Kibbles ‘n’ Bits 2/26/28: YALSA announces Top Ten graphic novels

§ Nice art: Alex Dueben interviewed Trungles, whose art is extremely nice, for Smash Pages.

You’re coming off of a 2017 where you’ve put out work like Fauns and Fairies, your work in Mirror Mirror II, Vampire Buddy, and for people who have seen those, where does this story fit in your work? This is pretty typical of my work, I think. I’m pretty intent on only doing exactly what I want to do because comics aren’t my bread-and-butter. It’s an optimistic fairy story with indulgently illustrated textures and fabrics. With Fauns and Fairies and Mirror Mirror, I explored sexuality and sex in two very different ways. Vampire Buddy is an all-ages weekly Sunday funnies sort of work. This one falls pretty neatly between those things, I think. It’s an accessible story that explores abuse and trauma with a hopeful note running through.

§ And Sarah Horrocks is interviewed about her book GORO at Comicsverse.

ComicsVerse (CV): The first four issues of GORO, your latest creation, are out now. Within GORO, you dissect family dynamics and sexuality, as well as how one’s identity can be bound up with both. What were some of the sparks of inspiration that drew you to this story and these characters?
Sarah Horrocks: Well in terms of those general themes, they are ones that I’m pretty much always interested in. My family growing up was very repressed. The serious issues going on were rarely confronted, even now holidays are kind of a series of micro-passive-aggressions. So I’ve always admired these families that like can scream their problems out directly, and if they think something horrible, in a fit of anger, they will say it. I love passion and directness. So for GORO it was more just leaning even more into those interests. I wanted a comic where people could scream, cry.

§ YALSA announced their 2018 Great Graphic Novels for Teens Top Ten and they are:

The Backstagers. By James Tynion IV. Illus. by Rian Sygh.
Black Hammer, Volume 1: Secret Origins. By Jeff Lemire. Illus. by Dean Ormston.
Brave. By Svetlana Chmakova.
I Am Alfonso Jones. By Tony Medina. Illus. by Stacey Robison and John Jennings.
Jonesy. By Sam Humprhies. Illus. by Caitlin Rose Boyle.
Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation. By Damian Duffy and Octavia E. Butler. Illus. by John Jennings.
Lighter than My Shadow. By Katie Green.
My Brother’s Husband. By Gengoroh Tagame.
Pashmina. By Nidhi Chanani
Spill Zone. By Scott Westerfeld. Illus. by Alex Puvilland.

A good list – I hope I Am Alfonso Jones hasn’t gotten a bit more attention in comics circles. It’s a very strong work about the aftermath of a black youth who is shot by the police and speaks to a lot of issues that people are talking about.

§ The Toronto Star suggests The latest ‘emotional,’ ‘interesting,’ ‘cool’ reads for graphic novel fans. Why the scare quotes though?

§ Netflix has mined the comics bin once again announcing an adaptation of Polar by Victor Santos directed by Jonas Akerlund and starring Mads Mikkelson, Vanessa Hudgens, Katheryn Winnick and Matt Lucas.

Polar centers on the world’s top assassin, Duncan Vizla, aka The Black Kaiser, who is settling into retirement when his former employer marks him as a liability to the firm. Against his will, he finds himself back in the game going head to head with an army of younger, faster, ruthless killers who will stop at nothing to have him silenced.

Not very original but it’s all in the execution! The comics – which originally ran as a webcomics  was stunning.

§ This state by state breakdown of which comics are popular in which states has gotten some play. It was put together by Dish Network but they don’t give any info on how it was collated so consider it suspect.

§ Pia Guerra (best known for Y The Last Man) has become an editorial cartoonist of late, and the baove cartoon got a lot of attention. In a classic “local woman” story, the Global News profiles her history as an artist and current work.

§ Over the weekend twitter went nuts because they had nothing better to do, I suppose. Instead of wasting time with it here’s a great thread onDealing with Abusers and Trolls in Comics

§ The New Yorker recounts A Korean-American Cartoonist’s Winter Olympics Anxiety, the cartoonist in question being Dami Lee.

§ Rosie Knight has a regular column for Women Writ About Comics where she reviews comics from Dynamite, which is very funny if you are familiar with Knight’s work and Dynamite output (let’s just say many of its heroines are scantily clad.) But there are surprises, too.

I have to say that though some of these titles have lived up to my sour estimations, a couple have completely leapt over the very low bar that I had for Dynamite and have honestly surprised me. If Dynamite can keep hiring radical female colourists who aren’t scared to stray from the dull tones of what most of us see as Dynamite’s house style then they might be able to craft a place as an exciting licensed publisher with some really solid output.

§ Black Panther had the second biggest weekend of all times, and Marvel’s best second weekend ever. I gotta say, when the release dates for Wonder Woman and Black Panther were announced years ago, I thought to myself, “Surely the novelty of superhero movies by the time these come out, they’ll do just okay at the box office, and everyone will say you can’t make movies about female heroes or with black casts.”

Luckily, I was wrong!!! Films made by filmmakers who were passionate about the material attract audiences!

This article also includes some demographics for moviegoers:

Black Panther continues to play to an ethnically diverse audience. Caucasians made up a bigger share of ticket buyers this time out, with 37 percent, compared to 35 percent on the film’s opening weekend, while the African-American share went from 37 percent to 33 percent, according to comScore/Screen Engine. Hispanics remain unchanged at 18 percent, followed by Asians (7 percent) and Native Americans/Other (5 percent). No other marquee superhero tentpole has played to such a disparate audience.

So many lessons.