Utilitarian Review 1/3/15

Wonder Woman News

I got my first negative review on Goodreads! Not ideal, obviously, but it seems fair; he wanted a more fannish book and got an academic one.

More hearteningly, Amazon reports on book sales from brick and mortar stores, and it looks like I sold 48 copies last week across the country (!) Which is way better than I’d expected to do. Not sure how long we’ll see that level of interest continue, but still; it was a nice start.

On HU

Featured Archive Post: Caroline Small on why Jaime Hernandez is (unfortunately) not a soap opera.

On 2001: A Superhero Odyssey.

A five-minute hate for Steven Spielberg

An interview with Marguerite Van Cook and James Romberger about their graphic memoir The Late Child and Other Animals.

Odessa Jones on romance, empathy, and why Korean drama is better than the Golden Age of TV.

Chris Gavaler on being a dad when girls are from Mars.

A roundup of the highlights from the Hooded utilitarian in 2014.

Roy T. Cook on comics definitions and why comics studies is so predictable.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Los Angeles Review of Books

— Josh Lanyon’s m/m Holmes and Morirarity series and the closet.

— I wrote about the virtues of know-nothing criticism.

At CBR I wrote about Ms. Marvel and the realism of non-violence.

At the Atlantic I explained why readability is a myth.

For Ravishly

— I explained why metalgate had failed.

— I did a list of awesome women in metal.

At Splice Today I wrote about

—the authenticity of Iggy Azalea, or lack thereof.

— Jessie J’s acoustic performances and their authenticity, or lack thereof.
 
Other Links

Katherine Cross on why women’s fashion isn’t for men.

Sarah E. Brown on why the media was right to share Leelah Alcorn’s suicide note.

Congress almost passed a bill banning funding for the study of romance.

A nice piece on multiple online Ayn Rand film reviews.
 

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