Why I Love Comics But Hate Comic Book Shops

Something you probably know about me: I love comics. Something you probably didn’t know: I hate going to comic book stores. The first time I went to an actual comic book shop, I was in high school and I wanted my dad to go with me. The closest store to me was seedy-looking, poorly lit,…

Why Angie Thomas’ “The Hate U Give” Needs to Be Next On Your Summer Reading List

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas was the book I needed to read when I was a third year in college, watching police brutality videos alone in my dorm room, crying so hard it felt like my heart was broken. Thomas’ novel centers around Starr Carter, a high school student trying to navigate two worlds,…

“Wonder Woman:” A Wonder or a Worry?

WARNING! SPOILERS! Spoilers everywhere! Let’s go ahead and get out the unabashed praise for Wonder Woman right now. Let’s praise it for being a female led solo superhero film. Let’s praise it for making women feel empowered (if you didn’t leave the theater thinking you could take somebody, you’re lying.) Let’s praise it for being…

Who’s Afraid of a Strong, Black Woman?

I am one of those supposed loud, resilient, independent, successful, and unlovable Black women. One of the women that white people praise for my backbone, my work ethic, and my consistency– and the woman that Black men avoid at all costs because girls like me cause too much trouble. What these men mistake for unruliness…

Emotional hemorrhaging to “The Get Down”

  Art sets my soul on fire When it’s right, it’s right. I started watching The Get Down. Actually, I started watching it a week ago but I got distracted half way through the first episode and didn’t get back into it until today. In truth, I still wasn’t paying attention until I saw this boy with…

Why the World Needs Lois Lane

By Ravynn Stringfield When Superman flew into American popular culture, where he would safely reside as one of the most iconic figures for decades, he did not arrive alone. Despite having crash lan… Source: Why the World Needs Lois Lane

Thoughts on a 21st century Mary Jane Watson

Yesterday I was relaxing on my couch, scrolling through Twitter when I saw a tweet that said Zendaya had been cast as Mary Jane Watson in the 2017 Spider-Man movie.  I quickly looked at a few other sites to confirm, and then I checked the overall casting thus far. Even though I knew that this…

Book Review: “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” by Issa Rae

I realized that I probably need to take some time to develop some critical distance from the pieces I read or watch, because my immediate reaction to most things is I really enjoyed it (unless it’s Catwoman. See Suicide Squad review.) So I read The Misadventures of Akward Black Girl and then took a break…

Why Suicide Squad Was Really Not That Bad

In the weeks leading up the release of Suicide Squad, I read a multitude of negative reviews that only confirmed the belief that I had been holding to for almost two years since the film was first announced. Suicide Squad was a mess–an even bigger mess than Halle Berry Catwoman. I don’t react strongly to a lot…

How Gwenda Bond’s “Lois Lane: Double Down” Encapsulates the Lois Lane Spirit

This post was published on blackgirlnerds.com. Please check it out there: http://blackgirlnerds.com/double-down-lois-lane-book-review/   

“Bad Feminist”: A Lesson in Discomfort

Reading Bad Feminist made me feel the same way I used to after leaving my Fictions of Black Identity class in college. I spent the first two classes speaking up, as I usually did in small seminars, and then stewing with this nauseating feeling of discomfort knotting in my stomach. The knot grew bigger and…

The appeal of “Smallville” and Superman

I was a Superman fan before I was actually a Superman fan. Sounds complicated but it really wasn’t. As a middle school-er and then a young high school-er, the House of El crest covered the backs of all my school notebooks, ‘Kryptonite’ by 3 Doors Down was my favorite song, and, because of my superficial…