Links: Archie, Jeff Smith, and Free Comic Book Day

Saturday, May 1, is Free Comic Book Day, when comics stores offer a selection of special comics for free to the public. Many of the comics are kid-friendly and all are safe for all ages. You can see a preview of the Tiny Titans FCBD comic at Comics Alliance, where Laura Hudson also chats with the creators, Art Balthazar and Franco.

The big news in kids’ comics last week was the announcement that Archie Comics is getting its first openly gay character, Kevin Keller. While the blogosphere and the news media went into a frenzy of mostly positive reactions, the Riverdale characters react to Kevin’s simple statement with nonchalance; Kevin’s sexual orientation is simply a story device, not a political statement or a cause for riots. Veteran Archie writer Dan Parent, who came up with the story, talks to Comic Book Resources about how he is writing Kevin and how Archie plans to bring more diversity to Riverdale. At PWCW, I talked to the Archie editors about a number of the company’s new initiatives, including Kevin, a Josie and the Pussycats relaunch, and even a Jersey Shore parody. And while we wait for Kevin (he’s making his first appearance in September), here’s a preview of some upcoming Archie comics.

Also at PWCW, I reported on the C2E2 panel on graphic novel challenges in libraries, which included a first-hand account by the Kentucky librarian who handled the challenge to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Speaking of challenges, a few weeks ago a mom tried to get the fourth volume of Jeff Smith’s Bone removed from the school libraries in a Minnesota public school system, on the grounds that the characters were drinking, smoking, and gambling. ("Sexual situations" were also mentioned, but no one could ever figure out what she was talking about.) I talked to Smith for PWCW, and this week, a committee made up of parents, teachers, and librarians voted to keep the book in the library.

Willow Dawson discusses No Girls Allowed, a collection of stories about women who masqueraded as men in order to accomplish great things, and Mark McKenna talks about his kids’ comic Banana Tail, at Graphic Novel Reporter.

At Broken Frontier, William Gatevackes looks at the reboot of the Marvel Kids line and wonders if it will be the boys’ equivalent of the Disney Princesses.

Kevin Hodgson has a two-part podcast interview with Barbara Slate, the author of You Can Do a Graphic Novel,  at The Graphic Classroom.

At the Scholastic blog, Jen booktalks  Nate Banks: Secret Identity Crisis.

Robot 6 shows off a bit of art from Marvel’s new all-ages Thor series.

Eric Federspiel lists a new round of kid-friendly comics at Out from the Comic Shop.

The Disney Comics Blog has some art from BOOM! Kids’ upcoming Darkwing Duck comic.

Reviews

Melissa on books 1 and 2 of Amulet (Book Nut)
Todd Douglass on vol. 4 of Animal Academy (Anime Maki)
Brian Cronin on Archie #608 (Comics Should Be Good!)
Meredith Jenson-Benjamin on City of Spies (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Gavin Lees on City of Spies and vol. 1 of Resistance (The Comics Journal)
Steve Miller on Clubbing (Shades of Gray)
David Harper on Fraggle Rock #1 (Multiversity Comics)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Hits & Misses (Comics Worth Reading)
John Hogan on A Home for Mr. Easter (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Tangognat on vols. 1-3 of The Keys to the Kingdom (Tangognat)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown (Comics Worth Reading)
Chris Wilson on My Mommy Is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill (The Graphic Classroom)
Rob McMonigal on The New York Four (Panel Patter)
Monica Edinger on Prime Baby (educating alice)
J. Caleb Mozzocco on Prime Baby (Blog@Newsarama)
Peter Gutierrez on Prince of Persia (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Snow Wildsmith on Resistance: Book 1 (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Sarah Sammis on The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook (Puss Reboots)
Steven Surman on Spell Checkers (Broken Frontier)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of The World I Create (Manga Xanadu)
Lori Henderson on Zeus: King of the Gods (Manga Xanadu)
Nicola on Zeus: King of the Gods (Back to Books)

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