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comicsbeat · 5 years

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And so we wrap up this edition of our yearly wide-ranging survey of creators from every end of the business on what happened and what’s coming. It’s been a fascinating journey through the thoughts of the comics industry on all levels. Once again, huge thanks to everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to respond and comment. We wind things up with a lot more previews including a new book from Emma Rios and a peek at the Birdcage Bottom Books lineup for the year- and lots in-between. You can check out the other parts of the survey here.

Emma Ríos, Cartoonist

2019 Projects: I’m very glad to say that Hwei and I finally finished Mirror. It was quite a tough year for us and I’m extremely proud of how we managed to come over all that and of how we drove this little big story to its well deserved ending. Issue 10 will appear in the solicitations next month and the book will reach stores in April. For all of you who kept waiting to read the conclusion, thank you, really. I can tell you we gave everything we had and we really hope you like it. (Some preview pages below)

On the other hand, Kelly Sue and I have been working on the third arc of Pretty Deadly. It’s set in Early Hollywood and we are bringing some noir and horror to our pages this time. We are also using shadow puppetry as a narrative element which is very interesting and crazy fun for me. The arc is half done and we will bombard you with lots of updates soon.

And now, my secret. If everything goes as planned I’ll spend most of this year working on a new project called Anzuelo, meaning ‘hook’ or ‘lure’. A book about death and preservation, and more than anything about the sea. I’ve been keeping this story in the back of my head for a couple of years already, waiting for a chance to finally focus on it alone. I’m writing and drawing again for this, but unlike I.D., this time it will be all in watercolors and wayyy longer. The whole project is pretty ambitious and, ahem, rather pretentious. I’m scared but also very excited about it.

Fortunately, the mighty David Brothers, whose thinking and writing I truly adore, will help me as editor/therapist and will bear with me through all of this terrifying journey.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? I’m going to say the recent English subscription to Shonen Jump. I believe it’s a pretty generous and smart move, and to me it feels like the biggest change in comics since we started preordering.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Emily Carroll’s new book, When I Arrived at the Castle. The book is published by Koyama Press and will debut at TCAF. Emily is one of my favorite creators, obviously. Her work has been inspiring and frightening me for years. She always takes storytelling to a whole new crazy level almost effortlessly. I’m so jealous!

Also! The latest work by my friend Borja González is going to be released in English this year. The title may change but in Spanish (Reservoir Books) and French (Dargaud) its called The Black Holes and it is a truly fascinating story that I hope to see in every BEST OF THE YEAR list. You’re going to be mindblown.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Maybe reading all Naruto, I guess? Bleach? Having a rather easy access to all those crazy popular and crazy long series from the last decades now drives me crazy. But, to be honest, it doesn’t feel guilty at all.

Who inspired you in 2018? I’ve been very inspired by rewatching Yoshiyuki Tomino’s dystopian anime of the 80s and 90s, recently. Specially anti-war stuff like Gundam, Fang of the Sun Dougram, and so on…

Steve Foxe, Writer & Paste Magazine Editor

2019 Projects: In addition to plenty of Paste goodness, I’ve got two OGNs I can’t talk about just yet, several promising pitches in the works, and my short in BOOM!’s Steven Universe: Fusion Frenzy one- shot will be out in March!

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Honestly? 2018 didn’t feel like it had a defining comic story. Maybe I’d just give the nod to DC announcing umpteen new imprints targeting different markets. We won’t actually see how Zoom, Ink, Black Label, and Wonder Comics work out for a bit, but I applaud the publisher trying to meet readers in different niches. And while it’s not a POSITIVE story, the swift response to Eric Esquivel accusations gave me hope that we are getting better, as an industry, at responding to these sorts of issues.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Similarly, I think the response to Zoom and Ink will be a huge story in 2019–either because it works as well as I hope/suspect it might, or because it does so-so and DC gets cold feet right away. I also expect some BIG BIG things for Marvel’s Merry Mutants, but I’ve already said too much… And while I’m not a movie guy, seeing how Captain Marvel lands and how the MCU pivots out of Endgame will mean a lot for the MCU’s continued success, especially with GotG3 in such a precarious position.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Reading more old comics! It can feel like a never-ending marathon keeping up with weekly releases, but in 2019, I plan to carve out more time to read (and re-read) older books. I did that a bit this year with some old Vertigo runs and loved it, and I plan to do it again next year, as well as start a FULL re-read of Uncanny X-Men and New Mutants, starting with Giant-Size X-Men and going through to the Morrison era.

Who inspired you in 2018? Tini Howard has been a close friend since 2014, and seeing her amazing successes this year (and knowing about some of the ones coming up in 2019!) has definitely inspired me to kick my own butt harder.

Tom Kaczynski, Cartoonist/Uncivilized Books Publisher

2019 Projects: Ginseng Roots by Craig Thompson; Now, for the first time in his career, Thompson is working in serial form, in a bimonthly comic book series. Part memoir, part travelogue, part essay—all comic book—Ginseng Roots explores class divide, agriculture, holistic healing, the 300 year long trade relationship between China and North America, childhood labor, and the bond between two brothers.

Cannonball by Kelsey Wroten; Follow the messy life of Caroline Bertram: aspiring writer, queer, art school graduate, near alcoholic, and self proclaimed tortured genius. Wrotens’s debut graphic novel will turn many heads!

Stonebreaker by Peter Wartman; The sequel to Over The Wall by the artist of Avatar the Last Airbender: Imbalance; Four years after saving her brother, Anya continues to explore the endless, twisting streets of the mystical city, Noridun.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The biggest story is the ongoing seismic shift in the comics industry. The slow but sure transition from periodical business to graphic novel business. Comics retailers complain about the continued slides periodical sales from Marvel & DC, but don’t really do the homework on graphic novels, or alternatives that could bring in new audiences. This job is being done admirably by indie book stores and online retailers who are not afraid to experiment and try out new titles.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? The biggest story of 2019 will still be the biggest story of 2018 with the added caveat that we will start seeing more diverse and interesting periodical titles that will move into the space that will be opened up by the continued slide of Marvel & DC.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? The new Criminal series by Brubaker & Phillips, but I don’t feel guilty about it.

Who inspired you in 2018? I’m continually inspired by every independent cartoonist out there who manages to keep creating new and interesting work, year after year. The seas are rough out there, and seeing new and amazing work continue to emerge, is flabbergasting and humbling.

Joan Hilty, Editorial directo

2019 Projects: Showtime at the Apollo (Abrams, Jan), Good Talk (One World, Mar). Pageturner’s thrilled to have helped bring these to life.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The passing of Stan Lee. However one feels about his life and legacy, it’s a milestone for both the past and future of comics.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? For me it’s which companies survive, and thrive in, the remarkable ongoing staffing and distribution shakeups across our whole landscape — and how that affects workplace equality. We’re living in transformational times.

Ayo, cartoonist

2019 Projects: I’m working on more and more Little Garden comics and associated projects. Chiefly, the continuation of my four-panel, one-page strips.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The dissolution of Tumblr for a great many users is undoubtedly the most significant and impactful comics story of 2018. Tumblr performed a crucial function in the visual arts industries, particularly in the comics industries. It was a way for work to spread around as casually and easily as radio works for music. A lot of important careers began in the trenches of tumblr blogs and reblogs. The scaling back of the platform will do considerable damage to industries rooted in visual culture.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? I’d like the biggest comics story in 2019 to be an increased interest in short works; strips, short stories and graphic essays. Long form comics are wonderful but we need to give more space for a multitude of ways to approach sequential art.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? I’ve finally gotten to be old enough that I laugh out loud at the cartoons in The New Yorker. And I accidentally subscribed to the magazine, so bring ’em on!

Who inspired you in 2018? I’ve recently begun reconnecting with the work of Aubrey Beardsley when I was experiencing a bit of an overload of inspirations. Being able to zero in on his illustrations has helped me to focus my ambitions and cut out a lot of the noise in my head.

Josh Bayer, cartoonist

2019 Projects: Working on something called Unfinished (seriously, thats the title.) Heres an advance page

And on seasons 2 and 3 of AllTimeComics with Josh Simmons, Trevor Van Eeden, with guest chapters by Gabrielle Bell, Julia Gfrorer and inks by Simmons, Me and Josh Simmons, Tom Toye, Ben Marra Ken Landgraf and others. I also have a new book due in April from Tinto Press, theres some images here:

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? I really don’t know, theres a lot of destruction everywhere on every level of Society and also a lot of community building in our own little microcosm. I am just trying to stay lost in a haze of work and art and teaching. Sorry, thats not much of an answer.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Someone going down in the worst flameout of Indie Comics history and someone else rising to the highest peaks of industry adulation. While I have been known to see the future through mystic means, I can’t be more specific than that Ive already said too much.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Two way tie: Silently judging people for their desperate need for approval and vocally judging peopler their desperate need for approval.

Who inspired you in 2018? I tend to work in 20 year blocks of inspiration, not yearly. Janelle Hessig and Bobby Madness and Elizabeth Bethea all inspired me to engage with comics hard at the start of the millenium when I discovered them. They are true DIY, as are many other punk publishers and artists; but their work crossed my path at a crucial point that gave me a strong push towards what I wanted to do. And I am still going with them as key influences.

Alex Lu, Managing/New Media Editor of The Beat

2019 Projects: On the journalism side of things, I’m launching some exciting new media ventures for The Beat. And on the comics side of things, I have credits on INFINITE DARK, several upcoming First Second books, and a whole bunch of ~secret projects~ you’ll see on the shelves next year.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Can I cheat and say there’s a three way tie? The death of Stan Lee, clearly, but also the fascinating narrative surrounding Olivia Jaimes’ run of NANCY and the continuing (and currently more rapid) investment of Hollywood money into new comics ventures.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? If there’s a recession, that will likely become the central narrative for anything that happens in comics in 2019. Even if there isn’t, however, I’d still be interested to see what the flow of outside money into comics looks like by the end of the year.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? TEEN ROMANCE COMICS (I FEEL NO GUILT)

Who inspired you in 2018? This is a total cop out, but this year has been crazy for me and I owe a great deal to an enormous network of friends, colleagues, and mentors who have both supported me and given me opportunities that have made 2018 the best year of my professional life. From my Editor-in- Chief Heidi MacDonald to everyone at First Second to my lunch pal/business adviser Brandon Montclare to my frequent creative collaborator and awesome pal Ryan Cady– I owe all of you (and many more whom I didn’t name here) a great deal.

MariNaomi, cartoonist, database administrator

2019 Projects: In addition to maintaining the Cartoonists of Color and Queer Cartoonists databases, I’m gearing up to get the Disabled Cartoonists (TK) database up and running.

On the creative front, I’m coming out with Book Two of my Life on Earth young adult graphic novel trilogy, and finishing up Book Three (for release in 2020).

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Cody Pickrodt suing Whit Taylor and her supporters.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Cody losing his suit, I can only hope.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Finishing up my trilogy and finally getting time off to read some freaking books!

Who inspired you in 2018? Whit Taylor and her supporters. They’re going through a lot right now, stuff that nobody should have to go through, and keeping strong, fighting back. That’s really inspiring to me.

Hibbs, l., with Breanna Thumler

Brian Hibbs, Retailer

2019 Projects: We love and joy these days is hosting the Graphic Novel Clubs — I adore talking to smart and talented folks about exciting new work and the nuts and bolts of craft!

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The increasing weariness (and wariness) that the average Direct Market retailer is feeling about the market leaders: Marvel, DC, and Image. We’re ending 2018 with the lowest confidence in the future of comics that I can ever remember among my peers. And I lived through two crashes! The odd thing is that the numbers aren’t really that bad — but we’re being asked to work harder and harder (and more speculatively) for the same reward. Virtually every comic published now has 2+ covers, and the worst publishers out there are offering five or more for most every title they publish. The system is getting too stressed, sucking almost all of the “joy” out of running a store.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? I keep expecting Barnes & Noble to collapse at any moment. I also expect an increasing number of “I’ve had enough of the industry nonsense” closures in the DM. At what point do these changes coupled with the utter lack of faith most retailers (in both markets) have in the most of the product make it so that AT&T and Disney decide it isn’t worth still publishing the comics? Everyone “in” comics can be working at 150%, and we’re now at the whims of souless multi-national corporations to keep the engines humming.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Despite me putting “breaking news” first in the survey, I actually look forward to Heidi rants a whole lot….. man I miss that period when you, Spurgeon and Dirk Deppey all had daily rants….

Who inspired you in 2018? Honestly, just talking to creators about craft keeps me going: we’re well past a hundred hours of interviews now. Go dig through the video archives at https://www.comixexperience.com/archives

Henry Barajas, Writer, Director of Ops at Top Cow Productions

2019 projects: I’m working on La Voz De M.A.Y.O. and La Loca: Via Con Diablo! Brush up on your spanish, gringos!

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Batman Damned #1 no doubt. It swept every news outlet. Every comic book shop whether they liked it or not, had to talk about the pink, fleshy elephant in the room.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Someone has to create an app that will make ordering comics from your local comic shop easier. It’s the year of Bladerunner for crying out loud!

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Burnouts by Culver, Geoffo, and Dwonch. Stoners killing aliens. It’s mindless fun.

Who inspired you in 2018? Joe Illidge. Joe stuck to his guns, helped make some amazing comics, and raised profiles for some marginalized voices. I don’t know anyone that can lose two editorial gigs in one year, brush his shoulders off, and say “I can’t wait for you to see what’s next.”

Randy Reynaldo, Cartoonist

2019 Project: Rob Hanes Adventures #20 — I’ll be at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con for my 21st appearance, following my receiving the Inkpot Award at the 2018 show!

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Passing of Stan Lee

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Avengers: Endgame — gotta see how it concludes!

Kat Kan, Librarian/Comics Reviewer

2019 Projects: I write the Graphically Speaking column for Voice of Youth Advocates, and the February 2019 issue will mark my 25th anniversary of writing about comics for the library world.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? For libraries: the new Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards created by the Pop Culture Classroom. And the creation of the Graphic Novels & Comics in Libraries Round Table as an official part of the American Library Association.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Continuing growth in the use of comics in schools and academia.

Bonus questions:

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Getting back to “normal” after Hurricane Michael devastated most of my city (Panama City, FL) in October.

Who inspired you in 2018? I admire my friends and colleagues in libraries and schools who have worked so hard to gain recognition of comics as a valid form of literature for study and research. I’ve pushed so hard for this since 1983, when I first started working in libraries, and I love seeing so many more people take up the banner over the past several decades.

J.T. Yost, cartoonist/publisher, Birdcage Bottom Books

2019 Projects: We’ll be publishing two new books and at least one minicomic this year. “Blood & Drugs” – a story of fall & redemption by Lance Ward, “Rooftop Stew” collecting lots of uncollected autobiographical and fictional weirdness by Max Clotfelter, and “Future Corpse”, a collection of new short work by Eva Müller (we published her death obsessed “In The Future, We Are Dead” last year). See previews below.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Annie Koyama moving away from comics publishing.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? President Trump implementing a new Comics Code Authority that only censors work critical of the president and his administration.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Probably some dumb tv show or something

Who inspired you in 2018? Avi of Silver Sprocket

The Beat's Annual Creator Survey Part 5: From Emma Rios' new book to "Blood & Drugs" - and an update on Mirror And so we wrap up this edition of our yearly wide-ranging survey of creators from every end of the business on what happened and what's coming.

#2019 creator survey #Alex Lu #Ayo #Brian Hibbs #Emma Rios #Henry Barajas #J.T. Yost #joan hilty #Josh Bayer #kat kan #marinaomi #Previews #randy reynaldo #Steve Foxe #Tom Kaczynski #upcoming comics

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comicsbeat · 5 years

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Continuing with our wide-ranging survey of creators from every end of the business on what happened and what’s coming. A lot of people who responded e this year talked about the development of a new distribution system or channel for comics as being a big story for 2019. It seem there is a lot of dissatisfaction with how comics are sold these days, no duh. What do you think? Is there a savior on the horizon? You can check out the other parts of the survey here.

Kwanza Osajyefo, writer

2019 Projects: H1 Comics from Humanoids and WHITE, the sequel to BLACK

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The growth of the graphic novels among titles that don’t perform as well in the direct market.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Comic distribution becoming more multi-channel along with the direct market

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Figuring out what is going on in Paper Girls

Who inspired you in 2018? Everyone, I think so many of our peers have been operating on ten this year. I think the flood of comics content into the mainstream has really gotten us fired up, not to get our work into other mediums but to imagine on a larger scale.

Tony Shenton. Sales rep and consultant

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The death of Stan Lee

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? The ongoing legal battle Cody Pikrodt has started vs. small presses and creators

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Not a guilty pleasure at all: RUN from Abrams.

Gary Tyrrell, Blogger

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Spike Trotman. She’s tearing up the industry with Iron Circus, and she’ll be launching a YA imprint — she’s making it so a lot of future superstars have a place to start their careers.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Raina Telgemeier’s next book will have an initial print run of one million. That’s mindbending.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Perp walks of high federal officials and Trump family members. So many perp walks.

Who inspired you in 2018? Pat Race — he and his team have put together something extraordinarily special in the Alaska Robotics Comics Camp, and it’s creating new relationships and creative networks among comics creators at all stages of their careers. The future will remember it as equivalent to the Algonquin Round Table.

Mariah McCourt, Creator

2019 Projects: STITCHED #3 and a new series for AHOY! comics

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? That comics are for everyone, stories matter, and so does representation.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Hopefully more focus on amazing creators, the diversity of content, and the continuing impact and relevancy of the medium.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? No guilty pleasures here, I’m looking forward to seeing all the new books in the works!

Joe Field, Retailer

2019 Projects: A new space to expand Flying Colors for events and sales

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? There was no one biggest story in comics. It was a thousand shards of glass rather than just one big picture window.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Cruise to the Edge, a prog rock themed cruise in February. No cell phones, no worries, just some great people having a peace party at sea.

Who inspired you in 2018? My wife Libby continues to be my inspiration. We celebrate our 40th anniversary in late February (so good then, even better now). The non-profit work she does in helping women with crisis pregnancies while also managing Flying Colors’ back office and reveling in her role as a grandmother is so inspiring to me.

Amy Chu, writer

2019 Projects: Summit (Lion Forge), Sea Sirens with Janet Lee (Viking Press), Pros & Cons (Dark Horse)

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Kid’s graphic novels are $$$ – Dave Pilkey 3 million print run for his fifth Dog Man book; Raina Telgemeier 1 million for Guts

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Kid’s graphic novels

Glenn Hauman, publisher at ComicMix, designated victim of “They Keep Killing Glenn”

2019 Projects: What 2019 projects am I working on that I can talk about? More omnibus editions for GrimJack, Soulsearchers & Company, and Deadbeats, and new… oh, dammit, I can’t talk about that yet. Arrgh.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The passing of Stan Lee. We all knew it was going to happen someday, and yet… we all thought we might get a pass on this one, you know?

And speaking of Marvel greats leaving: Bendis at DC.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? The All-New, All-Different Stan Lee 2.0!

And the bankruptcy of projects intended to get money from C*****gate people.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? The resolution of certain legal proceedings.

Thomas Ragon, Publisher

2019 Projects:

Roman Muradov’s next book “The Adventures of Munich in Marcel Duchamp”.

Thierry Smolderen & Alexandre Clérisse’s (whose “Atom Empire” & “Diabolik Summer” are translated or about to be by IDW) next graphic Novel : “Une année sans Cthulhu” (A year without Cthulhu).

After Glenn Gould, Sandrine Revel’s book about Canadian painter Tom Thomson Two major sets of exhibitions, in chronological order : Blutch has several exhibitions throughout 2019 in Strasbourg, and we’re working on a monograph to be released early March. Joann Sfar will be exhibited at the Basel Cartoon Museum and Lucerne festival “Fumetto”.

Ron Wimberly’s “Prince of Cats” French edition.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Ron Wimberly’s LAAB #0 ; The French authors collective movement to obtain better social and economic conditions from both publishers and government.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Borja Gonzalez having a worldwide success with his THE BLACK HOLES.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Discovering new excellent restaurants thanks to my job. Discovering new great bookstores thanks to my job.

Who inspired you in 2018? Blutch and Joann Sfar are always inspiring me, in many ways.

Nat Gertler, writer/publisher

2019 Projects: While my 2019 writing projects are for other people to announce, my first publishing project of the new year reflects on the 90th anniversary of the Great Depression by reprinting a book of cartoons by the great Otto Soglow, done during the depression.

Preview pages below.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The triumph of diversity against anti-diversity forces.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Good comics. It’s always good comics, and there are always good comics for the story to be about. All the industry games mean nothing without that.

Christian Beranek, Writer

2019 projects: Kelci Crawford and I will be wrapping up Validation and then moving forward with Tiny Unicorn. (See below) Also writing loads of prose stories.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Black Panther. I wish its box office success translated into more sales, however. We have to find a way to turn film audiences onto the source material.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? A massive wave of quality comics bringing in new readers.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Any time taken away from writing. I want to work as much as possible but know you need breaks. I plan on reading more books in the Foundation series. Looking forward to that show.

Who inspired you in 2018? Tony DiGerolamo. The guy is a writing machine and really understands the mechanics of storytelling. More companies should consider hiring him.

Sanika Phawde, Cartoonist

2019 Projects: My biggest project scheduled to be completed in 2019 is my newest graphic novel. The project is still untitled but it presents an autofiction story about the journey of learning to love myself, and learning to accept my body and sexuality, as a freshly adult immigrant in New York city .

The story communicates through mix-media drawings on location, memoir comics, sketchbook pages, illustrated poetry, and even a few instances of fold-out paper architecture.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? I am really looking forward to going back home to Mumbai after a year, and eating a Nescafe flavoured ice cream sandwich in the winter heat with my best friend, while sitting on the wall that keeps the Arabian sea out of the city.

Who inspired you in 2018? Julian Glander, Jaron Braxton, Veronica Lawlor, Nora Krug, Robert Sikoryak, Brian Rea, Alex Norris, Lizzo, Melissa Guerrero (practices activism through food), Janelle Monae

Christopher Butcher, TCAF Artistic Director & VIZ Media Editorial Consultant

2019 Projects: TCAF 2019 is gearing up and it’s going to have one of the strongest and most diverse guest lists in our history. It’s going to be a pretty amazing year to be there, whether you love kids comics, YA comics, Adult comics, North American or International Comics. We’re pretty hyped!

On the VIZ side of things, though there’s a ton still to be announced, several of the series I’ve had a hand in are starting or continuing into 2019. Look out for the YA LGBTQ series “That Blue Sky Feeling” to get its 2nd and 3rd and final volume next year, the amazing/disturbing BEASTARS will start next year (like if Zootopia were a little more food-chain accurate?), and the recently-debuted gorgeous SF title Ran and The Grey World will start to turn some heads.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? That’s tough. The industry is so fragmented at this point, that stories that were huge in one area barely made a ripple in others. Straddling graphic novel publishing, manga publishing, and with a toe still in superhero publishing, it’s amazing the times people would pull me aside and ask “So what was that about, exactly? All I saw was the hashtag…”

So… yeah I dunno. I think the biggest ‘story’ probably wasn’t written, but it was about the continued evolution of this industry as it happened. The house-cleaning and secret-revealing that needed to happen, some of the editorial attitudes around projects looking pretty terrible when exposed to the light of day, the continued vertical integration in licensed properties, all of it points to a maturing industry, which is both good and bad. More professionalism, but less room for the sort of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants stuff that made comics very, very exciting about 10 years ago.

I think most folks involved will take ‘professionalism’ any day of the week though!

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Pogs, baby! POGS!

No but seriously, I have no idea. There’s so much up in the air right now, 2019 is going to be bumpy for sure.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? If it’s not hurting anyone, then there’s no point in feeling guilty about pleasure. Enjoy yourselves, it’s tough out there. 🙂

Who inspired you in 2018? My husband, Andrew Woodrow-Butcher, who was enormously patient and supportive while I took risks and traveled around the world, all while working 60 hours a week making sure Canadian schools and libraries have the best comic collections in the world, re-opening the world’s first kids comic book store (Little Island Comics!), sending Canadians to comic festivals around the world, and of course, programming a big part of TCAF. He’s a constant inspiration to me, I’m lucky to have him.

Ben Towle, Cartoonist

2019 Projects: The main project I’ve been working on in 2018 is a non-fiction graphic novel for the new imprint Dead Reckoning, which specializes in comics about things historical and/or military-related.

The book’s called Four Fisted Tales and it’s a collection of real-life stories about animals used in combat.

Here’s a sample page:

And here’s an in-progress rough:

I’m also continuing to work on–albeit a lot more slowly–my book In the Weeds about cooking and playing rock music in the 1990’s. It’s my first foray into the great comics tradition of “funny animals” characters. Here’s an in-progress rough from that:

It probably seems like I’ve disappeared since Oyster War came out a few years back, but I’ve been hard at work on TWO books, I promise!

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? That’s gotta be the announcement of not one, but TWO, forthcoming books from Raina Telgemeier. When the most highly-read and most popular cartoonist in North America announces a book, it’s a big flippin’ deal. TWO books in the same year is bonkers news.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? OK…Well, it’s only a big story for ME, but I’m really excited about the upcoming D&Q Little Lulu reprint series. These are some of the best comics ever made and it’s going to be great to see them get the D&Q treatment starting in 2019.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? I’m a huge Star Trek nerd and so I’m super-excited about whatever’s brewing with this new Picard show. Supposedly starting in 2019!

The Beat's Annual Creator Survey Part 4: with art from new projects by Amy Chu, Janet Lee, Roman Muradov, Otto Soglow, Ben Towle and more Continuing with our wide-ranging survey of creators from every end of the business on what happened and what's coming.

#2019 creator survey #Amy Chu #Andrea Purcell #ben towle #Christian Beranek #Christopher Butcher #Gary Tyrrell #glenn hauman #joe field #Kwanza Osajyefo #mariah mccourt #nat gertler #Sanika Phawde #thomas ragon #tony shenton #upcoming comics

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comicsbeat · 5 years

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Kibbles 'n' Bits 1/7/2019: What Kevin Feige said about Aquaman will not shock you!

Kibbles 'n' Bits 1/7/2019: Kevin Fiege shows his manners at the Golden Globes and the tweet that launched a thousand ships

§ Back in the saddle!

§ I went to see the Delacroix show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art just before it closed (thanks to Elim Mak for goading me to do it!) and whoa…seeing all that stunning art in person in one place was mind boggling, breath taking…you supply the adjectives. Eugene Delacroix is one of the great painters of France, and considered one of the last of the “Old Masters” (whatever…

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#Black Panther #Caspar Wijngaard #copyright law #kevin feige #Limbo #Shelly Bond #spider-man: nto the spider-verse #the 100 best comic books of all time

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comicsbeat · 5 years

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Continuing with our wide-ranging survey of creators from every end of the business on what happened and what’s coming. Some of these precitions for 2019 sound pretty gloomy. What do you think? Are we headed to a new comicsgeddon? You can check out the other parts of the survey here.

Tom Peyer, comicsahoy.com, Editor-In-Chief, AHOY Comics

2019 Projects: I wrote two series that will have season finales in early 2019, The Wrong Earth and High Heaven. So will AHOY titles Captain Ginger and Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror. We’ll announce their Wave Two replacements soon (if we haven’t already by the time this goes out).

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The death of Stan Lee.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? I gave up making predictions on November 9, 2016.

James Romberger, Cartoonist, gallery artist, critic, teacher

2019 Projects: The graphic novel version of Post York, major publisher to be announced soon

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Probably the death of the most polarizing individual with the most problematic legacy in comics: Stan Lee

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Doubtless, the further infiltration of comics characters into movies, at the same time that sales of mainstream comics decline, as meanwhile alt/lit comics become more inclusive, while academia continues to incorporate comics in the curriculum

Stuart Moore, Writer/Cat Herder

2019 Projects: X-MEN: THE DARK PHOENIX SAGA (prose novel) – May 2019 BATMAN: NIGHTWALKER gn (adaptation) – DC Ink – summer 2019 And several new creator-owned comics that I can’t talk about yet!

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The explosion of new imprints and small companies. Creatively, it’s a very exciting time.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? The continuing convergence of comics with other entertainment media. There will be winners, losers, and lots of shades in between.

Taimur Dar, Journalist/Marketing Associate

2019 Projects: Still contributing to the Beat in addition to my continued involvement overseeing the offi cial social media and promotion of the late/great Dwayne McDuffie. Some potentially BIG things related to McDuffie coming in the near future I’m not at liberty to discuss so fans should definitely keep an eye out.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The rise of and fall of C*micsGate.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Before the recent glut of new comic publishers I would have said the launch of the new comic publication from Bill Jemas. Yet the involvement of former Marvel EiC Axel Alonso has me curious to see what form the company takes and the status of these new publication by the end of next year.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Probably Season 2 of TITANS on DC Universe which has me hooked despite my qualms about the dark direction and portrayals of certain characters. On the flip side, I’m excited for Zachary Levi as the titular hero in SHAZAM! which may finally bring much needed levity to the gritty DCEU. Hopefully it doesn’t turn into another GREEN LANTERN, but however the film turns out, it looks like fun!

Who inspired you in 2018? Brian Michael Bendis for his ongoing positivity in the face of his near death experience with his MRSA infection last year. Also the way he promotes the works of others on his various social media and just his general kindness towards fans.

David Harper, Host of Off Panel podcast

2019 Projects: More of Off Panel, more freelance projects, possibly…other things

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? In terms of volume and attention, probably C*micsgate and the endless awfulness that crew brought to the table. In terms of long-term impact, probably a combination of the continued rise of all-ages comics (especially with Gina Gagliano leading the new RHCB graphic novel imprint) and the change in leadership over at DC, which seemingly has resulted in some changes in strategy, most notably the at best neutering and at worst early death of the Black Label imprint.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Raina Telgemeier has two books coming out, so I’d be shocked if it wasn’t Raina’s return to the top of the kids comics ranks.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? I feel zero guilt for it, but I could not be more excited for Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Who inspired you in 2018? Zach Lowe. This NBA writer and podcaster for ESPN is my favorite writer and podcaster around. If the comic industry had someone with that approach talking about comics, we’d be all the better for it.

Karen Green, Curator for Comics and Cartoons, Columbia University

2019 Projects: Sadly, I can never talk about what’s coming up until the deeds of gift are signed…

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Industry pushback to the bullies of C*micsgate

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? With any luck, the complete collapse of C*micsgate and its ilk

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? No pleasure ever makes me feel guilty

Jimmie Robinson, Writer/Artist

2019 Projects: ARTillery: Weapons of art

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Black Panther movie

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? San Diego Comic Con 50th anniversary

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Being an Eisner Awards judge

Hart Seely, Publisher AHOY Comics

2019 Projects: I do all the crapola work on AHOY Comics. The editors do the fun stuff. But – plug coming: This spring AHOY will launch a new wave of comics, and we are insanely proud of them.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Probably the appearance of Batman’s junk, a reflection of the lengths to which a frightened industry will go to get attention.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Somebody else’s junk, I suppose.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? The Yankees, if they can just find pitching, pitching, PITCHING!

Who inspired you in 2018? My kids, all grown-up, who fight every day to get by in a world that my generation – the Baby Boomers – has totally botched. History will not treat us fondly. But young people – from the Stoneman Douglas students to those who march in social causes everywhere – give me hope. They may prove to be the only thing we did right.

Jim Ottaviani, Writer

2019 Projects: HAWKING will come out in July, with art by Leland Myrick. It’s the biography of a guy who made a number of cameos on The Simpsons and The Big Bang Theory and did some science too.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? I’m sure plenty of stuff happened, but between work and the state of the world, I clearly missed most of it.

Shaenon K. Garrity, writer, editor, cartoonist

2019 Projects: Skin Horse, the online strip I create with my co-writer Jeffrey C. Wells and colorist Pancha Diaz, had its tenth anniversary in 2018. We plan to get Volumes 7 and 8 out in print this year. In non- comics news, I recently finished a sci-fi novel, so this year I’ll be looking for a publisher.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? It continues to be exciting to see the industry branch into new publishing models, both online and in print. Anyone who isn’t following Iron Circus Comics is a dang fool.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? I hope it’ll involve more spectacular work from up-and-coming creators. In 2018 I was blown away by Tillie Walden, Carolyn Nowak, and Aminder Dhaliwal, among many others. More of that, please!

Brandon Easton, Writer

2019 Projects: VAMPIRE HUNTER D: MESSAGE FROM MARS OGN CATALYST PRIME: INCIDENTALS Netflix TV Series (that I cannot mention yet) PBS Children’s TV Series (cannot mention yet)

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? C*micsgate and the subsequent fallout.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? How Marvel and Fox will merge the ancillary superhero properties and how this will affect the printed versions of the characters.

Ed Catto, Marketing Consultant and Professor of Entrepreneurship

2019 Projects: At Ithaca College – I’ll be teaching the groundbreaking ITHACON course. Ithaca College will be offering a new course for the spring 2019 semester: Creating and Promoting ITHACON. Students enrolled in the course will help organize and promote ITHACON, the second-longest running comic convention in the nation.

Designed for students interested in learning about event planning, celebrity management and pop culture marketing, the course will provide a unique hands-on learning opportunity. Students will take a lead role in planning for Ithacon 44 (the nation’s second longest running comic convention), from assessing material and staffi ng needs, logistical preparation, and managing the weekend-long event, in addition to marketing the convention by preparing press releases, crafting social media campaigns and developing partnerships with local and national businesses, publishers and entertainment properties.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? C*micsGate

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? The continued dominance of Geek Culture (stretching far beyond traditional superhero movies and TV shows)

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? More AHOY! Comics

Who inspired you in 2018? Chris Ryall – taking the high road, staying positive and ending the year on a high note.

Rob Salkowitz, Author/journalist

2019 Projects: Secret new book on comics and media

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Streaming wars create windfall for comic creators with ready-for-primetime IP

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? All the “stupid money” in publishing dries up at once, leading to big market implosion and lots of pissed-off creators

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? San Diego Comic Fest

Claire Napier, Editor & cartoonist

2019 Projects: BUN&TEA, a serial comics magazine for adults who like stories; Dash Dearborne & the Unexpected Earthman #2; secret collab projects

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Batman’s penis or the Man Booker prize or, probably, Telgemeier again

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Collapse

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Disliking Ghostbusters comics for petty reasons

The Beat's Annual Creator Survey Part 3: Predictions and a Stephen Hawking preview - and more! Continuing with our wide-ranging survey of creators from every end of the business on what happened and what's coming.

#2018 creator survey #2019 plans #Brandon Easton #claire napier #david harper #ed catto #hart seely #james romberger #jim ottaviani #Jimmie Robinson #Karen Green #rob salkowitz #Shaenon K. Garrity #stephen hawking #Stuart Moore #taimur dar #tom peyer

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comicsbeat · 5 years

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Sarah Gaydos promoted to Editor in Chief at Oni Press

Photo by Margot Wood

Oni Press’s Sarah Gaydos has been promoted to Editor in Chief, the publisher announced today. Gaydos formerly held the title of Editorial Director of Licensed Publishing, and she previously worked at IDW as Group Editor, and at DC’s Wildstorm imprint, where she rose from receptionist. After leaving IDW early last year, Gaydos took on titles such as “Adult Swim’s Rick and…

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#Editor-in-Chief #IDW #sarah gaydos #WildStorm

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comicsbeat · 5 years

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Continuing with our wide-ranging survey of creators from every end of the business on what happened and what’s coming. You can check out the other parts of the survey here.

Katie Schenkel, writer

2019 Projects: 100 Light Years of Solitude, some unannounced projects

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The phoenix-like transformation of Nancy as a voice for our time

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? DC Ink/Zoom totally making bank

Andrew Farago, Cartoon Art Museum Curator, writer

2019 Projects: Voltron: The Ultimate Visual History from Insight Editions; Batman and Popeye projects; a full slate of exhibitions at the Cartoon Art Museum

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? More women, LGBTQ, and creators of color published major works and won major comic industry awards this year than we’d seen in some entire decades prior to the 2010s. The comics landscape is changing before our eyes, and that’s a great thing.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Gina Gagliano’s lineup at Random House Graphic will bring even more young readers into comics. That and Raina Telgemeier’s how-to book Share Your Smile are going to lay the foundation for the biggest story in comics in 2024.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? It’s not an election year, so if I can go a week without any major political news or upheavals, that would be great.

Who inspired you in 2018? Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Spider-Man’s co-creators couldn’t have taken more divergent paths if they’d tried, but each seemed to be more than content with his lot in life. There are lessons to be learned from both.

Alison Wilgus, Cartoonist

2019 Projects: I just turned in the second and final volume of my graphic novel series, Chronin, which I’ve been working on since 2007. BOTH volumes will debut from Tor in 2019, which is absolutely wild — Volume 1 in February and Volume 2 in September. I’ll also be continuing to put out the Graphic Novel TK podcast with my friend and co-producer, Gina Gagliano!

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Gina Gagliano starting her new graphic novel imprint at PRH. And I’m not just saying this because Gina’s a friend — Random House Graphic was announced in the Spring, and it’s already transforming the landscape of kids’ graphic novel publishing from where I sit. If you’re a cartoonist who wants the resources and reach of a major print publisher, you can count your options on one hand. We hardly ever get major new players like this, and I can’t wait to see how everything shakes out over the next couple of years.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? God who knows.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? I feel no guilt for my pleasures anymore, we all gotta cling to what joy we can on this bitch of an earth. Who inspired you in 2018? My editor, Diana Pho. As I’ve taken on more editorial work of my own this past year, as well as interviewing a ton of industry professionals for GNTK, I have a much better understanding of JUST HOW INSANELY GOOD AT HER JOB SHE IS, as well as being an exceptionally generous and kind member of the larger community.

Rob Clough, Critic

2019 Projects: Continuing to write for The Comics Journal, Comics MNT, Publisher’s Weekly, Your Chicken Enemy, WowCool.com, and whoever else will have me. My own High-Low blog just hit its tenth anniversary, and I plan to keep at that as well as write for my patrons at my Patreon. This is the year I also hope to work on my first couple of books. I will also continue my position as co- programmer of SPX.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The continuing, massive culture shift in terms of who is making comics and for whom. There are more women, more people of color, and more queer folk than ever in comics, and that number is growing exponentially. Trans creators in particular made a huge impact in 2018. The blowback from the usual quarters was as predictable as it was irrelevant.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? The continued struggle to solve the distribution problem for small-press cartoonists is the big one. There is an explosion of new cartoonists thanks to greater access to comics education, but creating a sustainable market for them all is going to be a real challenge. The festival circuit should be seen as a supplement and marketing tool, not a solution.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Going to an NXT show in Durham.

Who inspired you in 2018? All of the other members of #defendthe11, but especially Whit Taylor.

Vita Ayala, writer

2019 Projects: Age Of X-Man: Prisoner X and more Livewire! Also some unannounced things, so stay tuned…

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Spider-Man: Into The Spider-verse

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Too many amazing stories I am looking forward to reading to choose!

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Danny Lore, Matt Rosenberg, Che Grayson, Regine Sawyer.

Madeleine Holly-Rosing, Writer

2019 Projects: The new Boston Metaphysical Society one-shot, The Spirit of Rebellion (below) and more novels!

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Marvel original line of digital comics

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? The growth of independent titles.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Reading more.

Ted Rall, Cartoonist and writer

2019 Projects: THE STRINGER, a graphic novel where “Wag the Dog” meets “Breaking Bad”, drawn by Pablo Callejo and written by Ted Rall. WHAT’S LEFT: THE FIGHT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY by Ted Rall, about the clash between progressives and corporate liberals. A paperback reissue of THE YEAR OF LOVING DANGEROUSLY, drawn by Pablo Callejo and written by Ted Rall. And an as yet untitled novel.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Watching American democracy continue to implode. Who inspired you in 2018? Social media, negatively. The stupidity level finally rose to the level where it became impossible to care what trolls might think. This forced me to think for myself and rely on my own instincts.

Raina Telgemeier, Cartoonist

2019 Projects: Share Your Smile, a how-to comics guide for young creators, comes out April 30th. And my next full-length graphic novel, Guts, will be out on September 17th! It’s a prequel to Smile and Sisters. I’m pretty excited about it.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? When Stan Lee passed away, the rest of the world, all the regular people I know, were talking about it. His influence went so far beyond the industry.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? I can tell you something I’m looking forward to! Jen Wang’s new graphic novel, STARGAZING. I got to read an advance copy, and I’m so glad it’ll be out in the world next year.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? I have four events lined up in Texas next year, so I’m looking forward to tacos. All of the tacos.

Who inspired you in 2018? Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s Hey, Kiddo is one of the bravest graphic memoirs ever written. It allows kids who suffer from family addiction in silence to feel seen. I’m so proud of and inspired by Jarrett!

David Macho, Jack of all trades

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The batwedding

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Publishers drop Diamond, change distribution, avoid impending death! 😛

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? War of the Realms

Todd Allen, Talking Head

2019 Projects:

A little more supernatural detective work:

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Taken as a whole, the various launch and relaunch attempts… and there were plenty.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? How the 2018 launches/relaunches play out and the next wave. It sure feels like it’s taking more and more effort to tread water and this will have a trickle down effect one way or the other. I just hope a Barnes & Noble contraction doesn’t factor into that.

Jordan B. Gorfinkel, Producer, Writer, Cartoonist

2019 Projects: www.jewishcartoon.com/passover

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Pretty much every Mark Waid and Chris Samnee collaboration. Their batting average is off the charts.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Please God, not Bruce Wayne’s penis.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Catching up on all the Marvel movies while house-sitting for a friend with a huge TV.

Atom! Freeman, Sales and Marketing Maven

2019 Projects: Building Prana: Direct Market Solutions. Creating more resources for retailers and publishers. Building ComicHub into a resource for all in comics.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018 There were SO MANY! Seriously, do you remember a weirder year in the comics industry or was it just me? Valiant, Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, IDW… everyone has been affected by this weirdo year.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? TKO, maybe? ComicHub? Prana? I’m optimistic that 2019 becomes the year of decentralizing power that grows the industry for everyone.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Watching TKO and the publishers who follow suit break the distribution model and build the entire industry in the process.

Who inspired you in 2018? Dinesh Shamdasani. Forced out of the company he’s devoted his life to and even though he has more money than I will ever see, he is seeing the movies he set out to make through to the end and gathering speed to go after the next thing.

The Beat's Annual Creator Survey Part 2: What will 2019 hold for comics? Creators give thei guesses. Continuing with our wide-ranging survey of creators from every end of the business on what happened and what's coming.

#2018 creator survey #2019 plans #alison wilgus #andrew farago #Atom! Freeman #Christian Beranek #david macho #jordan b gorfinkel #Katie Schenkel #Kelci Crawford #madeleine holly-rosing #Priya Huq #Raina Telgemeier #Rob Clough #Ted Rall #Todd Allen #vita ayala

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comicsbeat · 5 years

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Yes, it’s that time of the year where The Beat quizzes a wide swath of creators, journalists, retailers and other comics people for their upcoming projects, thoughts on the past and future of the industry, and inspirations. Huge thanks to everyone who took the time to participate, as you’ll find some very interesting takes on where we might be going below, as well as a ton of news about upcoming books. We’ll be running the survey in five parts as always, culminating in the naming of the Comics Industry Person of the Year.

Emma Vieceli, Comicker

2019 Projects: Having switched hats a bit this year, my biggest project for 2019 is a writing one: Life is Strange for Titan comics and Square Enix. I’ll of course be continuing with my co-created independent title,. Beyond that, some fun bit and bobs waiting to play out; aren’t there always? 😉

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? There have been so many sadly negative stories in 2018, from genuine losses of talented and loved people to anger, upset and fury over the fact that some people still don’t seem able to just enjoy comics and all it can encompass, but I’m going to instead focus on the fact that I personally felt an injection of enthusiasm into the industry this year. Somehow it felt that a resilience and determination was instilled, perhaps to counter some of the negative in the world, generally. I’ve seen a lot of successes and excited friends. Creators are making transitions to new mediums and fans are getting behind them. It’s not a single news story, but it’s a joy seeing the waves of unification and enthusiasm that have risen up in my internet- bubble over the last year.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? A generous billionaire shall swoop into the publishing industry and financially bolster us all. Industry-wide weekends and evenings shall be enforced and sick pay shall be introduced. The billionaire shall be loved and we’ll make a statue of them and hold an annual celebration of their greatness.

I’m pretty sure that’s what I heard, anyways.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Spending more time with my creator-owned baby, BREAKS. this year got very busy and I lost a lot of my buffer for uploading. I’m looking forward to some self-indulgent comicking 🙂

Who inspired you in 2018? Every single person who takes the time to contact me and say they’ve enjoyed what I’ve made. That is the biggest inspiration we can hope for. But I’ll also say Andrew James of Titan Comics – he was my editor for Doctor Who a couple of years back and was willing to take a chance and offer me my first monthly writing gig with Life is Strange. His confidence in me has been hugely inspiring and helped me do something I wasn’t sure I’d ever get a chance to.

Erica Schultz, Writer/Editor

2019 projects: The trade paperback of Twelve Devils Dancing comes out the first NCBD of January with a cover by Bill Sienkiewicz. The Good Fight anthology comes out next year. I’m working on a project with Emily Pearson, another with Liana Kangas, and a third with Stelladia.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? The passing of Stan Lee.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Captain Marvel’s film, and how Kelly Sue, Jaime McKelvie, Dave Lopez, and Dexter Soy set that story up to be amazing.

Jimmy Palmiotti, Creator-Writer

2019 Projects: Wonder Woman for DC 100 Walmart exclusive- Sex and Violence Vol. 3- Painkiller Jane mini- series and feature film- Random Acts of Violence feature film- Coney Island graphic novel and Mystery Marvel project.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Sadly the passing of Stan Lee, one of my heroes and a friend, and on a positive note, the release of the DC 100 page exclusive comics for Walmart.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Creators once again separating themselves from the big companies to create their own characters mainly because the biggest companies out there do not involve the creators in the development, past comics, of characters they work on into film and TV and barely include them in a % of the license income they make off their images. This is a business that has no security for the talent as they get older, even though the biggest companies can easily help them and choose not to, and because of this, creators will be going elsewhere. An obvious and big reaction to this is we will see everything but the better selling titles take a huge hit and a ton of cancellations across the board. I also think this is the year where comics as a whole will be taking a hit unless things change really quickly.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? More creator owned character development and spending some more time traveling and having fun with my wife.

Who inspired you in 2018? My wife, Amanda Conner, continues to inspire me each and every day to be a better person, work through my problems, and enjoy life… and not make it about work all the time. After so many years of hustling, what is important is becoming clearer because of her. I am thankful for that.

John Green, writer/artist

2019 Projects: The second book in my KITTEN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY series, “A Bridge Too Fur,” comes out in Fall from First Second Books.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Not so much a story, but news that the world heard (and felt) both within and outside of the comics industry was the passing of Stan Lee.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Hopefully something GOOD and not something scandalous or heartbreaking!

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Probably the next Star Wars, I guess.

Joshua Frankel, Publisher, Z2 Comics

2019 Projects: Right now Z2 Comics has 8 books or so in production for next year 5-6 of them are some of our tentpole music books. The one coming out the soonest and that has been announced is the Ghost of Ohio. The book is by Andy Biersack (lead singer of the Black Veil Brides) Scott Tuft and Eryk Donovan. It is going to tie into Andy’s same named second solo album. We’re expecting big things out of the project. Aside from that of announced books we have Run The Dungeon and D&D comedy written by Patrick Kindlon and Drawn by Goran Gliogvic. Lastly we have Tales of The Music Makers a book showcasing people the Music Maker Relief fund have helped and draw by Gary Dumm.

Some of our biggest books this year will be announcing shortly after this article runs ( and one before most likely)

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? I think the acquisition of of comic book companies by broader media companies is probably the biggest story. In a span of a year Millarworld got bought by Netflix, Valiant getting bought by DMG wholesale and now Darkhorse having a majority stake bought by a Chinese VC firm. As a broader story in the last couple of years there has been a flood of investment being poured into comics. That said despite all of this money being pushed in sales have shrunk at least in the direct market. It seems counterintuitive but investment in comics is actually not great for the market as a whole, though it does benefit the people working in the industry.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? I hate to say it but I think the sugar rush of investment money is going to start to wear off. Your going to see a lot of comic companies either downsizing or folding up shop. The Lion Forge layoffs are probably just the tip of the iceberg. Also it should be noted it looks like the economy is about to slow down and possibly contract next year. This will most likely accelerate these trends

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Probably some horrible new food that’s invented

Who inspired you in 2018? This is going to sound super pretentious but I read a book called On Grand Strategy by John Lewis Gaddis. His basic thesis is that to properly employ a grand strategy a certain cognitive dissonance is needed where one has to plan out details carefully but roll with the punches when those details change. He uses a few historical examples from Xerxes to FDR. Overall that idea has been very helpful in running Z2 in the last year.

Mark Newgarden. Cartoonist

2019 Projects: How To Re-Read Nancy What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Stan Lee dies What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Big boy pants

Brian Fies, Cartoonist

2019 Projects: “A Fire Story” graphic novel, to be published by Abrams in March 2019, expands the 18-page Emmy Award-winning webcomic I posted after my home was destroyed in the California wildfires of October 2017. The 160-page full-color hardcover tells more of my family’s story as well as the stories of others affected by the fire, while also touching on issues of class and climate change.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Stan Lee’s death, and the reflection on where comics came from and where they’re going that it prompted.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Whatever movies Marvel cranks out. They’re not all great, but they’ve all been entertaining.

Who inspired you in 2018? Carol Tyler always inspires me because she makes high-quality comics with outstanding heart and craftsmanship.

Peter Kuper, cartoonist

2019 Projects: Adapting Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Too few books on climate change

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? More books on climate change

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Going back to Oaxaca, Mexico

Julia Wertz, cartoonist

2019 Projects: I’m working on an autobiographical book about my last years in NYC, as well as keeping up with daily diary comics at Patreon

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Unfortunately, Cody Pickrodt’s lawsuit.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? The resolution of that lawsuit, which I hope he loses.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? It’s not really a guilty pleasure, more just a pleasure, but I always look forward to Gabrielle Bell’s diary comics

Who inspired you in 2018? Liana Finck, who’s book Passing for Human, was released this year and was really unique and interesting, and she also continues to churn out cartoons for the New Yorker and on her instagram that somehow distill the human condition into one hilarious panel.

Sarah Glidden, cartoonist

2019 Projects: I’ve been on maternity leave for the last 7 months but he’s about to go to day care two days a week so I’m excited to get back to work.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Cody Pickrodt suing his alleged rape victim as well as ten other cartoonists, critics and publishers who came out in support of her is one of the most despicable uses of the legal system I’ve ever seen in the comics community.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? When the 11 beat this lawsuit.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? Paying a day care to take care of my son for a few days a week so I can work on comics, which financially makes zero sense.

Who inspired you in 2018? I could pretend its not my baby but who am I kidding? He makes me see the world differently.

Jeffrey Brown, cartoonist

2019 Projects: My new picture book, “My Teacher Is A Robot”, comes out in June

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? Stan Lee passing away. Also, side note, how old and out of touch is Bill Maher to use Lee’s death as an opportunity to declare that the comics medium has no value?!

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Barnes & Noble will experiment with a new kind of store that expands the graphic novel section, eliminates all other categories, and focuses on comics and pop culture related merchandise. The stores will work with Diamond Distributors and they’ll also sell a large selection of both new and out of print pamphlet comics.

Joe Casey, Renaissance Man

2019 Projects: March: JESUSFREAK with Benjamin Marra (Image Comics). April: SEX Vol. 6 with Piotr Kowalski (Image Comics).

What was the biggest story in comics in 2018? I don’t know how “big” a story it was, since death is an inevitable part of life, but we lost a lot of legends this year. Steve Ditko. Harlan Ellison. Jon Schnepp. Russ Heath. Gary Friedrich. Marie Severin. Norm Breyfogle. Carlos Ezquerra. Stan Lee. And that’s just a partial list.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2019? Hopefully something that no one could’ve possibly predicted…

Jeff Trexler, Attorney

2019 Projects: TBA

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2019? The 50th Annual San Diego Comic-Con – guilty pleasure because every year i say I should stay in New York to work, but …

Who inspired you in 2018? Ashley Eckstein, who not only wrote the stellar inspirational memoir It’s Your Universe but justifiably made the annual Her Universe fashion show one of — and arguably the most — buzzed about events at Comic-Con. She’s also one of the best speakers I’ve ever seen; her book tour and the talk she gave to lawyers & designers from around the world at this year’s Fashion Law Bootcamp were an exemplary blend of inspirational uplift and practical strategic advice. And there are others in the fashion community who were especially inspiring for me this year: Douriean Fletcher, Allison Cimino, Tony Kim, Jaimie Cordero … getting to catch up with and learn from people like this at comic-cons is a big reason why I go.

The Beat's Annual Creator Survey Part 1: creators speak out on the buiggest stories of 2018 and what might be coming in 2019 Yes, it's that time of the year where The Beat quizzes a wide swath of creators, journalists, retailers and other comics people for their upcoming projects, thoughts on the past and future of the industry, and inspirations.

#2018 creator survey #ashley eckstein #Brian Fies #Emma Vieceli #erica schultz #jeff trexler #Jeffrey Brown #Jimmy Palmiotti #Joe Casey #John Green #Joshua Frankel #Julia Wertz #Mark Newgarden #Peter Kuper #Sarah Glidden

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