The manga industry's backdoor atrocity

Previously, I'd written about a scandal involving publisher Shogakukan hiring a disgraced mangaka who'd been charged with sexual abuse despite the severity of his offenses. Now, India Times reports it's become even more outraging, as it turned out another disgraced mangaka was also rehired, one who'd disgraced himself 6 years ago:

Manga ONE and Shogakukan are facing heavy criticism after it emerged that Act Age writer Tatsuya Matsuki quietly returned to the platform under a pseudonym. The revelation came days after another convicted offender was also rehired, triggering anger across the manga industry and prompting several creators to withdraw their works.

Shogakukan’s digital manga platform Manga ONE is under intense scrutiny after it emerged that two convicted sex offenders were quietly allowed to work on the platform under different names. The controversy first focused on Shoichi Yamamoto, but new details soon revealed another shocking case. Act Age writer Tatsuya Matsuki had also returned to the industry under a false identity.

The revelations have triggered a wave of criticism from fans, artists, and industry insiders. Several well known manga creators have already withdrawn their works from the platform, while readers are questioning how such hiring decisions were approved in the first place. [...]

Weekly Shonen Jump cancelled Act Age without delay. All volumes were removed from stores and digital platforms. Publisher Shueisha publicly condemned the incident and cut ties with the author. At the time, many assumed Matsuki’s manga career was effectively over.

Secret return to manga under a different name

Years later, that assumption has been challenged. In 2024, editors at Shogakukan’s Manga ONE platform reportedly contacted Matsuki after seeing a novel he had self published online. Following internal discussions, they approved a new manga project written by him under a pseudonym.

He used the name Miki Yatsunami. Under that identity, Matsuki wrote a psychological series titled Seisou no Shinrishi. The story explored themes of trauma and mental health.

However, the illustrator working on the series reportedly did not know Matsuki’s real identity or past conviction. Shogakukan later admitted that the pen name was meant to avoid linking the project to his real name. Critics say the move instead hid important information from collaborators and readers. Once the truth became public, the series was suspended while the publisher launched a review of the decision.

Another controversial hiring fuels the backlash

The situation became even more explosive because Matsuki was not the only convicted offender linked to the platform. Days earlier, reports surfaced that Shoichi Yamamoto, who was convicted in 2020 for grooming and sexually assaulting a 15 year old student, had also returned to Manga ONE under the name Hajime Ichiro. His manga Jojin Kamen had been running on the platform since 2022.

Illustrator Eri Tsuruyoshi said on X that she had very little contact with Yamamoto and had no idea about his criminal past. She wrote that she hoped the victim could recover from the trauma. The discovery that two convicted offenders were allowed to publish under pseudonyms on the same platform has intensified criticism of Shogakukan’s editorial oversight.

When Matsuki's artist on Act-Age found out about his arrest, she cut off partnership with him. Now, a second lady illustrator's been embarrassed by publishers who kept her in the dark using a pseudonym as a disguise for the other offender. That women would be tricked into taking assignments with monsters who might be as willing to hurt them as much as their previous victims is chilling. And to think, that 2 offenders would be allowed back into the industry via the backdoor! What's so special about creators who turn out to be creeps? It reminds me that nearly a decade ago, DC had a scandal with their Vertigo line, when it turned out the writer of a comic titled Border Town was accused of sexual abuse. The editor, who was once a writer for the now defunct leftist Comics Alliance, never did any vetting on his part regarding the writers, and Ethan Van Sciver once took issue with him over that. Yet if memory serves, IDW is now employing him, and that's a disgrace.

With that told, it looks like Shogakukan's alienated a number of mangakas as a result of their Stockholm Syndrome employment:

Creators withdraw their works from Manga ONE

The fallout quickly spread across the manga industry. Several creators decided to remove their works from Manga ONE in protest. Rumiko Takahashi, the legendary creator of Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura, quietly discontinued her series on the platform.

The creators of Frieren Beyond Journey’s End, Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe, also withdrew their content. Other authors including Ryuhei Tamura, Ai Minase, Minoru Takeyoshi, and Miko Mitsuki followed with similar decisions. Their actions signal a rare public protest within the manga publishing world, where creators often avoid direct criticism of major publishers.

When somebody as prominent as Takahashi's been decides to yank her latest stories off their services, that's saying something. Those who've withdrawn their products from Shogakukan did the right thing.

Here's also the Japan Times report, which says, oddly enough:

At the time, Yatsunami was publishing the series “Act-Age” in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, produced by a different publisher, under the pen name Tatsuya Matsuki, but he was suspended after his indictment.

While aware of this, Manga One made the decision to hire him in 2024 after deeming that his efforts to not repeat his crime — such as working with professionals for rehabilitation and reintegration into society — could be trusted. The author decided to operate under a new pen name to not affect the victim, the company said.

Forget it. Sexual violence is a serious issue, and can't be excused so easily. The worst part of that flap is how Matsuki only got a suspended sentence from the courts. What's so special about a creep who commits perverted acts? Similar queries could be asked about Nobuhiro Nishiwaki, the disgraced mangaka of Rurouni Kenshin, who used the pseudonym Watsuki when he first began in the early 1990s. But this is confusing: what's the Act-Age writer's real name, Yatsunami or Matsuki? If they're trying to baffle the readership as to the exact identity, that's wrong. Whatever his exact name, what matters is that by rehiring the monster, Shogakukan is affecting the victim, slapping her in the face in the dark after the terrible experience she went through.

The Chosun reports a Korean TV station was criticized for broadcasting a moment involving the publisher too:

Although Shogakukan was featured because it was part of Kian84’s journey to meet his idol, some viewers argued that the production team was unaware of the recent “Shogakukan scandal.” The scandal erupted when it was revealed that Shogakukan had allowed a manga artist with a child sex crime conviction to return under a pseudonym, with an editor allegedly pressuring the victim to conceal the incident. [...]

While Shogakukan is a pivotal location in Japan’s publishing industry and part of Kian84’s journey to meet his idol, critics argue that its exposure on air was inappropriate given its involvement in reinstating artists linked to child sex crimes and sexual harassment. Some, however, defended the broadcast, stating that Shogakukan was not intentionally introduced but appeared incidentally during Kian84’s journey.

Maybe it was unintentional on the part of the producers, but it certainly is embarrassing as it's sad. Let's hope the victims recover, and that's something the TV station should say too.

I think after this, publishers will have to consider whether it's wise to accept work from a creator using a pseudonym instead of an actual name in official publication, since for all we know, this scandal could understadably lead some to wonder if quite a few felons are using pseudonyms to conceal their criminal records and prevent anybody from doing a background check to make sure they're not wasting money on the work of a pervert with a severe police record. Assuming Shogakukan survives this fallout, they'd do well to make sure they do background checks, and if the felon's record includes severe crimes like sexual violence, then they simply can't hire somebody that bad. And creators themselves have to learn some moral lessons. In addition, the audience and press alike have to make some sort of case why artists have to recognize the importance of responsibility to the wider public, and not commit heinous offenses if they truly want their stories to matter in the long run. So will anybody influential address these vital issues? Let's hope so.

Thief who robbed comics from Florida university receives 18 month sentencing

In an update to this story from a few weeks ago, FS View now reports the thief who stole 5000 back issues from the Strozier Library in Florida will go to prison for 18 months after he plead guilty:

Former Florida State University Libraries head of security, Todd Peak, was sentenced for the grand theft of nearly 5,000 comics from the special collections archive at Strozier Library on Feb. 27. Court records indicate an estimated lost value from the stolen books to be between $250,000 and $500,000.

Peak pleaded guilty with no contest, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, 10 years of probation, and must pay $70,000 in restitution. Of that amount, $50,000 will be paid to FSU in $250 monthly payments upon his release, according to court records.

Peak stole 4,996 valuable, rare comics and related literature, the majority dating from the 1950s to 70s, from the Robert M. Ervin, Jr. Collection starting as early as March 17, 2020. The Robert M. Ervin, Jr. collection was donated to the university by the late esteemed Tallahassee couple, Robert M. Ervin and Frances Ervin, in 1981, and is named after their son, who collected the books as a child. [...]

Those who worked at the library at the time of the theft were affected by Peak’s disregard for the protection of the valuable research materials.

"This was a difficult experience for those who knew and trusted Todd Peak … and those who have responsibility for stewardship of special collections,” Cooper said.

Riley Kasprzyk, the president of the 2099 Comic Book Club, told the FSView that many were shocked by the theft and were happy with the sentencing. Kasprzyk also saw the incident as indicative of a broader issue in the “speculator” market of comic books, where Hollywood’s big-budget adaptations shift prices dramatically.

“In some ways, I think their theft and sale represent a big problem facing the way people view comics,” Kasprzyk said. “People often think of comics in terms of how much they're worth to resellers, instead of the craft and art that they are … too many people view comics as IP, and that in turn has fueled a somewhat nasty speculator market and scalping. We need to remember that comics are an art form, and like any other art form, the passion and talent behind them are breathtaking.”

Ava Sears, an English major and member of the 2099 Comic Book Club at FSU, found the theft frustrating and a hit to the preservation of a once disposable literature.

“It's a massive loss to the public accessibility of the medium,” Sears said to the FSView. “With comic books, preservation is super important due to low print quality and a lack of early preservation tactics … The fact that someone stole thousands of publicly available and preserved copies of some of the oldest pulps and comics still around for profit on the private market is absolutely maddening to me.”

To ensure the preservation of these materials, University Libraries took measures to improve security and safeguard them for future researchers.

And this is another reason why I find the speculator market so reprehensible. What if some back issues circulating on the speculator market were stolen from archives, public or private? And all by people who solely care about dollar signs, not entertainment value? Unfortunately, few speculators are likely to be convinced by this news to stop making a mockery of the medium and donate to museums and other preservation archives instead. Nor will they buy paintings of various comics characters to hang on the wall of a household, even though that's a more tasteful alternative. But perhaps this news will prompt some archivists to express some rightful resentment of the speculator market, due to the bad influence it's had, and I hope some professional archivists will speak out against said market in the near future and how it's made a joke of how everyone perceives the whole medium.

This is also why I firmly believe the pamphlet format has to be phased out, and a shift made to paperback/hardcover formats instead. With any luck, will any archivists at museums and universities take note of my appeal to them to do whatver possible to convince people not to invest in the speculator market and stop making perceptions of the medium look so absurd? It's about time already, and might serve as a good way to persuade publishers to stop sticking so tight with a now outmoded format for comicdom.

A Dungeons & Dragons comic that's about monsters

Dungeons & Dragons Fanatics announced Dark Horse, who apparently acquired the franchise license 2 years ago, are publishing a comic adaptation that's about a bunch of monsters:

Dark Horse Comics is continuing its partnership with Wizards of the Coast and will be rolling out a brand new Dungeons & Dragons comic book. The series, however, won’t be following the typical heroic D&D adventuring party and instead will be focusing on a group of misfit monsters struggling to get by in the lower depths of a dungeon. [...]

Total Party Killers is a tongue-in-cheek series that flips the traditional D&D script on its head, following a group of monsters who were enslaved in a dungeon by an evil wizard named Custos. When the story begins, Custos has recently been slain by a party of adventurers and, with the monsters now free, they must band together to protect the dungeon and its loot while avoiding the hack n’ slash happy heroes who have stumbled into their lair.

I only hope this isn't some stealth attempt to make villains look like victims here, because that's what the part about "slash-happy" heroes risks making this sound like. But how amazing that IDW apparently lost the license for producing D&D comics, along with the GI Joe and Transformers franchises, which went to Image. It says near the end:

Dark Horse seems to be finding its groove with the D&D license (which they acquired back in July 2024). In fact, the partnership has been pretty successful, with recent releases like the Fallbacks series (based on the D&D novels of the same name) being generally well received by both comic and D&D fans. With Total Party Killers, Dark Horse is now introducing its own original characters and exploring the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse in a way we haven’t really every seen before.

There's one problem: are we expected to embrace monsters over the main heroes here? If that's their idea, it's not one I can get behind. And I certainly won't overlook any continuing wokefying the D&D franchise could still be going through in any medium.

I guess I can understand though, why IDW's struggling to find any traction in the industry now that they've lost more permits for adapting merchandise to comicdom. It does serve as an important lesson why it's unwise to rely solely upon licensing for moneymaking.

USA animators moving away from woke content

The Washington Stand wrote about a hopeful improvement for Hollywood and its family fare, starting with how animators are jettisoning woke content that did more harm than good for financial receipts as much as morale:

Family-friendly films may be making a comeback in Hollywood as younger parents get involved in the filmmaking process and as woke films fail at the box office. One example is the latest film from Pixar, “Hoppers,” which grossed $87 million at the worldwide box office as of March 8, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of the year so far. Last year’s Pixar offering, “Elio,” was a box office failure, suffering the lowest opening weekend earnings of any Pixar in the famed animation studio’s 40-year history.

Originally, “Elio” was slated to include a prominent LGBT storyline, despite growing concerns that Pixar and its parent company, Disney, have increasingly injected LGBT ideology into children’s media. Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter explained this year that the studio’s decision to axe the same-sex-relationship storyline had to do with concerns raised by parents. “We’re making a movie, not hundreds of millions of dollars of therapy,” Docter said, noting that most parents don’t want to have to explain same-sex relationships to their children after a family trip to the theater. “As time’s gone on, I realized my job is to make sure the films appeal to everybody.”

Animator Adrian Molina was initially chosen to direct “Elio” and played a large role in developing the film’s story, which he based in part on his own experiences of alienation growing up on a military base before finding his place at the California Institute of the Arts. Molina, who identifies as gay and is in a same-sex marriage, planned to portray the Pixar film’s title character as gay. Docter hosted a meeting with Pixar employees and advised filmmakers to make less autobiographical films and focus more on broadly relatable, commercially successful concepts. Molina left the project, citing creative differences, and the LGBT content was scrapped, with Docter’s approval.

A 2022 Pixar venture, “Lightyear,” based on the exploits of space ranger Buzz Lightyear from the 1995 classic “Toy Story,” also featured LGBT content and was also a box office failure, with Deadline Hollywood calculating that the film lost Pixar over $100 million. The 2020 Pixar film “Onward” featured references to same-sex relationships and achieved the third-lowest opening weekend box office haul of any Pixar release, before plunging to the lowest-ever second weekend for a Pixar release, although the film’s failure was linked to COVID-19 lockdowns as opposed to problematic content. A Pixar series, “Win or Lose,” made for streaming service Disney+ and launched in early 2025 also included an LGBT-centered episode, which was axed prior to release. A Disney spokesman said at the time, “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”

It's good to see some common sense might be reached by the end of the decade again. And if all this LGBT pandering is really that big a deal to the filmmakers, then seriously, why won't they market it as part of an adult-themed cartoon? This precisely why it's insulting in the extreme that so many left-wing animators won't take the challenge of crafting adult animation, and seeing how well it sells in that category and context? Many of these so-called animators really are that cheap and lacking confidence in their ability to build up a market for adult animation, even long after the Simpsons seemingly changed the perspective. And they're unlikely to change even now, nor will they address whether they think moviegoers for adult fare should consider whether it's worth it to take a look. Especially if they already watch adult anime from Japan.

It remains to be seen if the coming decade will see an improvement in how family fare is portrayed. And come to think of it, what are the chances heterosexual romance will receive more of an emphasis in animation of any suitability level, and whether filmmakers are willing to say it's something children should be taught to appreciate? Or even drama? That's another something anime from Japan may have had better success in producing, but in the USA, it's unclear if anybody in animation's willing to take up the challenge of producing cartoons of the drama genre in the future. But they should. Children also have to be taught that drama is something to appreciate as well. If it worked for Shakespeare, then it can work for today's audiences too, even in cartoons.

What Frank Miller thinks of Superman and Batman's partnership in World's Finest, during 40th anniversary of Dark Knight Returns

At the ComicsPro convention, Popverse says veteran artist Miller told the following about the partnership and friendship between the Man of Steel and Masked Manhunter:

"When I was a child, and I would see World's Finest Comics come out, even then I'd say, 'This is crazy, these guys would never like each other.' And I knew I could build toward the crescendo of the animus between them [in The Dark Knight Returns]," Miller said.

Sigh. How can the two of them like or dislike each other when they don't exist? I think this symbolizes another problem with Miller: he can't put his absurd biases aside to enjoy something based upon merit, let alone escapist entertainment. Also worth considering is that both Supes and Bats were co-stars in Justice League of America, and if it wasn't wrong to depict them getting along there as much as with their other co-stars, then it's stupid to say it's implausible for them to have a comfy partnership in World's Finest, which became more of a team title for the twosome by the early 60s. Let's also remember Miller was the one who made such a big deal out of women in comicdom allegedly looking like they did little more than take a shower, he drew Black Widow with short hair.

And this wasn't the only thing Miller had to say at the convention. He also told how DC editorial approved of putting allusions to Ronald Reagan in DKR:

DC's The Dark Knight Returns features a range of familiar Batman characters like The Joker, Two-Face, and Barbara Gordon, but there's another familiar face in the pages of Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley's story: Ronald Reagan.

Now, Ronald Reagan was President of the United States at the time that Miller wrote The Dark Knight Returns, so it's only natural that the writer include panels of the President while showing the larger political context beyond Gotham. However, Miller's inclusion of Reagan in The Dark Knight Returns may still raise a few eyebrows, which he addressed at ComicsPRO 2026.

When Miller was asked if DC had any objections to his putting Ronald Reagan into The Dark Knight Returns, he had a succinct answer: "No."

But of course not. This was a right-wing president in focus, and even back then, most liberal artists/writers weren't exactly known for taking seriously negative approaches to left-wing politicians. But if it so matters, did anybody at the time take issue with Reagan for specific failures like running away from Lebanon and failing to avenge the USA military officials who were murdered by Hezbollah jihadists in 1983? Did anybody like Miller take issue with how, in a way, Reagan enabled Iran's ayatollahs to build up nuclear development? And while he may have taken issue with Russia's commnism, he didn't exactly do the same when it came to China's. His vetoing the Anti-Apartheid Act on South Africa in 1986 was decidedly another serious mistake. But, if neither Miller nor his fellow liberal peers ever called Reagan out on his weaknesses regarding Islamic terrorism, communism, and what occurred in the South Africa republic, what's the point of their taking potshots at him? If you can't acknowledge all his flaws with honesty, it makes no sense to belittle him in DKR, if that's what Miller really set out to do.

"By any standards, this is fair game. This is fair use, which is the legal term for it. It is satire, it is parody. Just as a newspaper cartoonist can draw the President of the United States, a comic book artist can as well. Perhaps it would have been different if I had drawn actor Ronald Reagan by name and said anything about him that wasn't true. But to do a cartoon imitation of the absurdity of some of his excesses and, of course, his personality... sorry, he ran for that Office," Miller said.

Reagan isn't the only leader to have made an appearance in DC Comics around this time. Dave McKean's cover for Hellblazer #3 features graffiti of Margaret Thatcher with vampire teeth behind John Constantine. As Miller said, it's "fair game."

But note that Thatcher too, whatever flaws she had, was also a right-leaning figure, and if they had no intention of belittling left-leaners, British or otherwise, then that too falls flat, even though Thatcher never made any serious effort to prevent Islamofascism from overtaking the UK. One of the most questionable things Thatcher's government did do, however, was ban marketing of toy merchandise with the word "ninja" in them, which led to the Ninja Turtles being renamed "hero turtles" instead. There was even some ostensible concern over bloody horror movies. But the creep of sharia didn't concern them? If Thatcher and company really thought something was wrong with horror films, hers and her colleagues' failure to take an objective view of the Religion of Peace made such concerns a joke. Of course, even Miller himself has done something like that with his 2011 GN, Holy Terror, recalling the defeatist interview he gave to the UK Guardian in 2018. By the way, what in Miller's view was true or not about Reagan? Not sure if he specified.

Miller even said that Batman's supposed to symbolize hope:

When you think of Frank Miller's writing, what words come to mind for you? What images of his vision of Batman are conjured up for you? I'm willing to bet that a lot of you thought of something along the lines of "dark." But even though Miller likes to explore darkness in his writing, he doesn't see Batman as an entirely dark character.

The writer-artist reflected on the legacy of The Dark Knight Returns with Klaus Janson at the ComicsPRO industry conference this year. "I see it as that even though [Batman is] a big, scary guy who employs terror in his methods, that he's ultimately a figure of hope. And hope is an extraordinarily powerful thing that gives people great strength and resilience," said Miller.

In that case, does he find it disappointing less editors and writers in the years after DKR tried to develop a viewpoint that could convey hope better, and depict Bruce Wayne as a guy with an optimistic side, along with possible more of a sense of humor? Come to think of it, what's his view of the supporting cast of characters like Robin? Does he think Chuck Dixon did a good job with his take on the 3rd, Tim Drake, and does he find it disturbing that later editors and writers took apart much of what made Dixon's take work in the first place? And the one who really set things in repellent motion was, alas, another so-called conservative, Bill Willingham, who never did enough to prove he's remorseful for alienating fandom. Also note that, last time I looked, Tim's father Jack never had his fate reversed. And he, on the other hand, was put in the grave by left-leaning Brad Meltzer during that repugnant "event", Identity Crisis. Something else Miller's never commented on.

And Miller even let know that it was John Byrne's idea to create a female Robin in DKR:

At ComicsPRO 2026, Frank Miller revealed where the inspiration came from to include a version of Robin in the story, opposite a grizzled and middle-aged Bruce Wayne. Of course, at the time in 1986, there had never been a female Robin, as the mantle had only been carried by Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. And the idea to create a Robin who was also a girl didn't come from Frank Miller's mind, but the mind of another creator.

"I never thought there would be a Robin. But it was my colleague, John Byrne, as a matter of fact, who suggested that I put Robin in it and that I make Robin a girl," Miller began.

Miller continued, "And I set out to create Carrie Kelley. And the whole thing really started rushing together, because all of a sudden, there was a bright spot in Batman's dark world. And all of a sudden, this middle-aged superhero had a fatherly aspect."

Wait a minute. Is he saying that before all that, Batman never had a fatherly angle in his partnership with Dick Grayson? I just don't know what's going on here anymore. What I do know is that the aforementioned Willingham made a sick mockery of even that by turning Spoiler/Stephanie Brown into a female Robin for 2 issues around 2004, even though his willingness to participate in crafting a crossover (War Games) where she'd be tortured to death by Black Mask made that far more offensive than impressive. Similar points can be made with what Willingham did with Dr. Leslie Thompkins, whom Willingham wrote telling she allowed Spoiler to die to serve as an illogical lesson to Batman.

Anyway, Miller's latest tales of his past career just don't impress me any more than some of his previous ones, perhaps because he doesn't follow through properly on whatever points he wants to make. Again, I realize DKR's not really the fault of where things wound up with the Masked Manhunter's downfall as a storytelling vehicle, but rather, subsequent editors/writers. Even so, I think it's disappointing Miller has to stick with all this grating darkness, and won't emphasize anything brighter. Or, if darkness matters, why does he grind to a halt today when it comes to more serious issues like Islamofascism and communism? At least that's what it's looked like for nearly a decade now.

A comic from Spain that's aimed at a wide audience

Diari ARA wrote about a biographical comic developed by a Spanish writer and Argentinian illustrator that's meant to be for everybody:

The Comanegra publishing house publishes Gaudí, the Sagrada Familia and ecstasy, a hybrid format between comic and illustrated book signed by the Madrid-based screenwriter Salva Rubio and the Argentinian illustrator Agustín Comotto that arrives simultaneously in Catalan, Spanish and English: a historic milestone for the Barcelona-based publisher, which had never before published simultaneously in three languages.

The project stems from Comanegra's fruitful relationship with Comotto—they had previously collaborated on a comic about Joan Salvat-Papasseit—and from a recommendation by illustrator Oriol Malet, who suggested Salva Rubio as the "ideal person" for the book. Rubio already had a fully developed comic book project about Gaudí in advanced stages, even with a script, but he agreed to adapt it into this hybrid format to reach a wider audience. "It's not meant to be a book that sits on the comic book shelves; it's a book for everyone," explains editor Jordi Puig. "We wanted to broaden audiences, to create an introduction to Gaudí's life and work that would be relevant for both visitors and Catalans," Puig adds.

I'm sure when some European creators tell you they'd like to find a wider audience to market their comics to, they're a lot more serious than some leftist USA creators have proven to be in the past decade. Good luck to the duo creating this biographical Spanish comic in finding said audience, which in Europe is bound to be a lot easier in its own way than in the USA.

What Klaus Janson thinks of Dark Knight Returns 4 decades on

CBR recently interviewed veteran artist Klaus Janson, who worked as an artist with Frank Miller on Dark Knight Returns, which is now 40 years old, and what he thinks of it. And there's also a few other subjects, like why comic art didn't or doesn't find the same reputation as some other types of mediums:

In terms of this new show, what is the most important thing that you hope to get across to an audience member with the choice of the artwork selected for the show?

I’ve always felt that the public at large has a mis-conception of comic books. There’s a lack of respect that hangs over what we do. Even at an early age when I really knew very little about what goes into creating a page, I couldn’t understand why some art deserved to hang on a wall while comic art didn’t achieve the same status. And now, when I have a better understanding of the complexity, versatility and possibilities of sequential narrative, I’m even more shocked. So if there’s anything I’d like to communicate to an audience, it’s the amount of thought, depth and learning that is required to create a page. The theories behind storytelling in comics is no less than the theories behind any other storytelling medium.

Also-I hope the level of fun that we all experience in the creation of a page is communicated to the viewer. There’s really no point in doing anything unless you enjoy it.

There can be no doubt the low opinion of comic art still prevails, and the only reason comicdom's supposedly looked at higher today is because of the dollar signs perceived by Hollywood. Based on which, public opinion hasn't changed at all. It's just that the view of the medium as something to exploit for money, not merit, has taken a sad form of precedence in the modern age.

As we're celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Dark Knight Returns, what is it like for a relatively short project to have such an oversized reaction from people decades later? You and Frank Miller, for instance, worked together for YEARS on Daredevil, and yet those four issues of The Dark Knight Returns get so much more attention. And your Daredevil run gets a LOT of attention, so we're not talking about some obscure work here. Your Daredevil run is HISTORIC, and yet Dark Knight Returns takes up so much of the oxygen in the room. How unusual of an experience is that?

It’s amazing that DKR casts such a long shadow! No one at the time predicted such longevity. I had the opportunity to reread DKR when we started doing Master Race with Andy Kubert and Brian Azzarello, and I confess-lol-I was really impressed with it. There’s so many brilliant pages that have so many layers of meaning. I find myself discovering new things every time I look at it. It’s a joy to be a part of it.

Daredevil has a real soft spot in my heart, btw. When we talk about evolution, that was one of the jobs (I think maybe Defenders with Sal Buscema was another) where I definitely evolved as an artist. It’s obvious to me that both Frank and I were really pushing ourselves and that last year on DD was just explosive.

On this, they have an interesting point. Miller's DD run may be well regarded, but if DKR gets far more gushy receptions, that's downright mystifying and inexplicable. What's so special about a story that seems to have been written for the precise purpose of making Batman look like a control freak, which was certainly the kind of personality forced upon characterization the following decade or so, to the point it led to situations where he'd be portrayed belittling his allies? One of the worst results this led to had to have been the leadup to the War Games/Crimes crossover, where Batman ends up belittling Stephanie Brown, who was pointlessly shoehorned into the Robin role. Speaking of which, around the same time that occurred, the father of the 3rd male Robin, Tim Drake, was put to death in Identity Crisis, and that curiously may have remained in place until now, as all the while Tim was subjected years later to shocking abuse, recalling this humiliation from the past several years. If Marv Wolfman, Tim's creator, never said said anything about it, how come?

DKR may not have been crafted for the sake of changing the Batman narrative as badly as occurred, that's rather obvious, and Miller, to his credit, didn't write his 1987 take on Bruce Wayne that way years before. Even so, the whole premise of DKR was overrated at best, and that the editors/publishers in later years would mandate such a direction is definitely disturbing. But there's also Miller's failure to address that mandate that's troubling, and if he never acknowledged it's head-shaking how DKR was influential for the wrong reasons, that's saying something.

Also interesting they bring up Azzarello, since he was an earlier example of a woke writer, recalling what his Wonder Woman run was like in the past 15 years. And Miller collaborated with him on one of his followups to DKR? How fascinating, and surely telling what's wrong with Miller's MO. What it indicates is that he remained a leftist for many years, and of course, by the end of the past decade, he all but stopped defending his 2011 GN Holy Terror. Of recent, based on what he put into his documentary, American Genius, this is why I've found him increasingly alienating, but I realize it's not necessarily surprising.

Too bad Janson doesn't have what it takes to address such issues, and CBR's interviewer unsurprisingly doesn't bring them up. I think Janson's a talented artist, possibly more so than Miller. But his persistence in upholding DKR as though it's the most important piece of literature on earth is appalling, and isn't improving the sad situation with comicdom, mainstream or otherwise.

French cartoonist encountered lawsuit by computer game company trying to bar his creation from publication, but it all ended fortunately

Recently, Instant Gaming News said a French cartoonist was having legal problems with a video game company that uses the same title as he did for a GN he's publishing, for their computer game:

The world of intellectual property can sometimes be ruthless. On X, the author of a comic book stated that he had received a letter from a lawyer sent by Sandfall Interactive with the aim of stopping the commercialization of his creation.

The problem lies in the name of the comic book, which is called L'Académie Clair-Obscur. However, its creator, Olivier Gay, stated on X that his project was pitched to the publisher Drakoo in 2019 and the contract was signed in March 2024. All of this happened well before the release of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which was in no way inspired by the comic book.

L'Académie Clair-Obscur tells the story of a peasant who enrolls in a school of magic. Clair-Obscur is a particular magical technique. Having "neither the energy nor the money to engage in a legal battle," the author will therefore change the name of the comic book. He also says he is a big fan of Sandfall Interactive and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which he has got the platinum for. He concludes by saying that it is "all the more disappointing to see them take legal action for no reason."

All of this is just an unfortunate coincidence that has real repercussions.

Obviously, this wasn't good it had to happen, and an unfortunate coincidence had to occur where the artist would have problems in how to title his story. But, the whole affair has luckily had a good ending, as the video game publisher agreed to withdraw their lawsuit:

Alerted by internet users, the Sandfall Interactive teams announced a few hours later that they wanted to find a solution. Finally, on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, the French studio confirmed that the lawsuit had been dropped. The developers mentioned in their statement that this action "does not reflect who we are" and now wish the comic book authors "every success."

I think this is relieving the artist won't have to go to all the trouble of retitling his story, nor will he have to face any lawsuits over what's a petty issue at best. So, good luck to him on what he's developing.