Commentary by Kendall Whitehouse
Celebrating its twenty-fifth year anniversary, Lehigh Valley Comic Convention returned to the Allentown Fairgrounds Agri-Plex and, for the first time, expanded to a two-day event. In an odd ticket pricing scheme, fans could buy a Sunday-only ticket for $10, but Saturday attendees were required to purchase a two-day ticket (for $20). Once inside, fans found Continue reading Lehigh Valley Comic…
Pop Culture Celebration in the Nation s Founding City Philadelphia will be a city of celebration throughout 2026, hosting the FIFA World Cup, the PGA Championship, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and festivities marking the 250th anniversary of the nation s birth. For pop culture fans, the event of the season is Fan Expo Philadelphia, with Continue reading Fan Expo Philadelphia 2026
The Disquiet of Life Under Surveillance In an unidentified, vaguely Eastern European city, the town s sectors are controlled by different political factions. Nadia, the daughter of former political activists in one of those factions, lives a quiet life with her widowed mother. Her father was killed years earlier in a bomb attack during the nation s Continue reading The Shadower
A Dark Tale of Family Dysfunction and Madness Pig Wife, the first graphic novel by illustrator and animator Abbey Luck (with artwork by Luck and Ruka Bravo), is a multigenerational tale of a family dysfunction, abuse, and madness. The reader is introduced to four generations of the Harlow family, owners of a once profitable mine. Continue reading Pig Wife by Abbey Luck
As the con season winds down in the fall, Baltimore Comic-Con returns to the city s convention center with an extensive array of comics creators along with media personalities and cosplaying attendees. Here s an overview of this year s Baltimore fan fest from my perspective. Click on the thumbnail images to display a gallery of photos on Continue reading Baltimore Comic-Con 2025
Underground and Indie Comics Prevail in Philly While the great underground comics anthologies of the late 1960s through the early 1990s Zap, Weirdo, Raw are gone, the world of underground comic books remains vibrant through the work of publishers like Last Gasp, Fantagraphics, and Drawn and Quarterly. The bleeding edge of underground and Continue reading Philly Comics Expo 2025
The late summer edition of Lehigh Valley Comic Convention, an event that takes place two, three, or four times each year, returned to its primary location at the Community Services Center and Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville, PA. The comics fest was spread throughout the building with an ample Dealers Room, a wide Artist/Creator Continue reading Lehigh Valley Comic Convention 2025
Horror Strikes the First Family The Exorcism at 1600 Penn is a tale of supernatural horror wrapped inside a political thriller and family drama. In less skilled hands, this could become a convoluted mishmash. Fortunately, Hannah Rose May s script, aided by Vanesa R. Del Rey s art and colors by Jordie Bellaire, deftly weaves these themes Continue reading The Exorcism at 1600 Penn
Any mention of the name of Fredric Wertham at Comic-Con immediately elicits howls of derision and snarky comments. And not without reason. Wertham was, after all, a central figure in the assault on comic books in the 1950s that led to the elimination of most horror, crime, and suspense titles and precipitated the downfall of Continue reading Dr. Werthless: The Complicated Legacy of Fredric Wertham
A Con for a Cause Each year student and teacher volunteers from Trenton Central High School host the Trenton Charity Comic Con, an initiative to raise money for a selected charity. In its fourth annual outing this year, students in the school s Comic Book and Manga Club voted to dedicate the funds to the anti-sexual Continue reading Trenton Charity Comic Con 2025