Issue Description

Jessica Abel was one of the hottest rising stars in the indy-comics scene of the 1990s, a reputation she first established with her series Artbabe, then cemented with the five-issue miniseries La Perdida (soon to be released in graphic-novel format by Pantheon). This issue, Greg Stump sits down for a long, comprehensive interview with the award-winning artist, tracing her career from the early, self-published minicomics to her first deal with a major book publisher, stopping along the way for the kind of digressions on life and art that have earned Abel her diehard legion of fans and admirers. Also: Bill Shafer talks to cartoonist Mark Bodé about carrying on the legacy of his famous father, Vaughn; Ana Merino catches up with one of the hottest young talents of the comic-strip page today, La Cucaracha creator Lalo Alcaraz; Ng Suat Tong offers an examination of classic Chinese tales translated into comics form; and Noah Berlatsky explains how modern copyright law may be hindering the creative works of tomorrow. Our comics section presents a gallery of gorgeous early 20th-century full-page newspaper cartoons by forgotten great Nell Brinkley. Add in the usual mix of news, reviews, commentary and comics, and you have another fine issue of the best magazine about comics available today: The Comics Journal!

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