HI!  Sorry about the radio silence of the last few days.  I was busy, and then got a couple of migraines, and today had some semi-mandatory work fun.  So I have been slammed.  I will make it up to you, I promise.  Aaaannd I need to re-record this month’s Mickey Counts Down, because I fucked something up.  So, I’ll try to get that done by the end of the week for all my patrons.

Part of being busy was taking a glass-blowing class with my sister.  I was both relieved and a little disappointed that we didn’t get that much autonomy with the glass and the technical stuff, but I get it.  Molten glass is over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit and will fuck your shit up.  But it was still super fun.  My sister picked up my ornament and I’ll try to post a picture of it soon.

Anyway, today is the post I intended for Monday:  a review of the graphic horror comics anthology Wayward Sisters.  This was a Kickstarter that I contributed to 6-9 months ago.  I pledged at the level to get the softcover anthology, the bookmarks based on characters in the anthology, and the enamel pin.

The Kickstarter funded and made a couple of its stretch goals.  Edited by Allison O’Toole with Assistant Editor M. Blankier.  Faith Erin Hicks wrote the foreword and the comics themselves are written, drawn and inked by a variety of artists and writers who are all female and all come from a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities.

There is a lot of fresh ground in the these stories, and some old stories made new by a different perspective.  So far my favorites are… all of them, really.  Honestly there’s only been one that didn’t immediately grip me, and I don’t want to say because even that one is pretty great. It just took me a while to warm up to it.

There are so many different art and writing styles, it’s fascinating to look at all the different ways that these monstrous, yet heroic, women are drawn.

I think that’s what bugs me about the one story I didn’t warm up to right away.  It’s not as heroic as many of the others.  It’s still great, but I’ve always been a sucker for a good anti-hero.

And just because the monsters are often the protagonists of these stories doesn’t make them any more or less heroic, moral, or ethical than your typical run of the mill, hero runs in and saves the day stories, either.  It’s just a different morality or ethic, often one of survival of beings who have to fight to survive in a world where cultural power is held by others.

Not all of them, but most of them have that at their hearts.

I’m really glad I backed this Kickstarter, and I hope that if you get a chance to pick this up in stores or online, that you do and you enjoy it.  I am super happy with it and I hope there are more like it soon.

If you like what you read here, please consider donating at the “Keep Us Geeking” link at the top right, or check out my Patreon.  Thank you!