Comics aren’t dying, but they are changing – and that’s got people scared by Heidi MacDonald

There are no kerfuffles quite as tedious and toxic as those that churn up around the culture of comic books, at least when they are instigated by the entitled, white, middle-aged men who have too long felt that every last panel must serve their interests and their interests alone. One such dust-up occurred in the past week, mostly driven by a well-known writer who has mistaken earlier overpraising of his mediocre work for genuine measures of his insight and intellectual capacity. As is too often the case, these cretins blame for sagging interest in the medium was heaped on women who have made inroads in a creative industry, freely manipulating information into ginned-up evidence justifying their hate. Writing for her own outlet, The Beat, Heidi MacDonald (an occasional target of the free-range misogynists) addresses the debate with thoughtfulness, considered commentary, and cold hard facts. Her assemblage of information is impressive and implicitly makes the point that the medium is evolving rather than collapsing. As someone who was deeply devoted to the same bygone superhero sagas that the grousers pine for, I feel plenty qualified to assert that they are wrong and MacDonald is right.

A Country of “Walking Coffins” by Jessica Valenti

Jessica Valenti continues to be peerless on the post-Roe beat. Her tireless reporting and commentary brings her naturally this week to the story of Kate Cox, the Texas woman whose dire medical needs were treated with the dignity of a rubber punchball by various Texas courts and politicians. This piece was published on her own Substack, Abortion, Every Day. Valenti’s writing is fueled by fury, appropriately and inspiringly.

Words in Progress: Notes From a Retired Copy Chief by Benjamin Dreyer

One of the finest investments I’ve made in recent years is my copy of Dreyer’s English. The style guide by Benjamin Dreyer, a copy editor at Random House when the book was published, is an invaluable collection of writing guidelines, mainly because he shares the “why” behind his recommendations, doing so with bright, gently barbed wit. As he moves into retirement, Dreyer offers a sort of State of the Language address for Kirkus Reviews. Like the book, the article is so engaging that it reminds me why I like the challenge of smushing words into sentences and then paragraphs.