“Burn His Words”: Abbott and the Illumination of Whitestream Culture

BOOM! Studio’s Abbott and its illumination of whitestream culture in academia and journalism.

Don’t Wait for a White Knight to Abolish the Police

Batman: White Knight demonstrates the limitation of the white imaginary regarding a post-police society by simply not being be able to envision one.

The (re)Collection Agency #12: A Conversation with Rebecca Wanzo

In the 12th installment of our series of talks with comics scholars and teachers, we talk with Dr. Rebecca Wanzo, about her new book, the difference between caricature and stereotype, and not remembering a beginning of a political consciousness.

WAUGH and On and On #6: It’s the Bomb that Will Bring Us Together

Examining Howard the Duck #28 – when a Wolfman writes a duck man and ends up with a bomb.

WAUGH and On and On #5: It’s the End of the WAUGH as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)

“Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself churn. . ” as we come to the final arc of the first volume of Howard the Duck to be penned by Steve Gerber.

Harley Quinn’s Sexuality: A Tale of Three Lusts

Laura Grafton and Andew Deman examine the intersection of Harley Quinn’s three central relationships, with the Joker, Poison Ivy, and her audience.

All-Female Fanfare: Examining Marvel Fanfare #38

When it is a surprise to the editor that both stories in a comic are written and drawn by women, it takes an engaged reader to consider the actual significance.

“But We’re Out of Time”: Queer(ed) Nostalgia and The WB’s Birds of Prey

Thinking through how personal narratives also become mediated narratives that enable queer world-building through the example of The WB’s Birds of Prey.

“Jimmy Olsen—SUPER Freak!” – Disability and Superman’s Pal

How the limitations of Jimmy Olsen’s transformations limn the dynamics of superhuman embodiment.

WAUGH and On and On #4: Synecducky

Ten ways to look at Howard the Duck #24 – the part that reflects the whole, the whole that is just a part.

Brief Comic Book Reviews (January 1 to 15, 2020)

Brief reviews of comics released between January 1st and 15th, 2020 (like Miles Morales: Spider-Man #14 and Second Coming #6), plus a couple of outliers I picked up (like Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #3).

WAUGH and On and On #3: The Dark Side of the Farce

A long time ago in a world he never made. . . STAR WAUGH! Third in an ongoing Howard the Duck reading series.

Days of Future Imperfect Past: The 2019 Year-End Meta Post

A look at the past year, comics collecting present, and a possible future for The Middle Spaces

Unstable Masks; Or, The Whiteness of the Superhero (a preview)

A guest post in the form of a preview of the forthcoming anthology, Unstable Masks: Whiteness and American Superhero Comics.

“These Stories Are Out There” – Reclaiming Queer and Trans Histories with Melanie Gillman

Guest contributor, Tiffany Babb, interviews cartoonist Melanie Gillman about their work and the importance of envisioning queer and trans histories.

The Hidden Fortress: No Ivy League and Legacies of Whiteness

Interrogating the complex legacies of racial injustice in Hazel Newlevant’s No Ivy League and Jonathan Lethem’s The Fortress of Solitude.

On Exoskeletons and Assimilation: Revisiting the Latinidad of Marvel’s Araña

Considering the role of Latinidad in Araña’s comics despite a decreasing representation of of its so-called “authentic” markers.

Brief Comic Book Reviews (September 6 through September 25, 2019)

Brief reviews of comics that were released in September 2019, including Agents of Atlas #2, Wonder Twins #7, and Power Pack: Grow Up! #1

WAUGH and On and On #2: Duck Naked

What do Disney and “decency” campaigns have in common? The blandification of culture. Covering Howard the Duck #21.

Reachin’ Not Drowning: Songs in Conversation About Abortion

The personal is political and sometimes – as in the case of abortion – the political is personal.

Epic Disasters: Revisiting Marvel & DC’s 1980s Famine Relief Comics

How well do Marvel and DC’s 1985 comics meant to raise aid for famine relief in Africa tackle the tragic events they are addressing? Short answer? Not well.