Writer of the Patricia Highsmash column. Former editor of Along the Chaparral, Future Earth Magazine & Platte Valley Review. Author of Us Living in Fictional Cosmogonies & There is Nothing Left to Say (On The Invisibles). Guest Presenter at Naropa University, University of California Riverside, and Harbin Institute. Former faculty, Shandong University. Director of short films, including low fruit.
How did the Comics Code leading to an inability to sell massage wands or tampons leading to adult Colossus waiting for Kitty Pryde to turn fourteen to date her, turn into Zatanna performing stage shows with men dressed as the real life rapists of her friends, in comics that still can’t sell tampons?
DetailsNerdcore is music by people with nerdy interests expressed in that music, except it excludes all the really successful and most of the well-lauded people who fit that, and about then I become a jerk about it. Prince, Ghostface Killah, Bob Dylan, Marc Bolan, Ringo Starr, Rob Zombie, Amanda Lear, Tupac, Bat for Lashes, QueenAdreena!
DetailsDorothy Catherine Fontana, DC Fontana, was one of the primary guiding hands of Star Trek, a writer and story editor, and a genius.
DetailsWarren Ellis, Juan Jose Ryp, Juanmar, Jacen Burrows create an England that never was, an alt-history sword and sorcery riff with barbarian philosophers, traveling conquerors, lions, bears, wolves, drug trips and angry widows. They turn high fantasy crystal Europe into crystal guts.
DetailsMing Doyle, James Tynion IV, Vanesa Del Rey, Riley Rossmo bring us a thirteen issue romantic, old home week disaster of horror, charm, death and betrayal featuring John Constantine.
DetailsGrant Morrison, Steve Yeowell, Tatjana Wood, and Jon Muth bring us two comics about guilt, forgiveness, and toleration. A sci-fi action satire of arts movements, the Beats, the Decadents, and a sad horror comedy that starts with the murder of God in a play.
DetailsRachel Pollack brought the New Gods firmly into the 90s, and the run is more often decried than read. What could elicit such fear and disdain? What madness lies with gods who are flexible ideals.
DetailsGail Simone! Nancy Collins! Robert Hack! Emma Beeby! Mirka Andolfo! Swords of Sorrow had everybody on everybody, a crossover for the ages! Red Sonja! Kato! Lady Rawhide! Bad Kitty! Dejah Thoris!
DetailsJohn Byrne brought us new stories of the original X-Men for over twenty issues of not nostalgia but newness and tribute. Canceled early, always experimental, and ripe for reconsideration: X-Men: Hidden Years!
DetailsAll comics are engagements with communities, some comics are targeting demographics, and sometimes Trina Robbins, John Byrne, Amamiya Sae or Malcolm Shaw can just open up your entire heart and make you happy cry.
DetailsA look into Watchmen and into myself, a look into mid-1980s superhero comics and how things read now. With all respect to Dave Gibbons, Richard Bruning, John Higgins, and Alan Moore.
DetailsThe newest volume of Marvel’s Future Foundation has been canceled. It was, it seems, canceled before an issue was ever released, but if projected sales did not kill it, the word of mouth and whine of bigot could have, just as well.
Details