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MILES MORALES, the Bildungsroman, and the Ethnoracial Pause

After a screening of my doc. Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics at the Durham County Library, a librarian asked: “What comics do a good job representing diversity, especially for young readers?” My reflex answer: “Go to the independents! Begin with those Latinx and African American creators featured in the documentary. Then follow the yellow-bricks to…

Transmyscira: The Catfight over MAN-EATERS #9

We are not at war. There is no enemy. This is a rescue operation. – Mister Six, The Invisibles Volume 3 #12 The comic book industry is in the midst of a full blown crisis in the representation of transgender, non binary, and otherwise gender non-conforming people. The decision by Man-Eaters writer Chelsea Cain to…

Hated and Feared: HOUSE OF X and POWERS OF X Examined

Taking on the voluntary mission of being the latest — in a long line of authors — to reintroduce a famous superhero team like the X-Men, in my humble opinion, is akin to reinventing the wheel or building a better mousetrap. No matter how good your concept, and no matter how unique your perspective, there…

KIRBYOLOGY!: Two Tales of Cavemen from the Craziest Trading Cards Ever

Some people carry a Bible in their pocket for comfort or as an inefficient bulletproof vest. I carry Jack Kirby: The Unpublished Archives, a 1994 set of trading cards that feature unused Kirby concepts from his time working in animation for Ruby-Spears. To say these concepts all over the map undersells their bonkers quotient by…

Comics and the FILM PHOTONOVEL: One-on-One with Jan Baetens

In Jan Baetens’ creative work as a poet, novelist, and scholar, we see an ongoing interest in image-text forms and content. This takes shape in his scholarly focus that has systematically analyzed all variety of image-text narrative form, especially those that move across genre and form like and that have traditionally been relegated to the…

Paved with Good Intentions: How HEROES IN CRISIS Betrays Trauma Victims

trigger warning: sexual abuse, suicidal ideation I have a right to be angry. Through middle and high school, comics were pretty much the only thing I had to keep me going without having a total breakdown. I mean, of course I had other interests and I still do. I could never survive on comics alone.…

Learning to Love the LEGION: Adventures in Hazing

Alright Legion-fans (and soon to be fans), we’ve covered all the basics. Now we’re coming in hot with an in-depth look at the first appearance of the Legion of Super-Heroes: Adventure Comics #247, written by Otto Binder, with art by Al Plastino, cover dated April, 1958. Note, incidentally, that a lot of these early Silver…

Baby, Queer Me One More Time: 39 MORE Indie Titles Doing Right by LGBTA Fans

Over the last few years, we’ve highlighted 101 print comics — not published by industry leaders DC or Marvel — and 80 webcomics that give queer, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, and asexual characters and stories center stage. The list is growing so quickly every day, to be honest, that keeping up with all…

#MakeComics: Colourist Marissa Louise

How do the pros #MakeComics? We’re here to tell you. Comicosity is picking the brains of a pro who is killing it in the comics industry, and for this round I was lucky enough to talk to Marissa Louise! Marissa is the colourist on, well, tons of comics – including Hex Wives, Fairlady, Doom Patrol/JLA…