Cameron DeOrdio

This is a gorgeous collection of art and comics starring a diverse and inclusive cast of Himbos, their admirers, partners, and comrades in uplifting and positive, community and solidarity focused endeavours.

I have had this to read since I insta-backed the Kickstarter and can't believe it's taken me this long to get around to it!

It truly is a gorgeous collaborative effort with beautiful art and wonderful ideas. There is no particular leaning towards a specific political idealogy, beyond socialism and general communism, so there's no fear of authoritarian Marxist-Leninist dogma, but at the same time not as much explicit anarchist sensibilities, which I would have loved to see. This is good vibes, anti-authority, pro-solidarity wholesomeness you would expect from your himbo comrades.

The diverse representation and explicit inclusion of Genderqueer and non-conforming himbos and other characters is glorious to see, especially with so many spaces, media and theory often focuses on a bunch of old dead cishet white dudes, ignoring the radical work BIPOC, Queer, and trans folx have been doing and involved in since forever. It's a sad fact that to this day orgs splinter and oppose each other because of the bigotry some supposed revolutionaries cling onto like petty tyrants. Some self-described anarchist figure made a video in the last few years claiming that working class people don't know or care about trans or non binary people. Fucking shameful. The most marginalised have always been on the frontlines, while those with more privilege have always served themselves first, leaving their marginalised comrades behind. Interactionality over everything!

To the people who felt hoodwinked by the cover, what are you talking about? Have you never seen a comicbook or graphic novel cover before? Are you this upset about the comicbook era when they discovered putting primates on the cover made sales significantly improve, regardless of whether any featured at all inside?

To the people who say it's not gay enough, sib please. Noone gets to judge what's gay enough (outside of heterosexual people making supposedly Queer stuff) and what?! There's a lot of gay and Queer goodness in here. Romance and sex aren't the focus of the comics, so what do you want? Smells a little like transphobia based on some of the couples in here...

This is a beautiful book and a wonderful, heartfelt endeavour. Thank you!

Love, support, and solidarity!… (mere)

I am not a big reader or fan of the Archie universe, but I picked up this book because the storyline was written by Marguerite Bennett, who worked on the DC Comics alt-history series DC Bombshells. I love DC Bombshells series, so naturally I thought I would like this one too.

Er, no. This was a bit of a slog to get through due to the Josie character. What a vapid dumbass! According to the comics history, Melody is supposed to play up the part of a vapid dumbass, but Melody was much smarter and hilarious. Josie however is the type of character that is perpetually 12 years old brat - impulsive, careless, and easily distracted by shiny objects. Val is always having to parent Josie and teach her the value of the lesson Josie is currently learning but will forget in the next issue. It got old real quick. Josie wants fame and money, but is the least talented of the trio - the desperation is dripping off her character and kept me from rooting for her or the band. I wanted more band time - in the studio, on tour, writing songs, etc. Instead we get this sad sack of a romance between Josie and their manager - a storyline ripped from old VH1's Behind the Music. Val and Melody are better off dropping the "adds zero to this friendship" Josie and this band. There was a short comic at the back of the book featuring Jughead and introducing Sabrina the Teenage Witch - this comic was better than the main comic.

The art was typical of the Archie universe but the girls weren't oversexualized or glamour girls - they were drawn as true grass roots garage band rockers. Too bad the storyline and characterizations were bland.… (mere)

Josie and her best friend Melody start a band with Melody’s veterinarian, Valerie. Josie is an ambitious dreamer, Valerie is practical and brings Josie back to reality, and Melody loves animals. They get picked up by an agent and tour the world. Adventures ensue.

This series is *extremely* funny and entertaining, but has no plot whatsoever. Josie does something stupid out of ambition and Valerie reminds her of the value of friendship. Melody loses it over a kitten. Villains include music venue staff wielding contracts with exploitative fine print, animal traffickers, and Josie’s rich ex-bestie. A fun diversion but nothing deep. The artwork is fantastic.

This volume also includes Jughead #9. I’m no Jughead fan, but this issue was written by Ryan North, and boy is it charming. There’s footnotes galore and it involves Jughead meeting Sabrina! My fave. I just might read more of this version of Jughead.… (mere)