I thought last week was pretty crazy for DC with #DCWeek in full effect but it turns out that was just the tip of the ice burg. On Friday, the DCU got flipped upside down by a series of rumors followed by a mysterious promotional image posted by Dan Didio and Jim Lee. Let’s break…
Review: Toil & Trouble #4-5
Toil & Trouble #4-5 Mairghread Scott (writer), Kelly & Nichole Matthews (illustration), Warren Montgomery (letters), and Kyla Vanderklugt (cover) Archaia December 2, 2015 and January 6, 2016 Last month, issue #4 proceeded through the showdown between Riata and Smartea at breakneck speed. This month, issue #5 shows the devastating results. Disclaimer: This review is based…
Incredible Indie Tuesday: Female Artist Claire Wendling Makes Grand Prix Shortlist Despite Festival Fail
While the film industry’s been wrestling with the complete shut-out of any people of color from the Oscars acting nominations, a similar storm has been brewing over comics’ most prestigious award. Unfortunately, #AngoulemesSoMale does not a great hashtag make, so it may have flown under your radar! It all revolves around a lifetime achievement award given to…
Comics Academe: Teaching Ms. Marvel – Part One
Last semester I taught the first volume of Ms. Marvel in my honor’s multicultural literature class. Ms. Marvel was perfect for my class, which centered on how minorities used fantastic fiction to show disfranchisement and how old tropes become new when filtered through a different perspective. Superman and Batman are iconic, and that’s a lot…
Taboo Connection and Comics as Relics: The Staring Contest, Issue #1
When desirous of a means of getting insight into a person’s mindset and where they are any given point in time, I’ve always thought it would be a good idea to go through their journal. The taboo nature of going through someone’s recounting of their day and their innermost thoughts and desires relative to it. The only electronic text…
Shinbun Saturday: Awards, Anime Adaptations, and Car Parts, Oh My!
Happy weekend, everyone! I hope you’re all nice and warm, especially if you live in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region like me and are currently enduring a snowpocalypse. When the snow’s coming down this fast and hard, there’s not much you can do except hunker down and wait it out. Perfect time to curl up with…
I Am Curious (Publishers): Lois Lane, Reprints, and Unintentional Ignorance
The phrase “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” isn’t something that most people take literally, on their path to understanding the harsh realities of life that another person can face due to systematic oppression. Unfortunately, in November 1970, the creative team on Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane (writer Robert Kanigher, artist Werner Roth, and inker Vince…
Feminism and Realism in John Allison’s Giant Days
Amongst the barrage of “best of” comics lists that closed out 2015, I was delighted to see John Allison’s Giant Days pop up in multiple places. The comic follows three friends—Esther De Groot, Susan Ptolemy, and Daisy Wooton—as they navigate their emotionally and academically tumultuous first year of university (a.k.a. college, for the Americans like…
Incredible Indie Tuesday: MLK’s Surprising Comic Legacy & Celebrating Black Comic Books
Every year, I try to celebrate Martin Luther King Day by delving into the life and times of Dr. King beyond the too-common reduction of his legacy to a quick soundbite. This year it involved comics, the way every major American holiday should! My best discovery this year was Montgomery Story, a short comic written…
Mighty Marvel Monday: Marvel and Diversity
I want to continue this week in looking at the way Marvel has (or hasn’t) made progress in 2015, paying particular attention to diversity and underrepresented groups. I also want to look at characters, creators, and other aspects. In the world of Marvel Comics, the highs this year were pretty high. Ms. Marvel continued to…
Shinbun Saturday: The Future of Manga is Digital
Happy Saturday, everyone! I don’t know about you, but winter has truly arrived here in the Mid-Atlantic and I’m having a difficult time rousing my energy. Hopefully, it’ll pass soon because I have things to do! It’s been a relatively slow news week in the manga world — probably because everyone is enthralled by the…
Review: Red Sonja Vol. 3, #1
Red Sonja #1 Marguerite Bennett (script), Aneke (art), Jorge Sutil (colors), Erica Schultz (letters), Marguerite Sauvage (main cover) Variants: Jay Anacleto, Tula Lotay, Tony Fleecs, Ming Doyle, Nicola Scott, Robert Hack Dynamite January 13, 2016 (Note: This review is based on an advanced digital copy from Dynamite and may contain spoilers.) Here it is! The…