My 2014 Writing

Here is a look back at the writing, criticism, etc. I did on comics and graphic novels in 2014. My work appeared at Hyperallergic, the Comics Journal, in the Chicago Reader, and here, at my site. We moved this year, so some things were put on hold, etc., but I think I produced a fair amount of stuff in 2014 when I wasn't at my day job or packing boxes, right?

HYPERALLERGIC

I feel fortunate to be a new contributor to online art magazine Hyperallergic — on any given day, there is a mix of criticism, reporting, profiles, and more over there from a group of really great writers. My first piece for Hyperallergic went live in June — I wrote about Gabrielle Bell’s touching and funny autobiographical comics collection Truth Is Fragmentary (Uncivilized Books).

New York City's Z2 resurrected some 1990s-era comics from Eisner Award-winning comics creator Paul Pope this summer. I wrote about his Escapo for Hyperallergic, too.

My final larger piece on comics this year went up in October — I wrote about the new big collection of illustrations and comics from Tim Lane published by Fantagraphics.

BLOGGING

There are a lot of posts on new comics at my site under Recent Reads. Here is a handful that might be worth singling out.

For one of the first longer pieces I posted at my new-ish site, I wrote about a comics censorship feature in PRINT magazine, Sean Howe's Marvel book, and Wallace Wood's work.

In March, I posted a roundup of worthwhile comics-based reporting. It includes the work of Susie Cagle, Dan Archer, and more.

A digital-only graphic novel about drug trade-fueled violence and troublesome ghosts called Duppy '78 was published by Com.X in the spring. I wrote about that story here.

I wrote about a really powerful piece of graphic reportage called Invisible Wounds from journalist and comics creator Jess Ruliffson in April.

Everyone and his or her mother has suddenly written about Richard McGuire's Here. Back in November, I wrote a post about it, too — specifically about the book's origins, which can be traced back to a groundbreaking black & white comic strip published 25 years ago.

I dug Meags Fitzgerald's part-memoir, part-history comics work Photobooth: A Biography (Conundrum) — I wrote about that big book in May.

The summer issue of ARTFORUM featured essays and articles on comics and animation. I wrote about its successes and failures.

I don't read a lot of serial comics (I'll likely opt for the trade collections) — "Southern Bastards" is one of the few I really enjoy, and I paired a post about it with some thoughts on a gritty, digital-only graphic novel called The Package.

Michel Fiffe's COPRA is another series that is unlike a lot of stuff out there. My piece on that book as well as Farel Dalrymple's lengthy graphic novel The Wrenchies is here.

My thoughts on another Image book, Genesis, are here, along with a Dark Horse series from Greg Rucka called "Veil."

A voluminous cross-section of the comics publishing landscape called Comics: A Global History, 1968 to the Present is worth having on your shelf, in my opinion. My post is here.

THE COMICS JOURNAL

For The Comics Journal in March, I wrote about Sam Henderson's Scene But Not Heard comic strip — in particular, a collection of it from Top Shelf.

My piece on the debut graphic novel from Toronto illustrator Michael Cho went live at the Comics Journal's site in September.

THE CHICAGO READER

Back in February, the Chicago Reader ran my review of Michael DeForge's Ant Colony from Drawn & Quarterly.

Philadelphia comics creator Box Brown put together a mostly fact-based book about Andre the Giant for First Second. I wrote about it for the Reader in June.

Image © 1999 Paul Pope. Image © 2014 Richard McGuire (Pantheon Books). Image © 2014 Michael Cho (Pantheon Books).