News

First, my book is officially out next week. We will have a bunch of Marston/Peter content out next week and possibly into the week after, including reviews, interviews and more. So stay tuned!

Also, as folks probably know, Jacob Canfield‘s post on the Charlie Hebdo shootings went viral. We’ve gotten exponentially more traffic than we got even when the Sean Michael Robinson and Joy DeLyria’s post went viral way back in March 2011. Since the post went up on Wednesday, we’ve gotten close to as much traffic as we received in the entirety of last year. The site has done better with it than I thought it would, but we’re still somewhat glitchy and erratic. I’m hoping that with the weekend things will calm down and we’ll start getting back to normal.

More after a brief appearance by our preposterous stats graph for this week.
 

 
On HU

Besides Jaob’s monster, here are the other pieces that went up on HU this week.

Featured Archive Post: Betsy Phillips on Sleepy John Estes and the poetics of place.

A list of my best writing of the year from around the web.

On the Handmaid’s Tale and bad slavery comparisons.

Michael Arthur on furry and profiling your own damn fandom.

Alex Buchet gives credit to the comic-book creators who developed the characters in Marvel’s Age of Ultron film.

Chris Gavaler on why we should get away from the term “genre ghetto”.

Isaac Butler on Joe Sacco’s BUMF#1, and why we need satire.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Atlantic I wrote about Kanye West and Paul McCartney’s lovely new song, and how no one needs to know who Paul is.

At the Atlantic I interviewed DeRay Mckeeson, one of the organizers of the Ferguson protests, about the importance of social media to the movement.

At Ravishly I wrote about feminism as the patriarchal ogre father.

At Ravishly I wrote about the fact that the James Bond films are white supremacist, and why casting Idris Elba won’t necessarily change that.

At Splice Today I wrote about how you can’t trust book release dates.

At Splice Today I explained why Islamophobia can be racist.

At the Pacific Standard I wrote about evidence that images of effective torture can convince people that torture is okay.

At the Chicago Reader I got to write about great grunge primitives Bionic Cavemen.
 
Other Links

Anne N. Bornschein on the scholarly study of romance.

Tim Hanley on the Marston/Peter Wonder Woman newspaper strips.

Serene Khader on Charlie Hebdo and racism.

On life without police in Bed Stuy.

Jesse Walker points out that sources lie to reporters.

Tauriq Moose is skeptical of public marriage proposals.

Wonder Woman News

I got my first negative review on Goodreads! Not ideal, obviously, but it seems fair; he wanted a more fannish book and got an academic one.

More hearteningly, Amazon reports on book sales from brick and mortar stores, and it looks like I sold 48 copies last week across the country (!) Which is way better than I’d expected to do. Not sure how long we’ll see that level of interest continue, but still; it was a nice start.

On HU

Featured Archive Post: Caroline Small on why Jaime Hernandez is (unfortunately) not a soap opera.

On 2001: A Superhero Odyssey.

A five-minute hate for Steven Spielberg

An interview with Marguerite Van Cook and James Romberger about their graphic memoir The Late Child and Other Animals.

Odessa Jones on romance, empathy, and why Korean drama is better than the Golden Age of TV.

Chris Gavaler on being a dad when girls are from Mars.

A roundup of the highlights from the Hooded utilitarian in 2014.

Roy T. Cook on comics definitions and why comics studies is so predictable.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Los Angeles Review of Books

— Josh Lanyon’s m/m Holmes and Morirarity series and the closet.

— I wrote about the virtues of know-nothing criticism.

At CBR I wrote about Ms. Marvel and the realism of non-violence.

At the Atlantic I explained why readability is a myth.

For Ravishly

— I explained why metalgate had failed.

— I did a list of awesome women in metal.

At Splice Today I wrote about

—the authenticity of Iggy Azalea, or lack thereof.

— Jessie J’s acoustic performances and their authenticity, or lack thereof.
 
Other Links

Katherine Cross on why women’s fashion isn’t for men.

Sarah E. Brown on why the media was right to share Leelah Alcorn’s suicide note.

Congress almost passed a bill banning funding for the study of romance.

A nice piece on multiple online Ayn Rand film reviews.
 

 
Wonder Woman News

Emily Ballaine had a nice review of my book thinking about comics as art and bondage vs. feminism.

Official release date is January 14, but I think the books are starting to be available online and in bookstores. If you get a copy, please consider writing a review for Amazon, Goodreads, B&N, or wherever it’s convenient. Thanks!
 
On HU

Featured Archive Post: Bert Stabler on St. Paul, feminism, and equality.

My 15 best albums of the year.

Me on why Little Nemo benefits by being in the public domain.

Shonté Daniels on Lindsay Lohan and the price of fame (in an app.)

Chris Gavaler on the DNA evidence for the existence of Middle Earth.

Me on Justice League United’s awfulness.

A Wonder Woman postcard for the holidays.

Adrielle Mitchell on Paul Klee as a comics artist.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Atlantic I argued in favor of outrage.

At Ravishly I wrote about:

— Cecilia Grant’s lovely historical Christmas romance A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong.

— how I keep telling my son Santa doesn’t exist and he won’t believe me.

At Splice Today

—I wrote about making a best of list that doesn’t look like me.

—I wished Nicki Minaj would make a great album already.
 
Other Links

Osvaldo Oyola on OMAC for president.

Geoffrey Bunn’s seminal autobiographical essay about William Marston is online.

Christie Marston on problems with Jill Lepore’s research on William Marston.

Tauriq Moosa on why he writes about diversity in games.

Jeet Heer on TNR, Andrew Sullivan, and race science.

Noah Gittell on Selma an white savior narratives.

Wonder Woman News

Sean Kleefeld gave my Wonder Woman book a 9 out of 10 at Freaksugar and said various nice things about it.

Amazon says they’ll have copies of the book to ship on the 25th — so a way to use your Christmas money, if Wonder Woman, bondage, and/or feminism are things you would like to use your Christmas money for.

Also Kailyn Kent reviewed my book on Amazon and said she liked it. If you have gotten a copy and feel so moved, please consider reviewing the book on Amazon or Goodreads or B&N or wherever you do reviewing. Marketers and such tell me those things help.

On HU

Featured Archive Post: Matthew Brady on why Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern is the worst comics series ever.

Me on Batman and special guest villain: racism.

Me on Liberace and Dick Grayson in the flaming closet.Cathy G. Johnson on Mike Dawson’s “Overcompensating” and abuser logic.

Chris Gavaler on how genre is merging with literary fiction.

Michael Carson on why more war movies should be like Nightcrawler.

Brian Cremins on learning the classics from comics and Power Records.

Me on lit fic and why Ian McEwan’s The Innocent is a romance.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Atlantic I wrote:

—about Alaska’s new sex trafficking laws, which aren’t working.

— about Chicago’s history of torture.

At Pacific Standard I asked what is the point of academic book publishing.

For Ravishly.com:

—I talked about GQ covers and how men and women are both sexually objectified, but in different ways.

—I talked about Nicki Minaj’s Feelin’ Myself and why only female masturbation songs are sexy.

— I did a list of black women in rock.

At Splice Today:

—I write about Edward Baptist’s history of slavery and alternatives to white savior narratives.

—I argues that Jeb Bush is not a bad candidate.

— I contributed to the best music poll.
 
Other Links

Mike Dawson responded to Cathy G. Johnson’s post here about his comic.

Lisa Levy on the rise of the literary espionage novel.
 

News

I’ve got an actual physical copies of my Wonder Woman book in my hands.
 

 
I have a cat; I have a book; I’m a real author.

The official release date is set for January 14. You can preorder now!

On HU

Featured Archive Post: on Matt Marriott, the great Western comic.

Me on the sexiness of the Adam West Batman.

Me on meta-ersatzness in the 60s Batman.

Donovan Grant on Superman and Atticus Finch.

Chris Gavaler on superheroes and pirates.

Tom Syverson on Jason Aaron’s settings.

Qiana Whitted on how comics represent Ferguson.

Me on Kathleen Hale and trolling.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Atlantic:

—I argued that as a writer finding your voice is overrated.

—I dumped on Star Wars and sci-fi without a future.

At Pacific Standard

—I argued that white people need diverse books too.

—I reviewed Marsha Weissman’s new book about the school to prison pipeline.

At Ravishly.com, I wrote about Outlander and the romance of infidelity.

At Splice Today I talk about the Louis Armstrong fallacy, and the idea that the success of a genius disproves discrimination.

Two of the Shmoop study guide’s I worked on are online.

Here’s one for Salem’s Lot

And here’s one for Solaris.

Other Links

C.T. May on being molested by his acupuncturist.

Jack Shafer on TNR and new media. The comments about Atlantic writers are going to leave a mark.

Max Fisher on the New Republic and the Beltway’s race problem.

Tressie McMillan Cottom on racists getting fired.