The Sunday Spotlight – The ‘Sleep Is A Waste Of Time’ Edition
by Richard Bruton
Welcome once more to your little round-up of comics news I noticed this week — it’s the Sunday Spotlight …
Good news department — Roberta Gregory’s Bitchy might not have been a casualty of the Iran War after all…
Back in March, the Sunday Spotlight (me) reported that Roberta Gregory‘s much looked-forward to new omnibus collection of her Naughty Bits comics — Bitchy: The Exasperating Existence of Midge McCracken — had been caught up on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, hit by a missile, and the contents possibly lost, including the entire print run of the Fantagraphics published book.
Well, thankfully, it seems this was a little wrong. As Roberta says at her Facebook:
‘OK, here’s the BITCHY! latest, from Eric at Fantagraphics….with a lot of help from an NPR reporter who decided to investigate… and found out the container was on the ship stuck in Hormuz and reportedly fired upon, but the books were never in it! They were still in India all this time. So all that hoopla earlier was based on misinformation from somewhere in the chain of command that became an exciting but erroneous news item.’
So, all that means that the books are still delayed, taking the way longer route around the Cape of Good Hope, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it could have been.
Now, obviously, this is a good thing for Roberta and for Fantagraphics. Also, for all of us who loved the series and are looking forward to getting our hands on this one. But it’s just one glimmer of good news in a war that’s killed so many already, both those fighting and innocents caught up in it all. And we just echo Roberta’s words as a sign off – ‘So let’s all hope real good, not just for cargo going from there to here, but an end to this stupid war!’
Paul Gravett’s PG Tips for April — another great source of great books to buy…
Paul Gravett, the fabled ‘Man at the crossroads,’ according to Eddie Campbell, runner of the Fast Fiction table at the legendary Westminster comic marts in the 80s, publisher of Escape magazine with Peter Stanbury back in the early to mid 80s, and a man long connected with so much intelligent comics journalism.
Well, every month, he published his ‘PG Tips,’ a collection of books coming in that month that he reckons are worth a look. And you know what, he’s very rarely wrong. Over the years, I’ve found so many great reads from what Paul recommends, so it was long past time I shared them with you. The latest PG Tips is up right now for April. Highlights include the latest from the wonderful Lizzy Stewart, The Wreck, published by Jonathan Cape, and poet, performer and director Saul Williams‘ foray into comics wth artist/collaborator Morgan Sorne on Martyr Loser King, published by Macmillan. Plus new works by Gemma Correll, Michael DeForge, and Seth. Oh, and then there’s the new book from Gary Northfield, much-loved round these parts for his Derek The Sheep, who brings us Mighty Mega Pets: Freaky Food Fiasco, coming out from Walker Books. A guaranteed laugh fest for you and your kids from a master cartoonist who truly deserves far wider recognition.
Macc-Pow! 2026 announces its guests, including James Kolchaka…
Another great British comics festival, Macc-Pow! is another comics-focused convention/festival, with a hell of a lot of people singing its praises as a great little festival that’s getting bigger and better each year.
This year’s Macc Pow! takes place in Macclesfield (of course) on 25th-28th June, with the very special highlight and star guest of James Kolchaka (American Elf, SuperF*ckers, Johnny Boo, Monkey vs Robot, and so much more) alongside an impressive array of comics guests already announced. More details on the website.
InQ! — London’s Queer Comic Fair returns on September …
A whole weekend of queer comics happening in London over 26th-2th7 September 2026, with the return of InQ! Happening at the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre, it’s going to be packed with comics and zines, free entry, and family-friendly.
The call for exhibitors went out on 6 April, so if you reckon your comics and zines will be a good fit, get in touch with them at their website.
And Finally – New From Eddie Campbell — Sometime??? …
Okay, well this is a bit of a mystery even to me. Somewhere, somehow, I screenshotted this bit of art below that seems to be promising a brand-new Eddie Campbell book. This is, of course, a great bit of news.
Except I have no reference for it, no notes attached, and I can’t, for the life of me, find anything online about it at all. Eddie’s own website, nothing, his socials … nope. I mean, perhaps it’s me? Perhaps I’m dreaming these things and manifesting them so much that they pop up on my computer like this?
Anyone got any idea?
From the notes on the piece, it’s a new Eddie Campbell book, The Arts Of Eddie Campbell, Comicker. Published by Nick Neocleous’ Moonage Books. Assuming I haven’t magically conjured this up from dreams, it’s a must-buy. 10,000 words of Eddie Campbell blather is always worth reading. More info as and when I get it.
