Writing on books, cartoons, and culture writ large. And then some.
Features
The 100 Sequences That Shaped Animation – Vulture
The 100 Most Influential Sequences In Animation History
Movies About Life Are Also Movies About Death. Just Ask the Director of The Land Before Time.
10 Tragically, Irretrievably Lost Pieces of Animation History
‘Take Back Our Cartoons’: How What a Cartoon! tapped animation’s past to push the form into a new ’90s golden age.
Cartoon Network Studios Has Some New Ideas for Getting New Ideas – Vulture
Publishers Weekly at 150: Anatomy of a Magazine, 1872-2022 – Publishers Weekly
Ada Limón and the Poetry of Rebellion – Publishers Weekly
The Best Animation of 2021 – Vulture
Publishers Weekly‘s Person of the Year 2020: The Book Business Worker – Publishers Weekly
How to Make an Animaniacs Song That Truly Captures Life in 2020 – Vulture
Rulers vs. writers: The pre-Trump pre-history of author suppression – The Los Angeles Times
Authors Take Publishing’s Diversity Issues Into Their Own Hands – Publishers Weekly
The unsung genius of Studio Ghibli’s risk-taking realist, Isao Takahata – Polygon
Book Pirates Don’t Think They’re Stealing – MEL Magazine
Before American Dirt, a history of Oprah’s Book Club controversies – The Los Angeles Times
Now That Anime Is Cool, Hollywood Wants to Ruin It With Live-Action Remakes – Thrillist
Wit, Wisdom, and Warnings from a Veteran of the New York Literary World – Literary Hub
For the Country’s Most Promising Teen Poets, Poetry Is Activism – Vulture
Wondering Where Publishing Is Headed? Ask Its Future Leaders. – Publishers Weekly
Outrage over Cartoon Network’s ThunderCats reboot resorted to a strange, old insult: ‘CalArts style’ – Polygon
Does Anybody Know What a Bestseller Is? – Publishers Weekly
Late to the Party: Kōbō Abe’s The Woman In the Dunes – Electric Literature
The Addictive Animated Food of Miyazaki Films – Thrillist
Chuck Jones Repudiated Republican Healthcare Quibbles 70 Years Ago – The Dot and Line
John Darnielle Is on a Roll – Publishers Weekly
Essays
Shinji Ikari’s Hedgehog’s Dilemma – Tears for Toons
Infinity Train Outgrew Its Audience — and Grew Better for It – Vulture
Winter Time Is Hilda Time – Vulture
Why I Walked Away From War and Peace… Forever – Literary Hub
Canceling Venture Bros. now is like canceling the MCU right before Avengers: Endgame – Polygon
Steven Universe: The Movie Is All About Doing the Work – Vulture
BoJack Horseman is wielding animation just like Neon Genesis Evangelion – Polygon
Christian Bale’s infamous Dark Knight voice was the only option – Polygon
The Hidden Parallels in Cowboy Bebop—and Its Link to Cormac McCarthy – The Dot and Line
Why Katara’s Torrent of Feelings Is Her Greatest Strength and Greatest Pain – The Dot and Line
America is Bleeding. It’s Time We All Watched Tower. – The Dot and Line
I Just Watched All of BoJack Horseman in One Month, and Now I Want to Die – The Dot and Line
Living the Life of a Long Island Cabana Boy – Medium
The Secret Hustle of Genndy Tartakovsky, Creator of Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack – The Dot and Line
Steven Universe Is My Ideal Me – The Dot and Line
At the End of Cowboy Bebop, All I Could Think About Was My Dead Mom – The Dot and Line (Medium Editors’ Pick)
This Is the Most Insane and Compelling Theory for How the Wall in Game of Thrones Stands – Esquire
He’s Gone: A Family History with the Grateful Dead – Outcryer
Reporting
National Book Critics Circle Board Gutted as Fallout Over Leaked Emails, Race Issues Widens – Publishers Weekly
Hachette Book Group Staffers Stage Walkout Over Woody Allen Memoir – Publishers Weekly
Mike Lazzo Leaves Adult Swim – The Dot and Line
RWA President, Executive Director Resign as Publishers Drop Its Annual Conference – Publishers Weekly
Did Michelle Obama Really Sell 2 Million Books in 15 Days? An Investigation. – Vulture
Sherman Alexie Latest Author Facing Harassment Allegations – Publishers Weekly
Sexual Harassment In Children’s Publishing Reaches a Crisis Point – Publishers Weekly
Sexual Harassment Is a Problem In Publishing – Publishers Weekly
Milo Yiannopoulos Strikes Back – Publishers Weekly
Leftist Indies Put Politics First – Publishers Weekly
From Snippets of Code, a Series of Apps Lets Users Produce Millions of Sounds and Visuals – Hyperallergic
Taking art and education to new dimensions: 3D printing perhaps the next frontier – The Long Island Herald
Digging in Saltzman’s vaults: A retired town archivist on living in history – The Long Island Herald
HUD backs off Housing Authority: Says it shouldn’t have asked for board member removal – The Long Island Herald
‘I expect this to go for a while’: Despite appeals to Albany and Washington, Housing Authority twists in the wind – The Long Island Herald
Interviews
Guilt Is Fecund: The Millions Interviews Frank Bidart – The Millions
Two Decades After The Powerpuff Girls, a New Superpowered Kid Learns Some Big Lessons – Vulture
Scholar Stanley Fish on Bolton, Trump and why there’s too much free speech – The Los Angeles Times
Daniel M. Lavery wrestles with art and identity – The Los Angeles Times
Genndy Tartakovsky Gets Primal: “I’m Doing Things Differently Than I Ever Have Done” – The Dot and Line
Kristen Arnett, Queer Meme Master, Does Not Want to Explain Ravioli to You – Vulture
Marlon James Spins a Tale of Tales – Publishers Weekly
R.A. Salvatore reflects on 30 years of writing Drizzt and an ever-changing fandom – Polygon
Rick and Morty Composer Ryan Elder Is Very Serious About Making Silly Songs – Thrillist
Why Neil DeGrasse Tyson Voiced a Pig On Gravity Falls – The Dot and Line
‘The Future Is Happening Right Now’: An Interview with Jeff VanderMeer – Pacific Standard
Q&A: Garry Trudeau Talks Trump – Publishers Weekly
Talking Nickelodeon with Fred Seibert, the Backstage Architect of Your Childhood – The Dot and Line
Steve Stern on The Pinch, Pogroms, Enclaves, and “Yiddishkeit Lite” – Outcryer
Scott McCloud – GraphicNovelReporter
Rep. John Lewis – GraphicNovelReporter
Podcasts
The Next Picture Show: discussing the idiosyncratic—and just plain weird—Rankin/Bass animated feature The Last Unicorn.
The Next Picture Show: discussing Raya and the Last Dragon, in which Disney Animation sends its latest heroine on an epic quest—sans the songs this time.
The Deep Vault: performing the role of Jeremy Thompson and starring in each episode of the podcast – Dead Signals
Archive 81: performing the role of Jacob Lester, appearing in episodes one and three of season one of the podcast, and the role of Rat, starring in each episode of season two of the podcast – Dead Signals
Reviews
Poetry
Drano – HAD
To Dust – Yes, Poetry
The Trip We Didn’t Take – Luna Luna
#NotTrump Series: Home – Yes, Poetry
Special Feature: Three Poems – Yes, Poetry
John H. Maher 