Fun. That’s a thing. A thing that started in the 1680s as a verb, meaning to cheat or trick. “Are you having fun with me?” The word is of uncertain origin — how like fun — but Online Etymology and Google suggest that it comes from the Middle English fon, which means to be a…
Tove Jansson Was Born 100 years Ago
Tove Jansson created the Moomins, among other generous, challenging and compassionate art and fiction, and (as previously investigated) I own a Moomins Cook Book. There’s a section in there called at a birthday party — Tove, it’s your birthday, this is your party, and I’m raising Moominmama’s Best Buns (and Fish Solyanka) to your glorious…
Multifarious: The Sound of Weeping — How Visual Art Communicates
The Sound of Weeping Art is often thought about in very different terms to other sorts of communication, which is a loss. For example, even in comics criticism, people (us, others) often forget to directly mention the images which make up the telling of the story. The art will have had an impact on the…
Ghost in the Shell: the Major’s Body (3)
The Major, or Motoko Kusanagi, is the protagonist of each incarnation of the Ghost in the Shell manga-anime-merchadise franchise. If you care to google, Motoko Kusanagi is autocompletes to “a man” and “is hot,” then “in bed with a boy” and “in bed.” For a science-fiction philosophy character named for her military position, we (the audience — although I don’t…
Kickstarter of the Week: Illegal
Look into the future and envision a government that tracks you not through phone records, but a microchip under your skin. Now imagine you’re a young female immigrant without one.
Marvel Entertainment Given Invoice By Worker
Marvel Entertainment Sued by Unpaid Intern, you say? On behalf of every comics lover working hard to keep the industry moving, I have a headline of my own to direct at the enormous corporations who spend millions on out of date publicity campaigns and bullshit regression every year: Thank you for your time.
GenCon Guide for Grownups Part I
GenCon is staring us all dead in the face, so it’s time for a little pep talk. It is the largest gaming convention in North America, and has been running for forty-six years. There are tabletop RPGs, card games, video games, board games, Live Action Role Playing (LARPs), cosplay, anime, art, workshops, panels and more….
The DC Daily Planet: What Is That Masked Movie?
Happy Friday, caped crusaders! Excited about Sony’s announcement of a female-led superhero? Well, DC isn’t going down without a fight! Any one (or more) of their upcoming movies could conceivably feature a female lead. Come speculate with me!
Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Actually Does April and the Turtles Justice
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Starring Megan Fox, Noel Fisher, Johnny Knoxville, Will Arnett Directed by Jonathan Liebesman PG-13 There is no doubt that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a summer blockbuster in all of the usual ways; there are ample explosions, absurd action sequences, and stunning special effects. But it is also a Ninja Turtles…
Dogears: Rock Bottom, No Skin in the Game
Skin Game Jim Butcher Penguin I have to admit that, at this point, I’m mostly reading the Dresden Files out of a combination of inertia and completism. The sheen and new car smell have been rubbed off by the criticism Butcher has received about the sexism of his main character (which I disagree with) and…
Con Diaries: Ivy Goes To Otakon & Watches All The Anime, Pt. 1
Earlier this year, when my boyfriend was booking his appearance at Otakon, he casually asked me if I wanted to go — free badge, free hotel — and I readily agreed, desperate for any sort of mini-vacation. I had been to Otakon before, as as tween. The last year I went, I was fourteen years…
Pouches: The Case For Respect
There I am on the side of a cliff, feeling pretty good. What possessed me to get up there? Pouches. See that belt around my waist? That’s got a pouch on. In fact it’s got two. Sometimes there are more, but that depends on where I’m going, and what for. Pouches are as versatile as your…