What We're Reading – February 2020

Sensible Footwear: A Girl’s Guide by Kate CharlesworthMy favourite place to be is partway through a book that I have just realised is becoming an all-time favourite. This month, it happened with Kate Charlesworth’s graphic memoir, Sensible Footwear: A Girl’s Guide, a political history of gay rights in the UK and a personal history of her place in the struggle.Born in 1950, Charlesworth left for university as a not-yet-out lesbian in the year that homosexuality was decriminalised. She renders her childhood home, cramped yet somehow empty, with stark precision, then offers sweeping full-page drawings of her first gay bars – or rather, spaces coded as gay because of their dingy corners, daring clientele, and raucous singalongs of Gilbert and Sullivan. Gay rights marches, Section 28, the AIDS crisis, second-wave feminism and the journey towards civil marriage all appear, threading in and out of Charlesworth’s life in traditional comic book panels, or captured in colourful spreads like a dreamed scrapbook.Beyond the fight for rights and recognition, Sensible Footwear also celebrates the joyful community spirit of queer culture, where a single kiss on television, or a shared passion for a poet, can have a deep emotional resonance for LGBTQ+ people to connect over. From the overlapping dialogue balloons as Kate and her friend Jacky both dance around coming out to one another – each trying to admit their sexuality in subtle, abstract ways – to the page on Drew Griffiths of the... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2020-02-14 09:49:28 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "What We're Reading – February 2020"


Panel Mania: The Illuminati Ball by Cynthia Von Buhler

Best known for lavish and immersive theater productions, Cynthia Von Buhler also works in the comics medium, creating graphic works that also explore her fascination with secret societies, sensuality, power, and the hunger for freedom. This 13-page excerpt from The Illuminati Ball introduces the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Why Artemisia Gentileschi Is The Feminist Hero We Need Right Now

A new graphic novel is part of the increasing movement to elevate 16th-century painter Artemisia Gentileschi to her rightful place as a Renaissance master. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-10-01 10:39:20 UTC ]
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On the Pros and Cons of Comic Cons

Get some insights on comic book conventions, including pros, cons, tips, and even further reading, with this helpful guide to comic-cons. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-09-30 10:37:20 UTC ]
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Panel Mania: ‘Glenn Ganges in: The River at Night’

Kevin Huizenga’s new graphic novel is a return to the loopy hall of mirrors inside the head of Glenn Ganges, the irresistibly ordinary fictional dude. The post Panel Mania: ‘Glenn Ganges in: The River at Night’ appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-09-27 16:00:18 UTC ]
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Queers Love Comics, and “Grease Bats” Loves Queers

When you meet Archie Bongiovanni, you may feel as though you already know them. The jorts, the stick-n-poke tattoos, the larger-than-the-room laugh that means you always know where they’re standing. That’s because Bongiovanni’s incredibly endearing energy winds up all over the page in Grease... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-09-27 11:00:50 UTC ]
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Make Your Next Comic Book Read the Liner Notes from Outkast’s ATLIENS

If you loved Outkast back in the days of CDs, you might know something about their ATliens comic. If not, hop on over and discover this find! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-09-27 10:42:53 UTC ]
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Honda Develops an Animated Comic Series to Promote Its 2020 Civic Hatchback

Honda is backing its redesigned 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback with animated comic series Revenge of the Biospiders on Facebook and Instagram. Revenge of the Biospiders debuted on National Comic Book Day Wednesday. Honda said in an email that it "focuses on an apocalyptic world where genetically... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2019-09-26 20:30:57 UTC ]
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George Richardson obituary

My friend George Richardson, who has died aged 94, spent most of his working life at Oxford University, including as chief executive of Oxford University Press (OUP) from the mid-1970s to the late 80s.He was born in Cricklewood, north London, to Christina, a homemaker, and George, a businessman.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-09-26 16:53:02 UTC ]
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Panel Mania: ‘Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass’

Eisner Award- and Caldecott Honor-winner Mariko Tamaki and artist Steve Pugh collaborate on a new graphic novel about the teen years of Harleen Quinzel. The post Panel Mania: ‘Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass’ appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-09-19 16:00:57 UTC ]
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Panel Mania: Glenn Ganges in: The River at Night by Kevin Huizenga

Kevin Huizenga’s new graphic novel 'The River at Night' is a return to the loopy hall of mirrors that is the mind of Glenn Ganges, Huizenga’s irresistibly ordinary fictional dude and guide to the cerebral wonders of the drifting human mind. In this 12-page excerpt, Ganges, unable to sleep,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Three Must-Read Novels About Artists

A psychological thriller about the money-driven contemporary art world, David Hockney in focus, and a searing graphic novel about Jean-Michel Basquiat. The post Three Must-Read Novels About Artists appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-09-11 16:00:57 UTC ]
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How should we respond to Trump’s hurricane lies?

Donald Trump’s Alabama psychodrama is still going on. Previous scenes featured the president of the United States erroneously warning that the state was in the path of a deadly hurricane; doubling, tripling, and quadrupling down on his error; defacing an official weather map with a Sharpie to... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2019-09-10 12:07:25 UTC ]
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This Week's Bestsellers: September 9, 2019

Louise Penny has the #2 book in the country with ‘A Better Man,’ book 15 in her Chief Inspector Gamache mysteries. Plus ‘Eleanor & Park’ author Rainbow Rowell and cartoonist Faith Erin Hicks collaborate on the graphic novel ‘Pumpkinheads,’ and ob/gyn and NYT columnist Jen Gunter debuts with... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Interview With Terry Blas and Claudia Aguirre of Hotel Dare

We chatted with Terry Blas and Claudia Aguirre, the team behind HOTEL DARE, a fantasy graphic novel about hotels that hide doorways to magical worlds. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-09-05 10:39:19 UTC ]
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Panel Mania: Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Pugh

Acclaimed comics writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Steve Pugh collaborate on 'Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass', a new graphic novel about the teen years of Harleen Quinzel—better known as Harley Quinn—as she grows up wandering the mean hallways of Gotham City High School. This is a 12-page excerpt. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-04 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Year of the Werewolf

WHEN EMIL FERRIS’S graphic novel My Favorite Thing Is Monsters was released in 2017, critics celebrated the innovative artistry of Ferris’s ballpoint-and-marker format, and marveled at Ferris’s unconventional biography. Ferris is in her mid-50s, and began drawing after she contracted West Nile... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-08-29 17:00:14 UTC ]
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Rainbow Rowell’s First Graphic Novel Serves Up Comedy and Romance

In “Pumpkinheads,” two work pals navigate the fine line between friendship and love. It’s set in a pumpkin patch, with dreamy art by Faith Erin Hicks. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-08-27 09:00:03 UTC ]
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A blind heroine rules this audio comic book written for a blind audience

Blind magician Chad Allen has entertained audiences for 20 years at Hollywood's Magic Castle. His latest trick: an audio comic book whose heroine does battle in Trump's America. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-08-26 14:00:59 UTC ]
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Panel Mania: ‘The Forbidden Harbor’

This beautifully illustrated graphic novel combines high adventure, betrayal, and mystery on the open sea with a deeply moving love story. The post Panel Mania: ‘The Forbidden Harbor’ appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-08-23 10:00:36 UTC ]
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'Blacksad' is a promising detective game based on a cult comic

Blacksad is a long-running graphic novel series that covers some heavy topics through a noir detective window. Set in the 1950s, it follows hardboiled detective John Blacksad, with each book focusing on a new case. It's one of my favorite series, but... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-08-22 12:00:00 UTC ]
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