Dude, Where's My Update? #16
To be fair, I'm also not sure why I picked this Krazy Kat panel.
A short update this time around. I’m preparing for my annual trek to a Sci-Fi movie marathon. I didn’t want to leave y’all empty handed (inboxed? Whatever.) Next week I’ll be back with a review, maybe a column on my experiences with Neon Ichiban thus far, and then the week after, February’s Make Mine Multiversity.
Blogs to Recommend
As social media crunches us all into oblivion and I no longer have a central home for comics news and reviews, I’ve been itching to find new places to read. I’ve always been a reader, much more than a listener. I find joy in cascading down a waterfall of words far more than immersing in a pool of sounds. The slowness of verbal audio often makes me itchy and anxious. I can also read an article while at work, which is a huge boon.
It’s why I really don’t listen to any comics podcasts outside of the wonderful, and now sadly but understandably sporadic, Comics Syllabus. I know. Sacrilege. But it is what it is.
Anyway, there are two blogs I’ve been checking out more frequently. Both are on a weekly schedule like me, run by individuals in their spare time, which is also a mode I’ve been gravitating to of late (hmmmm, I wonder why…) The first is one I’d stumbled across years ago, forgot about, and rediscovered while looking for reviews: Manga Test Drive. An old-school blog - it’s on Blogger! - that’s likely been running since 2012.
Megan D
The other is Matt Reads Comics, by former Multiversity contributor, current The Beat contributor, and one of eight 2025 Comics Criticism Mini Grant winners, Matt Ledger. This one feels bloggier than Manga Test Drive, perhaps because Matt’s site doesn’t have a set structure or dedicated “this is for reviews” mandate. I’s coming out of whatever Matt feels like talking about this week, interspersed with thoughts and updates, though not quite daily journal-style.
Matt Reads Comics
Alright, I guess I should also plug Tiffany Babb’s newest venture “The Comics Staple” because it sounds very cool, is an excellent play on words, and because I’ve been loving the more criticism focused “The Comics Courier.” In fact, I was reminded of Matt’s blog because of the booklet of criticism sites I got through the last Kickstarter. It’s also all on newsprint, which I think is smart for keeping costs down and distribution easier.
I like that newsprint is making a comeback across the industry for specific projects. DC seems to be using a sturdier, hopefully acid-free version for their trades; Grell’s “Warlord” omnibus used this paper and oh my god it was so light! What a joy to have an omnibus not break your hand when you hold it. Bad Idea used it for “Cul-de-Sac” and the first issue of “Planet Death.” Sounds like “Assorted Crisis Events” has been taking advantage of it too.
The other advantage to newsprint is that it feels ephemeral in the same way a digital copy does. The weights are the same (not literally but mentally) and while there’s an argument to be made about the psychological effect of an “imperminent” medium being used for a project venerating the importance of thoughtful comics criticism, it also helps it stand astride, say, The Comics Journal and put a stake in the ground. Plus, it’s got games. Who doesn’t love games?
“The Comics Courier” is doing what Babb does best: dive to the root of pop-culture and explore comics as the populist medium it is. Discussions of how Keigo Shinzo’s battle with malignant lymphoma shaped “Hirayasumi” sits side by side with “stop drawing Batman’s riding horses like that!,” a brief survey of grawlixes ($#!%) across time and space, interviews, and even a newspaper strip! It’s truly a paper, a thoughtful paper, reifying the importance of accessible, well-written (purchased) criticism without the gloss.
I have enough ego to hope one day to write an article for one but I’m too afraid to pitch. I’ll work up the courage. I still have a lot of regret never trying for “Panel X Panel.” Huh. Babb did that too with Hassan, didn’t she?
Anything New by You?
Indeed! My latest review for SOLRAD came out this past week. It was one of the books I picked up at SPX and partially why I fell behind in December. Whoops…
Elias Rosner
It was nice to be able to write a review about a comic that’s thoroughly Jewish and kinda dig into the peculiarities of the texts. While Judaism is a lens I’ve applied to a bunch of works, it’s rare to have one just straight up be a Jewish text. Made for some interesting digressions. I tried not to get too scholarly in that review, mostly because I’d definitely put my foot in my mouth and the intricacies of biblical commentary far outstrip my ability to engage with them at the moment. It’s a delicate balance and I hope I hit it.
For anyone who’s not Jewish and wants to read this, do it! Purim’s in a month or so and now you’ll be able to talk about all the bonkers things that happen in that story. 50 cubit high gallows and 180 day parties!
My Cats
Let’s close things out with my cats! You can’t pass up a good cat picture.
Catch y’all on the flip side.
Comments ()