Jade Street Protection Services #Issue 3 Magical Mafia, Baby!

Jade Street Protection Services #3 gives a chance to world-build as we learn a bit more about this illegal magic stealing gang that’s been going after Magical Girls. So far we have villains who seem pretty standard, but also hints of emotional conflict that might come into play later. Not only do we learn our villain's plans but we also get a better understanding on how magic works in this world, something I would've preferred be covered in the first issue but it’s fine here.

This issue gives us some moments to see how our protagonists are handling the situation they are  thrown into, going from magical girl students to being targets.This issue gives us some solid character moments and balances the attention between a sizable cast.

The joy of settling into something new is undercut by the sense of dread as our leading ladies are offered the choice between hiding out like other magical girls have done before them, or doing something more than mere surviving. The concept of being “unsuitable” by the standards of the academy and the way it controls magical girls and the resignation to being considered unsuitable in society is a theme that once again pops up in this series. Unfortunately, before we can linger on about this concept our girls are once again thrust into a fight to save a certain someone we haven't seen in awhile.  What revelation will we see in Issue #4? I don’t know but I can’t wait to find out!

As always this series is brought to us by series creators Katy Rex and Fabian Lelay on writing duties, and LeLay on art. The issue is colored by Mary Jayne Carpenter. The flats are done by Elizabeth Kramer and smooth lettering by Taylor Esposito. This book is published by Black Mask Studios.

Elizabeth Ledwell is a witch who has a certificate in graphics communications she doesn't use.

News That Didn't Suck 2016

Editor's Note: this blog post came out about fifteen minutes before the awful news broke about Carrie Fisher; there are no words. We have lost our Princess and we are devastated. 

No doubt about it. 2016 has kind of been an awful year. With a multitude of celebrity deaths, starting with David Bowie and Alan Rickman at the start of the year, and continuing deep into December with 80s icon George Michael on Christmas day (and it's still going!) And then of course, there was Brexit, which the United States felt obliged to one-up with the election of Donald Trump. And there was plenty of other crappy happenings around the world in between all of that: Aleppo, for example.

But we here at Critical Writ want to encourage everyone to start the new year on a positive note, because 2017 is going to be the year to fight and fight hard to keep existing rights, and make whatever gains we can for marginalized folks.

So for your positive reading pleasure, we have compiled a list of things that didn't suck this year in the following categories: news, games, TV, movies and comics. These lists are by no means meant to be definitive, and you might find that there is plenty missing, because a lot happens in a year (especially news-wise). But we picked out a few things that made us happy, and we hope they make you at least a little happy too.

We've divided these each into their own posts, starting with the news. There is so much missing here! So feel free to link us to your own news that didn't suck, in the comments below!

• Cheers, love, the cavalry’s queer! In news that definitely didn’t suck this year, Blizzard revealed that its banner character for hit game Overwatch is gay! Tracer, the very face of this fabulous and popular FPS, has a live-in girlfriend named Emily, and they are freaking adorable! While this fact was not revealed in the game itself (which would be silly, as the game focuses on military-style missions as characters shoot each other), Emily was revealed in a companion comic strip, part of the vast array of lore-related companion media that Blizzard is constantly putting out. Ibn further news that didn’t suck, the general consensus amongst fans has spanned from elated to *shrug,* (the latter is a good thing, as it suggests gayness is normalized for lots of folks these days). The little bit of ugliness on forums, Facebook comments, and even in-game, tends to be quickly shut down by impatient fans who have no time for homophobia as they pwn noobs. (Ivonne)


• Thanks to Make-A-Wish, a sixteen-year-old teenager will have an all-star cast and crew for his very own film. Anthony Conti wanted to create a film and the foundation was happy to help. The film will be an apocalyptic zombie tale, co-written by one of the writers for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre film. As for stars, J.K. Simmons, Sam Raimi, Johnny Depp, Penelope Ann Miller, and many more agreed to help. (Zachary) 


• Cool science news! Scientists discovered a new species of whale in Alaska’s Bering Sea! Considering the rate at which humans are causing various living species to go extinct, it’s cool news to hear that we are still discovering things and we haven’t totally killed everything yet with our carelessness! The oceans represent the final frontier on Earth, and it’s clear we haven’t discovered everything out there yet. A whale carcass washed up in Alaska and scientists sleuthed out the fact that it was a species we’ve never seen before. (Critical Writ staff)


• Better late than never! Google waited until December 26, 2016, but they finally did it: they have fixed their search algorithm so that holocaust-denying results no longer appear on the search. For years Google has maintained that they do not alter search results, to prove they are “unbiased.” The algorithm has also been adjusted so that when you ask hateful questions in the search, (such as “are Jews evil”), the results mostly direct you to news about the search results scandal. It’s not perfect, but it is a step towards not normalizing racism, something we desperately need in the US after our presidential election. (Critical Writ staff)

There are plenty more things that don't suck to come, so keep an eye out for the rest of the week as we countdown to 2017 with the best of 2016! 

Unraveling: Ms. Marvel #10 Review

Ms. Marvel #10 is another brilliant, heartbreaking instalment in her Civil War II saga, and I honestly can't say much more without going into spoiler territory. Just read it. Really. It’s amazing.

[Spoilers beyond this point.]

Ms. Marvel #9 was a lot about the side characters that make up her life, but this latest issue puts the spotlight squarely back on Kamala, and her reaction to everything that’s been happening, as her senses finally catch up with her.

Every month, I find myself wondering how G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Aphona are going to top the opening flashback sequence from the previous issue, and every month they blow me away. Kamala on her first day of second grade is one of the most adorable things I’ve ever had the privilege of reading in a comic book (keep you eyes peeled for Aphona's fun background details), and her first encounter with Bruno makes the sudden cut to him grown up and unconscious on a hospital bed all the more devastating.

I can't handle the adorable.

A more cynical person than me would call it emotional manipulation. I was too busy sobbing to call it anything.

Her eyes finally opened to the results of the work she’s been doing, Kamala goes off to confront “Basic Becky and the Junior Fascists,” as Bruno dubbed them in the last issue.

Apparently they skipped the morality lessons to spend time practicing that pose.

We get the typical protect/change the future argument, which is rather one sided, morally-speaking, since Becky clearly doesn’t care about collateral damage. As per the norm, verbal fights lead to physical ones, and I won’t deny it was satisfying to see Kamala take her down.

Unfortunately, Captain Marvel swoops in at that moment, and, despite everything, Kamala still doesn’t have it in her to say no to her face as she’s asked to get back to work. She instead resolves to prove that Ulysses can be wrong in her own way, and for that she needs help from a particular Canadian Ninja (never before have I been so glad to see a running joke pay off like this).

He's wearing crocs! With kittens on them!

Everything’s not ok though. Bruno’s vitals begin to crash as Kamala is visiting him again, this time as herself, and the issue ends on an uncertain note regarding his fate. It’s also worth observing that even if he survives, he’ll have lost the use of his dominant arm, which means the story has already had some very real, very heartbreaking consequences.

I can’t take this, have another panel of 2^nd grade Kamala instead.

Winged sloth!

This was definitely a darker issue than most, but one that sets up the finale for this arc amazingly. While her cohorts may not have much character, Becky herself seems to be an interesting antagonist, a darker version of Ms. Marvel (and perhaps even more sinister than that, as it happens). This is also the third meeting between Kamala and Carol in as many issues, and each one has been more abrupt and stiff than the last.

Really makes you yearn for the good old days of this:

She's just so happy!

On a side note: Carol’s completely unyielding attitude towards Kamala isn’t entirely unjustified, as explored in Captain Marvel #8.

Overall, I absolutely cannot endorse Ms. Marvel enough. Even if you aren’t reading any other comics, or are avoiding anything related to Civil War II (not something I can blame you for), read this. It's worth it.

Aranwe Quirke is a totally real, definitely not made up name. No, you may not see the birth certificate.