Tag: Comics Are For Everybody
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In the Blog
Queers Who Pray: An Elisha Lim endeavour
I have had the pleasure of many run-ins with Elisha Lim at various community events, and have been totally blown away by their work. Thus, I feel compelled to promote their recent endeavour, a film called Queers Who Pray. Elisha is a brilliant and multi-talented artist who has illustrated comics, books and anthologies, as well as exhibited portraits in international galleries and screened short films all over the world. They have also self-published beautiful and endearing … READ MORE
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In the Blog
The Comfort of Queer Family Wisdom
I think that last year was one of my most humbling years. I’d become used to a certain level of respect and dignity, and when I lost it, I was kind of floored. I left my home of Toronto. Toronto - where I had been part of the majority. I was an immigrants’ kid, I was university educated, I knew lots of activist jargon and where to shop for shoes. But last year I moved to … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Misogyny in Geek Culture
Seventh grade was the year I realized that I definitely Wasn’t Cool. Until that point, my relative coolness had been up for debate - sure, I was a brainiac know-it-all who spent most of her spare time with her nose stuck in a book, but I’d always done well socially and had a fairly sizeable group of friends. Something happened, though, during that summer before seventh grade. Some kind of paradigm shift went down among the … READ MORE
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In the Blog
E=MComics
I love Science. Well, I love the sort of pop culturey science that can be understood by someone who’s last experience in a laboratory was grade ten biology. Lately I’ve been obsessively listening to every episode of Radio Lab, a science-oriented, This American Life-esque podcast that covers a topics like sleep, zoos, pop music and deception. Lucky for me, there are also a bunch of great science comics. A writer named Jim Ottaviani has created a really cool … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Out of Birch Control
An old lady with an invisible house. A crust punk who discovers a water nymph. A traveling musician who has to build a magical artifact before he can marry a woman he’s never met. These brilliantly strange and beautiful stories all appear in the new issue of Laura Kenins’s immensely engaging Birch Control #2. Whether Kenins’s comics are based on a Finnish epic, or they involve teenagers walking around, being snotty, Ghost World-style, they all feel … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Free Comic Book Day! May 2nd! Hooray!
It’s here! The best holiday of the spring! Easter? Nah! Passover? Fuggedaboudit! It’s Free Comic Book Day! Okay, maybe it’s not an official holiday, but it should be! Every year, on the first Saturday in May, retailers around the world give away free comic books. Free Comic Book Day is a great way for new readers to gingerly step into the world of comics, or for comic fans to try something new, with no pressure. In Halifax, it’s … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Cooked to Perfection
When I opened the new issue of DMZ this week, I was floored by the amazing art by fill-in creator, Nikki Cook. DMZ is a series set in the near future where a brutal civil war is being waged in the United States. The comic is a critical and complex read, made irresistible by great characters. This issue focuses on Zee, a radical-medic, who is committed and unflappable in an absolutely chaotic environment. Cook does an amazing … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Growing Pains
The Color of Earth is the first in a trilogy of manhwa (Korean comics), by renowned creator, Kim Dong Hwa. The books are well known in Korea, but just being released in North America. It’s a coming of age story that follows Ehwa, a cool little girl who lives with her mom in quiet, pastoral Korea. We watch Ewha from the ages of 5 to 15, as she matures physically and emotionally. She develops crushes on … READ MORE
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In the Blog
(Some) Comic Shops Are For Everybody
Hooray, I’m finally home after a long tour! One of my favourite things about traveling to lots of different cities is checking out their comic shops, and getting a brief glimpse into another comics community. As a comic shop employee, seeing the way other shops do it makes me think about what separates welcoming, lady-friendly shops from the creepy, alienating ones. In my experience, it’s mostly the staff. A diverse crew of friendly-as-heck and knowledgeable-but-not-pretentious folks … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Good-bye, Comic Foundry! Sniff! Sniff!
Like most Shamelesss readers, I get really excited about a quality magazine. I have been devouring every issue of the stellar comics culture magazine, Comic Foundry. My heart broke when I saw that newest issue is the second-to-last issue. Comic Foundry is all about balance–it does a great job of covering indie comics, mainstream stuff and web comics. A diverse range of creators are featured, from Marvel and DC heavy hitters, to hot new indie … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Rock and Roll Manga
The cover of Inio Asano’s new manga, Solanin, caught my eye–this band-aid faced, toque wearing, worried looking girl. What’s her deal? Solanin follows Meiko, a young Tokyo woman who feels like she might not be making the most of her life. Meiko takes a look at her savings account and realises she can survive for a few months without an income. She quits her boring office job without any real plans, just the excitement of … READ MORE
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In the Blog
WHY I LOVE J. BONE
Canadian illustrator and comic artist J. Bone does so much adorable, amazing stuff. I love him. Here are some reasons why. J. Bone drew this picture for Wonder Woman Day. It’s been the desktop on my computer for a month. How can I grumble about all the work I have to do when I’m looking at that? J. Bone has a blog entirely devoted to showcasing his drawings hot dudes. Superhero-y dudes, caveman dudes, sporty dudes or … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Big Ol’ Slice of Octopus Pie
I’ve been reading an inordinate amount of web comics lately. Probably because I’m broke and it’s too cold to go to the library, but I need new comics in the way that ladies on TV need chocolate and shoes. Web comics are great because you can say you’re “working” when you’re really just catching up on Cat and Girl. These cartoonists work tirelessly (or probably often, tiredly) to put their stuff online for free. So read … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Takes Two to Make it Outta Sight
One of the things I love about comics is that they encourage collaborative creativity. While some comics are created by one lonely soul, many are the result of what those in the industry call a “creative team.” Doesn’t that sound like a fun team to be on? Most mainstream comics have a writer and an artist (as well as an inker, a colourer, and a letterer). I think it’s really cool to see how two … READ MORE
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In the Blog
GAY TEEN SUPERHERO TV SHOW, KA-POW!
The internet is a-buzzing with the news that Stan Lee is developing a new TV show about a gay superhero. Stan “the man” Lee is, of course, the godfather of Marvel comics and co-creator of basically every Marvel character you know, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and Daredevil. The Telegraph reported last week that Stan Lee was “to create world’s first gay superhero.” Um, no. Not even close. There are tons of gay superheros, and have … READ MORE
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In the Blog
The Weird and Wonderful Templar, Arizona
I recently discovered Templar, Arizona through the Comics Worth Reading blog. Their must-read Stupid Publisher Tricks feature inspired me to set aside all my DC and Marvel books for a while, and check out some more web comics. The world of web comics can be a very diverse place, since anyone can publish their comic online. That is, anyone with lots of time, energy, talent, dedication and the right tools… Templar, Arizona is a web comic created … READ MORE
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In the Blog
Kazu Kibuishi’s Daisy Kutter
Do you think about alternate universes a lot? Yeah, me too. I especially love post-apocalyptic sci-fi Western worlds. I like space and robots, and I also like cowboys and livin’ off the land. Put them together and you’ve got a perfect world. So I was delighted to read Kazu Kibuishi’s, Daisy Kutter: The Last Train, a Young Adult graphic novel about a tough as heck cowboy lady in the robot-filled old West. Daisy has retired from a … READ MORE
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In the Blog
MY TOP TEN COMICS OF 2008
Okay, I’m not saying I support hierarchies, or that all art needs to be graded and ranked, but I LOVE top ten lists. So here’s my totally biased and completely personal list of the best comics of 2008. Omega the Unknown The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For Runaways: Dead End Kids Janes in Love The War At Ellsmere RASL Skim All Star Superman Swallow Me Whole Emiko Superstar Details after the jump. Omega the Unknown Jonathan Lethem and Farel Dalrymple Surreal, strange and beautiful, Dalrymple and Lethem’s series … READ MORE
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In the Blog
SUPERGIRL: COSMIC ADVENTURES IN THE 8TH GRADE
For a gal with all the powers of Superman, Supergirl has had a pretty rough go of it. In the sixties Superman sent her to live in a crappy orphanage and only got her out when he needed a pawn in some plan (usually to make Lois jealous). Her origin story is confusing: She’s Superman’s cousin? She was sent to earth to kill him? She was built by Lex Luthor? In the past few … READ MORE
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In the Blog
ANGRY KIDS? ZOMBIE DOGS? KILLING PEOPLE WITH YOUR MIND? HOORAY FOR DEMO!
It’s cold as heck out, and the dreaded holiday season is here, so I’ve been dealing with it by curling up with some old favourites. I just reread Demo, a collection of twelve monthly comics written by Brian Wood and drawn by Becky Cloonan. It’s an awesome collection of angsty teenage stories, with Buffy or X-men-style metaphors where fantastic elements represent intense emotion. Brian Wood is generally loved by the ladies for his focus on female … READ MORE
