May 4-7 marked the second Festival of Literary Diversity in Brampton, Ontario. There aren’t many things that make me give up a weekend of relaxing at home, but the Festival of Literary Diversity is one of them. The FOLD, for those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of hearing about it before, is a…
Toronto and Gilead: The Handmaid’s Tale’s Unseen Spaces Between
There is a strange disconnect in seeing your city as the backdrop of a dystopia. It is the Toronto that I see every day, the tan cement slabs I walk on with my worn sneakers that Offred–once known as June, once a free woman–walks in Hulu adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale. Against familiar skylines does Margaret Atwood’s modern…
Daddy Issues #4: Thunderbolt Ross Marvel’s INCREDIBLY Possessive Father
To “celebrate” Father’s Day, I’ve written a selection of essays on some of comics worst ever dads. From adoptive fathers to absent ones, from rich and fascist to poor and useless, I’ve got ’em all! So strap in, grab your daddy issues, a stiff drink, and get ready to realise that pretty much all of…
Flipping the Narrator the Bird
I’ve always been a master of “selective hearing.” As a child I was precociously opinionated—a trait that’s transformed into adjectives like “headstrong” and “assertive” as I’ve aged—and my innate love for contradiction meant there was a cold chance in hell that I would follow directions without asking at least one question (or spitting out my…
Book Beat: Banned Bookstores and Queer Crocodiles
The truly incredible thing about reading is that although it is, at its most basic, an individual act, books are so widespread that loving a book can be a community act too. Even with the most niche of books or the book you felt was written only just for you can also speak to someone…
Kickstart Your May!
It’s May and there’s a whole new crop of interesting comics projects out there to throw your money at! These crowdfunded comics include anthologies, creator-owned series, autobio, and one publisher bundle. The Beyond Anthology 2 + The Beyond Anthology 1 Reprint Sfé R. Monster & Taneka Stotts (editors) The initial Beyond Anthology smashed their fundraising…
Tough, Sweet Animals Survive the Apocalypse in Jen Lee’s Garbage Night
Garbage Night Jen Lee (Writer and Artist) Nobrow Press June 13, 2017 A review copy was provided by the publisher. Imagining what survival will look like in the dystopian future is one thing, but what will it be like for our precious pets? Garbage Night is the second installment in Jen Lee’s series about three…
Top 5 X-Men Villains the Movies Should Utilize
Even though the X-Men film franchise is not as strong as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it still has a lot kick left to keep going. 2016’s Deadpool reinvigorated fans, and the latest release, Logan, did not disappoint by any standards. The two movies have deservedly earned a lot of praise, leading many people to say they’ve…
Women Of Auteur Film: Eszter Balint
What is an Auteur? Well the technical definition is a simply a filmmaker who has a singular recognisable vision; though you can guarantee they’ll also be a man as no women have been deemed important or visionary enough to become members of this elite club. As we all know, the singular vision of men is…
Sparks and Tarts: A Romance Primer
What constitutes a romance? When is something Capital R Romance vs. a story in another genre with romantic elements? When does the line fall so thin that Capital R Romance lovers don’t really care? There’s been a lot of talk on the bookish interwebs recently about the nature of romance—romance novels in particular. Essays have…
Fan vs Fan: When Harley Quinn Met Lobo [NSFW]
Harley’s Little Black Book #6: Featuring Lobo Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti (Writers), Simon Bisley (Artist) DC Comics March 29, 2017 Harley’s Little Black Book! A six-issue comic book series where Harley Quinn travels about, meeting people she thinks are sexy. I guess. That’s my impression and I didn’t much care for it—until I saw…
Review: Orphan Black the Game
Orphan Black the Game Boat Rocker Media iOS and Android March 23, 2017
