My trip to Helsinki Zine Fest lasted only a single day, and yet it might have been one of my most important steps towards a career as a comics creator. In late July of last year, I had just found out I couldn’t afford my trip to New York to attend Flame Con. I was understandably upset at the prospect of almost being able to be within walking…
Strangers in Paradise Rantrospective Part 3: The Weathered Stepping Stone
Content Warning: This retrospective mentions abuse and sexual assault. It’s time for the finale of this rantrospective on Strangers in Paradise. From the characters to the execution of the premise, a lot of it falls flat on its face, and this time it’s not different. The third major problem that the comic talks about, but…
Strangers in Paradise Rantrospective Part 2: The Bermuda Love Triangle
The last time we met, Strangers in Paradise was brought up as a cornerstone of comics, albeit a cornerstone weathered to the point of being riddled with holes. We started discussing some of the issues present in the series, including the toxic nature of Katchoo’s character arc. Unfortunately, once you hit a certain word count for your…
Strangers in Paradise Rantrospective Part 1: She Will Never Break This Chain
Content Warning: this retrospective mentions abuse and sexual assault If I were to do a quick Google search, I could find webcomics featuring anything I can imagine: gay centaur Westerns, wild overarching epics with diverse casts, and autobiographical tales featuring authors of almost every gender, sexuality, and race. While comic books on the direct market keep…
You’re a Comedian: Trans Characters and Jokes in “Comic” Books
You’re a comedian. You’ve been working in the comedy business for a few years, getting a few laughs here and there with your crude style. Things have been good thus far, and you’re feeling more and more confident in your dark humor. In fact, you’re in a whole new city with one of your first…
The “Reveal” of Trans Characters in Comics
A year or so ago, I was going to write Diamond Jack, an urban fantasy comic featuring a stage magician who reluctantly was given actual magical powers. It read somewhat like if Zatanna and John Constantine had a baby, and until the artist had to take a sudden leave of absence, it was looking like…