PW Comics World: More To Come

Heidi goes to TCAF and sits down with several cartoonists: Hugh D'Andrade talks about making his first graphic novel, the autobiographical The Murder Next Door. Dan Goldman talks about returning to the scene with a deluxe edition of Red Light Properties. And we catch up with Boum after her Dour Wright Award Win for Best Emerging Talent. 

Pride Month with a salute to LGBTQ comics and creators; plus there’s a Diamond bankruptcy update, a look at digital manga and webtoons; Aethon takes a majority stake in Vault Comics; a discussion on how to shelve graphic novels in bookstores; and a tribute to comics writer Peter David.

An interview with with Tiffany Babb, publisher of The Comics Courier, a print newspaper of comics criticism and commentary currently fundraising a second issue on Kickstarter. They talk about the state of comics writing on the internet and in print, Tiffany's work at PopVerse, and her baseball site, The Fan Files.

Massive layoffs at Diamond, this year’s Eisner Awards nominations, including nominations for The Beat and Heidi MacDonald, and for ‘Mutha’ magazine and Meg Lemke; plus Aftershock emerges from bankruptcy; Boom! Restricts library ebook access; Seven Seas reports books delayed; the latest outrage du jour; and New York Comic Con Goes five days.

In this Stargazing segment Meg and Calvin highlight graphic works chosen for PW’s Summer Reads list, including Alison Bechdel’s ‘Spent,’ plus, they provide some personal picks, among them ‘Black Cohosh’ by Eagle Valiant Brosi, and ‘Galaxy of Madness’ by Magdalene Visaggio and Michael Avon Oeming.

Cartoonist Tessa Hulls was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for the graphic memoir ‘Feeding Ghosts’; More To Come has returned to the Apple podcast app and to Spotify; more graphic book prizes; Diamond drama; tariff terror; toxic fandom; the Brooklyn Independent Comics Showcase; and the strange story of Safehaven. 

Calvin interviews the curator, Carlo Quispe, and artists from 'Historietas: Latinx Comix as Alternative Histories: From the Bronx to the Lower East Side', a gallery exhibition of comics by seven artists organized by ABC No Rio 45 and ‘World War 3 Illustrated,’ and presented at the Clemente Cultural Center. Calvin talks with Quispe, Sandy Jimenez, and Sharon De La Cruz about their backgrounds and the comics they create.

Publishing news on IDW/Webtoon, Manga Mavericks, and Hiveworks; a distribution roundup on PanelFly, Diamond update, AMP, and Mad Cave; Free Comic Book Day on May 3; a sales chart news roundup; a Frank Quitely auction controversy, and what’s up with Comics Journalism.

An interview with comics writer James Tynion IV about his new comic 'Exquisite Corpses' created with artist Michael Walsh, coming out from Image comics in May, as well as video games, comics and his career.

Alliance Entertainment appears to win the battle for Diamond Comics Distributors; it looks like no tariffs on books; Heidi recaps her trip to WonderCon and Calvin reports on the L’Alliance Comic Arts Fest; Boom! hires Andy Schmidt as EIC; Studio Ghibli and AI; plus AnimeCon chaos in Ohio.

Interviews with comics creators Ellen Lindner, Matt Madden, Boum, Melissa Chan & Badicauo at the 2025 SI MoCCA Arts Festival.

Alliance Entertainment’s acquisition of Diamond Comic Distributors; the SI MoCCA Festival report; a new partnership between Square Enix and PRH to promote manga; the release of British cartoonist R.E. Burke from detention by ICE; the removal of comics about women astronauts from the NASA website; and censorship of three graphic novels in Pennsylvania; plus an interview with Bill Kartalopoulos by Meg Lemke at SI MoCCA.

Interviews with comics creators Mattie Lubchansky, Tom Kaczynski, John Vazquez Mejias and Chloé Wary as well as Gina Gagliano at the 2025 SI MoCCA Arts Festival.

PW’s annual feature on comics retailing, in addition the latest news on the Diamond bankruptcy; plus this weekend’s MoCCA Art Festival is now called SI MoCCA Fest; whether Comic Cons are becoming general pop culture fairs; ICE detains a British comics artist; publishing Batman; creators criticize Marvel’s contracts; and new documentaries on Jack Kirby and Stan Lee are coming.

An interview with cartoonist Jamar Nicholas, writer and artist of the new graphic novel ‘Leon: Worst Friends Forever’ (with color by Bonaio Rosado), the latest volume of his middle grade series about Leon, a young black superhero, his family and friends, and his adventures at home and at school.

Heidi’s visit to ComicsPRO, the annual comics retailers conference; a digital comics update, including reports on Webtoon Entertainment, Dark Horse Digital, and the Sweet Shop; a preview of the upcoming MoCCA Fest 2025 and MoCCA Week; a look at manga translator problems; and new inductees into the Eisner Awards Hall of Fame

Meg and Calvin discuss Olivier Schrauwen’s ‘Sunday’ (Fantagraphics), a hilariously meticulous account of a day of meandering indolence, and Tessa Hulls' ‘Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir’ (MCD), a diligent and stirring account of multi-generational trauma in a family of Chinese immigrants.

Meg Lemke is named a 2025 Eisner Awards Judge and a recipient of the CBC Graphic Novel Advocate Award; the LA Graphic Novel and Comics Roundtable 2024 list of Best GNs for Adults; updates on Diamond’s bankruptcy; ‘Fast Company’ on middle grade graphic novels; 2025 MoCCA guests; manga piracy; and tribute to K.C. Carlson and Turtel Onli.

Shaenon K. Garrity, PW manga reviewer and curator of the magazine’s biannual Manga previews list, joins Meg Lemke for a deep dive into PW’s picks for top ten and long list titles forthcoming this Spring 2025, discussing the breadth of comics and general trade publishers with notable forthcoming manga—as well as manhwa, manhua, webtoons, and related category titles. Plus, Shaenon shouts out a few favorites from the 2024 “Must-Read” Manga list.

The Spring 2025 Comics and Graphic Novel Preview, compiled by GN reviews editor Meg Lemke, with Top Ten Lists for new adult, young adult, and children titles; a manga listing by Shaenon K. Garrity, and more; plus, Anouk Ricard wins the Grand Prix at Angoulême; the ALA Youth Media Awards; more on the Diamond bankruptcy; a tribute to Jules Feiffer; and a new Shagakukan manga app.