Nearly three decades have passed since our communities — and finally the world — began to see the horrors in the Mexico/US borderlands: the epidemic spread of rape, mutilation, and murder of women in Ciudad Juárez and other Mexican bordertowns. In a post-1993 NAFTA super-exploitive economy, women are forced to work extreme hours for a…
KIRBYOLOGY!: Warren Ellis’s KARNAK and a Reminder to Not be the Worst
I have a superpower of sorts. I can look at anything — a crowded coffee shop, a walk in the park with my dog, a conversation with a neighbor, a ride down the elevator, or just the creaky process of getting up in the morning — and immediately predict, in great detail, how it’s going…
Health and Inclusivity: Connecting to Mythology with IS’NANA: THE WERE-SPIDER
One thing I love about writing for Comicosity is how things are able to evolve. Just like the site has gone through important and illuminating developments, so have things like this column, Health and Inclusivity. As such, moving forward, I’d like to focus more on stories by creators from marginalized communities, especially those who are…
Cómix Latinx: Bleeding Kansas, Wilfred Santiago, and THUNDERBOLT
He is one of the most compelling figures in American history. John Brown, the militant abolitionist who came to embody the violent counterinsurgency against the bloody institution of American slavery, is the subject of Wilfred Santiago’s latest masterwork. Rooted in the iconography of the Civil War, the symbolism of religious fervor, and the violence perpetrated…
Jonathan Hickman’s X-MEN, and the House that Metaphor Built
The X-Men’s new storyline House of X/Powers of X, which promised to introduce a new era of X-Men stories, has passed its midpoint. While reading this storyline, I’ve been thinking about what drew me to the X-Men years ago and what it means to be a fan of a meaningful story that’s been published by…
Learning to Love the LEGION: On Supergirl and Selective Continuity
Hello, loyal Legion learners! Welcome back to the bi-weekly column where we attempt to figure out what this whole Legion of Super-Heroes business is about and why you, a Twenty-First Century comics connoisseur, should give them your attention. I had forgotten how many characters are introduced, and how quickly, early on in the Legion’s publication…
Deadly Nightshade: Poison Ivy, SQUADRON SUPREME, and a History of Sexualized Violence
Does it count as consent if the person you’re with has been programmed to never go against your orders — to always give consent, no matter what? In the recent Heroes in Crisis series, we saw Harley Quinn framed for murder and Poison Ivy killed — and subsequently reborn as a shell of her former self.…
#MakeComics: Writer/Artist Youssef Daoudi
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 Youssef Daoudi! Youssef is the writer and artist of the Eisner-nominated Monk!: Thelonious, Pannonica, and the Friendship Behind a…
Health and Inclusivity: Starting a New School Year with CHECK, PLEASE!
Look. After working for a university for the past few years, I’ve become well-acquainted with the hectic and rapid change that is a New School Year. Being on the other side as a faculty member has meant that the transition and change I experienced from the first time I stepped on campus is a similar…
#MakeComics: Letterer Aditya Bidikar
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 Aditya Bidikar! Aditya is the letterer on, well, tons of comics – including ISOLA, Motor Crush, Winnebago Graveyard…