News
We’ve got an exciting announcement to make. The wonderful blog PencilPanelPage is going to be moving onto HU. PPP is a comics blog with an academic slant. They’re going to post every Thursday, kicking things off with a Krazy Kat roundtable which will run for several weeks and be cross-posted here and at their old location (where you can also catch up on their archives if you haven’t been over there.
PPP is going to be independently edited, and they’ll have guest posts and roundtables from time to time. You can read more about the blog and contributors here. They’ve posted a farewell which you can also check out.
All posts on PencilPanelPage can be found through the PencilPanelPage category tag. There’s also a tab on our homepage which will show all the PPP posts.
Qiana Whitted, who’s written for us occasionally, is a regular on PPP, so we’re psyched to have her contributing more regularly. We’re also thrilled to welcome Frank Bramlett, Roy T. Cook, Michael A. Johnson, and Adrielle Mitchell.
So check back Thursday to find the first PPP post, and the start of their Krazy Kat roundtable. Please take a minute when you do to welcome them aboard in comments!
And thank you to Jacob Canfield for making the adjustments to our site so PPP can fit in comfortably.
On HU
Featured Archive Post: Susan Kirtley on hating Betty and Veronica.
Bert Stabler has Frederic Wertham decapitate Art Spiegelman, Scott McCloud, and others.
Ng Suat Tong on pro-KKK outsider art.
Ng Suat Tong on how even comics critics don’t care about comics criticism.
Alex Buchet continues his prehistory of the superhero with a discussion of the Superman and Superman.
Me on Michael DeForge and how comics aren’t for kids anymore.
Shonté Daniels on racial difference and cosplaying.
Chris Gavaler on Age of Bronze and comic book gods.
Utilitarians Everywhere
On Salon I wrote about Amazon’s censorship of erotic ebooks.
I also talked about the Salon piece on HuffPost Live, so this is your chance to see me live and stuttering. Selena Kitt was also interviewed, and is less stuttery and more awesome.
At the Atlantic I talked about
—Gloria Steinem as a Disney Princess
—the Tea Party and the virtues of petty jealousy.
— Joss Whedon’s not very impressive speech about the word “feminist.”
At the Chicago Reader I reviewed/recommended Julia Serano’s great new book Excluded on making feminist and queer communities more inclusive. Buy it at once!
At Splice Today I talk about when to write for free and when not to.
Other Links
James Romberger interviews Frank Santoro about his graphic novel Pompeii.
Anna March on making fatherhood a choice.
Tom Spurgeon interviews Jeet Heer.
Notorious Phd on the Daily Mail profiling young female historians.
Amanda Hess interviews Melissa Gira Grant about sex work.
Tim Hodler’s response to crit of tcj and the fanta kickstarter. Brief but worth reading.
Sam Riedel on DC’s new video game crapola.
Alex Pareene on racist old men.
A nice piece about early Grendel.
Noah, there’s so much exciting news here, I don’t know where to begin! Does PPP’s participation portend the passing of HU’s pariah status, referenced in Suat’s recent post? Is HU cool now, and if so, is PPP cause or effect? Was the pariah-ness ever really real, or was it just some cool kids who didn’t like us? I hope you’ll forgive the self-identification revealed by the first person pronoun. Also, I never thought high school politics were fun in high school, but for some reason, I’m enjoying this iteration.
Seriously, I know it’s a matter of personal taste, but you seem to have an above-average level of fascinating content this week. I’m reminded of those occasions when Johnny Carson would say they had a really special show, and you could tell he meant it.
Thanks John! I think we have actually fallen from peak pariah some time ago, actually; now we just get the occasional disdaining look.
Ha! Well I hope that we can do our best to help HU maintain its pariah status. At least among the vocal few who believe this to be the case. I’ve become so accustomed to not being satisfyingly accepted anywhere that I wouldn’t know what to do otherwise. Sadly, we may not start many flame wars. But I’d like to think that the move also reflects the fact that online comics commentary has a wide range of interests and audiences….
Welcome to the lunch table, Qiana!
Thanks John!