Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona has been shortlisted for the National Book Award, much to her surprise: “Honestly, it wasn’t on my radar at all,” she tells Michael Cavna of Comic Riffs. “I didn’t even know comics got nominated for book awards.” In the interview that follows, she talks about how Nimona started as a superhero comic she was toying with in high school and became her senior thesis, then a webcomic, then the graphic novel.

New York Comic Con is behind us, and it was huge!
Here’s my roundup of kids’ comics and manga for SLJ.
Jughead writer Chip Zdarsky gave a heartfelt answer to an audience question at the Archie panel, and he and artist Erica Henderson talk about updating Jughead while staying consistent with his history.
Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto thanked 2,200 screaming fans at his panel—and apologized if they were finding their cosplay uncomfortable.
The Lumberjanes panel, moderated by Smile creator Raina Telgemeier, was another huge event filled with enthusiastic fans—and it included a marriage proposal!
Maddy Myers has covers the “Pushing Boundaries Forward: Diversity and Representation in Comics” panel, which I heard was really great.

Interviews

Here’s a great interview with Gene Luen Yang and a preview of his new book, Secret Coders: “I wanted to make an explicitly educational comic that taught readers the concepts I covered in my introductory programming class. That’s what Secret Coders is. It’s both a fun story about a group of tweens who discover a secret coding school, and an explanation of some foundational ideas in computer science.”

In another interview with a more personal slant, Yang talks about his multicultural marriage.

Craig Thompson discusses the social and environmental themes in Space Dumplins, his all-ages space opera.

Mark Newgarden explains why he chose an Ambrose Bierce story as his entry in First Second’s Fable Comics.

Phoebe and Her Unicorn creator Dana Simpson talks about her love of unicorns, her craft, and the way being transgender affects her work: “It impacts my work in that Phoebe is a reimagining of my childhood self, in which I get to be a girl and ride on a unicorn. We get right in art what was wrong in life. I’m also writing a graphic novel memoir about my transition and my relationship with my husband (with a possible) 2017 release date.”

Commentary

Carla Hoffman reflects on the absence of parents from most superhero stories looks at an unexpected mother-daughter moment in Ms. Marvel #18.

Swapna Krishna looks at five comics based on fairy tales, not all of them for children.

Previews

Jughead #1 (Comic Book Resources)
Lumberjanes #19 (Comic Book Resources)

Reviews

At Comics Alliance, Megan Purdy and J.A. Micheline discuss Joel Christian Gill’s Strange Fruit.

Scott Cederlund on Drama (Panel Patter)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Drawing From Memory and The Inker’s Shadow (Comics Worth Reading)
Stergios Botzakis on Fable Comics (Graphic Novel Resources)
Chris Beveridge on Gotham Academy #10 (The Fandom Post)
Matt Santori-Griffith on Gotham Academy #10 (Comicosity)
Stergos Botzakis on Human Body Theater (Graphic Novel Resources)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Human Body Theater (Comics Worth Reading)
Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan on Human Body Theater (Bookends)
Stergios Botzakis on Little Robot (Graphic Novel Resources)
Doug Zawisza on Little Robot (Comic Book Resources)
Shelley Diaz on Lumberjanes, vol. 2: Friendship to the Max (School Library Journal)
Beth Rogers on vol. 1 of The Misfits of Avalon (No Flying, No Tights)
Jen Hubert on Nimona (Reading Rants)
Dana Piccoli on Princeless Raven: The Pirate Princess (AfterEllen)
Joe Gordon on The Red Shoes (Forbidden Planet)
Christian Belko on Secret Coders (Pop Kernal)
Stergios Botzakis on Secret Coders (Graphic Novel Resources)
Beth Rogers on Terrorist: Gavrilo Princip, The Assassin Who Ignited World War I (No Flying, No Tights)
Nick Smith on Veda: Assembly Required (ICv2)
Johanna Draper Carlson on We Dig Worms, Hearts, Tippy and the Night Parade, and Barry’s Best Buddy (Comics Worth Reading)