Coming of age is uncomfortable. As teens become young adults, it’s good and necessary to test boundaries, take risks and make mistakes. That’s part of how we learn about ourselves and chase down the question of identity. However, it’s often not a fun or simple process, and I love stories that reflect that reality —…
REVIEW: Cowboy Bebop Sessions 1-7: Fun Show, Bad Adaptation
As a longtime fan of the momentous anime Cowboy Bebop — it’s been literally twenty years since it first aired on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim — I wasn’t sure I’d ever really want to see a live action version. But when John Cho was announced as the lead, I began to hope for the best…
[Patreon Exclusive] Jem & The Holograms And The Balancing Act of Multiple Identities
Our monthly Patron-exclusive essay series continues. You can read all of these incredible analyses for as little as a dollar a month on our Patreon. Originally based on a line of dolls of the same name, the ’80s cartoon, Jem and the Holograms tells the story of a young businesswoman named Jerrica Benton who inherits…
REVIEW: The Feast Serves Up Anti-Colonial Welsh Folk Horror
Folk horror often examines tension between the “modern” and the “premodern,” the latter represented by folklore, witchcraft, and superstition which threaten the “modern” protagonist. Many folk horror flicks, like the classic The Wicker Man and the more recent The Witch, use this dynamic to critique modernity, traditionally defined by western white men and used to…
REVIEW: Marvel Meow Delivers Cat Power
Captain Marvel’s feline friend Chewie reigns supreme in Marvel Meow, Nao Fuji’s manga about the cat’s (er, flerken’s) misadventures across the Marvel Universe.
REVIEW: Weeaboo is a Love Letter to Weebs Everywhere
Weeaboo traces the stories of three high school students. As Maya, James, and Dani survive senior year, they struggle to find themselves and each other in Alissa Sallah’s heartwarming graphic novel.
A Fistful of Comics: Crowdfunding Roundup, November ‘21
Welcome back WWAC’s very own crowdfunding corner! We took a break last month due to general work-life balance related exhaustion, but I’m back and ready to share my favorite of this month’s campaigns. If you like heartwarming memoirs and up-and-coming cartoonists and not graphic novel adaptations of movie adaptations backed by Hollywood producers (why do…
VIZ Media Pubwatch: November 2021
Welcome back to another VIZ pubwatch! This month we’re taking a look at some newer comics by long-established creators, including the brand new Show-ha Shoten! by Death Note co-creator Takeshi Obata. But first, the news!
2021 Hugo Award Review: The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
In her 2016 short story “The City Born Great” N. K. Jemisin introduced us to a homeless youth who was actually the avatar of New York City. The City We Became is a novel that takes the original short story as its prologue and proceeds to expand on the premise: the city’s avatar has gone…
INTERVIEW: Hanging Out in the Dirtbag Rapture
Writer Christopher Sebela thought he was finished with telling stories about ghosts, but, as we learn with Dirtbag Rapture, his new mini-series from Oni Press, he clearly is not done at all. Joined by artist Kendall Goode, colorist Gab Contreras, and letterer Jim Campbell, Sebela’s latest ghost story is a little bit “The Transporter meets…
REVIEW: Excalibur #25 Serves Up Arthurian Romance
I’ll always be a fool for a good Arthurian romance, and the important parts of Excalibur #25 certainly scratch that itch for me.
Previously on Comics: Whatcha Writing There, Nicole Maines?
“Page one, panel one… Nia Awakens…” With her iconic gloved fingers hovering over a glowing keyboard, Nicole Maines set comics a-flutter, exciting many trans fans with an unconfirmed tease of a Dreamer comic written by the woman who portrays the character on Supergirl. Despite the show coming to an end, it appears that Maines’ character…