Links: Magical Girls, Little Robot, and Dragons Beware

Jillian Tamaki, who collaborated with her cousin Mariko on Skim and This One Summer, talks about her solo book SuperMutant Magic Academy, which will be out soon.

Rafael Rosado, the artist and co-creator of Giants Beware and its upcoming sequel Dragons Beware, talks about his evolution as an artist and how his work as an animator influences his comics.

Zita the Spacegirl creator Ben Hatke talks about the new graphic novel he is working on now, Little Robot, and shows off a piece of art he made specially for Free Comic Book Day.

The retailer site ICv2 is in the midst of two weeks of special features on children’s comics and graphic novels; highlights include

• An overview of the category, looking specifically at the increase in sales in recent years.
• Dark Horse CEO Mike Richardson and director of licensing—Asia Michael Gombos on Dark Horse’s kids’ line;
• Beth Kawasaki, senior editorial director of Viz’s children’s imprint Perfect Square, on targeting comics for readers in the 6-10 age range and the popularity of Pokemon manga;
• Writer Gene Luen Yang on the new Avatar the Last Airbender series he is writing, Smoke and Shadow;
• Paul Tobin on writing the Plants vs. Zombies comics, which are adapted from the video game, as well as his older-readers title Bandette (which made the 2014 YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens list);
• A preview of the new all-ages magical-girl comic Zodiac Starforce; and
• A preview of Shotaro Ishinomori’s The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which was originally serialized in Nintendo Power magazine in 1992.

Right here at SLJ, Pat Scales responds to a school librarian who usually buys all the Caldecott Medal winners for her collection and is disturbed that This One Summer is not kindergarten-friendly.

Johanna Draper Carlson finds more Count Spatula comics by Andi Watson.

The cute cat manga Chi’s Sweet Home (which, unlike most manga, is in color and reads left to right) will end with volume 12.

Creators Bastien Vivès, Michael Sanlaville and Balak talk about Last Man, the French fantasy action series from First Second.

Françoise Mouly talks TOON Books in an interview at Good magazine.

Johanna Draper Carlson comments on the fact that shonen manga sells better than shoujo.

Reviews: Zedric Dimalanta reviews the new, colorized edition of Chris Schweizer’s The Crogan Adventures: Catfoot’s Vengeance.

Henry Chamberlain on Archie vs. Predator #1 (Comics Grinder)
Nick Smith on Benjamin Bear in Brain Storms (ICv2)
Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Big Hero 6 (Girls Like Comics)
Bertass on The Creeps, Book One: Night of the Frankenfrogs (Berates)
Nick Smith on Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure (ICv2)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Nimona (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Nutmeg (Comics Worth Reading)
Nick Smith on Orpheus in the Underworld (ICv2)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula (Comics Worth Reading)
Drew McCabe on Saved by the Bell (Comic Attack)
J. Caleb Mozzocco on Uncle Scrooge #1 (Robot 6)

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