You’re currently working on Hulk Not Smash: Practice Mindfulness the Mighty Marvel Way. Can you tell us more about this project and how it came about?

Hulk Not Smash was put together by our extraordinary writer Amy Ratcliffe and the good folks at Chronicle Books. When they came to Marvel to look for an illustrator, I think it was my work on Marvel Meow and Lucky the Pizza Dog that got me the gig. This book teaches people about self-care and mindfulness through examples of Marvel’s fan-favorite characters, with exercises to practice ourselves. Readers will learn to not judge a book by its cover and keep an open mind like Beast, learn to face your fears with Daredevil, be in the present with Kitty Pryde, and so much more!

How would you say the concept of mindfulness fits into comics core values, especially when some readers pick up monthly issues to see fight scenes and punches on panels?

I think readers really need to read the story around the fight scenes. What I love about every Marvel character is they each have their own flaws and struggles that can resonate with a lot of fans. It’s not about punching harder to win a fight. Fights can be a metaphor for a relatable obstacle, and it takes a lot of thinking that gets them to overcome these challenges. 

You’ve recently written Sentry, who is a Marvel superhero connected with mental-health storytelling. Also referred to as the Golden Guardian, Sentry has had calming impact on The Hulk while also being a threat to other Marvel heroes. Where was the character at when you wrote SENTRY: LEGACY?

Robert Reynolds is still dead after the events of King in Black. I got to introduce brand new characters to carry the mantle of the Sentry. And while each one of them had their own everyday challenges, it was the main lead, Mallory Gibbs, who shared a close parallel to Robert Reynolds with her disability, cerebral palsy. Imagine having the ultimate powers of one million exploding suns but not be able to have 100% control of your body due to tremors. She deals with the self-doubt of not feeling worthy to have such powers, but later realizes, she needs the same perseverance as she did living with CP.

In the past, Robert Reynolds’ mental-health struggles were projected outward. Can you talk about the relationship between Sentry and the Void and how that relates to the concept of shadow self?

I barely touched on the Void in my series as its concept was a huge can of worms for a four-issue mini-series, especially when I was busy trying to flesh out the new characters. But Mallory Gibbs spends a good half of the series with her own internal struggles after a big accident when her powers unexpectedly ignited. She slowly comes out of her cocoon by practicing her powers bit by bit to good use. It’s the accidents that bring her back down in a rut. But she realizes that she has the power to help and it’s better to try than to do nothing at all.

Could you talk about how the characters in SENTRY: LEGACY explore the division in fandom mindsets regarding diversity and inclusion with mainstay characters?

I wanted to show representation for the minority in fandom who rarely see themselves in comics as the hero. Right away, I knew this initial idea would trigger backlash from some fans that want their traditional superhero to return, which was never the initial mandate for my series. I’ve seen it in the past on Twitter with other POC characters becoming successors to the classic superheroes. But Robert was at least honored through his milestone memories from his Marvel history in SENTRY: LEGACY. What made the series worth it for me was the positive feedback from fans that related to Mallory Gibbs’ disability. Editorial and I did the work and collaborated with our creative consultant Cara Liebowitz, a disability advocate, to make sure a character with CP is handled authentically throughout this series. I hope we get to see more of Mallary, a.k.a.: Solarus, in the future.

In the end, SENTRY: LEGACY is about giving yourself grace and time as you level up. Can you talk about a time when you learned that lesson in your career?

I think that was back when I finished my own self-publishing series, The Pitiful Human-Lizards. I was doing all the roles in that series for five years: writing, penciling, inking, coloring, lettering, etc. As I wrapped it up, I thought I told everything I wanted in a superhero comic. I was also burnt out and going through legal issues with a former publisher that made me want to quit comics entirely. But then my good friend Chip Zdarsky reached out to me out of the blue and wanted to collaborate on a project together. It became my second wind in the industry, and I wanted to give more than I previously did, knowing more eyes would be on this book. And that caliber of work won us an Eisner Award and brought me so much attention from other editors, and that’s when my career began to sky-rocket.

What other projects do you have coming out?

I’m currently writing the ongoing series Werewolf by Night: Red Band with artist Sergio Davila, and I wrapped up on writing for the Dazzler limited series which ends in December. There’s a bunch more that I can’t say at the moment.

If we could focus on Dazzler for a moment, antimutant sentiments are currently at an all-time high in the Marvel Universe with the fall of the mutant nation, Krakoa. What pressures are on Dazzler?

With Dazzler’s new level of success from topping the charts and selling out arenas, she’s trying to please all her fans, both mutants and humans. But when she knows her fellow mutants are being threatened and discriminated against in the world, she decides to take a stand. And that might not please the other half of her fans. So, Dazzler and her team are navigating through these pressures during the tour while villains and even a talk-show host try to villainize her for being a mutant.

How does the character’s music showcase her personal journey and what artistic roadblocks does Dazzler face?

Her songs are Dazzler’s narratives. They are another level of storytelling. I’ve fit in history about her past relationships in them and her own struggles when she was outed as a mutant by her music producers. I don’t think Dazzler has any artistic roadblocks at this point. Her album is fully produced and out in the world for everyone to hear. Some people may have their own interpretations of her songs (read issue 2), but she makes it clear what her stance is on stage. She’s a mutant, out and proud.

Antimutant sentiment comes from a place of fear that mutants are the next stage of evolution. Can you tell us how physical and verbal threats against Dazzler help her to evolve?

She looks to her PR/lifestyle manager, Wind Dancer, to navigate the dangerous tides, but for the most part, follows her own heart to do what’s right.

Where can our readers find you online?

People can find me on Instagram @jasonloomakescomics.

Dominic Loise

Alan Scott: The Green Lantern

Alan Scott was the first Green Lantern created in 1940 by Mort Nodell and Bill Finger. Like today’s characters, he used willpower to create emerald shaped images with a power ring. Being a kid/adult with anxiety, I was attracted to the concept of willpower and focusing your energy on a task. I even bought a Green Lantern-like ring to wear and would be questioned about being a man wearing jewelry. 

Recently, Alan Scott came out as one of DC Comics’ queer characters. The Green Lantern title has always been on the forefront of dealing with social issues. The classic Green Lantern/Green Arrow run of the early 70s showed heroes addressing social issues of the time. In the 90s, the series had a storyline dealing with violence against the queer community. But Tim Sheridan’s Alan Scott: The Green Lantern tells the stories never told out.

Told in flashbacks, Sheridan uses settings and characters of Alan Scott’s classic comics to explore the characters who masked their true identity and weren’t in the Justice Society of America WW2 era. Arkham Asylum is the location for the trauma conversation therapy, and the men hiding in the dark alleyways are not there for robberies but connection.

Alan Scott also finds those who support him throughout this series, which are all told via heartfelt moments. Alan Scott: The Green Lantern lets a classic character’s true self step into the spotlight and out of the shadows on his own timeline. 

Simon Kerr

To Be Taught, If Fortunate

Winter! It’s cold. And we all know what else is cold: the vacuum of space! As holiday times approach, I continue to think of nothing but hope-punk space novellas, a.k.a. the Becky Chambers Special.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate follows four astronauts who study exoplanets. Each planet has unique biomes, flora, and fauna, some unbelieveably beautiful and some chilling in darker ways. Come for the casual queer representation and stay for the exquisite scenery.

Eileen Silverthorn

Christmas Horror

Don’t get me wrong, I love some Hallmark holiday cheese and classic Christmas stories. But my love for the horror film genre—even the ridiculous, campy ones—is a year-round thing. Therefore, I have been binging everything from Krampus, Gremlins, Black Christmas (the original and the remake, I don’t discriminate), and the new Terrifier 3. There are more, too many to even name here, but I am considering making this festive and spooky movie marathon an annual tradition in my family. If you want to bring this seasonal chaos to your watchlist as well, here are some ideas to get you started.

Dreams! We all have them. And we’ve all seen our dreams change throughout our lives. A childhood dream of being a rodeo cowboy might evolve to obtaining a computer science degree… Or even the other way around… Whether you’ve dreamed of jetting off to the stars or creating vast worlds that transport eager readers, these potent aspirations motivate and drive us.

That’s especially true here at the Brink Literacy Project, where we utilize the power of storytelling to affect the lives of people on the brink—anyone who is marginalized in society or otherwise lacks access to traditional means of learning about and employing the art of storytelling. We want to make dreams come true for our students, everyday.

But… what about our staff members? What have they dreamed about as wee storytellers?

Valerie San Filippo

As a young writer, what did you dream your future in publishing would be?
I dreamed of writing “the Great American Novel.” I’m really not sure what that means.

How did you think you would obtain that dream?
As a young writer, I truly thought a brilliant idea would strike me like a bolt of lightning. I would be so favored by the muses that a novel would flow from my mind fully-formed. Agents and acquiring editors would sense the birth of such an inspired work as if beckoned by the star of Bethlehem, and they would lay bids of six-figure book deals at my feet. I would be rich beyond comprehension! I would be the voice of my generation! I would be a guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson!

Has the dream changed or shifted? And if so, how?
Thank goodness the dream changed. I learned to love the process. I don’t write because I love being published, I write because I love writing. I’m living my dream every day. I write as much as I can. I help other people bring their ideas to life. On very rare occasions, a stranger will reach out and tell me they liked a story I wrote, and then the world feels cozier and kinder than it did before. That’s really special. That’s the dream.

How does actually being a writer compare to what you dreamt it would be like?
Writing involves a lot more work than I imagined, but I love the work more that I ever thought possible.

If you could meet any other writer, living or dead, in your dreams who would you meet with, and why?
This feels awkward to admit because we do sometimes work with him here at Brink, but, I would want to spend time with Pat Rothfuss. I read The Name of the Wind at a point in my life when I was starting to lose my sense of wonder, but the way Pat uses language changed the way I looked at the world. The thing is, when you render something with his measure of care, you can’t help but love that thing. I feel like he would be a great person to do absolutely nothing with. Like, dude, let’s sit in the world together for a minute and describe the sacred things we see. Everything is beautiful. Show me.

Dominic Loise

As a young writer, what did you dream your future in publishing would be?

As a young writer, I was self publishing a comic book with an artist friend right out of college. It was based on a newspaper strip from his college paper and the goal was for the book to help sell comic strips to newspaper syndicates or the comic would take off on its own.

How did you think you would obtain that dream?

It seemed very attainable. The independent comic book community was incredibly inviting. We traveled to the second APE(Alternative Press Expo) and met some legends in the industry at a bar after the convention. They were telling us how to take our zine to an actual comic book.

Once we had a comic book we sent around comic strip samples to newspaper syndicates and magazines to see if they were interested. We even went to the conference for newspaper syndicate artists in Columbus, which happens every few years, to talk with creatives and get an honest timeline for selling a strip.

Has the dream changed or shifted? And if so, how?

The dream shifted when the comic book market collapsed in the 90s. Marvel started self distributing their books. Many independent comic book distributions closed and soon a lot of the direct market comic shops were closing.

I remember we had a new issue about to go to press and that week Marvel announced they were going to self distribute and we held it back. We watched everything play out and never printed that issue. And getting a comic strip in a newspaper is hard work. Statistically, we were told it’s easier to get drafted into the NFL.

From there, it seemed life got in the way and I couldn’t get into the industries I had a foothold in so I got a corporate job.

How does actually being a writer compare to what you dreamt it would be like?

The reality of being a writer is much better. I started writing again as therapy and the people apart of my work have helped my healing. These supports have made me a much better writer than I have ever been.

Also, I have learned to joy of rewriting.

If you could meet any other writer, living or dead, in your dreams who would you meet with, and why?

If I could meet any writer, I would enjoy being in a room with Steven Moffat. His speeches on Doctor Who are what I play when I am having a hard day. And since we are talking about time travel, I would talk to myself as a younger writer and say it works out the way it should have for the better life.

Maribel Leddy

As a young writer, what did you dream your future in publishing would be?

I dreamt I would be a published author. At one point, I wanted to be the next Louise Erdrich—publishing a book before I turned 30. 

How did you think you would obtain that dream?

I thought I would go to college and write the next great American fantasy/sci-fi series, get published pretty quickly, and then have a miniseries on Netflix. 

Has the dream changed or shifted? And if so, how?

Well, reality has certainly reared its ugly head. Writing isn’t often that lucrative, nor is it as easy to break into publishing as I hoped it would be. I also haven’t actually written my novel/series yet, so there’s that. Being an adult, in general, takes more time and is much more difficult than I think I ever imagined as a kid. Enjoy your youth—you know, the one you have before you have to start paying an electricity bill every month! 

How does actually being a writer compare to what you dreamt it would be like?

In many ways, it’s just as wonderful as I thought it would be. I get to do what I love. How many people can say that? Not me, even a year ago (I quit my marketing job to pursue writing full time). Of course, it’s not as easy as I thought it would be either. It requires a lot of focus to get anything done, which I don’t always have. And sometimes you burn yourself out from overthinking things. That said, the communities I’ve built as a writer keep me going even today. There’s also a lot less sitting in coffee shops over a steaming mug of tea with the patter of rain on the window outside and a cat curled in my lap. That’s the kind of fantasy that truly only exist in dreams. Most coffee shops in NYC don’t have cats. Or good wi-fi. Or bathrooms.

If you could meet any other writer, living or dead, in your dreams who would you meet with, and why?

Definitely Shakespeare. I want to ask him if he actually wrote all those plays. And then I want to hit him on the head for some of the stuff in them. 

Ainsley Louie-Suntjens

House of the Dragon

I feel like I am the very last person to arrive at the party for this one, but I spent the better part of my summer blitzing through House of the Dragon. I resisted for so long— first, everyone and their mother was begging me to watch it and I refuse to cave to peer pressure, and second, the Negroni Sbagliato meme inundating my twitter feed annoyed me— but I gave in and pretended it was my own idea to save myself the embarrassment.  

I am sorry to announce that yes, it was as good as everyone said that it would be. I specifically need to highlight the two leading actors: Olivia Cooke and Emma D’Arcy positively disappear into their roles. The supporting cast is excellent, but the amount of electricity between these two could probably power a small homestead. I didn’t forget about Milly Alcock and Emily Carey either— the first four episodes are probably my favorite of all. The writing (of the first season at least) is fascinating, and it also fixed a lot of the writing problems of Game of Thrones, particularly the misogynistic ones— it makes me happy when writers take feedback. I will admit that the tail end of season two peters out a little bit and I know George R. R. Martin was really up in arms with how it was adapted, but to be honest, it is such compelling television that I don’t even really mind. George, this is for me, not you. 

Erxi Lu

Notes of a Crocodile

I discovered the existence of Notes of a Crocodile on Booktok of all places, but this novel transcends the formula that Booktok books tend to follow. Notes of a Crocodile is an almost painfully honest depiction of queer college students in 1980s Taiwan. The characters continually hurt each other, provide reprieve, and in the middle of consoling one another, seem to once again wound everyone around them. In complete honesty, I was unsure of how I felt about the book in the beginning. The main character is difficult to root for and the characters seem to love to dig themselves deeper into holes rather than out of them. And yet, all of a sudden, on page 99, I realized this book was beautiful. As much as I didn’t have the cultural framework to understand all the nuances in this novel, it became clear to me that this novel is also about the difficulty of growing up, the existence within the liminal space in-between childhood and adulthood, and the disorientation that comes from being pushed into a freedom that is not quite free. The novel is perfectly human, perfectly young, and perfectly broken.  

Lydia Layton

Adventure Time

It’s a cartoon classic for a reason. No matter the time of year, I always come back to Adventure Time; iconic, colorful characters, sapphic representation, and delightfully absurd storylines to brighten any day. Some of my favorite episodes include Astral Plane, Simon and Marcy, Jake the Brick, and BMO Noire.  

Skyler Boudreau

Even Though I Knew the End

I am always on the hunt for strange, fantastical books with great LGBTQ+ representation, and C. L. Polk’s award-winning novella Even Though I Knew the End fits into all those categories. I stumbled across this book accidentally and subsequently devoured it in a single afternoon. In less than 150 pages, Polk ripped my heart out of my chest and then stapled it back in place with one of the most bittersweet endings I have read in a long, long time.

Readers meet Helen, a magical detective operating in 1940s Chicago, three days before she is meant to die and burn in Hell for eternity—it’s the price she must pay for an old bargain with a demon made before the start of the story: her soul, to be collected in ten years’ time, for her brother’s life. While she’s not exactly at peace with her fate, it’s something Helen has accepted. However, in the days leading up to her death, Helen is offered a dangerous final job. Should she complete this job, she will be rewarded with the return of her soul and the chance of a long life with Edith, her loving partner. Helen’s chance of completing the job is slim, but it’s not an opportunity she can pass up.

Between an intriguing new magic system and one of the most well-written sapphic romances I’ve ever read, Even Though I Knew the End grabbed my attention the moment I picked it up and hasn’t let go since.

Parker McCullough

Challengers

Since its April release date, I’ve seen Challengers three times. It. Is. Just. That. Good. How can I describe director Luca Guadagnino’s masterpiece? Firstly, I must warn you that even though there is a racket in almost every scene, this is not a movie about tennis. Challengers is about the queer love triangle between Tashi, Art, and Patrick. As the film unfolds, you see each character’s flaws and what they sacrifice to get what they want. Patrick loves Art, Art loves Tashi, and Tashi loves tennis. The stakes are dramatically high throughout the film, only to passionately climax at the very end.

Something that has always amazed me about queer cinema is that there is effort in the details. There is a scene where the competition scheduler is eating a breakfast bagel from Dunkin’, and you can see the lipstick stain on her coffee cup as she shares half her breakfast with Patrick. Intimacy is placed in every scene that warrants a second and third watch.

The cinematography paired with the techno house-worthy score emerges in moments of action, giving you an electric feel, like when you’re about to step onto the dance floor. I have been playing the mixed version of the soundtrack all summer and will probably keep it in my rotation…forever. If you haven’t already, give the film a go! Challengers affirmed a knowing of my identity as a queer individual, but even if you’re not queer, who doesn’t love tennis?

Dominic Loise

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

I have been looking forward to the sequel of Tim Burton’s original horror comedy Beetlejuice (1988) ever since I heard Seth Grahame-Smith was connected to the project. Grahame-Smith has a keen eye needed in balancing horror mashups as seen in his books Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. So, I was interested in him teaming with a visually-distinguished director like Tim Burton, and how the two creators would honor and build upon the original movie. 

The major theme of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice can be seen in the original cast members not brought back for the sequel. The main ghosts couple Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis), who learn to share their home with the living in the first film, are not in the sequel because they’ve moved on. The theme of moving on is a through line in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as characters deal with the grief of the both past and recently departed in their lives. Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), the teenager who could see ghosts and befriended the Maitlands, now has a teenage daughter (Jenna Ortega) of her own. The two have been estranged since Lydia divorced her husband, after which he soon died. The film also deals with the casting conflict of bringing back cancelled actor, Jeffrey Jones (Charles Deetz), by reuniting the remaining Deetz for the patriarch’s funeral. 

There wouldn’t be a Beetlejuice sequel without Michael Keaton reprising his role as title character, Betelgeuse. Keaton was so associated with the character that most people forget he was only in the original movie for under twenty minutes. Since then, there has been a Beetlejuice animated series and Broadway musical, which all spawned from Kenton’s original performance as “The Ghost with the Most.” In the sequel, Betelgeuse has not moved on from the first film and his love for Lydia Deetz. He has been haunting her in her nightmares and, as her real life toxic relationship gets more serious, he starts bleeding into the waking world. 

Characters being empowered to move on from toxic relationships and draw closer bonds to those who have provided safe spaces of healing is why I’m recommending Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The living characters learn to exorcize the harmful relationships they’re in with manipulative people. Even the trickster Betelgeuse is on the run in the afterlife from his ex-wife, a soul-sucking ghost. 

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice hits all the looks and sounds of the first film while adding depth to its characters. I mention sound because not only is Danny Elfman’s score present like in the original film, but the creators worked in the famous Day-O score. And just when the moviegoer thinks there won’t be another ghost possession/lip-sync scene, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice pulls out all the stops with a song that ties the theme of loss and moving on together. 

C.E. Janecek

The Vision of Escaflowne

Searching for a way to watch the 1996 worldwide anime hit, The Vision of Escaflowne, felt like a foreboding lesson on our reliance on digital media. It was unavailable on every streaming platform. I had found out about it the old-fashioned way: as a preview on a library-loaned DVD of Code Geass, season one. Luckily, The Vision of Escaflowne was available at my local library on both DVDs and Blu-rays, but after watching it, I was even more fearful that one day it would disappear from the internet’s collective memory all together.

A mix of fantasy, science fiction, and a whole lot of heart—The Vision of Escaflowne’s 26-episode story boasts well-rounded characters, ambitious lore, and a heart-wrenching soundtrack. On a planet torn by war and lofty ideologies, four protagonists carry the heavy mantles of the ancestors, even if they don’t know it yet. Like many cult animes of the 1990s, Escaflowne’s themes largely circle around the loss of innocence and the question of free will, which remains deliciously in the air throughout.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the anime is how much of it changed before production. Escaflowne’s Wikipedia page is a treasure trove of history, but one of my favorite tidbits is that much of Escaflowne’s story and aesthetic exists because the original director was bought out by Gundam and newcomer Kazuki Akane transformed the protagonist into her iconic, tomboy look and made all of the male characters into “beautiful boys” to broaden audience appeal. And are those boys beautiful. The romantic subplots are tinged through the innocent eyes of main character, Hitomi, changing organically (and devastatingly) as the world around them falls to war and she has to find other ways to cling on to hope.

Ari Iscariot

Only God Forgives

It is exhilarating, from time to time, to come upon a film that has been left raw and bloody, uncooked for consumption by a mass audience. Traditionally, movies say: “I am a story, and this is how I will tell myself.” But Only God Forgives does not offer you this comforting hand. There is no guide to orient you as you plunge into the neon-bright, ultra-violent nightmare director Nicolas Winding Refn has created. This is not meant to be a familiar narrative, traveling the tried and true paths of the three-act structure or the hero’s journey. It is a gut-wrenching, visceral experience, all the more poignant because it does not make itself palatable. It seems to say, observe or don’t, the trainwreck will happen with or without you as witness. 

Every aspect of this film lends itself to experiencing, to immersing into the Freudian fever dream, the garish, Greek tragedy set in the humming streets of Thailand. Voices murmur and cackle, traffic rushes with reedy wind, night insects anxiously drone. The soundtrack thrums somewhere behind your bones, industrial and electric. The lighting and colors synchronously flash, flawlessly painted by the hand of their colorblind director, showing a reality where everything is exit-sign red, caution-bulb orange, suicidal blue. The dialogue is sparse, sharp, delivered like a blade through the back. Ryan Gosling’s character, the tortured Julian Thompson, speaks but seventeen lines. But he doesn’t need to waste breath to tell what is being shown.

Julian’s ending is a foregone conclusion, as is every other character’s, as foretold in the title. Julian’s mad brother cannot be forgiven, nor can his Jocastian mother. Neither can Julian forgive himself: his warped desires, his blood-stained palms. He certainly won’t be forgiven by the film’s main “antagonist,” the vigilante cop Chang, who is the epitome of “Justice is blind.” He metes out punishment without considering circumstance, drunk on power and revenge. Only God could forgive someone like Julian, and his twisted, pathetic descent towards this realization will make you feel emotions and longing better left unspoken—and only experienced.

Dominic Loise

Will Trent

We are always looking for a good mystery series in our household. Something that is both a challenge to solve before the final reveal and has an engaging yet unique detective. Our benchmark binging has been David Suchet as Hercule Poirot, Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk, and Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo. Currently, we are watching Will Trent and this mystery drama is quickly becoming our new favorite series.

Soon to drop a third season this fall, Will Trent is based on the book series by Karin Slaughter. The main character is a special agent for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and like Piorot, Monk, and Colombo, he sees things outside the box from other members of law enforcement and is an outsider from those he works with daily. Unlike Columbo, Trent (Ramón Rodríguez) is sharply dressed in his three-piece suits like Poirot and his home is organized like Monk. The reason for his outward appearance and organizational systems are to mask his dyslexia from the outside world, for fear that others will judge him incapable to do his job.

Trust is a major theme in Will Trent. The two main characters, Trent and homicide Detective Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen), grew up together in the foster care system. Both have scars from their childhood and in Trent’s case, his scars are physically noticeable. The two work to protect others from cracks in the system that failed them as children. The series also explores Trent and Polaski sharing their past with their work partners and how it affects their decision making. Soon, guarded walls are let down for them to share openly with others. As the series goes on, Trent’s compartmentalized life of solitude and security opens up for him share with others and create his own definition of family.

Nate Ragolia

Jaws

We’re in the dog days of summer, or maybe the dogfish days… and for me that means revisiting the QUINTessential summer film classic, Jaws. It was released in 1975, from director Stephen Spielberg, and based on the book by Peter Benchley. It is famous for being the first movie filmed on the ocean, for having a broken mechanical shark named Bruce (whose malfunctions required/enabled incredible dramatic tension), and for being, perhaps, the first blockbuster.

If you are somehow unfamiliar, Jaws is about the fictional, small New England beach community of Amity Island besieged—in peak tourist season—by a massive, man-eating Great White Shark. Newly transplanted police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) must contend with the shark and the town’s mayor’s reluctance to close the beach, and eventually enlists a marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a salty shark hunter (Robert Shaw).

While you’ve almost all certainly already seen this movie, I encourage you to watch it again for two reasons: 1. It is one of the most compelling demonstrations of three-act storytelling available, and 2. The complex relationships between all the characters, their motivations, and their depth of development is second to none. Plus, if you’re anything like me, you’ll get something new out of each viewing. I was lucky enough to catch it in the theater for a special screening earlier this month, but Jaws is great anywhere… except maybe in the water…

It wasn’t the haunted house in your book, Grim Root, that I found triggering but what TV producer, Deja, puts contestants through on the novel’s reality TV show, The Groom. Can you talk about how you researched the behind-the-scenes practices of reality TV for the book?

I read some behind-the-scenes memoirs, like Amy Kaufman’s Bachelor Nation, but I also follow the reality TV news—and one of my major inspirations was the fictional show UnREAL. I also read a fair number of articles on the psychology of reality TV, how close quarters increased pressure, isolation from the outside world, etc., lead to a heightening of emotions. I’m fascinated by that side of the genre.

At one point, a someone in production admits reality TV is “…engineered that way. They work with psychologists, you know, to create the perfect conditions to evoke limerence. Isolation. Shared fear.” How does Grim Root twist this concept of “shared fear” for a horror novel?

Reality TV, like good fiction—in this case, horror fiction—is all about tension. As a writer, you treat your characters like kings in a chess game, increasing the threat from as many angles as possible, moving in until they’re backed into corners and forced to make big, blow-up decisions. Reality TV producers do the same thing to their characters; the difference is that those characters happen to be real people.

I’ve just upped the stakes for the reality TV element, making it literal life and death.

 In particular, Linda’s character is manipulated by Deja in multiple ways. Would you explain the concept of the “villain cut” in reality TV and how Deja uses that with Linda?

Good stories require antagonists, and that’s something reality TV has taken into account. A reality TV villain is usually a big personality, maybe someone who is combative, and who the producers decide will make a good “villain.” They then cut the show to make it even easier to view that person as the major antagonist of the show. There might be parts they cut where the antagonist explains their decisions, etc., to make them look as over the top as possible. It’s a known reality TV trope, and contestant contracts often state editorial can cut the footage however they want.

Deja threatens Linda with a villain cut, using Linda’s past against her. Since Linda wants to come off as a good person, Deja tries to control Linda with this threat.

Can you talk about the cycle of manipulation the contestants faced from their past relationships and how it is taken advantage of for entertainment? How are their pasts being woven into their storylines by production? 

Both Sabrina and Linda have been manipulated by family, and that’s something the producers use to provoke certain responses from them on the show. Both main characters have a fierce desire to be accepted and loved, and the producers promise that: from the Groom, and from the audience. Then they use that desire to make them do the things they want them to do on camera.

Fashion and a lavish mansion are a big part of reality TV shows, yet you included the poignant line, “Skeletons lived in bodies, not closets” regarding someone’s past. Given this is also a haunted house story, could you talk about how the location of Matrimony Manor, where the show is filmed, is also a character with its own secrets? 

Like any good haunted house story, Matrimony Manor’s own past directly affects the characters; the horror is linked to the house itself. The interplay between the house’s secrets and the character’s secrets runs parallel and reveals itself throughout the book.

Due to editing and manipulation tactics, we can’t trust the reality of these tv shows. How do the characters face their own instances of manipulation before they get to the taping of the show?

We’re all affected by our trauma, personal and generational, so Sabrina and Linda are no exception. Sabrina has been manipulated by her mom, then her sister, to believe her main goal in life should be to marry rich, when she’s always desired to prioritize her medical career. Linda, on the other hand, fought back against her own manipulations—and has paid the price. The show casts her as the tarnished divorcee, a ruined woman—and even if she doesn’t believe that, and she’s forced to pretend at that role in order to hide the things she did as a little girl.

What do you feel the appeal of reality television is for a viewer?

Reality TV relies on tropes and larger-than-life characters, as well as fantasy. Genre fiction, particularly romance and horror, also utilizes tropes—pulling people in with the familiar, then twisting those tropes to provide excitement and novelty. It’s a winning formula, and when it’s combined with this idea that the people on these shows are just like us, that we could even be one of them if we wanted, that proves seductive. I also believe the “theatrical versus reality” aspect of it is appealing, like wrestling. The curiosity of it being fake-but-not-fake, of being a fan in on the game. I admit, I watch reality TV dating shows. They intrigue me as much as they intrigue the rest of their audience base.

Grim Root holds a mirror up to a cultural phenomenon. What other horror was an inspiration for this social commentary?

Shirley Jackson was a huge influence, particularly Haunting of Hill House. I’ve also been writing stories with morally grey women characters ever since I read In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt. The twist comes toward the very end of the novel, where we learn an important detail about the main character’s past, which changes our view of her. Additionally, I’ve been inspired by the romance genre and the things it shares in common with horror. Marrying the two was a goal with this book.

Where can our readers find you online and check out more of your work?

I have everything I’ve ever published linked on my website, www.bonniejostufflebeam.com—and I’m still occasionally on Twitter and Instagram, though you won’t see me posting all that much

Haley Lawson

I Made an Album

This spring, I’ve been obsessed with Daði Freyr’s “I Made an Album,” released in August of 2023. I first heard them when they performed their song “Think About Things” as part of Eurovision in 2020. Since then, I’ve been keen to hear more from them. An electronic pop icon from Iceland, Daði Freyr’s good vibe lyrics, teal sweaters, and soothing melodies are the perfect fit for longer days and melting snow.

The second track on the album is “I’m Fine”—an upbeat track with equally motivating lyrics. The song speaks to the idea that we should be works in progress because that way we keep growing and changing.

It’s all right if you’re taking your time
People who have been found
Are the worst to be around anyway
Okay, all I wanted to say
It’s all right, it’s all right, it’s all right, it’s all right
I know I’m a work in progress
And I would like to stay that way
Don’t stress, it isn’t worth it
Your life is not your resume

Dominic Loise

STEVE! (martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces

I remember being young and deciphering the image on the Let’s Get Small (1977) comedy album. As a grade schooler, I had seen my share of kids with balloon sculpture hats, but this cover featured an adult male wearing one with a fake nose, glasses, and bunny ears. On the back cover, the comedian was reaching out to the camera with a manic look in his eyes. I couldn’t make out his face with everything he was wearing, but comedian Steve Martin would become a very familiar face to me throughout the remainder of the decade. His avant garde humor would become the compass to help find my people as I grew up in the eighties.

The documentary STEVE! (martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces (AppleTV) takes an in-depth look at the performer and his career over the decades. Martin also opens up about his anxiety in the documentary and discusses his growing mental health awareness over the decades. We see Martin share old comedy set lists and his journal from his stand-up years as he processes that anxiety. It is through Martin’s journaling that he talks about not pursuing happiness but purpose, which ties into the second part of the documentary.

In the first part, the documentary explores Steve Martin’s purpose as he focused on the art of stand-up comedy, which he took to new heights in the seventies. The second part of the documentary deals with Martin leaving stand up for movies. The second half also deals with an artist finding a place of ease in being themselves while finding a creative outlet that satisfied them personally. We also see the nineties onward when Martin moved away from zany films into being a playwright, returning to playing the banjo, and writing pieces in The New Yorker.

Most might tune in for the stand up and rare clips from the start of Martin’s career. They’ll wish to see the “Wild and Crazy Guy” who was the first comedian to fill a rock stadium. My connection was to the second (martin) part when Martin explored not living to please to the unknown masses but to appreciate the people who are supporting your personal progress.

Kaitlin Lounsberry

Baby Reindeer

If you’re like me, you often log into Netflix without something intentional to watch and the expectation you’ll spend a good deal of time clicking through titles to find a show or movie that suits your fancy. Enter Baby Reindeer. Adapted from Richard Gadd’s one-man comedy show, this scripted Netflix series explores a local comedian’s experience with a female stalker and, in turn, is forced to confront with secrets of his own. I know, I know, is this (now) viral show really worth the hype? I sure think so. 

It’s dark, funny, delightfully twisted, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I wrapped up the last episode. In addition to the obvious themes you might expect from this story, there’s a great deal of empathy and understanding for all parties involved that I wasn’t anticipating. The choice to humanize those who lived this reality added a great deal of nuance I wasn’t expecting and it elevated my viewing experience for the better. 

Don’t believe me? Watch and decide for yourself. 

Flash: The Return of Barry Allen storyline just celebrated a twenty-year anniversary in 2023. Decades later, it still stands out to me as a story of Wally West dealing with/overcoming imposter syndrome, where, though someone might be high functioning in their role, external circumstances could cause them to still feel phony and doubt themselves or their abilities. Where was Wally at in his life when you took over writing this storyline in the nineties? 

As a fictional character, he was actually in a good place; my predecessor, Bill Loebs, is an excellent writer who brilliantly communicates his humanism through his work. As a comics series, not so much. It wasn’t not selling, but sales were sliding in the wake of the year-long bump the recently canceled CBS-TV show had given it. At a Christmas party, right after I’d taken the book over, a drunk DC executive said to me, “I don’t even know why we’re bothering to publish that book now,” which if anything only made me double down on my efforts. 

To give our readers some context, can you talk about Barry Allen, the previous Flash, saving the entire DC Universe during the original maxi series? And how his sacrifice was considered untouchable, as far as bringing Barry back, in an industry where characters are regularly resurrected? 

In short, as much as that can be: While there had been one or two parallel-world stories in DC comics before Barry Allen was introduced, in DC continuity he was the first superhero to discover the concept of alternate Earths, and a lot of his stories revolved around the concept. But by 1986, DC was interested in streamlining its continuity by eliminating the multiverse—hence, the Crisis on Infinite Earths series—and from a meta standpoint, just as Barry had been the one to open the multiversal door, he was killed off in the story that closed it. And it was, by all standards, a well-done and moving death with a solid sense of finality about it. (This was before the trend of killing-and-reviving characters was so common that comics Heaven installed a revolving door.) On top of all of that, through managerial errors less than the writer’s doing, the Flash series had been duller than dishwater for nearly a decade prior, and Barry was always portrayed as a good guy with all the depth of a bottle cap. So, his sacrifice was probably the best Flash story told in years and years. Consequently, there was real resistance to ever resurrecting him. So great was his sacrifice, he became DC’s first unofficial saint. And on top of that, his nephew and former sidekick, Wally West, took up the mantle in his honor, and that worked out so well no one wanted to take that away from Wally for the longest time. 

Your first, ongoing Wally West story in The Flash series, dealt with him as Kid Flash and gave readers a look into his safe space of visiting his Aunt Iris (Barry’s girlfriend and future wife). How did this time with Iris and Barry impact Wally’s time away from his home life? How would Wally’s relationship with his Uncle Barry, not just Barry as The Flash, create a situation where he would find replacing Barry unimaginable? 

You know what? I’ve never once thought about that. Nearly every time we ever saw the two of them together, they were superheroing, so I never really imagined they had a strong familial relationship out of costume! 

The very first issue of The Return of Barry Allen, Wally talks about his inner conflict of wanting to honor Barry’s memory by being The Flash but feeling he is not up to the task. At the time in comics, how groundbreaking was it that Wally was the first ever sidekick to take over the mantle of their mentor? 

Hugely. That had never been done before, and it made Wally unique in the superhero pantheon. It’s been done plenty since, but Wally was the first to take over the identity of his mentor. 

The Return of Barry Allen also deals with the physical manifestation of Wally’s imposter syndrome, namely that he can only run at the speed of sound following Barry’s death. Can you talk about how the Flash family gets Wally to address the issue and how it ties into his fear of surpassing Barry when running at his top speed? 

Wally’s limitations—chief among them, that he wasn’t nearly as fast as his uncle ever was—were certainly mentally imposed. That disparity in speed wasn’t there when Wally was Kid Flash. And even though Wally knew that intellectually, he couldn’t break through that barrier emotionally, where it counted, until Barry’s reputation was in danger of being permanently blackened.

There was a surprise outcome from this storyline. I don’t wish to talk about the ending for fear of spoiling the story, but can we discuss how The Flash comic became a beacon to guide the industry out of its “grim and gritty” era? Would you like to talk about the heroic age that followed this time of darker superhero stories and Wally’s part in connecting the whole DC Universe together? 

Editor Brian Augustyn and I shared a deep admiration for what were in the 1990s considered “old school” comics—comics where heroes saved the day because they were clever and had heart rather than because they could punch villains really hard. And I cannot overstate how absent that storytelling approach was from the comics medium in that era. It was a time of dark, cynical storylines and events, and neither Brian nor I had any use for cynicism. To us, cynicism was utterly antithetical to the very concept of superheroes, who were adolescent power fantasies created to do impossible things. Consequently, Brian and I and our book were looked upon as a throwback to the Silver Age of comics, and it took readers a l-o-n-g time to realize that, no, we weren’t trying to replicate the comics of our youth; we were trying to take the best parts of them and fold them into modern stories with modern storytelling. And we can thank writer Grant Morrison as much as anyone for pushing that idea. His open acknowledgement of how what we were doing was direct inspiration for his own DC superhero work was just the endorsement we needed. Slowly, we began to push the overall tide back towards a sense of optimism.  

When you later returned to writing The Flash comic in the aughts, you showed Wally as both a superhero and family man with two kids. Can you talk about how being a father to Iris and Jai West shows Wally moving beyond the broken home that drew him to run in the footsteps of Barry and how he now walks his own path as The Flash? 

Giving him children wasn’t my choice and was probably not a choice I’d have made, but my job when taking on a series is to play the cards I’m dealt, so I made an effort to, in fact, contrast his own painful upbringing with the happy home he gave his wife and kids. 

Was there ever a time that you dealt with imposter syndrome as you started writing comics and began working on characters that were iconic from your childhood? 

Christ, what time is it now? I still feel it. Find me any writer who doesn’t deal with imposter syndrome, and I’ll show you an overconfident hack whose work isn’t nearly as good as they think it is. Honestly, I consider imposter syndrome part of the writing equation, as a hell of a motivator to keep trying and keep inventing new techniques and new ideas. 

What was it like writing a teenage Wally Kid Flash? 

Fun! We sidestepped some of the ugliness of his life at that period, but honestly, the Wests weren’t monsters, and in my mind, it’s not like Wally suffered every day at their hands. The family simply flared with dysfunction frequently, and in that issue of WF: TT, we were lucky enough to be there on one of the good days. 

What are you working on now and where can our readers find you online? 

Currently, I’m working on DC’s Batman/Superman: World’s Finest and (issue two coming soon!), as well as their summer event series, Absolute Power. There are also a few other assignments in various states of completion that DC will be announcing soon. 

Online, I’m on Bluesky and Instagram (the latter as @waidmark), and because I’m old, also on Facebook. I don’t update markwaid.com as often as I ought to, but that’s also a part of my online presence. 

Nate Ragolia

Poor Things

Released in December in the U.S., Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film, Poor Things, might just be the best film of 2023. It’s a heartfelt, deeply feminist coming-of-age take on the literary classic Frankenstein that shows off Emma Stone’s awe-inspiring acting range, while getting some brilliant performances from Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe (among a stacked cast). It features a globe-hopping, eye-catching journey as protagonist Bella Baxter chases her young curiosity to find out who she really is, and who she really wants to be.

Fair warning, this film features a lot of sex and nudity, but does so while subverting the male gaze and bringing sincere, patriarchy-undermining humanity into every frame. It’s a stylish, strange, bold film that may rub some viewers the wrong way, even as it’s one of Lanthimos’ most accessibly human films. We all, ultimately, want to know who we are, what we’re made of, and why we’re here… and Poor Things hits every note in an undeniably unique and heartfelt way. Plus, there’s a chicken with a pig’s head in here, so if you’re into that kind of weird, this film is EVEN MORE for you.

Sara Santistevan

This is My Body: Poems by a Teen Trans Fem

It’s rare to find a teen poet confident in both their poetic voice and artistic mission. That’s why I was so excited to get my hands on Madeline Aliah’s debut chapbook This Is My Body: Poems by a Teen Trans Fem.

In the book’s forward, Aliah makes her goal clear: “This little book is an offering of 18 poems as candles for a birthday I didn’t expect to reach. I hope it’s a light for those who need it. I hope it helps the non-trans reader understand what it’s like to be someone like me.” Indeed, Aliah’s debut is a stunning example of how vulnerability can not only comfort those who identify with the speaker’s experience, but can also serve as a radical form of advocacy and education.

This book is thoughtfully divided into three sections (“The Body Counterfeit,” “The Body Politic,” and “The Body Manifest,”) which explore Aliah’s coming-of-age and relationship with her body. Some of my favorite lines beautifully capture the narrative arc that unfolds throughout these sections. Consider the shift in the speaker’s autonomy from the couplet in “I Woke Up Twice This Morning” to that of “The Pronoun Game,” respectively:

“My second morning body is an oven / My first morning body is a dove.”

“I/Me/Mine / are dangerous pronouns to choose / because choosing me makes me dangerous.”

The choice Aliah eventually makes, and the power she has to make that choice, is fully realized in one of the collection’s final poems, “Trans Risk.” Despite the title, Aliah sees no risk in her choice to become herself, and instead challenges the reader by asking “Does it bother you / that womanhood is a gift / worth dying for?”

I’m always stunned when I remember that Aliah had these revelations, and captured them so powerfully in her writing, as a teenager. If I were you, I’d be keeping an eye on Aliah’s future career as a poet (and bragging that I knew of her before she was famous)!

Marizel Malan

Prelude to Ecstasy

Though I’m a tad late, I have been absolutely obsessed with the band The Last Dinner Party, and their debut album, Prelude to Ecstasy. They’re currently touring, and I’m incredibly jealous of every single person who gets to experience them live.

The woman and nonbinary-led rock band has taken over every playlist I make. I’ve been listening to their album nonstop. Even though it was released in February, it’s a staple of my March listening habits. In fact, I’ve barely listened to anything else this month! This is one of those rare albums where I don’t want to skip a single song. The lyrics are incredible and they tell exceptional stories in each of their pieces. I am an absolute sucker for indie bands, and The Last Dinner Party is no exception. With the release of singles prior to the album, I was expecting some great music, but they completely surpassed all expectations. While I do have a soft spot for the single “My Lady of Mercy“—which sounds great in-between all the other songs on the album—”Beautiful Boy” has quickly become my favorite. If you enjoy unique rhythms, incredible voices, and gorgeous imagery, definitely check out The Last Dinner Party!

Dominic Loise

Resident Alien

To help get through the winter months and my seasonal depression, I’m rewatching the previous seasons of Resident Alien. The third season started dropping new weekly episodes on Valentine’s Day, and it was a better gift than a box of chocolates could ever be for me.

Resident Alien is a sci-fi action comedy on SyFy (streaming on Peacock and Netflix) about an extraterrestrial’s failed attempt to destroy Earth and become its protector. The show is also explores what it means to be human. Alien Harry struggles as he pretends to be an Earthing and learns to not be an outsider. He also learns that being human involves more than just our outer appearance as the show provides deep, complex layers to the citizens of fictitious Patience, CO.

I was familiar with the Dark Horse comic book series the TV show is based on, but the show has its own tone. That tone is built around the casting of Alan Tudyk as alien Harry. And, even though our interactions with the citizens of Patience, CO are filtered through the arrival of an alien, I find myself fully invested in each character’s presence and personality in this ensemble show and look forward to hanging out with everyone in town on my weekly viewing visits with Resident Alien.

Dominic Loise

Mychal Threets

Mychal Threets, who won this year’s I Love My Librarian award, is having a moment, but the patrons of the Solano County Library will hopefully feel Mychal’s influence and impact for years to come. I am thoroughly enjoying the openness and warm, welcoming energy Mychal brings to social media. Mychal has a soft, Blues Clues-host vibe when discussing what’s going on in the library and how it’s a space for appreciation of others.

Around the time of the award, Mychal was talking with Oliver James on social media. Oliver’s account centers around teaching himself to read as an adult living with OCD. I very much appreciated their discussion of literacy and engagement with books. I also grew up with a learning disability and eventually went on to work with a literacy organization and marry a librarian. Mychal is equally open about mental health awareness and announced his last day at Solano County Library would be on March 1st to prioritize mental health and work with his mental health check-in team. I equally appreciate this openness as someone who also left their full-time job to prioritize their mental health, and I am in his corner as he puts his health first.

There’s been a lot of discussion about banning books in libraries lately. Growing up, I had to work around the stereotypical shushing librarians to find space in a room I didn’t feel invited to, especially as someone from an “ethnic city” family living in the suburbs during the seventies. I celebrate great librarians like Mychal and literacy spaces because I know what it was like growing up within a conservative curated collection. A real librarian doesn’t see their patrons to check out books but makes sure they are seen on the shelves. Visit Mychal Threets online then stop by your own local library.

Ari Iscariot

Hades

For the past few months I have been on a button-mashing, finger-bashing, and skull-smashing rampage through the roguelite dungeon crawler, Hades. This comes as a surprise, because I’m notorious for abandoning games that require dying to advance to higher levels. Hades is no exception to this rule. But what makes Hades brilliant is the way it uses its death mechanic: when you die, you advance the story. 

The protagonist of Hades is the fire-stepping Prince of the Underworld, Zagreus. His mission is to fight his way out of his father’s realm. This realm is rife with ghostly enemies: vexatious witches, club-wielding wretches, and even revered heroes from the surface world. And with such formidable opponents, Zagreus dies. A lot. When you perish, you return to the game’s starting point, the House of Hades, a venerable stone mansion populated by Zagreus’s closest friends and family. With each successive death, these characters reveal to you their deepest desires and their most secret fears. And Zagreus reveals more of himself: his contentious relationship with his father, his outsider status among the denizens of the Underworld, and the secret that drove him to attempt escape—he seeks a long-lost mother he has never met. 

There’s hardly an emotional motivation more compelling than this, a child who longs for love and acceptance. It is a core that keeps you fighting even as the game slaughters you again and again. “I have to get this guy to his mom.” Eventually, you do. And it is glorious. 

Asma Al-Masyabi

Mr. Villain’s Day Off

Mr. Villain’s Day Off poses a relatively simple question as its premise: what does a lead villain trying to take over the world do on his days off? The answer is—he tries to enjoy them to their fullest, and, in turn, slowly grows to appreciate Earth and its strange inventions and inhabitants. 

Called only the General, our main character is the antagonist to Super Ranger-like heroes—until he’s off the clock. He then changes into his comfy turtleneck and trench coat and strives to avoid work at all costs. This new slice-of-life anime has already managed to capture my heart. There’s nothing more relaxing than watching someone attempt to strike that perfect work-life balance while reveling in the small moments and details that make living life worth it. Whether it’s watching pandas at the zoo, ordering latte art of said pandas, or working up the courage to eat a limited-edition panda meat bun, the General does it with unmatched determination that I can’t help but find endearing. 

Another thing about this show, it is unbearably cute. The General’s successes, and failures, have me smiling throughout the whole episode. Cute girls doing cute things is a popular genre in anime, but I think that cute guys doing cute things should be just as standard. Adults, and particularly men, aren’t often shown enjoying their life in media, and I love the way that Mr. Villain’s Day Off pushes back against that.   

Ciena Valenzuela-Peterson

Schitt’s Creek

I’m probably not the first person to recommend you Schitt’s Creek. I’m probably not the second. You’re probably thinking, “Ugh, I know, I know, everyone says I would love Schitt’s Creek, but I watched the first episode/handful of episodes/season and I just wasn’t hooked.”  

Dear reader, listen to me—listen to me, I beg of you. I know you. I see you. I was you. It’s no mistake Schitt’s Creek fans are constantly pushing the show on unsuspecting sitcom enjoyers, wheedling and insisting that you’ll love it with all the brimming sentimentality of a Canadian grandma wearing a pride pin. It really, really is that good. 

Schitt’s Creek follows the wealthy Rose family who loses everything and has no choice but to move to a crusty motel in the middle of nowhere. Over six seasons, Schitt’s Creek demonstrates the power of character-driven storytelling; what begins as a comedy satirizing the idiosyncrasies of the uber-rich unfolds into a beautiful journey of personal growth, love, and family. You’ll see yourself and your own family in the Roses—Alexis and David Rose have the realest sibling dynamic I’ve seen on TV, and Moira and Johnny’s marriage has a verisimilitude that could only be achieved by the decades-long friendship between Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy. Real-life father-and-son duo, Eugene and Dan Levy invite the viewer to a more hopeful world—one where queer acceptance is a given, love is precious, and everyone is good at heart. You’ll cry by the end, guaranteed. 

Jazzmin Joya

Wonka

I absolutely love watching movies! It is one of my all-time favorite ways to pass time. After quarantining, I started going to the movie theaters more often, really taking advantage of their discount Tuesday’s.

During this routine, I watched the new film adaptation of Willy Wonka, starring Timothée Chalamet, Keegan Michael-Key, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant, Rowan Atkinson, and other fun actors. Wonka is a whimsical movie establishing more background on Willy Wonka before the adventures seen in the original film and the book written by Roald Dahl. The soundtrack was beautifully done, it really captured the essence of Wonka and the magical spirit of the film. This reimagining separated itself from other movies, staying true to the essence of the story while giving its own playful spin. It also introduced us to new storylines and interesting characters. I know there were mixed feelings over this film, but I really enjoyed it. It reminded me of my childhood. The whimsicalness, the vibrant coloring, people’s LOVE for chocolate. I definitely recommend watching Wonka, you’re in for a fun time. Just be wary, the songs might get stuck in your head! 

Stevi Sargas

Suikoden

This week, articles flooded my social media feeds announcing the narrative lead of my favourite video game franchise, Suikoden, sadly passed away at 55. Yoshitaka Murayama of Rabbit & Bear Studios was the chief writer for the Suikoden series, which spanned five titles and numerous spin-offs for PlayStation and Nintendo DS from 1995-2012. 

In Murayama’s honour, I’ve decided to replay Suikoden. I played it for the first time at age 6. It’s a whimsical, turn-based fantasy game that has you collect 108 ragtag allies and lead a revolution against the corrupt imperialist government into which you were born. The game features adorable artwork and a disarmingly rich soundtrack. There’re mysterious, magical crystals called runes governing the world’s elemental powers. Oh, and there are flying squirrels. And gambling. You know how it is. 

The older I get, the more it amazes me that Murayama created such a socially and politically nuanced narrative with Suikoden while being fun and accessible across age and literacy brackets. To me, this is masterful storytelling. I like to say Suikoden radicalized me before I could pronounce “radicalized,” or “Suikoden.” For that Murayama will always have my gratitude. Through his writing, I had formative exposure to diversity and representation in storytelling. I learned about the limits of black-and-white morality, and the importance of individual choice. Suikoden is why I love writing, and why I love video games. I’d recommend it to anyone who’ll listen.  

Inanna Carter

My Time at Sandrock

Farming sims and RPGs have been around for quite some time. The classics of Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons, the iconic Stardew Valley, the upcoming Fields of Mistria—they’re not going away for a long time. Now, take that and add…building?

My Time at Sandrock is an RPG where rather than moving to a new town to take over your deceased grandfather’s farm, you move to a new town to take over a builder’s workshop. The full release recently came out, and though I only just got around to starting it, I’ve been having a blast. This game is heaps better than its predecessor, My Time at Portia (though Portia has a special place in my heart).

Aside from building for the community, you can mine, fight, farm, and form relationships with the other townsfolk. It’s something you can easily sink your time into, and overall, it’s a great game. The writing is witty and the plot keeps you on your toes. Games like Sandrock and Portia, ones with complete storylines, remind me so much of books. They don’t have to be perfect or extraordinary, but if the story is engaging and the characters evoke emotion, then I’d say they end up being something pretty special.

Dominic Loise

Wesley Dodds: The Sandman

When I talk about the Sandman, I am not like most comic book fans. The character I am talking about isn’t Spider-Man’s granulated, morphing foe or Neil Gaiman’s groundbreaking goth-classic character. My Sandman is the Golden Age character, Wesley Dodds. Dodds, in his WWI gas mask, stood out to me against his WWII counterparts by wearing a three-piece suit, trench coat, and fedora while the rest of the Justice Society of America were flexing their muscles in tights and domino masks.

The new DC Comics miniseries by writer Robert Venditti and artist Riley Rossmo delves into Dodds as a man-of-mystery hero rather than a two-fisted, vigilante crime fighter. Venditti writes to the core of the character by looking at the nonviolent nature of the Sandman’s sleeping gas and PTSD from Dodds’ father in WWI, which led to his path as a hero and experiments with nonlethal weapons.

Rossmo’s art style is perfect for a series that needs to be grounded in the urban alleyways of gangster pulp and other times drift away in the dreams of a tormented hero trying to make the world safer. Besides hired thugs and gang bosses, the main villain is a darker version of Dodds, using toxic gases and tapping into the hero’s horrors and his work against chemical weapons in warfare.

Wesley Dodds: The Sandman shows a character a step between comic book and pulp novel heroes. It also shows the mindset of someone trying to make the world better between two world wars all while dealing with local violence and injustice in his city.

Sara Santistevan

Marry My Husband

*SPOILER ALERT* The following contains plot details about Marry My Husband.

If Marry My Husband is just your run-of-the-mill K-Drama, then I sincerely regret sleeping on K-Dramas until now! Based on a Webtoon by Sung So-jak, Marry My Husband follows the story of Kang Ji-won, a woman who gets a second chance at life after she is murdered by her husband and best friend, who were having an affair.

I’ve often wondered what life decisions I would make differently if I got the chance to go back in time with the knowledge I have now. I also love a good revenge story! What makes Marry My Husband special is the plot’s seamless acknowledgement of some of the technical complications of time travel. In early episodes, we learn that in her previous life, Ji-won was diagnosed with stomach cancer, which was implied to result from gastritis due to the stress of her marriage. When Ji-won is thrust back into her life prior to her illness, she learns, through a series of experiments, that although future events can’t completely be avoided, they can be delayed or passed on to someone else. With this knowledge in mind, Ji-won makes it her mission to set up her best friend and future husband to avoid her fate.

Along the way, Ji-won forms genuine friendships, learns to stand up for herself, and grows more confident in her appearance and personality. Oh, and don’t worry—there’s plenty of romance, too, courtesy of the mysterious Yoo Ji-hyuk, Ji-won’s manager who seems to know more than he should about Ji-won.

My wife, Jenna, and I are huge fans of the show Monk. Not only is the first of our therapy rabbits named Trudy, after Detective Adrian Monk’s deceased wife, but the original show was a gateway for me to destigmatize the conversation around my OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). I felt awkward when I’d spend up to fifteen minutes locking a door, checking the oven or light switches before leaving, or trying to step away from an ATM. Before I went on medication, it would sometimes take up to an hour to lock up before leaving for the day.

The original Monk series mirrored the daily work that went into addressing my mental health, and watching the show was a guide post for us to see a famous detective evolving as he put the work in through therapy and solving cases. Needless to say, we were extremely excited about Mr. Monk’s Last Case dropping on Peacock.

In the original run of the show, Tony Shalhoub brought care and compassion to the lead character of this mystery/dramedy which ran on the USA Network for eight seasons. Over the years, viewers witnessed Monk move towards two goals—getting reinstated into the police force and solving his wife’s murder. The original series had an emotional and satisfying ending to both of these accomplishments along with Monk’s character growth.

The tv movie brought back original characters and also introduced the reality of COVID-19. Specifically, how the pandemic set back Monk’s progress in therapy and how the world became a little more aligned with Monk’s mindset. Mr. Monk’s Last Case also went deeper into mental health than the original series, addressing the importance of having a purpose in life as part of the therapeutic process. Especially since COVID-19 and other events have taken away Monk’s purpose. This tv movie explored Monk finding a way to function in society and choosing to engage with others to achieve this goal. I do wish to put a trigger warning as Monk does face suicidal ideation, but i’m recommending Mr. Monk’s Last Case also because of how it deals with suicide awareness. This tv movie is not so much Adrian Monk’s last case, but the next chapter in his life.

Cecil Janecek

Lonely Castle in the Mirror

Lonely Castle in the Mirror ends in a way that feels perfectly inevitable, and yet the novel still managed to surprise me. Mizsuki Tsujimura masterfully keeps the reader on edge, questioning whether this is a heartwarming coming of age story or a fantastical horror. In the novel, seven teens—who’ve all stopped going to school for one reason or another—are chosen by the Wolf Queen to search for the Wishing Key, which will grant one of them a single miracle. Even if they choose not to search for it, they’ll still have access to the castle for one year as a respite from the “real world.” But if they break the Wolf Queen’s one rule—never enter the castle after 5 p.m.—they’ll be eaten.

As the teens’ lives get more complicated and strange coincidences continue to connect them, they begin to question the Wolf Queen’s motivations and their realities. I, too, began to worry that the book would employ my least favorite trope: at the end of the adventure, everyone would forget and return to their normal lives as if nothing had happened. But no! The Wolf Queen’s secrets gutted me to tears and the found family among these seven traumatized teens connected them in ways I never anticipated, but found completely satisfying by the end.

JP Legarte

Alan Wake II

As writers, I don’t think we would deny the power words hold, but what if the stories we wrote manifested in our environment and altered reality? Enter Alan Wake II, a survival horror game where FBI agent Saga Anderson arrives in a small town called Bright Falls to investigate a ritualistic murder and finds pages of a manuscript titled Return that detail events as they happen—a manuscript written by the titular character, Alan Wake, stuck in an alternate dimension named the Dark Place for the past thirteen years.

Throughout the game, you can alternate between both characters, leading to situations where progressing through one character’s chapter fills in the blanks of the other. As Anderson, you traverse the isolated alcoves of Bright Falls and the vast forest of Cauldron Lake; and as Wake, you navigate a twisted version of New York. These locations were symmetric blends of beauty and eeriness, magnified when monsters—the Taken and Fadeouts—constantly haunt the characters and when, at times, the monsters are the characters’ own fears.

Anderson and Wake are certainly not defenseless against the Taken and Fadeouts. Players can obtain numerous weapons, such as a shotgun, a crossbow, and a flare gun. However, they are ineffective on their own, which brings me to one of my favorite parts of the combat system. Equally important are the batteries for flashlights as well as hand flares, both used to diffuse the shadows and darkness protecting the Taken and Fadeouts. This mechanic emphasizes the importance of resources in the characters’ limited inventories. Heightening the combat is the claustrophobic feeling when multiple monsters attack at locations where there is not much room to maneuver, offering a challenging yet rewarding fight against darkness with light, metaphorically and literally.

Alan Wake II is a horror story that brings you to the edge of your seat as you contend with supernatural scares and shifting realities. There’s even a musical sequence in one of Wake’s chapters that was an absolute masterpiece in mixed visuals, sound, and—yes—combat. If you’re still not convinced, consider the game’s accolades at The Game Awards 2023: Best Art Direction, Best Narrative, and Best Game Direction. Rest assured, I’ll soon be replaying the game through its rendition of New Game Plus titled The Final Draft, falling down the familiar yet changed rabbit hole with Anderson and Wake all over again.