Category Archives: Utilitarian Review

Utilitarian Review 11/16/13

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On HU

Featured Archive Post: Brian Cremins on representing music in comics with Gil Kane and Bob Dylan.

Annie Murphy on women and exclusion in comics.

Chris Gavaler on Thor vs. the Dark World of DC.

Ng Suat Tong argues that Michael DeForge needs better critics.

Caroline Small argued that comics criticism needs more critic-practitioners.

Kristian Williams talked about the morality of Watchmen, Fail-Safe, and Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem.

Ng Suat Tong responds to Kristian’s post by asserting that Ozymandias is less of a bastard than John F. Kennedy.

For our first PencilPanelPage post, Adrielle Mitchell talked about Krazy Kat and the comics canon.

I talk about why I try to get women writers on HU.

 
Utilitarians Everywhere

On the Atlantic I wrote about

—Lily Allen’s crappy new video, the impossibility of parody in pop, and how you should buy Valerie June’s album.

—Leigh Moscowitz’s new book, The Battle Over Marriage: Gay Rights Activism Through the Media, and assimilation as dialectic.

At the Dissolve I wrote about the mediocre political documentary Caucus.

At Splice Today I wrote about

—my son explaining conceptual art.

—a great documentary about bees dying off

 
Other Links

This is a really depressing piece about treatment of women in the comics industry.

Ariel Chesler on men’s reproductive rights and fatherhood (the linked Anna March piece is worth reading too.)

Danielle Paradis on Joss Whedon redefining feminism.

Our own James Romberger is an Eisner Award judge.
 

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Utilitarian Review 11/8/13 — Welcome to PencilPanelPage!

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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.

Utilitarian Review 11/2/13

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On HU

Chris Gavaler on Carrie, Jean Grey, and misogynist apocalypse.

Me on The English Teacher and why, despite its claims, it isn’t really set in my hometown of Kingston, PA.

Ng Suat Tong on the Trigan Empire, history and fascism.

Benjamin Rogers on fall comics from Hic&Hoc.

Me on the regency romance as feminist utopia in novels by Pam Rosenthal and Cecelia Grant.

Kimball Anderson on bodies and selves in Dollhouse and Kaiba.

Chris Gavaler on Captain America and the war on terror.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Atlantic I wrote about:

—12 Years a Slave and historical accuracy.

—how strict copyright laws hurt educational materials.

At Splice I wrote about

—Valerie June’s phenomenal Pushin’ Against a Stone. Best album of the year.

—Jonathan Bernstein and why the best political pundits don’t know what they’re talking about.
 
Other Links

Tessie McMillan Cottom on why poor people “waste” money on luxury goods.

Julia Serano on why bisexual people don’t reinforce the gender binrary.

Utilitarian Review 10/26/13

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On HU

A list of posts about femael indie comics creators on HU.

A list of posts by female indie comics creators on HU.

I talk about why Gwyneth Jones’ sci-fi novels and why a coke bottle can be indie comics.

Tom Gill reviews Midnight Fishermen, a Singapore-published collection of Tatsumi stories never before translated into English.

Robert Stanley Martin continues his reevaluation of Jim Shooter, looking at Shooter’s relationship with Tony Isabella, Steve Englehart, and Gerry Conway.

Alex Buchet with part 6 of his prehistory of the superhero series, this one focusing on Buffalo Bill, dime novels, and the pulps.

Chris Gavaler on Sandy Hook and the superheroic war on crime.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

On Salon this week I wrote about:

—Selena Kitt’s erotic ebook “Babysitting the Baumgartners” and romance tropes.

—Orson Scott Card’s Xenogensis, white savior fantasies and sexism.

At the Atlantic I wrote about 12 Years a Slave and masculinity.

For my first piece at The Dissolve I reviewed When I Walk, a documentary about its creator’s multiple sclerosis.

At Splice Today I warned mamas not to let your babies grow up to be politicians.
 
Other Links

Craig Fischer with a massive piece on Dave Berg.

Rad-Femme Lawyer on why your penis is not a good lens through which to view human rights issues.

Danielle Paradis on bisexuality and the closet.

Mary McCarthy on not going crazy with the dieting.

Janine Ballard review the Slightest Provocation, a romance by Pam Rosenthal.

Jaclyn Frieman on how Men’s Rights Activism hurts men.
 

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Utilitarian Review 10/18/13

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On HU
Our Indie Comics vs. Context roundtable rolled on.

We had an Indie Comics vs. Google Trends showdown.

A music sharing post featuring indie cartoonists who also rock (or make other noises.)

Kailyn Kent on indie comics and the context of fannishness.

I wrote about gender in Johnny Ryan’s “Spring Break”

Charles Reece on feminism and Fukitor.

Qiana Whitted on Jennifer Cruté, race, risk, and underground cartooning.

Owen A looks at influences on the work of Rusty Jordan and Roman Muradov.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere
At the Atlantic I wrote about the documentary My Other Me, Cosplay and authenticity.

At Splice Today I wrote about the video for Lucius’ song “Turn It Around” and retor failure.

Tracy Q. Loxley talked to me and others about whether men who talk about feminism online get harassed (the consensus was not so much.)
 
Other Links
Splice Today is having an autobiographical writing contest with a $1000 prize.

Charles Hatfield takes a sledgehammer to the mediocre new PBS documentary on superheroes.

Danielle Paradis with a piece ostensibly about Miley Cyrus but actually about the sexualization of waitstaff.

Joseph Thomas on how our idiotic copyright regime is going to prevent him from publishing his biography of Shel Silverstein.
 
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Utilitarian Review 10/12/13

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On HU

Featured Archive Post: James Romberger on Alex Toth’s late horror comics.

Pam Grier is too cool to write an interesting memoir.

I argue that nobody should care who wrote the Jack Kirby/Stan Lee collaborations because the writing isn’t any good.

Ng Suat Tong on Satoshi Kon’s mediocre Tropic of the Sea.

We started our Indie Comics vs. Context death match roundtable. See our handy index here.

RM Rhodes on Hipster Hitler and American Captain — old icons in new context.

Bert Stabler on how Matt Groening improved the Simpsons by disappearing.

Jacob Canfield reviewed The Graphic Textbook and found it wanting.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At Salon I argue that if you want good advice on writing you should ask a hack.

I wrote a fun piece at Splice about various versions of Bonnie Raitt’s schmaltz standard I Can’t Make You Love Me

At the Atlantic I talk about:

—Miley Cyrus, Jeff Koons, and the goal of pop artificiality.

—a documentary about the first independent television station in Afghanistan.
 
Other Links

Laura Hudson interviews Eva Orner on her documentary The Network, about the first independent TV station in Afghanistan.

James Romberger on Jack Kirby’s In The Days of the Mob.

Zack Beauchamp on how racism caused the shutdown.
 

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Utilitarian Review 10/5/13

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On HU

I talked about The Interrupters and violence in Chicago.

Our music sharing post featured Ms. Jade and lots more.

Alex Buchet reaches America with his series on the prehistory of the superhero.

Subdee on Homestuck dealing with its fans.

Chris Gavaler on the Western voyages of Sinbad.

Me on Hulk vs. Jeff Koons.

Chris Gavaler on a tea party superhero.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Atlantic Cities I interviewed Daniel Hertz about the inequality of violence in Chicago.

At the Atlantic I reviewed a new documentary about Muscle Shoals.

At Splice Today I wrote about:

—how great Cassie is.

— how the shutdown is really not very much like the Civil War.
 
Other Links

Jeffrey O. Gustafson compares Adventure Time 19 to Solaris.

Mikki Kendall on violence and segregation in Chicago.

Corey Blake wonders if Comixology should go public.

Jonathan Bernstein on Republican party dysfunction.