A Cool Collection Of Articles About Comic Books

Hey, everyone. Today I’m talking about… comics! Actually, today’s post basically just consists of me giving you links to awesome articles other people have written about comics. Kind of like a round-up of interesting links? I might end up doing more posts like this in the future, because sometimes I find a bunch of cool things and need someone to fangirl with. The topics below have been on my mind a lot lately, so I thought I’d share what I’ve been thinking about, comics-wise.

Also, you can definitely expect more comic-themed posts in the near future: Some list posts, some character analysis posts, and a review of Agent Carter. (First I need to catch up on the show, though, and even then… I am perpetually behind with my reviews/fangirlish posts, so I might not even publish that review this month. I still need to write reviews for books I read way back in AUGUST. Whoops.)

Anyway, here are the links.

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The first one is from The Write Practice, and was written by author and blogger Emily Wenstrom. If you haven’t checked out TWP yet, you totally should – they post writing advice every single day, and include a lot of prompts to get you started, as well.

My favorite recent post from TWP is What I’ve Learned About Writing From Comic Books. I’m not going to quote any of it here because the list is so short – only three items long – but it’s spot on. As I’ve read more and more comics, they’ve begun to have more and more of an effect on my writing. I’m much more fond of action scenes now, for example!

So don’t be afraid! Read loads of comic books and find inspiration! They may not be a “traditional” influence for writers, but there are some truly astonishing comics out there that are just as complex as any prose book you’d read. So take advantage of that.

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You might’ve heard the news: Marvel Studios is remaking the Spider-Man movies! I read some of the comics way back when I was a wee Engie, and… he has probably one of my favorite superhero origin stories ever.

And then I saw the first movie a few years ago, and I thought it was ridiculous. Gah, please don’t be mad at me! But it just wasn’t my cup of tea. So I am glad that they’re remaking the movies, and hopefully then this will mean that Spider-Man will be included in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War like he’s supposed to be?

Anyway, they’re recasting the lead actor, so Spider-Man won’t be played by Andrew Garfield anymore. I’m slightly bummed by that, because he keeps suggesting that his character should be canonically queer and that is AWESOME. (And also led to me jumping on the bisexual-Captain-America bandwagon later on, but that will be a post unto itself.)

But on the other hand, recasting the role gives Marvel an opportunity to make its cast a little more diverse. There’s already a Latino Spider-Man, for example, and there have been suggestions that the movies’ protagonist be cast as such.

My favorite article about this whole minority!Spider-Man thing is from Women Write About Comics and it’s called Marvel Studios Gets A Crack At Spider-Man: Why Both Studios Need A Fresh Take On The Web Slinger.

The whole post is well worth checking out, but this quote really resonated with me:

“Peter Parker doesn’t matter anymore.

Peter Parker was the nerdy and awkward teen outcast who got to be a superhero. This was relatable to comic book readers (and later, cartoon viewers) who self-identified as outsiders and who didn’t see themselves in the other larger than life superheroes like Captain America. Parker might have worked in the 1960s and the decades that followed but in 2015, it’s hard to see a cisgender, straight, white guy as a visible outcast.

Stories and characters need to evolve, which is why we got an African-American Annie as opposed to the red-head we all know.

The red-headed Annie no longer makes sense for the story that needed to be told today, when a black girl is more likely to embody who Annie is in relation to the society that surrounds her.”

AAAAAAAAAAH. THAT QUOTE. I couldn’t agree more. Times change, people. And our stories should change with them. If we can write anything, anything at all, why should we keep writing the same old stories?

P.S. So, who would I choose to portray Spider-Man? I’ve seen and heard a bunch of neat suggestions, but my personal favorite is Alfie Enoch. ALFIE ENOCH AS SPIDER-MAN FTW. (And Alfie Enoch as Fletcher Renn, if the Skulduggery Pleasant books are ever made into movies, but I digress.) Alfie Enoch Alfie Enoch Alfie Enoch. Yes. Also, I’ve now typed his name so many times that it’s starting to not look like a real name and more like a random collection of odd letters. That’s such a weird feeling.

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The last thing I’d like to share with you tonight is an article from AfterEllen, which is an awesome site about books/movies/TV/music, entirely run by queer women. I freaking love it.

I loved their recent post How Comic Books Made Me Queer But Gave Me Body Image Issues. Because it made me laugh. And it made me go, “Oh, hey, I can relate to that.” Comic book heroines are awesome and at last count I had crushes on, like, five of them – Kate Bishop, America Chavez, Peggy Carter, Captain Marvel, and Natasha Romanov. (I actually ship Bishop and Chavez with each other and I have crushes on both of them so do you see what my problem is? Gah.)

But, you know, comics are not exactly the best place to find realistically-drawn characters, either. Like, the ladies’ costumes are usually ridiculously skimpy, and there’s way too much fanservicey-gratuitous-cleavage, and I often wonder how such-and-such a superheroine’s body is actually anatomically possible.

And that’s weird and confusing and… eeeegh. Comic book ladies can be excellent protagonists/role models/crushes, but sometimes their creators don’t really succeed at developing other aspects of the characters in a realistic manner.

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Well, now it’s YOUR turn! What do you think about all those posts and links and whatnot? Have you read any interesting articles or blog posts about comics lately? (Share them with me – I’d love to take a look at them!)

Oh, and have you read any good comics lately? I’m just about to start the Ms. Marvel stories!