Full disclosure: I’m volunteering at Toronto After Dark Film Festival, and while I can’t trash the festival to hell and back (would I? I would not), I’m not required to give the films good press. This one deserves it though. Suburban Gothic Director: Richard Bates Jr. Writers: Richard Bates Jr., Mark Bruner Cast: Mathew Gray Gubler,…
Multifarious: Art Untranslatable
I am sucker for typography and illustration. These illustrations by artist Ellen Frances Sanders depicting untranslatable words combine my favorite things: typography, illustration, and the charming and often frustrating nuance of languages: While you are at it, take a look at her other work. — Ginnis Aaaaah. So beautiful. Why, why can’t Jodorowsky just sit…
“Super Jeffrey” Statue of Jeffrey Baldwin Unveiled Today in Toronto
Today in Greenwood Park, in Toronto, a statue of “Super Jeffrey” is being unveiled. It commemorates five-year-old Jeffrey Baldwin, starved to death in 2002 by his grandparents. Installed on a park bench, itself inscribed with messages of consolation and the names of people who helped fund the project, the statue is intended to be interactive and provocative. “It…
Reviews Roulette: Creepy #18, Costume Quest, and I Was the Cat
I Was the Cat Paul Tobin (W) Benjamin Dewey (A) Oni Press On the roulette wheel of random comics review, sometimes you win and sometimes your prize is playing the game. I had not previously heard of I Was the Cat before it was randomly assigned to me to review. I started reading with a…
You Wanted a Movement? #StopGamerGate2014
Yesterday afternoon, Utah State University was sent anonymous threats of violence. “Feminists have ruined my life,” the man claimed. He would shoot up the university, targeting women, especially feminists, if Anita Sarkeesian was allowed to give a planned talk on sexism in video games. The talk was cancelled. To be clear: I didn't cancel my USU…
Products Over People: What GamerGate Gets Wrong
When I was ten and my brother twelve, we got Sunday morning paper routes. He used his money to buy gaming consoles; I used mine to buy comics. He stayed up late most nights gaming, and most mornings he’d be dead to the world in compensation. I was stuck delivering his share of the papers so often (thanks, bud!)…
Multifarious: The Rude Art of the Polite Protest
NSFW: Painted nudity. This week it’s all art we love and art we love talking about. Welcome back to Multifarious! Artist Janet Bruesselbach has begun a series of gorgeous oil portraits of trans women, Daughters of Mercury. She’s currently raising funds for the project on Kickstarter.
Reading Diaries: Study Them When They’re Coming Apart
This month I read The Sisters Brothers and Room. They were both good, but I think only Sisters Brothers is a reread. Room is the sort of book that’s built around reveals and tension, and I’m not sure that there’s much there once that’s gone. Certainly it’s a clever book, and the child-voice is wonderfully…
Why PANELS Will Be Good for Comics Journalism and Comics Readers
BookRiot launched a companion site dedicated to comics called Panels. I cursed. I vowed revenge. More competition? Fucking great. But while I was annoyed on a personal (financial) level to see another big, general interest, comics site sprout up, I was also pleased as punch on a professional level. More competition? Fucking great!
I’m Loving: Oni Press’ Humble Bundle
On October 1st, Oni Press launched its first Humble Bundle. On offer are some of the publisher’s top comics, including Scott Pilgrim, Lost at Sea, Stumptown and Bad Machinery, as well as some of its lesser known, but just as cool titles. The bundle clocks in at 2,500 pages, in 24 comics. That’s a lot of…
R/W: Adult Human Female
Word Nerdery Woman. Noun. An adult human female. Google suggests: “a female worker or employee; a wife, girlfriend, or lover.” Pack mule, brood mare, treasured possession. Ouch, Google. That’s way harsh. As usual, the Online Etymology Dictionary is more useful, and more interesting: “adult female human,” late Old English wimman, wiman (plural wimmen), literally “woman-man,” alteration…
October Staff Picks: Books!
Thug Kitchen: Eat Like You Give a F*ck Thug Kitchen Rodale Books This dirty-talking compendium of vegan recipes is out October 7 and I cannot wait! I love all of their inventive recipes (like putting nectarines in spaghetti, yum!) and can always use another great cookbook. The pictures are stunning and will make you want…