Utilitarian Review 8/30/13

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Noah Berlatsky

On HU

Featured Archive Post: Caroline Small interviews Nina Paley about copyright and culture.

The real realism of Killer Elite.

Five haiku by me.

Chris Gavaler on time and timelessness in comics and politics.

James Romberger reviews a whole slew of recent comics.

Subdee compares Pacific Rim to the manga Attack on Titan.

Ng Suat Tong with a review of Suehiro Maruo’s adaptation of Edogawa Ranpo’s The Strange Tale of Panorama Island.

I provide a tour of some great muppet musical performances.

Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Atlantic I wrote about:

— how doofus Batman is the best Batman.

Miley Cyrus, Janis Joplin, and minstrelsy.

And more on Cyrus and Joplin and exemplary white people.

At Splice Today I write about

—wishing school would start and I could be bored.

—how I wish Jonathan Chait would stop encouraging us to go to war in the Middle East.

Other Links

Alex Pareene on how Roger Ailes is a paranoid nutcase.

Jessica Hopper on black metal. She sort of conflates all black metal with the fascist kind a bit, but it’s an interesting article nonetheless.

Jacob Canfield is pretty amazing in this tcj comment thread on indie titles and racism. Darryl Ayo has some great things to say too.

In fact…that whole thread is just really heartening for anyone who cares about comics. Yes, there are some folks who are defending obvious, stupid racism, in the same old we-love-Crumb-and-all-his-progeny vein. But there’s also just a ton of folks explaining why it’s time to move on from that particular dead end. Frank Santoro’s response to what is basically some pretty harsh criticism of his post is extremely balanced and respectful. It’s a serious discussion with a lot of smart people saying a lot of smart things about a topic that matters, in the best tradition of the Comics Journal. It made me really happy.

Utilitarian Review 8/24/13

Posted on August 24, 2013 by Noah Berlatsky

On HU

Featured Archive Post: Aishwarya Subramanian on Timpa, an Indian analogue to Tintin.

Chris Gavaler on animal men and superhero dualism.

Ng Suat Tong on xkcd’s Time and the oddly muted reaction from comic critics.

Jacob Canfield on the video game Dragon’s Crown and in-group sexism.

Alex Buchet continues his prehistory of the superhero, this time focusing on vampires, victorians and vendettas.

Me on how Zita the Space Girl is not a strong female character, thank goodness.

Utilitarians Everywhere

The Toast published a poem I wrote about mustaches, with illustrations by Bert Stabler.

At the Atlantic I review Drinking Buddies, an honest to goodness decent romcom.

At Splice Today I wrote about:

— a Gillette ad that doesn’t challenge gender roles, no matter how many people say it does.

— Hugo Schwyzer and networking for social justice and profit.

— the ugly spectacle of white anti-racist Tim Wise on the defensive.

Other Links

Vice on how the Best Music Writing anthology is dead.

Jaimie Utt on the “that’s racist against white people” argument.

John Scalzi on using storify to stalk.

Who school reform is meant to benefit (hint: not children.)

Utilitarian Review 8/17/13

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Noah Berlatsky

On HU

I took a week off here for the most part, but we did have one piece:

Chris Gavaler on Elysium.

Utilitarians Everywhere

I got to write about feral hippies and the new Horse’s Ha record at the Chicago Reader.

At the Atlantic I wrote about:

Geek girls and the Spectacular Now.

the fact that feminist comic books are really popular.

At Esquire I listed ten female superhero movies I’d like to see.

At Splice Today I wrote about:

Indonesia and genocide and why we shouldn’t be trusting our government to spy on us.

the seizure I had over the weekend, and why health care is so expensive.

Other Links

Interview with Mikki Kendall and Flavia Dzodan at the Hairpin about feminism and race and Hugo Schwyzer.

Jaimie Utt on Hugo Schwyzer and being a feminist guy.

Madison Moore on feeling sorry for Lady Gaga.

Subashini on awkwardness and gender.

Utilitarian Review 8/10/13

Posted on August 10, 2013 by Noah Berlatsky

News

We’re going to take a week off to recharge here at HU. So we’ll be back around the 17th or thereabouts with new content. I may highlight featured archives posts throughout the week depending on how peppy I’m feeling.

On HU,

Featured Archive Post: Derik Badman on comics and poetry.

I argue that The Spy Who Came In From the Cole is not very good.

Walidah Imarisha with an excerpt from a short story that is going to be included in the sci-fi and social justice anthology Octavia’s Brood.

Chris Gavaler on Wolverine and superheroes never growing old.

Alex Buchet with the first part of a series on the prehistory of the superhero — in this one discussing Enlightenment notions of individuality.

I talk about Dan Clowes, the Death Ray, and superhero parodies.

Isaac Butler on “The Last of Us”, the Watchmen of video games.

Patrick Carland provides an introduction to Russian animation.

Utilitarians Everywhere

Kind of a crazy week for the freelancing.

I was interviewed on Weekend Edition about Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire.

At Slate XX I wrote about how it’s in my interest as a guy to be a feminist.

One of my drawings was annexed by a hedge fund manager.

At the Atlantic I wrote about:

—how my son is unaccountably a thespian.

—why, unlike Hillary Chute, I don’t necessarily want comics to be poetry.

At Splice Today I wrote about:

—Why Walter Becker’s 1st solo album was better than Steely Dan compatriot Donald Fagen’s overrated Nightfly.

—Feminists, transwomen, and gendered discrimination against men.

I wrote a piece on social media rules for teachers at the Loyola Center for Digital Ethics.

At the Goodman Project I wrote about Trayvon Martin and misandry.

Other Links

Selena Kitt on wanting to be a slut.

Mary Beth Williams on why men shouldn’t be scared of feminists.

Alyssa Rosenberg with a great reported piece on sexism in comics (HT: Isaac Butler)

Zack Beauchamp on scientism and ethics.

Why a black girl should be Wonder Woman.

Katie Ryder on white music fans being afraid of difference.

Utilitarian Review 8/3/13

Posted on August 3, 2013 by Noah Berlatsky

News

I’m supposed to be on NPR’s Weekend Edition, I think today, (Update: Nope, it’s on Sunday) talking about Johnny Cash and “Ring of Fire”. Not sure what time though….

On HU

Featured Archive Post: Sarah Horrocks on Salammbo.

Me on the sometimes pleasing but not this time crappiness of Bonnie Raitt.

I express skepticism about ev psych’s ability to understand the mind.

Me on conventions of violence in We3, Spy vs. Spy, and martyrs.

Richard Cook on the crappy Evil Dead remake.

Chris Gavaler on how a radioactive spider bite means you have puberty for all eternity.

A 50 Shades/Cthulhu ebook which you can purchase for your enjoyment, and/or to help us help you. Heaving tentacles! Thrashing bosoms! Limping ecommerce!

Ng Suat Tong on whether Joss Whedon deliberately defaced John Totleben’s art.

Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Atlantic I wrote about how Johnny Cash sang a love song to himself.

At Wired I write about crazy Japanese fusion and how the internet killed the music bargain bin.

At Slate I talk about the feminist blogosphere, male writers, and Hugo Schwyzer.

At Splice I talk about:

Why Anthony Weiner’s penis is funny.

G.I. Joe, Mike Vosburg, and work for hire.

At the Good Men Project I talk about transgender kids and gender essentialism.

Other Links

Osvaldo Oyola on Spider-Man, Watchmen, and race.

Tom Spurgeon hosts a conversation about the direction of comics journalism.

Noam Scheiber on Obama’s boy’s club.