#Amber Tamosaitis

[graphicpolicy]

Mono Vol. 1 is an interesting concept but it's rather boring in execution

Mono Vol. 1 is an interesting concept but it's rather boring in execution #comics #graphicnovel #manga

The Photography Club is in danger of shutting down?! And the Cinema Club too?! Fret not, for they shall merge and become…Cinephoto Club! Now, club members Satsuki, An, and Sakurako are asked to be the main characters for manga artist Haruno’s latest work that’s centered around action cameras. The girls head out to capture the lovely sights of Japan, exploring gadgets around them, and of course,…

[arwainian]

Reading This Week 2024 #30

This week took me to the very final page of the notebook I have been keeping my reading journal in since last October! which is very convenient, but also now i have to dig around my book shelf to find what half used notebook i want to convert toward this purpose. As a heads up I skimmed some articles this week I wont be including, but there will be a subsection in started/ongoing on books from the library that I've tested (lots of holds coming in at once) and whether I'll pick them up again or not

quick question, this log jumps between different genres pretty wildly [academic work on sexual violence to cute romance manga back to academic work on sexual violence]... would anyone prefer if i also sorted by genre/type? or are we cool with me mostly sticking to the timeline that i actually finished reading stuff? because my life and reading experience really does flip back and forth between these things

Finished:

settle the tab by blacksatinpointeshoes on ao3 reaching a point where I can return to friends at the table fanfiction after the post-project break is such a godsends bc there is so much good fic to catch up on! this fic by bsps (if you remember, an author i really loved during the reading project) is about Grand Magnificent being miserable and drinking martinis, a drink for people who hate themselves

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang, audiobook read by Emily Woo Zeller this book was blurbed by Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun which I am obsessed with, so I picked The Water Outlaws up on a whim when I saw it at the library a few weeks ago. i ended up having an easier time starting the audiobook just because it fit well with my chores and errands after I returned from visiting family. if you like badass women and chinese-inspired historical and fantasy action, go check this out! I had a good time

"Toward Acknowledging the Ambiguities of Sex: Questioning Rape Culture and Consent-Based Approaches to Sexual Assault Prevention" by Tuulia Law, Ch.12 in Violence Interrupted: Confronting Sexual Violence on University Campuses a really loved reading this. it gives a good history of various feminist approaches to sexual violence, and says some things that have been on a mind in my research. love to have a place where i can justify and cite my opinions (btw, cause the title is ambiguous, its about acknowledging that Obtaining Consent(tm) does not always prevent sexual harm for various reasons, and consent-based approaches often individualize the broad social issues at play

A Sign of Affection, Vol. 1 by suu Morishita, translated by Christine Dashiell shojo romance between polyglot boy and Deaf girl. not really feeling the chemistry between the leads, but I finished the first volume for the lush art and how sign language is represented in static images. not sure if i'll continue with further volumes but i might check out the anime

"Thinking Woman-to-Woman Rape: A Critique of Marcus's "Theory and Politics of Rape Prevention"" by Kelly Anne Malinen a very incisive critique, a great and critical literature review on different feminist theories of rape (including radical feminist text with their gender essentialism). i will definitely be using this in my writing!

"The Font of Liberty" by Elizabeth Porter Birdsall, narrated by C.J. Lavigne on the Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast i kinda forgot what this is about.... newspapers in Les Miserables era France?

Go For It, Nakamura! and Go For It Again, Nakamura! by Syundei, translated by Amber Tamosaitis the art style for this is charming, the disaster gay is at absolute maximum disaster for comedic effect, and it really does get you shouting "just make a move! you have a good chance!" at this shy teenager's crush on his outgoing classmate/friend

"Sex Wars and the Contemporary French Moral Panic: the Productivity and Pitfalls of Feminist Conflicts" by Cornelia Möser provides a much needed outside perspective on the U.S. feminist "sex wars" between "pro-sex" and "anti-porn" camps, and reminds me of the need for a multiplicity of approaches: what feels empowering for some overlaps with what feels oppressive for others

Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture by Sherronda J. Brown, audiobook read by Yu-Li Alice Shen if you are not, like me, a graduate student familiar with writing on anti-black oppression and on asexuality, a lot of this stuff might be new to you. but me as I am a lot of this felt like fairly obvious comparisons/parallels/intersections, so reading it was a bit tedious. however those chapters were worth getting through for Chapters 10 and 11. Ch.11 gives a pretty thorough amateur history of different namings of asexual experiences in theories of asexuality prior to the internet age (its not new!), and Ch. 10 does a really beautiful and compassionate re-reading of the lives of Langston Hughes and particularly Octavia E. Butler through asexuality and aromanticism

Gyo: The Death-Stench Creeps by Junji Ito, translated by Yuji Oniki the volume I read also included "the enigma of amigara" fault as a backup story! excited for the shelved by genre episode on it. made me go eugh.

You've Always Been There by kingofwickedskulls on ao3 if you really wanna leave, I'll never make you stay by hornyonside (birdlord5000) on ao3 first is pickman/collette hookup, second it jesset/brnine hookup, both are nice!

Just Sex? The Cultural Scaffolding of Rape, Second Edition by Nicola Gavey maybe the best book I've yet read on rape culture, and specifically on the gendered aspects of all kinds of sexual violence (pressure, coercion, etc) and let me be specific that the praise I am heaping on it is specifically for the 2nd edition, which in a completely new chapter contextualizes the way the arguments of the 1st edition were written and limited by its time of publication, as well as eloquently expanding on some of the arguments which had at first given me pause with reliable qualitative research. this makes me want to go out and write a gender based analysis of sexual violence against and among trans people, like Gavey calls for in her acknowledgement that a lot of her argument relies upon presuming she's talking exclusively about cisgender subjects

Started/Ongoing:

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle, audiobook read by Mara Wilson reading this for queer lit book club! currently on audiobook for the sake of doing chores and not reading everything with my tired tired eyes

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu reading for sff bookclub which i have been absent from for a bit! this is short and written in an experiemental style, so I'm excited to get deeper into it

Boys Run the Riot, Vol. 1 by Keito Gaku, translated by Leo McDonagh, Status: DNF This is a manga about a closeted trans boy, Ryo, starting a fashion branad with his cool slack off held-back-a-year classmate Jin. It was very cool to see a manga with a trans protagonist, but I'm not interested enough in the fashion stuff to stick it through all the volumes, and the art style didn't grab me enough to want to finish this one... Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid, Status: to be continued! the cover of this book was done by an artist i like so I'm checking it out, first chapter or so it promising fairytale inspired stuff Black Water Sister by Zen Cho, status: to be continued! looks popular, its queer modern fantasy i think? first chapter is intriguing

Reading Plans:

continue with book club reads more articles on sexual violence there's a book on feminism and foucault i need to read i have stone butch blues out from the library i am slowly crumbling to dust under a pile of books please help

[hotwaterandmilk]

So I double-dipped and grabbed the digital version of Marmalade Boy volume #1 from Seven Seas because I didn't want to wait for my print copy to arrive from overseas. I can honestly say it was worth the extra cash, this is a great release imho! If the paper is high-quality in the physical version then this really is a must-buy for fans of older shoujo titles.

The colour art is gorgeous (+ there's a lot of it) and it includes my fave type of content, actual magazine issue sources! It's particularly nice to see Ribon covers in these "gallery" sections within the volume as it can be hard finding versions of Ribon magazine issue cover illustrations without, y'know, the whole damn cover.

The new translation flows beautifully when compared to the fairly stilted work on Tokyopop's version from a million moons ago. It feels like the translator and adapter (Amber Tamosaitis & Kristy Grandy) worked hard to preserve the atmosphere of the dialogue while still making it accessible to a modern audience. Thank you for your hard work!

I'm definitely a bigger fan of supernatural or sci-fi shoujo titles, but Marmalade Boy is a classic little dramady for a reason. While some aspects feel dated it's worth keeping in mind that the title is over 30 years old now and while things like landlines and physical address books have gone the way of many creepy "stolen kiss" plotlines, there's a timelessness to the idea of romantic hijinks eventuating from a shifting living situation that still feel quite real (millennials in share housing know what I'm talking about).

Anyway no major insights from me or anything (I'm technically at work), I just wanted to say this was a purchase I enjoyed and I'm very much looking forward to owning the physical volumes too.

Just a reminder that the first Collector's Edition Marmalade Boy manga volume from Seven Seas Entertainment hits shelves on Valentine's Day -- check it out on their official site.

The entire series will be released with a new English-language translation and in 5 total volumes, reflecting the 2008 bunkobon Japanese reprint. Volume 2 will hit shelves in May, so you've got a good space between volumes to save up for the next one!

Never read the series? It's definitely worth checking out if you're keen on straight-up romantic drama and hijinks from the 90s courtesy of a a great shoujo talent, Yoshizumi Wataru. The official blurb from Seven Seas sums things up well.

Miki’s life was pretty ordinary until the day her parents told her they were swapping spouses with another couple! Thanks to this unconventional arrangement, Miki now has two new stepparents and a hot new stepbrother, Yuu! Miki isn’t exactly thrilled with her new situation, and though Yuu is super cute, he’s also kind of a jerk. Can Miki sort out her complicated feelings for him and come to terms with her new family?

Discotek Media also have released the entire 76-episode anime tv series on SD blu-ray disc for a very reasonable price if you're interested in checking out this adaptation as well (it's even on sale at Right Stuf right now). Imho the transfer is pretty meh but YMMV.

Another classic for rusted-on shoujo fans to enjoy all over again with a fresh English release and a fun starting point for those wanting to check out a relationship-focused Ribon title from the 90s. 2023 really is turning out to be an amazing year for English-speaking fans of older content in the genre!

[justusrstone]

Past Life Countess, Present Life Otome Game NPC?!

Past Life Countess, Present Life Otome Game NPC?! An upcoming light novel from @CrossInfWorld

English Title: Past Life Countess, Present Life Otome Game NPC?!  Japanese Title: 元伯爵令嬢は乙女ゲームに参戦しました — “Moto Hakushaku Reijou wa Otome Game ni Sansen Shimashita” Author: Sorahoshi  – そらほし Illustrator: Yuki Kinami Translator: Amber Tamosaitis Genre: Isekai, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life, School Life, Comedy, Otome Game Original Run: Published on Shōsetsuka ni Narō from December 2018 to December 2019 En…

[tinynavajoreads]

Tiny Navajo Reads: Orange: The Complete Collection Vol. 2

Orange: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2 by Ichigo Takano, translated by Amber Tamosaitis  ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

*Published May 31, 2016*

This is the second volume of Orange, and when I had finished the first one, I had to get this one to find out what happened next! It was so good, and I just needed to know if Naho and her friends were able to save Kakeru.

An Epic Love Story Across Time

Naho immediately…

[diogenescynic2288]

Love Me For Who I Am

A manga romcom about an enby working at a maid cafe staffed by maids who are either trans women or drag queens. Their presence shakes things up and they start making new friends.

Story & art by Kata Konayama Translation by Amber Tamosaitis

Diogenes's Reading Log for 2023

So it's a new year by the solar calendar of the Romans and/or Catholics.

I already finished up some books this year.

Batwoman Volume 1: The Many Arms of Death

This is the first Batwoman trade of the Rebirth era. There is an intriguing glimpse of Kate Kane's past as she returns to an island haven of criminals that was a significant place in her past.

Credited writers are Marguerite Bennet and James Tynion IV. Credited artists are Steve Epting, Stephanie Hans, and Renato Arlem.

[theannypetite]

The Misfortune Devouring Witch is Actually a Vampire?!

What is a vampire to do when nobleman repeatedly comes by the shop everyone else avoids? That I can't answer, but I can always share my thoughts on a book with that very setting! @CrossInfWorld

Yuuri Watoh keeps a little shop to which no one goes. She sells teas and other herbal option for deal with ailments. However, she’s known as a Misfortune Devouring Witch, so she receives no customers. Until a fateful day Count Ernest Travis Selden visits her shop on the behalf of the king after being recommended to him. Despite the price he has to pay, he keeps coming back to Yuuri’s…

[rockislandadultreads]

Manga Picks for PRIDE: Book Recs to Check Out

Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare, Vol. 1 by Yuhki Kamatani, Jocelyne Allen (Translator)

A beautiful tale of coming-out and coming-of-age. Not only is high schooler Tasuku Kaname the new kid in town, he is also terrified that he has been outed as gay. Just as he’s contemplating doing the unthinkable, Tasuku meets a mysterious woman who leads him to a group of people dealing with problems not so different from his own. In this realistic, heartfelt depiction of LGBT+ characters from different backgrounds finding their place in the world, a search for inner peace proves to be the most universal experience of all.

I Hear the Sunspot by Yuki Fumino

Because of a hearing disability, Kohei is often misunderstood and has trouble integrating into life on campus, so he learns to keep his distance. That is until he meets the outspoken and cheerful Taichi. He tells Kohei that his hearing loss is not his fault. Taichi's words cut through Kohei's usual defense mechanisms and open his heart. More than friends, less than lovers, their relationship changes Kohei forever.

Sasaki and Miyano, Vol. 1 by Shou Harusono

It all started like a typical old-school boys’ love plotline—bad-boy senior meets adorably awkward underclassman, one of them falls in love, and so on and so forth. But although Miyano is a self-proclaimed boys’ love expert, he hasn’t quite realized…he’s in one himself. Which means it’s up to Sasaki to make sure their story has a happily ever after…!

I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up by Naoko Kodama, Amber Tamosaitis (Translator)

Morimoto, a young professional woman in Japan, wishes her parents would stop trying to get her to marry a man and settle down. In an unexpected move, her friend from high school offers to be her wife in a sham marriage, to make Morimoto’s parents back off. But this “fake” marriage could unearth something very real!

[yurimother]

Final Volume of Yuri Manga 'Days of Love at Seagull Villa' Released in English

On Tuesday, Seven Seas Entertainment released the third final volume in Kodama Naoko's Yuri series Days of Love at Seagull Villa (Umineko Sou Days) in English paperback and digitally. The manga is translated by Amber Tamosaitis with lettering by Mo Harrison.

The manga follows Mayumi, a teacher who decides to leave the city and start a new life in the city after her boyfriend cheats on her with her best friend. She moves in with the brash caretaker of a local inn, Rin. The two women come to rely on each other and their relationship grows.

The publisher describes the final volume:

Mayumi left the city partly to escape her toxic friend, Touko, but now Touko has followed her to the countryside! Possessive of Mayumi, Touko is determined to drive a wedge between her and Rin. As Mayumi steels herself to stand up to Touko, she realizes she's fallen in love with Rin! Can Mayumi overcome her traumatic past to build a new future? The final volume of Days of Love at Seagull Villa!

Days of Love at Seagull Villa was serialized in Comic Yuri Hime from January 2019 to August 2020. The manga is published in Japanese by Ichijinsha.

Kodama Naoko is a Yuri artist known for her drama series. She previously worked on the acclaimed I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up and ecchi series NTR: Netsuzou Trap, which was adapted into an anime by Creators in Pack.

You can check out Days of Love at Seagull Vill Volume 3 today digitally and in paperback: https://amzn.to/37mgXOa

Reading official releases helps support creators and publishers. YuriMother makes a small affiliate commission from sales to help fund future coverage.

[smashpages]

Winners announced for the 2019 Eisner Awards

The winners were announced last night for the 2019 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards.

Tom King and Mitch Gerads, partners on the Mister Miracle series from DC, took home five awards between them. John Allison’s Giant Days and The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang also took home multiple awards.

The Eisner Awards also inducted 10 people into the Hall of Fame last night: the judges chose Jim Aparo, June Tarpé Mills, Dave Stevens and Morrie Turner, while voters chose José Luis García-López, Jenette Kahn, Paul Levitz, Wendy and Richard Pini, and Bill Sienkiewicz to join the class of 2019.

Other awards given out last night included the The Bill Finger Excellence In Comic Book Writing Award, which was presented to Mike Friedrich and the late E. Nelson Bridwell, and the Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award, which went to Lorena Alvarez.

The 2019 recipients of the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award were Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, for his work on Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico, and comic artist Tula Lotay, AKA Lisa Wood, for creating the UK-based Thought Bubble Festival. And La Revisteria Comics in Argentina won the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award.

You can see all the Eisner winners below, in bold.

Best Short Story

“Get Naked in Barcelona,” by Steven T. Seagle and Emei Olivia Burrell, in Get Naked (Image)

“The Ghastlygun Tinies,” by Matt Cohen and Marc Palm, in MAD magazine #4 (DC)

“Here I Am,” by Shaun Tan, in I Feel Machine (SelfMadeHero)

“Life During Interesting Times,” by Mike Dawson (The Nib), https://thenib.com/greatest-generation-interesting-times

“Supply Chains,” by Peter and Maria Hoey, in Coin-Op #7 (Coin-Op Books)

“The Talk of the Saints,” by Tom King and Jason Fabok, in Swamp Thing Winter Special (DC)

Best Single Issue/One-Shot

Beneath the Dead Oak Tree, by Emily Carroll (ShortBox)

Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise, by Jeff Lemire and Emi Lenox (Dark Horse)

No Better Words, by Carolyn Nowak (Silver Sprocket)

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #310, by Chip Zdarsky (Marvel)

The Terrible Elisabeth Dumn Against the Devils In Suits, by Arabson, translated by James Robinson (IHQ Studio/ Image)

Best Continuing Series

Batman, by Tom King et al. (DC)

Black Hammer: Age of Doom, by Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormston, and Rich Tommaso (Dark Horse)

Gasolina, by Sean Mackiewicz and Niko Walter (Skybound/Image)

Giant Days, by John Allison, Max Sarin, and Julaa Madrigal (BOOM! Box)

The Immortal Hulk, by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, and Ruy José (Marvel)

Runaways, by Rainbow Rowell and Kris Anka (Marvel)

Best Limited Series

Batman: White Knight, by Sean Murphy (DC)

Eternity Girl, by Magdalene Visaggio and Sonny Liew (Vertigo/DC)

Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, by Mark Russell, Mike Feehan, and Mark Morales (DC)

Mister Miracle, by Tom King and Mitch Gerads (DC)

X-Men: Grand Design: Second Genesis, by Ed Piskor (Marvel)

Best New Series

Bitter Root, by David Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Green (Image)

Crowded, by Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, and Ted Brandt (Image)

Gideon Falls, by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino (Image)

Isola, by Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl (Image)

Man-Eaters, by Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk (Image)

Skyward, by Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett (Image)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)

Johnny Boo and the Ice Cream Computer, by James Kochalka (Top Shelf/IDW)

Petals, by Gustavo Borges (KaBOOM!)

Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths, by Graham Annable (First Second)

This Is a Taco! By Andrew Cangelose and Josh Shipley (CubHouse/Lion Forge)

Tiger Vs. Nightmare, by Emily Tetri (First Second)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 9–12)

Aquicorn Cove, by Katie O’Neill (Oni)

Be Prepared, by Vera Brosgol (First Second)

The Cardboard Kingdom, by Chad Sell (Knopf/Random House Children’s Books)

Crush, by Svetlana Chmakova (JY/Yen Press)

The Divided Earth, by Faith Erin Hicks (First Second)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13–17)

All Summer Long, by Hope Larson (Farrar Straus Giroux)

Gumballs, by Erin Nations (Top Shelf/IDW)

Middlewest, by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona (Image)

Norroway, Book 1: The Black Bull of Norroway, by Cat Seaton and Kit Seaton (Image)

The Prince and the Dressmaker, by Jen Wang (First Second)

Watersnakes, by Tony Sandoval, translated by Lucas Marangon (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Best Humor Publication

Get Naked, by Steven T. Seagle et al. (Image)

Giant Days, by John Allison, Max Sarin, and Julia Madrigal (BOOM! Box)

MAD magazine, edited by Bill Morrison (DC)

A Perfect Failure: Fanta Bukowski 3, by Noah Van Sciver (Fantagraphics)

Woman World, by Aminder Dhaliwal (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Anthology

Femme Magnifique: 50 Magnificent Women Who Changed the World, edited by Shelly Bond (Black Crown/IDW)

Puerto Rico Strong, edited by Marco Lopez, Desiree Rodriguez, Hazel Newlevant, Derek Ruiz, and Neil Schwartz (Lion Forge)

Twisted Romance, edited by Alex de Campi (Image)

Where We Live: A Benefit for the Survivors in Las Vegas, edited by Will Dennis, curated by J. H. Williams III and Wendy Wright-Williams (Image)

Best Reality-Based Work

All the Answers: A Graphic Memoir, by Michael Kupperman (Gallery 13)

All the Sad Songs, by Summer Pierre (Retrofit/Big Planet)

Is This Guy For Real? The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman, by Box Brown (First Second)

Monk! by Youssef Daoudi (First Second)

One Dirty Tree, by Noah Van Sciver (Uncivilized Books)

Best Graphic Album—New

Bad Girls, by Alex de Campi and Victor Santos (Gallery 13)

Come Again, by Nate Powell (Top Shelf/IDW)

Green Lantern: Earth One Vol. 1, by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman (DC)

Homunculus, by Joe Sparrow (ShortBox)

My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)

Sabrina, by Nick Drnaso (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

Berlin, by Jason Lutes (Drawn & Quarterly)

Girl Town, by Carolyn Nowak (Top Shelf/IDW)

Upgrade Soul, by Ezra Claytan Daniels (Lion Forge)

The Vision hardcover, by Tom King, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, and Michael Walsh (Marvel)

Young Frances, by Hartley Lin (AdHouse Books)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium

Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, adapted by Ari Folman and David Polonsky (Pantheon)

“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, in Frankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection, adapted by Junji Ito, translated by Jocelyne Allen (VIZ Media)

Out in the Open by Jesús Carraso, adapted by Javi Rey, translated by Lawrence Schimel (SelfMadeHero)

Speak: The Graphic Novel, by Laurie Halse Anderson and Emily Carroll (Farrar Straus Giroux)

To Build a Fire: Based on Jack London’s Classic Story, by Chabouté (Gallery 13)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

About Betty’s Boob, by Vero Cazot and Julie Rocheleau, translated by Edward Gauvin (Archaia/BOOM!)

Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World, by Pénélope Bagieu (First Second)

Herakles Book 1, by Edouard Cour, translated by Jeremy Melloul (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Niourk, by Stefan Wul and Olivier Vatine, translated by Brandon Kander and Diana Schutz (Dark Horse)

A Sea of Love, by Wilfrid Lupano and Grégory Panaccione (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

Abara: Complete Deluxe Edition, by Tsutomu Nihei, translated by Sheldon Drzka (VIZ Media)

Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, by Inio Asano, translated by John Werry (VIZ Media)

Laid-Back Camp, by Afro, translated by Amber Tamosaitis (Yen Press)

My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder, by Nie Jun, translated by Edward Gauvin (Graphic Universe/Lerner)

Tokyo Tarareba Girls, by Akiko Higashimura (Kodansha)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips

Pogo, vol. 5: Out of This World At Home, by Walt Kelly, edited by Mark Evanier and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)

Sky Masters of the Space Force: The Complete Sunday Strips in Color (1959–1960), by Jack Kirby, Wally Wood et al., edited by Ferran Delgado (Amigo Comics)

Star Wars: Classic Newspaper Strips, vol. 3, by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson, edited by Dean Mullaney (Library of American Comics/IDW)

The Temple of Silence: Forgotten Words and Worlds of Herbert Crowley, by Justin Duerr (Beehive Books

Thimble Theatre and the Pre-Popeye Comics of E. C. Segar, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books

Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman Deluxe Edition, edited by Paul Levitz (DC)

Bill Sienkiewicz’s Mutants and Moon Knights… And Assassins… Artifact Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

Dirty Plotte: The Complete Julie Doucet (Drawn & Quarterly)

Madman Quarter Century Shindig, by Mike Allred, edited by Chris Ryall (IDW)

Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise Gallery Edition, edited by Joseph Melchior and Bob Chapman (Abstract Studio/Graphitti Designs)

Will Eisner’s A Contract with God: Curator’s Collection, edited by John Lind (Kitchen Sink/Dark Horse)

Best Writer

Alex de Campi, Bad Girls (Gallery 13); Twisted Romance (Image)

Tom King, Batman, Mister Miracle, Heroes in Crisis, Swamp Thing Winter Special (DC)

Jeff Lemire, Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Doctor Star & the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows, Quantum Age (Dark Horse); Descender, Gideon Falls, Royal City (Image)

Mark Russell, Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound, Lex Luthor/Porky Pig (DC); Lone Ranger (Dynamite)

Kelly Thompson, Nancy Drew (Dynamite); Hawkeye, Jessica Jones, Mr. & Mrs. X, Rogue & Gambit, Uncanny X-Men, West Coast Avengers (Marvel)

Chip Zdarsky, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, Marvel Two-in-One (Marvel)

Best Writer/Artist

Sophie Campbell, Wet Moon (Oni)

Nick Drnaso, Sabrina (Drawn & Quarterly)

David Lapham, Lodger (Black Crown/IDW); Stray Bullets (Image)

Nate Powell, Come Again (Top Shelf/IDW)

Tony Sandoval, Watersnakes (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Jen Wang, The Prince and the Dressmaker (First Second)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

Matías Bergara, Coda (BOOM!)

Mitch Gerads, Mister Miracle (DC)

Karl Kerschl, Isola (Image)

Sonny Liew, Eternity Girl (Vertigo/DC)

Sean Phillips, Kill or Be Killed, My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies (Image)

Yanick Paquette, Wonder Woman Earth One, vol. 2 (DC)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

Lee Bermejo, Batman: Damned (DC)

Carita Lupatelli, Izuna Book 2 (Humanoids)

Dustin Nguyen, Descender (Image)

Gregory Panaccione, A Sea of Love (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Tony Sandoval, Watersnakes (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

Best Cover Artist (for multiple covers)

Jen Bartel, Blackbird (Image); Submerged (Vault)

Nick Derington, Mister Miracle (DC)

Karl Kerschl, Isola (Image)

Joshua Middleton, Batgirl and Aquaman variants (DC)

Julian Tedesco, Hawkeye, Life of Captain Marvel (Marvel)

Best Coloring

Jordie Bellaire, Batgirl, Batman (DC); The Divided Earth (First Second); Days of Hate, Dead Hand, Head Lopper, Redlands (Image); Shuri, Doctor Strange (Marvel)

Tamra Bonvillain, Alien 3 (Dark Horse); Batman, Doom Patrol (DC); Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Multiple Man (Marvel)

Nathan Fairbairn, Batman, Batgirl, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman Earth One, vol. 2 (DC); Die!Die!Die! (Image)

Matt Hollingsworth, Batman: White Knight (DC): Seven to Eternity, Wytches (Image)

Matt Wilson, Black Cloud, Paper Girls, The Wicked + The Divine (Image); The Mighty Thor, Runaways (Marvel)

Best Lettering

David Aja, Seeds (Berger Books/Dark Horse)

Jim Campbell, Breathless, Calexit, Gravetrancers, Snap Flash Hustle, Survival Fetish, The Wilds (Black Mask); Abbott, Alice: Dream to Dream, Black Badge, Clueless, Coda, Fence, Firefly, Giant Days, Grass Kings, Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass, Low Road West, Sparrowhawk (BOOM); Angelic (Image); Wasted Space (Vault)

Alex de Campi, Bad Girls (Gallery 13); Twisted Romance (Image)

Jared Fletcher, Batman: Damned (DC); The Gravediggers Union, Moonshine, Paper Girls, Southern Bastards (Image)

Todd Klein— Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Neil Gaiman’s A Study in Emerald (Dark Horse); Batman: White Night (DC); Eternity Girl, Books of Magic (Vertigo/DC); The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest (Top Shelf/IDW)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/ Journalism

Note: There was a tie in this category

Back Issue, edited by Michael Eury (TwoMorrows)

The Columbus Scribbler, edited by Brian Canini, columbusscribbler.com

Comicosity, edited by Aaron Long and Matt Santori,  www.comicosity.com

LAAB Magazine #0: Dark Matter, edited by Ronald Wimberley and Josh O’Neill (Beehive Books)

PanelxPanel magazine, edited by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, panelxpanel.com

Best Comics-Related Book

Comic Book Implosion: An Oral History of DC Comics Circa 1978, by Keith Dallas and John Wells (TwoMorrows)

Drawn to Purpose: American Women Illustrators and Cartoonists, by Martha H. Kennedy (University Press of Mississippi)

The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, by Jon Morris (Quirk Books)

Mike Grell: Life Is Drawing Without an Eraser, by Dewey Cassell with Jeff Messer (TwoMorrows)

Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography—Beyond the Fantasy, by Florent Gorges, translated by Laure Dupont and Annie Gullion (Dark Horse)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work

Between Pen and Pixel: Comics, Materiality, and the Book of the Future, by Aaron Kashtan (Ohio State University Press)

Breaking the Frames: Populism and Prestige in Comics Studies, by Marc Singer (University of Texas Press)

The Goat-Getters: Jack Johnson, the Fight of the Century, and How a Bunch of Raucous Cartoonists Reinvented Comics, by Eddie Campbell (Library of American Comics/IDW/Ohio State University Press)

Incorrigibles and Innocents, by Lara Saguisag (Rutgers Univeristy Press)

Sweet Little C*nt: The Graphic Work of Julie Doucet, by Anne Elizabeth Moore (Uncivilized Books)

Best Publication Design

A Sea of Love, designed by Wilfrid Lupano, Grégory Panaccione, and Mike Kennedy (Magnetic/Lion Forge)

The Stan Lee Story Collector’s Edition, designed by Josh Baker (Taschen)

The Temple of Silence: Forgotten Worlds of Herbert Crowley, designed by Paul Kepple and Max Vandenberg (Beehive Books)

Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise Gallery Edition, designed by Josh Beatman/Brainchild Studios/NYC (Abstract Studio/Graphitti Designs)

Will Eisner’s A Contract with God: Curator’s Collection, designed by John Lind (Kitchen Sink/Dark Horse)

Best Digital Comic

Aztec Empire, by Paul Guinan, Anina Bennett, and David Hahn, www.bigredhair.com/books/Aztec-empire/

The Führer and the Tramp, by Sean McArdle, Jon Judy, and Dexter Wee, http://thefuhrerandthetramp.com/

The Journey, by Pablo Leon (Rewire), https://rewire.news/article/2018/01/08/rewire-exclusive-comic-journey/

The Stone King, by Kel McDonald and Tyler Crook (comiXology Originals)  https://cmxl.gy/Stone-King

Umami, by Ken Niimura (Panel Syndicate), http://panelsyndicate.com/comics/umami

Best Webcomic

The Contradictions, by Sophie Yanow, www.thecontradictions.com

Lavender Jack, by Dan Schkade (WEBTOON), https://www.webtoons.com/en/thriller/lavender-jack/list?title_no=1410&page=1

Let’s Play, by Mongie (WEBTOON), https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/letsplay/list?title_no=1218&page=1

Lore Olympus, by Rachel Smythe, (WEBTOON), https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/lore-olympus/list?title_no=1320&page=1

Tiger, Tiger, by Petra Erika Nordlund, (Hiveworks) http://www.tigertigercomic.com/

[graphicpolicy]

Review: Mint Chocolate Vol. 2

Mint Chocolate Vol. 2 dials back the creepy factor a bit and delivers a solid amount of tension #Comics #ComicBooks #Manga

Nanami has a crush on a boy in her school. Little does she know it’s her new stepbrother. How will this forbidden romance play out? Mint Chocolate Vol. 2 finds the two at home alone as well as dealing with the Christmas holiday season. Story: Mami OrikasaArt: Mami OrikasaTranslation: Amber TamosaitisLetterer: Barri Shrager Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit…

[arwainian]

Reading This Week 2024 #6-8

sits here. i have been behind on this.... once again... i think i just have to accept that i do these when i do these.

Finished Week 6 (Feb 4-10):

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (skimmed/read the spark notes for class discussion, won't be reading more)

Undoing Gender by Judith Butler (read Chapter 6 "Longing for Recognition", currently won't be reading more)

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin, narrated by Rob Inglis (started the same week, audio book was lots of fun)

i love Tenar...... i think it's really cool that the way the Earthsea books are working is that even tho Ged is a reocurring character, we get a new child perspective for each one

Orange, Vol. 4 by Ichigo Takano, translated by Amber Tamosaitis (started same week)

truly TRULY the love triangle/rivals in this are so primed to be read polyamorously it had driven me crazy. just form a triad, you all like each other

about 10 other smaller things (articles, short stories, excerpts) that i shall not be naming individually bc this post is already too long

Finished Week 7 (Feb 11-17):

Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie (started in Week 6)

this book flips is like reading a multigenerational family drama with each section involving the slowly growing tension of knowing what horrific historical event/conditions they are about to live through

Venus by Susan-Lori Parks (started same week)

The Way of the House Husband by Kousuke Oono, translated by Amanda Haley (started same week)

“Experiential Gender” in Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano

“Black (W)holes and The Geometry of Black Female Sexuality” by Evelynn Hammonds

"Unsexed: A Zero Concept for Gender Studies" by Kath Weston

"Of Catamites and Kings: Reflections on Butch, Gender, and Boundaries" by Gayle Rubin (these four i read for a class that i lead the discussion four so while they fall under the category of articles i'm not mentioning right now, i felt they should be included for that reason)

a shit ton of student papers

6 smaller things (articles and abandoned books that i'm skipping for same reason as above)

Finished Week 8 (Feb 18-24):

Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam (started same week)

very in-depth descriptions of bowel movements in this

Orange, Vol. 5 by Ichigo Takano, translated by Amber Tamosaitis (started same week)

so cute! once again i am advocating for them to just form a poly triad

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan (started ages and ages ago...)

you've already seen my frantic reblog spam about this. i'm glad i finally finished reading this. the quarter 3 of it was kind a low point but i think it really captured me again by the end (however, i think the like... FINAL two pages are really scream "remember! that this is technically inspired by some real history!" in a way i found unneccesary and kinda too me out of the satisfaction of the end). i think the ending worked for me because Ma was really underused (i know it would have made the book kinda bloated but i would have loved a chapter or two of her perspective holding down the fort and dealing with internal politics while Zhu was away doing war things....), so her role in the finale was what really solidified it for me. this book drove me crazy in a great way, i think so many people should read She Who Became the Sun and then this sequel

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 11 by Kamome Shirahama, translated by Stephen Kohler (started same week)

the panelling in this manga is simply so fucking good. read this. its so cute

Orange, Vol. 6: Future by Ichigo Takano, translated by Amber Tamosaitis (started same week)

i don't think this volume was necessary lol... i did not need to know how Suwa and Naho got together in the future where Kakeru died, it was better as implications

Ongoing Reads:

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (read another chapter)

i am so sorry to my girlfriend who has to deal with me complaining about this book i am reading to her after every chapter... i am glad she is enjoying it regardless

The Farther Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin, narrated by Rob Inglis (about halfway through)

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (basically read the preface material so far)

[recentanimenews]

Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart

By Syundei. Released in Japan as “Gesshoku Kitan” by Akaneshinsha, serialized in the magazine Opera. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Amber Tamosaitis. Adapted by Lora Gray.

I was quite happy to read another manga by this author, Go for It, Nakamura-kun!, and so I decided to pick this up, figuring it would have more entertainingly mild BL and wacky retro-style humor that reminded me of Rumiko Takahashi. In a way, I was right, this did remind me of Rumiko Takahashi. But it’s along the lines of Mermaid Saga rather than Ranma 1/2. Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart is another done-in-one series from Syundei that ran in Opera, but there the similarities to Nakamura end. This is a brutal horror story, filled with murder, revenge, reincarnations, and reincarnated revenge. It’s very much a mood piece, and while I did end up enjoying it I’d say it doesn’t quite reach the same audience as Nakamura did. It’s also a lot more explicit than Nakamura was – here be blowjobs, and there’s some non-consensual sex sprinkled throughout. That said, if you like dark BL and suspense/horror, this is definitely worth picking up.

Hoshino is a young man at an all-boys’ school with a crush on his classmate and a recurring dream where he’s killed by an older man. His crush, Yamada, comes on a bit too strong, and is a lot more comfortable being gay than Hoshino seems to be. Things get a bit more complicated when, after suddenly getting kissed in the park after school, a blond boy shows up and brutally murders Yamada. Horrified, Hoshino calls the police… only the body is gone. Now he’s in trouble with the cops. What makes things worse is that the next day Hoshino sees the blond on the street… and the blond has no memory of anything that happened the previous day. What exactly is going on with Yamada? Is he really dead? Is he also connected to Tani, another classmate in their school? Or the writer that Yamada lives with… and sleeps with? And what does this have to do with Hiroshi’s dreams of getting killed in the past?

This is a riveting read, and I really enjoyed the story, but I’m not certain that I’d call it fun. There’s no consensual sex here – even the kiss Yamada gives to Hoshino is forced on him – and Yamada is a twisted villain… well, sort of a villain. As I also said, there’s a lot of brutal murders here, of various kinds, from stabbings to drownings, and the book, while it doesn’t revel in the violence, does not back away from it either. The best reason to get the book is the creeping sense of doom and suspense that goes along with turning the pages. The mystery, being somewhat supernatural in tone, isn’t much of one, but the mood is great, and there’s a twist at the very end that I really loved, one that only works with the logic of everything that came before – or rather, a lack of logic that comes with this type of story.

This isn’t for everyone, but if you like your BL with a side of suspense and don’t mind the violence – sexual or otherwise – it’s a good read.

By: Sean Gaffney

[herochan]

Here are the 2017 Eisner Award Winners

Named for the pioneering comics creator and graphic novelist Will Eisner, The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, considered the “Oscars” of the comic book industry, were given out in 31 categories for works published in 2016.

Below is the full list of the nominees and winners (highlighted in bold).

Best Short Story

“The Comics Wedding of the Century,” by Simon Hanselmann, in We Told You So: Comics as Art (Fantagraphics)

“The Dark Nothing,” by Jordan Crane, in Uptight #5 (Fantagraphics)

“Good Boy,” by Tom King & David Finch, Batman Annual #1 (DC)

“Monday,” by W. Maxwell Prince and John Amor, in One Week in the Library (Image)  

“Mostly Saturn,” by Michael DeForge, in Island Magazine #8 (Image)

“Shrine of the Monkey God!” by Kim Deitch, in Kramers Ergot 9 (Fantagraphics)

Best Single Issue/One-Shot

Babybel Wax Bodysuit, by Eric Kostiuk Williams (Retrofit/Big Planet)

Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In, by Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, and Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)

Blammo #9, by Noah Van Sciver (Kilgore Books)

Criminal 10th Anniversary Special, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)

Sir Alfred #3, by Tim Hensley (Pigeon Press)

Your Black Friend, by Ben Passmore (Silver Sprocket)

Best Continuing Series

Astro City, by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson (Vertigo/DC)

Kill or Be Killed, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)

The Mighty Thor, by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman (Marvel)

Paper Girls, by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang (Image)

Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)

Best Limited Series

Archangel, by William Gibson, Michael St. John Smith, Butch Guice, and Tom Palmer (IDW)

Briggs Land, by Brian Wood and Mack Chater (Dark Horse)

Han Solo, by Marjorie Liu and Mark Brooks (Marvel)

Kim and Kim, by Magdalene Visaggio and Eva Cabrera (Black Mask)

The Vision, by Tom King and Gabriel Walta (Marvel)

Best New Series

Black Hammer, by Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston (Dark Horse)

Clean Room, by Gail Simone and Jon Davis-Hunt (Vertigo/DC)

Deathstroke: Rebirth, by Christopher Priest, Carlo Pagulayan, et al. (DC)

Faith, by Jody Houser, Pere Pérez, and Marguerite Sauvage (Valiant)

Mockingbird, by Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk (Marvel)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)

Ape and Armadillo Take Over the World, by James Sturm (Toon)

Burt’s Way Home, by John Martz (Koyama)

The Creeps, Book 2: The Trolls Will Feast! by Chris Schweizer (Abrams)

I’m Grumpy (My First Comics), by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (Random House Books for Young Readers)

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea, by Ben Clanton (Tundra)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 9-12)

The Drawing Lesson, by Mark Crilley (Watson-Guptill)

Ghosts, by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic)

Hilda and the Stone Forest, by Luke Pearson (Flying Eye Books)

Rikki, adapted by Norm Harper and Matthew Foltz-Gray (Karate Petshop)

Science Comics: Dinosaurs, by MK Reed and Joe Flood (First Second)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)

Bad Machinery, vol. 5: The Case of the Fire Inside, by John Allison (Oni)

Batgirl, by Hope Larson and Rafael Albuquerque (DC)

Jughead, by Chip Zdarsky, Ryan North, Erica Henderson, and Derek Charm (Archie)

Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image)

Trish Trash: Roller Girl of Mars, by Jessica Abel (Papercutz/Super Genius)

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North & Erica Henderson (Marvel)

Best Humor Publication

The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp, by Lee Marrs (Marrs Books)

Hot Dog Taste Test, by Lisa Hanawalt (Drawn & Quarterly)

Jughead, by Chip Zdarsky, Ryan North, Erica Henderson, and Derek Charm (Archie)

Man, I Hate Cursive, by Jim Benton (Andrews McMeel)

Yuge! 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump, by G. B. Trudeau (Andrews McMeel)

Best Anthology

Baltic Comics Anthology š! #26: dADa, edited by David Schilter and Sanita Muizniece (kuš!)

Island Magazine, edited by Brandon Graham and Emma Rios (Image)

Kramers Ergot 9, edited by Sammy Harkham (Fantagraphics)

Love Is Love, edited by Sarah Gaydos and Jamie S. Rich (IDW/DC)

Spanish Fever: Stories by the New Spanish Cartoonists, edited by Santiago Garcia (Fantagraphics)

Best Reality-Based Work

Dark Night: A True Batman Story, by Paul Dini and Eduardo Risso (Vertigo/DC)

Glenn Gould: A Life Off Tempo, by Sandrine Revel (NBM)

March (Book Three), by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf)

Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir, by Tom Hart (St. Martin’s)

Tetris: The Games People Play, by Box Brown (First Second)

Best Graphic Album—New

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)

Black Dog: The Dreams of Paul Nash, by Dave McKean (Dark Horse)

Exits, by Daryl Seitchik (Koyama)

Mooncop, by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)

Patience, by Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics)

Wonder Woman: The True Amazon, by Jill Thompson (DC Comics)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

Demon, by Jason Shiga (First Second)

Incomplete Works, by Dylan Horrocks (Alternative)

Last Look, by Charles Burns (Pantheon)

Meat Cake Bible, by Dame Darcy (Fantagraphics)

Megg and Mogg in Amsterdam and Other Stories, by Simon Hanselmann (Fantagraphics)

She’s Not into Poetry, by Tom Hart (Alternative)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

Equinoxes, by Cyril Pedrosa, translated by Joe Johnson (NBM)

Irmina, by Barbara Yelin, translated by Michael Waaler (SelfMadeHero)

Love: The Lion, by Frédéric Brémaud and Federico Bertolucci (Magnetic)

Moebius Library: The World of Edena, by Jean “Moebius” Giraud et al. (Dark Horse)

Wrinkles, by Paco Roca, translated by Erica Mena (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)

Goodnight Punpun, vols. 1–4, by Inio Asano, translated by JN PRoductions (VIZ Media)

orange: The Complete Collection, vols. 1–2, by Ichigo Takano, translated by Amber Tamosaitis, adaptation by Shannon Fay (Seven Seas)

The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime, by Toshio Ban and Tezuka Productions, translated by Frederik L. Schodt (Stone Bridge Press)

Princess Jellyfish, vols. 1–3, by Akiko Higashimura, translated by Sarah Alys Lindholm (Kodansha)

Wandering Island, vol. 1, by Kenji Tsuruta, translated by Dana Lewis (Dark Horse)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips (at least 20 years old)

Almost Completely Baxter: New and Selected Blurtings, by Glen Baxter (NYR Comics)

Barnaby, vol. 3, by Crockett Johnson, edited by Philip Nel and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)

Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, Colorful Cases of the 1930s, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)

The Realist Cartoons, edited by Paul Krassner and Ethan Persoff (Fantagraphics)

Walt & Skeezix 1931–1932, by Frank King, edited by Jeet Heer and Chris Ware (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books (at least 20 Years Old)

The Complete Neat Stuff, by Peter Bagge, edited by Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)

The Complete Wimmen’s Comix, edited by Trina Robbins, Gary Groth, and J. Michael Catron (Fantagraphics)

Fables and Funnies, by Walt Kelly, compiled by David W. Tosh (Dark Horse)

Trump: The Complete Collection, by Harvey Kurtzman et al., edited by Denis Kitchen and John Lind (Dark Horse)

U.S.S. Stevens: The Collected Stories, by Sam Glanzman, edited by Drew Ford (Dover)

Best Writer

Ed Brubaker, Criminal 10th Anniversary Special, Kill or Be Killed, Velvet (Image)

Kurt Busiek, Astro City (Vertigo/DC)

Chelsea Cain, Mockingbird (Marvel)

Max Landis, Green Valley (Image/Skybound); Superman: American Alien (DC)

Jeff Lemire, Black Hammer (Dark Horse); Descender, Plutona (Image); Bloodshot Reborn (Valiant)

Brian K. Vaughan, Paper Girls, Saga (Image)

Best Writer/Artist

Jessica Abel, Trish Trash: Roller Girl of Mars (Papercutz/Super Genius)

Box Brown, Tetris: The Games People Play (First Second)

Tom Gauld, Mooncop (Drawn & Quarterly)

Tom Hart, Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir (St. Martin’s)

Sonny Liew, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (Pantheon)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

Mark Brooks, Han Solo (Marvel)

Dan Mora, Klaus (BOOM! Studios)

Greg Ruth, Indeh (Grand Central Publishing)

Francois Schuiten, The Theory of the Grain of Sand (IDW)

Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)

Brian Stelfreeze, Black Panther (Marvel)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

Federico Bertolucci, Love: The Lion (Magnetic)

Brecht Evens, Panther (Drawn & Quarterly)

Manuele Fior, 5,000 km per Second (Fantagraphics)

Dave McKean, Black Dog (Dark Horse)

Sana Takeda, Monstress (Image)

Jill Thompson, Wonder Woman: The True Amazon (DC); Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In (Dark Horse)

Best Cover Artist (for multiple covers)

Mike Del Mundo, Avengers, Carnage, Mosaic, The Vision (Marvel)

David Mack, Abe Sapien, BPRD Hell on Earth, Fight Club 2, Hellboy and the BPRD 1953 (Dark Horse)

Sean Phillips, Criminal 10th Anniversary Special, Kill or Be Killed (Image)

Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)

Sana Takeda, Monstress (Image)

Best Coloring

Jean-Francois Beaulieu, Green Valley (Image/Skybound)

Elizabeth Breitweiser, Criminal 10th Anniversary Special, Kill or Be Killed, Velvet (Image); Outcast by Kirkman & Azaceta (Image/Skybound)

Sonny Liew, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (Pantheon)

Laura Martin, Wonder Woman (DC); Ragnorak (IDW); Black Panther (Marvel)

Matt Wilson, Cry Havoc, Paper Girls, The Wicked + The Divine (Image); Black Widow, The Mighty Thor, Star-Lord (Marvel)

Best Lettering

Dan Clowes, Patience (Fantagraphics)

Brecht Evens, Panther (Drawn & Quarterly)

Tom Gauld, Mooncop (Drawn & Quarterly)

Nick Hayes, Woody Guthrie (Abrams)

Todd Klein, Clean Room, Dark Night, Lucifer (Vertigo/DC); Black Hammer (Dark Horse)

Sonny Liew, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (Pantheon)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

The A.V. Club comics coverage, including Comics Panel, Back Issues, and Big Issues, by Oliver Sava et al., www.avclub.com

Comic Riffs blog, by Michael Cavna and David Betancourt, www.washingtonpost.com/new/comic-riffs/

Critical Chips, edited by Zainab Akhtar (Comics & Cola)

PanelPatter.com, edited by Rob McMonigal

WomenWriteAboutComics.com, edited by Megan Purdy and Claire Napier

Best Comics-Related Book

blanc et noir: takeshi obata illustrations, by Takeshi Obata (VIZ Media)

Ditko Unleashed: An American Hero, by Florentino Flórez and Frédéric Manzano (IDW/Editions Déesse)

Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White, by Michael Tisserand (Harper)

The Life and Legend of Wallace Wood, vol. 1, edited by Bhob Stewart and J. Michael Catron (Fantagraphics)

More Heroes of the Comics, by Drew Friedman (Fantagraphics)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work

Brighter Than You Think: Ten Short Works by Alan Moore, with essays by Marc Sobel (Uncivilized)

Forging the Past: Set and the Art of Memory, by Daniel Marrone (University Press of Mississippi)

Frank Miller’s Daredevil and the Ends of Heroism, by Paul Young (Rutgers University Press)

Pioneering Cartoonists of Color, by Tim Jackson (University Press of Mississippi)

Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation, by Carolyn Cocca (Bloomsbury)

Best Publication Design

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, designed by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)

The Complete Wimmen’s Comix, designed by Keeli McCarthy (Fantagraphics)

Frank in the Third Dimension, designed by Jacob Covey, 3D conversions by Charles Barnard (Fantagraphics)

The Realist Cartoons, designed by Jacob Covey (Fantagraphics)

Si Lewen’s Parade: An Artist’s Odyssey, designed by Art Spiegelman (Abrams)

Best Webcomic

Bird Boy, by Anne Szabla, http://bird-boy.com

Deja Brew, by Taneka Stotts and Sara DuVall (Stela.com)

Jaeger, by Ibrahim Moustafa (Stela.com)

The Middle Age, by Steve Conley, steveconley.com/the-middle-age

On Beauty, by Christina Tran,  sodelightful.com/comics/beauty/

Best Digital Comic

Bandette - Paul Tobin & Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain/comiXology)

Edison Rex, by Chris Roberson and Dennis Culver (Monkeybrain/comiXology)

Helm, by Jehanzeb Hasan and Mauricio Caballero, www.crookshaw.com/helm/

On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden, www.onasunbeam.com

Universe!, by Albert Monteys (Panel Syndicate)

Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award

Comicazi, Robert Howard, David Lockwood, Michael Burke. Somerville, MA

[writeforsoreeyes]

This Month’s Reads - March

March got away from me, but I didn’t forget! Here’s this month’s reads.

highlights: We Were Eight Years in Power, Tash Hearts Tolstoy, Kase-san and Cherry Blossoms, Emergency Contact

[image description: the covers for the books listed below]

10 Dance vol 1 & 2 (Inouesatoh, translator: Karhys)

The sad truth is that most BL that makes it stateside is about students -- usually high school, sometimes college. So it’s always refreshing when something about Adults With Jobs gets translated. And as someone who is a passionate fan of sports/competition anime, I was especially excited to dig into this series about the world of ballroom dancing.

These two volumes are a strong start, although not exactly what I expected. It’s interesting to watch Sugiki and Suzuki dance around each other-- literally and figuratively. With their clashing personalities and styles, they definitely create a lot of friction and sparks with each other. Something about the pacing feels off to me though; I’ll be patient and keep reading to see how it develops.

We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy (Ta-Nehisi Coates)

Coates has been doing some of the most important writing of the last decade. I’d read a few of the articles collected in this book before, so some of the material was already familiar to me. However, his notes preceding each essay added an additional dimension to the contents. It was fascinating to see how his feelings had changed on the articles he’d written, as well as the subjects.

The Obama administration ran from age 16 to 24 for me, so a lot of how I perceive politics was shaped indirectly or directly by it. It was moving to read Coates’ thoughts both on the presidency and some of the biggest issues of modern times. In particular, “The Case for Reparations” should be required reading.

[image description: the covers for the books listed below]

Tash Hearts Tolstoy (Kathryn Ormsbee)

Tash is passionate about two things: Leo Tolstoy and directing. She’s combined her two interests into a single project, a low-budget web series adaptation of Anna Karenina. Suddenly it becomes hugely popular-- and that, of course, is when her troubles begin.

I picked up this book expecting to only relate to Tash’s asexuality. However, I surprised to see a lot of my teenage self in Tash’s struggles to continue her creative project as its audience swelled. What if people are disappointed with the next update? How do you handle having so many eyes on your work? I went through a similar experience in high school, though on a smaller scale. (For the record though, her asexuality was handled really well.)

What Makes You Beautiful (Bridget Liang)

This month’s transreading!

Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart (Syundei, translator: Amber Tamosaitis)

Terumichi witnesses Yamada (the boy he’s crushing on) get brutally murdered. That’s bad enough, but then Yamada rises and walks away from the scene of the crime. It turns out that Yamada is the reincarnation of a murderer, cursed to be killed by the reincarnations of the nine boys he killed -- and Terumichi is one of them.

Total Eclipse has an intriguing premise, but the real horror of the story is the genuine love Terumichi/his past avatar had for Yamada/his past avatar. It’s grim, twisted tale about the terrible depths love can reach and how we can -- or can’t -- reconcile ourselves with those depths. I really wished the story had been at least 3 volumes instead of 1.

[image description: the covers for the books listed below]

Kase-san and Cherry Blossoms (Hiromi Takashima, translator: Jocelyne Allen)

Pleased to say that Kase-san and… continues to be one of the best yuri series currently coming out in the States. I was concerned that this would be the final volume, but it seems the series is ongoing? We might be in for a long wait until volume 6 though.

Yamada worries about getting into the university she’s aiming for. She wants to go to school in Tokyo, like Kase. Fortunately, Yamada does get into her chosen university and the couple continues their happy relationship in the big city. Since so much of yuri is confined to the high school years (with the implied “you’ll grow out of liking girls”), it’s an utter delight to see the couple taking this step forward together.

Emergency Contact (Mary H.K. Choi)

I checked this book out primarily because the cover design was so good and it paid me back well. With a strong sense of both character voice and setting, Emergency Contact rises above your typical “first semester of college” YA book. Penny and Sam both leap from page one as fully formed people, fleshed out with numerous quirks, flaws, and anxieties.

I related to both of the main character’s twisted relationships with their parents, as well as to the frustration that came with trying to work on their art while their life spiraled around them. Also, I really want to visit Austin now. Definitely worth reading if you’re into contemporary romances with a bit of bite to them.

Roadqueen: Eternal Roadtrip to Love (Mira Ong Chua)

Fake dating. Motorcycles. Lesbians. An absolutely ridiculous plot. I wasn’t expecting Roadqueen to be as silly as it was, but I’m glad it surprised me. While there is some genuine heart to the story and a few sad moments, this comic is primarily a campy romp.

Leo is popular with the girls, but more concerned with her motorcycle Bethany than committing to a relationship. Then the mysterious Vega shows up, steals Bethany, and tells Leo that she’ll return the bike if Leo can prove she is a “decent lesbian” within a week. I never really bought that Leo wanted a serious relationship with anyone, but it seems beside the point to question of the plot of something that’s clearly more about humor than logic.

[image description: the covers for the books listed below]

Shout Out Loud! 1 - 5 (Satosumi Takaguchi, translator: unlisted)

This month’s BL LookBack!

[tinynavajoreads]

Tiny Navajo Reads: Orange

Orange: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1 by Ichigo Takano, translated by Lasse Christian Christiansen, and Amber Tamosaitis.  ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

*Published January 26, 2016*

This manga volume was brought to my attention thanks to one of my friends, who has already read and rated it on Goodreads. Once I saw that she had rated it relatively high for her, I had to read through its blurb to see what it was…