PW Comics World: More To Come

The recent ALA conference including Meg's memorable experience interviewing George Takei; the continued economic fallout of the Diamond bankruptcy; financial issues at Silver Sprocket; the death and legacy of comics creator and editor Jim Shooter; and Crunchyroll's AI subtitle scandal.

Heidi MacDonald speaks with Jeff Trexler, the Interim Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), at the ALA about freedom of the press and book bans in the wake of recent Supreme Court decisions and the potential ramifications for comics, comic book retailers and the CBLDF.

Heidi MacDonald, Brigid Alverson (Good Comics for Kids) and writer Amy Chu (Carmilla) to talk about their ALA experiences, including George Takei, the APALA literary awards, librarians vs censorship and much more.

An interview with conceptual artist/activist Sue Jeong Ka about her show 'Explicit!!!' which focuses on censorship of manga in the U.S. prison system.

Former Comixology executives David Steinberger and Chip Mosher announce the launch of Neon Ichiban, a new online digital platform for buying, reading, and collecting digital comics and manga; update on Diamond bankruptcy news; layoffs and new hires at Boom! Studios; BookCon returns in 2026; and a recap of TCAF 2025.

Heidi goes to TCAF and sits down with several cartoonists: Hugh D'Andrade talks about making his debut graphic memoir, the 'The Murder Next Door'. Dan Goldman talks about returning to the scene with a deluxe updated edition of 'Red Light Properties'. And we catch up with Boum after her Doug Wright Award win for Best Emerging Talent for the graphic novel 'The Jelly Fish.'

Pride Month with a salute to LGBTQ comics and creators; plus there’s a Diamond bankruptcy update, a look at digital manga and webtoons; Aethon takes a majority stake in Vault Comics; a discussion on how to shelve graphic novels in bookstores; and a tribute to comics writer Peter David.

An interview with with Tiffany Babb, publisher of The Comics Courier, a print newspaper of comics criticism and commentary currently fundraising a second issue on Kickstarter. They talk about the state of comics writing on the internet and in print, Tiffany's work at PopVerse, and her baseball site, The Fan Files.

Massive layoffs at Diamond, this year’s Eisner Awards nominations, including nominations for The Beat and Heidi MacDonald, and for ‘Mutha’ magazine and Meg Lemke; plus Aftershock emerges from bankruptcy; Boom! Restricts library ebook access; Seven Seas reports books delayed; the latest outrage du jour; and New York Comic Con Goes five days.

In this Stargazing segment Meg and Calvin highlight graphic works chosen for PW’s Summer Reads list, including Alison Bechdel’s ‘Spent,’ plus, they provide some personal picks, among them ‘Black Cohosh’ by Eagle Valiant Brosi, and ‘Galaxy of Madness’ by Magdalene Visaggio and Michael Avon Oeming.