With Dominic out this week, Keith welcomes Troy-Jeffrey Allen as a special co-host on Hard NOC Life. They discuss Troy’s latest project, AfroFutures, a 17+ magazine collecting comics and articles that fall under the wide umbrella of Black speculative fiction — from sci-fi and fantasy to action, drama, and beyond.
Randall Park makes his directorial debut with Shortcomings! The film, which is officially in theaters, is based on the graphic novel by Adrian Tomine.
Continue reading “Randall Park on Connecting to the Story of His Directorial Debut, ‘Shortcomings’”
During the early aughts, indie comics were the only place to find Asian American stories by Asian American cartoonists. One of the biggest books to come out in that period was Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine. Now, a decade and a half later, that indie comic has been turned into an indie movie at Sony Pictures Classics in Randall Park’s directorial debut.
Continue reading “Adrian Tomine’s Classic Graphic Novel is Brought to Life in ‘Shortcomings’ Trailer”
We report in with our homework for our Yacht Rock project, and Jamie recounts his Small Press Expo food adventures!
Continue reading “FDI Cast 154: SPX Mofongo Your Own Way”
Technically, it’s Wednesday, but we record Tuesday. We continue our plans for our yacht rock band and Brando has things to say.
Continue reading “FDI Cast 153: It’s Tuesday, Lemon”
Have you been looking for ways to help people in Ukraine? Do you also like playing interesting and unique games from indie developers? Then Necrosoft Games have the perfect bundle for you. The Bundle for Ukraine is a itch.io bundle hosted by Necrosoft Games with content from 732 creators containing over 1,000 games, tabletop RPGs, books, and soundtracks aimed at helping the people in Ukraine through this tumultuous time of Russian forces invading their country: all at the starting price of $10 with the option to give more for the goal of raising $2 million.
Continue reading “‘Bundle for Ukraine’ is a Stellar Deal to Support a Great Cause”
There’s something oracular about Ray Fawkes’ One Line — the whole One Soul series, frankly — but this book particularly stretches the boundaries of sequential art and meta-comics, and reading it gives me the sense that as I turn the pages, the book is also reading me. You don’t need to have read One Soul or The People Inside to enjoy One Line, though it helps in appreciating the journey of the series’ experimental, multilinear form.
Continue reading “Ray Fawkes’ ‘One Line’ is a Visual Symphony”
Every so often there comes a comic that manages to pique my interest almost instantly. A book that catches my eye before I’m even finished with the first panel, let alone the first page.
That’s the case with Made in Korea, a new six-issue limited series written by Jeremy Holt and George Shall.
Continue reading “‘Made In Korea’ Review: Parents By Proxy”
Top Shelf Productions has announced Ballad for Sophie will be published in September.
When a young journalist prompts a reclusive musical superstar to finally break his silence, he pours out an astonishing saga of rivalry and regret, starring child prodigies and bitter old men, beautiful dancers and demonic managers, Nazi commandants, compassionate nuns, and lifesaving animals.
Continue reading “Top Shelf’s ‘Ballad for Sophie’ Coming September 2021”
One of my favorite parts of the Tony-Award winning Broadway musical Hadestown is the story of Patrick Page’s Hades and Amber Gray’s Persephone. Also, I’m always down for interesting reinterpretations of Greek myths. Now, one of the biggest webcomics on the internet, Punderworld, is coming to comic shops from fan-favorite creator Linda Šejić. Think of it as a kind of prequel to Hadestown.
Continue reading “Image Comics Goes Way Down to Hadestown with ‘Punderworld’ Graphic Novel”
As a comic book writer I have been fortunate enough to work for such incredible publishers as DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, Boom, Dynamite, and Lion Forge. I’ve also had the opportunity to write some of my favorite characters and work with some of the best artists in the business. Now it is time to embark on a new adventure… Solid Comix.
We have reached a crucial crossroads when it comes to diversity in comics, and I fear that if things don’t change, we will lose ground. It is not enough to demand diversity in comics, we must support what’s out there now, or there won’t be more in the future. Money talks, and those that want diversity in comics must learn to use the system currently in place, while also creating a new system of sales and promotion.
To that end, here are ten lessons in Comics & Diversity, via twitter.
Continue reading “10 Ways to Really Support Diversity in Comics”
Even though the Smithsonian’s CrossLines pop-up culture lab on intersectionality happened two months ago, we’ve been milking our live artist conversations ever since. Sadly, today marks the final live edition of Hard NOC Life, but it’s definitely worth the wait! Join acclaimed artists Matt Huynh and Yumi Sakugawa as they talk about their work and installations presented at the Smithsonian.
Continue reading “Artists Matt Huynh and Yumi Sakugawa Live From #CrossLines”
On the second day of the Smithsonian’s CrossLines pop-up culture lab on intersectionality, artist Robin Ha stopped by the NOC Reading Lounge to talk about her new book Cook Korean, which takes Korean recipes and presents them in a comic book format.
Continue reading “Comics, Culture, and Cooking with Robin Ha at #CrossLines”
King, the dystopian sci-fi adventure from Joshua Hale Fialkov, Bernard Chang, and Marcelo Maiolo, is now available in graphic novel form. And artist Bernard Chang wants to give you original art from the book!
Continue reading “Bernard Chang Wants to Give You Original King Art”
Over the years, we’ve been pretty selective about which crowdfunding campaigns to support on this site. Once in a while, though, a campaign comes through our inbox or news feed that is too brilliant to ignore. The campaign to publish the graphic novel Black is one of those. Created by long time comic pros Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3, with art by occasional NOC contributor Jamal Igle and cover artist Khary Randolph, Black posits the question, what if only Black people had superpowers?
Back in September, we tried to get you all hyped for the 21st annual Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD. One of the main reasons for that excitement was the (controversially named) “Black Art Matters” panel moderated by legendary cartoonist Keith Knight and featuring artists C. Spike Trotman, Whit Taylor, Ron Wimberly, and Darryl Ayo.
If you missed out on SPX this year, you can still see the panel in its entirety after the jump since the show organizers have just posted it online.
Paper Girls #1 is a finely crafted, unpredictable marvel. I haven’t been this hooked this instantaneously on a comic since maybe all the way back to Dark Knight Returns, or the first Eastman and Laird TMNT books, stuff I loved as a kid. Paper Girls gives me that kind of nostalgic sensation, like I’m in middle school again. But I was never as cool as these night-riding, shit-talking 12-year-olds.
Continue reading “The Happy Hour Review: Image Comics’ Paper Girls“
Yesterday, we published the first part of my sprawling interview with fantasy novelist and comic book writer Marjorie Liu. She was at New York Comic-Con promoting next month’s release of her first creator-owned comic for Image Monstress.
For the second half of our interview, I ask her about her previous career as a lawyer, how she decided to become a writer, and what it means to be a prominent Asian American in the media.
Continue reading “Knowing Our Passions: More with Marjorie Liu”
I spent this past weekend at New York Comic-Con. When I wasn’t manning the Epic Proportions booth, I was able to sneak away and meet with writer Marjorie Liu. She makes her long-awaited return to comics with Image Comics’ Monstress, reuniting her with X-23 artist Sana Takeda.
In the first part of this exclusive, wide-ranging interview, Marjorie and I discuss the origins of the book, her childhood obsession with the apocalypse, the influence of pre-World War II China, and what it was like reuniting with artist Sana Takeda.
Continue reading “Making Monstress: An Exclusive Conversation with Marjorie Liu”
Kearny Street Workshop, one of the oldest and well-known arts organization in the Asian Pacific American community, proudly presents APAture2015: Future Tense, a series of showcases featuring emerging artists from the San Francisco Bay Area.
On Saturday, October 10, the Comics & Illustration Showcase will feature a number of comic book artists. Below is a brief Q&A with Thi Bui, who is the featured artist at this year’s showcase.
Continue reading “APAture2015: Interview with Artist Thi Bui”
by Darryl Ayo
[Ed. Note: This essay originally appeared as a series of tweets on Darryl’s Twitter timeline.]
I’ve tried for years to draw black people as real characters as well as visibly dark; it’s expensive with screentones.
In less than 24 hours, the world’s best cartoonists and indie comics makers bring their talents to the DMV (that would be the DC-Maryland-Virginia area of the country, and not, alas, where you get your drivers’ license renewed) at the 21st annual Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD.
In addition to hosting esteemed guests like Noelle Stevenson, Scott McCloud, and C. Spike Trotman (among many others), SPX is also home to the Ignatz Awards and a venue for fans of the medium to support some of the hardest working artists in all of comics. After the cut, we’re going to highlight a few of the things we’re most excited to see this weekend.
Continue reading “Are You Ready for This Year’s Small Press Expo?”
