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Desmond White
When Desmond White is not blogging out of both ends, he’s stunt doubling for a bear or actually doing his job -- teaching literature at a Texas high school. A loose definition of genius, Desmond’s goals in life include making yerba mate sound appetizing (“It’s grass... that you drink!”) and writing about comics. Check out his blog, which is dedicated to bad writing advice for the aspiring bad writer.
TOP MAGAZINE CONTENT BY DESMOND WHITE
An Unknown Soldier in an Unknown War: Joshua Dysart’s Unknown Soldier
An exploration of the Unknown Soldier’s meta-mythology about war and the individual. Joshua Dysart reboots the franchise in Uganda. [more]
OTHER MAGAZINE CONTENT BY DESMOND WHITE (27 TOTAL)
Instinct War: Sigmund Freud, Thanos, and the Theory of Drives in Infinity Gauntlet
Thanos is often considered a Darkseid knockoff but perhaps his connection to Sigmund Freud contains some redeeming qualities. [more]
Nietzsche in 40,000 Years, Part Three: Chaos
The Imperium foils and fails the Nietzschean criterion, but perhaps the Forces of Chaos offer the will to power? [more]
Nietzsche in 40,000 Years, Part Two: Imperium
The Imperium of Warhammer 40,000 is a Nietzschean dream… and nightmare. This article includes an exploration of the Emperor as an Übermensch. [more]
Nietzsche in 40,000 Years, Part One: Foundation
To understand Warhammer 40,000, you must understand Friedrich Nietzsche. [more]
Mud, Myth, and Metaphor in Matt Phelan’s Storm in the Barn
An exploration of narrative therapy and myth-making in Matt Phelan’s The Storm in the Barn, a beautiful graphic novella about a young boy who’s getting older but not growing up in the terribly bleak conditions of the Dust Bowl. [more]
MORAV: The Future of Robot Warfare According to Fon Davis
MORAV is an indie comic (and soon-to-be live-action series) that mashes giant robots with modern warfare to deliver an action-packed but surprisingly deep product. Behind-the-scenes is the behind-the-scenes man himself – Fon Davis, a miniatures designer who has worked on “The Matrix,” “Star Wars,” “Interstellar,” and other monumental films. [more]
Hinterkind Volume One Lacks Humanity
The concept of the ruins of the United States devolving into factionalism has been well-explored in other post-apocalyptic literature, but Edington refreshes the idea by incorporating monsters and races one might encounter in a game of Dungeons & Dragons. His human characters, however, leave a lot to be desired. [more]
Jorge Borges in Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol #22, A Companion Reader
One final look at the intertextual themes in the first four issues of Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol (#19 to #22). [more]
Sweet Moments, Dark Reveals in Flutter, Volume 1 by Jennie Wood
Flutter focuses on a teenaged loner struggling to discover who she is (or more aptly for a shapeshifter, whom she wants to be). But this isn’t your typical shapeshifter teenage romance — it’s a brilliant panoply of sexual discovery and transformation. [more]
Could Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam Contribute to Orientalism?
Dwayne Johnson will play DC heavy-hitter Black Adam in an upcoming Shazam film. Fans were either reviled or revitalized, but what has been rarely discussed is how exactly Black Adam should be adapted to the big screen. We just need to be careful. [more]
Outsourcing War and Profiteer Heroism in the Jacamons’ Cyclops
The Jacamons’ Cyclops is a science-fiction war thriller about a world where wars are delegated to private mercenary companies and televised for entertainment. Gruesome, amoral, but close to home with the modern reliance on mercenaries, the progress of communication technologies including helmet-cams, and the rising popularity of reality television. [more]
Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol #21, A Companion Reader
This article series is an informal annotated bibliography for Grant Morrison’s first four issues of Doom Patrol. Have I ever seen an annotated bibliography before? Apparently not. [more]
An Unknown Soldier in an Unknown War: Joshua Dysart’s Unknown Soldier #4
Joshua Dysart explores the “eye-for-an-eye” model often used against violent “terror” groups in Africa and the Middle East in this issue of the Unknown Soldier #4. [more]
Twain and Tesla Versus Evil: A Review of The Five Fists of Science
A steampunk graphic novel starring the bromance between Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla as they create giant robots and battle Cthulu cults. [more]
Life Behind the Visor: Tracking Cyclops through the X-Men Films
What happened to Cyclops? It’s a question that’s been burning inside me since the ludicrously terrible “X-Men: The Last Stand.” Finally, “Days of Future Past” provides some answers. [more]
Raised by Raptors #1: Dynamite but Dino-Lite
“Raised by Raptors” #1, written by Oliver Sykes, the lead singer of metal band Bring Me the Horizon, is a strange pairing between dinosaurs and the Aztecs. Somewhat verbose and light on the action (and dinosaurs), I felt this dinodystopia left a lot to be desired. [more]
Spider-Man Shrugged: The Lack of Randian Heroes in The Amazing Spider-Man
A cursory exploration of “The Amazing Spider-Man” #1-#38 and its tangible threads to Steve Ditko’s known ardent Objectivism, a philosophy of self-interest developed by Ayn Rand. [more]
Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol #20, A Companion Reader
This essay series will devote time and attention to intertextual themes in the first four issues of Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol (#19 to #22). [more]
Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol #19, Addendum
This essay series will devote time and attention to intertextual themes in the first four issues of Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol (#19 to #22). [more]
Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol #19, A Companion Reader
The first four issues of Grant Morrison’s run of Doom Patrol are rife with allusions to popular culture and the fine arts bound by a love of opposites. [more]
Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol, A Companion Reader
This essay series will examine intertexual themes in Grant Morrison’s first four issues of Doom Patrol (#19 to #22). [more]
Making Love the Will Eisner Way: Intercourse Discourse in A Contract with God
In Will Eisner’s Contract with God, sex is is a struggle for power. [more]
Black Adam, Orientalism, and The Marvel Family #1
Black Adam is a focal point of American fears about the Other, and contributes to the perception of American moral and mental superiority over the Oriental inferior. [more]
An Unknown Soldier in an Unknown War: Joshua Dysart’s Unknown Soldier Issue #3
An exploration of the Unknown Soldier’s meta-mythology about war and the individual. Joshua Dysart reboots the franchise in Uganda. [more]
An Unknown Soldier in an Unknown War: Joshua Dysart’s Unknown Soldier Issue #2
An exploration of the Unknown Soldier’s meta-mythology about war and the individual. Joshua Dysart reboots the franchise in Uganda. [more]
An Unknown Soldier in an Unknown War: Joshua Dysart’s Unknown Soldier Issue #1
An exploration of the Unknown Soldier’s meta-mythology about war and the individual. Joshua Dysart reboots the franchise in Uganda. [more]
Political Heroes in Assimilation: Dissecting the Star Trek / Doctor Who Crossover
Should the hero remain an outsider to corrupted society, or should he actively recover that society from within? [more]