Nexus Graphica
a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
Reality plays by its own rules. This tenet, in the form of metafiction, litters the comic book
landscape. While this type of self-referential literature was quite common in comics strips,
the earliest story of this type that Rick Klaw uncovered, appeared in Captain Marvel
Adventures #22, dated March 26, 1943, some eight years after the publication of New Fun,
the first comic book of original material.
Nexus Graphica
a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
Regular readers of comics news and reviews already
know that Rory Root, the affable, pioneering proprietor of Berkeley, California-based Comic Relief passed
away suddenly last month. The scope and breadth of what the store carried, how Rory was an advocate/supporter of
lesser-known, or just-starting-out-of-the-gate work, and how well liked he was in the comics community by
creators and retailers. Mark London Williams remembers his days growing up in the Berkeley area and how
Rory affected his development into the writer he is today.
Nexus Graphica
a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
On May 8, 1940, The Chicago Daily News published Sterling North's influential condemnation of
comic books "A National Disgrace (And a challenge to American Parents)." North calls comics "a poisonous mushroom growth,"
calling upon parents and educators to "break the 'comics' magazines." And those who don't would be "guilty of criminal
negligence." He claims that "the antidote to the 'comic' magazine poison can be found in any library or good
bookstore." Rick Klaw notes that in 2008 most libraries and bookstores gladly sell "these lurid publications"
and that the line between prose and comics literature has never been closer.
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Nexus Graphica
a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
Comics were never just exclusively for the tights crowd, even if, for a few decades there, a glance at any American
newsstand would give you that impression. More and more, the film biz seems to be noticing, as other types of stories get picked for
translation to the big (or at least medium) screen. Thus, stories like Perdition and A History of
Violence, and now, from the company that produced the latter, another mob-themed pick-up, a four-issue story,
indie-published story, replete with its own "history of violence," called Pencilneck..
Mark London Williams has a chat with the writer of the series, Victor Carungi.
Nexus Graphica
a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
During the annual Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) business meeting, some discussions took place
as to what kinds of works qualify professional science fiction/fantasy writers for membership.
Rick Klaw has some thoughts on what was said, what they should do to update their definitions and
what is happening in the rest of the world when it comes to graphic novels.
Nexus Graphica
a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
Nexus Graphica is a column about graphic novels and comics that grew out of discussions
between Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams. They will alternate columns. The nature and subject of
each piece will vary from month to month, but it will always have something to do with graphic novels or comic books.
For his first column, Mark is grappling with the idea of what comics are for. Are they just
for fun? Or are comics -- when at their best -- simultaneously about individual lives (even
spandex-encased ones) and everyone's lives, our lives, all at once? Social commentary, perhaps.
Nexus Graphica
a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
Nexus Graphica is a column about graphic novels and comics that grew out of discussions
between Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams. They will alternate columns. Like Rick Klaw's
Geeks With Books, the nature and subject of
each piece will vary from month to month, but it will always have something to do with graphic novels or comic books.
For the first column, Rick describes how they met and how their friendship evolved.
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