To close out 2020, Comics Academe asked contributors to write about the conferences, articles, and books that had the biggest impact on them. They attended virtual conferences and comic cons and read, wrote, and were recognized for groundbreaking work in and around comics studies.
Beyond the Metaphor: Marvel’s Long Forgotten Trans Mutant
Content Warnings: Transphobia, Trans slurs, Trans Panic, Houselessness, Violence Against Trans Children
Last Week’s Episode: Wonder Woman Comes to Roku
There’s more good news than bad news this week, so I’ll rip the bandaid of bad news off quickly first then get to the more positive stuff. The best news is that there are only 14 days before we can put the dumpster fire of 2020 behind us. My friends who follow the celestial patterns…
Vault Comics Pubwatch: December 2020
Vault Comics started December off with an all-celebrity reading of the Vampire the Masquerade one-shot, with proceeds going to Patrick Rothfuss’ Worldbuilders charity. The reading was part of a larger campaign to raise $500,000 for Heifer International.
REVIEW: Fantastic Four: Road Trip is Goopy, Gory and Mordantly Funny
Body parts fall off and tempers fray in Fantastic Four: Road Trip #1, a mind-melting freakout of a comic that’s heavy on body horror and camaraderie, but not much else.
REVIEW: An Appropriately Bittersweet Ending for John Constantine: Hellblazer #12
Way back before I started reviewing John Constantine: Hellblazer, I was skeptical. My first review is, in large part, about that skepticism — I definitely didn’t expect that this series would become one of my favorite runs not just in recent memory, but ever.
Review: Star Trek Discovery’s “Terra Firma (Part 1)” Treads Familiar Ground in the Mirror Universe
On this season of Star Trek: Discovery, the ship has been visiting the home worlds of each of the crew members and seeing what they’re up to in the 31st century. This week though, we’re revisiting not only a familiar planet, but a familiar universe, and as such it’s a two-part arc. We also escape…
REVIEW: Star-Lord, Reborn, in Guardians of the Galaxy #9
“I shall make you a Star-Lord!” said the god-like Master of the Sun in Marvel Preview #4, over 40 years ago. That origin, casting Peter Quill as a brash, angry scholar-turned-spaceman willing to kill innocent men in his quest for vengeance, little resembles the Star-Lord you probably know. The wisecracking, roguish starship captain with a…
VIZ Media Pubwatch: December 2020
‘Tis the season to… read manga! Welcome to the December VIZ Pubwatch. This month we’re taking a look at both new and established series in a wide range of genres, including How Do We Relationship? But before that, some news from VIZ.
REVIEW: The Naughty List is One Weird Sleigh Ride
The Naughty List provided the most bizarre reading experience I’ve ever had in my life. Filled with mixed messages — anti-capitalist statements that clash with frantic pro-Santa propaganda along with anti-video game statements — and extremely bizarre plot choices, it often plays like an Ed Wood fever dream. I don’t recommend reading it, and yet…
REVIEW: Marauders #16: Sweet Sweet Revenge
There’s been a lot going on for our friends, so it’s understandable that Kate Pryde had to put her promise to kill—or at least significantly fuck up—Sebastian Shaw on hold. But now that the swords have settled, the Red and White Queens can get down to business in Marauders #16.
REVIEW: SWORD #1 Takes Flight
In the wake of both Empyre and the tournament that was X of Swords, Abigail Brand looks outward to the stars and assembles a team of mutants to see what comes next.
