Welcome to WWAC’s newest monthly column “Politically Cartoonish” where we’ll be analyzing the art and message of five political cartoons every month. It’s been a little over a month since the new U.S. administration came into power, so it’s no surprise that many political cartoons focused on this. Considering the harmful myth of American exceptionalism,…
Political Issues: The Self Fulfilling Misogyny of “Seminal” Comics
Content Warning: Femicide, rape, and the violence of misogyny All art is political. This seems to be a controversial statement, but to me it has always seemed objectively correct. Making art is an inherently political act; you bring your own feelings, lived experiences, and subjective beliefs to anything you create. Even the choice of what…
Problems in Riverdale: Formulaic Tropes, Bad Boys Edition
When I first saw that The CW was going to produce a show around my favourite childhood comic, I was thrilled but hesitant. I love a good teen-drama show — the melodrama and high tension mixed with angsty love connections is my jam. However, these shows — typically airing on The CW, MTV, or ABC…
Queer Fantasy: An Exploration of a Genre Through Modern Narrative Games
This series will focus on my thoughts about Queerness and Fantasy through the lens of tabletop and video games. I believe these intersections, and the further intersection of Queer Fantasy through games, is very important in the year 2017. As games become a larger cultural touchstone, Fantasy games come closer to the forefront of pop…
To Be Or Not To Be “Respectable”: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
For the first time in several months, I decided to pick up a copy of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #15, despite my reservations regarding the ongoing series. (See the following excerpt from an open letter I sent to Marvel on 22 August 2016.)
Political Comics: Captain America Was Never Neutral
January has seen the writer of Captain America advocating for the bodily integrity of, and being retweeted by, neo-Nazi Richard Spencer. Like a lot of awful moments in the past year, there is a temptation to confuse our horror with shock. We want to ask, “How could this have happened?” But as many Cap fans…
Chalice Can’t Contain Our Hope: How Alters’ Marketing Alienates
Being trans can be lonely, it can be scary, it can be sad. It can be so many things at once, especially in these dark times. For so long we’ve wanted to see trans heroes. People who defy their assigned gender and still manage to fight the big fights. Alters, a book published by an exciting,…
The Spire: Lettering Is Art
Out of all the elements that come together to make a comic book, lettering may be the most subtle. It’s meant to supplement the writer’s work by capturing character voice, setting the story’s pace, and, obviously, putting the words on the page in the first place. Many suggest that the best lettering is invisible, but…
Civil War II: Many Losers but Princess Sparklefists Wins
Civil War II had a lot of promise in its premise: that there’s another issue important enough to the superhero community that they would take sides and fight over it. In this case, it’s the Terrigen cloud released by the Inhumans on Earth, which turned one regular kid into an Inhuman with a power that…
Roman Muradov and the State of His Bladders
Jacob Bladders and the State of the Art Roman Muradov Uncivilized Books November 2016 Roman Muradov’s newest work follows Jacob Bladders as he tries to complete his job as a newspaper cartoonist, in the cut-throat world of corporate illustration. Hijinks, and hijacks, ensue.
Where In the World is Bodhi Rook?
2016 started off as a farcical mess of a year and quickly descended into something much more awful than anyone anticipated. Despite this, however, I have tried to remain hopeful–after all, this is the future where we get a new Star Wars movie every year. That is one bright spot in the sea of troubles…