Disclaimer: This contains spoilers, so read at your own risk! Also, although Basara in general isn’t especially triggering, Ageha’s backstory, “Loquat” in volume 25, has instances of rape and child abuse. Ah, Basara, my love, my most favored manga. You are lovely and perfect. And yet, I wish you had better queer representation. What Basara…
2017 Dragon Awards Are No Longer Puppy Awards
This weekend saw the second iteration of the Dragon Awards, a cross-media celebration of science fiction and fantasy held by Dragon Con in Atlanta. Decided through a free online poll, the awards purport to represent the tastes of SF/F fandom as a whole. Despite their recent vintage, the Dragon Awards already have a rocky history. Last year, the…
“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…
Deconstructing Pretty Deadly: Sissy, the Vulture
I’m the type of person who likes to analyze the things I love. One of those things is Pretty Deadly written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, drawn by Emma Rios, colored by Jordie Bellaire, and lettered by Clayton Cowles. It is probably one of my favorite comics ever (and I have the tattoo to prove it)!…
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi Redux: Karate Petshop’s “Rikki”
Rikki Norm Harper (s), Matthew Foltz-Gray (p), Oceano Ransford (l), Christine Knopp (cover) Karatepetshop.com, 2016 Disclaimer: A copy of this comic was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Out of all the stories I expected to see at the Alternative Press Expo (APE), Karate Petshop’s Rikki, a retelling of Rudyard Kipling’s short story “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi,” was certainly…
Monster Women: Harrow County and The Witch
Witches are tricky figures in horror fiction. It’s indisputable that witch hunts are a blight on human history, yet we’re still fascinated by their subject as instruments of terror. Maybe we fear an ability to interfere in our lives while hiding in plain sight, or maybe they still tap into uneasiness with feminine power. Look…
This Week in WWAC History: Captain America
Love it or hate it Civil War is on the horizon. And what better way to prepare for Captain America on the big screen than to comb through the WWAC archives? We have comic reviews and opinions galore. Enjoy!
The Major’s Body (10): Ghost In the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: 2nd Gig
Boys, Sex, and Love Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: 2nd Gig is the second season of the weekly anime, covered here, and a direct thematic continuation. I might love it even more than Stand Alone Complex. [Oshii said] “And with Motoko Kusanagi, I had trouble putting my finger on the true identity of…
Disciple of the Witchblade
When Jim Lee and Marc Silvestri and all those X-Men artists I loved packed up and started Image Comics and its various subsidiaries, I followed, mesmerized by the shiny covers and promises of badass babes. This was the age of the Bad Girl: empowered women in spine-violating, perky-nippled poses. Somewhere deep inside me, my inner…
Shall We Date?
Once upon a time, our games editor, Al, asked if any of us would like to play and write about Japanese dating games or “otome.” Otome are story-based romance games largely targeted at a female, heterosexual audience. The player role-plays as the ambiguous main female character whose goal is to develop a relationship with one…
Movies that Shaped Me: Pan’s Labyrinth
“It’s a fairy tale,” you say, as you watch the trailer. And to an extent, you would be right. Pan’s Labyrinth is a fairy tale shaped by Guillermo del Toro’s hands, one that doesn’t shy away from the blood that inevitably spills before the story comes to a close. In 2007, it was a free…
Webcomics Capsules — Supernatural Fantasy and a Lighthouse
Back By K.C. Green & Anthony Clark Supernatural Western Updates Wednesdays Back, started in July by the beloved creators of Gunshow and Nedroid Picture Diary, is a comic about the end of the world. No, it’s not any of that post-apocalyptic stuff, just the tale of how everything falls apart. The catalyst for these events appears…
