic.
Black Mirror on the Page
Some of the show’s most memorable storylines will be retold in comics form next year, per Deadline.
Comics Vet Takes on a Sci-Fi Classic
Warner Bros will mount a new version of Forbidden Planet, to be written by Brian K. Vaughan, reports Deadline.
A New History of DC Films
Crown Publishing will publish a new book by Tatiana Siegel, Variety’s executive editor of film and media, on the history of the DC film franchise, per Variety.
Green Lantern’s Light
A statue of DC’s John Stewart has been erected in Burbank, Calif.
- 2024 Nov 12
RIP Kazuo Umezu
The acclaimed creator, often called the godfather of Japanese horror manga, has died at 88, reports Screen Rant.
RIP Greg Hildebrandt
The celebrated artist and illustrator, who created iconic imagery for such franchises as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars with his twin brother, Tim, has died at 85, reports Comicbook.
DC Expands Its Compact Comics Line
The comics giant will expand its backlist line, republishing “bestselling, new-reader-friendly titles” in a full-color, 5.5” x 8.5” trim size priced at $9.99, next year, adding 15 more titles.
Turtles in a Double Shell
IDW Publishing will release the first collected volume of Jason Aaron’s run on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series and The Last Ronin II, penned by Turtles cocreator Kevin Eastman, next summer.
IDW Doubles Down on Patrick Horvath
The Eisner Award–nominated debut graphic novel Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees will receive a second printing of 15,000 after selling through its first printing of 20,000 copies. A sequel is forthcoming from IDW’s new horror imprint, IDW Dark.
Will a Graphic Musk Bio Hit the U.S.?
The author of a French biography of Elon Musk told Patreon subscribers he expects no English-language translation, per Comic Book Club: “I’m told that there was interest from various international publishers at the recent Frankfurt Book Fair, but there was concern over possible legal consequences.”
The Silent Art of Geoff Darrow
What happens when you take the words out of a comic? Darrow’s latest does just that. The Comics Journal takes a look.
A Perfect Comic and an Imperfect Film
The Beat looks at the recent adaptation of Richard McGuire’s graphic novel Here by the team behind Forrest Gump.
- 2024 Oct 29
The State of Comics Sales
While sales of graphic novels and manga continued to drop from the record sales they notched during the pandemic, overall numbers have stayed impressively robust.
Marvel Introduces Its Premier Collection
The new line of trade paperbacks, which will launch in February, aims to provide an accessible entry point to long-running series for new readers.
IDW’s Next Editor-in-Chief
After several years of turbulence, Bobby Curnow will return to IDW Publishing after a short stint with Magma Comix.
And IDW’s New Horror Imprint
IDW Dark, launching in 2025, will partner with Paramount to adapt comic books from horror film and TV franchises including The Twilight Zone and Event Horizon, as well as sequels to some of IDW's original horror titles.
Inklore Teams Up with Tiny Onion
Two of the graphic novel business’s rising star outfits will partner up to publish 12 books by comics star and Tiny Onion founder James Tynion IV.
TCAF Gets a New Director
Amie Wright has been appointed executive director of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, succeeding Miles Baker.
Fantagraphics Crashes New Joe Sacco Book
Fantagraphics will publish War on Gaza, the comics artist’s first new comics on Palestine and Gaza since 2010’s Footnotes in Gaza, on December 17.
Comixology Expands In Print
Amazon's digital comics platform has inked a new print distribution partnership with publishers Ablaze Publishing and Mad Cave Studios.
Comics Creator Mourns by Giving Back
Award-winning graphic novelist Zoe Thorogood, rocked by her brother’s suicide, is donating all profits from her graphic novel It’s Lonely at the Center of the Earth to mental health charities, per the Guardian, with the book’s publishers in three countries slated to match the donations.
Atlas Comics Returns
The classic ‘50s comics brands are being revived, with the initial product range exclusive to Walmart, per ICv2.
RIP Bernie Mireault
The work of the late comics artist “always projected the passionate fascination of someone standing just outside the comics mainstream without ever totally entering it,” per the Comics Journal.
Red Light Properties Returns
Creator Dan Goldman is bringing back his cult tropical horror comic series, starting with a Kickstarter campaign.
Celebrating with the Beat
The comics publication founded by PW contributor Heidi MacDonald shares photos from its 20th anniversary party, held during this year’s NYCC.
