Tessera

Domino Books @dominocomics.bsky.social · 2h ago

One of the greatest living cartoonists is speaking about his new book this Friday @ The Strand www.strandbooks.com/ben-katchor-...

Ben Katchor + David Yazbek: Hotel and Farm

Join us for an event with award-winning cartoonist Ben Katchor, discussing his new book Hotel and Farm.

strandbooks.com

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 16h ago

avlpb.bigcartel.com “Unbound in the Square: Superhero Auteurs in Reagan’s America” By Ian Thomas Edited by Austin English Cover by Johnny Damm 68 pages for $5.95 All proceeds benefit Asheville Prison Books Program (avlpb.org) Available until 10/18/26

Detail from Batman: The Cult by Jim Starlin, Bernie Wrightson, and Bill Wray. One of many of the book’s horrific images, underscoring Wrightson’s roots and affinities in the Horror Milieu.

hermanos.@iamdavidbrothers.com · yesterday

This is a fun read, and the proceeds going to the Asheville Prison Books Program is pretty good too. The project is on sale until Sunday, October 18, so if you want to give a stranger a hand, grab this look at Batman: DKR and Batman: The Cult here: avlpb.bigcartel.com

AVLPB

Unbound in the Square By Ian Thomas Edited by Austin English Cover by Johnny Damm Available through October 16, 2026 All Proceeds Benefit AVLPB

avlpb.bigcartel.com

The Comics Journal@comicsjournal.bsky.social · 3w ago

FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY: We provide an excerpt from @crossoverappeal.bsky.social 's new zine, which is all about Batman (OK, it's about a lot more than that). Proceeds go to the Asheville Prison Books Program

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 16h ago

avlpb.bigcartel.com “Unbound in the Square: Superhero Auteurs in Reagan’s America” By Ian Thomas Edited by Austin English Cover by Johnny Damm 68 pages for $5.95 All proceeds benefit Asheville Prison Books Program (avlpb.org) Available until 10/18/26

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · yesterday

As it says below, this ends on 10/18. Get it while you can! Thanks to everyone who has helped me get the word out. I’m very grateful for your support. avlpb.bigcartel.com!

Ian@crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 5d ago

avlpb.bigcartel.com “Unbound in the Square: Superhero Auteurs in Reagan’s America” By Ian Thomas Edited by Austin English Cover by Johnny Damm 68 pages for $5.95 All proceeds benefit Asheville Prison Books Program (avlpb.org) Available until 10/18/26

From Unbound in the Square: “If Miller’s depiction of Batman in The Dark Knight Returns is the
cure to a diseased society, Starlin characterizes him in The Cult as another
symptom. And if Miller’s vision reflects the itchy trigger-finger of a contem-
porary middle-class, Starlin’s reflects the bone-deep hunger of the people
surviving at society’s peripheries. Put another way, TDKR’s perspective
reflects the egocentric conception of the world viewed through the lens of
the self, while The Cult’s perspective is one in which the self is viewed
through the lens of the world. Starlin eschews Miller’s panoramic approach
in favor of one more in keeping with the character’s history, a case in which
Batman attempts to resolve what is ostensibly a single crisis: the siege of
Gotham by the religious populist Deacon Blackfire. Of course, what is
framed as a single adventure early on in Bruce Wayne’s crime fighting career,
is really a poly-crisis that touches upon many foundational concerns of the
social order and cannot (and will not) be resolved by vigilante intervention.

Image: Detail from The Cult by Starlin, Wrightson, and Wray. Batman is bound by his arms to a sewer pipe as he awakes from being drugged by Blackfire’s acolytes.

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 2d ago

Really been enjoying the Media Diet feature on Hilobrow. Pleasantly short and digestible but enough there to constitute something substantive. Internetty in a way few things are anymore: www.hilobrow.com/tag/media-di...

media-diet – HILOBROW

hilobrow.com

Malice Walker @humblecore.bsky.social · 3w ago

As the last reskeet says, my buddy Ian (@crossoverappeal.bsky.social, who was smart to bow out of social media) wrote a book about comics in Reagan’s America! You can and should buy it below, as all proceeds go to a good cause — Asheville Prison Books (avlpb.org) avlpb.bigcartel.com/product/unbo...

Unbound in the Square: Superhero Auteurs in Reagan's America (AVLPB Benefit)

In “Unbound in the Square: Superhero Auteurs in Reagan's America,” critic Ian Thomas explores a lineage of titles from the early days of the squarebound comics format; a design-forward, creator-driven...

avlpb.bigcartel.com

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 2d ago

Spend your day of rest with “Unbound in the Square: Superhero Auteurs in Reagan’s America.” A 68 page chapbook about the pop culture and political landscape that informed Dark Knight Returns, The Cult, and P.O.V. All proceeds benefit Asheville Prison Books Program. Just $5.95! avlpb.bigcartel.com!

Deke Wainscroft from Punisher: P.O.V., as rendered by Bernie Wrightson and Bill Wray, written by Jim Starlin

Sean T. Collins @seantcollins.com · 2d ago

LETTERMAN: In fact Digger is doing so poorly that Tom Cruise has been using the empty theaters to hide Shelly Miscavige. [big bass sting from the band, scattered laughs, some "ooohs"] Have you seen Shelly Miscavige lately, Paul? SHAFFER [smiling]: Not recently, Dave.

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 2d ago

👀Pittsburgh Folks👀

The Final Straw Radio@thefinalstrawradio.bsky.social · 2d ago

This week, hear from members of the Auto(nomous) Body Shop, a mobile repro & harm reduction mobile project out of Pittsburgh, talk about their activity. Then an update (via FrequenzA) on anti-LGBTQIA+ repression across Turkey in mid-September, 2026 thefinalstrawradio.mayfirst.info/2026/10/11/m...

TFSR 10-11-26 | Mobile Mutual Aid with the Auto(nomous) Body Shop (PGH)" alongside a cartoon van dropping tons of harm reduction tools with hearts on the window, driving through a spooky, Halloween background

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 2d ago

Spend your day of rest with “Unbound in the Square: Superhero Auteurs in Reagan’s America.” A 68 page chapbook about the pop culture and political landscape that informed Dark Knight Returns, The Cult, and P.O.V. All proceeds benefit Asheville Prison Books Program. Just $5.95! avlpb.bigcartel.com!

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 2d ago

Really been enjoying the Media Diet feature on Hilobrow. Pleasantly short and digestible but enough there to constitute something substantive. Internetty in a way few things are anymore: www.hilobrow.com/tag/media-di...

media-diet – HILOBROW

hilobrow.com

Kwaneta Harris @kwanetaharris.bsky.social · 6d ago

"The moment a visit is approved, I begin building a version of myself that won’t give them a reason to take it away. I stop rolling my eyes. I stop sighing when an order makes no sense." My latest for @solitarywatch.bsky.social:

The Things They Quietly Steal from Us—and the Things They Can’t - Solitary Watch

Two Solitary Watch colleagues describe what love, solidarity, and resistance look like in a prison visit when the state does everything in its power to prevent them.

solitarywatch.org

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 2d ago

youtube.com/watch?v=FpSz...

54/40 or Fight

YouTube video by Dead Moon - Topic

youtube.com

Bhanu pratap @bhanupratap.bsky.social · 3d ago

Hi y'all, Recently we found out that my brother has a heart condition and will require extensive care. To cover some of the costs I'm running fundraiser by taking up commissions. Most tiers are affordable so people get some good art while helping us out. Plus a $1000 for those who can spare more.💜💜

Will Harris @willharrisinva.bsky.social · 3d ago

I haven't yet watched the Martin Mull documentary on Netflix, but I remain very proud of my Random Roles interview w/ him, during which he says, "Oh, my God, you’ve reminded me of things *I* haven’t even thought of!" and later adds, "Oh, you *are* a son of a bitch!" www.avclub.com/martin-mull-...

OOPS! All Mutual Aid @oopsallmutualaid.bsky.social · 4d ago

"Inspired by Asheville Period Pantry, Our mission is to end Period Poverty by providing Free Period Products to Seacoast New Hampshire and Maine. Our products are always 100% free to all." www.seacoastperiodpantry.com

Seacoast Period Pantry

seacoastperiodpantry.com

Lily and Generoso (plasticgrapes)@plasticgrapes.bsky.social · 4d ago

We're floored by this lyrical review of our latest, The Interpretant, which was published today by @comicsjournal.bsky.social! The piece was written by @hecuba.bsky.social, whose work we have admired since reading her review of Martha Verschaffel's 2022 book, Passages. www.tcj.com/reviews/the-...

The Interpretant - The Comics Journal

The Interpretant (self-published, 2026) by Lily Thu Fierro and Generoso Fierro, reviewed by Helen Chazan.

tcj.com

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 5d ago

This is kind of interesting when you consider the weird resentment/requirement he seems to have about people worming up to him.

the babahuck@tylerhuckabee.bsky.social · 5d ago

can i say something about trump’s “let them destroy san francisco” quip without everyone getting mad at me

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 5d ago

avlpb.bigcartel.com “Unbound in the Square: Superhero Auteurs in Reagan’s America” By Ian Thomas Edited by Austin English Cover by Johnny Damm 68 pages for $5.95 All proceeds benefit Asheville Prison Books Program (avlpb.org) Available until 10/18/26

From Unbound in the Square: While The Cult tells a story that is narrower in scope than The Dark
Knight Returns, it is more ambitious in its critique of the superhero concept
and more unflinching in its presentation of a class-conscious political analysis.
Unlike Miller’s auteurist vision, which was augmented by his collaborators,
The Cult is propelled by the collaborative tension between its contributors,
each of whom arrived at the collaboration in a different moment of their re-
spective careers. If Miller was using the superhero genre as an aesthetic to tell a
story that reached beyond the typical boundaries of superhero stories, Starlin,
Wrightson, and Wray kept the story grounded in the milieu Starlin knew best,
using the conceits of the superhero genre as intended, sans artifice or irony, to
deliver potent social satire. The Cult looks beyond the middling grievances of
the everyman and turns its gaze, instead, to society’s most vulnerable, to the
ones who fall through the cracks that stratify the social order. The Cult pries
at the hairline gaps and fissures of what is typically conceived of as monolithic
civil society to expose the machinations, hidden and overt, that keep the mar-
ginalized at the margins and the powerful at the top of the food chain.

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 2w ago

Miller, Janson, Varley, Starlin, Wrightson, Wray, and Reagan. Unbound in the Square. A 68 page chapbook benefit for Asheville Prison Book Project. avlpb.bigcartel.com

Detail from Batman: The Cult by Starlin, Wrightson, and Wray. An announcement is made that Gotham is in a state of emergency as a sniper aims his rifle out of a storm drain saying “you bet your ass it is.”

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 2w ago

avlpb.bigcartel.com

Excerpt from Unbound in the Square, describing Punisher: P.O.V.: “As a longbox mainstay, P.O.V. is one of the best examples of what
the so-called Iron Age of comics had to offer. With the kinks pulled taut
and wrinkles ironed smooth in the late-eighties, the high-line, squarebound
format introduced by books like TDKR and taken up by books like The Cult,
was no longer an anomalous offering to the direct market. From an editorial
perspective, the squarebound format was a proven weapon in the battle for
respectability of the medium. For creators, it was a vehicle to drive hard-won
name recognition. For the marketing department, it was a tried and true sales
strategy.
With a good half-decade of steady coaching, consumers now knew
what to expect from these “prestige” books: more of the stories they loved,
less encumbered by the canonical concerns of their ongoing counterparts,
bound up in a nicer package. At Marvel, the Epic imprint provided a venue
for creators to push the boundaries of the genre even further. In the inter-
vening years, Miller and new collaborator Bill Sienkiewicz, fresh off of his
own groundbreaking run on New Mutants, delivered another installment
to his Daredevil canon in the graphic novel Daredevil: Love and War and the
fulsome Epic limited series Elektra: Assassin. On his own, Sienkiewicz pushed
the format further into the realm of the strange with the feverish and kalei-
doscopic avant-garde thriller Stray Toasters. And Walt and Louise Simonson
teamed with painters Kent Williams and Jon J. Muth to explore the waning
days of the Cold War in Havok and Wolverine: Meltdown. Creators found
new narrative territory and new possibilities for structuring their stories
in the ad-free, expansive format and an environment in which they could
pursue their passion projects with less editorial oversight, standing or falling
on their own visions.

Ian@crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 2w ago

Unbound in the Square: Superhero Auteurs in Reagan’s America 68 pages for $5.95 By Ian Thomas Edited by Austin English Cover by Johnny Damm All proceeds go to Asheville Prison Books Project. avlpb.bigcartel.com

Frank Castle escapes from a government helicopter by diving. From Punisher: P.O.V. (1991) written by Jim Starlin with art by Bernie Wrightson and colors by Bill Wray.

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 2w ago

A 68-page digital chapbook exploring the lineage between the politically provocative Dark Knight Returns, Batman: The Cult, and Punisher: P.O.V., benefitting the Asheville Prison Books Project. A neat idea, no? Just $5.95 at avlpb.bigcartel.com

Detail from Batman: The Cult, capitalizing on the trend of using screen shaped panels to evoke media coverage.
Panel 1: Old white woman saying: “All the crooks have been driven off the streets. What’s there to be afraid of?”
Panel 2: blue-collar coded white guy saying: “The deacon’s done a great job of cleaning up this town. I say let him run things!”
Panel 3: ethnically ambiguous guy saying: “Don’t see why we need any help from the state.Things are fine just the way they are.”
Panel 4: old white man saying: “It’s time we thought about making Gotham the fifty-first state. A neat idea, no?”

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · last wk.

On the move! “Unbound in the Square: Superhero Auteurs in Reagan’s America” explores the lineage of high-line, creator-driven stories of the late eighties. From Dark Knight Returns to The Cult to P.O.V. Sales benefit Asheville Prison Books (avlpb.org) $5.95 at avlpb.bigcartel.com until 10/18!

Absurdly kitted-out Batmobiles were featured in both Dark Knight Returns and The Cult; just one of the ways in which the politically provocative stories were in conversation with one another and with cultural currents.

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 5d ago

This goes until October 18, but why not buy it now? Look at it on your phone while you should be working. All proceeds go to avlpb.org.

Ian@crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 6d ago

“Unbound in the Square: Superhero Auteurs in Reagan’s America” It tracks the nascent squarebound, prestige format books of the eighties and nineties, following the lineage between Dark Knight Returns, The Cult, and P.O.V. Proceeds go to Asheville Prison Book Project. $5.95 at avlpb.bigcartel.com

Unbound in the Square by Ian Thomas cover art by Johnny Damm, which also notes editing by Austin English

Domino Books @dominocomics.bsky.social · 5d ago

Order comics from Domino. 700 unique books on sale, most of them self published & experimental comic books. All of them ready to be shipped direct to your door, worldwide. dominobooks.org/store.html

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 5d ago

This goes until October 18, but why not buy it now? Look at it on your phone while you should be working. All proceeds go to avlpb.org.

Ian@crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 6d ago

“Unbound in the Square: Superhero Auteurs in Reagan’s America” It tracks the nascent squarebound, prestige format books of the eighties and nineties, following the lineage between Dark Knight Returns, The Cult, and P.O.V. Proceeds go to Asheville Prison Book Project. $5.95 at avlpb.bigcartel.com

Ian @crossoverappeal.bsky.social · 6d ago

“Unbound in the Square: Superhero Auteurs in Reagan’s America” It tracks the nascent squarebound, prestige format books of the eighties and nineties, following the lineage between Dark Knight Returns, The Cult, and P.O.V. Proceeds go to Asheville Prison Book Project. $5.95 at avlpb.bigcartel.com