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…
Political Comics: Why We Should Take HYDRA-Magneto Seriously
This month, the news broke that Marvel’s latest event will have a series of variant covers of HYDRA-styled bad guys. Included among the lineup will be Magneto, a character whose origins as a Jewish Holocaust survivor should set him in direct opposition to the Nazi-influenced HYDRA. As we enter the cycle of discourse around why…
Previously on Comics… C2E2’s Erotic Judgements, and More
What’s been happening in comics? Our Kat Overland, editor of small press reviews here at WWAC, is quoted in the NYT’s report on America Chavez; a Zora Neal Hurston biography upset (which our Brenda reviewed here) comes quick on the heels of Island #15 (who should draw who, and how? This should be asked, and opportunities…
Grey Morality in Black and White: Guy Davis’ The Marquis
The Marquis: Inferno TPB Written, Drawn, and Lettered by: Guy Davis Colored by: Dave Stewart Dark Horse Books (originally Oni Press), 2009 I love horror films in black and white. Directors like Argento and Raimi can use colour masterfully, and Hammer Horror wouldn’t be what it is without buckets of too-bright red blood. Even so,…
Daddy Issues #1: Batman – The World’s Finest Terrible Dad
To “celebrate” Father’s Day, I’ve written a selection of essays on some of comics worst ever dads. From adoptive fathers to absent ones, from rich and fascist to poor and useless, I’ve got ’em all! So strap in, grab your daddy issues, a stiff drink, and get ready to realize that pretty much all of…
The Wedding Issue: A Flash Double Wedding!
Aside from “Who would win in a fight?” nothing gets comic fans more heated than the question of whether or not superheroes should marry. In this mini-feature, Bride-to-Be Rebecca Henely and her Maid of Honor Kayleigh Hearn take a trip down memory lane to the most significant times comic companies took the plunge and got…
Fire!! The Zora Neale Hurston Story Misses Its Target
Fire!! The Zora Neale Hurston Story Peter Bagge (Writer and Artist) Drawn & Quarterly March 2017 When a call was put out asking who would like review the new graphic novel, Fire!!: The Zora Neale Hurston Story, my response was “Who wouldn’t?” Zora Neale Hurston was a remarkable female anthropologist, folklorist and writer. She was…
Power and Magic Anthology Review: The Magic of Queerness
Power & Magic: The Queer Witch Comics Anthology Joamette Gil (Editor) P&M Press January, 2017 Inside all queer people is magic. When honed correctly we can cast our magic out and spread a rainbow that can save others. One such spell has been cast and I have had the pleasure to have fallen under it….
Life of the Party: An Interview with Mary Fleener
Mary Fleener’s 1996 collection of her autobiographical comics, Life of the Party, is a cult favorite, loved for its humor, authenticity, confidence, and distinct artistic style. In Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Scott McCloud uses examples of Mary’s art style to explain the concept of non-iconic abstraction. In his pyramid that breaks down varying…
“To Me The ‘S’ Means Something” – Jamal Igle on Supergirl
Jamal Igle has been a creative force in comics for over twenty years. His first work in comics was Green Lantern #52 published in April of 1994. Since then he has worked on some of the biggest names in comics, with art credits on Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Wolverine, Daredevil, and Firestorm. He is most…
Yorris: Being Two People At Once
8house #4:Yorris, Part 1 Fil Barlow & Helen Maier Image Comics November 2015 I need to write this review in two different voices. I need to write it with two different hands for two different audiences. That’d be a trick, a real coup. It might accomplish my goal, which is to get you to listen…
Previously On Comics: New Distributors, Comic-Cons, and Creative Resistance
Happy Vernal Equinox, readers! Depending on where you live, the past week brought some “interesting” weather, but hopefully those days are behind us. Now, let’s talk about what’s going on in the comics world. In adaptation news, Marvel is a launching a Darth Vader comicbook series in June. Timely, given the fact that the ending…
