It was a monster week for fake insiders and people running stories that have little in common with reality, but you know what? I’m not about that life, so we’re going to cover very little of that! Instead, this look at the things I liked or didn’t like from the week of comics is led by some very cool design.

Tom Muller, Brick by Brick

If you want a comic to look good, hire Tom Muller. It’s a pretty simple rule, but one that not everyone follows, probably because a) Tom’s only one guy and cannot do everything and b) he’s very good at what he does and likely has a rate to match. Thankfully, Marvel had a compelling enough project and enough budget to ensure they could rope him in for its new “don’t call it a compendium” Marvel Brick line, where the publisher will be creating phone book sized collections of some of its most renowned titles and runs. The designer confirmed he’s designing these tomes with an Instagram post where he shared the design treatment and logo for the line’s first release, which is an Amazing Spider-Man one that collects the first 41 issues starring the character for just $60. Not bad!

The price isn’t the point, though. It’s “look at that thing,” as I gesture with every limb at what Muller’s created for the Brick line. While Marvel has made attempts to follow the success stories of the format boom of the past few years, one of its biggest weaknesses on that front (amongst several) has been its rather staid approach to design. The Marvel Premier Collections are a perfect example of that. They’re fine but do not feel like they’re visually aimed at the market the format is going for. This? This does feel like it’s properly targeted, as Muller’s created a look that’s clean, informational, modifiable, and consistent, delivering everything you need for not just one release but a whole line of them.

The fact that Marvel hired Muller for this line feels meaningful, as if it’s a statement through design. We’ll see if it is, but I support it, as I do all hirings of Tom Muller.

Tiny Onion, Building Empires

Tiny Onion, the increasingly everything store founded by its namesake in writer James Tynion IV, continues to expand, and do so in wonderfully unique ways. When I say wonderfully unique ways, I mean ones that fit them and no one else, because plenty of houses like Tiny Onion would be all about the more, bigger, better. What’s the thing that will make your company the most money, even if it means selling out your identity? That’s a dangerous game, but an alluring one many cannot resist.

That’s why I appreciated this week’s wave of news, which included items both massive and maybe a little more lowkey. The big one was that Tiny Onion signed a first-look deal with Blumhouse Atomic, the horror giant/production company they were already developing a Something is Killing the Children movie with. Apparently that whole deal was so agreeable that they’re now collaborating on the upcoming adaptation of Exquisite Corpses, so clearly they felt it was time to put a ring on it. While that’s a big deal type thing, it’s also one that feels apt rather than a result of “Who will give us the most money?” as Blumhouse and Tiny Onion share similar vibes. It makes sense.

In the direct opposite direction in terms of The Hollywood Reporter level visibility, they also announced that they’re launching Crying Eye Press, a book imprint led by Courtney Menard, its director of design and print production (who I once interviewed and we basically nerded out about cool design the whole time). Crying Eye will sell its wares through Tiny Onion’s online store, and they’ll focus on lovingly crafted, creepily told tales that look good as heck. Something like Crumbs: A Very Bad Elf, their first release that is written by Tynion and drawn by Jensine Eckwall that was originally released in the DSTLRY anthology Through the Boughs: A Yuletide Offering, is an opportunity for Crying Eye to deliver a potent story with high production values. That’s fun, and definitely an example of Tiny Onion keeping its DIY vibe — Menard mentions “experimental zine-type projects” as part of what Crying Eye does — even as it signs big Hollywood deals.

That this is all dropping right before the very first edition of Brooklyn Expo of Comics, a comic fair that’s technically by BODEGA NYC but is not not a Tiny Onion production, makes it all the better. That’s an extremely small press and art-focused show, albeit one with a real budget behind it and some hellacious headliners, and it (and the rest of the news of the week) fits the fact that Tiny Onion contains multitudes. That’s a wonderful thing, and something I hope stays as part of the company’s DNA.