Top Nine: Johnston's Choice
Ninth Art editor and comic book writer Antony Johnston tells the story of his life as a comics fan, from Alan Moore to Azzarello, from ZENITH to WHITEOUT, from first flings to reignited passions.
17 April 2006

Editorial: Cassandra Complex: Curtain Calls & Cyberpunx
In his final Cassandra Complex, Antony Johnston looks back at some of the big stories from three years of Ninth Art, including Epic adventures, the decline of Crossgen, and the rise of comics piracy.
30 April 2004

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - Writers & Wringers
Writing comics; it's the best and easiest job in the world. Right? Antony Johnston's been doing it for a couple of years now, and he's ready to explode a few myths. Especially the one about the hot groupies.
26 March 2004

Editorial: Cassandra Complex: Undergrounds & Underdogs
The internet and the exploitation of niche markets have driven obscure cult interests out into the open. Antony Johnston asks, whatever happened to the underground?
27 February 2004

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - Silence & Subtleties
Has controversy taken a back seat, asks Antony Johnston, or is the industry just catching its breath? Plus, an idea for how comics could inspire video games that's a little more sophisticated than X-MEN: MUTANT ACADEMY.
23 January 2004

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - Previews & Perishers
The Direct Market needs the Previews catalogue, whether we like it or not - but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of room for improvement. Antony Johnston offers his reccomendation for the one change that might have the biggest impact.
28 November 2003

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - The Waiting & The Winsome
Now everyone seems to be waiting for the trade, and it looks like the industry is well on its way from the comic shop to the book shop. Antony Johnston looks at how the landscape is changing.
31 October 2003

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - Canons & Carnivores
Continuity is an obsession for many comics readers, but is it important? Antony Johnston considers the purpose of continuity and the reactions against it.
03 October 2003

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - Wishing & Whiskers
After a recent Ninth Art article dared to be downbeat, Antony Johnston returns to the theme of the Golden Age to spell out the steps he thinks the industry needs to take to achieve that lofty ideal.
05 September 2003

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - X-Treme X-Atlantic
From one extreme to the other: Antony zooms round San Diego, then relaxes in Oxford, all the while musing about why no-one seems to read their comics more than once.
08 August 2003

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - Innovation & Incarceration
Should artists play it safe or take a chance? Antony argues the case for being unreasonable, especially when progress is at stake, and does some pre-San Diego shilling into the bargain.
11 July 2003

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - Festivals & Finds
Returned from this year's UK Comics Festival, Antony ponders the nature of conventions in a country that no longer has an industry of its own; and points readers to a few comics that don't need or care about the industry, anyway.
13 June 2003

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - Dates & Dustjackets
Someone left Antony locked in a room, going slowly mad - and it turns out it was Antony. It looks like he'll be let out in time for the Bristol comics convention, but in the meantime he's been staring at book covers. Just staring and staring...
16 May 2003

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - None More Black
They're a strange social minority who are shunned by mainstream society for their peculiar ways. But unlike comic readers, they have their own nightclubs. Antony Johnston revisits the goth scene.
18 April 2003

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - Compact & Bijou
The first CrossGen Traveler Edition has arrived at Ninth Art Towers; Antony Johnston offers his considered opinion on the digest-sized MERIDIAN: FLYING SOLO. Plus, a fine notion from Montreal retailer Paul Stock on shifting that backstock
14 March 2003

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - Minorities & Multicultures
They say 'Write what you know', but where does that leave the issue of minority characters? Antony Johnston makes a case for inclusion without prejudice - good or bad.
21 February 2003

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - And Now, The Good News
The comic industry isn't always doom and gloom. Antony Johnston looks at a triple whammy of good news in the form of comics sales in bookstores, how those same stores are racking them, and CrossGen's new Traveller editions.
24 January 2003

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - Brickbats And... Well, Mostly Brickbats
Old toys were trendy, panties didn't sell, everything was a movie, bold new strategies were traded for old, and everyone - but mostly Marvel - got sued. Antony Johnston makes his pick of the headlines from 2002.
27 December 2002

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - Trades & Travels
Recently returned from a book signing at Travelling Man in York, Antony muses on the loss-leader approach to OGN publishing, and the problem posed by the monologue in comics writing.
29 November 2002

Editorial: Cassandra Complex - Filth & Fury
In the first of the new look Ninth Art Editorials, Antony Johnston takes issue with the insipid state of comics cover design, and gives you the skinny on the ass-kicking zombies of INFINITE KUNG-FU.
01 November 2002

Cassandra Complex: Rock And A Hard Place
For Antony Johnston, a week away from the bustle of daily life means letting the tide of pop culture come seeping back in - and that means coming to an important realisation about what sets comic creators apart from most other 'pop' artists.
07 October 2002

Cassandra Complex: Good Word
In a special edition of Cassandra Complex, Antony Johnston reports from this year's Caption, possibly one of the smallest of small press conventions, where the sun shines and the marker pens run free.
23 August 2002

Cassandra Complex: Welcome Back
San Diego, the Christmas of comics, is over for another year. Antony Johnston didn't go, but the view from across the water is that Christmas is looking smaller, and even the biggest present - a real chain of comic bookstores - could still be a lump of coal.
12 August 2002

Cassandra Complex: New Direction
The '80s are back, and the comic industry is falling over itself to get in on the act. But outside the comics store it's a different story, and Antony Johnston is all set to give up the ghost of the Direct Market.
15 July 2002

Cassandra Complex: Wasting Away
Did you see that ad in the paper that said, 'Wanted: New BATMAN writer'? No? Do you want to know why? Antony Johnston has a word of advice for the next generation of aspiring comic creators: Don't hold out for a hero.
17 June 2002

Cassandra Complex: The Big Event
The pop-culture event of the summer is SPIDER-MAN - but it's not the comic that people are talking about. In a year when cinema audiences have plenty to get excited about, Antony Johnston looks at the lacklustre state of the 'event' comic.
22 April 2002

Cassandra Complex: Join The Club
In the world of books, niche genres within mass media take advantage of their scarcity by catering to a dedicated audience. What could comics learn from them? And how would a club for comic readers operate?
25 March 2002

Cassandra Complex: New Dress
Graphic design is an aspect of comics that is often overlooked. In a week that saw Vertigo announce an important change to its covers, Antony Johnston explains the move's significance, and looks at the changes from a designer's perspective.
25 February 2002

Cassandra Complex: We Care A Lot
If there's one thing most comic readers love, it's an argument about how to 'fix' the industry. But is it worth the effort? And could it actually achieve the opposite of what we want?
28 January 2002

Cassandra Complex: A Novel Idea, Part Two
If the comic industry were to switch over exclusively to graphic novels, would it be the answer to all our prayers? Or would it just present us with another set of problems?
31 December 2001

Cassandra Complex: A Novel Idea, Part One
Some say graphic novels are the industry's best hope for the future. If that's the case, why are so many publishers stuck in the past? What's holding them back, and what will it take to get them moving forward?
03 December 2001

Cassandra Complex: Love's in Fashion
Love in the summertime is one thing: in comics, we rarely see romance at all. Antony Johnston asks, where are the chick flicks?
05 November 2001

The Writing Place: An Interview with Sean Kelley McKeever
For five years, Sean McKeever has been making a name for himself in the independent market with THE WAITING PLACE. Now, with a few issues of HULK under his belt, he's poised to step into the mainstream spotlight. Ninth Art caught up with McKeever to talk comics, characters and CompuServe.
22 October 2001

Cassandra Complex: One Month On
Almost exactly a month ago, the world stopped. In light of the many changes to entertainment since that day, Antony Johnston asks: when will the world start again?
08 October 2001

Cassandra Complex: Within These Walls
The medium of comics is almost unique in its close interaction between 'pros' and 'fans' - but is the audience's dream killing us?
10 September 2001

Cassandra Complex: Leave It All Behind
For the artist, the act of creation is not always about life's rewards. Money will only last so long, but death, well, that's forever.
13 August 2001

Cassandra Complex: Evolution In Action
Joe Quesada's recent comments regarding older creators sparked controversy and bad feeling among pros and readers alike. But what did he really mean... and was he so wrong?
20 July 2001

The Friday Review: Soundtrack
From journalism strips to social philosophy: Ninth Art enters the world of 'Artbabe' Jessica Abel's collected works.
06 July 2001

Cassandra Complex: Love The Mainstream
There's a breed of people out there who think that everything 'mainstream' is bad. But they're living in the past.
18 June 2001

The Friday Review: Kane: Greetings From New Eden
With crime comics enjoying a revival, Antony Johnston looks back on one of the best of the past ten years; Paul Grist's KANE.
08 June 2001

Cassandra Complex: Working For The Man
Grant Morrison on X-MEN. Judd Winick on GREEN LANTERN. Brian Michael Bendis on ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN. Greg Rucka on BATMAN. Sell-out, or just Selling?
21 May 2001

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