Following the Hugo Awards ceremony that was held on Saturday, the awards’ administrators released a PDF file with thorough breakdowns of the voting data. This means that we can get some idea of what the ballot would have looked like without interference from the Rabid Puppies campaign. Before we start, we will need to estimate the…
My Neighbor Jiaojian: An Intimate Urban Legend
My Neighbor Jiaojian Alyssa Wong (Writer), Wendy Xu (Artist) 2016. Although I am relatively new to the horror genre as a whole (I am a self-described scardey-cat and still find The Nightmare Before Christmas unwatchable), I’ve found that the stories that stay with me often are very intimate, with a small cast, touch upon very…
Comics, Anxiety, and Capturing the Abstract: An Interview with the Creators of Sweaty Palms
We often read hoping to see a piece of ourselves reflected in stories, but it’s the surprising connections that can have the most impact. These connections are not always comfortable, but are often invaluable, such as Jennifer Gonzalez’s experience with depression and Katie O’Neill’s webcomic Mushrooms. Each time readers respond powerfully to comics such as O’Neill’s it…
You Want Our Ideas But Not Us: Hollywood’s Whitewashing of Asians Roundtable
Recently, many movie and TV show fans have raised concerns about upcoming releases that involve Asian settings or themes, but center white actors or sideline Asian voices. Doctor Strange, Ghost in the Shell, Netflix’s Iron Fist, Death Note, and The Great Wall perpetuate decades of Hollywood’s marginalization of Asian actors. WWAC writers have analyzed at length…
Snotgirl: Visual Women Roundtable
Snotgirl, by Bryan Lee O’Malley, Leslie Hung, and Mickey Quinn, debuted in July from Image Comics. Industry politics aside, “Image” is a satisfying venue for a comic of this nature. The protagonist, our “snotgirl” Lottie Person, lives for image. She’s a fashion blogger, so image is the source of her status and presumably her revenue. Lottie internalises…
Get Your Game on Wednesday: Thoughts on Diversity
Happy Wednesday, gaming lovelies! High five to those lucky East Coast folks who attended Flamecon this past weekend. West Coasters, have no fear. GaymerX is all about games and still six weeks away. Phew! Mission saved! Micro game studios make up 65% of UK gaming studios That’s right, 65% of the studios employ four or fewer…
Copyright and YOU! What’s the deal with the Copyright Office’s secret meetings?
A few weeks ago, Megan, goat queen of WWAC, drew my attention to a blog posted by the Internet Archive Blogs with the title “The Copyright Office is trying to redefine libraries, but libraries don’t want it — Who is it for?” My interest was piqued. I’m a librarian, and while it’s not my area…
Let Me Live Through You: Go To Safari Festival
Safari Festival is August 27th–this upcoming Saturday. And, it being in London, which is far away and tricksy once you get there, I can’t go. Can you go? If you want to, you should. Here’s the sell! Safari is run by Breakdown Press. Like their comic output, it is curated. Breakdown Press are the sort of people…
Geek Mystique: Lifestyle News for August
Hey! It is the second installment of Geek Mystique, the lifestyle section’s monthly lifestyle news column. These links are lovingly curated by I (um…me), your lifestyle editor, based on what is trending right now…and also just what I really like such as Lisa Frank leggings and mermaid crowns.
Previously on Comics: Hugos, Ignatz, Runaways, and more
Another week has passed, and it’s been quite a week in the world of comics! The Hugo Awards were announced this past weekend. And you can also revisit Doris’ reviews of the nominees. Relevant to comics are: Best Graphic Story The Sandman: Overture written by Neil Gaiman, art by J.H. Williams III (Vertigo) Best Dramatic…
Metal Gear Survive(s)
Metal Gear Survive has the best concept it possibly could, given the situation. Metal Gear, the Konami video game franchise, was created and showrun by Hideo Kojima until the latter left the former under a cloud. It featured five main games and several supplemental ones, all of which served a narrative that effectively became a…