Wendy Pini and her husband and collaborator Richard Pini are on a world tour: “Forty Years of Pointed Ears.” This journey, which most recently stopped in at SDCC, celebrates the four publication decades of ElfQuest that culminated in February’s final chapter. ElfQuest is one of the most seminal American comics, spanning the last 22 years…
Jody Houser on Stranger Things and Licensed Works
Jody Houser is a busy woman in the world of comics, having just wrapped up a Thrawn miniseries at Marvel and about to launch a Stranger Things comic and a StarCraft title with Dark Horse, not mention her work with Valiant and DC. While her original worlds appear in short comics in anthologies, her primary professional focus has…
Harbinger Wars 2: Should I, An Adult, Read This Superhero Summer Event?
I don’t know. Do you now or have you ever liked Marvel comics? If the answer is no, I’m probably not gonna be much help here. Valiant’s Harbinger Wars 2 is straight outta Westchester, a Mutant Registration Act battle for America over whether or not it’s OK to kill teens. It feels rude to relegate…
WWAC’s Free Comic Book Day Favorites!
Free Comic Book Day! One of the best days of the year for comic book fans, FCBD is perfect for discovering new books, hooking little or novice fans, or getting to know your local comic community. (And, if you’re in my neck of the woods, getting a free shaved ice in honor of the day…
Academic Conference Asks: What Makes Women Monstrous?
Women are often called monsters. Even before the internet made trolling a favorite misogynist past time, women’s bodies, functions, and perceptions have been fair game for name calling. I joined a wonderful group of scholars to discuss what after all is so “monstrous” about women at the Monstrous Women Conference this last May in at…
Fatphobia in the Never Changing Comic Book Landscape
EDIT: an incorrect fact has been removed from this article. Superhero comic books retain the ability to deeply wound their audiences. What do they propagate a desire for? Thinner women. “Superheroine” is still, despite occasional pushback from Marvel’s (Adrian Alphona’s) Gert Yorkes and Valiant’s Faith, synonymous with “titty, yet thin.” They define a “correct” template, and…
Previously on Comics: John Lewis’ March Sold Out On Amazon
Hello and welcome back to another edition of Previously On Comics! Please allow me to remind you how we started this week. That would be Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds being passionately kissed by the former Peter Parker, Andrew Garfield, during the Golden Globes on Sunday. I just want to thank whoever did the seating arrangements…
WWAC’s Favorite Big Press Comics of 2016
Southern Cross Becky Cloonan (Writer and Cover Artist), Andy Belanger and Lee Loughridge (Artists) Image Comics Southern Cross looked like something I would not like. For all of my love of things beginning with Star (Wars, Trek, etc.), I’m actually pretty afraid of space. And space stories where scary stuff happens? Certainly too frightening. Wrong! This is…
Previously on Comics: Using Comics to Increase Money, Awareness, and Cultural Exchange
Hi everyone! Hope you had a good weekend. Here in the Mid-Atlantic, I’m feeling the first bite of autumn. Are you ready for cooler temperatures? No matter the answer, it is perfect comics reading weather. So let’s get caught up on recent headlines! The world has been a scary place lately and we often use…
Sequential Sartorial on Princess Crystal’s Redesign: Hair vs. Body
The Inhumans’ Princess Crystal’s weird hair thing is one of the most precious mysteries of comics; undaunted by science, unsullied by commonly touted explanations. It is—it simply is. Crystal’s hair does this thing, and we like it, and it is good. Here is a series of tweets on the subject: But I’ll tell you more…
WWAC Warrior: Why I Can Be a Warrior Without a Six-Pack
Our WWAC Warriors have been doing some great and inspiring work. Desiree has been working on becoming her own superhero. Laura is morphing into a real live Batgirl, and Lela is fighting endometriosis like Wonder Woman versus Villainy Incorporated. I am thoroughly impressed with what they are doing, and how they are tying their fitness…
