Conventions | Both Voice of San Diego and ICv2 report on the workers’ strike at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel in San Diego, which is adjacent to the convention center where Comic-Con International is held every year and where many CCI events and panels are held. According to Voice of San Diego, workers and management have been negotiating for months, but could not come to an agreement.
As a result of the strike and not wanting to cross the picket line, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has announced they’ve moved the date and location of their annual art auction, which was scheduled to be held at the Hilton Bayfront on Saturday. Instead, they’ll host the auction today in conjunction with their annual welcome party at Westgate’s Terrace Under the Stars.
Conventions | Speaking of Comic-Con, KPBS has an extensive report on the infamous line for Hall H, which has returned this year with the in-person event. People started lining up for the big Hollywood panels hosted in Hall H yesterday — and they are organized.
Creators | The Hollywood Reporter attempts to navigate the problems that creators Devin Grayson and J.G. Jones have had in getting what they feel they were promised for creating the character Yelena Belova, who was featured in last summer’s Black Widow film, as well as the recent Hawkeye series on Disney+. “Having spoken to a number of creators, Marvel’s financial offerings seem a bit of a bait and switch. They throw out a large number, then little by little they whittle down the actual payout,” Jones said.
Censorship | NBC News has an editorial up on the ongoing battle conservatives have been waging on the graphic novel Gender Queer. More school districts have seen the book challenged this week, as the Fairview, Pennsylvania superintendent decided to remove it without due process, and the Salem-Keizer (Oregon) Public Schools rejected efforts to remove it.
Censorship | The Russian website Meduza reports on a proposed book ban within their country that would ban books seen as “denying family values and promoting non-traditional sexual orientations.” The article says that this would severely impact the comics industry in Russia, and that “nearly half of all comic books sold in Russia today mention LGBT+ issues.” Japanese yaoi are some of the most popular books in Russia, the article states.
Awards | Nominees for the 2022 World Fantasy Awards have been announced; in addition to Charles Vess once again being nominated in the “Artist” category, Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda were nominated in the “Special Award – Professional” category for their work on Monstress Volume Six: The Vow.
Interviews | Writing for The Comics Journal, Jason Bergman talks with Jeff Smith about Tuki, Netflix’s cancellation of the animated Bone project and more.
Profiles | At Publisher’s Weekly, Brian Heater discusses Joseph Smith and the Mormons and As a Cartoonist with Noah Van Sciver.
Profiles | Seven Days — “Vermont’s Independent Voice” — has a lengthy profile of comics creator Rick Veitch up this week.
Commentary | At Polygon, Jessica Crets shows some appreciation for Coagula, the trans character and Doom Patrol member created by Rachel Pollack, who Crets says is “DC Comics’ first transgender superhero” and “is still the genre’s best.”