Tag Archives: Media

November 10, 2025 · 2:30 pm

Dalton Webb (1972-2025) cartoonist and illustrator

Dalton Webb

It’s the hardest obit to ever write, that of someone you’ve known for more years than you care to count, a beloved kindred spirit, my friend in life and forever, Dalton Webb. There’s a whole other world out there beyond social media and the internet that we touch, feel and experience. Not so long ago, we used to be in that world so much more than we seem to be now. Go further back, and the world becomes more and more real. In our youth, or relative youth, Dalton and I navigated a more real world. Yeah, I think it’s safe to say that. I was the older guy, by a decade or so, but, whatever. Our paths crossed, and once they did, we became fast friends. Dalton, being younger, perhaps was more prone to want to be a part of whatever the next big thing was at the time. I guess that was mastering that new up-and-coming Adobe graphic design software. We met as students of an illustration class. This, of course, back then, was in-person. There wasn’t any other option back at the start of the 21st century. We were both coming from different backgrounds and circumstances but, at that time, we were both living life by the seat of our pants, hanging on by our fingernails, on budgets so tight it could make your head spin. We got to talking and then more talking. It turned out that we had a lot in common, like an interest in the metaphysical and supernatural. And we were both Texas boys who decided to seek our fame and fortune in what was still then the wild and untamed hipster universe of Seattle, circa 2000, still trembling over what grunge had wrought. I’d originally moved to Seattle back in 1993. Kurt Cobain was still among us. In those years, I’d already lived a lot of life, even leaving Seattle for Spokane for a while. Anyway, we got to chatting and discovered we both were grappling, in very different yet very similar ways, with finding success as artists, or, at the very least, making our lives more artful! We both loved art in all its many forms and we had a keen interest in the comics art form. Lucky for us, Seattle was, and still is, a hotbed of activity for all kinds of creative people: musicians and writers; painters and photographers; and, most definitely, cartoonists.

Wally Mammoth, written by Corey R. Tabor and illustrated by Dalton Webb

The history of comics in Seattle is a whole thing all to itself and I can tell you that Dalton and I found our way into the very thick of it all. We stood our ground, we were part of it all and we evolved. We both created zines, comics, illustrations and did our fair share of networking. Fast forward a couple of decades and we matured as serious contenders. More recently, in more receptive times for both of us, we each got picked up by publishers. Very different books and set of circumstances but we could both say that we’d arrived. I have had a very busy year and I think that partly explains why I’d been so out of the loop with Dalton lately. I am thrilled about the new book (written by Corey. R. Tabor, illustrated by Dalton Webb) that just came out, Wally Mammoth: The Sled Race, published by HarperCollins, and I will provide a full review soon. I knew Dalton for so many years that, when he grew his hair long again, it wasn’t a surprise to me, as it was to newer friends. I’d known him back when it would have been a surprise to suddenly see him with short hair. I knew all sorts of things about him, and he knew all sorts of things about me. The point is that we knew each other well beyond the surface level. Heck, we were roommates for a time. We witnessed countless triumphs and failures between the two of us. So, when I moved away from Seattle a few years ago, it was hard to say goodbye and face the inevitable drifting apart. When I got a phone call from a family friend letting me know that Dalton had passed away, it hit me like a mack truck. What?! Where was this coming from? The last I’d heard about Dalton was from an Instagram post announcing the Wally Mammoth book, part of a new series. I just assumed this was the beginning of some well-earned career milestones. If I kept up with Facebook, which I do not, I would have learned that Dalton had been facing health issues. Sadly, we live in a world where it is assumed that everyone is connected to Facebook. It has been baked-in and there’s no going back, unless we really want to. Well, like a number of people, I don’t subscribe to the Facebook hive mindset and so I guess I miss a few things, but I never imagined Dalton was in such a bad situation. I’m thinking this wasn’t news that he would have readily shared with anyone. But I can only speculate about this most recent period. And it hurts that I somehow fell out of the loop.

illustration by Dalton Webb

Dalton was no hack artist, and neither am I! That distinction goes to the heart of our bond. He truly loved the whole art of problem-solving, the entire process. Yes, amen to that. We were a few years apart in age but essentially coming at things from a Gen X ethos: keep it authentic and don’t take any guff from anyone. Now, Dalton had the gift of gab and he could shop talk with any and all industry folk. I can too but I really do best with intimate and real conversation. And I know Dalton preferred that too, that’s why we got along so well together. Dalton, at the end of the day, genuinely enjoyed talking and sharing. He adored vintage illustration techniques and would pore over a book about a legendary illustrator for hours and then, all inspired, proceed to draw for hours. He loved such illustrator-artists as Walt Kelly, Eric Carle, Carl Barks and Maurice Sendak. Dalton just needed some more time. He was well on his way.

Dalton at an art show we organized.

Dalton was a lot of things: down-to-earth, stubborn, competitive, whimsical, kind, gentle, mysterious, and, did I mention stubborn? Well, let’s see, here’s a story. We, now and then, would do a road trip out to take part in a comics festival with our latest works. There was the time we drove from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C. to take part in an indie comics gathering. We stayed for the after-show dinner with various cartoonists. It was getting late, and it would have been so easy to just stay the night at a hotel, but Dalton was determined to drive back the three hours to Seattle. Against my better judgement, I agreed and hopped into the driver’s seat of my car. We were making steady progress on I-5 when Dalton insisted he wanted to give me a break, let me sleep, as he drove the rest of the way. I didn’t feel especially drowsy but I relented. Once I was riding shotgun, I let myself relax and doze off. No sooner was I in a deep sleep than I was awoken by a police siren and flashing lights. It turned out that Dalton had gotten drowsy and was weaving along as he was driving. By some miracle, the police officer let us go with just a warning! Even when he wasn’t trying, Dalton seemed to always charm his way out of things. I know he’s laughing at this.

Grasshopper by Dalton Webb

Well, as I was saying earlier, Dalton, the younger one of us, was a bit more eager to keep up with the latest trends. I did what suited me but was content to, more or less, miss the boat on some things, like Facebook, which, I love to point out, was originally intended as a way for fraternities to organize keggers. It wasn’t meant to be taken seriously as part of someone’s day-to-day activity but that is what it has become because we just don’t live as much of our lives in the real world as we once did. Anyway, when I got that phone call from a family friend letting me know that Dalton had died, I wasn’t struck with a need to post about it anywhere, let alone Facebook. You know why? Well, I just got a special phone call intended for certain people, right? In the real world, you readily appreciate the chaos and pain in a time of grief. What you do is let family lead the way and just wait. But, once news got out about Dalton’s death, it managed to make its way into the Facebook ecosystem. And, you know, worst things have happened. Dalton loved Facebook and, I imagine, he probably could get a chuckle out of the buzz of activity about him. But, he’s on a higher plane of existence now. And he most likely would get a chuckle over how utterly irrelevant so many things really are. Facebook is what it is. Maybe I’m supposed to embrace it more in the future–or maybe not. Dalton, I’m sure, is laughing his ass off that I’m freaking out over Facebook in the first place and he’d be right. He was, and remains, right about so many things.

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November 2, 2025 · 5:30 am

TALES OF PARANOIA by R. Crumb comics review

Tales of Paranoia. R. Crumb. Fantagraphics. 2025. 36pp. $5.99.

A lot of the public has caught up with cartoonist-provocateur R. Crumb. More people than ever are ready to do some of their own provoking. But don’t count the master out. Fantagraphics is releasing, Tales of Paranoia, Crumb’s first new comic book in 23 years. A show featuring original pages from the book is on view (and for sale) at David Zwirner gallery in Los Angeles thru December 20, 2025. The leading cartoonist of the Sixties underground, one of the greatest ever, Crumb’s influence cannot be overstated. Whenever you see the work of a comics artist that features an alter ego stand-in for the creator, commenting and complaining about life’s foibles, you can thank R. Crumb. He single-handedly invented the one-person comics anthology with the launch of Zap Comix in 1967, a progenitor to the whole “autobio comics” genre that was to evolve into the “alternative comics” scene into the 21st century. Following the Crumb tradition of a Larry David-like anti-hero are countless cartoonists, including such notables as Julie Doucet, Gabrielle Bell, Julia Wertz and Noah Van Sciver. With this in mind, it is no small feat to have R. Crumb yet again hold his own—and at the age of 81!

Page from R. Crumb, I’m Afraid, 2025
© Robert Crumb, 2025
Courtesy the artist, Paul Morris, and David Zwirner

Everything you could expect in a R. Crumb comic book can be found in this new book. I have read Tales of Paranoia a number of times and I am thoroughly impressed with how well it all holds together, one story blending into the next, not an easy thing to do well with a collection of short works. I’m delighted right away to see that distinctive, and consistent, lively drawing line. Crumb is a sui generis cartoonist: a one-of-a-kind artist who is highly accessible; sort of inviting other cartoonists to join in but most likely leaving them creating lesser replicas of his work. For the reader, Crumb is casually inviting you into his world: creating an illusion that you have entered an inner sanctum, whether it is the human condition, the national psyche or what may or may not be his own mind.

Reading every crumb of Crumb.

It is important to process every crumb of Crumb. He has written and rewritten, formatted and reformatted, to the point that he’s amassed layers of meaning, leaving room for argument and counterargument and further interpretation. Like any artist, he has absorbed the current zeitgeist and reflects it back to the reader. This leaves me wondering about his current batch of rants and riffs, as much expressions of his beliefs as a satire of how we collectively express ourselves: begin with the outrage and go from there, just like one podcaster emulates another podcaster, ad infinitum. Or, if you wish to take a longer view, it’s all about finding a way to tell the most compelling story, going back to the first stories ever told.

Crumb’s hobby horse of choice in this book is the potentially nefarious background attached to the Covid-19 vaccine and the cottage industry that has grown around it. This is not the only subject that Crumb sinks his teeth into but it is definitely at the top and provides a structure for further “ranting.” As any good storyteller knows, it’s all in the pacing. Like a good conversationalist, Crumb eases into this or that fact, gently but firmly citing his sources. Crumb makes his case for Big Pharma’s track record of corruption and encourages the reader to do their own research. Crumb finds nuggets of wisdom from a wide range of books and publications that he dutifully cites. He also includes such controversial figures as Joe Rogan and RFK Jr. which gives me pause. That said, Crumb insists you don’t have to like or agree with them but be open to what is coming from their corners. I conclude, if it is information resonating with the public, then it takes on a value, at the very least, for doing that.

We have gone from a tradition of “serious people” in high office and places of authority (John Kerry, Robert Reich, Hillary Clinton) to this current Trumpian transgressive period of unqualified “unserious people” in places of power (Kash Patel, Kristi Noem, RFK Jr.). Midway through the book, the comic “Deep State Woman,” points out that even a “highly qualified” person isn’t always your best bet. Here, Crumb can ease up on his “paranoid” character and simply focus on presenting a compelling portrait of a dangerous career bureaucrat.

With a nod to the mind-boggling complexity of all the world’s machinations, Crumb, more than once, looks upward and pleads for some words of encouragement from a higher power. Crumb depicts himself asking for some clarification from God and receiving the bare minimum for his efforts. All we can do is try. It’s nice to see that Crumb hasn’t given up.

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October 20, 2025 · 2:03 pm

Kindness, Not Kings

The NO KINGS protest demonstrates People Power works. Freedom of expression is powerful. You don’t have to agree with everything but the voices from a turnout of 7 million, the biggest one-day demonstration in fifty years can’t be dismissed. And so it goes. This is a process. The American experiment is a process.
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In case you wonder what the protesting is all about: Here is an excerpt from The Intercept 10/19/2025 Jessica Washington

Politics Reporter

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For the last month, the Trump administration has kept Chicago under siege. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested a 15-year-old U.S. citizen earlier this week after unleashing tear gas into a crowded residential neighborhood. Earlier in October, masked federal agents raided a five-story apartment building in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Chicago and zip-tied naked children as they dragged their parents away.

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The Trump administration claims that Chicago is unsafe and needs order, despite the fact that the city experienced its lowest homicide rate in 60 years this summer. But instead of investing in underfunded schools or attempting to eradicate poverty, which have been shown to increase public safety, the administration is pouring millions into the militarization of American cities and fighting a court battle to federalize the National Guard in Chicago.

#comics #comicsart #drawing #politicalcartoons #news #nokings @resist.riseup.movement

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October 12, 2025 · 1:35 pm

Maria La Divina by Jerome Charyn book review

Maria La Divina. Jerome Charyn. Bellevue Literary Press. 2025. 

Maria Callas (1923-1977), the celebrated opera singer, has gotten on more people’s radars with Angelina Jolie’s portrayal in Maria, on Netflix. Add to your appreciation of Maria Callas with the new novel by Jerome Charyn. Callas had the look, the poise, and, most assuredly, the voice. While keeping to her opera sphere of influence, she was certainly heard beyond it. Novelist Jerome Charyn, known for his in-depth explorations of notable figures, including Emily Dickinson and Abraham Lincoln, delivers a rags-to-riches tale of Callas at the level befitting such a towering diva.

Maria Callas is this novel’s clay, which Charyn molds into this beautiful melancholic character: perpetually hungry for cheese and chocolate; perpetually starving for love; blessed with extraordinary raw talent; burdened with poor eyesight and awkwardness. Callas came from humble origins. So humble that a Dickensian treatment, at least in part, is apropos to tell her story. Once she found her voice, she began to soar, even while still a teenager, at the height of World War II, living in occupied Greece, and fearing for her life. But Callas, at her core, isn’t especially fearful in this novel. She is gifted with an out-sized operatic singing voice that preoccupies her every waking moment. Displaced as she is growing up, her neurotic stage mother moving her and her sister from New York to Greece, she gains much solace from the companionship of three canaries, particularly her prized Stephanakos. Her lovers fated to doom. Callas, truly a tragic figure.

Maria Callas, portrait by Cecil Beaton, 1956.

Charyn, a masterful writer by any measure, is a delight to read. He sets in motion a narrative that you do not want to put down. His prose has a distinctive poetic magic to it, a relentless drive that charms and intrigues the reader. He will highlight certain aspects, features, quirks, of a character and return to them: Maria’s devouring, like a wolf, cheese and chocolate; Maria’s aspirations to master the art of “bel canto,” an impossible goal for any singer; Maria’s myopia, leaving her to memorize every inch of the stage since she won’t easily see it when she performs. Charyn, the writer and artist, diligently researches his subject to the point where he has a palette to dive into, like a painter, that sets him free to express the essence, meaning and purpose of a character, a story.

Maria Callas was to know world-wide fame but happiness was to allude her. In many ways, she was trapped: another VIP among other VIPs. It is in this bittersweet world of privilege and deprivation that Maria navigated. In such a world, she could be both miserable and mesmerized. In such a world she could find herself on the yacht of one of the richest men in the world, Aristole Onasis, circa 1959, the start of an extended love affair with Onasis. Here is just a brief excerpt as Charyn, amid all the glamour and pomp, has Callas, in an unhappy marriage with her manager, return to the simple pleasures of her canaries while speaking with Winston Chruchill:

“Madame Meneghini,” Sir Winston said, “you keep staring at poor Toby. Does my bird delight you?”

A shiver ran through Maria. Somehow this pompous bird reminded her of Stephanakos, her lost canary, and how much she missed singing duets with that bright yellow wonder of a male soprano.

“Forgive me, Sir Winston. I did not mean to stare. But I must kiss your hand.” And she did. His hand felt rough against her lips.

“That’s cheeky,” said Sir Winston’s bodyguard from Scotland Yard.

“Shut up,” Sir Winston said, his eyes half closed, “and let the opera singer explain herself. I’m sure she had an excellent reason, Sergeant Marley.”

“You see,” Maria said, “I was in Athens during the civil war, when you arrived in your armored car. It ignited the population.”

The old man with the babyish bald head was suddenly alert. “I remember that afternoon, indeed. I couldn’t afford to have Greece fall to the Reds. All of Europe would have fallen.”

Sir Winston’s head began to droop. His bodyguards transferred him to the outsize wheelchair, trundled him as far as they could, then cradled him in their arms and carried him to Aristotle’s lavish suite on the bridge deck.

Maria La Divina by Jerome Charyn is available now. I highly recommend that you seek out this engaging tale of bittersweet existence, the story of Maria Callas, La Divina, considered the greatest diva that ever lived.

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October 10, 2025 · 5:30 pm

Macabre Valley #1 by Zack Quaintance comics review

Macabre Valley #1. w. Zack Quaintance. a. Anna Readman. 30pp. Comics Bookcase.

Macabre Valley #1 is a 30-page horror comic by writer Zack Quaintance (Death of Comics Bookcase), artist Anna Readman(2000AD, Peachfuzz), colorist Brad Simpson (Local Man, Coffin Bound), Eisner-nominated letterer Becca Carey (Absolute Wonder Woman, Exquisite Corpses), and designer Jared K. Fletcher (Paper Girls).

This is one of those comic books that will speak to anyone looking for a blast of good authentic fun. You know, the good stuff. Comics and horror go hand in hand and Macabre Valley does not miss a beat. There’s a cool story behind this comic which I’ll get to in a moment. For now, just think werewolves done right. I see that the Kickstarter campaign (thru 10/15) attached to this comic has done very well. Let’s take a closer look.

Welcome to McCobb, Texas, “home of the Macabre Valley.” If that sounds ominous, that’s because it is. Okay, so the cool thing to know about this comic is that its writer, Zack Quaintance, has tapped into his own experience as a young intrepid reporter and built upon that to structure his own horror story. This is a shaggy dog story, complete with gumshoe tropes and offbeat humor, reminiscent of classic EC Comics.

This is the story of the gruesome murder of a border patrol agent out in the middle of the desolate badlands of South Texas. A young reporter happens upon the scene and is abruptly brushed away by local police who plead with him to just let this one go. Of course, that’s the last thing that our hero is going to do. So, now the chase is on to solve the mystery of a savagely murdered border patrol agent. The trail leads the reporter to a maverick pastor with a soft spot for rehabilitating stray dogs. That’s all well and good until that night he confronts something less dog-like and more monster-like.

This quirky story, its whole premise, reminds me of the cult classic TV show from the 1970s, Kolchak: The Night Stalker. In that series, Kolchak is a gumshoe reporter, played by character actor Darren McGavin. Each week, by incredible luck (good or bad?) Kolchak confronts a supernatural creature: of course, he “stalks” the creature; goes all-out Columbo (another ’70s TV classic) on the monster until he cracks the case. So it goes with this highly entertaining comic book.

I got to read a shorter version of this story which was part of Zack’s comic book anthology, Death of Comics Bookcase. You can read my review of it here. This 30-page full-bodied version allows for a richer experience and far more breathing room for the talents of the whole creative team, named at the start of this review. You get all sorts of opportunities for expansion like the beautiful greeting card two-page spread. Zack gets to play with various narrative nuances, including some strategic humor inserted at just the right time to pause before consuming more grindhouse gore. One thing to remember about Zack Quaintance is that he’s someone who really cares about the details. He demonstrates that with all of his work, notably his own review of comics which, these days, you can find over at Comics Beat. So, you can rely upon his being a perfectionist when it comes to delivering the goods here with this exceptional horror comic book.

Lastly, keep in mind that this comic book is the result of a Kickstarter campaign so refer to the campaign for details. That said, this comic book will be embarking upon a journey akin to a salmon run where it will endure a challenging journey on its way to spawn for future glory. So, keeps an eye out. Follow this comic book’s journey in all the usual places, including Zack’s hub, Comics Bookcase.

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October 5, 2025 · 6:08 pm

Mary Shyne Interview: YOU AND ME ON REPEAT

You and Me on Repeat, published by Henry Holt & Co., is a delightful graphic novel. You can read my review here. This is the first major graphic novel for Mary Shyne, also known for her own self-published graphic novel, Get Over It. So, keep in mind that Mary Shyne is very well-versed in the world of comics with numerous achievements: establishing a solid reputation with a self-published work; working in the book industry (Penguin Random House, no less); earning an MFA from the well respected Center for Cartoon Studies; getting her work published by a major publisher (Henry Holt & Co.); and, to top it off, Mary holds a key position at the Charles Schulz Museum. Alright then, no doubt, Mary Shyne is an exceptional person to talk about comics with. It was a pleasure to chat about Mary’s career path and her new book, a story about two star-crossed time-traveling teenagers.

Given that Mary’s career covers so much ground, this turned out to be a great opportunity to discuss various aspects of comics, specifically, the independent artist who self-publishes and often works alone (the auteur cartoonist) versus a new breed of comics artist that works within a team environment, including an agent, editor and publicist. There are variations to this. For instance, some well-established professional cartoonists retain the “auteur cartoonist” work method, giving up little to no control. While other cartoonists embrace working with others from the very start. Add to that the fact that many independent cartoonists are not thinking in terms of a “comics career” in the first place. But today such a path is potentially more viable if you follow certain steps. Your mileage will vary! There are so many variations on a theme, especially when it comes to a comics artist, etc.

Circa 2003: On a wing and a prayer, emerges The Center for Cartoon Studies.

We also dig deeper into the attitudes and approaches of cartoonists who came up the ranks with little to no formal training compared to cartoonists who have gained this new level of specialized comics training that was not quite possible a generation or so ago. The Center for Cartoon Studies stands out as a place of higher learning that trains those individuals who aspire to some kind of comics career, outside of working in the more mainstream superhero environment. These aspiring cartoonists are setting their sites on all kinds of comics that fit outside of the superhero genre (although there’s always unique exceptions) and these comics tend to be more personal “autobio” slice-of-life type of work, a genre all its own. These stories often find a home at more independent publishers or major book publishers interested in quirky offbeat work that tends to fit primarily into their young adult demographic (age 12 to 18), or the young reader market (age 8 to 14). And there’s more markets and age groups. The point is that there’s a strategy in place long before there’s a story. I suppose the trick, for any enterprising cartoonist, is to transcend any strategy. Those who manage to do that are really the ones who will thrive. After chatting with Mary, I can see she absolutely fits into that group.

All You Need is Kill

It was so much fun to chat with such an enthusiastic and experienced member of the comics community. Mary was very generous in sharing about her work and provided a window into her process. We bounced around a lot of ideas and covered a lot of ground. For instance, we talked about the graphic novel series, All You Need is Kill.

Palm Springs, on Hulu.

We talked about one of the great time loop movies, Palm Springs.

Lowlife (1992) by Ed Brubaker.

We talked about Ed Brubaker’s amazing comic book series, Lowlife.

My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea by Dash Shaw

We talked about Dash Shaw and his amazing animated feature, My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea.

Osamu Tezuka

We talked about Osamu Tezuka and his “star system” approach to comics.

Chuck Todd

Given that comics and pop culture are so closely aligned, and the fact that any conversation today can’t help but get a little self-referential, I brought up a giant in media, Chuck Todd, a recent sign of the times. Folks who find themselves pulled out of their high profile positions often turn to doing a podcast. At the time, I could not think of the title of Chuck Todd’s podcast. Well, it’s actually easy: it’s The Chuck Toddcast! I had not planned on mentioning Todd but it made sense. Chuck is someone who did everything right, loved his work, was respected by his peers, and yet it wasn’t enough. He was replaced as moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press, by Kristen Welker, who he graciously mentored. He came to my mind in terms of dealing with the demands of any industry attempting to gain top market share. It’s a war out there and good people can get caught in the crossfire.

Charles Schulz

And we round things out with wondering what Charles Schulz would do in the brave new world that is comics today. Mary thinks that Sparky would have most likely avoided social media, but that’s just a little bit of fun speculation.

I hope you enjoy the video interview. As always, your views, LIKES and COMMENTS directly at the Comics Grinder YouTube channel are crucial to our survival. Any bit of engagement is very welcome and appreciated.

Editor’s Note: If you are in San Francisco, be sure to view original art from Mary Shyne’s new graphic novel, You and Me on Repeat, at the Cartoon Art Museum. The exhibit runs from September 27, 2025 through January 18, 2026.

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October 1, 2025 · 8:00 am

Joe Sacco Interview: As Goes India, So Goes the World

I want to make clear that Joe Sacco did not say, “As Goes India, so goes the world.” That’s just my summation, my interpretation, as trite as it may sound. But I’m sure Joe would acknowledge my attempt at finding the universal truths in his latest work of comics journalism: The Once and Future Riot, published by Henry & Holt, releasing on October 14, 2025 and available for pre-order. Well, we had a most agreeable conversation. No doubt, Joe Sacco is a towering figure in comics, known for such landmark work as Palestine and Footnotes in Gaza. My main concern was simply to focus on the new book at hand and resist getting caught up in so many other things we could have talked about. But that was easy since the point I kept coming back to is that this new book has so much to say and proves timeless and highly relevant.

“They are rich people. We are poor people.”

This was an easygoing conversation, just like you’d expect in a coffee shop. I wasn’t there to argue this or that fiery point. I was there to, I suppose, coax along insights. A revelation for me, when I think about it, is that Joe Sacco is quite a regular guy in the sense that he’s not there to persuade you with any sort of slanted rhetoric. No “slanters,” just a progression of logical observations. All of this in the service of talking about this book, an exploration of political violence and focusing on a prime example in India: the communal hatred between Hindus and Muslims that led to the 2013 riots in Uttar Pradesh. How, and why, did this happen? All of this emerges in layers within layers.

“No one is left in the middle.”

Here’s the thing to keep in mind about any book by Joe Sacco: the background is essential because that’s where the meat of the story resides, made up of numerous personal stories. Joe’s tried and true method has been to go about capturing these moments with all their subtle nuances in words and pictures which provides an uncanny result by a reporter who literally has gone beyond the initial hard news to uncover the sort of details that can so easily get lost in the shuffle. During our conversation, I was struck by Joe’s patient and calm delivery, his response to my sometimes excitable questions. He was so engaged in the moment, which is undoubtedly the ideal state you want your guest to be in, that we were able to truly enjoy a conversation and let ideas flow.

The Lie becomes Truth.

One of the most interesting things about this new book is that it poses a lot of questions, more than we can hope to fully answer although we will keep on seeking solutions. As I suggest, this is a book not only about India but about the state of the whole world. Everywhere, we must confront demagoguery; we must confront those with power who prey on those without power; and we must confront our lesser selves who contribute to a polarized society. I shared with Joe what I believed to be the book’s conclusion: a primary way to end the vicious cycle of political violence among a nation’s people is to have a government that the people can rely upon and trust. He asked me if I thought that was his conclusion and I readily said, yes. And he agreed. We played with the thread of that idea. Joe shared that he thought of himself as a Democrat, but with a small “d,” as far from the established Democratic Party as possible. What other options did one have within the current reality? A very good question.

War on Gaza

I brought up something during our conversation that I didn’t think I would, and then I did. At the time that Joe Sacco did his War on Gaza limited series, published by The Comics Journal, I was on the fence about it because I feared it would help, in its own modest way, to contribute to a Democrat loss in the presidential election. It feels like a lifetime ago but, back then, Americans were facing a very close election, which it was, if you admit Trump’s 77 million to Harris’s 75 million votes was close, which it was, the closest one this century. With hindsight, I conclude that Sacco’s comics revisit of Gaza, his calling out genocide, was an honest response that made sense and still does. Democrats are far from perfect but, compared to the current administration, well, you tell me.

Ultimately, Joe and I both let out a collective sigh at confronting the hard truth that the big, truly substantial, leaps of progress still lay way ahead in the distant future. And yet the effort must continue towards that future, no matter how elusive, no matter how far out of reach, it may be.

Enjoy the video interview. As always, your views, LIKES and COMMENTS are very welcome and help us continue to do what we do here at Comics Grinder.

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September 23, 2025 · 10:00 pm

This Slavery by Scarlett and Sophie Rickard graphic novel review

This Slavery. By Scarlett and Sophie Rickard.  London: SelfMadeHero, 2025. 368pp, $23.99

Review by Paul Buhle

Rising stars in the comics world, with nominations for Eisner and Broken Frontier awards,  the Rickard sisters may register as the leading artists of historical, proletarian dramas with socialist morale. Or rather: Scarlett is the artist, Sophie the story-teller, a creative pair from the same Lancashire country as their subject.

They have already done thousands of avid readers a favor by adapting the enormous, historic novel by Richard Tressel about impoverished paperhangers, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, and brought a widely misunderstood woman suffage movement back to life in an adaptation of Constance Maud’s mostly forgotten work published more than a century ago.

And now, we see Lancashire, famous for its nineteenth century textile mills with thousands of underpaid workers, for the working class participation in the Chartist movement and for their self-sacrificing support of the antislavery cause in the US.  The novelist, Ethie Carnie Holdsworth (1886-1962), has not exactly been forgotten, but her status as the first blue collar English woman to write a novel, and her remarkable output of at least ten novels, had long been neglected until British feminist-socialists helped bring it back to light.

Textile owners naturally wanted continuation of sales to the Confederacy. A decade before the Civil War, masses of workers in Lancashire had nevertheless greeted Abolitionist speakers with enthusiasm, embracing an antislavery cause that many American workers shunned. The protagonists of the novel take another path through history: two sisters unemployed when “their” mill burned. Rachel sets herself to a course of reform while her sister fatalistically accepts the inequality of contemporary marriage to a capitalist swine.

We see mass street events, meetings around radical causes, and a bang-up conclusion that no conscientious reviewer would reveal. If This Slavery sometimes leans into melodrama, it faithfully follows its source. But plot summaries and narrative high points offer scarce appreciation of the graphic novel’s accomplishments and sheer beauty.

Perhaps the exactness of the industrial, blue collar setting and the precision of the detail of clothes, but also of contemporary working class language, will strike the historically-minded reader the most forcefully. The sheer length is staggering. This reviewer is a poor judge of the use of color, which is now obviously accomplished (like nearly all the rest of comic art) by way of computer graphics rather than laboriously by handwork, likewise dialogue, no longer written out, a point of pride for comic artists only a decade or so ago. To have accomplished this vast visual text any other way would likely have been a life-long task for these sisters obviously with their eye on future radical projects.

Something more needs to be said about working class portrayal in comic art, or rather, its near-total absence until the recent past. “Out Our Way,” one of the long-lasting and popular early newspaper strips, holds the dubious honor of being the first strip with a recurring factory scene (usually, the supervisor is frustrated at the kinks in the production process) and the first to feature a corpse. Lower class types go back to Mutt ’n Jeff, racetrack touts, or even to the Yellow Kid, the 1890s slum-dweller whose ethnic identity remains uncertain but whose coloring gave the comics a daily identity.

Actual working class people, their families and neighborhoods, receded further with the triumph of the family-oriented strips in the 1920s. Famously, Blondie needed to leave her secretary-and-flapper life for home and Dagwood. Comic books rose to their apex with working class guys at war, never at work; and in the grim strips of blue collar violence, in which escape from wage slavery meant guns and molls (themselves apparently escaping dull working lives).

The rise of Underground Comix brought intense, radical themes to the surface as never before. Despite the political leanings/commitments of the artists themselves (in the Bay Area, they even launched a union drive that promptly failed), the sharpening contradictions of blue collar life were rarely seen, except through glimpses of satire.

Graphic novels, now in the global thousands or tens of thousands, not even to mention digital comic creations, treat the widest possible settings and characters. With some notable exceptions—among them Wobblies!, the 2005 history of the Industrial Workers of the World, with a handful of artists, edited by  Nicole Shulman and myself, on the centenary of the famed organization—we have not seen much else.

All the more important, then, is This Slavery, for what it seeks to do.  Anyone who puts on a pair of shoes knows, or should know, that factory work continues, blue collar life continues across the world. Let us hope to see more in comic art.

Paul Buhle

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September 16, 2025 · 11:00 am

You and Me on Repeat by Mary Shyne comics review

You and Me on Repeat. Mary Shyne. Henry Holt. 2025. 224pp. $17.99.

A good time travel story these days walks a fine line as a genre all to itself: self-aware, serious and ironic all at once. I can see that Mary Shyne has given this a lot of consideration which has resulted in a graphic novel with a fresh take. Clearly, Shyne knows her way around all the time travel tropes, and so do her characters.

Chris and Alicia, two teenagers who have just graduated high school, are quick to accept the reality of time travel but not so quick to accept themselves. This is the premise that Shyne plays with as she has these two endure an endless loop of re-living their high school graduation day. Chris is a science geek and he’s a bit uptight. Alicia is an aspiring writer and she’s a free spirit. These two seem unlikely as a romantic couple but only time will tell, right? Shyne is way ahead of it and manages to keep thickening the plot, even for the most jaded young adult, this book’s prime audience.

As with any good time-looping story, the journey is what it’s all about. Shyne paves the way with a light manga art style that is pleasing to the eye and compliments the breezy nature of the narrative. It’s a very impressive work that checks all the boxes in what makes for a highly marketable work in comics. In its layout, its humor and overall vibe, there’s something lean, clean and perfect about Shyne’s work. That said, Shyne elevates her work to something personal and idiosyncratic that defies the most perfectly calculated marketing stratagem.  Could it be a bit of genuine heart-felt magic? I think so.

The best time travel stories have less to do with time travel and more to do with characters and so it is the case here. The two main characters, Chris O’Brien, who is white, and Alicia Ochoa, who is Mexican, are a mixed-race star-crossed couple of kids. The trend in the book and entertainment industry, if you haven’t noticed in the last five years, is diversity. I’ve been very mindful and supportive of diversity for much longer than five years. How about all my life? I’m Mexican American and, as a creator of comics and stories, that unique perspective is always there in my own work, whether it is noticed or not. In the case of this work, it is supposed to be noticed. Alicia Ochoa steals the show as the oldest sibling among many in a large Mexican family. Not all Mexican families are large but it’s a compelling trope and it works well here. Alicia is a restless soul who wishes to explore as many versions of herself as possible, including romance with girls and boys. What could be better than to be stuck in a perpetual loop where you repeat the same day, do whatever you want, wipe the slate clean and dig in for more?

Remember, the reason we can’t seem to get enough of time travel stories, at least good ones, is that they promise to deliver a bit of genuine heart-felt magic. I really enjoyed this book all the way to the last page and that’s because of its heart and honesty. And, hey, Shyne manages to do something that keeps getting more difficult to do in the genre. Shyne taps into that magic we keep craving and hoping for when we seek out a good time travel yarn.

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September 8, 2025 · 10:16 pm

THE KING’S WARRIOR by Huahua Zhu comics review

The King’s Warrior. Huahua Zhu. Bulgilhan Press. 2024. 65pp. $15.00.

From the cover, all the way through, I am completely swept into the exquisite world that Huahua Zhu has created in her new comic. I love fantasy when it works for me and this does. Recently, I was browsing through a bunch of zines at a certain shop and I was struck by the art on the cover, the delicate and ethereal lines holding up a bold eccentricity.
When a comic sparks my curiosity, that’s a very good sign. The best fantasy will do that: somehow turn the genre on its head, give you something refreshingly new and will its own reality. By simply jumping into the story, in just the right understated manner, Zhu has achieved this. One wonders what led up to this moment while, at the same time, ready to follow along.
The two leading characters are rather enigmatic: a brother and sister with elfin ears. All we know, at first, is that this is a world of monsters, especially dragons.  Zhu’s approach is to not give too much away. The first page is a trio of close-up panels depicting a slaughter of dragons. This is followed by a couple of pages of combat. And then a page featuring a castle and an inset close-up panel that only shows part of a craggy face. A textbox below dares someone to come and kill him. Finally, the next page has our leads, Mara and Echo: an animated page of various panels that gently introduces the siblings with light hints of yellow and blue watercolor.
An ambiguous and fanciful tempo is kept up all the way to the end of this book. The connections between characters are not altogether clear hinting at a larger backstory. There is no apparent reason why the actions of one character should determine the fate of another but that seems to be the point. Mara and Echo have both ended up being kidnapped by a mysterious queen who won’t set them free until a warrior has completed his task of assassinating a wizard. Once this chain of events has been set into motion, more things are triggered and there’s no turning back.

Zhu has a wonderful way with drawing horses, dragons, gnomes, elves, wizards, all the stuff of fantasy, including a magical golden coin. The trick is to not bring out the big swords too often or all at once. Good fantasy, or any good story, is made up of a number of well-timed moments, constantly moving forward, toward something greater than its parts. This Zhu does well. I buy it in every quiet scene she’s conjured up with the mighty warrior and Growl, his chimera sidekick. Yes, Zhu manages a bit of humor. This is an ideal work of comics fantasy, both spooky and enchanting.

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