2021 Honestly Amazing Thing Awards

Note: Some of the series I discuss here concern pregnancy, death, violence, and mental health struggles. I don't get into them as deeply as in my essays, but a lot of people have been in a rough place after the events of the past few days, so if you're not in a good headspace for…

Separate Roads – The Umbrella Academy, Season Two, Episode Seven

The episode so famous, it became a meme. At least on the corners of the internet I frequent. To be honest, I didn’t remember much about it after I saw if the first time, but this time around, I was reasonably impressed. It’s a transitional episode, as are many this season, but it uses the…

The Monsters of the Week and Their Day Job – B.P.R.D. Plague of Frogs: Volume One

You have no idea how excited I am to have gotten here. I’ve tried not to show my hand too much over these past few months, but as much as I love the Hellboy series, I think I love B.P.R.D. more. I picked it up originally after I got through the Hellboy books, thinking it…

I Still Can’t Believe This is the Pushing Daisies Guy – Hannibal (show)

A good horror show is rare to find. Films are common, but something about the transition in medium from a short to a long form makes it difficult to elicit that same rush of dread and fright. Which is a pity, because the longer nature of television shows offers a lot that is difficult to…

I Wish My Childhood Summer Camps Had This Many Dinosaurs – Lumberjanes

It’s not uncommon that I find a book or show on a recommendation list somewhere that’s meant for younger readers, but deserves attention from adults as well. Lumberjanes is one of those – a series of comics meant for middle-grade kids, with a particular point of empowering young women through surreal and often humorous fantasy…

You Know I Love Dysfunctional Family Dinners – The Umbrella Academy, Season Two, Episode Six

The season builds tension this episode as the Umbrella Academy siblings prepare to face their biggest challenge yet: a dinner with their father. It's been years since most of them have seen him, and no one (other than perhaps Five and Vanya) is particularly looking forward to it, given their contentious relationship with the now-dead…

Out of the Shadows – Hellboy: Complete Short Stories, Book Two

I’ll be honest, this is not my favorite Hellboy book. It’s not bad, but it’s similar to the previous short story collection, and of the two, I think this one has fewer stories that I love. Fewer. Not none. ___________________________ 3P Reviews Series: Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories, Volume Two ___________________________ Spoilers: Yes Audience Assumptions: Familiarity…

A Gay Old Time at Disneyland – Welcome to Wanderland

Look, sometimes when I’m thinking of titles, there’s one obvious low-hanging fruit, and nine times out of ten, that’s the one that calls out to me. We're both just going to have to live with that, I'm afraid. Welcome to Wanderland is a little 150 page graphic novel about a kid who gets magically transported…

Once More Unto the Breach — Hades

I’m not much of a fan of Greek mythology. I mean, I liked the Ancient Greece unit in middle school history class, and at one point I could name all of the major gods and their origin stories, but by high school, I had started to grow out of them. What I liked wasn’t really…

Sandman, Take Note – Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories, Volume One

About two and a half years ago -- Jesus, I've been at this for that long? -- I was working on my Sandman reviews and I kept running into the same issue: constant short stories interrupting the flow of the main narrative. They weren't bad short stories, necessarily, and I understand why the series did…