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! 

March Brings A Possible Second Phase For Archie's 'Horror', 'New Riverdale' Branches

March will bring four specialized one-shots from the brain trust at Archie Comics, all designated for a specific genre. If they're popular enough, then the company might just give the go-ahead and turn them into full-length series.

First up, we have Sabrina The Teenage Witch, penned by Katie Cook and Franco. You might recognize Katie from IDW's My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic comic book. Franco Aurreliani has worked on the excellent Superman Family Adventures comic and Tiny Titans for DC Comics. Andy Price, who has worked with Katie before, will provide the artwork. I've been wanting a Sabrina spinoff for months and I'm excited to see what the creative team will come up with. Based on their work, I predict that we'll get a magically delightful comic.

Secondly, the Archie Horror imprint will grow larger with a special issue focusing on Riverdale's most gluttonous teenager, Jughead. Titled Jughead: The Hunger, it will explore just why he's so constantly hungry. Already, I have several disturbing theories. Is he the personification of one of the seven deadly sins? Will he rot from the inside out without constant nutrition? Whatever it is, I'm sure that Frank Tieri will horrify us. The promos do tease that it might have something to do with a werewolf, so maybe that's it. Mr. Tieri has done a lot of work for Marvel and DC in the past, specializing in Wolverine, Deadpool, and Batman. The artist, Michael Walsh, is currently working on the Doctor Strange/The Punisher: Magic Bullets miniseries for the Marvel Infinite imprint.

Third, fan-favorite all-ages title Little Archie will return to smother us all with adorableness. This one will be more cartoony than most, based on the previous volumes. Art Baltazar and Franco will co-write the one-shot, with Art also stepping in to prove illustrations.

Last, Alex Segura and Matthew Rosenberg will write a one-shot about The Archies. They definitely have experience in that area, having written the recent Archie Meets The Ramones crossover earlier in the year. Joe Eisma, one of the current artists for the main Archie title, will provide the art.

In other news, Riverdale has secured a release date, shown in the first teaser trailer. It definitely looks like a CW show, with all the teen drama, kissing, fighting, and partial nudity. I'm willing to give it a try, mostly for the murder mystery and the potential supernatural element. (Pun not intended.) You can watch the teaser below.

Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potter books.

SNL Scraps: Cecily Strong Might Have Robbed Lin Manuel-Miranda's House In The New Promos

Typically, the promos for Saturday Night Live aren’t laugh-out-loud funny. They have been increasing in quality in recent years, mostly due to a variety of locations, almost turning into mini-sketches in their own right. The promos for this week’s episode are hilarious. I want all of them to be real sketches for the show, especially Lin and Cecily’s mock feud over her impersonation of him in the season premiere and Cecily robbing Lin’s house just to find artifacts for him to sign. It’s obvious that they’re all having a lot of fun behind the scenes. I hope that that amount of fun translates to a stellar episode!

In other news, a combination of Margot Robbie hosting and Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump earned SNL some high ratings. In fact, they were the best season premiere ratings in a few years. Good for them!

Finally, more details for the last two episodes of the month have been revealed. Yes, that's right, two episodes! It's not unprecedented for SNL to have four shows in a row, but it's not too common, either. I hope that they're not too drained by October 22nd. The musical guest for Emily Blunt's episode has been revealed to be Bruno Mars, who has proven to be funny in his own right when he hosted the show in the thirty-eighth season. On October 22nd, veteran host Tom Hanks will host for the ninth time and Lady Gaga will perform for the third time.

Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potter books.

SNL Scraps: Meet The New Writers!

Seven new writers have been announced for the new season of Saturday Night Live and their comedic backgrounds make me very excited for the upcoming season. I believe that from a feminist perspective and a general comedy perspective, the new season will have an even more progressive tone.

I’ve praised the Above Average Productions YouTube channel before for having clever sketches and unique web series. The featured articles on their website are also wonderful and have cheered me up on many occasions. Joanna Bradley, one of their best writers, is making the leap over to Studio 8H. Adding in her time at Upright Citizens Brigade, one of my favorite comedy groups, I’m even more hopeful. Considering that Above Average and SNL already have an overlap, both being part of Lorne Michael’s production company, I’m sure that the transition will be smooth.

Also, Anna Drezen has been hired. Her previous comedy experience comes from the Upright Citizens Brigade and a satirical comedy website called Reductress. In case you’ve never visited it, Reductress is a comedy site that focuses on feminism while marketing itself as a stereotypical magazine for women. On some occasions, the jokes can get too graphic for my personal taste, but I love their podcast and I definitely want to pick up their book at the library once it comes out.

Next are Kristen Bartlett and Zack Bornstein. Kristen is a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade and the pioneer of a web series that satirizes Jerry Seinfeld’s recent work. Dubbed ‘Poor Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee’, it features Kristen interviewing other comedians, with guest appearances from some of her friends. As for Zack, he is a writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live and has worked for The New Yorker in the past.

Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney, the two members of BriTANicK, have been hired. Interestingly enough, Nick is also currently writing a three-part Civil War II tie-in for Rocket Raccoon And Groot, co-starring Gwenpool. I will be reviewing it once the final part comes out.

Finally, we have Julio Torres. He has worked with the Upright Citizens Brigade on many occasions, even being a writer for two public access shows on the Manhattan News Network. The Chris Gethard Show and The Specialists are affiliated with UCB and all of their respective episodes can be found on YouTube. I highly recommend them, TCGS in particular. Chris Gethard is very open about mental health and has formed a wonderful community.


Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or the Harry Potter books.

Supergirl's Superman has been officially cast!

I personally always thought it was extremely silly for Supergirl to coyly show us Superman's shadow, or a distant shot of him flying into the city, or just his boots as he is passed out on a table next to Kara. It always made me roll my eyes. Not because I desperately wanted to see Superman—I didn't. I always wanted Supergirl to carry her own show. I would have been perfectly fine if Clark had remained the faceless instant messenger buddy that gave Kara occasional words of support and advice. It was the show's insistence on almost-but-not-really having him physically there that annoyed me.

So I was really pleased when it was made official by the CW that we would finally get Clark, for real, in season 2. 

Today we get the announcement that Superman has been cast! 

Tyler Hoechlin of Teen Wolf has joined the ranks of an elite group of actors: he is our new Superman! 

So what do you think of Tyler Hoechlin's casting? Sound off in the comments below!

Ivonne Martin is a writer, gamer, and avid consumer of all things geek—and is probably entirely too verbose for her own good.

Overwatch Team Makes a Little Girl's Day (and ours too!)

Sometimes I need a reminder that the Internet isn’t all MRAs, vile Youtube comment threads, and doxxing. This one did the trick and hit me right in the Feels.

First off, if you haven’t looked into Overwatch, Blizzard Entertainment’s newest game, you are missing out. It’s a First-Person Shooter, which may immediately turn off a number of folks, but hear me out. This isn’t Call of Duty or some other grim modern warfare scenario.

If you actually dig deeper into Blizzard’s site and watch their amazing cinematics, there is a fairly grim story behind it all. But the cartoon style of the graphics—a sort of World of Warcraft aesthetic with all the spectacular upgrades from Borderlands 2—make this game a delight to look at. And it's family-friendly, to boot.

Each character in Overwatch has a backstory, along with specific skills and powers. And best of all? The cast of characters is incredibly diverse. About half of the characters are female, and there's a brilliant blend of races and cultures.

But before I get excited talking up Overwatch, let’s focus on this delightful exchange:

Shane Hickey’s daughter Ava is an Overwatch fan, and she drew up this super cute idea for a new character called Birst, which her dad tweeted at the Overwatch team.

@PlayOverwatch hi team! my daughter created a new character.Her name is birst. She'd love to know your thoughts pic.twitter.com/b31YWUPqSs

— Shane Hickey (@shanehickey) May 20, 2016

Can I take a moment to squee at a dad gamer cultivating his daughter’s love for not only video games, but self-expression?

Inspired by Ava, Blizzard artists got to work and created concept art based on her drawing:

@shanehickey Our artists were so inspired by this that they created their own fan art! Hope your daughter loves it! pic.twitter.com/c1ToeH1MJF

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) May 21, 2016

And even better? Shane recorded a video of Ava getting to see her design as concept art:

@PlayOverwatch hey again team, Here's Ava finding out about the character you did for her #Birst Thanks again! pic.twitter.com/nqRFLykRPs

— Shane Hickey (@shanehickey) May 23, 2016

I’m not crying, you’re crying!

Seriously #Birst had been trending since this exchange. Even the official Twitter account got in on the action:

Not only a gamer, your daughter is a true artist, @shanehickey. Thanks for sharing #Birst with us, Ava! https://t.co/gcVres76Ti

— Twitter (@twitter) May 23, 2016

Full disclosure, I am a Blizzard fangurl and have been for a long time.

At a time when women and girls seem to be actively discouraged from traditionally masculine pursuits like video games (even though studies have shown that more women than men play them) this is inspiring indeed—even moreso considering all the barriers to including women in the tech industry.

Big thanks to Blizzard for not just making a child’s day, but probably providing encouragement and inspiration for a little girl to love video games and art a little more than she already did. And who can say? She might even grow up to become part of the tech industry.

As for right now? I desperately want to play as Birst in Overwatch. Make it so, Blizzard!

Ivonne Martin is a writer, gamer, and avid consumer of all things geek—and is probably entirely too verbose for her own good.

Women of the Berlantiverse

Spoilers for current seasons of Arrow and The Flash are lurking here underneath the Supergirl picture, so reader beware after that...

That sound you are hearing is my inner fangirl shrieking.

As reported by Comic Book Resources, the four Berlanti-produced shows—which now all call the CW home—will take part in a 4-way crossover sometime before December.

The massive crossover event will span all four episodes for that week. Despite moving to the CW, Supergirl will keep her Monday night timeslot, so the event will likely start there before moving on to The Flash on Tuesday, Arrow on Wednesday, and Legends of Tomorrow on Thursday. Since the event is still in development, no word yet on what exactly is behind it all. Already fans are speculating it will be a Crisis event to merge the two Earths together, but who knows.

But this news gives me a perfect excuse to dive into the topic of feminism and this particular universe of popular shows. Despite its many issues, I am a fan of the Berlantiverse. This crossover definitely appeals to my inner comic book nerd and I really am excited.

Still, I can't help but examine the sometimes problematic way the Berlantiverse treats its female characters.

Supergirl is by no means perfect, but it has been the best of the four.

Our girl Kara is flying in to join the CW Berlantiverse. Welcome home!

This writing team has generally done a great job in the way it treats its female characters. From little details like that Earth's God being referred to as "she," to having a female President of the US, to showcasing the very real ups and downs of a relationship between sisters, Supergirl has been consistently feminist. If anything, it is the male characters who suffer the least favorable depiction: Maxwell Lord isn't sinister so much as plain weird, and the way Winn lays his puppy-dog romance at Kara's feet is positively awkward. Winn has improved and grown as a character, at least. Max is just... Max.

The next, least problematic of the four has been Legends of Tomorrow, although not without a few major glaring flaws. I could go on all day about everything that's wrong with this show, but despite the many times I've rolled my eyes at the writing, it's treated its female characters well overall. All two of them that are regularly in it, I mean.

Sara Lance is, hands down, the Berlantiverse's resident badass—frankly, I think it would be epic to see her and Kara meet. But not only is White Canary a powerful and fearless fighter, she is also one of the only representatives of the LGBT crowd in the comic-book TVverse (mostly of the L and the B: she's been paired with Oliver Queen more than once, and then just recently there was a hint that Leonard Snart had a thing for her, though that isn't going anywhere, apparently). I figure she skews more L, judging from the near-romance she had with a cute nurse in the 1950s.

Sara is perfection in every way...

Besides Sara, there's Kendra, aka Hawkgirl. Kendra has so much potential. I mean, bad enough that Kendra was written into the ground from the get-go with her stupid "destiny" story where she reincarnates with Carter Hall (aka Stalkman *cough* I mean Hawkman) throughout history. But she actually does remarkably well as a character as soon as she gets rid of Carter's dead weight—that is, until she gets entrenched in a love affair with Ray Palmer. I thought that was awkward at first, but I warmed up to it. Of course, just when that seems to be working out: Boom! Carter is back! Uggh, love triangles.

Stalkman is the albatross hanging around her neck.

Moving along to The Flash, this show (full disclosure: this is my favorite of the four) has had some serious problems this season. Mostly the writers simply don't seem to know what to do with the women. Case in point: the whole awkward exit for Patty earlier this season. I still don't understand the way she was written off the show.

Iris West had a decent arc involving her new brother and dying mom, but as soon as all that was settled, she faded into the background. There was an awkward moment where she was going to date her creepy boss, but that thread suddenly disappeared (not complaining). Instead, she has suddenly switched on her "I think I love Barry" mode, edging closer to having one of the most iconic comic book 'ships set sail. For several episodes in a row, we never saw Iris actually doing anything beyond acting as Barry's cheerleader as he moped about losing his powers (again). She had one shining episode of late where she was a powerhouse, as she was the driving force behind dealing with the Freak-of-the-Week while Barry was "gone."

I only hope it's a lot more often than "now and again."

And poor Caitlyn Snow—supposedly a brilliant scientist—spent the bulk of this season moping over men, and not doing a whole helluva lot otherwise. This past week, Caitlyn was able to actually affect the show's plot (for the first time in the entire season, it seems) by cosplaying as her evil Earth-2 doppelganger Killer Frost. It was kind of awesome; here's hoping she's back full time on Team Flash.

After this season of Arrow? God I hope not...

The most problematic of all the Berlanti shows has definitely been the one that started all the magic: Arrow. This is the show that saw fit to kill Sara Lance not once but twice, had Nyssa al Ghul "marry" Oliver against her will, and caused Laurel Lance to mope over Oliver for what seems like forever before she finally grew into a decent character—only to immediately fridge her, for reasons. The killing of Black Canary has caused a lot of fan rage (including right here at the Writ).

Oh, Laurel. You deserved so much better. 

Fan-favorite Felicity has been horribly treated, especially of late. Poor Felicity spent most of season 3 in tears over Oliver being a jerk, and then when Oliver appears to grow up in season 4, she gets written into being an obnoxious girlfriend who whines a lot, all in the name of drama. Felicity was even saddled with what could have been a really great arc about losing the use of her legs, but because I guess we can't show a hot actress wearing a wedding gown in a wheelchair, she magically regains the ability to walk in the span of a couple of episodes. There were a lot of disabled fans who were crushed by the representation-that-could-have-been. And plenty of fans who lamented the fact that we almost had an Oracle-like character on comic-book TV.

Spoiler Alert, Oliver:
I'm about to get up and walk on out of here, just to piss off the fans

I know it sounds like I'm in full-hater mode right now, but I actually do love these shows (well, I don't love Legends of Tomorrow; I just like it. Kind of). And by no means am I suggesting that this multiverse has failed these women 100% of the time.

In fact, their presence in comic book tv is vitally important. These women are various levels of brilliant, and they also represent a variety of character flaws and backgrounds (Alex Danvers is in the military and sometimes a jealous sister, Iris and Lucy Lane and Kendra are women of color, Patty was a cop, Caitlyn is a scientist, Laurel was an addict and a lawyer, Sara is gay/bi, Felicity came from a single-parent home and she's a geek, Thea's father is a sociopath, etc). What I find frustrating is that they visibly have so much potential, but we just aren't getting those stories—not as often as we get the male stories. It often feels like the default stories for female characters are romantic subplots and little else.

It is okay to love a thing and admit that it is flawed and problematic; doing so allows us to formulate expectations. These shows can do better by their female characters and female fans; their writers could put in more effort. They could make these shows truly amazing TV.

Ivonne Martin is a writer, gamer, and avid consumer of all things geek—and is probably entirely too verbose for her own good.

2015-2016 Renewals And Cancellations: Prepare for Simultaneous Depression Slumps And Joy Stupors

It’s the most horrible time of the year! With the actors all tweeting, and the networks all shilling, and the viewers feeling immense fear! No, really, it’s one of the worst times of the year, if you are a fan of the increasingly imperiled medium known as ‘television.’

In a way, it really does get worse every year. The older you become, the more likely you are to grow attached to certain shows. They cheer you up in hard times and help you make a schedule, if you are the kind of person who likes to schedule your relaxing time out.

This year might have been the worst so far. Even when 30 Rock and Parks And Recreation ended, we knew that they would be given a proper finale. Here is my personal roundup of items I care about. 

Fox Will Get Intergalactic With 'Son Of Zorn'

Wow. This is a thing that exists. Sometime this year, Son Of Zorn will be on the airwaves. Jason Sudeikis will voice a barbarian from Zephyria named Zorn who returns to visit his ex-wife and son. He gets a job where he has to sell industrial soap dispensers (PLEASE be a door-to-door salesman) and has to deal with the “minutia of daily life.” Seinfeld meets Conan The Barbarian or He-Man.

I had a conversation with my fellow Critical Writ contributors that can best be shown in this format.

In case you haven’t guessed, I’m the one with the creepy smile. This idea could be either really good or really bad. I heard rumors about the series last year, but I just disregarded them. I guess Fox really liked the pilot, so it’s becoming a series.

Face it, Fox might finally transform from the channel with awful McFarlane-esque cartoons to the premiere place for high-concept sitcoms. Someday, viewers can have their pick of seeing a comedy-sitcom drama about the final group of survivors on Earth after the apocalypse (made before NBC’s You, Me, And The Apocalypse, I might add), a sitcom featuring a thirty-four year-old woman playing a teenage boy, and a live-action/animation sitcom about a barbarian warrior coming to Earth to spend time with his son.

Despite my shock at something as bizarre as this making it to a series, I’ll be checking it out. Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Last Man On Earth, The Lego Movie) are producing the series. At worst, maybe it’ll just feel like a slightly lengthy SNL skit. At best, it could be a polished sitcom, worthy of three or four seasons.

Who knows, maybe it’ll inspire a new genre. Over at NBC, a sitcom is being developed about a woman reuniting with her long-lost imaginary friend, featuring a combination of live-action shots and CGI animation. Let’s hope that it’s not as much like Drop Dead Fred as it sounds.

Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or the Harry Potter books.

Battlefield 1 Reveal Trailer Reveals Women Existed During WW1

On Friday, EA released the reveal trailer for Battlefield 1, set during World War 1. Early in the trailer, we see a lone warrior charging across the desert, Lawrence of Arabia-style. After a moment, the camera cuts to the face of this badass and we see that this badass is a woman. See the badassery for yourself:

'Chad: An American Boy' To Delay Production

Based on the success of the excellent comedy-drama The Last Man On Earth, Fox ordered a pilot for another high-concept comedy program back in February, titled Chad: An American Boy. It’s a fairly standard idea for a show. The protagonist is a fourteen-year-old boy who gets saddled with the task of being the “man of the house.” The twist is that the boy in question will be played by a thirty-four year-old woman, specifically, Nasim Pedrad.

As soon as I heard that Nasim Pedrad would star and write the pilot, I immediately decided to watch the program. I was very disappointed when she left Saturday Night Live in the thirty-ninth season finale. It will be wonderful to have another chance to support her comedy style.

Also of note is that the show will feature a Middle Eastern family. This is especially important because Nasim herself was the very first Middle Eastern and Iranian cast member in SNL history. She even jokingly remarked about Fox’s lack of diversity in a statement, saying that she was happy to show a Middle-Eastern family that would not be “working for or against Jack Bauer.”

Unfortunately, this is also why production on the pilot has been temporarily halted. Two new cast members have been hired, but “visa issues” prevent filming until sometime this month. It should be noted that the aforementioned issues are nothing to be concerned about. They were conducting a worldwide search for actors in an effort to remain ethnically diverse.

Unfortunately, this has the effect of making the show no longer eligible to be in the running for the standard September/October pilot dates. If it is ordered to series, then it will be considered for the midseason slate. I sincerely hope that it becomes a series, so we can see more diversity on television. That, and I really want to see how they are going to make Nasim Pedrad look like a fourteen year-old boy. It’s one thing on a late-night sketch comedy show, but quite another task for a sitcom. In the meantime, you can catch Nasim on Fox’s New Girl, currently in its fifth season, and the first season of Scream Queens, which can be found online.

Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or the Harry Potter books.