Does anyone else feel that reading can be a form of divination, a sort of window to your inner mind? The interpretation of books, like other kinds of art, tends to reveal more about the reader than the book itself. I’ll often be reading a book and, while connecting with a character, realize that I’m…
Grotesque, Anxious and Delightful: A Review of The Wicked and the Tired
The Wicked and The Tired Sheika Lugtu (editor), Jenna Kang (assistant editor), Connie Chu (cover art), A. Cris Valles, Daimon Hampton, Rivven Prink, Gabriel Mason, Gabi Mendez, Sheika Lugtu, Yewon Kwon, Woodbury Rand (Contributors) Cow House Press One of my favorite things about Chicago’s independent comics scene is that it’s filled with people who are downright inspiring,…
“Real” Wonder Women? The United Nations, Feminism, and the Media
The rift between commercialism and feminism emerged in the debate over the appointment of Wonder Woman as Honorary Ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls. Last October, the UN announced that Wonder Woman would become the organization’s Honorary Ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls. The empowerment of femininity, both physical and otherwise, is…
Searching for The Good Place Within America
When the pilot of The Good Place—a breezy comedy about what it means to be a good person in the afterlife—first aired last September, a large portion of America, including me, was gearing for the end of a long and draining election season with relatively high hopes. By the time the season finale aired in…
The REadWind: Empress of the World
The REadWind series gets contributors to re-read the books they haven’t read in years and self-reflect. The goal is to explore how the contributors’ growth as a person plays a role in their experience in revisiting the book. Do they still like/hate it? How has it changed? Why?
ALL GROWN UP: Image Comics Bad Girls at 25
Image Comics was founded 25 years ago—you may have noticed all the commemorative parties they’ve been having. It was a shot in the arm to the American comic book industry, a nice load of amphetamine that got everyone buzzing and yelling and focused and horny. The young, male pioneers at Image’s founding gave a huge push to…
The Whirlwind of PAX East 2017
PAX East continues to be one of the largest annual conventions I attend. PAX East 2017 marked my fifth one. You might think it might get easier, but that cake is a lie. PAX East is so big with so much to see, it’s overwhelming every single year. This year, I decided to focus on…
Cover Girl: Coady and the Creepies #1
Each month, we gather a team of WWAC contributors to analyze a new and notable comic book cover featuring a woman. This month Melissa, Alenka, Alexis and Rosie look at Coadie and the Creepies #1.
Previously on Comics: Diversity Killed the Comic Star?
Hey WWACers! It’s the first day of Passover (I’m a Jew) which means I can’t eat bread for over a week, which means I’m cranky. I’d like to say I turned to comics to ease my mood, but those can make me pretty upset too, especially when they blame tanking sales on added diversity.
How Wondercon Failed Disabled Attendees
Comic conventions are an odd thing, either exciting hubs of creative minds or giant airplane carriers full of people trying to sell you stuff. Either way you feel, what cannot be argued is their existence. There are conventions almost every weekend of 2017, and on certain weekends, there are seven or eight at the same…
Going Back to Sci-Fi Roots with The OA
When The OA debuted this past December, it was heavily measured against fellow Netflix original show Stranger Things (which premiered only five months earlier). The comparison between the two programs is not unjustified; both are science fiction shows that deal with the concept of alternate dimensions and feature doctors experimenting on unwilling test subjects. Stripped of all…
WarGames: The Only Winning Move Is Still Not to Play
WarGames is a late 20th century film that puts the lie to adults scoffing that teens care about nothing other than food, fooling around, and enjoying the latest pop culture fads. Surprise, surprise: teens don’t want to die in a nuclear holocaust either. Teens are as capable of empathy, love, regret, guilt and fear as any adult —…
