The Comics Journal #304 features Gary Groth in conversation with outspoken Tasmanian cartoonist Simon Hanselmann, who discusses how his tragicomedy webcomic starring a witch, a cat, and an owl became an internationally acclaimed, best-selling phenomenon, collected in books such as Megahex and Bad Gateway. This issue also highlights the labor and economics issues facing the medium — the past and future of organizing a comics union, work-for-hire contracts, and how comic conventions can better serve creators — with the Journal’s hallmark candor. Other features include an exclusive look at the unfinished graphic novel that Eisner and Geisel Award winner Geoffrey Hayes was working on before his untimely death in 2017, a peak inside the lush sketchbook of Sophie Franz, a timely work by Brazilian cartoonist Laura Lannes, a reconsideration of the comics canon by Skin Horse cartoonist Shaenon K. Garrity, and more!

CHOSEN AS ONE OF THE BEST GRAPHIC NOVELS OF 2021 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE GUARDIAN, AND THE GLOBE AND MAIL A teenage Quaker joins the Union Army and experiences firsthand the brutality of the Civil War in this singular graphic novel by a beloved comics artist and animator. During the Civil War, many Quakers were caught between their fervent support of abolition, a desire to preserve the Union, and their long-standing commitment to pacifism. When Charles Cox, a young Quaker from Indiana, slips out early one morning to enlist in the Union Army, he scandalizes his family and his community. Leaving behind the strict ways of Quaker life, Cox is soon confronted with the savagery of battle, the cruelty of the enemy (as well as of his fellow soldiers), and the overwhelming strangeness of the world beyond his home. He clings to his faith and family through letters with his sister, Fanny, who faces her own trials at home: betrayal, death, and a church that seems ready to fracture under the stress of the war. Discipline is told largely through the letters exchanged between the Cox siblings—incorporating material from actual Quaker and soldier journals of the era—and drawn in a style that combines modern graphic storytelling with the Civil War–era battlefield illustrations of the likes of Thomas Nast and Winslow Homer. The result is a powerful consideration of faith, justice, and violence, and an American comics masterpiece.

Owl is gone, Werewolf Jones has moved in, and everything as Megg and Mogg know it begins to fall apart. Hanselmann’s comic premise of his previous graphic novels ― eternally stoned, slacker roommates ― stretches at the seams as his characters reflect the psychological toll that their years of unsustainable, determined insouciance and self-medication has inflicted.

Simon Hanselmann’s previous two Megg & Mogg books have both been New York Times best-sellers, and One More Year continues to cement Hanselmann as one his generation’s defining graphic novelists. Megg the witch, Mogg the cat, and their friends Owl and Werewolf Jones are imbued with far more pathos and depth than seems plausible. One More Year continues to give more substance to the characters and personalities of its protagonists in ways that never fail to surprise, delight, and horrify.

Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, the Avengers, the X-Men, Watchmen, and more: the companion volume to the PBS documentary series of the same name that tells the story of the superhero in American popular culture. Together again for the first time, here come the greatest comic book superheroes ever assembled between two covers: down from the heavens—Superman and the Mighty Thor—or swinging over rooftops—the Batman and Spider-Man; star-spangled, like Captain America and Wonder Woman, or clad in darkness, like the Shadow and Spawn; facing down super-villains on their own, like the Flash and the Punisher or gathered together in a team of champions, like the Avengers and the X-Men! Based on the three-part PBS documentary series Superheroes, this companion volume chronicles the never-ending battle of the comic book industry, its greatest creators, and its greatest creations. Covering the effect of superheroes on American culture—in print, on film and television, and in digital media—and the effect of American culture on its superheroes, Superheroes: Capes, Cowls, and the Creation of Comic Book Culture appeals to readers of all ages, from the casual observer of the phenomenon to the most exacting fan of the genre. Drawing from more than 50 new interviews conducted expressly for Superheroes!—creators from Stan Lee to Grant Morrison, commentators from Michael Chabon to Jules Feiffer, actors from Adam West to Lynda Carter, and filmmakers such as Zach Snyder—this is an up-to-the-minute narrative history of the superhero, from the comic strip adventurers of the Great Depression, up to the blockbuster CGI movie superstars of the 21st Century. Featuring more than 500 full-color comic book panels, covers, sketches, photographs of both essential and rare artwork, Superheroes is the definitive story of this powerful presence in pop culture.

An intimate, clever, and ultimately gut-wrenching graphic memoir about the daily decision people must make between being sexualized or being invisible—now in paperback In Commute, we follow author and illustrator Erin Williams on her daily commute to and from work, punctuated by recollections of sexual encounters as well as memories of her battle with alcoholism, addiction, and recovery. As she moves through the world navigating banal, familiar, and sometimes uncomfortable interactions with the familiar-faced strangers she sees daily, Williams weaves together a riveting collection of flashbacks. Williams recollections highlight the indefinable moments when lines are crossed and a woman must ask herself if the only way to avoid being objectified is to simply cease drawing any attention to her physical being. She delves into the gray space that lives between consent and assault and tenderly explores the complexity of the shame, guilt, vulnerability, and responsibility attached to both. Praise for Commute “This sharp and splendidly drawn memoir will strike a strong chord in the current moment. ” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “One day’s commute offers time for the author to reflect on sexual predators, alcoholism, and the experiences she understands better now than she did at the time. . . . A catharsis for the author that fits perfectly within a pivotal period for society and culture at large.” —Kirkus Reviews “This is welcoming, soul-baring, stunningly interconnected, and very discussable.” —Booklist

Iron Circus' latest sci-fi anthology project: stories about a world where warp drives cost $200, and the cosmos is within reach of all humankind.

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • From one of the great comic innovators, the long-awaited fulfillment of a pioneering comic vision: the story of a corner of a room and of the events that have occurred in that space over the course of hundreds of thousands of years. “A book like this comes along once a decade, if not a century…. I guarantee that you’ll remember exactly where you are, or were, when you first read it.” —Chris Ware, The Guardian "In Here McGuire has introduced a third dimension to the flat page. He can poke holes in the space-time continuum simply by imposing frames that act as trans­temporal windows into the larger frame that stands for the provisional now. Here is the ­comic-book equivalent of a scientific breakthrough. It is also a lovely evocation of the spirit of place, a family drama under the gaze of eternity and a ghost story in which all of us are enlisted to haunt and be haunted in turn.” —The New York Times Book Review With full-color illustrations throughout.

In this issue, Gary Groth interviews Roz Chast, the New Yorker humor cartoonist turned graphic memoirist (Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?). TCJ #306 focuses on the intersections between comics and politics. It includes op-eds on the importance (and lack thereof) of modern political cartooning. Also featured is a meditation on the creator of the Dilbert newspaper comic strip, Scott Adams; a piece about Daisy Scott, the first African American woman political cartoonist; a gallery of underground cartoonist John Pound’s code-generated comics; portraits of mass shooting victims; a selection of Spider-Gwen artist Chris Vision’s sketchbook pages; and other essays and galleries.

Winsor McCay, the creator of Little Nemo in Slumberland, is internationally renowned as a pioneer in comics and animation. But author Ulrich Merkl’s dedicated sleuthing has unearthed a never-published strip by McCay that was lost following the artist’s untimely death. Titled simply Dino, it opens a surprising new window into McCay’s life and work and showcases his exquisitely beautiful and delicate delineations (exactingly reproduced from the original art). Merkl explores the influences McCay brought to the strip―including McCay’s own Gertie the Dinosaur animated shorts, the animation in 1933’s King Kong, and the growth of New York City from the Holland Tunnel to the Empire State Building ―and traces our love of dinosaurs and monster movies down through the decades. Breathtakingly designed, each page of this deluxe oversize volume is overflowing with amazing imagery, with more than 650 photographs and illustrations (more than 250 in color) ― most of them seen here for the first time in a century! An essential volume for everyone interested in the development of the comic strip ― and our never-ending fascination with dinosaurs!