There’s nothing like a good bit of media to bring to mind a good bit of criticism—to deepen it, to clarify. There’s nothing like freedom to remind you of discipline—how it works, which parts help you grow, which parts curtail. I read a lot of comics made for mean slutty girls, and I had to…
Previously on Comics: Cultural Change
The Prism Comics Queer Press Grant submissions period remains open until the last day of February (that’s the 28th . . . just in case). Get yourself two thousand dollars and some PR help—it’s worth a punt. Further details are at the link: go! Kelly Thompson has been secured by an exclusive agreement with Marvel, hiking…
A Good Roundtable on The Good War
“The Good War” is a comic collaboration between cartoonist Mike Dawson and MSNBC anchor and author Chris Hayes, examining how WWII nostalgia played a part in post-9/11 pop culture and political messaging. Published on The Nib, “The Good War” adapts Chris Hayes’ piece “The Good War on Terror,” published by In These Times in 2006…
I Guess We Still Need to Talk About Chris
This is a late, technical rebuttal: Chris Sims was never accused of sexual harassment by Valerie D’Orazio. I wrote the bulk of this piece soon after this Mary Sue piece re-lit the fuse on the old Catherine wheel and then forgot about it under the pressure of the season. Emma Houxbois, contacting me prior to…
The Comic Book History of Comics #1: Fun, Detailed but Limited
The Comic Book History of Comics: Comics For All #1 Fred Van Lente (Writer and Letters), Ryan Dunlavey (Artist), Adam Guzowski (Colours) IDW December 20, 2017 We all know the term “graphic novel.” Most of us have graphic novels on our bookshelves. But where did this term originate? How did comic strips lead to comic…
Women Making Comics: Tillie Walden Talks Process and Creation
Tillie Walden is one of the most exciting cartoonists alive. From her beautiful brutally honest diary comics which ran for almost a year on her Patreon, through her small press comics about queer teens, to her epic sci-fi webcomic On a Sunbeam, Walden has staked her name as a creative force to reckoned with. To…
Women Making Comics: Ida Neverdahl
Here at Women Write About Comics we love nothing more than getting to chat with incredible women who’re making wonderful comics. Ida Neverdahl is a comics creator from Norway and she’s currently Kickstarting her book, Jelly Vampire, with Emet Comics. Neverdahl dropped out of med school to draw comics full time–and when she’s not making them…
VANS X PEANUTS: Comics You Can Wear
I was meandering around a shop looking for backpacks when I stopped, quite startled with delight. I had seen the Snoopy Shoe: the best of shoes. Behold it now. Scream! I love it. It’s two things at once. Vans x Peanuts is a whole line; popular with the YouTube sneaks-review set, a collaboration between the skate…
Lines of Pride: LGBTQIA+Webcomics About Life
Users of the LINE Webtoon app were greeted Monday with a notification from the service advising that there had been a rash of abuse with the reporting tool to get LGBTQIA+ comics shut down. They responded promptly to explain that they are inclusive website and would be contacting creators to get their pages back up….
Keeping Jem Outrageous: A Listicle
Kelly Thompson, Sophie Campbell, and M. Victoria Robado’s refreshing, yet still totally outrageous, comic reboot of the 1980s Jem & the Holograms television series ended with issue #26 on June 14 of this year. The Jem comic has been a huge hit with the 80’s babies, such as myself, that generated a spinoff, Jem: The…
Redrawing the History of Wimmen’s Comix
The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum Acquires Original Works from Wimmen’s Cartoonists Comics by women have a hard time breaking into comics history. Strip queens Edwina Dumm, Jackie Ormes and Rose O’Neill footnote the newspaper legacies of Winsor McCay and George Herriman. The Wimmen’s Comix movement during the 1970s underground too often serves as…
No Take, Only Throw: Irony and Webcomics’ Political Relevance
On July 18th, 2015 cupcakelogic on Tumblr posted a simple, three-paneled webcomic on her blog. The comic depicted her new dog and the ironic conundrum she faced. The penciled dog, holding a ball in her mouth, wants her person to throw it.