interviews – SMASH PAGES

Picture + Panel | Gemma Correll + Nicole Georges on the intersection of mental health + humor

The two creators discuss anxiety, mental illness and the ways comics can make difficult experiences easier to understand and share.

Mental health has been a recurring subject in comics, particularly for creators working in autobiography and memoir. For artists Gemma Correll and Nicole Georges, it’s also been a subject they’ve explored directly through their own experiences, from anxiety and mental illness to the ways comics can help people feel less alone.

Correll and Georges recently took part in the Boston Comics Arts Foundation’s Picture + Panel: Nervous Laughter event, a conversation about how comics can be used to explore mental health and make difficult experiences easier to understand and share. Correll is the author and illustrator of The Worrier’s Guide to Life and other comics and books about anxiety, while Georges is the author of Calling Dr. Laura and creator of the Emotional Support Animals series.

The conversation took place earlier this month, but the Q&A offers a chance to dig a little deeper into how both creators approach mental health in their work. Correll and Georges discuss how they became interested in mental health, why they began making comics about it, the misconceptions they encounter, and the comics and other media that have influenced their work.

Smash Pages Q&A | Hank Kanalz on the Marvel Masterworks line moving to Clover Press

The Kickstarter for the first four volumes is now live.

For nearly 40 years, Marvel Masterworks has been one of Marvel Comics’ definitive archival collections, bringing classic stories from across the company’s history to readers in carefully produced hardcover editions. Now the long-running line enters a new era with a new publisher, as Clover Press takes over publication.

The boutique publisher behind the line of comics-related art books, special editions and original comics launched its first Marvel Masterworks releases yesterday through Kickstarter, with plans to bring them to the direct market. The first wave includes Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 18; The Mighty Thor, Vol. 25; The Tomb of Dracula, Vol. 6; and Super-Villain Team-Up, Vol. 1.

The new editions will retain the familiar Marvel Masterworks legacy trade dress while also introducing a new variant design by Clover Press art director and co-founder Robbie Robbins. But the publisher’s plans go well beyond a new look. The books will feature extensive restoration work overseen by longtime Marvel Masterworks editor Cory Sedlmeier, including material restored from original art, new scans and high-resolution reproduction.

I spoke with Clover Press co-founder Hank Kanalz about how the partnership with Marvel came together, why maintaining continuity with the existing line was important, the challenges of restoring hundreds of pages of classic comics and what Clover Press has planned for Marvel Masterworks over the next three years.

Smash Pages Q&A | Zack Quaintance on ‘Death of Comics Bookcase: Reign of the Comics Bookcases’

Quaintance talks to us about his latest project, which is currently up on Kickstarter, as well as writing comics about comics and the enduring legacy of an aspiring actor-turned-furniture.

Death of Comics Bookcase started with a pretty simple question: What if a comics bookcase could tell stories?

Two years after the first volume, Zack Quaintance is back with Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 2: Reign of the Comics Bookcases, a 48-page anthology that uses its titular piece of furniture as a framing device for stories that range from superheroics and science fiction to fantasy and comics-industry satire.

Quaintance, a writer and editor at The Beat, brings his own experience as a comics journalist to the project, recruiting artists whose work he’s encountered through his reviewing and reporting. Reign of the Comics Bookcases features stories illustrated by Nick Cagnetti, John P. Golden, Luke Horsman, Ryan Lee, Jeremy Hyler and Jim Lavery.

The second volume is currently up on Kickstarter, following the first book’s successful 2024 campaign. I talked with Quaintance about the secret origin of the Comics Bookcase, finding the right artists for each story and what comes next for the Bookcase.

Smash Pages Q&A | Craig Hurd-McKenney on ‘Best Friend Show’

Craig Hurd-McKenney talks with us about ‘Best Friend Show,’ youth dog shows and finding the right story for a young-adult audience.

Craig Hurd-McKenney and I go way back, far enough that our connection to comics probably isn’t the most interesting part of the story. But I’ve had the pleasure of watching him create stories and comics from the beginning, and I’ve talked with Craig about his comics work for Smash Pages a couple of times over the years, most recently in 2025.

Now he’s taking on something a little different with Best Friend Show, a Young Adult graphic novel coming Mad Cave Studios’ Nakama Press imprint on Oct. 13. After a family illness and a breakup, the main character, Landon, spends the summer with his aunt at her dog rescue. There, he discovers an unexpected talent for working with dogs and finds himself drawn into the world of competitive youth dog shows.

Illustrated by Melisa Jones with colors by Jok, Best Friend Show is a story about dogs and competition on the surface, but Craig says his fascination with youth dog shows came from something deeper: the confidence and agency they can give young people. As Landon finds his way back into the world, his relationships with the dogs and the group of young handlers he meets become an important part of that journey.

I spoke with Craig about the real-life inspiration behind Best Friend Show, what he learned about youth dog shows, working with artist Melisa Jones and his longtime collaborator Jok, and the challenge of writing his first YA graphic novel.

Smash Pages Q&A | Darryl Cunningham on ‘John of the Night’

The author of ‘Billionaires: The Lives of the Rich and Powerful’ trades nonfiction for cosmic adventure in his newest graphic novel.

After years of turning his sharp eye for politics, history, science and biography toward nonfiction in graphic novels like Supercrash, Billionaires: The Lives of the Rich and Powerful, Putin: The Rise of a Dictator and Elon Musk: American Oligarch, Darryl Cunningham decided to go a different route with his newest graphic novel.

The result is John of the Night, his first fiction graphic novel, which is a wildly imaginative cosmic adventure. The story focuses on scientist John of the Night and his daughter Aysha, who are caught between a fanatical cult determined to “fix” the multiverse and Medea, Aysha’s witch-queen mother, who has plans of her own for her daughter. Inspired in part by the grand cosmic mythology of Jack Kirby, the book combines gods, multiverses, mythology and philosophical questions about good and evil with the much more grounded relationship between a father and daughter.

The new book arrives from Avery Hill Publishing on Sept. 2.

I spoke with Cunningham about the new book, the influence of Jack Kirby, creating Aysha and Medea, finding the balance between cosmic spectacle and emotional grounding, and what’s next for John of the Night.

Smash Pages Q&A | Mike Kennedy from Magnetic Press on ‘Loba Loca’

The publisher talks with us about their latest team-up with Label 619 and more.

Magnetic Press is about halfway through their Kickstarter campaign for Loba Loca, a graphic novel set in the MFKZ Universe from creators Guillaume “Run” Renard and Guillaume Singelin of Label 619 in France. The project has already blown past its modest goal with more than $46,000 in raised funds and another two weeks to go.

The graphic novel is about Guadalupe “Guada” Mayflower, a 17-year-old who discovers her infamous luchadore father may have once saved the world. This sends her on a dangerous road trip to confront her family’s past that involves other masked luchadores, underworld figures and more.

I caught up with Magnetic Press’ Director of Publishing Mike Kennedy to talk about what drew Magnetic Press to the project, their relationship with Label 619 and, of course, the role of lucha libre in the book.

Smash Pages Q&A | Matthew Dow Smith on ‘Amelia Shadows’ + ‘The October Girl’

The writer and artist talks about his newest book, ‘Amelia Shadows and the Monster in the Box,’ giving his editors nightmares with his creative process, and more.

Over the course of 30 years, Matthew Dow Smith has built a career that has taken him everywhere from Hellboy and The X-Files to DC and Marvel. But in recent years, the writer and artist has been able to work, as he says, “with the training wheels off,” embracing middle-grade and young adult graphic novels that better reflect the kinds of stories he’s always wanted to tell.

That creative shift has resulted in two growing fantasy series arriving just months apart. Amelia Shadows and the Monster in the Box debuted this week from Papercutz, continuing the adventures of the curious young heroine. Meanwhile, The October Girl Book Three arrives from Mad Cave’s Maverick imprint (in October, naturally), which expands the mythology of the supernatural world Smith has been developing for decades. I caught up with him to discuss both series, how all-ages comics unlocked a new level of creativity for him and how finding the right audience has transformed his career.

Picture + Panel | Damian Alexander + Alex Krokus on expressing grief in their comics

The two cartoonists reflect on grief, memory and how personal stories can help readers feel a little less alone.

Grief, loss and the ways we carry them are deeply personal, but they’re also themes that have inspired some of comics’ most powerful stories. For its latest Picture + Panel discussion, the Boston Comic Arts Foundation brought together cartoonists Alex Krokus and Damian Alexander for a conversation about processing death and grief through their work, drawing on both their creative approaches and deeply personal experiences.

Damian Alexander is a cartoonist and storyteller who grew up around Boston. He created the graphic novels Hand-Me-Down, Other Boys and Absolutely Everything. When Damian isn’t doodling or making comics, he can be found rearranging his dollhouse and caring for his terrariums. Damian lives in New England with his husband and their cat and dog.

Alex Krokus is a cartoonist and animator based out of Brooklyn, New York. His work has been published by VICE, Buzzfeed, the New York Times, Comedy Central, the Tribeca Film Festival, and the Food and Drug Administration. The latest volume of his webcomic series, Loud & Smart, was published by Silver Sprocket in a volume titled Loudest & Smartest.

Our thanks as always to Gina Gagliano and Jason Viola, who organize the monthly series in Boston and brought this Q&A series to Smash Pages.

Smash Pages Q&A | Christian Ward on building ‘The Forever Home’

The writer discusses the premise behind his new Oni Press series, collaborating with Sami Kivelä and why every great story starts with its characters.

Christian Ward has built a career creating stunning visuals and unforgettable worlds, whether as the artist on books like Invisible Kingdom, Batman: City of Madness, Black Bolt and Spectregraph, or as a writer on Blood Stained Teeth and Machine Gun Wizards.

For his latest project, he’s building a house.

Coming from Oni Press this fall, The Forever Home reunites him with artist Sami Kivelä for a story that blends science fiction, horror and family drama. The series follows Henry D’mour, a man who built a home designed to survive a climate-ravaged future that exists almost outside of time itself. As years, and eventually centuries, pass beyond its walls, the family inside must confront not only the changing world, but the consequences of Henry’s choices and the secrets hidden within the house itself.

I spoke with Ward about the origins of The Forever Home, why he wanted to tell a story inspired by climate change and “billionaire bunker” culture, reuniting with Kivelä and more. My thanks for his time.

Smash Pages Q&A | Katie Skelly on ‘Heaven’

The creator of ‘Nurse Nurse,’ ‘Maids and more talks about her newest graphic novel, the end of her “cool girls” era and what she’s planning next.

Katie Skelly has spent more than a decade creating stylish graphic novels centered on unforgettable women navigating worlds of horror, desire and mystery. From My Pretty Vampire and Operation Margarine to Nurse Nurse, Skelly has developed a visual style all her own, blending cute images with bold colors, emotional honesty and, at times, brutal violence.

Her latest graphic novel, Heaven, is her first in about six years, following 2020’s Maids. It arrives in stores today courtesy of Fantagraphics. The supernatural strip joint story follows Dolly, a young woman searching for purpose who is drawn to “Heaven,” a mysterious club on the outskirts of town.

Combining supernatural horror with themes of identity and belonging, Heaven also marks the end of an era for Skelly. As she recently revealed, it’s the final story she’ll tell featuring the “cool girl” protagonists who have defined much of her work over the past decade.

I spoke with Skelly about the origins of Heaven and why this graphic novel felt like the right place to close one creative chapter before beginning another.

Smash Pages Q&A | Phillip Sevy + Christie Porter on ‘She Comes With Magic’

The creators discuss launching their adults-only fantasy series on Kickstarter, balancing epic adventure with explicit storytelling and bringing Maeve’s magical quest to life.

Known for his work on comics like Tomb Raider, X-Men Infinity Comics and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, among other titles, artist and writer Phillip Sevy is taking a decidedly different path with She Comes With Magic, a creator-owned fantasy series that launches on Kickstarter today.

Co-created with journalist/comics writer Christie Porter, the comic features Maeve, a powerful wizard who channels her magic through sex. She embarks on an epic quest to stop the Starving King in an adults-only fantasy that blends action, humor, romance and explicit sexuality, in the vein of comics like Sunstone, White Tree, Sex Criminals and Money Shot.

While the book’s high-concept premise is sure to grab attention, Sevy and Porter are committed to making She Comes With Magic work as a fantasy story first. Building a world with real stakes, memorable characters and emotional weight was just as important as embracing the book’s titilating premise, resulting in a series that aims to balance comedy, epic adventure and sex without sacrificing any one element.

I spoke with Sevy and Porter about bringing the first issue to Kickstarter, collaborating on the story, Porter’s transition from journalism to comics, finding the right tone for an erotic fantasy and more. While the book is definitely aimed at adults and is NSFW, this interview includes SFW artwork from the comic by Porter, Sevy and colorist Gibran Ferdian, along with a variant cover by Stjepan Šejić.

Picture + Panel | Abby Denson + Matthew Loux talk about Japan

Check out our interview in advance of a live question-and-answer session between the two creators in Boston tonight.

We’re happy to continue our interview series with creators speaking at the monthly Picture + Panel event in Boston, which brings together two comic creators to talk about a specific topic. This time we have Abby Denson and Matthew Loux joining us to talk about Japan.

Omega Au, convention chair of Anime Boston 2026, will host a conversation with Loux and Denson tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern at the Boston Figurative Arts Center in Somerville, Massachusetts. The event is brought to you by the Boston Comic Arts Foundation, Porter Square Books and the Boston Figurative Arts Center.

Abby Denson is the author of Uniquely Japan; the Kitty Sweet Tooth books, illustrated by Utomaru; Cool Tokyo Guide; Cool Japan Guide; Dolltopia; and Tough Love. She has written for comics series such as The Powerpuff Girls, The Simpsons, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and The Amazing Spider-Man Family. Her work has garnered the International Manga Award, Moonbeam Children’s Book Award and the IPPY Award. Abby has taught and lectured at various venues, including the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, The New School and Sophia University in Tokyo. Abby goes to Japan whenever she gets the chance.

Matthew Loux is author and artist of the graphic novels The Time Museum Vol. 1, published by First Second Books; Sidescrollers; and the five volume series Salt Water Taffy, originally published by Oni Press. Matthew has also illustrated the graphic novels F-Stop and Good Night Gabbaland, and has contributed cover artwork for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Matthew resides in New York.

Big thanks as always to Gina Gagliano and Jason Viola, who organize the monthly series in Boston and brought this Q&A series to Smash Pages.

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