About Hannah Means-Shannon aka Hannah Menzies

Welcome to my blogspot where you can find out about the various work I do on a number of pop culture websites and in print to discuss comics, comics creators, and the evolving impact of comics on our society. I wear several hats as a freelance journalist, comics scholar, and medievalist professor.

For the Brooklyn-filtered literary arts salon known as Trip City, I write topical essays about comics. For The Comics Beat website, I am a Contributing Editor and write about comics cons, events, do reviews and interviews relating to comics. I am also a contributor to Bleeding Cool about comics and events. For Sequart Research and Literacy Organization, I am currently working on a book about magic in the works of Alan Moore (Meet the Magus: Magic in the Works of Alan Moore) and  also on a book about Neil Gaiman (Neil Gaiman: The Early Years) which is currently being serialized on Sequart.org. I also publish scholarly articles in comics journals included the JGNC, SIC, and IJOCA and NYRSF. I am Hannah Menzies on Facebook and @HannahMenzies on Twitter.

Here are some of my recent articles for various platforms to check out:

For The Beat: Newsblog of Comics Culture, I am a Contributing Editor specializing in events, reviews, and interviews.

Recently I wrote about the publisher Dark Horse, where it’s been and where it’s going based on its raft of current trend-setting comics:
http://comicsbeat.com/is-dark-horse-entering-a-golden-age/

 

 

At WonderCon in Anaheim this Spring I conducted some interviews with the excellent creators Matt Kindt, whose psychic-spy work MIND MGMT is currently on the New York Times Best Sellers List, and with longtime DC artist Dustin Nguyen whose nuanced painterly style brings mood and atmosphere to Gotham City, most notable is his new series L’IL GOTHAM.

 

Interview with Matt Kindt:
http://comicsbeat.com/mega-interview-with-matt-kindt-find-the-territory-that-nobody-has-staked-out-yet/

Interview with Dustin Nguyen:
http://comicsbeat.com/interview-dustin-nguyens-big-ideas-behind-lil-gotham/

 

I also review comics weekly for The Beat and two of my favorite reviews lately have been about 5 GHOSTS, the new Image series that has since gone into second and third printing right away (and I’m blurbed on the back of Issue #1 from a preview review to boot!), and about the conclusion of the longest running Vertigo series HELLBLAZER, featuring the working class magician who never seems to get it right.

Review for 5 GHOSTS with interview:
http://comicsbeat.com/preview-and-interview-5-ghosts-with-frank-barbiere-and-chris-mooneyham/

Review for HELLBLAZER finale:
http://comicsbeat.com/review-down-at-the-pub-with-john-constantine-hellblazer-300/

 

For TRIP CITY, I am a Contributing Editor to their original content featuring a wide array of creator-owned comics and focusing on many New York-based artists and writers:

I’ve reported on many events in the New York area and beyond for TRIP CITY, but more recently I’ve been writing essays about comics culture. My most recent essay, “Are We Journalists?” ,about the role of autobiographical comics in reportage, may lead to a new original content series of comics on the site in 2013.

“Are We Journalists?” at TRIP CITY:
http://welcometotripcity.com/2013/01/are-we-journalists-expanding-the-scope-of-autobio-comix/

For the wide-spectrum comics and pop culture website Bleeding Cool, I am also a regular contributor covering events, reviews and interviews.

I had the remarkable experience of being present at one of comics and fantasy writer Neil Gaiman and musician Amanda Palmer’s recent performance “Evening with” events, and wrote about it, with photos, for Bleeding Cool.

“Feeling Giant, Intellectual Things at an Evening with Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer”:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/04/07/feeling-giant-intellectual-things-at-an-evening-with-neil-gaiman-and-amanda-palmer/

Also for Bleeding Cool, I covered a Comic Book Roundtable Event in New York featuring a discussion with several former comics editors about the Orson Scott Card contraversy concerning his anti-homosexual activities and his work on Superman.

“Should You Be Blacklisted, Mr. Card?”:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/04/16/should-you-be-blacklisted-mr-card/

I’m Assistant Book Editor at Sequart Research and Literacy Organization, a press that has produced 10 books on the subject of comics in culture, with plenty more on the way. They are also the award-winning creators of documentaries about Grant Morrison (Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods) and Warren Ellis (Warren Ellis Captured Ghosts).

As Assistant Editor, I have overseen the production of two books currently in print, and several more to come. They are Curing the Postmodern Blues: Reading Grant Morrison and Chris Weston’s The Filth in the 21st Century, and The Devil is in the Details: Examining Matt Murdock and Daredevil.

However, I’m also an author for Sequart, working on two books of my own that will see print and digital publication in 2013 and 2014. I have serialized segments of the upcoming books, however, and you can read those portions free online at Sequart.

My first book, Meet the Magus: Magic in the Works of Alan Moore, is about magical themes in all of Alan Moore’s works over time and how his personal philosophies have shaped the direction of comics. You can find the first installment of Meet the Magus below.

Meet the Magus, Part 1: The Birth Caul:
http://sequart.org/magazine/11486/meet-the-magus-part-1-the-birth-caul/

My second book, Neil Gaiman: The Early Years is an exploration of Neil Gaiman’s career and output from 1986 to 1996, focusing on his lesser known titles, his rise with DC Comics, and the founding of Vertigo. You can find the first installment of Neil Gaiman: The Early Years below.

Neil Gaiman: The Early Years, Part 1: Black Orchid’s Passive and Impassive Universe:
http://sequart.org/magazine/21022/neil-gaiman-the-early-years-black-orchid%E2%80%99s-passive-and-impassive-universe-part-1/

 

 

And actually, I have a new credit to my name coming in May, as editor on an Alan Moore essay published in several of the opening issues of the multi-creator project OCCUPY COMICS, a very exciting work bringing together a host of professionals in the industry.

Look for updates on my blog about articles and events, and follow me on The Beat, Bleeding Cool, and Sequart! To contact me directly, you can reach me on Twitter as @hannahmenzies, Facebook as Hannah Menzies, and through email at hannahmenzies7@gmail.com.