Writing does not come as easily lately, in large part because *too much* is going on. As a result of the *too much*, my mind easily goes to places that are great for survival and making sure I still have an income, but at the cost of my own mental health, and, unfortunately, my creativity.…
Infusing Manga with Diversity: Frederick Jones, MyFutprint, and SATURDAY AM
Beyond investigating and critiquing a wide range of comic books — from classic super-heroes to modern indies, styles ranging from western to the Far East of manga, new and old — Comicosity is committed to its core in promoting an increase in diversity and inclusion across the industry, and indeed, across genres. It is with…
Health and Inclusivity: Exploring the Gay Journey in GIVEN by Natsuki Kizu
Music can be an equalizer. It can reveal things hidden within us or help us dive into our feelings. We can express joy, despair, happiness, anger, and many other emotions. So, what if music was the way to see yourself? To see others? To forge pivotal connections? In Given, we get to see not only…
Professor Latinx: The Pulse on Latinx Comics 2020 (and a Look Forward)
Pandemic 2020 hit our communities hard. Many at the frontlines caught and suffered through the contagion. Many lost family members. All of us teeter-tottered between pressure-cooker anxiety and beat-down malaise. #BlackLivesMatter wiped thickened film from eyes, showing the world that for BIPOC folx, the pandemic just made more visible legacies of living under colonial-cum-capitalist rule.…
Health and Inclusivity: Breaking the Code in MY VIDEO GAMES ATE MY HOMEWORK
It’s one thing for video games to be a distraction, but I never imagined they could literally devour my schoolwork. Unfortunately for Dewey Jenkins, he is very much aware. Dustin Hansen and Corey Breen come together in My Video Game Ate My Homework, which details Dewey’s journey to recover a science project, leading him, his…
Transmyscira: Finding My Voice in TRANS GIRLS HIT THE TOWN
I want to say that Trans Girls Hit The Town profoundly altered the course of my life, but that’s a phrase that might not carry a lot of weight with me these days. I’ve related, in various ways over the years, how integral The Invisibles and Promethea were to the gender epiphany that lead me…
Anatomy of a Panel: Rina Ayuyang BLAME(s) IT ON THE BOOGIE
Right out of the gate, let me say that Ignatz and Eisner Award-nominated Rina Ayuyang’s comics have me thinking a lot about movement and comics. Comics as movement: within the panel and between panels and page flips. Movement in content: all those physical and psychological emplotments. Movement within and across identities exquisitely shaped by creators…
Anatomy of a Panel: Søren Mosdal Paints a Picture of BASQUIAT
Comics artist, graphic novelist, and illustrator Søren Mosdal has been innovating at the heart of Danish comics since the turn of the 21st century. With Denmark’s comics scene historically gravitating toward comics for kids or satirical editorials, Søren’s work in Danish newspapers and magazines like Zoe, Euroman, and KBH in the late 1990s and early…
Doom and Bloom: Rachel Pollack and the Evolution of the DOOM PATROL
If you’ve been paying attention to the Doom Patrol in the past two decades, you might notice a key oversight. That is, how transgender author Rachel Pollack’s time as their writer has been largely ignored by DC’s marketing and editorial teams. Even John Arcudi’s run and John Byrne’s critically lambasted run (which even received its…
Health and Inclusivity: Embracing the New in SCHOOL FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL GIRLS
Adjustment is basically a synonym for adolescence. In Jeremy Whitley, Jamie Noguchi, Shannon Lilly, and Wilson Ramos Jr.’s School for Extraterrestrial Girls, Tara has to make some adjustments that neither she nor we would ever expect. In a matter of moments, Tara finds out she isn’t human, like at all, the people who raised her…