Great stories this week, 2–8 November
New graphic novels this week, 2–8 November: the Bad Batch trade and Mandalorian art book on 3 November, plus Fantagraphics' The Abyss of Oblivion, with dates still to confirm.
How Comics Show Motion in a Still Panel: 6 Techniques
A comic panel cannot move, yet readers see speed in it. Six ways cartoonists show motion, from speed lines to blur, and where each one came from.
Persepolis: Marjane Satrapi's Graphic Memoir of Iran
Marjane Satrapi's black-and-white memoir of a childhood in revolutionary Iran. What happens in it, how its drawings work, and why schools argue over it.
Great Train Robbery 1963: How the Gang Stopped the Train
The Great Train Robbery of 1963: how a gang stopped the Glasgow to London mail train on 8 August, took about £2.6 million, and what became of them.
Great stories this week, 26 October – 1 November
New graphic novels this week: none confirmed for 26 October – 1 November. Single issues dated 28 October, a true sea rescue and a wordless pick.
Brink's-Mat 1983: Where Three Tonnes of Stolen Gold Went
The Brink's-Mat robbery of 26 November 1983 from the record: the raid, the smelting, the convictions, the Panama shell company and the gold still missing.
Alcatraz 1962: The Escape as the FBI and Marshals Record It
The June 1962 Alcatraz escape from the FBI's file and the Marshals' wanted pages: the plan, the night, what was found, the letter and the Dutch raft test.
Shackleton's Endurance: How All 28 Men Survived
The ship was crushed by Antarctic ice in 1915, yet every man of the Weddell Sea party came home. The full story of the Endurance expedition and its rescue.
Great stories this week, 19–25 October
New graphic novels this week, 19–25 October: Front Desk listed for 20 October, Doom Patrol and Ghost Rider collections on 21 October, and our pick.
How to Make a Comic: A Step-by-Step Guide
How to make a comic from scratch: build a story and script, plan each page with thumbnails, then draw, letter and set up pages at the right size.
Storyboarding a Heist Panel by Panel
Plan a heist or crime story page by page: build the crew, script the robbery, then use thumbnails, panel size and gutters to control pace.
Netflix Manga Adaptations: Which Stay Faithful to the Page?
Which Netflix manga adaptations stay closest to their source? We look at One Piece, Alice in Borderland, Fullmetal Alchemist and what reviewers say.
Why Watchmen Split Critics: Lessons for Comic Adaptations
Watchmen's film looked faithful yet divided critics and was slow to pay off. What one case study reveals about why comic book films work or fail.
Four-Panel Comics: How to Sequence Your Story
Plan a four-panel comic as a sequence of beats, then set the reading path, pacing and transitions so the story reads in the right order.
Comic Strip Punchlines: Why the Last Panel Lands
Why the last panel of a comic strip gets the laugh, how silence and setup build timing, and how to write a punchline that surprises.
Free Tools for Drawing Your First Comic Page
Free tools and page setup for your first comic: choose the right size and resolution, then try Krita's built-in comic templates, with trade-offs.
Marvel's Midnight Imprint: Is It a Good Place to Start?
Marvel's Midnight horror imprint for new readers: launch titles, release dates, whether you need Marvel continuity, and what is still unknown.
Manchuria Opium Squad Anime: Where the Manga Stands
Manchuria Opium Squad is getting an anime, but no studio or release date is confirmed. Here is where the manga stands after its artist's death.
What Is Manga? Japan's Comics and Where They Began
Manga are Japanese comics, usually printed in black and white. Here is what the word means and where modern manga came from.
How to Read a Comic: Panels, Gutters and the Space Between
How comics work, with two diagrams: reading order on Western and manga pages, closure in the gutter, balloons and timing, and an exercise to try.
A Short History of the Comic Strip: From Töpffer to Webtoon
From a Swiss teacher's picture stories in 1827 to Sunday colour pages, daily strips, syndicates and phones: how the comic strip was born and changed.
Maus: A Reader's Guide to Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Comic
How to read Maus: the two volumes, what to notice page by page, the 1992 Pulitzer, the 2022 Tennessee ban, and where to find a copy.
Public Domain Comics: What You Can Read, Share and Reuse
Which old comics are free to read, share and remix in the United States, how the 95-year rule works, and the traps of renewals, notices and trademarks.
Manga vs Western Comics: What Is Actually Different?
Right to left, black and white, weekly magazines and fat volumes: the real differences between Japanese manga and American and European comics.
Where to Start With Manga: A Beginner's Guide
Where to start with manga? Begin at volume 1 of a series in a genre you enjoy, and pick a short complete title like Death Note to test the format.
8 Greatest Superhero Comic Runs, Ranked: Where to Start
Eight superhero runs ranked by what they changed, with the issues each covers, the book to buy first and why Claremont beats Kirby.
Graphic Novel vs Comic Book: What's the Difference
Is a graphic novel just a comic with a better cover? Where the term came from, why some creators dislike it, and the differences that really matter.
How Webtoons Changed Comics
Born on Korean web portals and read by scrolling down a phone, webtoons now reach 180 million readers a month. How the format works and why it took off.
The Best and Worst Comic Book Movies, Ranked by the Numbers
Eleven comic book adaptations ranked by the numbers: worldwide gross against budget, critics and audience scores, and what each did with its comic.