PW Comics World: More To Come

Heidi talks with Funko founder Michael Becker about toys and the future of Funko, and gabs with Fabrice Sapolsky about his new imprint FairSquare Comics; while Calvin interviews novelist Stephen Graham Jones about his new IDW series, Earthdivers: Kill Columbus, a Native American time travel plot to go back in history, kill Columbus, and stop the coming genocide of indigenous people.

Heidi talks with CBLDF interim director Jeff Trexler about the recent court ruling in favor of cartoonist Maia Kobabe’s graphic memoir ‘Gender Queer,’ a guide on gender identity that has been the target of censorship.

Heidi and Calvin recap their visits to SPX, aka the Small Press Expo; a preview of New York Comic Con (Oct. 6-9) and the return of ICv2’s Insider Talks; comics panels at the Brooklyn Book Festival (Sept. 25-Oct. 2); and Dark Horse’s decision to switch its comics shop distribution from Diamond to Penguin Random House Publisher Services.

Calvin moderates a roundtable discussion about Rebecca Hall’s acclaimed work of graphic nonfiction (with artist Hugo Martinez) ‘WAKE: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts,’ and its adaptation into a fully cast audio play.

New developments at DC; a creator’s critical open letter to Webtoon; report on Titan Manga, Shueisha’s Manga Plus, and Stan Sakai’s new imprint at Dark Horse; and; comics publisher Bad Idea, and the war between Ye and Dan Cherry.

Mad Cave acquires Papercutz; comics periodical woes; graphic novel rights deals grow; the return of Flame Con; WinC Creative Conference; awful decisions at Warner Bros. Discovery; and more on the Sandman.

More to Come presents a flashback special episode of on-site convention interviews from the before-times. Calvin interviews Ben Passmore and Maia Kobabe in 2019, Heidi interviews Carla Speed McNeil in 2016, and Kate interviews James Tynion IV in 2016

DC’s various media dumpster fires; Valiant’s vanishing publishing list, Tapas’ retreat from IP development; and Oni’s ongoing workplace troubles. Plus, the Harvey nominations; Tynion’s totals, and praise for Sandman on Netflix.

Calvin talks with PW graphic novels reviews editor Meg Lemke talks about two new starred books: Kate Beaton’s ‘Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands,’ a masterful memoir of her experiences as one the few women working in Canada’s remote oil fields; and Kate Gavino’s ‘A Career in Books’, a vividly rendered satirical graphic novel about three Asian American young women determined to work in book publishing.

News of layoffs at Tapas Media; then recap Heidi’s trip to the San Diego Comic-Con, the return of giddy fans and artists, and the biggest book and media events of the show; the Sandman trailer, and Calvin's interviews publishers and artists at Comic-Con.

Calvin talks with Charles Kochman, editorial director of ComicArts, Abrams’ wide-ranging graphic novel/nonfiction imprint, and the authors and diverse collection of graphic titles he’s showcasing at Comic-Con.

Calvin interviews comics creator, professor and comics scholar John Jennings, Director and Curator of Megascope, Abrams Comics Arts' graphic novel imprint for genre stories by and about people of color; and comics creator Rachel Smythe, the 2022 Eisner Award winner of Best Webcomic for her comic 'Lore Olympus', published by Webtoon.

Calvin interviews Lindsey Elias, director of Brand Events at Penquin Random House live from her vantage point at SDCC 2022 as the floor opens for the first time since 2019. Elias talks Comic-Con, George R.R. Martin, and more

Calvin and Heidi talk with Drawn and Quarterly publisher Peggy Burns about the celebrated Canadian literary graphic novel publisher, discussing D&Q’s history; surviving the pandemic; the current state of the comics marketplace; and D&Q’s long and stellar list acclaimed comics authors.

Heidi interviews Axel Alonso, CCO of AWA (Artists Writers and Artisans), the veteran comics editor and creator about AWA and AWA's Resistance shared universe including its new book "E-Ratic: Recharged" by writer / artist Kaare Andrews.

Online outrage at Pink Cat and TCAF; the return of (some) Comic Arts Festivals; San Diego Comic-Con preview; a postmortem on ReedPop’s international growth; job moves by Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada; unionization at Seven Seas; and the graphic novel/comics presence at the U.S. Book Show.

Calvin interviews acclaimed cartoonist Geof Darrow about the release of ‘Shaolin Cowboy: Cruel to Be Kin,’ a new seven-issue series from Dark Horse continuing the saga of the Kung Fu Buddha and his mind-blowing, bleakly hilarious, elegantly violent journey through the ravaged landscape and psyche of America.

Heidi recaps TCAF 2022 and sneaking into the NFT NYC crypto conference; diversity in publishing; tributes to Tim Sale and Mike Pasciullo; updates on DC, PRH/Disney distribution, and Conan the Barbarian; a salute to Linda Sunshine; and the eternal controversy of OEL anime.

Calvin interviews Chris Giliberti, CEO of Zestworld, a new subscription-based digital comics venture, about the company’s vision to create a new comics marketplace for original creator-owned comics, Zestworld’s digital publishing and distribution model, and the new venture’s plans to be a multiservice platform, offering a variety of support services to veteran and emerging artists.

The nominations for this year’s Eisner Awards; an ever-expanding list of comics job moves; sharp growth in manga sales and the rebound of comics and graphic novel retailers; the heroic work of librarians in the face of censorship; and the comics contributions to the PW@150 commemorative issue.