Comics Lowdown: Turkish political cartoonist Musa Kart freed from jail

Plus: Violent alt.right felon gets a comic, Zunar exhibit canceled, Box Brown and more.

Musa Kart Freed: Turkish political cartoonist Musa Kart was released from jail on a judge’s orders Friday, along with six other staffers from the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet. Four others, including the editor in chief, remain behind bars, and the freed journalists are under judicial supervision pending the outcome of the trial. The journalists were arrested nine months ago on charges of aiding terrorist organizations; the arrests came shortly after a failed coup against the Turkish government and are widely regarded as an attempt to limit freedom of the press. Kart, who made an opening statement that drew laughter from the audience at times, faces up to 29 years in prison if convicted. The trial will resume on Sept. 11.

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Comics Lowdown: Trolling the trolls

A cartoonist gets his career back, manga and kids’ comics are booming, and a con veteran offers advice for first-timers

Trolling the Trolls: Your bizarre read for the day is Emma Grey Ellis’s account of the strange career of Ben Garrison, a libertarian political cartoonist who became a sort of real-life Pepe the Frog after alt-right trolls started altering his cartoons to include Nazi imagery and seeded the internet with fake stories:

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Second issue of ‘Resist!’ storms into comic shops July 4

Françoise Mouly and Nadja Spiegelman made headlines back in January with the release of “Resist!,” their free, tabloid-sized, crowdsourced publication featuring comics and commentary that was distributed during the women’s marches across the United States.

In July, Resist! is grabbing back, as the second issue arrives just in time for America’s birthday. The second issue of Resist!, a comic book-sized 96-page anthology of comics and cartoons, will be handed out during the July 4th weekend by volunteers and in the comic shops that ordered it. Per the release, “distribution of Resist! is intended as an Independence Day celebration of the First Amendment, of our diverse country and of our resilience.”

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