Drawn and Quarterly

Cartoonist Jillian Tamaki on 'SuperMutant Magic Academy'
Cartoonist Jillian Tamaki on 'SuperMutant Magic Academy'
Cartoonist Jillian Tamaki on 'SuperMutant Magic Academy'
This One Summer's artist Jillian Tamaki's next book was just released, and it's very different to her collaborations with her cousin Mariko, which also include 2008's Skim. The Drawn and Quarterly-published SuperMutant Magic Academy collects Tamaki's webcomic of the same name, featuring a cast of characters of unusual abilities, backgrounds and appearances, who all attend the same private school. What is perhaps most extraordinary about the characters --- who include fox spirit Wendy, immortal Everlasting Boy, and aggressive performance artist Frances --- is just how familiar they all are under their unfamiliar surfaces. SMMA is a comic about a special school full of special kids, but it focuses on the parts of them that aren't special... or at least, the parts that they have in common with us. Which, of course, helps makes the comic special. Tamaki is currently touring to promote SMMA. We took the opportunity to talk to her about her work.
Drawn & Quarterly Celebrates 25 Years, Continues Legacy
Drawn & Quarterly Celebrates 25 Years, Continues Legacy
Drawn & Quarterly Celebrates 25 Years, Continues Legacy
Drawn & Quarterly recently celebrated its 25th anniversary at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF). Making the occasion especially poignant was the revelation that Chris Oliveros was stepping down and leaving the company in the hands of longtime associate publisher Peggy Burns and her partner, former D&Q creative director, now executive editor, Tom Devlin. Megan Purdy looks back over Olvieros's accomplishments and celebrates D&Q's contributions to comics.
New Comic Recommendations for 05.20.15
New Comic Recommendations for 05.20.15
New Comic Recommendations for 05.20.15
The question most often asked of the ComicsAlliance staff is a variation of, "Which comic books should I be reading?" or, "I'm new to comics, what's a good place to start?" The Wednesday deluge of new comic books, graphic novels and collected editions can be daunting even for the longtime reader, much less for those totally unfamiliar with creators, characters and publishers, and the dark mysteries of comic book shopping like variants, pre-ordering, and formats.
The Best Comic Books Of 2014
The Best Comic Books Of 2014
The Best Comic Books Of 2014
The last twelve months offered comic book readers a wide variety of work ranging from the most crowd-pleasing superhero epics to the most idiosyncratic of indies, and the return of old favorites to the emergence of exciting new talent. It was a busy and productive year for the industry, and one we’re pleased to celebrate with what we’re certain will be an uncontroversial, unenumerated list of awards that will prompt only resounding agreement and unbroken fellowship amongst our readers in the comments below.
Deconstructing Kerascoët 's & Vehlmann's 'Beautiful Darkness'
Deconstructing Kerascoët 's & Vehlmann's 'Beautiful Darkness'
Deconstructing Kerascoët 's & Vehlmann's 'Beautiful Darkness'
It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoët's Beautiful Darkness has been one of the undisputed standouts in the not unglorious year of comics 2014. Originating from the mind and sketch/notebooks of Marie Pommepuy (she, and partner Sébastien Cosset collaborate under the pen-name Kerascoët), the story of a group of tiny people springing from the body of a dead girl in the woods and the vicious lengths and efforts they go to to survive is appreciable on several, complex levels. One of the facets of great art is that it lingers in the mind, burrows and shifts, dredging up thought and questions, analyses, re-evaluation, and Beautiful Darkness is no different. And so, to accompany my original review, I've compiled a deconstruction of sorts presented here as various questions (answered and unanswered) and theories that dig further into the text and its potential readings.
Michael DeForge On His Graphic Novel 'Ant Colony' [Interview]
Michael DeForge On His Graphic Novel 'Ant Colony' [Interview]
Michael DeForge On His Graphic Novel 'Ant Colony' [Interview]
A prophetic child, full of microscopic earthworms and coated in pollen by bees. The child's nihilistic, sociopath of a father. A cowardly police officer. A pair of homosexuals beginning to drift apart. An infertile female. These are the ants of Michael DeForge's graphic novel Ant Colony, the collected, book form version of his once-serialized strip Ant Comic. Readers follow them through the weird
The Best Comic Books of 2013 [Master List]
The Best Comic Books of 2013 [Master List]
The Best Comic Books of 2013 [Master List]
The last twelve months offered comic book readers a wide variety of work ranging from the most crowd-pleasing superhero epics to the most idiosyncratic of indies, and the return of old favorites to the emergence of exciting new talent. It was a busy and productive year for the industry, and one we’re pleased to celebrate with what we’re certain will be an uncontroversial, unenumerated list of awards that will prompt only resounding agreement and unbroken fellowship amongst our readers in the comments below.
Gilbert Hernandez Wins PEN Center Award, 'Bumperhead' Announced
Gilbert Hernandez Wins PEN Center Award, 'Bumperhead' Announced
Gilbert Hernandez Wins PEN Center Award, 'Bumperhead' Announced
Gilbert Hernandez is unquestionably one of the greatest cartoonists of the last 30 years. As such, he continues to receive several accolades and awards, with the latest coming today, as it was announced that he is the recipient of the prestigious PEN Center USA's Graphic Literature Award for Outstanding Body of Work. Coinciding with that announcement, publisher Drawn & Quarterly revealed plan
‘NonNonBa’ by Shigeru Mizuki Mixes Memoir and Fantasy into a Manga Classic [Review]
‘NonNonBa’ by Shigeru Mizuki Mixes Memoir and Fantasy into a Manga Classic [Review]
‘NonNonBa’ by Shigeru Mizuki Mixes Memoir and Fantasy into a Manga Classic [Review]
If Shigeru Mizuki's NonNonBa were just the childhood memoir of an extremely talented and influential first-generation manga artist, it would be something well worth reading. If it were just a family drama set in the transitional, pre-war years of Japan, when the old, traditional ways were being replaced by the new ways of a more modern, industrialized world, it would be well worth reading... Read
‘The Playboy': Chester Brown’s Unflinching Autobiography of Sexual Awakening [Sex]
‘The Playboy': Chester Brown’s Unflinching Autobiography of Sexual Awakening [Sex]
‘The Playboy': Chester Brown’s Unflinching Autobiography of Sexual Awakening [Sex]
Sexy is an interesting word. When we say something is sexy, we're implying that it's nice to look at, that it inspires pleasure. It only implies those positive aspects of sex, the joy and luridness. But when you actually think about sex, there are a lot of uncomfortable feelings and confusing emotional experiences involved...

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