Queerness occupies a strange place in the world, pun not quite intended. From what I gather, which I hope is not my own projection, the queer and trans people I know just want to live and thrive, be nerds, have sex if we so choose or have people respect us if sexual or romantic attraction…
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…
The Comics Classroom: AKIRA, a Cyberpunk Masterpiece
It is probably going to be impossible to say anything genuinely new concerning Akira, that masterpiece of Japanese manga created by Katsuhiro Otomo (hereafter referred to as Otomo) in 1982 which then ran until 1990. The premise of the story is that, thirty years after a post WW3 Japan has somewhat started to recover from…
The Comics Classroom: SAILOR MOON and the Heroine’s Journey
A few years ago, while taking a course relating to Critical Theory, I had two encounters with an instructor that profoundly helped to shape my views on Joseph Campbell. At one point during discussion, Campbell’s name came up, to which I asked whether he was or was not still a viable figure within academic discourse.…
The Comics Classroom: Learning to Listen with FRUITS BASKET
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 Comic Classroom: Re-Birth Part 3
What does it mean to live? What does it mean to die? These two questions are, quite possibly, the penultimate conundrum that bedevils mankind. To answer these questions, we have come to understand the universe through the mechanisms and methodologies of religion. However, few religions offer an identical meaning to those two important questions. While…