Hark, A Vagrant: Turning Women’s History Comical

Comics often get a bad rap when it comes to their portrayals of women. In many cases these critiques are well-deserved; In others, this generalization is unfair; women in comics  are vibrant, hilarious, and sometimes more stereotype-defying than their counterparts on TV. Enter Kate Beaton, author of the immensely popular Hark, a Vagrant, and one of [...]

Red Tape, Racist Sentencing, Gates of Hell: Editors’ Picks, 6/19-6/25

On “Counter Earth,” the imagined alternate universe of cartoonist Ruben Bolling, women are able to exercise their constitutional right to choose abortion, while seemingly endless red tape makes unilaterally waging war a logistical nightmare, requiring President Obama to endure a series of obstacles designed to discourage him from going through with it, like traveling 500 [...]

Amy Martin, Mighty Fine

Amy Martin’s cartoons are like a heavily inked mirage of what Sex and the City should have been and almost once was: non-vomitous. Martin’s women do the same as the SATC gals–they drink cocktails, wear heels, mope in front of their laptops and lust after partners who don’t return their calls. However, this time it’s like [...]

Hyein Lee: How One Feminist Devours Artistic Mediums

Looking at canvases belonging to Hyein Lee, you might just find iterations of the word fuck, products of pent-up frustration morphed into art. If you look hard enough, you might also find that other F-word, if not as literally. But who is Hyein Lee? Besides being an award-winning illustrator from the land where the deer and [...]

“Cathy” To Utter Her Last “Ack!”

By now you’ve probably read a news article with the lede: “Ack! The Cathy comic strip is ending!” Yes, it’s true. Cartoonist Cathy Guisewite, 60, announced yesterday that she will retire the 34-year-old comic strip in October for the usual reasons: to spend more time with her family and pursue other creative projects. As stereotypical [...]

Blog Roundup: Editors’ Picks, June 28 – July 2

It’s time once again for another installment of our weekly blog roundup! Relax this holiday weekend while you read up on Betty White’s new show, the new gay Facebook, the sex-change capital of the world, and midwifery in New York. C.L. Minou reviews Hot in Cleveland, starring Betty White, on Tiger Beatdown. Mashable reports that [...]

Wonder Woman Celebrates 600 Issues By Putting On Pants

DC Comics character and feminist icon Wonder Woman–who graced the first stand-alone issue of Ms.–has been revamped for the first time in 69 years. She’s traded in her all-American leotard for more practical attire: badass jacket, red bustier, black leggings and motorcycle boots. This is exciting, and not just because it will now be much [...]

We Heart: Feminist Hulk

Twitter seems to reveal an endless capacity for creativity.  The Hulk, that comic book icon of exaggerated masculinity and brief sentences, is a natural fit for some Twitter satire. The Hulk has several online personas, including Drunk Hulk, Cross Dressing Hulk, and of course, The Real Hulk. Our latest favorite Twitter feed is Feminist Hulk, who’s [...]

Bitter Pie Comix: Not Your Bitch

Self-published zines, pamphlets and comics have a rich history of political and social activism. They provide alternative thinkers with a cheap and easy way to connect with other like-minded people. Although not as widely circulated as national publications, the underground zine and comic network materializes in the form of symposiums, workshops, snail mail correspondences, pot-luck [...]

Jen Sorensen, Cartoonist With Conscience

Cartoonist and illustrator Jen Sorensen, creator of the brilliant Slowpoke comic strip, will receive the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism and will also be the first woman to receive the Grambs Aronson Cartooning with a Conscience Award from Hunter College’s Department of Film & Media Studies next month. The Aronson award honors “journalism [...]