Smash Pages Q&A: Cathy G. Johnson

The creator of ‘Gorgeous’ and ‘Jeremiah’ discusses her new book, ‘The Breakaways.’

Cathy G. Johnson is the cartoonist behind books like Gorgeous and Jeremiah. Her new book, coming out this week from First Second Books, is The Breakaways.

It’s larger than Johnson’s previous books in many regards. The book has an ensemble cast, and it manages to find ways to reveal how each girl is much more complex than they initially seem or than they try to present. It is a beautifully made and thoughtful book that avoids a lot of the cliches around sports stories. They don’t win. They are bad at soccer. But that’s not what’s important. And the ways that this is shown in small, relatable ways, eschewing a melodramatic or sentimental approach, is what makes the book resonate in so many ways.

Johnson is a teacher and podcaster who is one half of Drawing a Dialogue with e jackson, and she was kind enough to talk about the book and her work.

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Lemire + Deodato Jr. unleash ‘Berserker Unbound’

Dark Horse Comics will kick off the urban fantasy miniseries in August.

Jeff Lemire and Mike Deodato Jr. are teaming up for a new urban fantasy series that brings a barbarian into the modern age — and of course, chaos ensues. Berserker Unbound will debut in August.

“As soon as I had a chance to work with Mike Deodato on Thanos at Marvel I knew it would be the start of a beautiful partnership,” Lemire said. “We immediately started talking about the potential of teaming up for a creator-owned series. Mike is an incredible artist and, with Berserker Unbound, I tried to model a story to all of his many strengths. Berserker Unbound is many things. It has magic, action, and blood, but it also has heart. And it’s not at all what it first appears to be. We’re both very excited to be working together at Dark Horse, with Frank Martin and Steve Wands, to build the worlds of both Berserker and the world of Cobb, his unexpected companion.”

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