Devin’s Comics NEWS Digest - May 9, 2025
Surprisingly no tariff updates, but plenty of Diamond Drama!
Hello, everyone! This is the Comics NEWS Digest, an aggregation of all the top comics and comics-related stories that caught my attention that I thought you might enjoy reading. I post these two weeks after every regular newsletter.
NEWS
I’ve been pretty swamped the last couple of weeks between day job responsibilities and deadlines, so this is shorter than usual. I considered postponing the NEWS Digest, but I figured it would be better to stick to the schedule. I promise not to make next month’s super-sized, I know these are usually long enough. If I’ve overlooked an interview you’ve enjoyed or an award that was announced, please leave a comment! I’m sure there’s a tariff update that I’m missing. While I’ve seen a lot of anecdotal evidence about their effects, most of the articles I could find were more than two weeks old, which is proving to be an eternity in the 2025 news cycle, and who knows what’s going on with Diamond as this goes out?
The drama around their bankruptcy and sale continued to dominate industry news. First, Alliance Entertainment ended its agreement to buy Diamond “effective immediately.” Then, a motion was filed to change Diamond’s bankruptcy from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, which would have liquidated their assets, or dismiss it completely. Finally, the Baltimore Bankruptcy Court approved the sale of Diamond Comics Distributors and various assets to Universal Distribution and Ad Populum. Meanwhile, Diamond reportedly has accrued almost two million dollars in fees.
Among Diamond’s assets that have been up in the air was Free Comic Book Day, which was the first Saturday in May. There was some speculation about whether it would even happen this year, but it looks like it went forward all over the world. Here’s a look at the Chicago festivities, which included the Chicago Comics Book Club’s resident retailer.
Following up on one of the most horrifying stories of the year so far, cartoonist Rebecca Burke spoke with Zach Rabiroff at The Comics Journal about her time in ICE detention. This had an immediate chilling effect on conventions and the repercussions are ongoing. I’m glad she’s safe now.
A new publishing division for indie creators in Japan has been announced, Manga Mavericks Books.
announced their first slate of titles for a July release and it looks impressive.In sad news, Hiveworks Comics will close its print and publishing division.
Interviews & Criticism
I feel like I don’t share enough from the YouTube channel for Bad Ink Studios, where you can find a lot of great breakdowns and tutorials on inking, lettering, and coloring. Here’s one of their longer videos about coloring (fifteen minutes) that I’ve been meaning to share for a while, including some history of coloring.
Returning to
, they had a great interview with German manga publisher Panini Comics’ PR Manager, Steffen Volkmer. Comics translation is a fascinating subject to me because it’s even more involved than trying to translate prose or provide subtitles for a different visual medium like film.Awards
The Cartoonist Cooperative held their 2025 Minicomic Awards! You can watch the full ceremony here. They gave out awards in Fiction, Nonfiction, Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Romance, and Humor. Links for all nominees should be available in the description for the video.
The winners and finalists for this year’s Herblock Prize for excellence in editorial cartooning were announced. Marty Two Bulls, Sr. was the winner and Peter Kuper and Dolores Huerta were the finalists.
The 13th Cartoonist Studio Prize Winners from the Center for Cartoon Studies were Evil Eyes Sea by Ozge Samanci for Best Long-Form Comic and Autobiography Has Become a Stone in My Shoe by Peony Gent for Best Short-Form Comic.
The Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year given by the National Cartoonists Society has six nominees this year due a tie in votes. The winner will be announced August 15.
Perhaps the biggest awards news for comics this month is that for the second time in its history, the Pulitzer Prize recognized a graphic novel. Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls won in the Memoir or Autobiography category. You can read more about her reaction to winning here.
Obituaries
Last month, I shared the news about the death of Hy Eisman and, while I normally don’t revisit this section, I want to share this loving tribute to him from the April 20 Popeye comic strip.
Artist and writer Jack Katz died on April 24 at the age of 97. A prolific creator who got his start in the 1940s, he may be best known for his epic The Lost Kingdom, which he hoped would “extend the potential of the comics medium.”
Underground artist Brad Holland died in March after heart surgery at the age of 81. The linked article is written by his mentee Steven Heller and is full of warm remembrances.
Finally, artist Butch Guice passed away at the age of 63. He worked on Big Two books that were famous to non-comics readers, including the Death of Superman storyline, and niche indie books with devoted followings, all during a career that spanned four decades. There have been a lot of touching tributes to him online from some very famous creators. For me, I’ll always remember his work on the Crossgen title Ruse, which was a personal favorite.
That’s all for this month. Did I miss anything? Comment below if I have. Feel free to subscribe if you haven’t already. The Comics Book Club will be meeting again on May 21 to discuss Cyclopedia Exotica. Thanks again for everything.