This month we'd like to highlight some interesting links and news in regards to Australian comics. First of all, Safdar Ahmed's Still Alive featured on ABC's Compass and we highly recommend you check it out.
We also have an interview to Ariel Slamet Ries on the publication of Witchy Vol 2 and an interview to Sara Firth who's first graphic novel will be coming out next year. There are also two new graphic novels out by Australian creators this month, which we've highlighted on our New Release Titles list.
And in case you haven't listened to it yet, a couple of weeks ago we published an excellent creator chat with Jessica Walton and Aśka, which is available oun our YouTube Page and our ALIA Graphic Podcast feed.
If you're a complete data nerd and are interested in what's happening in the U.S. in terms of sales of graphic novels, this is your lucky month! Brian Hibb's comprehensive report of graphic novel sales in 2021 is out on The Beat. No surprise, Dog Man, Cat Kid and Dav Pilkey dominate, but there are also some surprises and shocks (What happened Marvel?). It's very long and rich in data, but it's worth delving into.
And there's so much more happening! Here's the full roundup... Stay safe everyone and #GetGraphic!
News
Compass did an episode recently about Safdar Ahmed, the creator of Still Alive, looking at how his artistic work is driven by social advocacy and the Refugee Art Project. The episode is called Safdar Ahmed is Still Alive and It is available on iView.
The shortlist for the inaugural Graphic Medicine Awards has been announced. We’re so happy to see this initiative and it’s an amazing collection of graphic novels worth checking out.
Geeks Out recently interviewed Ariel Slamet Ries about Witchy Volume 2 and lots of other things. An interview worth reading.
The Beat had great coverage of Wondercon with several articles, but we want to especially highlight two of them. First, a report on the Jack Phoenix and Moni Barrette panel talk about libraries and book challenges. And their report on Gene Lueng Yang’s projects, from Shang Chi, to the Monkey Prince and American Born Chinese.
It’s 70 years of Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy a series that influenced so many and changed so much. Otaquest has a great article about it and how it still holds up so well after 70 years.
AIPT reports that DC has announced Superman: Space Age, where Clark Kent learns that the world is coming to an end and Superman can’t do anything about it. It starts in July as a three issue prestige series.
The Beat reports that DC has partnered with Spotify to release an audio podcast serial. Batman Unburied will start May 3 and tell an all new story with the dark knight.
Free Comic Book Day is on again this year on Saturday, May 7. Find out if there’s a local store participation using this store finder.
Collections
Brian Hibbs has published an extensive and detailed analysis of graphic novel sales in the U.S in 2021. Not surprisingly Dav Pilkey as a creator and Scholastic as publisher dominate the list closely followed by some key Manga titles. But there are lots of interesting things in the report, including the fact that there were more items sold in 2021 than 2018 and 2019 combined with a nearly 70% growth in sales.
For contrast it’s also worth checking Comichron’s report on sales in comic stores. First they report on single issues but scroll down to about half way to see the sales chart for graphic novels in comic stores.
The ever reliable No Flying, No Tights website has published an excellent list of Manga for kids that we thoroughly recommend if you’re looking into getting more Manga for younger readers.
The Beat celebrated Trans Day of Visibility publishing a list of 31 trans and gender non-conforming creators. We missed it last month as it came out right at the end of the month but we think it’s really worth sharing so here it is a month later.
Webinars/Podcasts
Henry from Comics Grinder has published an excellent interview with Sara Firth. They discuss the creative process with a focus on the interconnections and differences between comics and graphic recording. Her first graphic novel will be published next year.
NEW RELEASE TITLES
Junior & YA
Bite Sized Archie by Ron Cacace, Vincent Lovallo (Archie Comics)
Dragon Quest Adventure: Dai Vol 1 Disciples of Avan by Riku Sanjo, Koji Inada (Viz Media)
Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys, Brittney Williams (HarperCollins)
Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters by Chris Samnee, Laura Samnee (Oni Press)
The Man Who Shot Lucky Luke by Matthieu Bonhomme (Cinebook)
Rainbow the Koala and Star the Elephant by Remy Lai (Allen & Unwin) [Australian Creator]
The Rema Chronicles Book 1: Realm of the Mist by Amy Kim Kibuishi (Scholastic)
Space Pirate Captain Harlock by Leiji Matsumoto, Jerome Alquie (Ablaze)
Adult
6000 Miles to Freedom by Stéphane Marchetti, Cyrille Pomès (Graphic Mundi)
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Fred Fordham (Vintage Publishing)
Crude: A Memoir by Sophie Tardy-Joubert, Pablo Fajardo, Damien Roudeau (Graphic Mundi)
Days of Sand by Aimee De Jongh (SelfMadeHero)
The Ghost in You by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips (Image Comics)
Hen Kai Pan by Eldo Yoshimizu (Titan Comics)
So Much For Love: How I Survived a Toxic Relationship by Sophie Lambda (First Second)
Tin Man by Justin Madson (Abrams)
White Faced Lies by Eric Flanagan, Sam Voutas, Timothy McEvenue (Writing Rooster Media) [Australian Creator]
