Issue Description

Now revamped with more pages, better paper stock and more color pages, The Comics Journal remains the finest source of comics-related news, reviews and commentary in the market today. This issue features an in-depth, career-spanning interview with writer and cartoonist Ed Brubaker, covering his life in comics from his early days as an indie cartoonist to his work for DC Comics on such titles as Batman and Sleeper. Sean Phillips (the artist behind Sleeper) provides this issue's cover. Also in TCJ #263: In a series of essays, our critics (and a few surprises recruited especially for this issue) take a closer look at one of the most renowned and controversial self-publishing success stories in comics history, Dave Sim and Gerhard's Cerebus! From the duo's many artistic accomplishments to Sim's many pronouncements on gender and politics, this roundtable will put it all into perspective for you as only The Comics Journal can. Want still more? How about the early college cartoon work of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, accompanied by an explanatory essay by noted comics historian R.C. Harvey? This is a rare opportunity to discover the origins of Hef's lifelong fascination with cartooning — you won't want to miss it. Add in a reprint of rare, archival newspaper strips, industry commentary from Steven Grant, Dirk Deppey and others, plus the celebrated news and critical coverage that has won the magazine countless awards, and you have another fine issue of the most essential magazine about comics!

The Comics Journal (1976)

Publisher

Fantagraphics

Volume Description

The Comics Journal is a magazine that covers the comics medium from an arts-first perspective, and one of the nation's most respected single-arts magazines, providing its readers with an eclectic mix of industry news, commentary, professional interviews, classic comics sections and reviews of current work on a regular basis. Due to its reputation as the American magazine with an interest in comics as an art form, the Journal has subscribers worldwide, and in this country serves as an important window into the world of comics for several general arts and news magazines.

Despite a contentious relationship with the rest of the North American comics industry, due in no small part to its investigative news stories and uncompromising review section, the Journal has won several industry awards, most notably the Utne Reader, Eisner and Harvey trophies.

In October 2009, we announced the next phase of the evolution of The Comics Journal, beginning in 2010 as a uniquely sized and formatted, evocatively visual and tactile semi-annual event, with expanded content at The Comics Journal website TCJ.com.

A comics magazine, which originally began as the New Nostalgia Journal, started in 1976 by Gary Groth and Mike Catron after the Nostalgia Journal (which ran 26 issues) lost their battle against the competing adzine, The Buyer's Guide. Gary and Mike, both in their twenties, had no plan, but somehow convinced the maker of the Nostalgia Journal to give them the paper.

As Gary Groth recalls:

I can’t remember how we talked them into this, but I suspect they were on their last legs and decided to hell with it, let’s give it to these two kids. Shortly thereafter, a box arrived in the mail with some back issues, a list of advertisers and a mailing list, and we were the proud new owners of Journal.

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Status: Not in Collection