SPOILER WARNING: Borderlands, Borderlands 2 “Alright, you mindless gun-hands: you’re looking for a really hot chick with blue tattoos and mystical powers. A Siren. Specifically, one named Lilith. The official reports say she died in New Haven, but I’m positive she’s hiding out near Sanctuary. If you catch wind of her, tell me and I’ll pay…
Rethink That Rule: Genderswapping, Crossplaying, and Reinforcing Gender Binaries
Genderbend, genderswap, genderflip, Rule 63. It has many names, in everything from fashion to animation to movies to comics to fanart and fan fiction. I’m sure you can travel down the veritable wormhole of Internet searches to see the long, storied history of playing with gender. Personally, as a non-binary person, I’m kind of sick of it.
Revolutionary Girl Showdown: Utena vs. Kill La Kill
Let’s start this piece off right: by issuing a battery of content warnings. Kill La Kill, one of the most talked-about shows of 2013, features cartoon violence, incest, non-consensual sexual situations, and what can only be described as “rape by an article of clothing.” Revolutionary Girl Utena, directed by the legendary Kunihiko Ikuhara, began airing…
Sweep Me Off My Feet! Next Gen Romance Comics, We Need Better
You’ll hear me say it again and again until I feel I’ve reached a comfort zone, but I am very new to the world of comics. I’m still shamefully Wikipedia-ing my way through definitions and origin stories, and I can honestly say after a couple of years of building a relationship with my local comic…
Movies that Shaped Me: Gone With The Wind
Gone with the Wind (1939) Based on the novel by: Margaret Mitchell Directed by: Victor Fleming Screen play by: Sidney Howard Written by: George Cukor, Sam Wood, Oliver H.P. Garrett, Ben Hecht, Jo Swerling, and John Van Druten Produced by: David O. Selznick Starring: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh
The Killing Joke: Starring Barbara Gordon
Content warning: You can guess, really. The Killing Joke is considered one of the best comic stories of all time. One of the greatest Batman storylines to ever be printed. It has Joker at his worst, Gordon at his most vulnerable, and Batman at his breaking point. The book is most remembered for its graphic content,…
The Hidden Message of Saga, or, Why We Can’t Help But Love It
During the last few years, I have read tons of books, and just a few of them had what I call a “magic wardrobe” effect. You might have experienced it too: you open the book, time collapses, and you’re suddenly on the last page and the clock displays 4am. There is some distinctive type of…
March Roundtable: Kids and Games
Welcome to the next installment of the Game Section’s monthly roundtable! Growing up is weird. Gaming can be strange. The games children play? Often truly bizarre. This month we talked about games we played as children. Apparently we all know our way around a solo board game or two. What did you all play, readers?…
I Like Rafael Albuquerque’s Joker Variant Batgirl Art
I really like Rafael Albuquerque’s Joker variant Batgirl art. Albuquerque expertly manages the shadow play in the piece, the casual aggression of the Joker juxtaposed against Batgirl’s terrified stiff body and her eyes, those evocative eyes, that manage to make the viewer an active participant in the piece, sharing Barbara’s horror. I’m a fan of…
Who Do We Listen To And Why Can We Hear Them? Criticism, Satisfaction, Responsibility, Service
It’s strange how so much isn’t surprising. Chris Sims, currently of ComicsAlliance and Marvel’s rose-tinted X-Men ’92–you might know him as @theisb or that guy with the laughing pink guy twitter icon, fan amongst fans– used to be the kind of fanboy who would lock onto hate like a dog on the last dear bone of their…
Compulsive Reading: Some Notes On How We Read Mental Health
Megan Purdy asks the questions in this round table discussion responding to several comics tackling mental illness, and its resultant behaviours. Sara Lautman’s comic Some Notes on Compulsive Hair Pulling is beautiful and affecting. The comic is about Lautman’s struggle with trichotillomania: how she got her diagnosis; how she deals with it; how she relates,…