I went to a lot of cons this year. So many cons. I attended SDCC for the first time, flew to New York for the second year of FlameCon, did some shopping at TCAF, some press and panels at FanExpo, and covered several of Toronto’s hundred-odd film festivals. I’m not a fan of cons, generally, especially…
Iconic Scenes: “Now’s the Fucking Time”
Kill Bill volume one was release in 2003. The film, both volumes, is a love letter to samurai and western films and the relationship the two genres share. Tarantino also calls it a love letter to the colour blonde–to the Bride, Uma Thurman’s hair and the figure she casts in that Bruce Lee inspired yellow…
Short & Sweet: Canzine Edition
On October 29, I attended the 2016 edition of Canzine Toronto. Although I didn’t pick up many zines or comics this year, I still found some good ones. Ready? Let’s go.
Canzine Toronto Was Busy Busy Busy
Canzine, a festival of zine and indie comics culture started by Broken Pencil magazine, takes place every year in Vancouver and Toronto. This year’s Toronto edition of Canzine, on October 29, was hosted by the Art Gallery of Ontario and admission the low low price of no dollars. That’s thanks in part to the festival’s…
Cover Girl: What’s Going On With Captain Marvel?
Recently Comicosity shared a preview of Power Man & Iron Fist #9 and the cover caught my eye because it’s… weird. The perspective seems off, the character’s body seems unusually squishy, and the gloomy colour palate makes the whole thing seem dull and bleak. The cover is by Sanford Greene, who’s done lots of incredible work in…
Vampirella In Design
Vampirella is being rebooted and recostumed again! Dynamite has announced that they will be rebooting the comic for the second time in recent years, with a new creative team and another new direction. Paul Cornell and Jimmy Broxton (Knight and Squire, Saucer County) will be taking over the book and delivering a Vampirella for a…
Cover Girl: Why Doesn’t Riri Williams Look 15?
This J. Scott Campbell Midtown Comics variant cover for Invincible Iron Man depicts 15 year old Riri Williams in the same outfit as she wore on the cover that introduced her to us. She has the same hairstyle, the same earrings. Instead of the ghost of Stark’s past in the background, there’s an industrial robotic…
Matt Furie Wants to #SavePepe and Fight His Nightmares
When the Anti-Defamation League named Pepe the Frog a hate symbol, the character’s creator, cartoonist Matt Furie, didn’t seem to know quite what to say or do about the transformation of his character from “frog everyman” to beloved avatar of 4chan trolls and the white supremacist alt-right. In an interview with the Washington Post he…
Step Aside, Pops: What Does a “Best Anthology” Look Like?
Step Aside, Pops Kate Beaton Drawn & Quarterly 2015 Back in September, Kate Beaton’s latest collection of her juggernaut webcomic, Hark! A Vagrant, won an Ignatz award for Best Anthology. It was up against Nick Drnaso’s Beverly, Sfe Monster and Taneka Stotts’ Beyond, Trina Robbins’ The Complete Wimmen’s Comix, and Adrian Tomine’s Killing and Dying. Step…
4 Takes On Josie and the Pussycats #1
Josie and the Pussycats #1 Marguerite Bennett and Cameron Diordio (w), Audrey Mok (p) Archie Comics September 28, 2016
#TIFF16 Review: Sadako vs Kayako Is Funnier and Less Scary Than Expected
Sadako vs Kayako Director: Kôji Shiraishi Cast: Mizuki Yamamoto, Tina Tamashiro, Aimi Satsukawa, Misato Tanaka, Masahiro Komoto, Masanobu Ando, Runa Endo 2016
#TIFF16 Review: Raw Is Your New Favourite Cannibal Movie
Raw (Grave) Director: Julia Ducournau Cast: Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella 2015 This review contains discussion of cannibalism and rape culture.