Emei Burell’s graphic novel We Served the People: My Mother’s Stories depicts Burell’s mother, Yuan Ye Ping’s, experience of the Down to the Countryside Movement during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Through these stories, told through prose, art, and incorporating photographs, the audience reflects on the lived experience of the Cultural Revolution. It’s an important, subtle…
A Reread, a Recommendation, and a Rando: Reviews of Recently Acquired Manga
With Kodansha and others having huge sales recently, it’s hard not to spend a bunch of money on new series. Thankfully, I showed some restraint and only picked up five new volumes. Considering how big my existing “to read” pile is, five new series seemed like a good number. For now. This might change by…
Wicked Things #1: Something Wicked (Cool) This Way Comes
Sleuths, snobbery, and suspense sum up this singular start to Wicked Things #1. The new series from the creative team behind Giant Days starts off sinister and sets up a strange and scintillating mystery. One where the star is both suspect and sleuth.
Starship Down #1: Something Old and Something New
Starship Down #1 explores how aliens may have influenced the evolution of humans. Which would be more exciting for me if everyone hadn’t already done this. From comics, to movies, to TV shows, to conspiracy YouTubers, basically all mediums have explored the question of aliens and human evolution. So what does Starship Down have that…
Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Feminist Fight Choreography
Seeing myself in a piece of media never gets old. There’s a basic kind of representation that feels all right — oh, another queer person, a bisexual person, cool! — but every so often I find something special that really, truly resonates. I usually expect to find that feeling more in books or indie comics…
Artemis and the Assassin #1 Hits the Wrong Target
Nothing captures my attention more in a comic than when creators introduce a strong, competent woman in the first few pages of new series, ass first. Obviously that’s a lie. Well, not exactly. It does capture my attention but for the wrong reasons. It’s a good butt. It’s a butt that the artists drew with…
Pretty Deadly, Pretty Cautious
I have loved Pretty Deadly since I first heard about it. The title, the creators, and the ideas fit everything I wanted from a new creator-owned series in 2014. And it has delivered. The Shrike, The Bear, and The Rat are awesome tales, combining the best parts of comics as a storytelling media. A wonderful…
Comics New Year’s Resolutions
It’s that time of year where we all vow to improve ourselves from the year before, be it more trips to the gym or getting out of debt. But what of comics New Year’s resolutions? What do you want to change for the better about your comics habits? Whether it’s trying manga for the first…
Casting Call: Why a Mixed-Race Kate Bishop in Hawkeye Makes Sense
When I saw that Hailee Steinfield was the frontrunner to play Kate Bishop in Disney+’s Hawkeye, I messaged everyone I knew about it. Finally, someone like me was going to play an Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) hero: a mixed race Filipinx person who fell into the “ambiguously brown” category. While my excitement was not universal…
Rereading and Rereading and Rereading
Do you reread? Maybe you want to spend a little more time in a beloved universe, or maybe you want to remind yourself who betrayed the duchess in book 3 of your favorite series before book 4 comes out next week? Whatever your reasons, they’re good ones! I love rereading, and I asked several WWAC…
Panels and Prompts: Talking about Creating Content at GeekGirlCon 2018
GeekGirlCon is one of my favorite conventions to attend and participate in. It is where I got my start as a panel moderator back in 2016. However, my first time serving as panelist for a convention. I found the experience extremely valuable and it was great to have the responsibilities of organizing off my shoulders.
Tomb Raider: Inferno, An Archaeologist’s Take
Tomb Raider: Inferno, Vol. 4 Michael Atiyeh (Colors), Michael Heisler (Lettering), Collin Kelly (Script), Jackson Lanzing (Script), Phillip Sevy (Line Art), and Hannah Templer (Front Cover Art) Dark Horse Comics January 9, 2019 A copy of this comic book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Tomb Raider: Inferno is another…