Cartoon Journal: Drawing the Women's March on Washington

Go to: The Village Voice, by Lauren Weinstein (via Tom Spurgeon)

Portrait: Barack Obama

Go to: Twitter: 1, 2, by Bill Sienkiewicz (via Wim Lockefeer)

More NonSense: March

TCJ lists their best comics of 2016.

2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize awarded to landmark comix Maus. Women Write About Comics holds a roundtable about the work. Last year's article by Michael Cavna quotes several comics creators who were influenced by Maus, including Gene Yang, Chris Ware, and Jeff Smith.

March is the best selling book on Amazon, just in time for Martin Luther King Day.

Isaac Butler compares the story of John Lewis in March and the presidency of Barack Obama.

Who would have thought Superman's red shorts would have become a hot political issue? Comics, folks.

Barack Obama on the power of fiction and storytelling.

Chris Ware, Cosey and Larcenet are three finalists for Angoulême’s Grand Prix, while Alan Moore steps aside again.

The Winter Issue of the Martial Arts Studies is available for download.

Ben Judkins on the limits of authenticity in martial arts. Who would have thought these kinds of discussions would eventually include lightsaber combat?

Webcomic: Obama’s greatest accomplishment?

Go to: Fusion, by Keith Knight (via Tom Spurgeon)

Website: State of Emergency

Precious Time, by Thi Bui

Go to: Pen America (via Tom Spurgeon)

Cartoon Essay: Lessons from Memphis

Go to: Fusion, by Christopher Noxon (via Sean Kleefeld)

Cartoon: Wall of Shame

Go to: The Village Voice, by Gilbert Hernandez (via Wim Lockefeer)

Webcomic: The Voting Rights Act Was Gutted

Go to: The Nib, by Andy Warner

More NonSense: The Best Of 2016

Andrew Aydin, John Lewis and Nate Powell (via National Book Foundation)

March Book 3 is the first graphic novel to win the National Book Award.

Amazon lists the top 20 graphic novels for 2016.

Michael Cavna lists the best graphic novels of 2016.

Charlotte McDuffie on her late husband Dwayne McDuffie and the awards established in his memory.

Sacha Mardou on the female characters created by Dan Clowes.

 Zulkiflee Anwar Unlhaque aka Zunar arrested again, this time for sedition against Malaysian Prime Minister.

Alanna Bennett on the growing divide between Harry Potter fans and their beloved franchise. Perhaps the most infamous recent example was the charge of cultural appropriation over J.K. Rowling's History of Magic in North America.

But not everyone is agitating for greater inclusiveness. Angelica Jade Bastién covers the growing racist backlash from some parts of superhero fandom. Both trends could probably be connected to a larger national conversation. But I wonder what this says about how franchises are created at different points in time and how different kinds of individuals end up gravitating towards them?

Alex Vadukul on Hong Kong's first female kung fu star, Angela Mao. Most people will recognize her as Su Lin in Enter the Dragon.

Erin Gloria Ryan on the surging demand for self-defence classes since Nov 8. These types of articles are usually written when people worry about a perceived increase in violent crime or terrorism while focusing on male students and instructors. But marginalized individuals such as women, minorities, and the LGBTQ community have always had their own specific self defence needs.

Sean Kleefeld, Tyler Amato, John Seavey, myself are ready to say goodbye to 2016.

More NonSense: The Trump Effect

10 Cartoonists React to Trump Winning the Election: Kendra Wells

The 2016 U.S. Election was an unmitigated disaster. That nation's two major political parties fielded two deeply unpopular candidates, and ironically the less popular of the two still won due to a longstanding institution called the Electoral College. It's the 2000 Election revisited, so signs don't point to the system being rigged against his party. Donald Trump's ascension is concerning for people around the world who still believe in democratic values, as it only cements an ongoing global trend of nominal democracies now controlled by intolerant authoritarian figures like the one I have to live with. So while the outcome was shocking for half the electorate, his rise was a very foreseeable event. But for the planet's sake, America's hallowed democratic institutions had better be more robust than they've so far proven to be this year.

On a note more pertinent to this blog, Trump's presidency will most probably have a chilling effect on intellectual enquiry and creative expression, especially in the already fragile comics industry. Here's more commentary from Sean Kleefeld, Tom Spurgeon, Heidi MacDonald, Tim Holder, Humberto Ramos, ComicsAlliance,

Did you know that Peter Kuper drew a comic predicting the Donald Trump Wall for Heavy Metal Magazine in the July 1990 issue?

Seth T. Hahne lists the 75 Best Comics by Women.

J. Scott Campbell redraws Riri Williams, after dismissing the negative reactions towards his original cover illustration for Invincible Iron Man.

R.I.P. Leonard Cohen (September 21, 1934 – November 7, 2016).

Webcomic: Off Season

Go to: Slate, by James Sturm

Today I realized I was living inside a cartoon

Go to: Cartoon Network, by Adventure Time