Archives - Graphic Novel Reporter Newsletter

One of my favorite things about editing GNR is the wealth of people I get to talk to on a weekly basis. This week, I was able to do interviews with two very different creators, both of whom represent how varied and far-reaching this graphic format is. First was Nate Powell, a writer/illustrator I’ve long admired and whose latest book, Any Empire, is brilliantly powerful. Reading it, I felt similar to how I did when I read Craig Thompson’s Habibi: This is an important book, one that you can hand to anyone who is unfamiliar with graphic novels but wants to get a sense of what they are capable of. It’s that kind of book, and it’s that good. It’s a look at how violence, even cartoony or comic-book violence, permeates our lives and informs our attitudes toward each other. I fully expect it to be a multiple Eisner Award nominee this year.

Last weekend, we experienced a freakily early major snowstorm here on the East Coast. Luckily, it didn’t affect me all that much (although I do have a wicked cold that refuses to go away, so there’s that), but Carol got really socked out in New Jersey with a power outage. She missed out on Sunday’s episode of "The Walking Dead," which she’s fairly addicted to these days…and grabbed the remote to watch it on DVR as soon as the power came back. While folks in her town were not dealing with zombies, she was interested to see how people reacted to the stresses and upset that came to their lives with fallen trees and a lack of power ---- while thinking about "The Walking Dead."