The Sunday Spotlight: The ‘Mummy Did A Poo!’ Edition
by Richard Bruton
It’s The Sunday Spotlight, your weekly round-up of comics cultural stuff I’ve seen…
Well, last week went missing. And so did the Sunday Spotlight. I could rattle off a list of things that managed to get in the way of me doing it – and it would be a long, long list – but let’s just put that behind us, hope that this week and next will be less fraught, and move on to the Sunday Spotlight goodness…
HELP PETER DAVID – SUPPORT THE GOFUNDME…
Acclaimed comics writer Peter David continues to suffer terrible (and expensive) medical issues. Graham Murphy is organising this fundraising appeal on behalf of Kathleen David and has this to say…
Again, only in America could this happen. Our sympathies to Peter and his family and we hope this GoFundMe helps in some way. And of course, our best wishes for his future health.
The GoFundMe is active here. Go donate.
HELP MIKE W BARR – SUPPORT THE GOFUNDME…
Another terrible story of a great comics writer, Mike W. Barr, suffering health issues and needing the comics community to step up and support him. Barr’s been a comics and book writer for his 50-year career, including hugely popular and influential series including Batman and the Outsiders, Batman: Son of the Demon, one of the best runs of Detective Comics, Camelot 3000, and The Maze Agency.
This from Dave Kellogg, who’s organising the GoFundMe appeal:
“Now, Mike needs our help. Over the past few years, Mike has suffered some catastrophic medical setbacks; starting with multiple knee replacement surgeries. While in the hospital recovering, he was infected with COVID and is still suffering the effects of Long COVID. After he was discharged from the hospital in March of 2024, he returned home. Unfortunately, his condition left Mike unsteady on his feet and caused him to fall, striking his head. Mike lay unconscious on the floor for four days until he was finally found, badly dehydrated and suffering from a serious concussion. Following that, Mike spent several months hospitalized and underwent more surgeries.
‘After being discharged again from the hospital, Mike continues to struggle with his health and needs additional physical therapy. Mike’s medical bills are mounting, far surpassing insurance limits, causing the shut-down of further therapy. Without more therapy treatments his overall health is in question. Mike now needs financial help to continue to fund his recovery and to secure his treatment. We are asking for Mike’s many friends and fans to help support him in his future treatment and recovery. Every dollar will go towards living expenses and medical bills that are not covered by insurance. Your generosity, no matter how big or small, will make a tremendous difference in helping Mike to regain his health.”
The GoFundMe is here – go donate.
HIGH VIS COMIC CON – HITTING THE STREETS OF KING’S HEATH, BIRMINGHAM, UK ON 21 JUNE – MORE GUESTS, MORE INFO…
Happening across the rather happening suburb of Birmingham, King’s Heath, on 21 June, High Vis Comic Con is taking shape and looking rather grand indeed.
In addition to the already announced John Wagner, Martin Simmonds, Charlie Adlard, and Laura Howell, there’s now news that you’ll be seeing Sonia Leong, Al Ewing, Paul McCaffrey, and Kev Sutherland joining the party.
(UPDATE: I’ve now announced even MORE guests: Phil Winslade [Lawless], Will Potter (Geezer/CUD), Caspar Winjgaard (The Power Fantasy) and Christian Ward (Batman: City iof Madness)- Olly MacNamee)
The event, run by Comicon’s very own Olly MacNamee, will be taking place across Kings Heath, with a handy map showing you just what you can expect – signings, exhibitors, charity auction, anime screenings, live music, retro gaming, after parties, and more to come.
Birmingham’s where I pretty much grew up in from the age of about 13 when I discovered Nostalgia & Comics (Now Worlds Apart). And it’s been too long since the city had a great comics show. If you fancy helping, it you fancy appearing, if you fancy exhibiting, get in touch a info.highviscomicon@gmail.com. And to follow what’s happening, follow on Insta @highvisccomicon or Facebook High Vis Festival.
THE COMICS JOURNAL REMEMBERS JULES FEIFFER…
I could have sworn I linked to this back in February when it was published, but no, seems I was mistaken. Anyway, following the death of comics legend and true genius of the line, Jules Feiffer, the Journal published a piece, Remembering Jules Feiffer, with contributions from the great and the good of comics, including Patrick McDonnell, Mimi Pond, Derf Backderf, Shannon Wheeler, Ruben Bolling, Liza Donnelly, Bob Fingerman, Danny Fingeroth, and many more.
From the final piece of the piece, here’s Paul Karasik‘s tribute, perfectly done…
ANGELA FANCHE’S ANGOULEME DIARY…
More from The Comics Journal now, with Angela Fanche, New York-based cartoonist and author of Me&Night (Cram Books, 2021), Performance of a Love Note (Entropy Editions, 2022), This Valentine’s Day (self published, 2023) and Memory Pl (featured in Outside Alive, published by Neoglyphic Media, 2024) headed to the world’s biggest comics festival, Angouleme.
The five-part comic reportage series can be found here. Here’s part 1…
ARTHUR WYATT & DOUGLAS WOLK AT BOOKS WITH PICTURES PORTLAND FOR JUDGE DREDD: A BETTER WORLD – 29 MARCH…
Another fabulous-looking and doing all things right comic shop to highlight now, Books With Pictures of Portland, OR. As they describe themselves on their site:
‘We are here for everyone, and especially: queer folks, Black folks, indigenous folks, latinx folks, AAPI folks, women, neurodivergent folks, people with disabilities, and all of our amazing neighbors.’ Sounds great, and from the pics and the details on the site, looks great as well.
Anyway, they’ve got a special signing and launch event for Judge Dredd: A Better World, with co-writer Arthur Wyatt and comics critic Douglas Wolk appearing on 29 March for what they’re calling, brilliantly, ‘How to survive the next four years by reading Judge Dredd.’
2000 AD’S CREATOR TAPES PODCAST LAUNCHES WITH SIMON BISLEY IN A TWO-PART DEBUT…
A huge name in comics, Simon Bisley, is the first guest on the brand-new The 2000 AD Creator Tapes – the third of the new podcast series from the 2000 AD Thrill-Cast. The first part is a good hour and a half of chat between 2000 AD’s Mike Molcher and the Biz, covering all manner of goodies. Part two will go live on 29 April 2025.
It’s a great way to kick things off for this new pod, go subscribe right now.
PAUL RAINEY’S MUCH-DESERVED SUPER COUPLE OF YEARS CONTINUES…
After being a mainstay of Brit comics for decades, Paul Rainey‘s work is finally getting all the attention and accolades it deserves. We had his 2020 win for The Observer/Cape/Comica Graphic Short Fiction prize, the 2023 publication by Drawn & Quarterly of the brilliant Why Don’t You Love Me, followed by the news that WDYLM had been optioned by A25 for a movie starring and produced by Jennifer Lawrence. And now we have a chance for you to pick up the previously published There’s No Time Like The Present in a new Drawn & Quarterly edition (it was previously published in 2015 by Escape Books). You can find previews of both books here.
And, quite rightly, Rachel Cooke has made There’s No Time Like The Present The Guardian graphic novel of the month for March. Here’s what it’s all about…
If time travel existed, would you right societal wrongs or just watch future episodes of Doctor Who?
Paul B. Rainey’s There’s No Time Like the Present continues to upend grand science fiction gestures with a deep desire to understand the emotional lives of the common man (nerd). It’s a simple conceit: time travel is only possible between the invention of the necessary, functioning machinery and the day those machines are shut off. In that finite sliver of space-time, humanity schisms into those who defiantly refuse to look into the future, and those who reap the benefits of doing so. After all, what would you do if you accidentally found out for certain that you would still be working the same dead end job at the age of 70? What would you do if you could read every future issue of your favorite comic? Or if you traveled back in time and couldn’t afford to travel back? Would your life actually be that different? Can we admit that there might not be such a thing as free will? Is life just a series of denials of reality? Why does that one guy have horns?
Oh yes, all that and more. Both TNTLTP and WDYLM are true modern masterpieces and it’s been a real pleasure seeing Rainey get all of this well-deserved praise.
So, finally, here’s Rainey talking Why Don’t You Love Me on D&Q’s YouTube page from a couple of years ago. He should be talking about the reprint of There’s No Time Like The Present on there by the time this is published on Sunday.
