Editorial Cartoonist Ann Telnaes quits Washington Post over censorship of cartoon. Marvel is releasing a Fall of the House of X/Rise of the Powers of X omnibus. Various comic book anniversaries celebrated today, including Flash Gordon and Tarzan.
SUBSCRIBE ON RSS, APPLE, ANDROID, SPOTIFY, OR THE APP OF YOUR CHOICE. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK, AND FACEBOOK. SUPPORT OUR SHOWS ON PATREON.
Powered by RedCircle
Episode Transcript:
Editorial cartoonist quits Washington Post over censorship.
End of Krakoa era gets omnibus.
Flash Gordon turns 90!
This is Comic Book Club News for January 7, 2025.
Editorial Cartoonist Ann Telnaes Quits Washington Post Over Censorship Of Trump Cartoon:
Former Washington Post editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes has quit her job over the censorship of a cartoon that showed billionaires bowing down to Trump.
Per a post on her Substack on January 3, Telnaes explained that since she started her job in 2008, she’s gotten feedback on her editorial cartoons, and even had differences with the people in charge. But up until now, she’s never had a cartoon killed simply because of the content.
Wrote Telnaes, “While it isn’t uncommon for editorial page editors to object to visual metaphors within a cartoon if it strikes that editor as unclear or isn’t correctly conveying the message intended by the cartoonist, such editorial criticism was not the case regarding this cartoon. To be clear, there have been instances where sketches have been rejected or revisions requested, but never because of the point of view inherent in the cartoon’s commentary.”
The sketch includes Mickey Mouse bowing, and other billionaires offering money, including a figure who is likely Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post. As Telnaes finished up, “As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job… I doubt my decision will cause much of a stir and that it will be dismissed because I’m just a cartoonist. But I will not stop holding truth to power through my cartooning, because as they say, ‘Democracy dies in darkness’.”
End Of X-Men’s Krakoa Era Gets Omnibus:
The end of the X-Men’s Krakoa era is getting a massive omnibus.
Per ICv2, the massive, 1,248-page hardcover will collect the entirety of the Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X miniseries, the concurrent run on X-Men, leading into the finale in X-Men #35, as well as related miniseries Dead X-Men, X-Men: Forever, Cable, Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace, Resurrection of Magneto, and associated issues of Invincible Iron Man and Avengers.
Costing a cool $125, the volume will sport a main cover by Mark Brooks, and direct market variants by David Nakayama and Pepe Larraz. It’ll go on sale on August 5, a little over a year after the previous X-Men era ended.
Celebrate Today’s Comic Book Anniversaries:
And to wrap things up, there are a number of big, classic comic book anniversaries today.
90 years ago on January 7, Flash Gordon first appeared in American newspapers, written and drawn by Alex Raymond. Perhaps not coincidentally, the strip was created to compete with Buck Rogers, which first appeared 96 years ago today, the same day Tarzan also first appeared as a newspaper strip — though the latter was based on the stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
But all of those are babies compared to Charles Addams, creator of The Addams Family, who was born January 7, 1912, and would have turned 113 years old somehow if he was still alive today.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. [snaps twice]
Got tips or stories you’d like us to cover? Email us at comicbookclublive@gmail.com.
For more comic book news, reviews, and interviews, check out comicbookclublive.com.
Listen early and ad-free on Patreon.com/comicbookclub.
Discover more from Comic Book Club
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.