Tintin is racist, Batgirl is sexist, Punisher is black…
Department of “Shoulda Seen That Coming”: in the UK, a government minister issues a stern warning that a particular book, Tintin in the Congo, contains “hideous racial prejudice,” and that no right-thinking Briton should ever, ever read it henceforward. Result? Sales increase immediately by 3,800 percent. (Forbidden Planet International has a longer story on the complaint, including the fact that the Commission on Racial Equality – and isn’t that a nice Orwellian name? – demanded that Tintin in the Congo be banned.)
The Beat is not happy with the final cover for Showcase: Batgirl. (And there’s no reason she should be.)
Chris’s Invincible Super-Blog remembers the halcyon days when the Punisher was, briefly, a black man.
Media Life Magazine thinks that Zudacomics is a really swell idea and the most wonderful thing since sliced bread – but they also think that comic books are “almost an industry,” so I’m not sure if we should believe them.
The Chicago Sun-Times looks at DC Comics’s new teen-girl-focused Minx line.
Bookgasm reviews the newest reprint trade paperback of the Fables series, Volume 9: Sons of Empire, written by Bill Willingham and illustrated by Mark Buckingham and others.
Publishers Weekly reviews a number of comics this week, including House by Josh Simmons and the first volumes in two maanga series, Gin Tama and War Angels.
Dana’s Marvel Comics Reviews, at Comic Fodder, hits the week’s high points, starting with New Avengers # 32.
Also at Comic Fodder, an entity known as Tpull also reviews this week’s Marvel Comics, starting with Deadpool/GLI Summer Fun Spectacular.
Greg Burgas of Comics Should Be Good digs up Web of Spider-Man #22 and reviews it.
Comic Book Resources talks to writer David Lapham about Terror, Inc., and to artist Patrick Zirchner about Terror, Inc., and to Jimmy Palmiotti about…Countdown.
Comics Reporter interviews artist Graham Annable.
BlogTO talked with Bram Stoker-winning poet Sandra Kasturi about her first full-length collection, The Animal Bridegroom (which also has an introduction by Neil Gaiman).
The UK SF Book News Network interviewed Richard K. Morgan on the eve of his tour of the US West Coast for his new novel Thirteen.
Graeme McMillan of The Savage Critic reviews, first, Deadpool/GLI Summer Fun Spectacular and then Annihilation: Conquest – Wraith #1. (What happened to the days when funnybooks had simple, one-word titles, and no complicated punctuation?)
Comic Book Resources reviews, in ridiculous depth, issue 42 of Countdown.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reviews Macedonia, written by local boy Harvey Pekar and Heather Robinson and illustrated by Ed Pikor.
The New York Times chats with young adult novelist Michelle Paver – author of the “Chronicles of Ancient Darkness” series – and nearly begs her to explain away the fantasy elements of her books so that the Times can continue to take them seriously.
The Sunday Times (of London) profiles Angie Sage, whose “Septimus Heap” young adult novels have just been optioned for the movies by Warner Brothers.