Week of 9/8/2025
This week, it's time to Bangkok on 9/11 on The Shapes, I announce this month's market lineup, and review my top Ignatz Awards nominees this year.
The Shapes
Vacation Ideas
Not Soon Enough
News
Event Announcements
Daydream Art Market
Tonight from 5-9 PM during St. Pete Art Walk, you can find me vending at Daydream Market as usual. I’ll have some new prints there for the fall season, so that’s reason enough to come on over!
Indie Noir Market
Tomorrow from 5-9 PM, I’ll be in Ybor City vending for the first time at the seasonal Indie Noir Market at 1920 Ybor.
Local Comic Shop Day Zine Fest
That’s right! I’ll be in Bradenton again for Local Comic Shop Day Zine Fest at the downtown-located Bat City Comic Professionals from 12-5 PM. You’ll not only meet artists but get to make your own zine!
New Moon Makers Market
Last but not least, on September 27, I’m tabling at New Moon Makers Market’s first show since their summer break. It’ll be held indoors at the Allendale Methodist Chruch from 3-7 PM.
Sammy the Critic
Top 2025 Ignatz Nominees
The Ignatz Awards winners are being announced tonight during Small Press Expo (SPX), and in anticipation of the occasion, I once again am giving my top nominees pick. Being an alt-comix-oriented awards show, a majority of the nominated works are either self-published or from independent presses with small print runs and limited distribution. In other words, if a comic you made or love isn’t included, there’s a good chance I wasn’t able to access it where I am or request a copy.
8. How to Talk to Your Succulent by Zoe Persico (Tundra Book Group)
Nomination: Outstanding Story
After the demise of her mother, Adora and her father move from their home in California to her grandmother’s house in Michigan. Still struggling to process the loss, her dad is overprotective and emotionally distant when the topic comes up. While Adora finds comfort in confiding in her grandma and her new friend Winona, she also discovers she has the ability to communicate with plant life when the succulent she gets, Perle, begins talking to her.
Soon, Perle becomes Adora's confidant to vent. However, as winter approaches and Perle isn’t given the space to voice how the weather is affecting her, the one-sided nature of their exchange manifests.
I initially wasn’t wowed by the picture book cover art, assuming this would be mostly a cute-to-look-at but otherwise lightweight book for little kids. It is cute indeed but contains heavier themes of grief and family relations that’ll resonate with children and parents.
7. Low Orbit by Kazimir Lee (Top Shelf Productions)
Nomination: Outstanding Artist
Malaysian-American teenager Azar feels like she’s in a rough patch in life, being the gay kid in a small town with a mother who doesn’t quite get queer stuff and an absent father who’s supposedly still trying to sell their old Brooklyn apartment. Her only friends in the new place are anime fan/aspiring animator Tristan and their dad, best-selling sci-fi/fantasy novelist Shannon Wathe, who’s having trouble getting back on his writing toes.
At 331 pages, Kazimir Lee’s debut graphic novel leaves a good impression with its smooth pacing, which makes the book feel shorter than it actually is, and its ebullient character writing. Whether it’s seeing Azar and Tristan’s chemistry develop or Tristan and Wathe in a spirited debate, the dialogue is a delight to read through, especially during the second half when they’re in New York for a convention. While matters take a downturn during the climax, the book ends on a promising yet open-ended note that might feel a tad bittersweet. Not enough YA comics are willing to indulge in conflicts that don’t have a clean resolution by the end, so I appreciate that element.
6. Wedding Juice and Other Melodramas by Sanika Phawde (Self-Published)
Nomination: Outstanding Series
Indian weddings are extravagant and extremely expensive occasions, and Sanika Phawde takes you through the thick of it in their autobio account of their wedding. Whether it’s family squabbles over decorations, food/drinks, or festivities, Phawde perfectly captures the overall chaos through their rough, crowded yet exquisitely composed panels and splash pages. I’m interested in seeing how deep this gets in the second issue.
You can purchase it at the Radiator Comics website.
5. Loud: Stories to Make Your Voice Heard edited by Brett Israel (Dark Horse Comics)
Nomination: Outstanding Anthology
Originally published in Italy with the femme cartoonist collective Collectivo Moleste, the Loud anthology features hard-hitting comics from over a dozen creators that touch on aspects of gender-based violence and harassment. Recurring themes throughout include slut-shaming, victim-blaming, and sexual assault, all of which are approached with the tastefulness they deserve. Some highlights are opening comic “Baby Face” (Anna Cercigano), “Sabrina” (Eleonora Antonioni), and” Text Me When You Get Home” (Maurizia Rubino).
Even more remarkable about this anthology is how consistently great every contribution is without a stinker in sight, which is rare for even anthologies I wholeheartedly love. While it’s clear from a glance that the artists involved are professionals who follow the conventional comic book layout templates, they don’t feel restricted artistically to said conventions in a way that even many indie American comics are. Orthodoxy is merely a catalyst for experimentation. Under Pressure by Davide Costa & Elisa2b is the best example of this, which follows a guy internally battling pervasive toxic masculinity messages as he tries asking a girl out.
4. Rust Belt Review Vol. 6 by Sean Knickerbocker (Self-Published)
Nomination: Outstanding Anthology
I’ve discussed this one previously in the newsletter, so I’m keeping it short. The Rust Belt Review is Sean Knickerbocker’s perennial anthology featuring comics showcasing a distinctly Midwestern flavor. A few standouts include the anxiety-inducing opener “The Kingdom” (Jay Lynn Allie), hilarious “Playboy Dan” (David G. Caldwell), and kitschy “Sorority Book Club” (Brian Canini). While the contributions weren’t as consistently good as Loud, there were more exceptional comics here that went all out with their experimentation.
You can buy the issue on Sean Knickerbocker’s website.
3. PeePee PooPoo by Caroline Cash (Silver Sprocket)
Nomination: Outstanding Anthology
I know some of you longtime readers are already asking when I’ll ever shut up about the gospel of PeePee PooPoo. Like any good scatological evangelist, I’ll continue to preach ‘til the diarrhea rapture!
Despite the series’ title, potty humor only makes up a portion of the comics in Cash’s one-person anthology. Subject matter ranges from acerbic art school lampoons to slice-of-life memoir comics about city life/locales to silly short comics where the characters are chattering about the most nonsensical things. Regardless of what angle Cash chooses to venture in, she hardly misses a beat!
2. The Re-Up by Chad Bilyeu & Juliette de Wit (Bistro Books)
Nomination: Outstanding Comic: Outstanding Series
Chad Bilyeu has always been a subject of passive fascination for me from the time I first discovered his autobio comic books while living in Amsterdam to my perennial interactions with him at comic festivals much later. It’s not every day you encounter a comic book about another African-American in the Netherlands.
My intrigue with his life has only been further cemented by his newer series The Re-Up, which recounts his time being a weed dealer in Washington, DC, during the mid-2000s. Chad is no melodramatic, so don’t expect a maudlin indictment or mafioso romanticization of the dealing game. What he lays on his audience is a peek into what was going on in his mind at the time and his day-to-day life as a dealer. Most of it is more mundane than one would visualize, entailing acquiring product from his supplier and delivering it to his clientele, who range from college students to working professionals looking for that hit. A majority of the conflicts Chad had to handle on a regular basis are business-related, such as a client or supplier not arriving on time. Although nothing of major consequence has occurred yet, he doesn’t pussyfoot around the weight of his choices, making the scenes where he is close to being caught all the more suspenseful.
You can buy the series on Chad Bilyeu’s website.
1. Precious Rubbish by Kayla E. (Fantagraphics)
Nomination: Outstanding Graphic Novel
I reviewed Precious Rubbish fairly recently, so I won’t be dwelling too long on it either, but the important takeaway is that if there’s any graphic memoir from this year you should read, it’s this one. Kayla E uses her Golden Age children’s comic and activity book influence to craft a visceral narrative delving into her childhood trauma. While these elements may mitigate the sheer horror of witnessing child abuse on page, the themes hit just as hard as a bag of rocks.
