“Art is a fight to the finish between black charcoal and white paper.”—Gunter Grass Most artists know that if they are drawing with charcoal, they might as well throw themselves down an old Victorian era chimney. While it’s a forgiving medium in the sense that even non-artists can achieve a level of mediocrity with charcoal,…
The Best at Being You: Mental Health, Self-Image, and X-Force
In my grand tradition of waiting much too long to read good comics, I didn’t read the new X-Force by Si Spurrier and Rock-He Kim until late last month. It’s ridiculously enjoyable, with a cast that features a non-fetishized Psylocke, strong representation of LGBTQ people, and deeply flawed characters. The members of X-Force are hot-tempered,…
Comics Academe: How Do You Teach Comics?
This post is the first of two Comics Academe pieces from guest writer Katherine Tanski — I’d introduce her fully, but she does a good job of that for herself. My name is Kate, and I’m a recovering academic. Like all good recovering academics, I feel the need to share my experiences and impart (what I…
From Scouts to Superheroes: My Manga Journey
Our middle school years are ones we either look back on fondly, cringe away from, or hold with some combination of both. For me, the blurry memories of prepubescence are a mix of both, but they also marked my initiation into the world of manga.
Ghost in the Shell: The Major’s Body (7) (NSFW)
The Major, or Motoko Kusanagi, is the protagonist of each incarnation of the Ghost in the Shell manga-anime-merchadise franchise. If you care to google, “Motoko Kusanagi is“ autocompletes to “a man” and “is hot,” then “in bed with a boy” and “in bed.” For a science-fiction philosophy character named for her military position, we (the audience — although I…
CHEW On This: The Transmisogyny in Layman and Guillory’s Indie Darling
I’m writing this essay because I feel disgusted and betrayed. My name is Rachel Stevens, and I am a transwoman. I live my life in fear because of it, and I have a devil of a time finding fictional works to take in that aren’t actively hateful towards people like me. Unfortunately, I have to…
Ghost in the Shell: The Major’s Body (6) [Trigger warning: rape culture]
The Major, or Motoko Kusanagi, is the protagonist of each incarnation of the Ghost in the Shell manga-anime-merchadise franchise. If you care to google, Motoko Kusanagi is autocompletes to “a man” and “is hot,” then “in bed with a boy” and “in bed.” For a science-fiction philosophy character named for her military position, we (the audience — although I don’t…
Science Fictional and Fantastic — The Universe of IDW’s Transformers
This article goes into serious detail in examining the history of the Transformers in the IDW comics to explain the current status quo, and as such, spoils many plot twists. You have been warned. The thing about the premise of the Transformers — robots that turn into other things — is that there is an…
The Wicked, The Divine and The Mythology — Part 1: Amaterasu and Lucifer
McKelvie and Gillen’s new ongoing series The Wicked + The Divine is a sensation. With strong worldbuilding revolving around different mythological sources, this comic already has fans speculating and theorizing, even with only two issues out. It may be THE comic for mythology nerds, and I couldn’t help but toss my two cents in. This series…
The Tangled Relationship Between Religion and Comics (Part Two)
In part one of this tangle, I talked about four ways I conceive of the relationship between comics and religion: comics as religion, comics in religion, religion in comics, and religion and comics in dialogue. In this month’s installation, I’ll give you second two categories (religion in comics and religion and comics in dialogue)—but be…
Writing For Free: The Pro’s and Con’s of Comic Book Blogging
Hi. You may have seen me around. I am the Kid’s Content editor for this very site. I love doing it. It’s an opportunity to write about topics that are important to me as well as providing me with an excuse to read more kid’s books and comics. Writing for WWAC gives me a target…
The Tangled Relationship Between Comics and Religion (Part One)
My cocktail party introduction of myself is basically, “I’m a religion scholar working on a dissertation that uses a comics to interpret religious text.” Maybe it’s not the smoothest handshake, but it’s a place to start. When I tell people this, I occasionally get quizzical looks from strangers who wonder how comics relate to religion…