Category Archives: comics

Me and Daniel Clowes and BOMB

  I’ve got a review of Daniel Clowes’ newly-reissued The Death Ray in the new issue of BOMB Magazine, and over on their site, an extensive, wide-ranging interview with him. Clowes is, without question, one of the masters we have … Continue reading

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Filed under author's own, comics, graphic novels

On Asteroids, Stereoscopic Novels and Time

Tuesday night, as an asteroid was coming very close to striking Earth, I was re-reading a graphic novel I was teaching,  Asterios Polyp, that concludes with an asteroid hurtling at the main character, who is, yes, on Earth. I thought about … Continue reading

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Filed under books, comics, fiction, graphic novels, novels, writing

Life With Mr. Dangerous and Other Stories

1. A friend wrote “What is this frenzy of activity?” Answer: I made a deal with myself that all posts drafted over 1000 words had to be considered as possible essays and finished as such and sent out to magazines … Continue reading

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Filed under ask koreanish, books, bookstores, comics, letters to everyone, letters to you, what is right with us, what is wrong with us, white collar sweatshops of the east coast, writing

On Teaching the Graphic Novel

About once a month, I get asked by a colleague or friend for the syllabus I used to teach my seminar on the Graphic Novel at Amherst. Included below is a list of the texts that I used to teach … Continue reading

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Banksy, the Simpsons and the DPRK

Banksy’s Simpson credits have made a bit of a splash because he’s an art sensation, but watching it I understood he meant to dramatize the role inexpensive North Korean animation labor plays in the creation of much of what we … Continue reading

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Filed under animation, comics, Korea, Koreanish

Refresh, Refresh

During the semester I read approximately 250 pages a week, to as much as 600, if it’s thesis season–and that doesn’t even include my own writing or my email. But I also don’t notice it–I just do it, like breathing … Continue reading

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Filed under author's own, blogs, books, comics, essay, fiction, fox demons, graphic novels, novels, writers, writing

Character Flaw

Yesterday I looked in on a Twitter chat about character flaws that seemed to circle around these statements: “flaws! Yes! Characters have them! What about addiction?” and the whole thing looked just a bit too much like the reason people … Continue reading

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Filed under comics, fiction, fiction prompts, Koreanish, writers, writing, writing exercises

All Over the World, This Is How People Tell Stories

Tomorrow, I’m going to wake up and go buy a copy of The Moviegoer, by Walker Percy. I’ve gone too long. *                     *                     * At the gym, where I watch TV news, I could only find news on how a … Continue reading

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Filed under books, comics, fiction, travel

Secret Identities: Asian American Comicon

July 11th, the Asian American Writers Workshop will be hosting a day of events and speakers on Asian American comics. This is going to be a major event, groundbreaking and This is at the new Museum of Chinese in America, … Continue reading

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This Is Not The Superhero Film You Were Looking For

In retrospect, the sturm und drang over whether the Watchmen was any good or not (as a film based on the graphic novel) made us lose sight of what it actually was—a story that’s at least meant to satirize the … Continue reading

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Filed under animal savagery, comics, film, gossip, graphic novels, manga, what is right with us, what is wrong with us