Here at WWAC, we love fanart. So when news reached us that some fanart of Kate Bishop had been mistaken by an actual Marvel artist as official Kate Bishop Hawkeye uniform, we had to know more. I reached out to the fanartist in question, the incredible Vylla, (Find her on social media here and her…
Star Trek Is About Hope and Gay Sulu Gives Us That
This month marks the release of Star Trek Beyond and, as the title actually suggests, it will take a fan favourite where no character (at least in Hollywood Star Trek cannon) has gone before – the first openly gay man, in the form of helmsman Hikaru Sulu played by actor John Cho. Sexuality has been…
Can a Bad Anime Be Art? Heat Guy J
Heat Guy J was a twenty-six episode animated series that aired in Japan in 2002 and wasn’t particularly well-received. For whatever reason, possibly in recognition of the positive reception director Kazuki Akane had previously enjoyed in the West through Escaflowne, it was exported anyway. Box sets with dub and sub experiences available were later sold…
[NSFW] Moon Over June Offers Vulvas and Nothing Else
Moon Over June is super problematic. Several websites have called it out for its anti-Japanese sentiments from a Japanese character, the fact that the Ob-Gyn character is aroused by her pregnant patients, and the goofy facial expressions of the characters. Reading it for the purpose of reviewing, it taught me a valuable lesson: Sometimes it is…
Your Average Russia: Codename Baboushka And Cultural Appropriation
Codename Baboushka is a pulp story about Annika Malikova, the last member of a Russian noble family… who turns out to be a mafia boss, as well as professional hitman and a double agent running errands for a USA government agency. In few words, she’s a blend of everything pulp movies usually appropriate from Russian…
Morals and Magic: How The Wicked+The Divine Depicts Changing Western Views of Identity and Sexuality
Kieron Gillen is no stranger to diverse teenage characters. The author of the Young Avengers relaunch, Gillen is experienced at writing characters from a variety of racial groups and sexualities and even won a GLADD award for his work. The Wicked+The Divine (pronounced “The Wicked and the Divine” or simply “WicDiv” for short) takes it…
The Future of Wolverine in the X-Men Films
I’m a die hard X-Men fan, and even the bad press of X-Men: Apocalypse couldn’t keep me away from the theatre on opening day. I wasn’t as let down as I thought I might be—the performances really saved a lot of the movie (which is a recurring theme for the franchise). But the best part…
Manipulation of Manhood: Julia Gfrorer’s Comic Book Misandry
Content warning: penises, breasts, rape of men. EDIT, October 2016: this article is an analysis of Gfrorer’s work as a commentary on phallocentric patriarchy. Cis masculinity is consciously centred in the readings of these narratives. I never really managed to think of a penis as a vulnerable thing until I caught the first fifteen minutes…
Doctor Strange and the Ancient One: Marvel’s Issues with Real-World Politics
Advertisers traditionally hold that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but Marvel’s Doctor Strange might just be the exception. Though the comic book version of Doctor Strange learns magic from a Tibetan character known as “The Ancient One,” the movie adaptation’s newest teaser trailer reveals that Marvel has changed the setting of Doctor Strange’s…
Trading Outpost: Why I Don’t Hate Why I Hate Saturn
Hello, this is the Trading Outpost, in which I, hostess of The Trades, further discuss some of the comics and concepts covered by (yes!) The Trades. The Trades is a podcast by me, FST, and Aaron LaRoche (A boy, hence lack of onsite embed —Ed.). We trade comics, talk about our picks from the month,…
Comics Found Everywhere: May Scavenger Hunt Results
In May, I set a scavenger hunt. Kori Michele Handwerker, Laura Bishop, Alison Sampson, and Jog Mac replied. There are so many comics—there are so many comics! And so many of them are wonderful, edifying, enlarging, worth it. How are we ever to find them? Perhaps we can help each other.
With Great Popularity Comes Great Eroticism – The Conversion of Pixie
Warning: This article contains images depicting violent acts against women. It’s incredibly common that once a female comic book character gains popularity, she is drawn to be more sexually appealing. This is done by dressing her in more revealing clothing, making her thinner and/or bustier, and, if she’s not white, lightening her skin tone—often a combination…