Links: Archie, Sisters, and the Return of Bill Watterson

It was big news a few weeks ago that Archie Andrews will die—not in the main Archie comics but in the YA spinoff Life With Archie. Industry observer Rob Salkowitz digs into that a bit and puts it in context in an interview on the public radio show Here and Now.

Here’s a first look at Raina Telgemeier’s Sisters, the followup to her insanely popular Smile, with a bit of an introduction by Zainab Akhtar.

Robert Marrujo posts a nice explainer on Archie’s Mega Man comics—what they are about, who the creators are, what the latest story arc is about.

Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson made a rare return visit to the comics pages this week to draw part of the strip Pearls Before Swine with Stephan Pastis. Shaenon Garrity has more.

Gene Luen Yang discusses his new book, The Shadow Hero, which was based on the Golden Age comics character, The Green Turtle—whose creator, Chu Hing, was one of he first Asian-American comics artists. Yang talks about the history of the character and the artist, the research he did for his own comic, and what’s coming up next.

I talked to Max Steel: Haywire writer Tom Pinchuk about how his work in animation influences his comics writing, and he also told me about a giant, evil pinata at one of his signings.

Jamie Smart talks about his new digital comic, Moose Kid Comics. Jamie was a frequent contributor to the UK comic The Dandy, which folded last year, and he rounded up a bunch of talented creators to put together this new comic in part to fill the void left by The Dandy. The first issue is free and well worth checking out.

Previews

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic #20 (Comicosity)
Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Son of the Sun (Flog!)
World of Archie Comics Digest #41 (Comicosity)

Reviews

Nick Smith on Cast Away on the Letter A (ICv2)
Luke Owen on Christopher Daniels and Kazarian Wrestle Aw Yeah Comics! (Flickering Myth)
Trevor Hogg on Cleopatra in Space, book 1: Target Practice (Flickering Myth)
Elizabeth Bird on The Dumbest Idea Ever (A Fuse #8 Production)
Nic Wilcox on Escape to Gold Mountain: A Graphic History of the Chinese in North America (No Flying No Tights)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Gaijin: American Prisoner of War (Comics Worth Reading)
Sarah Pines on Hidden (Haaretz)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood (Comics Worth Reading)
Marla Desat on Ms. Marvel #1-5 (The Escapist)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Princess Ugg #1 and 2 (Comics Worth Reading)
Dan Brown on The Return of Zita the Spacegirl (London Free Press)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Sisters (Comics Worth Reading)
Luke Owen on Sonic Universe #64 (Flickering Myth)
Hillary Brown on This One Summer (Paste Magazine)
Johanna Draper Carlson on This One Summer (Comics Worth Reading)
Johann Draper Carlson on Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir (Comics Worth Reading)

Filed under: All Ages