Quick Hits | Rest in peace, Tim Kennedy, Aline Kominsky–Crumb

Archie Comics artist Tim Kennedy, who collaborated artistically with his twin brother Pat, has passed away. No cause of death has been reported.

The Kennedy brothers began working for Archie in the late 1980s, after graduating from the Joe Kubert School of Cartooning and Graphic Design. They’ve been regular contributors ever since, drawing classic Archie stories as well as projects like the popular Life With Archie, which showed two alternate takes on Archie marrying Betty and Veronica.

“For decades, the Fabulous K Bros have dazzled fans around the world, bringing some of the funniest and most difficult stories from idea to the page,” said Archie Comics President and Editor-in-Chief Mike Pellerito. “No matter the challenge of illustrating a difficult scene with a giant Ferris wheel, intricate architecture, spaceships, car chases or any other wild story idea, they handled it seemingly with ease. Over the past decade or so I think their work has become some of the best and most versatile at Archie.”

They also worked on the Archie Horror title Jughead: The Hunger and the crossover title Archie Meets Riverdale, which paired the classic Archie characters with their contemporaries from The CW’s Riverdale.

“Every page the Kennedys would turn in was more beautiful than the last,” said Archie’s Senior Director of Editorial Jamie Lee Rotante. “The eye for detail and sheer dedication to the craft was unparalleled. Tim was a tremendous talent that will be missed. My heart goes out to the whole Kennedy family, especially to his brother Pat.”

Passings | The Beat is reporting that Aline Kominsky–Crumb, a pioneer in underground autobiographical comics, has passed away. She was 74 and is survived by her husband and daughter, cartoonists Robert Crumb and Sophie Crumb. According to the New York Times, she died of pancreatic cancer.

Kominsky–Crumb was a member of the Wimmen’s Comix underground collective in San Francisco, but after a falling out, she and Diane Noomin began publishing Twisted Sisters. She also served as the editor of Weirdo from 1986 to 1993.

“Devastated by the loss of Aline Kominsky-Crumb,” said Fantagraphics Publisher Gary Groth. “I was privileged to publish Love That Bunch, Aline’s comics collected into book form for the first time, in 1990. This was at a time when Aline barely registered on anyone’s radar as a cartoonist, and one reason to publish the book was to show the world that, yes, she stood, apart from her husband, as an independent cartoonist of the first rank. However, I think I felt even more privileged to know her for these last 35 years; she was genuine, honest, uninhibited, and, as you might imagine, incredibly funny. Spending a week with her and whatshisname in Delhi, India was a blast — she (and, OK, Robert) were such good companions! I will miss calling up the Crumbs and speaking to Aline for awhile and then hearing her say, in here exaggerated mock Jewish/NY accent, ‘It was great talking to you, dahling, I’ll get the old man now.’ She and Robert were, to me, an aspirational couple, a true case of opposites attracting and making a successful go of it, he an calm sea of introverted quietude and reserve, she a whirling dervish of vibrant exhibitionism. My condolences to Robert, Sophie, et al.”

A new printing of Love That Bunch was released by Drawn and Quarterly in 2018.

Passings | I missed this one last month, but CBR reported that Danny Bulanadi, who inked many DC and Marvel titles over his long career, passed away at the age of 76.

Bulanadi was a name you’d often see in the credits of D.P. 7, Quasar and Fantastic Four in the 1980s and 1990s, paired with his frequent collaborator Paul Ryan. Bulanadi also worked on titles like Captain America, Blue Beetle, Avengers West Coast and Marvel’s Transformers title, among many others. In addition to working in comics, Bulanadi also worked in animation, commercial art and video game character design during the course of his career. In recent years, he was working with Kingstone Comics on a graphic novel adaptation of The Bible.

“He did just about everything a comic book artist can do and even dabbled in painting nature and old west scenes,” said Mark Evanier, who worked with Bulanadi on Tarzan. “The industry could use more people who are that versatile and that dependable.”

People | The Oni Press Lion Forge Publishing Group has announced that Hunter Gorinson has been appointed their new president and publisher. Gorinson follows James Lucas Jones, the longtime publisher for Oni Press in the role. Prior to Oni, Gorinson held marketing and business development roles at Valiant, Hivemind, Bad Idea and BOOM! Studios.

“Oni is, without a doubt, one of the most groundbreaking and influential comic book publishers of our generation,” Gorinson told Publisher’s Weekly. “I look forward to working alongside our incredibly talented team and distinguished roster of creators to write a new chapter that will honor Oni’s legacy of advancing daring creative voices, stories, and ideas, while opening new opportunities to maximize the scope and impact of the Oni-Lion Forge library for readers of all ages in comic shops, bookstores, and beyond.”

Gorinson’s appointment follows a rough year for the publisher and its people; in addition to Jones being let go earlier this year, numerous other employees, including Michelle Nguyen, Charlie Chu, Alex Segura, Amanda Meadows, Jasmini Amiri and Henry Barajas, were either laid off or left the publisher.

Creators | The Tribune-Democrat speaks with Steve Ditko’s brother and nephew about their efforts to “set the record straight” about Ditko and his reputation as a “recluse.”

“We want the truth,” hos younger brother Pat Ditko told the newspaper. “There’s so much stuff out there that’s not legitimate and we want to make it right.”

Creators | Yale News has a write-up of a recent visit to the university by Alison Bechdel.

Creators | Cartoonist Anders Nilsen remembers Geneviève Castrée and reviews Drawn & Quarterly’s recent release, Complete Works of Geneviève Castrée.

Censorship | On the censorship front, here are two articles that go deep into how parents had graphic novels banned in school districts in Texas and Oklahoma.

Awards | The Angoulême International Comics Festival announced its official selection of top books for 2023 — the 50th year for the comics festival. It’s a very long list — 46 books for their Official Selection category, and that’s just one of six categories. Next year’s festival will take place Jan. 25 – 29.

Awards | Rebecca Jones has won this year’s Observer/Faber graphic short story prize, for her comic Midnight Feast.

Best of 2022 | For the Washington Post, Michael Cavna lists his choices for the best comics of 2023, which include the Alex Ross graphic novel Fantastic Four: Full Circle and Kate Beaton’s Ducks.

Best of 2022 | The Guardian has shared their best of list as well, which also features Beaton’s latest, as well as books by Jim Woodring, Luke Healy, Nick Drnaso and more.

Best of 2022 | Al Davidson, webcomics and manga editor for Comic Book Yeti, shares their top 10 webcomics of 2022.