Erotica, one might hope, is intended to make people feel good. Erotica, as has been discussed at length on this site, can cause people to feel bad. All art containing bodies has the potential to push the viewer into a state of comparison. Desiring to encourage reflection upon the differences and the the reasons which span this…
Udon a Bad Thing: Frank Cho, Anuses, and Visual Impact
Much like many other areas of culture, monthly direct-market comic books are an industry, a scene, which is largely hostile to women even now, a place where harm is produced and reproduced, and objections are seen as shrill lies told for cheap thrills. I know it’s dull, but let’s talk about Frank Cho.
Criminal Underrepresentation: Big Hard Sex Questions For Fraction and Zdarsky
I was really excited by a tweet I saw from the Women Write About Comics account saying that the site would be spending the month of April focusing on the topic of sex. I’m definitely a casual reader of comics and a casual fan of sex, so I figured it was a match made in…
Accessibility and Cons: If Comics Are For Everyone, Can Everybody Reach Them?
Last time we talked, I discussed my own work as a comics creator and the ways in which I’ve worked to create my own disability representation in comics. This month, I want to delve into an issue that is broader in scope, but in many ways just as vital: accessibility at comic conventions. It’s con…
Representation & Desire: A Plus Sized Male Model
Plus-sized female models are making inroads in mainstream fashion, and while this representation isn’t without its problems, it is telling that the question of plus-sized male models has only recently entered the conversation with the signing of Zach Miko as Target’s first ever plus-size male model.
Kill the Fatphobia: Fat Girls in YA
Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky is a recent young adult novel about a group of fangirl friends who kidnap a member of their favorite boy band, The Ruperts. The first major description given of Apple, the fat girl in the group, is this: “Apple’s forehead crinkled, and having no food on hand to…
MAN PLUS Take Two (and Three): Araujo’s Midsection
Man Plus is currently being published by Titan Comics as a four issue mini; it’s also being serialised for free online through page by page release. Claire and J.A. discuss the second and third issues of Araújo’s Shirowpunk passion project, as they did for part one previously.
A Man Created My Goddess: Dawn and Me
I’m a pretty unabashed feminist. Even as a kid, I drifted towards statements of girl power before I understood the foundations working behind it. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve continually worked on understanding the complexities of feminism and privilege, trying my best to confront my own privileges and learning how to be an intersectional feminist….
Misty Knight and the Case of the Ridiculous Males: Bra Holster Hell
Alright, you got breasts? Then you don’t need to read this (unless: catharsis?). Not have’em? Sit down and listen. L-i-s-t-e-n. Especially you, Joe Bennet, Nick Spencer, Tom Brevoort. For this is a problem from Feb 3rd’s Captain America: Sam Wilson #6. This is an atrocious and terrible character design. It’s for a character with a…
It’s Hard To Be A Girl: Self Image, or Selling Image?
It’s Hard To Be A Girl Bach (creator), Nora Goldberg (translator) Soaring Penguin Press October 2015 I went to the launch for It’s Hard To Be A Girl in late October. The event was, in a word, delightful. Soaring Press organized a very nice evening, held at the Québec Government Office in London. It featured…
Fat Positivity in Comics: What I Need From Faith
There’s a temptation, when a marginalized group is getting representation for the first time, to say nothing but good things. Those who are critical are accused of not being supportive or overly critical (as we recently saw with Albert Ching’s piece on why he doesn’t want an Asian-American Danny Rand.) But when it comes to…
Jamie’s Guide To Less Stressful Holidays
Listen… Do you hear what I hear? The distant sleigh bells coming ever closer… the hoofbeats of reindeer… The inexorably shambling footfalls of shopping mobs… It can only mean one thing. They’re coming. They’re coming! They’re almost here! Are you ready for the holidays?! Are you ready for the stress that inevitably comes with them? Yes, the…