Read of the Week The A.V. Club asks, “What does X-Men’s Dark Phoenix Saga have in common with Christmas?” “Because at the time, all I understood was that Jean Grey had become the most powerful force in the universe—which I only knew because she ate one—and that she was made of fire and, at least…
Short and Sweet (or Sour): Time Travel, TV, and Monsters
Welcome to another exciting episode of Short and Sweet (or Sour). This week’s comics take us back and forth through time and explore how successful (or not successful, as the case may be) Dark Horse has been using classic creatures, like vampires and Frankenstein’s monster, in their books. We’re all over the place but don’t…
Roundtable: Race and Gender in Comics
The race and gender roundtable is here! Mixing it up were our resident writer Mai Pucik; Arturo Garcia, a writer for Racialicious; writer and comics publisher/editor Talisha Harrison; blogger and webcomic creator Jamie Kingston; and moderator Kelly Kanayama. In part one (of two), we talked about “diversity” characters in comics, the gendering of race, and…
What’s In A Codename
Marvel Comics has long been my oldest and preferred superhero reading material, but over the years it’s developed some patterns I can’t help but notice and wince at just a little. Codenames. I’m not griping that they exist; in the universe the characters run in, having a costumed identity separate from the regular “day to…
Fall Reading
Fall is a good time for books that will destroy your everything. It’s not winter, when disaffection can stretch on into misery. Fall? There are pumpkins to carve, fallen leaves to jump into, and forget seasonal affective disorder–there’s still enough sun to keep you from the black pit of despair we call deep winter. I read a…
Review: Battle of the Atom #1 & All-New X-Men #16
Battle of the Atom #1 & All-New X-Men #16 Marvel Comics Brian Michael Bendis Frank Cho & Stuart Immonen In 1980’s “Days of Future Past,” Kate Pryde travels through time to change the events that lead to her dark, Sentinel-overrun dystopian future. The year of that dystopian future? 2013. Now that 2013 is actually here—and…
News & Things: Lawyers, accountants, executives… comics.
Kickstarter of the Week Small press publisher Yeti Press has launched a Kickstarter to their operations over the next year. That may sound like it’s skirting the Kickstarter rules that Penny Arcade (almost) ran afoul of, but it doesn’t quite. The Kickstarter is aimed at taking their business to the next level, rather than funding…
News & Things: Halloween prep starts now?
Welcome to the first Tuesday edition of News & Things! Yup. More news. More things. More comics.
News & Things: This Is How You Lose Your Marbles
Hello and welcome to a new installment of News & Things! Have you read Saga #13 yet? You should totally read Saga #13. But after you read our News & Things. Because we’re awesome.
(late) Summer Reading
Summer reading lists usually come out in late spring, early summer. Just as you’re starting to dream of a cold drink on a hot afternoon (or consuming your body weight in liquid, while being submerged in liquid, as one does). This ain’t no ordinary summer reading list though, it’s specifically, a late summer reading list,…
State of Marvel Roundtable–Part One
Marvel romance, mental health, and motherhood. Megan Purdy Bendis is off Avengers! Marvel’s partnering with Disney-owned Hyperion to put out romance novels! Miles Morales is super popular! It’s a (brand new) day! Maybe. With Captain Marvel, Fearless Defenders, the all female X-Men, and the upcoming She-Hulk and Rogue romance novels, Marvel is putting its female…
News & Things: (not) the science of Jane Austen
Awesome Kickstarter(s) of the Week! So this week I have two awesome Kickstarters to share with you. Go Get A Roomie bills itself as a comic about love, girls and beer. The art is adorable. GGaR was a webcomic first, and now they’re putting out hardcopies. At this point the project is fully funded, but…