If you’re feeling burned out on big comics publishers, or just want to add some new names to your “to-read” list, then crowdfunded campaigns might have exactly what you never knew you were looking for. But the pool of crowdfunded books is deep and sometimes hard to navigate–hence this new column! This month’s round-up features…
The Glory of Sophie Campbell
Heads you lop, tails you lose The half “Amazonian,” half demon Gloriana Demeter has gone through a few transformations since her first appeared in Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood Strikefile #1 in 1993. She garnered a solo series written by Mary Jo Duffy and drawn largely by Mike Deodato and J. Morrigan, which ran from 1996 to 1997. Glory was a…
Small Press Bites: A Girl & Her Cat, A Catgirl, and More
Something Familiar Pam Wishbow Pam Wishbow’s work is delightfully creepy, always adorned with eyes and runes and enough esoteric symbols to catch my eye from across a room. Something Familiar, true to form, is a dark and creepy comic drawn in stark black and white, its shadows often dominating each scene in a way that…
Does “Star Wars: The Editor Strikes Back” Hold Up?
Back in 2012, Topher Grace edited the three Star Wars prequels, The Phantom Menace, The Clone Wars, and Revenge of the Sith, into one 85 minute movie and called it Star Wars: The Editor Strikes Back. After Rogue One, we wanted to see if held up. (Or, honestly, if it was ever good.) So Kat,…
Review: America #1 Hits Hard
America #1 Gabby Rivera (writer), Joe Quinones (penciler), Joe Rivera & Paolo Rivera (inkers), José Villarrubia (colorist), Travis Lanham (letterer & production) Marvel March 1, 2017 America Chavez is, in the grand scheme of comics lore, a new kid on the block. Created in 2011 by Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta for Vengeance, she really…
Oscar Animated Shorts: Birds, Booze, and Bands
The Oscar animated shorts category has a few familiar faces and one director who adapted his own graphic novel into an animated short. “Borrowed Time” (7 minutes) Andrew Coats, Lou Hamou-Lhadj (directors) USA This is a short, silent Western about guilt and grief and dads, and it does that very well. The animation is made…
Oscar Shorts: Singing, Baking, and Assimilation
One take away from the live action Oscar shorts this year is that they’re not really that short these days. Only one film comes in under the twenty minute mark. While a few of these films could have really done more with less, overall, it’s a year of strong contenders covering a broad range of…
Small Press Bites: IUDs, Dads, and Gangs
Here are three bite-sized reviews of some shorter books from the infinite to-read pile in my house. Keep an eye out for more round-up reviews as our small press coverage expands! Lovers in the Garden Anya Davidson Retrofit/Big Planet Comics Anya Davidson’s retro style is the star of in Lovers in the Garden, with bright…
A Lifetime on the Beach with The Red Turtle
The Red Turtle Michaël Dudok de Wit (director) Michaël Dudok de Wit & Pascale Ferran (writers) Studio Ghibli and Wild Bunch June 29, 2017 France, September 17, 2016 Japan The world has been loud and tumultuous lately–incoming news is coming in so fast it’s hard to keep up and what can be read feels overwhelming….
The Young Pope: Mostly Pomp, Less Circumstance
The Young Pope 1-3 Director: Paolo Sorrentino Writers: Paolo Sorrentino, Stefano Rulli, Tony Grisoni, Umberto Contarello Starring: Jude Law, Diane Keaton, Silvio Orlando, Javier Cámara, Scott Shepherd, Cécile de France, Ludivine Sagnier, Toni Bertorelli, James Cromwell HBO The simple concept of The Young Pope — he’s the Pope, but like, young, and also Jude Law — was enough…
Avoid This Yellow Brick Road: Emerald City is a Dud
Emerald City, episodes 1 & 2 Tarsem Singh (Director) Matt Arnold, Josh Friedman, David Schulner, Shaun Cassidy, Naomi Iizuka, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Tracy Bellomo, Josh Carlback (Writers) Adria Arjona, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Ana Ularu, Gerran Howell, Jordan Loughran, Joely Richardson, Vincent D’Onofrio (cast) NBC Emerald City might be peak genre pastiche gritty reboot for me. When I first…
Hidden Figures Has a Winning Formula
Hidden Figures Directed by Theodore Melfi Screenplay by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi Starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, and Kevin Costner Twentieth Century Fox December 25, 2016 As we march inexorably toward the January 20th inauguration of a president that many feel will be detrimental to the very fabric of what it means to…