comics

Another week, another collection of web adventures.

• ColorLines shares responses to the claim of a "post-racial society."
• At TransGriot, Monica reports on an anti-trans* "bathroom bill" in Maine. If you're a Maine citizen, check the link at the end to see how you can help.
• Bitch contributor Sarah Jaffe unpacks the impacts the Bush tax cuts have had for their tenth anniversary at AlterNet.
• The San Francisco Chronicle's blog wants a Hangover cure.
• The Crunk Feminist Collective examines Kreayshawn's success and appropriation.
• Are you near Detroit (or stoked to travel)? Check out the Allied Media Conference 2011 on June 23-26!
• Bitch contributor Jarrah Hodge lists some of her favorite websites at Gender Focus.
• The Times gives their two cents about the enduring influence of Riot Grrrl.
• Feministing rounds up the paternalistic responses to Steven Levitt's already alarming statement, "If the answer is that I wouldn’t want my daughter to do it, then I don’t mind the government passing a law against it."
• AfterEllen talks about Jane Lynch hosting the Emmys this fall. Will you be tuning in?
• Debbie Reese at American Indians in Children's Literature looks at Census data and the effects of not having "American Indian" as a preset option.
• Queerty wants to know your take on the treatment of Kevin, the openly gay character in Archie comics.
• Shakesville passes on the news about Glenn Beck's next project: essentially a YouTube channel. Good riddance!

Thoughts? What else have you been reading online?

Earlier this week, DC Comics (who dominates the mainstream comics market along with Marvel) made a real douche move when they announced a "reboot" of their leading characters. This means they'll be ending a large portion of their storylines in August and release 52 first-issues of characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League. They'll be "publishing innovative storylines featuring our most iconic characters" with the assumption that they'll be not just "compelling for existing readers, it’ll give new readers a precise entry point into our titles." This has some pretty radical implications for many superhero narratives, but one of the most significant changes is that of Barbara Gordon--aka Oracle.

I enjoyed most of X-Men: First Class. The acting, special effects, and writing were excellent, except possibly the two times Xavier tries to hit on women in bars by saying they have "groovy mutation[s]".

But then again, the whole movie had a cheesy retro vibe to it, with its Cold War setting and costumes (turtlenecks for the men, not much clothing at all for the women) giving it the feel of a cross between X-Men and a Connery-era Bond movie.

Since those early days of running around doing Batman-themed dressup, Batgirl has been my favorite superheroine.

She’s less cutesy than the Sailor Scouts, nerdier than Nightshade, wears more clothing than Wonder Woman, and has a greater variety of super abilities than my second-favorite superheroine, Storm (but it’s really close, so don’t hate on me, X-Men fans).

Today I'm sharing the second part of my interview with the delightful Christine Smith, the very talented artist behind webcomics Eve's Apple and The Princess. Check out the first part here, and then read our conversation about The Princess, flipping the script, and feminism after the jump!

Christine Smith is the author of two webcomics, Eve's Apple and The Princess. Today I'm interviewing her about Eve's Apple (EA), a three-year-old webcomic about the titular Eve and her friends, love interests, enemies, and everything in between. Read our conversation about newspaper comics, fat bodies, and Betty and Veronica below!

Tropes vs. Women is a six-part video series by Feminist Frequency that explores the reoccurring stories, themes and representations of women in Hollywood films and TV shows.

Kominsky-Crumb. Gloeckner. Barry. Satrapi. Bechdel. Some of the most well-renowned contemporary female comic artists are all featured in the book Graphic Women: Life Narrative & Contemporary Comics by Hillary Chute, published by Columbia University Press. Chute, an associate professor at University of Chicago (and who helped edit Art Spiegelman's MetaMaus), has written one of the only books out there that specifically looks out how female comic artists tell their story through comics. (And it features a killer cover design by Israeli comics artist Rutu Modan.)

Sophie Goldstein and Jenn Jordan are the creators of the mythological and mundane webcomic Darwin Carmichael is Going To Hell. According to Jenn: "Darwin Carmichael lives in mythical Williamsburg, the coolest of burroughs, populated by hipsters, minor deities and a host of preposterous creatures. The day-to-day of Darwin's world is much like ours, concerned with making ends meet, dating, and the like." DC is a very fun strip with a fantastic visual sense. Learn more about it after the jump!

If you care about oppression and social justice and you aren't reading Riot Nrrd yet, you are in for a delicious feminist treat. The relatively new webcomic by RJ Edwards chronicles the nerdy adventures of Wren, Maria, and Sam. The tone of the comic is light and humorous, and the strong character-driven plots make for an addictive archive experience, much like Jeph Jacques' Questionable Content or last week's interviewee Danielle Corsetto's Girls With Slingshots. But the humor is tempered by a constant awareness of the kyriarchal forces that seek to oppress the cast of characters through racism, sexism, sizism, ableism, and cissexism.

This is the second time I've had the pleasure of interviewing the delightful RJ—you can check out my two-part 2010 interview with them here and here. After the jump, you can read their thoughts on the present and future of Riot Nrrd.