Hello all! One thing before we get started today: this is my last DC Daily Planet post for the near future! I’ve had some exciting opportunities come up that I need to devote some time to — but fear not! I’ll (hopefully) be back and bringing you the very soap box laden news in no…
Living Dead Boy: Jason Todd vs. The Culture That Killed (And Resurrected) Him
Here’s the thing: Robin was never intended to be a legacy character. There were no real reasons to assume or suspect that Dick Grayson, the original Robin, was going to give up the mantle. Sure, as Dick progressed in age, thanks to some very specific cultural anxieties, there were reasons to assume that he might…
The Misrepresentation of Daredevil’s Elektra
Just after the title sequence, and eleven minutes into episode nine, Elektra Natchios is cleaning up the previous episode’s mess: Matt Murdoch gets shot with a poisoned arrow and Elektra slits the throat of a young ninja. She saves Matt’s life using the same concoction that Stick used to save hers and brings in what…
Mighty Marvel Monday: Darwyn Cooke, #BlackPantherSoLIT, and more
Welcome back to another Mighty Marvel Monday! This week I have two big things to point to, and then a few smaller things to highlight. Firstly, it’s always sad when the comics community loses a beloved member, but it’s especially sad to lose someone like Darwyn Cooke, who was an amazing talent. And although most…
Walgreen’s Wonder Woman Make-Up Collection: Beauty, Brawn, and Brains
Walgreen’s long awaited Wonder Woman collection has finally hit stores. The Wonder Woman collection includes a brush set, red lipstick, a pack of three lip glosses, an eight set eyeshadow palette, a three piece set of liquid liners in gold, blue, and black, bronzer, a pack of two nail polishes, and a “comic book” that includes lipstick, eyeliner,…
Mental Health and Superheroes: The Problem with Labeling Sacrifice as Suicide
Content warning: This article discusses mental health, suicide, and depression. We, the fans, love our fandoms, so much that it’s possible for us to lose sight of the societal and personal impacts of our critical analyses. The past year has been a Thunderdome of fans who like or dislike the approach to characters they love. We’ve…
Iron Woman: Natasha Stark, Earth-3490, and the Case for Canon Genderswaps
One of my favorite things about the clamor of excitement surrounding any new comic-related movie is that every time a new film is released, more and more of my friends get interested in reading the comics a movie is based on. Captain America: Civil War is no exception to this, and Marvel’s first Civil War…
Burnside or Elsewhere, We Need a Bi Batgirl!
We need a bi Batgirl? I don’t mean that; it’s too specific, but that alliteration was impossible not to use. What we need is a queer heroine, and not just any sort of heroine. She needs to be different.
DC Daily Planet: Countdown to Rebirth
It’s official. We are 3 weeks out from the start of Rebirth, the event that has given me an essentially nonstop tension headache since, like, February. I’ve been a lot of things about Rebirth since it’s announcement, both here and on social media — anxious, angry, hopeful, deeply stressed, excited — but now, as it…
Amanda Waller & Laurel Lance: Dead and Disrespected On Arrow
CW’s Arrow is no stranger to killing characters, particularly female characters. Since Arrow’s inception, the show has prided itself on taking cues from Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight franchise, and portrayed a gritter side of Green Arrow mythology and canon. Arrow gave fans a fraught view of Oliver Queen as a man who struggled with PTSD…
Udon a Bad Thing: Frank Cho, Anuses, and Visual Impact
Much like many other areas of culture, monthly direct-market comic books are an industry, a scene, which is largely hostile to women even now, a place where harm is produced and reproduced, and objections are seen as shrill lies told for cheap thrills. I know it’s dull, but let’s talk about Frank Cho.
Mighty Marvel Monday: It’s Gonna Be May
And we’re back for another Mighty Marvel Monday! Just as a reminder–this column will remain spoiler-free this week even though Captain America: Civil War has premiered internationally. My review should be out this Friday, and I’ll be linking to other reviews next week in a special Captain America: Civil War column. Also a reminder that…