“I was on a phone call with an author of one of those fantasy series I edit, discussing my revision notes for him. His latest book had all the right beats and elements, but what I was missing was the depth of character motivation. The plot seemed to […]
At The Atlantic, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes about his current run on Black Panther, the prominence of female characters, feminism and the role of criticism. “The feminist critique is in the air now. If my rendition of Black Panther wasn’t created by that critique, it breathed the same air. […]
At Black Girl Nerds, Monique Jones writes about Sleepy Hollow and the many problems with the season 3 finale. There are spoilers. “The chemistry between the two leads, Tom Mison and Beharie, was the only thing that kept mostly everyone tuned in. (I say most, because somehow, there […]
At Tor.com, Chris Lough writes about the problems with J.K. Rowling’s “The History of Magic of North America.” “Fiction is a story we create, and history is a story we find, but the opposite is also true, and this makes the structure of both very similar. In this […]
At Mythcreants, Chris Winkle writes about the difference between overland travel in fantasy and in historical reality. “Many fantasy stories involve traveling from one city to another, often in worlds without engine technology. Before cars and trains, traveling over land was exhausting and dangerous. The logistics of a […]
At Comics Alliance, Chris Sims writes a tribute to comics creator Bill Finger: “If Batman was the only character that Finger had ever worked on, that would still be one of the most impressive accomplishments in comic book history. Working with artists like Jerry Robinson, Dick Sprang, and […]
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The Cultural Gutter 