The Sunday Spotlight: The ‘Why Are You Pink Again Today?’ Edition

Oh yes, it’s Sunday once more, so it must be time for me to take you through a little look-see at a few bits of comics news that caught my eye. It’s the Sunday Spotlight … shall we begin?

Neill Cameron’s Donut Squad gets more acclaim, but be sure to catch up with his Mega-Robo Bros as well …

You should know Neill Cameron‘s work, as it’s bloody good. Creator of Mega-Robo Bros and Donut Squad, frequent contributor to the Phoenix Comic, and a fine gent at that.

Events he’ll be at this year include the Edinburgh International Book Festival this summer:

“Doing a big Donut-related solo show on Saturday 22nd August, and then on Sunday 23 August a smaller How To Make Awesome Comics workshop and what should be a really fun Penguins Vs Donuts draw-off event with the brilliant Laura Ellen Anderson.”

Then there’s October’s Bath Children’s Literature Festival for “a big SPECTACULAR Phoenix Comic Books Draw-Off, which I think should be incredibly fun. Tickets available now!”

Anyway, be sure to subscribe to his newsletter thingy here, where he’s chronicling The Mega Robo Chronicles … where, in addition to all the greatness of his MRB series, something I’ve told you plenty about in the past, he’s showing you the missing strips that were never collected, events happening between Books 7 & 8. They’re all quite wonderful, as you’d expect. Catch up with the Story So Far: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6.

Gosh! Comics Presents Their Summer Kids Festival – Saturday 1 August

Something really cool happening at Gosh1 Comics London next weekend, as they welcome four massive names in the world of kids comics for a day of signings. Well worth heading into London, dripping wet with sweat in the 60% humidity of a great British summer.

Comix Experience’s July Graphic Novel Club picks are in …

As you’ve come to expect from me by now, I’m all in on Comix Experience as a great comic shop. And their Graphic Novel Club is a wonderful source of pretty much guaranteed excellent reading. So, every month, I’ll be sharing their picks with you – and you should really pick them up. Better yet, head to their shop or their website and sign up.

Their Adult Club pick for July is Mark Mosedale and Si Smith‘s GIGS.

“A.I. took the work. Gigs replaced jobs. Ordinary people are left to scrape together lives in a world that’s no longer built for them. These are their stories. In a frighteningly near future where Basic Income is supplemented by gig work assigned by “the app” an octogenarian punk and a lonely young worker seek escape through music. A street artist makes art by night and paints over it by day. A has-been detective chases a case into a forgotten world. A drug runner makes a long, strange delivery. A writer marks her days on a decaying space station she can’t leave. And a refugee asks for help in the last free place.”

This is looking like a great, great book, full of ‘biting satire and humanistic passion,’ where two Brit creators pull together six different tales into one fabulous-looking graphic novel.

The Comix Experience Kids Club pick for July is Jen Xu and Kate Rhodes‘s Haven and the Fallen Giants.

“A shining city in the desert. A legendary giant asleep for years. A poor outcast girl who is determined to survive. All three come together to create a fantastical and stunningly illustrated adventure that encompasses revenge, loyalty, prejudice, and love.

“Legend says that giants once roamed the skies. When one fell to Earth, a great city called Raqmu arose from its remains—great if you happen to live in the city, that is. For Haven, an outcast living in the desert outside Raqmu, life is only about survival: sleeping in a shanty, scrounging for food, and fighting others for mere drops of water. However, she refuses to give in to hopelessness—Haven is a resourceful tinkerer who sneaks in and out of Raqmu to find spare parts for building gizmos that make life a little easier for herself and her guardian, Yassu. One night, while scavenging the city’s restricted junkyard, Haven uncovers a mysterious relic. Before she gets a chance to inspect it, the city’s Guardians come after her! As Haven tears through the back alleys, she’s helped along in her escape by Lan, a wealthy city girl who’s seen how cruelly the Guardians treat Outsiders. Together, she and Haven form an unlikely bond—one that becomes dangerous when the Guardians track them down . . . and when Haven unwittingly awakens a sleeping giant with her stolen relic.”

As is normal, Comix Experience will be interviewing all involved with the GN Club picks, with the interviews posted to the Comix Experience socials and YouTube at some point in the future.

YAY! — The unexpected but very welcome return of Dan Berry’s Make It Then Tell Everybody podcast …

Well, that was a surprise — after bringing his excellent Make it Then Tell Everybody podcast to a close in 2023, great comics maker and comics thinker Dan Berry has brought it back. A few years off have done him good, and it’s great to hear that we’re back to MITTE goodness for your ears and brain. Three new episodes up already – Michael Lark, Georgina Chadderton, and CROM. Essential listening.

More details on the podcast here, where I reported on its end back in 2023. More on Dan’s work here. Obviously, go and subscribe to the podcast where you usually do – links here. And of course, you can, and should, go and drop Dan a tip to say thanks for bringing it back here and support the Patreon here.

Reminder — Rachael Smith’s new webcomic, MUGSHOT, launches 1 August…

I do love Rachael Smith‘s work. Have done since I first saw it way back in 2013. Since then, she’s published some amazing works, things that challenge you, impress you, amaze you. So, anything new is always high on my list of must-read.

Her latest thing is a new webcomic, Mughsots, that I know I’m going to love. And I reckon you will too.