Brief Comic Book Reviews (August 22 to Sept 5, 2018)
Brief reviews of recent comics released August 22 to September 5, 2018; including Border Town #1, Black Hammer: Age of Doom #4, and Paper Girls #24.
Alpha & Omega #11: An Evolutionary Dead-End
The final installment of our reading series examining both version of Omega the Unknown, this time examining The Defenders #76 and #77, in which the original series was wrapped up after being cancelled.
Mind the Gaps 2018! The First Annual CSS Conference
An overview of Mind the Gaps 2018 – the first annual conference of the Comics Studies Society.
The (re)Collection Agency #9: A Conversation with Michael Sharp
In the 9th installment of our series of talks with comics scholars and teachers, we talk to Dr. Michael Sharp about what crossword puzzles and comic strips have in common, being a late comer to Marvel Comics, and the 1980s through the prism of Bloom County.
Brief Reviews of Comics (July 4 to 25, 2018)
Brief review of comics released in July 2018, including Astonisher #9, Captain America #1, The Quantum Age #1 and Paper Girls #22.
Alpha & Omega #10: Omega Without End
The not-so-final installment on the final installments of both versions of Omega the Unknown.
Digging Up Ghosts: Teen Titans’ Mal Duncan & His Token Power
Using Teen Titans #41 to think through token characters and slavery as a narrative trope.
Brief Comics Reviews (6/13 to 6/27, 2018)
Brief Reviews of Comics released between June 13th and 27th, 2018, including Runaways #10, Exiles #4, and Black Hammer: Age of Doom #3.
Unfreezing the Past: The MCU’s Captain America and Traumatic Reenactment
Re-considering the arc of Captain America through the lens of trauma in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Alpha & Omega #9: Poetic License to Kill
The ninth installment of reading both versions of Omega the Unknown (from 1976 and 2007 respectively) against each other.
Colonial Hottie: Gal Gadot, Wonder Woman and Brand Israel
A crucial interrogation of how Gal Gadot’s Israeli identity and IDF experience are used to sell her authenticity in the role of Wonder Woman.
The (re)Collection Agency #8: A Conversation with Francesca Lyn
In the 8th installment of our series of talks with comics scholars, we talk to doctoral student Francesca Lyn about collecting, autobiographical comics, and stand-up comedy.
“Am I Black Enough For You?” The Respectability of CW’s Black Lightning
The CW’s Black Lighting represents the split between Black respectability and radical politics in a singular figure.
Countering the Gaze: The Liberatory Potential of Bitch Planet’s Exploitation Aesthetic
Making use of the naturalized male gaze to challenge its reductive results and explore questions raised by our Bitch Planet Round Table.
Alpha & Omega #8: Fixing a Hole. .
Both versions of Omega the Unknown #8 seem to be “nowhere plans for nobody.”
“Is There Anything Left to be Shattered?”: Reading Dazzler in the #MeToo Moment
Dazzler the Movie as an important fictional prehistory to the #MeToo movement and stories about abusive media figures.
Brief Comics Reviews (March 7-21, 2018)
Brief reviews of comics that came out between March 7 and 21, including Marvel Two-in-One #4, Black Bolt #11, and the Mighty Thor #705.
Alpha & Omega #7: Call Me By Your Name
In 1977 a fill-in writer accidentally highlights the queer mysteries of adolescence, while in 2008 the adventure ramps up towards conclusion.
Like a Phoenix: On Selective Completion & Re-Collecting X-Men
Taking the occasion of our 5th anniversary to explore the re-acquiring of X-Men comics in that same time period.
Hard Women, Hard Time: Bitch Planet Comics Studies Round Table (part three)
Part Three in a scholarly round table examining Kelly Sue DeConnik and Valentine De Landro’s Bitch Planet.
Bound By Law: Bitch Planet Comics Studies Round Table (part two)
Part Two in a scholarly round table examining Kelly Sue DeConnik and Valentine De Landro’s Bitch Planet.
The Middle Spaces 