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Karra Shimabukuro
Dr. Karra Shimabukuro was always interested in where our idea of the presentation of the devil, death, fairies, angels, etc., seen in movies, television, and comics came from. So she went and got a doctorate to find out! Her interests include the medieval and early modern history of these figures, and how they are forwarded into popular culture. She regularly writes reviews for The Journal of Popular Culture and The Journal of Folklore Research Review, and she is also a regular presenter at the Popular Culture National Conference. She is a self-professed geek girl and can be found at scholarlymedievalmadness.blogspot.com.
MAGAZINE CONTENT BY KARRA SHIMABUKURO (20 TOTAL)
My Thoughts on Captain Marvel: It’s Complicated
Here be spoilers… I went into my 10:30a showing of Captain Marvel not really knowing anything about Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel. At a time when the entire media market is glutted with superhero films… [more]
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Represents the Worst in Demonic Male Fantasies
Historically, witch narratives follow two, often parallel, paths. One is the patriarchal narrative, where men demonize women who threaten their authority and power. Independent women. Loud-mouthed women. Women who veer from their prescribed roles. These… [more]
Can Thanos Come Snap Comics TV Shows?: Titans Disappoints
When Arrow first premiered on the CW, I was excited because the weekly format seemed the perfect fit for telling comic stories. As more shows got rolled out, I was even more excited. The Flash,… [more]
New Frontiers and Bleak Futures: The Parallel Premieres of The Orville and Star Trek: Discovery
This fall season saw the premiere of both The Orville and Star Trek: Discovery, and with both set in space, invoking nostalgia, and claiming classic Star Trek as a foundation/inspiration, it’s hard not to make… [more]
Holiday Double Feature: Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League
Holidays and breaks are the perfect time to sit down to a double-feature. Way back when, double-features were purposely paired, and I like to try and keep that tradition on the rare occasions I have… [more]
What’s Really at Stake with Wonder Woman
I was born in 1976, a bicentennial baby as my mother used to say. One of my first clear memories is of going to see Star Wars in the theatre. For television, we only had… [more]
Why APB’s Revision of the Lessons of RoboCop Should Disturb You
APB is a new FOX series that focuses on Gideon Reeves, a Tony Stark character whose best friend is killed in a bodega hold up and as a result Reeves decides to use his maverick… [more]
Riverdale’s Rips off Twin Peaks (Badly) and Normalizes Rapey Plotline
There’s a lot wrong with CW’s latest show, Riverdale. Let’s put aside the crazy clown red hair and pale faces of the murder victim Jason Blossom and Archie. Or the obvious invocations of past popular… [more]
Berlanti Drops the Ball on CW-DC Universe
I have reviewed CW’s DC superhero shows since Arrow first appeared. Despite its rocky first half season, I had high hopes that it would find its footing in the second half of its freshman year… [more]
Give the Devil His Due: Review of Lucifer Season 1
Even before Lucifer premiered its pilot episode on 25 January 2016 it was already disliked and panned by fans of the comic, Lucifer and the character’s original presentation in Sandman. The advanced reviews were not… [more]
I’m Just a Kid from the Lower East Side Brooklyn: Steve Rogers’s Shifting Working Class Background
Today Steve Rogers is branded as “I’m just a kid from Brooklyn.” His class and geography marks him as much as his old-fashioned ideals and morals do. He is a man of the people, but… [more]
Erasing Black Panther to Render Him Safe
The Captain America: Civil War trailer has caused a lot of excitement with fans. And certain images have gone onto become instant memes and gifs. Newspapers, reviewers, as well as comic book related journals, have… [more]
Jessica Jones and Netflix’s New Storytelling
SPOILER WARNING Jessica Jones has a lot going on. It’s about trauma, PTSD, rape, and domestic abuse. (Oh, and superheroes, and Hell’s Kitchen, and the Marvel cinematic universe MCU). The fact is that Jessica Jones… [more]
Supergirl: Not the Feminist Superhero People Want
I admit to never knowing, or caring to know, much about Supergirl. While I can talk pretty confidently about the story arcs and history of Batman or Superman or Wonder Woman or even to a… [more]
My So-Called Secret Identity Volume 1 Print Edition Review
The past couple of weeks have not been a good time for female fans of comics. Between GamerGate trying to set up a booth at a Calgary Con, Michelle MacLaren’s rapid exit from Wonder Woman,… [more]
American Comics, Literary Theory, and Religion by A. David Lewis: A Review
One of the markers of modernity is the concentration on, as well as the definition of, self. How the self is created, defined, and the limits of this identity are all modern questions that seem… [more]
Women in Super-Hero Movies: We Still Have a Long Way to Go
I was watching Tomb Raider last night, and while I love Angelina Jolie and the movie, there is one scene that makes me absolutely crazy at the beginning: Angelina Jolie’s character, Lara Croft takes a… [more]
“I Spent Time with Coulson. He’s a Good Man.”
I trusted Phil Coulson from the first moment he appeared onscreen, because he reminded me of someone I knew, a good man, who had a good heart. He was self-effacing and simple, with a sharp,… [more]
Your Homework Before Seeing Days of Future Past: Read All New X-Men and Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men
When comic book movies come out, it’s sometimes hard to tell what storylines they’re pulling from. Based on the trailers, X-Men: Days of Future Past focuses on a future where Sentinels have taken over, no… [more]
The Winter Soldier as an Indictment of the Post-9/11 Military Industrial Complex
SPOILER WARNING… Much like Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier wants you to view the events through Steve Rogers’s World War II lens. The events are framed through the true evil… [more]