Cosplay Meets Horror: Joshua Viola on the Making of “True Believers”

"True Believers" cover

For many writers and artists, spending time at conventions is a regular part of an annual routine. It’s not surprising, then, that some have opted to use genre and comic book conventions as the setting for stories, including one of Evan Dorkin’s Eltingville Club stories, Nick Mamatas’s novel I Am Providence, and Paul Cornell and Marika Cresta’s Con & OnNow, in the new series True Believers, writers Joshua Viola and Stephen Graham Jones teamed with artist Ben Matsuya for a tale of cosplay and horror set at the Colorado Festival of Horror.

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Presenting An Excerpt From Derek M. Ballard’s “Cartoonshow”

We’re pleased to present an excerpt from Derek M. Ballard’s graphic novel Cartoonshow, scheduled for release this week from Oni Press. You might know Ballard’s work from his contributions to Adventure Time or The Midnight Gospel; you might have also seen his comics at places like The Nib. In a wide-ranging interview with The Comics Journal in 2021, Ballard said that “a book with a spine, that’s something I’ve been trying to do for a long time.” In Cartoonshow, Ballard reckons with the experience of being a single father and a working artist, and the complexities that come with both.

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Into the Panels of History: Epic Tales of Comic (Book) Proportions

"Pascin" cover

Using comics to explore history is nothing new. Jason Lutes’s acclaimed Berlin explores several overlapping lives in Weimar-era Germany; Warren Ellis and Raoul Caceres’s Crécy is a bleakly comic take on a significant moment in English history; and Rutu Modan’s The Property examines national trauma and its effect on one family. History and biographical comics can be somber in their tone as in Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s From Hell, a hallucinatory take on Jack the Ripper and London in the late nineteenth century. They can also be, as the historical entries in Kate Beaton’s Hark! A Vagrant prove, irreverent, funny, and unpredictable.

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Short, Sharp Shocks: On Jeremy Haun’s “Haunthology”

"Haunthology"

The first thing that caught my eye after opening Jeremy Haun’s Haunthology was the list of blurbs. About half of them came from comics creators I admire (Declan Shalvey! James Tynion IV!), while the other half came from horror writers whose work I dig (Laird Barron! John Langan!). Throw in an introduction by Nathan Ballingrud and you have something tailor-made to pique my interest.

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Excerpting a New Graphic Novel Adaptation of “The Great Gatsby”

Today, we’re pleased to present an excerpt from Ted Adams and Jorge Coelho’s graphic novel adaptation of The Great Gatsby. This project has been in the works since 2019, and is currently available via a Kickstarter campaign from Clover Press. As Coelho explained in a statement, the timing of the project was unexpectedly serendipitous: “A feeling of chaos, confusion and crumbling eras permeated both art and real life during the making of this book, resulting in my largest and most rewarding creative challenge so far.” Read on to see a new adaptation of a classic story.

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Revisit the History of Coney Island in This Excerpt From “Failure to Launch”

"Failure to Launch" cover

What happens when a bold idea for the future doesn’t quite go as planned? That’s the concept at the center of Failure to Launch: A Tour of Ill-Fated Futures, a new anthology edited by Kel McDonald. The anthology features contributions from the likes of Ryan North and Shannon Saar, and a crowdfunding campaign is now up and running to bring it to print. We’re pleased to present an excerpt from the book: “Magic City, All of Fire” by Evan Dahm.

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Folklore Heads West: Inside the Making of “The Golem of Venice Beach”

Golem of Venice Beach

What happens when a centuries-old golem finds himself in contemporary southern California, in a world of skateboarders, tattoo artists, and rival factions with conflicting agendas? That’s the story at the heart of a new book, The Golem of Venice Beach. The forthcoming graphic novel, from writer Chanan Beizer and artist Vanessa Cardinali, features contributions from a host of comics legends. There’s currently a Kickstarter campaign up and running to fund the project. I spoke with Beizer and Cardinali about the graphic novel’s origins and the expansive approach the book takes to a host of artistic styles.

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A Prince in his Native Land (On Cronenberg’s “Transfer”): Chris Kelso In Conversation With Stephen Bissette

transfer by Bruce MacDonald

I can observe my own body cut open, without suffering!… I see myself all the way down to my entrails; a new mirror stage… I can see to the heart of my lover; his splendid design has nothing to do with sickly sentimentalities… Darling, I love your spleen; I love your liver; I adore your pancreas, and the line of your femur excites me.”
(from Orlan’s Carnal Art manifesto)

Fresh off the heels of selling his own kidney stones in a 24-hour auction, David Cronenberg teased fans with a tantalising soundbite regarding his upcoming film, Crimes of the Future:

I cannot say much, obviously, but if people thought Crash was divisive back in 1996, this is going to create way more chaos and controversy for sure.” 

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