The Answer Rebecca Sugar (writer), Elle Michalka (artist), and Tiffany Ford (artist) Cartoon Network Books The Answer is a picture book version of the Steven Universe episode of the same name, in which Garnet tells Steven how Ruby and Sapphire first met. Unlike the episode “The Answer,” which kicks off with Garnet waking Steven on his…
Fantasy Sports: Morally Grey Wizards Play Basketball
Fantasy Sports No. 1 Sam Bosma Nobrow Press Whether you’re suffering post-SPX withdrawal or are reflecting on your tragically SPX-free weekend, I’m sure you’re curious about the Ignatz winners. Who are these earnest indie creators picking up awards? Should I buy these books? I can enthusiastically say yes, buy them all and do it now,…
Cats and Identity Crises: A Review of Finding Molly
Finding Molly: An Adventure in Catsitting Justine Prado (Writer), Jenn St-Onge (Artist), Carey Pietsch (Colorist), Joyana McDiarmid (Letterer) Emet Comics If you are a poor, unfortunate soul who follows Melissa Brinks and myself on Twitter, you’ve noticed a trend in our chats. As Melissa put it best: “Roughly 80% of our conversations are about cats….
Iridescent Tails and Starfish Pasties: An Interview with Fat Mermaids’ Paige Hall
When I spoke to Paige Hall about her recently released project, Fat Mermaids: A Collaborative Charity Zine, and asked her why she’s so passionate about mermaids, I received the best answer anyone has ever given me: “What’s not to love about a chunky iridescent tail and starfish pasties?” Hall is an illustrator and avid advocate…
Don’t Take Off Your Headphones: A Playlist
Earlier this week, Twitter user @yophoebs unearthed an awful article titled “How to Talk to a Woman Who is Wearing Headphones,” written by a definitely awful person named Dan Bacon, and from an equally awful website called “The Modern Man.” While the article is a few years old, it described an eerily familiar experience of…
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…
Comics and Gut-Wrenching Connections: An Interview with Kevin Czap
Comics is a business. We rightfully spend much of our time talking about what we love, what infuriates us, and what gives us life, but we sometimes forget about the financial transaction involved in getting the art that moves us. Cartoonists and comics writers need to eat, to pay their rent, and to feed their cats, and…
WWAC Talks Friendship & Friendship Break-Ups, Pt. 2: Advice & Media
Earlier this week, we talked about friendships ending: Signs for toxic friendships that need to end, potential reasons for why some friendships end, and how patriarchy can negatively impact our friendships. In Part 2, we continue this conversation by sharing our advice, based on our own experiences, when dealing with the pain and grief that comes…
WWAC Talks Friendship & Friendship Break-Ups, Pt. 1: Signs & Reasons
This past February, lifestyle talked friendships for the month of love, because friendships are love relationships, too, of course! And while there’s some good media out there about the nature and cycles of friendship, it’s a hell of a lot harder to find them than media about romantic relationships. Because of this dearth of media…
Dogears: The Power of Symbolism and Storytelling
Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation Edwidge Danticat & Leslie Staub Dial Books September 1, 2015 The complexity of immigration policy may be difficult to explain to a child, but many are affected by it. Saya’s mother is an undocumented Haitian immigrant who has been detained by ICE. To ease Saya’s suffering, her…
We Need Diverse Creators! An Interview with Elements Anthology Editor Taneka Stotts
Unless you live under a comics rock made only of select Big Two back issues, you’ve probably heard buzz about the Elements Anthology Kickstarter. Elements: Fire creates a space to showcase the incredible talent of the POC comics community, specifically those with a penchant for speculative fiction. After fully funding within a week, the book has now…
Against Body Policing: Get That Tattoo!
I got my first tattoo when I was 22. Initially, I thought ensuring my tattoo had some kind of “deep meaning” was the most important part, so I spent a year mulling over the design and what each piece of it meant until I had a mini speech about its symbolism memorized. Before and immediately…