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 Jay Lynch self-portrait forThe Comics Journal #114 (February 1987) | |
| Editor-in-chief | Gary Groth (since 1977) |
|---|---|
| Categories | Comics criticism, history, interviews |
| Frequency | Twice a year |
| Publisher | Fantagraphics Books |
| First issue | 1977 |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Seattle, Washington |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 0194-7869 |
The Comics Journal, often abbreviatedTCJ, is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining tocomic books,comic strips andgraphic novels.[1] Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing reviews of the products of the mainstream comics industry, the magazine promotes the view that comics are afine art, meriting broader cultural respect, and thus should be evaluated with higher critical standards.[2][3][4]
In 1976,Gary Groth andMichael Catron acquiredThe Nostalgia Journal, a small competitor of the newspaper adzineThe Buyer's Guide for Comics Fandom. At the time, Groth and Catron were already publishingSounds Fine, a similarly formattedadzine for record collectors that they had started after producing Rock 'N Roll Expo '75, held during the July 4 weekend in 1975 in Washington, D.C.[citation needed]
The publication was relaunched asThe New Nostalgia Journal with issue No. 27 (July 1976), and with issue No. 32 (January 1977), it becameThe Comics Journal ("a quality publication for the serious comics fan").[5] Issue No. 37 (December 1977) adopted a magazine format.[citation needed] With issue #45 (March 1979), the magazine moved to a monthly schedule; at that point it had a circulation of 10,000.[6]
In addition to lengthy interviews with comics industry figures, theJournal has always published criticism—and received it in turn.[2] Starting in the early 2000s, theJournal published a series of annual specials combining its usual critical format with extended samples of comics from specially selected contributors.
With issue No. 300 (November 2009),The Comics Journal ceased its semi-monthly print publication.[7]TCJ shifted from an eight-times a year publishing schedule to a larger, more elaborate, semi-annual format supported by a new website.[8][9] This format lasted until 2013 with issue #302. The print magazine then went on hiatus, returning to a magazine format in 2019 with issue #303.
Over the yearsThe Journal has been involved in a handful oflawsuits.[2] ArtistRich Buckler attempted legal action for a review that called him aplagiarist while printing his panels next to earlier and quite similarJack Kirby art.[10][11][12][13] A Groth interview with science fiction writerHarlan Ellison sparked a lawsuit by writerMichael Fleisher over an informal discussion of Fleisher's work and temperament.[14] Co-defendants Groth and Ellison won the case, but emerged from the suit estranged.[15][16][17]
Ellison later became a plaintiff againstThe Comics Journal, filing suit in part to enjoinThe Comics Journal Library: The Writers, a 2006 Fantagraphics book that reprinted the Ellison interview, and which used a cover blurb calling Ellison a "Famous Comics Dilettante".[18] That case was ultimately settled, with Fantagraphics agreeing to omit both the blurb and the interview from any future printings of the book, Ellison agreeing to post a Groth rebuttal statement on Ellison's webpage, and both sides agreeing to avoid future "ad hominem attacks".[19]
TheJournal has on occasion published, as cover features, lengthy court transcripts of comics-related civil suits. Notable instances include the Fleisher suit[17][20] andMarv Wolfman's failed suit againstMarvel Comics over ownership of the characterBlade.[21][22]
The Journal features critical essays, articles on comics history and lengthy interviews, conducted by Gary Groth and others. Noteworthy interviews includeGil Kane in No. 38,Steve Gerber in No. 41,Harlan Ellison in No. 53,Dennis O'Neil in No. 64,Robert Crumb in No. 113, andCharles M. Schulz in #200.[citation needed]
According to Rick Cusick, writing inGauntlet magazine, theJournal's combination of forthright news coverage and critical analysis – although the norm for traditional journalistic enterprises – was in sharp contrast to the affectionate and promotional methods of publications likeComics Buyer's Guide and (later)Wizard. In 1995, publisher Gary Groth joked that his magazine occupied "a niche that nobody wants".[23]
Gary Groth has been theJournal's publisher and nominal editor for almost all of its existence. Staff members and regular contributors have includedKim Thompson, Greg Stump,Eric Millikin, Eric Reynolds, Ng Suat Tong, R. Fiore,R.C. Harvey, Kenneth Smith,Don Phelps, Robert Boyd, Tom Heintjes, Michael Dean,Tom Spurgeon,Robert Rodi, Gene Phillips, Marilyn Bethke,Cat Yronwode,Heidi MacDonald,Lee Wochner,Bhob Stewart,Arn Saba,Ted White, Bob Levin,Carter Scholz, and Noah Berlatsky. Guest contributors have includedDave Sim andTrina Robbins.
TheJournal published a 20th-century comicscanon in its 210th issue (February 1999). To compile the list, eight contributors and editors made eight separate top 100 (or fewer than 100 for some) lists of American works. These eight lists were then informally combined and tweaked into an ordered list.Krazy Kat topped the list, followed byPeanuts,Pogo, andArt Spiegelman'sMaus.[33]Harvey Kurtzman had the most entries of any creator, five:his original run onMad (#8), his "New Trend"EC war comics (#12), the1959Jungle Book graphic novel (#26), hisHey Look! gag cartoons (#63), and theGoodman Beaver stories (#64).
The Village Voice cited the survey's ad hoc criteria:
Putting Bernard Krigstein and Al Feldstein's eight-page story "Master Race", Hal Foster's 34 years of work on Prince Valiant, Al Hirschfeld's theatrical caricatures, all the horror comics EC published in the first half of the '50s and Robert Crumb's sketchbooks in the same category suggests that they've cast their net a bit wide.[34]
Among the controversial omissions to the Top 100 wasDave Sim'sCerebus series. Sim and theJournal had periodically found themselves at odds in the years preceding the list's formulation.[35] Issue #213 included eight pages of responses to, and defenses of the list;Journal columnist R. Fiore wrote "Dave Sim must now think you have a personal vendetta against him", and co-publisher Kim Thompson conceded: "If I had to do it over again, I'd squash together theHernandez material into two entries [and] putCerebus and two other things in the vacant spots".[36] Twelve years later, the omission was still being acknowledged by theJournal, which noted that Dave Sim'sCerebus "was conspicuously excluded".[37]
Regarding the inclusion ofsuperhero comics on the list, editor and survey participant Tom Spurgeon wrote: "I voted for most of the men-in-spandex titles that made the list –Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Plastic Man – despite the sheer lousiness of some of those works' contributing elements".[38] Ultimately, the Top 100 included six superhero works, including the deconstructionistWatchmen.Frank Miller'sThe Dark Knight Returns was one well-regarded mainstream superhero project that was considered but ultimately not chosen, according to co-publisher Kim Thompson.[35]
| Year | Organisation | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Eagle Award | Favourite Fan Publication (American Division) | Won[39] |
| 1990 | Harvey Award | Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation | Won[40] |
| 1991 | Won[41] | ||
| 1992 | Won[42] | ||
| 1993 | Won[43] | ||
| 1995 | Won[44] | ||
| 1996 | Eisner Award | Best Comics-Related Periodical/Publication | Won[45] |
| 1997 | Best Comics-Related Periodical/Publication | Won[45] | |
| Harvey Award | Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation | Won[46] | |
| 1998 | Eisner Award | Best Comics-Related Periodical/Publication | Won[45] |
| Harvey Award | Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation | Won[47] | |
| 1999 | Eisner Award | Best Comics-Related Periodical/Publication | Won[45] |
| Harvey Award | Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation | Won[48] | |
| 2000 | Won[49] | ||
| 2001 | Won[50] | ||
| 2003 | Best Anthology Comics Journal Summer Special 2002 | Won[51] | |
| 2004 | Eagle Award | Favourite Magazine About Comics | Won[52] |
| 2005 | Won[53] | ||
| 2006 | Harvey Award | Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation | Won[54] |
| 2009 | Eisner Award | Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism | Nominated[55] |
| 2018 | Won[56] |
