Sandra Block’s sophomore novel revisits psychiatrist Zoe Goldman–the protagonist from Little Black Lies. This new novel, The Girl Without a Name, is a fast-paced, intelligent thriller that tackles themes from mental illness to racism. I recently had the opportunity to talk to Sandra about her new novel, how her career impacts her writing and what it’s like writing…
Understanding the Da Vinci Code: Why Quest Thrillers Work
The first six or so pages of my paperback copy of The Da Vinci Code are taken up with a collection of praise and excerpts from favourable reviews, from publications of all types. People loved this book. And you know what? They were right. The Da Vinci Code is what they call an airport novel….
Get On With Ron: Ronald Wimberly, Cartoonist in Profile
You may have heard of Ronald Wimberly. Perhaps you discovered him through The Nib when they published “Lighten Up,” in which he discusses being told by an X-Men editor to lighten a character’s skin, and then elaborates on the complexity of skin tone, race, ethnicity, and mainstream comics’ narrow view on the subject. Maybe you’re a…
Hanzai Japan: From Crime Fiction to Surreal Noir
Hanzai Japan: Fantastical, Futuristic Stories of Crime From and About Japan Edited by Nick Mamatas and Masumi Washington Haikasoru October 20, 2015 Haikasoru bills this as a collection of crime fiction from and about Japan, and as such, my initial response was mixed. Crime fiction usually is not on my list of preferred genres, but…
Top 5 Scooby Doo Movies for Halloween
It’s Halloween! You know what that means? It’s time to snuggle up with your favorite talking canine and have a movie marathon of all his wonderful hits. I’m here to bring you the top five Scooby Doo films to watch for Halloween! There have been many Scooby Doo movies that have been produced over the…
Five Trick Questions: Twin Peaks or Claremont’s X-Men?
With a variety of artist collaborators, Chris Claremont wrote the X-Men for sixteen straight years, and then came back later for more. Frost & Lynch’s Twin Peaks had a much shorter run, but is currently readying itself for a return. Both are definitive examples of whatever they are—imperfect, but unputdownable—and there is more than one place in which…
Sex Comics 2: You Learn From the Bad Times
We went over some nice sex comics, where everyone is happy, and I hope you found something to enjoy. This time, it’s Halloween month—and at Halloween, sex gets different. All sorts of sex-and-horror analysis is out there for you to find (or write! Wanna write something like that for us?), but right here right now…
The Twin Peaks Log: S.2 E’s 21/22
Welcome to our biweekly roundtable of Twin Peaks where we are working our way through every. Single. Episode. Some of us are regulars and some of us newbies, but none of our experiences are the same. So get yourself a damn fine cup of coffee, watch along with us, and feel free to chime in…
Sex, Drugs, and Being Whole : Welcome to the World of Gangsta
It’s hard being an older fan of manga and anime. Think about the most popular titles: Naruto, Attack on Titan, and Noragami. Do you notice a pattern? About their protagonists maybe? That’s right. They’re teenagers. Even up-and-coming Tokyo Ghoul features young college students. That’s nice and all, but what about those of us who are…
Hip Hop Comics You Should Check Out
Universal’s music biopic, Straight Outta Compton, has made over $100 million so far at the box office and to celebrate, we’re looking at comics about hip hop or created by hip hop artists. Check ’em out!
MAN PLUS: A Conversation/Review
MAN PLUS Titan Comics, July 8th André Lima Araújo, Arisa Rozegar, Luis Guerrero, Tom Williams Ghost in the Shell lifers J. A. Micheline and Claire Napier (that’s me!) discuss what was the first issue, but has since become just a section of Titan’s ongoing web release, of André Lima Araújo’s passion project Man Plus. Do they like it?…
The Twin Peaks Log: S.2 E’s 19/20
Welcome to our biweekly roundtable of Twin Peaks where we are working our way through every. Single. Episode. Some of us are regulars and some of us newbies, but none of our experiences are the same. So get yourself a damn fine cup of coffee, watch along with us, and feel free to chime in…