BITCH PLANET Creator On Fixing Comic Industry’s Systemic Problem: Critical Linking, June 23, 2020

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“Comic book and television writer Kelly Sue DeConnick was a prominent member of the Warren Ellis Forum back in the day, and she met her husband Matt Fraction there. She worked with Warren Ellis on several projects, including writing the Avengers comics. As a result of last week’s revelations, she has been having some tough conversations. Yesterday, she took to Instagram Live with a raw, honest account, to express her support women who have been speaking out, to talk about her guilt that she only benefitted from knowing Warren, while others did not. She believes, as a result, she owes a debt as a result and is talking about formulating a plan to make comic books less dependent on patronage, like other creative industries such as television and novels.”
Kelly Sue DeConnick on how the comic industry fosters sexual harassment and how to change the system.

“’Well, if you choose to write about institutionalised racism and our capacity for evil,’ he says, ‘You could write about 1850 or 1963 or 2020 and it all applies unfortunately. It’s ongoing and it will be ongoing for many years.’ He does not sound that hopeful about change. ‘Well, as I’ve been writing about it over the last couple of years, I’ve also been living with these periodic conversations about police brutality. They get very loud, and then grow quiet again, and then become louder when something else happens. In a way, that’s been my whole life, but especially over the last couple of years. So, just on a personal level, to have it become this immediate and to see it now affecting my kids’ lives in a different way has been exhausting.’”

Colson Whitehead chats with The Guardian about history and racism.

“Despite the prevalence of beastly figures we’re familiar with, some authors are adding to the monster canon by drawing from their respective Latinx cultures. These recent and upcoming novels explore magical beings through the lens of underrepresented voices, specifically the Latinx diáspora living in the U.S. Their stories also provide varied definitions of family, fear, and straddling the line between belonging and not.”
Read these Latinx books with mythical creatures.