Sunday Spotlight: This Week’s Stuff And Nonsense In Comics Land

Welcome to Sunday Spotlight, a round-up of things I noticed in the wonderful world of comics this week…

 

Well, you seemed to enjoy last week’s debut Sunday Spotlight and the editors didn’t find anything that was likely to get the site taken down – so we’re back with Sunday Spotlight Week 2.

Again, it’s a regular look at all the stuff I noticed and didn’t get round to posting about in the week. So that will be links, news, art, announcements, new stuff, interesting oddments… pretty much anything as long as it’s got something to do with comics.

So, welcome once more to The Sunday Spotlight…

 

 

Asterix and the White Iris – Tell me again how comics aren’t successful anymore?

The new Asterix album, number 40, Asterix and the White Iris, publishes on 26th Oct 2023 but we’re already seeing images from it. In The White Iris, the Romans are adopting a strange new philosophy that promotes kindness and healthy living. And when its enchanting influence reaches the Gauls, it divides Asterix’s small village into factions for and against the new way of thinking.

It’s got an initial print run of five million and the total sales should head up to nine, 10 million with further print runs. And it’s been like that for decades. So, as I always respond when the naysayers tell me that comics are dying, I point out that, no, some branches of comics are seeing sales fall. But the real mainstream of comics, the mainstream that includes Asterix and Dog Man, Manga and Euro comics, well they’re doing just fine thank you.

Even with the passing of creators Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, a new book is released every couple of years in France, now written by Fabcaro, a new writer of the series, and drawn by Didier Conrad, very much in the style of the originals.

And, of course, in translation, it will find millions of readers in Europe, the UK, Australia, India, and many, many more countries around the world. English-speaking readers will have two translations to choose from – a British English version from Sphere translated by Adriana Hunter and an American English version from Mad Cave/Papercutz translated by Joe Johnson.

And speaking of a healthy comics scene – Broken Frontier reflects on Small Press Day

Andy Oliver and Broken Frontier take a look back at the recent Small Press Day – and what a resounding success it was this year (and every year).

Now, I featured it here a little and was meaning to go deeper into it, but having the wife in hospital with meningitis (all better now, thank you) sort of put paid to plans of writing for a couple of weeks! However, Andy does a great round-up of the day and its successes at Broken Frontier – a great site that you should go visit (after us of course).

Self-published and small-publisher books are way different from the million-selling Asterix of course, but they do feed into the incredible strength and diversity of comics as an art form – a medium way too easily pigeonholed by some as one where superhero comics are the mainstream. Simply put, they’re not. Not in sales, not in readership, not in style, not in numbers, not in history. The real mainstream embraces all genres, all styles, all levels – and that’s what makes the ninth art, comics, so strong.

JAM Bookshop & David Ziggy Greene need your help + Will Eisner Exhibition

Cartoonist and founder of Small Press Day and now owner of a great London bookshop, David Ziggy Greene‘s JAM Bookshop needs your help. Times are tough for small independent bookshops and getting tougher. And David’s JAM is one of the best. So, order some books, support his crowdfunder here, and together we can ensure that this one stays open to deliver some great events, including the forthcoming Will Eisner exhibition…

Stephen Collins on The Women’s World Cup 2023 – Shut up Brian – And come on you Lionesses!

Stephen Collins‘ latest Guardian strip hits the nail on the head when it comes to the Women’s World Cup, something we’ve all been enjoying at Bruton Mansions (Dudley and Pocklington departments). It truly has been a wonderful tournament with some incredible matches. We’ve seen thrills, we’ve seen shocks, and we’ve seen England’s Lionesses progress to the final, something, let’s not forget, the men’s team haven’t managed since 1966. The final against Spain takes place Sunday, a final I’ll be watching intently and not updating this Sunday Spotlight with the winner.

But we’ve also had to suffer the usual bollocks from male sports fans about it all. And Stephen Collins, great cartoonist that he is, absolutely nails it when it comes to the bollocks spouted by a certain part of the population…

Joe Decie puts up a new comic…

Yes, sometimes the stuff on the Sunday Spotlight might just be me highlighting a damn fine artist and some new work. Case in point, Joe Decie, a damn fine artist…

Oops  – missed this one – Philip Bond’s Angst Farm

Y’know, if I’d have mentioned this one last week, you could have taken advantage of Philip Bond and Shelly Bond of Off Register Press offering this new Angst Farm zine for whatever you wanted to pay, from absolutely nothing.

However, don’t beat yourself (or me) up too much. It’s still yours for two bucks right now, well worth it if only for seeing an updated Wired World page, giving you the 1989 original and the 2023 version. And don’t even get me started with why the hell there’s never been a Wired World collection.

And of course, whilst you’re there, there’s a bloody great selection of comics and graphic novels at the site. Anyway, here’s the PR blurb for Angst Farm:

“Fed up with everyone else dumping their existentialist dread on you? Why not sit back and relax with a trip to the ANGST FARM? This zine collects illustrations, short comix, and various other crises new and old, including a revist to 1989’s Wired World. 20 black-and-white pages. Assembed over a long weekend in honor of UK Small Press Day.”

Neill Cameron unveils Bagel Brigade…

From Neill Cameron’s newsletter (which you can and should sign up to here), comes news of the latest bit of daftness that we’ll be seeing from him in the pages of the ever-excellent Phoenix Comic every week.

He’s already introduced us to The Donut Squad, but now we have a new comic, albeit on a familiar theme… The Bagel Batallion!

This from Neill:

“Is this whole pile of actual nonsense the silliest thing I have ever been involved with? Yes, absolutely! Has it been one of the most fun experiences of my professional career to date? ALSO YES. Read Donut Squad AND Bagel Battalion every week in The Phoenix!”

And next month, Neill’s doing another live online digital event with The Phoenix, called Donuts Vs Bagels: Live! with tickets available right now. Plus, he’ll be doing an Ultimate Comics Battle with Jamie Smart, at Conway Hall in London on 30 September. (Tickets here.)

Happy Birthday Sláine – 40 years old this week

Created by Pat Mills and Angela Kincaid, who designed the character and drew the very first episode, Sláine first appeared in the pages of 2000 AD Prog #330, cover dated 20th August 1983. (Yes, I know that cover dates don’t always mean much, especially with Brit comics, but let’s just go with it for a simple life, eh?)

It’s a saga that lasted almost four decades, the tale of Sláine the warrior and his unscrupulous dwarf companion Ukko. It would take in so many ideas of Celtic mythology and magic, with the pages filled with the art from a magnificent series of artist including Massimo Belardinelli, Mike McMahon, Glenn Fabry, David Pugh, Simon Bisley, Clint Langley, and Simon Davis, before ending with Leonardo Manco’s art for the recent Dragontamer. But, as it should be – here’s Angela Kincaid’s art for that first appearance…

 

And finally… Kieron Gillen got his luggage back…

You’ll know the saga of the lost luggage by now if you subscribe to Kieron’s newsletter. And if you don’t, here’s the link to rectify that mistake right now.

Writer of Phonogram, Journey into Mystery, Young Avengers, and more recently rather a lot of X-Men titles, Kieran’s newsletter is packed full of news, art, comics, and other stuff.

Anyway, after a recent… issue or two with losing luggage after being abroad for conventions, let’s end with this bit of sunshine on a cloudy day…