Claudine Will Make You Angry
Riyoko Okeda’s Claudine is evergreen in the way few trans comics remain after decades. Its author’s genuineness and that its primary goal is not to laud, to warm, to laugh, or to amuse, but to make you angry.
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Not Quite a Pass: Things I Tolerate to Get Through Comics
When you are deep enough in comics, there are things that rankle you, that sit wrong, but you learn – not to give them a pass, but – to tolerate them as they go by.
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Living the Moment with Scatterlands
Warren Ellis’ and Jason Howard’s Scatterlands does not culminate, it has no denouement, no arc and settlement. Scatterlands both goes and it goes entirely within the scope of its panel, each time.
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OPINION: Smack Talk 101 with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez quoted correctly, using it as smack talk in the appropriate context, properly citing the author, and laying down a challenge. What nobody needs, is armchair geek-cred checkers trying to verify her bonafides. Or, turning Rorschach into a hero.
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Captain Britain in Ten Pages
For more than forty years, Brian Braddock has been saving the day, fighting evil, and being a decent guy in the Marvel Universe. Captain Britain has been drawn by some of the greats, like Herb Trimpe, Carlos Pacheco, and Alan Davis. Here are ten pages from ten different comics, giving a ten-sided perspective on the man, the myth, the superhero.
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Arrogant as Ever: Hubris, Monstrosity, and Hope in The Best Defense
The Defenders is the Clifford, the Big Red Dog of superhero comics. Every outing is an exercise in how do we make this work? Too powerful for most threats. Too territorial for one comic. Too touchy to team up. So, how did Al Ewing and the gang pull it off?
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Your Guide to Secret Places
The best horror host, in any form, anywhere, any time, is British phantasm, Misty. In her self-titled anthology comic, she lures us in, and though the comic has not run in decades (though it has been resurrected as a shared irregular comic, along with Scream), those Misty issues retain both allure and power.
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The Hate Machine and Avoiding Personal Responsibility
Tom Taylor and an array of visual artists’ X-Men Red has generated more than a few discussions and op-eds about viral ideas, terrorism, indoctrination, media saturation, bigotry, and fault. Most of them, most of us, want to see the threat as someone else, some other evil or manipulated person, but as Gabby puts it, even if someone made it that way, “The sentinels are us.”
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The Appropriation Artist
Grant Morrison has appropriated throughout his career, whole pages, whole panels, lines from songs, a cache of styles and techniques applied to one scene or one book. He is, generally, fairly open about it outside of the books, it’s only within the comics that the appropriations are masked.
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5 Things That Seem Like Big Stories (That Are Forgotten Within 5 Years)
They may be tasty bait for news outlets and your reactionary Facebook friend’s new they’re ruining everything post, but these are five things that get you all excited, maybe worried, and are forgotten a few years later.
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Representation and Relevance: An Interview With Mariko Tamaki
An interview with X-23, Supergirl: Being Super, and This One Summer writer, Mariko Tamaki.
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Superhero Emotional Support
The hug and cup of coffee ethos and efforts in New Universe books, Squadron Supreme, and other mid-80s comics tested these waters, as well as The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen, and while this was now over thirty years ago, to be honest, superhero comics have not significantly matured since. The Unstoppable Wasp is out there being a forefront book, right now.
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