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The Comics Journal #303
The most award-winning, internationally acclaimed comics and graphic novel magazine in the medium’s history returns to print! The Comics Journal , which is renowned for its in-depth interviews, comics criticism, and thought-provoking editorials, features Gary Groth in frank and often hilarious discussion with the satirist and children’s book author Tomi Ungerer. Ungerer talks about the entire trajectory of his life and growing up in France during the Nazi occupation, creating controversial work, and being blacklisted by the American Library Association. This issue, the first in its new twice-a-year format, covers the “new mainstream” in American comics ― how the marketplace and overall perception of the medium has drastically shifted since the “graphic novel boom” of the early 2000s and massive hits like Persepolis , Fun Home , and Smile . It also includes sketchbook pages from French-born cartoonist Antoine Cossé’ an introduction to homoerotic gag cartoons out of the U.S. Navy; and Your Black Friend cartoonist Ben Passmore’s examination of comics and gentrification. Full-color illustrations throughout.
- GenresNonfictionComics
160 pages, Paperback
Published February 19, 2019
About the author
Antoine Cossé
21 books14 followersAntoine Cossé is a French illustrator and cartoonist. Cossé was born in Paris in 1981. He studied Illustration at Camberwell College of Arts in London, where he still lives.
His comics have been published by Breakdown Press, Retrofit comics, Fantagraphics Books, most notably Mutiny Bay (2014), Showtime (2017) and Metax (2022).
His illustration works have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Wetransfer, The Guardian, Les Inrockuptibles, Libération, Le Monde Diplomatique and others.
His comics have been published by Breakdown Press, Retrofit comics, Fantagraphics Books, most notably Mutiny Bay (2014), Showtime (2017) and Metax (2022).
His illustration works have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Wetransfer, The Guardian, Les Inrockuptibles, Libération, Le Monde Diplomatique and others.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 3, 2019
I'm overjoyed to see that The Comics Journal is back in print!
My local library had it shelved with the graphic novels rather than the periodicals. Which makes sense. The Journal was always more of a book than a magazine. And, with its new thrice yearly publication schedule, it should be appearing less frequently than many manga at least. Heck, that's less often than some best-selling novelists almost (*cough*James Patterson*cough*).
As always, the interview is the star of the show. I wasn't very familiar with Tomi Ungerer’s work. I kind of knew it from a few children's books, and some of his anti war posters from the Vietnam War era, but that was it. He’s quite an impressive artist. Some of his drawings recall people like Sol Steinberg or James Thurber, maybe with a touch of Ralph Steadman. Some fairly dark themes, yeah, but such memorable and comic work.
Another high point of this issue was Kristy Valenti’s article, “How We Got Here: A Distribution Overview 1996-2019”. Yes, I was buying comics (up until around 2003 or so) and graphic novels during this time period, but never really had any sense of what was driving the changes in the retail market. Yes, I noticed the growth of the graphic novel sections in bookstores and libraries, but never understood why.
I’ve been a fan of The Comics Journal for much of my adult life (as a teenager, I was more into The Comics Buyer's Guide.) Even at their most elitist and pretentious, they're at least interesting. And they do the best interviews in the business, always worth reading, even if it's someone you never heard of. The cover price has crept up over the years, but it's still excellent reading value for the money. Highly recommended!
My local library had it shelved with the graphic novels rather than the periodicals. Which makes sense. The Journal was always more of a book than a magazine. And, with its new thrice yearly publication schedule, it should be appearing less frequently than many manga at least. Heck, that's less often than some best-selling novelists almost (*cough*James Patterson*cough*).
As always, the interview is the star of the show. I wasn't very familiar with Tomi Ungerer’s work. I kind of knew it from a few children's books, and some of his anti war posters from the Vietnam War era, but that was it. He’s quite an impressive artist. Some of his drawings recall people like Sol Steinberg or James Thurber, maybe with a touch of Ralph Steadman. Some fairly dark themes, yeah, but such memorable and comic work.
Another high point of this issue was Kristy Valenti’s article, “How We Got Here: A Distribution Overview 1996-2019”. Yes, I was buying comics (up until around 2003 or so) and graphic novels during this time period, but never really had any sense of what was driving the changes in the retail market. Yes, I noticed the growth of the graphic novel sections in bookstores and libraries, but never understood why.
I’ve been a fan of The Comics Journal for much of my adult life (as a teenager, I was more into The Comics Buyer's Guide.) Even at their most elitist and pretentious, they're at least interesting. And they do the best interviews in the business, always worth reading, even if it's someone you never heard of. The cover price has crept up over the years, but it's still excellent reading value for the money. Highly recommended!
May 21, 2019
The Comics Journal is an institution that's been away for far too long. I hope that this latest issue, with its smaller size (than the previous two volumes, that is) and its forward-looking editor's note, heralds the triumphant return of the one (print) magazine that actually bothers to critically consider all aspects of the comics medium.
I also hope that Gary Groth takes the suggestions solicited from industry professionals, and printed in the "Blood and Thunder" letters column, seriously. There are some great ideas in there. Following are my article-by-article thoughts on this issue:
"What's in Store for Us" - Groth has already taken one suggestion to heart, which is the need for greater diversity among the Journal's contributors. Ben Passmore's essay on gentrification, and a comic shop's responsibilities in a gentrified neighborhood, is fascinating, and something I'd not thought about before.
"The Fear & Anger of Tomi Ungerer" - Groth's biography of Ungerer is really good. Unfortunately, the interview with Ungerer that follows it is not as interesting. Groth is a peerless interviewer of artists; he's smart, well-read, engaged, and not afraid to ask difficult questions. But Ungerer was a bit of a rambler, and didn't seem to add anything that I hadn't already learned by reading Groth's bio of him.
"Cyberzone" - This historical assessment of Jimmie Robinson's series Cyberzone from the late '90s could have used a developmental editor. Dr. Howard's piece is repetitive, scattered, and doesn't ever quite get to the point. I was glad to learn more about Robinson's work, but the quality of the article didn't quite live up to its subject matter.
"Sketchbook: Antoine Cosse" - I love sketchbooks. Period.
"Expanded Comics" - Another let-down. Kim Jooha's exploration of "comics as a visual communication medium" read like the preface to a larger work. That is, a thesis without any substance. Honestly, it seemed to be the beginnings of a rehash of some of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics only without McCloud's wit or wisdom (not to mention his art, which is what elevated Understanding Comics to something worth reading).
"How We Got Here" - Kristy Valenti's essay on the state of the industry over the last twenty years, on the other hand, is a brilliant summation of twenty-first-century comic book publishing. I started working for a comic book publisher in 1995 and lived through a lot of what she reports on here. I'd call it a fun, nostalgic trip down memory lane, but the late '90s were actually kind of a nightmare in terms of industry health. Still, an amazing article.
"What Do We Do with YA?" - Another interesting article, this one on the "new mainstream," which is no longer Marvel and DC superheroes but rather young adult comics such as Bone and Telgemeier's series of autobiographical graphic novels.
"Fifi Martinez (interview)" - A good counterpoint to Groth's interview of Ungerer.
"Steve Perry: A Comics Tragedy" - Obituary of a comic book writer I'd never heard of but whose work I had nonetheless read, many years ago, without even knowing it (he collaborated with Steve Bissette a few times in the '80s). Truly a tragedy, and exactly the kind of story I expect from the Comics Journal: shedding a deserving light on a little-known corner of comic book culture.
"Queer Eye" - Queer(?) comics by another little-known cartoonist. Beautiful line work.
"Suehiro Maruo" - Eh, manga.
Overall, a really good issue. Not as earth-shattering, to me, as the beautiful doorstops that were issues 301 and 302, but if TCJ can be published a few times a year instead of once every 3-4 years, I'll take it!
And last but not least, some books I now need to track down, thanks to this issue:
- Ungerer's The Three Robbers, Inside Marriage, The Underground Sketchbook, Compromises, Fornicon, Far Out Isn't Far Enough, Slow Agony, America, Adam and Eve, Fog Island, Babylon, Symptomatics.
- Perry's Timespirits.
I also hope that Gary Groth takes the suggestions solicited from industry professionals, and printed in the "Blood and Thunder" letters column, seriously. There are some great ideas in there. Following are my article-by-article thoughts on this issue:
"What's in Store for Us" - Groth has already taken one suggestion to heart, which is the need for greater diversity among the Journal's contributors. Ben Passmore's essay on gentrification, and a comic shop's responsibilities in a gentrified neighborhood, is fascinating, and something I'd not thought about before.
"The Fear & Anger of Tomi Ungerer" - Groth's biography of Ungerer is really good. Unfortunately, the interview with Ungerer that follows it is not as interesting. Groth is a peerless interviewer of artists; he's smart, well-read, engaged, and not afraid to ask difficult questions. But Ungerer was a bit of a rambler, and didn't seem to add anything that I hadn't already learned by reading Groth's bio of him.
"Cyberzone" - This historical assessment of Jimmie Robinson's series Cyberzone from the late '90s could have used a developmental editor. Dr. Howard's piece is repetitive, scattered, and doesn't ever quite get to the point. I was glad to learn more about Robinson's work, but the quality of the article didn't quite live up to its subject matter.
"Sketchbook: Antoine Cosse" - I love sketchbooks. Period.
"Expanded Comics" - Another let-down. Kim Jooha's exploration of "comics as a visual communication medium" read like the preface to a larger work. That is, a thesis without any substance. Honestly, it seemed to be the beginnings of a rehash of some of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics only without McCloud's wit or wisdom (not to mention his art, which is what elevated Understanding Comics to something worth reading).
"How We Got Here" - Kristy Valenti's essay on the state of the industry over the last twenty years, on the other hand, is a brilliant summation of twenty-first-century comic book publishing. I started working for a comic book publisher in 1995 and lived through a lot of what she reports on here. I'd call it a fun, nostalgic trip down memory lane, but the late '90s were actually kind of a nightmare in terms of industry health. Still, an amazing article.
"What Do We Do with YA?" - Another interesting article, this one on the "new mainstream," which is no longer Marvel and DC superheroes but rather young adult comics such as Bone and Telgemeier's series of autobiographical graphic novels.
"Fifi Martinez (interview)" - A good counterpoint to Groth's interview of Ungerer.
"Steve Perry: A Comics Tragedy" - Obituary of a comic book writer I'd never heard of but whose work I had nonetheless read, many years ago, without even knowing it (he collaborated with Steve Bissette a few times in the '80s). Truly a tragedy, and exactly the kind of story I expect from the Comics Journal: shedding a deserving light on a little-known corner of comic book culture.
"Queer Eye" - Queer(?) comics by another little-known cartoonist. Beautiful line work.
"Suehiro Maruo" - Eh, manga.
Overall, a really good issue. Not as earth-shattering, to me, as the beautiful doorstops that were issues 301 and 302, but if TCJ can be published a few times a year instead of once every 3-4 years, I'll take it!
And last but not least, some books I now need to track down, thanks to this issue:
- Ungerer's The Three Robbers, Inside Marriage, The Underground Sketchbook, Compromises, Fornicon, Far Out Isn't Far Enough, Slow Agony, America, Adam and Eve, Fog Island, Babylon, Symptomatics.
- Perry's Timespirits.
August 6, 2019
It's great to see the Journal back in its print form, and there's a lot to be interested in here, but the issue seems rather imbalanced. Groth's long essay on followed by his even longer interview with Tomi Ungerer just takes up too much space, especially since the interview itself is rather rambling, repetitive, and not generally all that informative. (Ungerer doesn't come off all that well either.) The other pieces are something of a mixed bag, though never without interest. the history of comics sales over the last twenty years was especially useful, and the story of Steve Perry's tragic fate was horrifying news to me. Still worth reading every word and thank God, no Kenneth Smith!), but I don't think the reincarnation has fully found itself yet. Also, there are more errors than one likes to see. Nevertheless, I do enthusiastically welcome the magazine's return.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews