Hello, and welcome to the April edition of Politically Cartoonish. As with the rest of WWAC, the Politically Cartoonish column is working to include analyses of non-U.S. and non-Western issues. Readers are encouraged to send political cartoon suggestions to the author via her Twitter handle @youandyourego.
Fan vs Fan: When Harley Quinn Met Lobo [NSFW]
Harley’s Little Black Book #6: Featuring Lobo Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti (Writers), Simon Bisley (Artist) DC Comics March 29, 2017 Harley’s Little Black Book! A six-issue comic book series where Harley Quinn travels about, meeting people she thinks are sexy. I guess. That’s my impression and I didn’t much care for it—until I saw…
Book Beat: The Handmaid’s Tale Buzz and Ivanka’s “Feminist” Book
Hi book lovers! I’m done with April showers! It’s May and everything is blooming and I couldn’t be happier. But enough with the downpours Mother Nature, unless that’s the kind of setting you like for reading (I don’t). I really have to get started on my summer reading list (and finish making one). Give me…
Reading and Rereading The Handmaid’s Tale
Many of us have been heavily anticipating Hulu’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian classic, The Handmaid’s Tale, starring Elisabeth Moss in what could be her next great television role since she played the ambitious Peggy Olsen on Mad Men. Several of us at WWAC (and our friends) took to rereading (or in some cases reading for…
Dominic Toretto: The Failed Family Man of Fate of the Furious
No one watches The Fast and the Furious movies for grumbly, mumbly, sometimes shouty strong man, Dominic Toretto. Well, I guess some people must, but as the series continues and the crew grows and the scope of its heists and missions along with it, Dom Toretto, king of the street racers and, lately, international super-something, has…
Billy Wilder’s One, Two, Three: “Adolf, who?”
Even the name “Cold War” brings to mind long, slow, depressed periods of time. Yet, Billy Wilder’s One, Two, Three offers constant humor and a spin on post-war Germany that I found mostly amusing, but often confusingly devoid of references to Nazis. When someone makes an uncomfortable parody of the U.S.’s current political state I hope…
Harlequin Violet & Harlequin Pink: Manga Romance Fusion!
Harlequin Ginger Blossom, published in English by Dark Horse, are successful Harlequin novels adapted for the Japanese comics market. Every volume says “written by [American Name]” and “art by [Japanese Name]” on its cover, which doesn’t seem entirely fair; adapting prose to a sequential graphic narrative is a job in itself and it goes uncredited thanks…
What Heroes these White Men Are: A Look Back at M.A.S.H.
In 1970, director Robert Altman released a film that, despite its blatant anti-war rhetoric and heavy criticism of Cold War attitudes, would win several awards including five Academy Award nominations and an Oscar for it’s screenplay, and a designation of “culturally significant” from the Library of Congress. M.A.S.H — and the TV show that followed…
Previously on Comics: Diversity Killed the Comic Star?
Hey WWACers! It’s the first day of Passover (I’m a Jew) which means I can’t eat bread for over a week, which means I’m cranky. I’d like to say I turned to comics to ease my mood, but those can make me pretty upset too, especially when they blame tanking sales on added diversity.
Makers of Tampon Run Tell It like It Is: A Girl Code Review
There’s a good chance that you’ve heard of the endless runner web and phone game Tampon Run. If you haven’t seen it, go play the cute and strangely addictive game where you throw tampons at bullies and try to combat the menstruation taboo. The game became an internet sensation when it debuted in 2014 for…
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…
Elle: A Study On Trauma
Content Warning: Rape and sexual violence. A film that is centered solely around rape will never be a film for everyone. Though as a rape survivor, I felt that every moment of Elle was made with me in mind. Paul Verhoeven’s study of a woman dealing with the aftermath of a violent rape in her…