The Sunday Spotlight: The ‘I Have Tarried With You Long Enough’ Edition
by Richard Bruton
Yes, it’s the return of The Sunday Spotlight, our regular end-of-the-week quick-fire round-up of all that’s good in comics news …
Okay, so we missed a week last week … what can I say, sometimes the whole stuff just gets on top of the poor writer, and things have to get missed. I promise not to do it again … well, for at least a while. Honest!
Bryan Talbot was interviewed about his brilliant The Tale Of One Bad Rat …
When you’re thinking of the genius that is Bryan Talbot, it’s all too easy to concentrate on Luther Arkwright, one of the seminal British sci-fi series, a magnum opus, a vital work. But The Tale Of One Bad Rat, first published in 1994, is perhaps my favourite of his works. It’s quieter, more restrained, more emotional, more heartfelt, and just a beautiful piece of work, dealing with sexual abuse, Beatrix Potter, and, more than anything else, hope.
Well, if you’d like to find out more about this wonderful book, The Hindsight have an interview with Talbot all about it, quite a lovely read …
‘In 1994, Bryan Talbot published a graphic novel that would challenge the idea of what comics are capable of. The Tale of One Bad Rat’s depiction of a young woman escaping sexual abuse showed how the medium could tackle serious issues with care, sensitivity and imagination. More than 30 years later, he still receives messages from survivors who say the book helped them.’
The Comics Beat interviews Dan Abnett — on Sinister Dexter, Azimuth, and puns …
Another good interview for your reading now, as Mike Donachie over at The Comics Beat talks to one of my favourite writers, Dan Abnett, about his long career, being rather prolific, and in particular Sinister Dexter and Azimuth. And puns, of course.
Teaser for Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Criminal TV Series released by Amazon…
Coming in January 2027 on Amazon Prime Video, Criminal is an adaptation of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips‘ brilliant series of books from Image Comics. Brubaker’s acting as co-showrunner on the series, so we’re hoping for something very good.
Jamie Smart’s Bunny Vs Monkey gets something special in Google…
How do you know when you’ve arrived? Well, I’d say being a million-selling author is one of them, as Jamie Smart can quite rightly call himself. His Bunny Vs Monkey books and his Looshkin books and his Fishhead Steve books and his Mega-Lo Maniacs books and his … well, you get the idea. Successful indeed. His latest Bunny Vs Monkey volume, ‘Day of the Heroes’, Book 12 in the series, was published in October, and his work can be found every week in The Phoenix Comic.
But there are some accolades that are rarer, and getting a custom Google search with a fun little game is one of them …
Gosh! Comics London presents a load of signings in advance of Thought Bubble…
In the lead-up to Thought Bubble Comics Festival and Convention, kicking off on 9th November and ending with the 2-day convention on 14th & 15th November, all happening in Harrogate, Gosh! Comics in London, one of the truly great comic shops in the world, has a veritable host of signings for you this coming week.
Wednesday 11th November – Raul Allen, currently doing very nice things with Doctor Strange. Thursday 12th November, a triple signing day with Adam De Souza, Karl Stevens and Mahdi Khene.
Oh, and if you’re wondering whether Thought Bubble is worth heading to, just take a look at the line-up of guests. And that’s not to mention the hundreds of comic creators and companies exhibiting during the weekend. Seriously, if you get the chance to go, GO!
And finally, Art Spiegelman, seriously? AI? Really?
You should know my take on AI by now, same as Comicon’s take on AI. In short, F*ck AI, it’s theft, pure and simple. It takes imagery created by genuine artists, churns it, scrapes it, steals it, and then presents it to those lazy enough to use it as something new. And that’s not even getting into the environmental damage. Basically, we say no to AI. We always will.
So imagine seeing that Art Spiegelman, acclaimed author, innovator, brilliant artist, basically said that, ‘I couldn’t be bothered to come up with something new for a reissue of In The Shadow Of No Towers, so I used AI,’ is horribly disappointing, to say the least.
Seriously? Lazy is no excuse. Once more, F*ckAI.