PW Comics World: More To Come

Art Spiegelman receives the National Book Award for Distinguished Contribution to American Letter; a new initiative at DC; the MCU’s rejection of fan writers; a crackdown on Pixiv; comics business briefs; and hail a new blockbuster sequel, ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.’

More To Come’s Stargazing segment features Calvin and PW graphic novel reviews editor Meg Lemke discussing two new graphic novels: ‘Men I Trust’ by Tommi Parrish, a stylishly drawn examination of a budding and messy friendship between two troubled women, and ‘Giantess’ by J.C. Deveney and Nuria Tamarit, an alluring feminist fairytale about the life of a giant 60-foot redhead heroine and her search for an equitable society.

Penguin Random House / Simon & Schuster publishing mega-merger blocked by the courts; James Gunn appointed to head DC Studios; Heidi’s coverage of the Diamond Retailer Summit at the Baltimore Comic Con; and a salute to the graphic novels and comic creators chosen for PW’s annual Best Books list for 2022.

From New York Comic Con 2022, Heidi talks with graphic novelist Joelle Jones ('Lady Killer') and Gabby Luu, Head of Story at Tapas Media webcomics; while Calvin interviews comics creator Tim Fielder ('Infinitum'); then Heidi has a discussion with Frederick L. Jones publisher of Saturday AM and Mel Schiut, Marketing Manager at The Quarto Group, about this line of original manga.

Heidi talks with cartoonists Jeffrey Brown ('Darth Vader & Son', 'A Total Waste of Space Time'); Jennifer Hayden ('The Story of My Tits'); Tommi Parish ('Men I Trust'); Julian Lytle ('Ants', and consultant on WB's 'Naomi'); and Laura Lee Gullidge 'The Dark Matter of Mona Starr') about their work, their experiences at SPX 2022 and what kept them going during the pandemic.

Executive changes at indie publishers Scout, Mad Cave, Aftershock, and Z2 Comics; and New York Comic Con 2022: ICv2’s Insider Talks, the Harvey Awards, 200K attendance, and the ascendance of manga, anime, and Asian pop in North American popular culture.

Interviews from the floor of New York Comic Con 2022 with Sandy King Carpenter, Sofia Warren, Brian Volk Weiss, Alex Segura, David Mack, Franco, Tom King, Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey

Heidi talks with Funko founder Michael Becker about toys and the future of Funko, and gabs with Fabrice Sapolsky about his new imprint FairSquare Comics; while Calvin interviews novelist Stephen Graham Jones about his new IDW series, Earthdivers: Kill Columbus, a Native American time travel plot to go back in history, kill Columbus, and stop the coming genocide of indigenous people.

Heidi talks with CBLDF interim director Jeff Trexler about the recent court ruling in favor of cartoonist Maia Kobabe’s graphic memoir ‘Gender Queer,’ a guide on gender identity that has been the target of censorship.

Heidi and Calvin recap their visits to SPX, aka the Small Press Expo; a preview of New York Comic Con (Oct. 6-9) and the return of ICv2’s Insider Talks; comics panels at the Brooklyn Book Festival (Sept. 25-Oct. 2); and Dark Horse’s decision to switch its comics shop distribution from Diamond to Penguin Random House Publisher Services.

Calvin moderates a roundtable discussion about Rebecca Hall’s acclaimed work of graphic nonfiction (with artist Hugo Martinez) ‘WAKE: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts,’ and its adaptation into a fully cast audio play.

New developments at DC; a creator’s critical open letter to Webtoon; report on Titan Manga, Shueisha’s Manga Plus, and Stan Sakai’s new imprint at Dark Horse; and; comics publisher Bad Idea, and the war between Ye and Dan Cherry.

Mad Cave acquires Papercutz; comics periodical woes; graphic novel rights deals grow; the return of Flame Con; WinC Creative Conference; awful decisions at Warner Bros. Discovery; and more on the Sandman.

More to Come presents a flashback special episode of on-site convention interviews from the before-times. Calvin interviews Ben Passmore and Maia Kobabe in 2019, Heidi interviews Carla Speed McNeil in 2016, and Kate interviews James Tynion IV in 2016

DC’s various media dumpster fires; Valiant’s vanishing publishing list, Tapas’ retreat from IP development; and Oni’s ongoing workplace troubles. Plus, the Harvey nominations; Tynion’s totals, and praise for Sandman on Netflix.

Calvin talks with PW graphic novels reviews editor Meg Lemke talks about two new starred books: Kate Beaton’s ‘Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands,’ a masterful memoir of her experiences as one the few women working in Canada’s remote oil fields; and Kate Gavino’s ‘A Career in Books’, a vividly rendered satirical graphic novel about three Asian American young women determined to work in book publishing.

News of layoffs at Tapas Media; then recap Heidi’s trip to the San Diego Comic-Con, the return of giddy fans and artists, and the biggest book and media events of the show; the Sandman trailer, and Calvin's interviews publishers and artists at Comic-Con.

Calvin talks with Charles Kochman, editorial director of ComicArts, Abrams’ wide-ranging graphic novel/nonfiction imprint, and the authors and diverse collection of graphic titles he’s showcasing at Comic-Con.

Calvin interviews comics creator, professor and comics scholar John Jennings, Director and Curator of Megascope, Abrams Comics Arts' graphic novel imprint for genre stories by and about people of color; and comics creator Rachel Smythe, the 2022 Eisner Award winner of Best Webcomic for her comic 'Lore Olympus', published by Webtoon.

Calvin interviews Lindsey Elias, director of Brand Events at Penquin Random House live from her vantage point at SDCC 2022 as the floor opens for the first time since 2019. Elias talks Comic-Con, George R.R. Martin, and more