I have written in the past on topics concerning Japanese intellectual properties that engage with Japanese culture through both high and low forms of art. It is no secret that I love anime and manga, but I have (mostly) targeted some rather ‘safe’ genres such as samurai, giant robots, and transforming female heroines. Heck, I…
The Comics Classroom: GUNDAM: THE ORIGIN and Why Mecha Still Matters
Is there a series of words cooler than “giant robot?” Even to this day, at almost 35 years of age, I can think of few things which make as excited as when I am talking about the mecha genre of manga. While this classification of material crosses over into a lot of areas, particularly TV…
The Comics Classroom: On the Tragic Villainy of BLACK ADAM
What makes a villain transition in your mind’s eye from being good to being iconic? In some ways, the status of being iconic is simply one of textual longevity, i.e. being a character who has remained as part of a mythos despite their flaws, and thus has become enmeshed into the narrative so much that…
MISTER MIRACLE: The Face At The End of This Boom Tube
Trying to talk about Tom King and Mitch Gerad’s work on Mister Miracle feels like being asked to explain the meaning of life. Or, Anti-Life, even. While, sure, there are some examples within the 300 pages of the Mister Miracle trade paperback that supports specific views of what Anti-Life and Life Equations could be, ultimately…
The Comics Classroom: Empathy for the Devil
Back in 2013, I was fortunate enough to have been brought into Comicosity by Aaron Long and Matthew Santori after I pitched an idea to them for this column series. To this day, I am not positive what made Aaron and Matthew take a risk on my writing, but I cannot express how thankful I…
Pushing Through the Pain of HEROES IN CRISIS
Comics like the currently on-going Heroes in Crisis story by Tom King are probably the hardest to critique. I feel like something is wrong with it, yet the subjects around which the story revolves, therapy and trauma, are things about which I know little outside of anecdotal evidence and experience. Or, to re-state the premise…
The Writing on the Wall: Poison Ivy and HEROES IN CRISIS
Way back in 1994, when I was around the age of 10, I remember watching the “House & Garden” episode of Batman: The Animated Series. The main focus of the story, which was written by Paul Dini and directed by Boyd Kirkland, was about how Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy) had been allowed to leave Arkham…
The Comics Classroom – Super Teens, Part 1: MY HERO ACADEMIA
It is hard to ignore the popularity of author Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia (Boku no Hīrō Akademia, if you want to know the Hepburn translation of 僕のヒーローアカデミア). I have kept up with the series before it came to the U.S., but even today it’s as popular now as when it first appeared here in…
YOUNG JUSTICE: A Masterclass in Youth and Friendship
In some ways looking back on the original Young Justice run that started back in the 90s can come off as a bit of a rough ride. One of the first villains the team (which started with Robin, Superboy, and Impulse) faced was a character called Mighty Endowed, a busty catgirl who literally couldn’t stand…
SAMURAI EXECUTIONER: How History and Fiction Collide
If comics can be said to be a conduit for mythological symbols, both ancient and modern, to help us solve problems, what does this look like in practice when we turn from the familiar to the unexpected? For many American readers, there is a tendency to absorb and appropriate Japanese terms such as “samurai” and…