Our monthly Patron-exclusive essay series continues. You can read all of these incredible analyses for as little as a dollar a month on our Patreon. Originally based on a line of dolls of the same name, the ’80s cartoon, Jem and the Holograms tells the story of a young businesswoman named Jerrica Benton who inherits…
A Brief History of Webcomics: 2010 to Now
Though comics have been posted online since there was an online to post them on (the earliest known webcomic being uploaded on CompuServe in 1985), in the last decade, the landscape of the internet and digital comic hosting have changed drastically. Today, even children read webcomics on their smartphones, whether they be four-panel gags posted…
Patreon Exclusive: Revisiting the MCU’s Blip From a Pandemic Perspective
Our monthly Patron-exclusive essay series continues. You can read all of these incredible analyses for as little as a dollar a month on our Patreon. In comics, a crossover event is when something happens that’s so big, the implications from it are felt across the entire shared universe, rather than just a single comic series. People…
Humour in Times of Crisis: How Satire Can Lead to Self-Reflection and Social Action
Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal was introduced to me in March of 2020 by a highly valued friend and mentor, just as the world was locking down for the first time. It has become my comfort read throughout this wild journey we have been on in the past year as the post-apocalyptic collection of skit-esque…
Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Look Back Illustrates How Passion Also Means People
Although Tatsuki Fujimoto is mostly known for Chainsaw Man, especially in light of its upcoming anime adaptation to be developed by MAPPA, he has always had a strong versatility to his craft not letting himself be boxed within the confines of the tropes typical to the shounen genre. Look Back was recently published as a…
Shang-Chi Isn’t Watershed Representation, It’s a Stepping Stone
It’s becoming a real Hollywood marvel.
Bang in the Coffin: Looking Back at Gatiss and Moffat’s Dracula
The BBC’s three-part adaptation of Dracula, written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, did not air very long ago at all — just last year, in fact. However, it aired in the January of last year. This places it in the slice of 2020 termed pre-pandemic: an already antediluvian era that must surely be due…
Our Little Kitchen Shows That Picture Books Can Be Comics
The 2021 Eisner Award winners were announced on July 23rd, and one winner in particular stood out to me. Jillian Tamaki’s Our Little Kitchen, a beautiful picture book about neighbors cooking a meal in a community kitchen, won the Eisner for Best Publication for Early Readers. In an excited instagram post, Jillian Tamaki shared her…
[Patreon Exclusive] Gangland Dreamland: Batman in 2020
Our monthly Patron-exclusive essay series continues. You can read all of these incredible analyses for as little as a dollar a month on our Patreon. 2020 was not a good year to be Batman. In the pages of the comics, he had his own company and all of the gadgets that come with it swiped from…
[PATREON EXCLUSIVE] Blow a Kiss, Fire a Gun: The Complete Kirby War & Romance
Our monthly Patron-exclusive essay series continues. You can read all of these incredible analyses for as little as a dollar a month on our Patreon.
Blame Marvel Execs, Not Creators, For Lack Of Representation
It was an unprecedented move by Marvel Studios. In the third episode of the Disney+ show Loki, the titular character was asked if he had been with any princesses or “perhaps, another prince.” He responded with “a bit of both.” It appeared he was openly confirming his comic counterpart’s bisexual identity — a first for…
Ratcatcher 2 Is the Heart And Soul of The Suicide Squad
Spoilers ahead for The Suicide Squad. Between the child-killing Weasel and the violent vigilante Peacemaker, there’s a lot of rotten people in The Suicide Squad. Amid all of the gore is a bright spot though: Daniela Melchior’s Cleo Cazo, aka Ratcatcher 2, who holds everything together when the story threatens to get too heavy. “She’s…
