Comics Interview: Dissected #24 – Comics! The Magazine #1
Welcome to the latest instalment of our Dissected feature here on Nerdly, where one of our comic gurus, Ian Wells, delves into comics history and looks back at comics press throughout the 80s, 90s and 2000s. This time round he’s looking at the brand new magazine, Comics The Magazine #1
When I started dissecting comic magazines, I didn’t expect to have a new publication spat out into the universe so soon. But that is exactly what we have here with Comics The Magazine #1. Early online buzz has been plentiful and positive, so I am going to add my two cents’ worth into the mix. By hotshotting the first issue with an Absolute Batman cover and feature article, it is immediately going to have eyes and curious readers seeking this out. The trio behind this new publication are Atom! Freeman, the founder of Prana Press. Previously, he has worked in sales positions at Dark Horse, Valiant and Bad Idea. In the role of Editor in Chief, we have Joseph Keatinge. Early in his career, he worked with Erik Larsen on Savage Dragon before moving to a Public Relations role at Image. He also worked in Marketing, Sales and Licensing. He would go on to launch the anthology Pop Gun, which won two Eisners in 2008 and 2010. The final piece of the creative trio is Rico Renzi as Art Director. I first knew his name through the YouTube series Cartoonist Kayfabe. He would often send in packages for Ed and Jim to unbox, containing both his own work and unique comics from all over. He is probably best known for his colour work and being the co-creator of Spider-Gwen. No Longer Mint is his online empire.
I must be the only person on the planet who hasn’t read Absolute Batman yet! This article is the final step in my pulling the trigger on the first trade paperback. The Absolute universe has been years in the making, put on the back burner at one point by Snyder before going through a year of stress testing under editors Chris Conroy and Marie Javins. Originally, Snyder didn’t want to write the Batman title, but the idea was central to his pitch sample. The art was all about experimentation before landing on the final design by Dragotta. What really comes across in the interview is that the collaborative process is so important to the core of this story. Everyone is not only at the top of their game, but they are also bouncing off of each other. There has long been an argument in fandom about whether you are a comics fan or a manga fan. People need to understand they are one and the same. From the list of influences Dragotta names (Miller, Mazzucchelli, Mignola, Otomo, Urasawa, and Nihei), Absolute Batman could finally be the title that brings the two worlds together. Looking at the art supplementing the article, you can see feet firmly planted in both worlds. As I said, I haven’t read it yet, so people can tell me if I’m right or wrong. There may even already be successful books crossing both worlds. But remember, this is one of the biggest characters in the world doing it. And doing it very successfully. We could be in for an era of imitations publisher-wide!
We get a nice piece of synergy with my last dissection of Amazing Heroes #167. In that magazine, it was breaking news that Rick Veitch was leaving Swamp Thing over creative disputes. He and artist Michael Zulli had finished the next arc when they quit. Now those four issues are seeing print in 2026 under DC’s Black Label. In this short but sweet article, Josiah Leighton breaks down some artistic highlights of the original Swamp Thing run to whet the whistle for what is to come later this year.
Next up is a three-way conversation between Skottie Young, Kyle Higgins and Tony Fleecs. The connective tissue being that they all have successful creator-owned universes (I Hate Fairyland, Massive Verse and Stray Dogs) and they are all part of DC’s new Next Level initiative with Lobo, Immortal Legend Batman and Deathstroke, respectively. Higgins is the only one of these creators I have had any experience with. Read his entire Nightwing run in the New 52. Also, to go on a personal tangent, I submitted a review for Radiant Black #1 to a site that will remain nameless. They asked me to rewrite it three times, and by the time they ran it, the second issue was out! I’m not an expert, but that doesn’t seem like good practice.
The five-page article by Jim Rugg tracing the history of the fanzine era is a valuable resource for me in doing my breakdowns going forward. Already from the art accompanying the article, I can see issues of Back Issue and Comics Feature I want to dive into. Jim, as well as being an inventive creator, is well-versed in the history of comics. And is someone I will always have time for when talking comics. He starts this article off with the golden nugget that Superman appeared in Siegel and Shuster’s fanzine ‘Science Fiction’ way before Action Comics #1. The article goes from the 60s to the 2010s. This covers a succinct overview of all the usual suspects. Starting with Alter Ego from Jerry Bails (a name that keeps coming up in the early days of fanzines). Through the 70s and 80s, of course, we have The Comics Journal, Amazing Heroes and Comics Interview. Rugg actually spotlights two issues of CI as highlights that I have covered. Those being the Frank Miller Ronin issue, which was conducted at the time he was working on #1. And the John Byrne special FF issue. Something that caught my eye was WAP! A zine for professionals by professionals. Those professionals being Frank Miller, Steve Grant and Steve Gerber. It ran for 8 issues between 1988 – 89. So off to eBay I go! Other highlights moving into the modern era are Comicsreporter.com, the blog by the late Tom Spurgeon. I believe these are all still available online. PanelxPanel, the digital zine that ran for six years between 2017 – 2023 and won multiple Eisners. I did send them a very poor submission for something Elektra-related. The article wraps with a nice infographic that goes beyond the 2010’s right up to of course, Comics The Magazine #1.
Towards the end, we get a section that feels very much like a Wizard homage. As we get the 100 most valuable comics. The list is sponsored by CGC and the app Short Box. I don’t know how the app works, and I assume these rankings are based on usage. The Top 10 does feel very Wizard era, as well as X-Men #1 (1991) is in the top spot, and Absolute Batman #1 is in second. A sign perhaps that we are heading back to those Wizard days with hype dictating demand. Then we get the Top 10 comics, I assume, for the month previous. It is Absolute and Ultimate line heavy. Shout out to Ultimate Wolverine coming in, in 10th! I hear a lot of talk online about the quality and sales of Marvel slipping. So it was a surprise to see them take top spot in Top 10 Publishers.
Things get even more wizard-like with Top 10 Artists and Writers. Unlike the Wizard days, though, there is little room to complain. Deniz Camp and Scott Snyder take first and second for writers. Camp was recently lauded as the new Alan Moore by Rob Liefeld. I would say if you haven’t already, go and check out his Image book 20th Century Men. The Top 10 artists reflect the Top 10 comics perhaps better than the writers list does. What we get that Wizard didn’t have is a Top 10 cover artists list. Back in Wizard’s day, you would often see an artist take the number one spot just by doing covers! It is interesting though that Nick Dragotta of Absolute Batman comes in at number one but is not present on the artist list. Last thing of note, Ultimate Wolverine is the only comic from the Top 10 not represented in writers, artists or cover artists. When you consider Chris Condon is turning out some cool independent stuff too, he should have made the cut, in my opinion.
The magazine closes out with Joseph Keatinge having his monthly column titled ‘The Next Big Thing’, he states that because there is always something new in comics, he wants to shine a light on it. First up is Limerence by Drew Rende. He has a great origin story. He started out drawing his Star Wars action figures, so his Dad took him to a comic shop and introduced him to the Dark Horse Star Wars comics. Rende counts Daniel Warren Johnson and Otomo’s Domu as his biggest influences. He says he still works on the Bristol board as it is ‘more fun, has physical appeal.’ It comes across in the interview that he is a young creator with his head firmly on his shoulders. He knows where he wants to go and how he is going to get there. Now this is where having a print magazine in the digital age has a huge benefit over its predecessors. While reading the interview you can immediately take out your phone and look up Drew Rende on Insta. And wow, this kid is talented. Even if Limerence doesn’t sound like it’s for you, his art is amazing. You can even go one better than just looking him up; you can order Limerence #1 as you read the interview! If more people haven’t heard his name in a year’s time, then this magazine isn’t reaching the readers!
One final thing that is a very good addition is the inside back cover. Here we have a checklist complete with prices of every new book mentioned in the issue. The idea is to take this to your LCS for ordering purposes.
In summary, this is a strong beginning for what will hopefully be a successful and long run for Comics! The Magazine. The biggest plus is the $2.99 price point. I was able to pick mine up on sale at Forbidden Planet online as I was buying some long boxes. Regular price is £2.76, although of course, check with your LCS first. I like the rotating contributors; it will be interesting to see how much this changes going forward. I personally would have Jim Rugg onboard every issue. I don’t want to make too many Wizard comparisons, but you certainly get the vibe. If I were simplifying things, I would say it is Wizard with the TnA taken out. The articles are a lot more tight and concise compared to Wizard, less sprawling and self-gratifying you might say! Also, thanks to Rico Renzi, the page layouts are much more palatable than most of the page layouts the heady days of the 90’s would offer up!
Comics! The Magazine does a good job of catering to readers, new and old or young and old, however you want to spin it? As pointed out in Keatinge’s intro, everyone comes to comics from different reading experiences, and this publication aims to cover them all. Hopefully, they do so and I wish them all the best for the journey.
