Three women meet the man who claims to be their creator. The first worships him, accepts him as a father, and becomes his right hand–at least for the moment. The second questions him, searches through his motivations, actions and assertions until she unearths the lies he has told, and the truth of who he is….
We Need to Talk About Mantis’ Abuse in Guardians of the Galaxy 2
When it was announced that director James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy 2 would feature Pom Klementieff as Mantis, I was cautiously excited. In the past I had criticized Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy for its moments of casual misogyny, but overall found the film to be a nice change of pace after the middling…
Nicole Georges’ “Calling Dr. Laura,” Alison Bechdel’s “Fun Home,” Graphic Memoir, and Something Strange About Time
Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (published by Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007) and Nicole Georges’ Calling Dr. Laura: A Graphic Memoir (published by Houghton Mifflin Company, 2013) share some important similarities: they’re both graphic memoir texts that feature family dramas, and they both use the comics form to do interesting things with time. The similarities…
The REadWind: Mary Anne Saves The Day
The REadWind series gets contributors to re-read the books they haven’t read in years and self-reflect. The goal is to explore how the contributors’ growth as a person plays a role in their experience in revisiting the book. Do they still like/hate it? How has it changed? Why? Growing up, my mother ran a small…
Strangers in Paradise Rantrospective Part 2: The Bermuda Love Triangle
The last time we met, Strangers in Paradise was brought up as a cornerstone of comics, albeit a cornerstone weathered to the point of being riddled with holes. We started discussing some of the issues present in the series, including the toxic nature of Katchoo’s character arc. Unfortunately, once you hit a certain word count for your…
The Strongest Hero, A Lonely Hero: Depression and Anxiety in One-Punch Man
In the first volume of the One-Punch Man manga, the main protagonist Saitama faces a villainous monster claiming to be the strongest being in existence. Instead of boasting, the villain ruminates about the death of his older brother and realizes that obtaining superhuman strength has cost him greatly. When Saitama jumps into frame to defeat…
Pitch’s Revolutionary Portrayal of Mental Health Struggles
Every other Saturday morning, I get up, and I go to a doctor’s appointment. That’s how it’s always explained to friends and extended family members. In reality, I’m going to my therapist’s house where I sit and chat in her living room or on her porch while her dog demands petting. But if anybody asks,…
Remakes, Remasters, and the Myth of Gamer Illegitimacy
I often say that I’ve been playing games since I was a toddler, but that’s a lie. I grew up poor; we didn’t have money for luxuries like video games and especially not consoles, so while I trained my thumbs on Super Mario Bros. and spent countless hours exploring Donkey Kong Country, after that everything…
“It’s better to be lonely together” – Isolation in Courtney Crumrin
Courtney Crumrin Written, Drawn, and Lettered by Ted Naifeh Colored by Warren Wucinich Collected Hardcovers, Oni Press, 2012-2015 Courtney Crumrin is, in a lot of ways, a typical protagonist for YA literature. She’s an outcast who hates the “phonies” who populate her school, and while not quite an archetypal Chosen One, her magic seems more powerful…
Women Of Auteur Film: Kati Outinen
What is an Auteur? Well the technical definition is a simply a filmmaker who has a singular recognisable vision, though you can guarantee they’ll also be a man as no women have been deemed important or visionary enough to become members of this elite club. As we all know, the singular vision of men is…
The REadWind: Alanna: The First Adventure
The REadWind series gets contributors to re-read the books they haven’t read in years and self-reflect. The goal is to explore how the contributors’ growth as a person plays a role in their experience in revisiting the book. Do they still like/hate it? How has it changed? Why? We ask the contributors to for a…
The Sims 4: Parenthood, or, how Millennials are Killing Family, Too
The Sims 4 has been out for almost three years now, and I’ve been playing it almost since launch. I’ve bought DLC after DLC but, until now, none addressed my one major qualm about the base game: its lack of family-oriented gameplay features. But with the addition of the Toddler life-stage earlier this year, and…
