‘Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation’ wins the Hugo Award

Writer Damian Duffy and artist John Jennings adapted Octavia Butler’s dystopian novel into a graphic novel last year.

The graphic novel adaptation of Octavia Butler’s novel Parable of the Sower has won the Hugo Award for “Best Graphic Story or Comic.”

The book was adapted by writer Damian Duffy and artist John Jennings, and published by Abrams Books. The story is set in the year 2024 after unattended environmental and economic crises lead to social chaos. Lauren Olamina, a preacher’s daughter living in Los Angeles, sees a vision of the future and goes on to establish her own religion, Earthseed, and gathers a diverse community of believers.

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Comics Lowdown: Outhungering ‘Hunger Games’

Brian Fies reflects on going through the California fires a second time, Jamal Igle shows how he draws a cover, J. Caleb Mozzocco explains War Bears.

Passings: Coila Davis, longtime editorial cartoonist for the Rockford (Illinois) Register Star, has died at the age of 72.

Freedom of Expression: The nonfiction comics blog Cartoon Movement notes that they are currently blocked in China, Iran, Russia, and Turkey.

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Comics Lowdown: Chinese authorities crack down on Rage Comics

Censorship: The Chinese government has banned rage comics (Baozou Manhua, or Baoman) channels from a number of online platforms, claiming violations of the recently enacted Law on the Protection of Heroes and Martyrs. In addition to the censorship, the article discusses how rage comics migrated from 4Chan to Chinese youth culture and why this is important: They are now a big-money business.

Besides the shutdown of the various social media channels, the closure of the baozoumanhua.com media empire is a huge blow to its fans and creators. The website’s founder Wang Nima’s net worth is estimated to be around 4 billion yuan (±US$628 million), according to Daily Economic News (每日经济新闻).

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