I love fandom. I hate fandom. It’s an object of my eternal adoration, and it’s a source of my constant frustration. Navigating fandom is like walking through a minefield. Surprise racism. Unexpected misogynism. Bi erasure. There are so many pitfalls waiting to trip you up. But you know where the biggest danger of fandom lies?…
Sorry Marvel, Hercules Is Bi in Every Universe
Marvel chief Axel Alonso has spoken: Hercules is not bisexual in Marvel’s 616 universe. That time Hercules and Wolverine were in love? Alternate dimension. A uniquely queer dimension where hypermasculine hardbodies could be queer and in a loving, long term relationship. HERCULES IS STRAIGHT, he shouted from the rooftop of Marvel’s New York office. Our…
My Left or Your Right? The Newbie Friendliness of Manga
Picture, if you will, a fresh-faced fan walking into a comic book store on Free Comic Book Day. She picks up a haul of titles that look interesting. Hey, it’s free! Perfect opportunity to try something new out, right? Included in that haul is a sampler put out by a North American manga publisher. How awesome!…
4 Takes On Archie #1: Nostalgia, Indifference, Curiosity, Excitement
Archie #1 Mark Waid (w), Fiona Staples (p), Andre Szymanowicz (c) Archie Comics Released: July 2015 Archie Comics provided us with a press copy of the issue for an impartial review. We’ve already discussed who is the hottest Riverdalian. Now to dig even deeper into Archie #1. While there are some confirmed Archie fans at WWAC,…
Glove, Bracelet, Bikini, Halberd: Exit the Witchblade, For Good?
Witchblade is ending! Come October, and issue one hundred and eighty-five, Sara Pezzini is taking off the glove, and walking away from her solo title after twenty long years. If you put your ear to the ground it sounds like a new bearer might surface, in a rebooted series of her own, but nothing solid…
The Neglected Personhood of American Icon Harper Lee
I was working in the bookstore Tuesday morning, when Harper Lee’s Go Set A Watchman went on sale. The book came with a strict on sale date, which means that no one, save a select few in the publisher’s offices and friendly reviewers, had seen it. Early that morning, bookstore employees all over North America…
Sequential Sartorial: Narrative Chaos! How to Redesign a Character
I promised to be positive in this series so here’s a new spin on that: a how-to, some advice, a template to run with. Why complain about weak redesigns if you don’t give suggestions on how to be better? But I’m poison-flavoured and sour, like my favourite drink, so let’s sneak in a little evil…
Tokyopop Up Like a Phoenix: The Good Times, The Bad, The Then, and The Now
Now that Tokyopop is rising from the ashes, it’s time to talk about the glory days (and the grotty secrets). Roundtable time!
Hey, Paris! Where To Buy Comics On Your Sophisticated, Continental Weekend Break
I was lucky enough to score a work trip to the south of France a few weeks ago and, naturally, I used the opportunity to nip up to Paris — and check out their major comics shops. I was staying with a friend whose flatmate is also into comics — French, Japanese, American, whatever. He…
The White Privilege, White Audacity, and White Priorities of STRANGE FRUIT #1
Strange Fruit #1 J.G. Jones and Mark Waid (Authors), J.G. Jones (Artist), Deron Bennett (Letterer) BOOM! Studios (July 2015) (This review contains some spoilers) Writing about Strange Fruit #1 has been a long time coming. It has been on my very-reluctant radar since it was announced on February 20th — Dwayne McDuffie’s birthday. For readers who are unaware, Dwayne McDuffie…
Bitches, Badasses & Beauties on Pedestals: The Importance of the Women of Buffy to Its Men
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was undeniably an important landmark in the representation of girls and women on television. But it, along with spinoff Angel, spent a surprising amount of time on men’s insecurities and traumas in relation to the women in their lives. There are an awful lot of terrible things that women did to…