Finding feminist ideology in the horror film genre can feel like searching for meaning in a Pauly Shore film. It can seem a futile effort considering the most popular horror tropes are particularly unflattering toward the female characters: the final virginal survivor, “ugly duckling” killer, the commonality of sexual assault as plot device, etc. Then…
The Thursday Book Beat: Blogger Asks “Where Are All The Disabled Characters?”
Blogger Asks Where Are The Disabled Characters At? Megan Quibell AKA TheBookAddictedGirl writes in The Guardian on the importance of representation in books and the lack of disabled characters as the leads of their own story. Which is why I want to set you all a few challenges. I want you to read something with a…
Butterfly #1: Who is Nightingale?
Butterfly #1 Arash Amel, Marguerite Bennett (W) Antonio Fuso (A) BOOM! Studios I am loving the new wave of female-led spy thrillers lately. First Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting’s Velvet, then Black Widow’s solo series, and now Butterfly by Arash Amel, Marguerite Bennett, and Antonio Fuso.
Felicia Day is Disappointed In You, #GamerGate, And You Proved Her Right
Last night, Felicia Day — creator of The Guild and all around awesome person — posted a gentle I’m Not Mad, I’m Just Disappointed to members of #GamerGate. Her post is thoughtful, sympathetic, and focused not on the hideous bile spewing from every orifice of the #GamerGate monster, but on the disappointment she felt in herself…
Here There Be Monsters: November’s Comic Club Pick
Our October Comic Club pick was Volume One of Tim Seeley and Mike Norton’s Revival. It’s the story of a small town in Wisconsin. In many ways it’s like every other small town out there. Except for one little thing – the dead have started coming back to life. And when you first hear that you…
A Book is a Song Your Heart Sings: Top Ten 2014 Book/Song Pairings
Hello, book lovers! I’m sure you’re like me, and tend to have a song in mind while reading a book. Either it comes to you as you’re reading, or it just happens to be the thing playing in the background constantly as you get lost among the words. Regardless, music draws out feelings as much as…
A Trip Down Fear Street: Lights Out #12
Welcome to the third review in the Fear Street reread project in celebration of R.L. Stine rebooting the series! You can read the previous review here. Tagline It all happens in the dark… Synopsis Holly Flynn is cajoled into being a camp counselor for her uncle’s struggling Nightwing Camp. Unfortunately, it’s not a camp for…
Predator vs Judge Dredd vs Aliens, Oh My!
Certain things you wouldn’t ponder combining, not because you don’t think they’d go together, simply that the thought never crossed your mind. Yet, when two things do come together in your mind, you want to slap your forehead and go “of course!.” That’s how I felt after reading Predator vs Judge Dredd vs Aliens; of course!
Get Your Game On Wednesday
Steam pulls game after its developer tweets death threat Death threats are always serious business. Being angry that his game was released on Steam with the Early Access label, Mike Maulbeck, took to Twitter to vent. Then he crossed the line and allegedly tweeted he was going to kill one Gabe Newell. Maulbeck has since apologized…
741.5: How To Sound Professional When Talking About Cerebro
The problem with working in a field that relies heavily on bureaucratic procedure is that sometimes you propose something, and then so much time passes that you forget about it. Then, suddenly, you get three emails one day saying that the talk on the importance of comic book collections and geek-centric programming in libraries you…
React Not With Rage, But Grace: She-Hulk Is Cancelled
It’s normal to feel a mixed bag of things when encountered with the words “Final Issue” in the solicits page next to one of your favorite current comics. “Final issue of what?” you might think: surely they can’t be cancelling something that you love so much. They’re not monsters.
Scariest Movie of My Life: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The movie—or movie series—that has scared me for the longest and with the greatest intensity is the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. The original (which is technically titled The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) came out before I was born and has loomed in the shadows my whole life. Growing up in Texas, it was impossible not…
