Lately there has been this pattern that I've noticed in both social media and mainstream comics/cartoons outlets that is very saddening: the use of denigration and belittlement as a promotional tactic, or as an argument.

More and more I seem to notice that new series, reboots, retellings or ...

There was recently a Provincial Election in the part of Canada where I live, and there's a Federal Election coming up in about a year.

With the brouhaha going on in the world these days about politics and the divisions between many people that are resulting from it, I ...

LISTEN!

This week's Quackcast was inspired by a newspost that Banes made about propaganda. We used that as a jumping off point to talk about political messages and social agendas in creative works- when it's deliberate and when it's not. Tantz Aerine made a great point that ...

Anyone who ever dabbled in creative writing or any sort of narrative work, had the phrase “show, don't tell” hammered into them. The sheer anxiety of being caught ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’ made us all think in terms I assume only exhibitionists do.

The truth though is, that sometimes ...

I’ve written about controversy before, and how it has its uses. But I haven’t really yet discussed what makes a comic controversial.

There are the usual hype-controversies like gender bending and race swapping in characters, but in my opinion these types of controversial issues are just what I ...

Often in making webcomics, creators may try to have more action than discourse, as it tends to make the comic more visually interesting and give opportunities to avoid ‘talking head’ scenes.

However, I think that sort of conundrum is a potential trap that might prevent creators from truly making use ...

This is mainly an issue with female characters…
But what IS objectification?
Objectification is when you rob a character of traits that make them human and turn them into something closer to an object.

One common view, that I feel is in error, is that characters are objectified by how ...

In any work of art where storytelling is concerned, dialogue (should) play a central part. The relatability of the characters hinges on how they behave, and a lot of that behavior is verbal, especially in movies, theatre and comics (but also books. And everything else.)

So how do we create ...

Hey everyone! And farewell, also.

When I started writing this newspost I went looking for the first one I ever did. It turns out it was in November of 2013 - that’s over three years of Friday newsposts! I don’t think I’ve ever kept a paying job that ...

I’ve been going through a bit of a rough patch lately in terms of my mental health. I don’t talk about it that often, but I don’t keep it a secret that I’ve always struggled with anxiety. Recently I started on medication for it for the ...