Codename Baboushka is a pulp story about Annika Malikova, the last member of a Russian noble family… who turns out to be a mafia boss, as well as professional hitman and a double agent running errands for a USA government agency. In few words, she’s a blend of everything pulp movies usually appropriate from Russian…
When Down Is Up: What’s Wrong With Indie Comics?
We’ve already discussed why “mainstream” comics are not that mainstream these days in my last “When Down Is Up” article. Let’s now look at the opposite of the mainstream at the so-called indie or creator-owned comics.
We’re Sick of This Beauty: All the Women in These Comics Have the Same Face
We all know the common problem with female bodies in comics: oversexualized, unrealistic, packed in tight suits, bent at unnatural angles and looking seductive even in the midst of a battle.
The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Quest For A Perfect Doll
They say parents willingly fill up kids’ rooms with toys that Mom and Dad missed in their own childhood. It is probably true for me. I have a three-month-old girl, and I can’t wait for when she will be big enough for our first visit to a toy store. In the meantime, I stroll around…
When Up Is Down: There’s Nothing Mainstream About Mainstream Comics
Mainstream and indie are two counterparts of the comics industry; two gears that spin interdependently, shaping the medium. You’ll meet these two terms at any comics-themed website or discussion, both online and in real life. People use them when talking about comics history, or describing the current state of the medium, or specifying their own…
The Hidden Message of Saga, or, Why We Can’t Help But Love It
During the last few years, I have read tons of books, and just a few of them had what I call a “magic wardrobe” effect. You might have experienced it too: you open the book, time collapses, and you’re suddenly on the last page and the clock displays 4am. There is some distinctive type of…
He Wrote Our Soul Music: Remembering Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett was an important author–to a lot of you, to a lot of your faves (Kieron Gillen, for example), to a lot of us. Here’s how. Rachel Stevens: I remember working at a library part time in high school, and tracking down every Pratchett book I could find. I think the first work I…
Justice and justification in A Death by Stephen King
A Death Stephen King The New Yorker March 9, 2015 This short story was published in March 9th issue of The New Yorker. The review contains spoilers—be aware!