Thoughts on “Transgender Warriors” and Leslie Friedman

I’m currently reading a fascinating book called Transgender Warriors by Leslie Friedman. It makes me think of The Yellow Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee in that both books are part memoir, part history books. The Yellow Lighted Bookshop is about the history of books as much as it’s the tale of the author growing into a mature librarian. Transgender Warriors is as much about Friedman as it is about trans people in history.

I recognized quite a few names of warriors in the first few chapters, as those people of history also appear in David E. Jones’s Women Warriors: A History. Women Warriors acknowledges that many of the women cross-dressed or exhibited more masculine qualities (like King Nzinga) but still has that gender binary. You have to infer that some women in that book were, in fact, non-binary. Maybe not “trans,” but definitely falling outside of man/woman dichotomies.

With that said, Friedman’s personal history is profoundly biased in one way: s/he was an active member, for many years, of the World Workers Party, a communist organization that was an offshoot of the Socialist Party in the USA. For all I know, s/he may still be a member.

So, there are many, many, many, MANY moments in the book that are cringe/noteworthy. To say s/he is NOT a fan of capitalism is an understatement on par with “I think North Korea may have a humanitarian problem.” Continue reading “Thoughts on “Transgender Warriors” and Leslie Friedman”

Review Day Tuesday: My Love Story!!

If you’ve read “My Love Story!!” published by Shojo Beat and created by Kazune Kawahara and Aruko, leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts on it!

Right now, I’m hard at work on some new illustration series’ ideas – drawing out some rough sketches, testing color palettes, and the like. I’ll talk more about those soon. Besides that, if you want to see some bonus comics like “Julia,” you can check out my Patreon page – it’s like KickStarter, but funds itself by the month and gets you more constant perks.

Thank you for reading and watching!

You. Are. Awesome.

Review Day Tuesday: Action Lab, Dog of Wonder #1

Today I review a new first-issue comic published by Action Lab Comics, called Action Lab: Dog of Wonder (yes, that title was intentional). I first saw this book when Action Lab Comics appeared at my local comic shop for a promotional event, and I spoke with Vito Delsante, the co-writer on Action Lab #1, who is a really cool guy. Anyway, the comic’s pretty fun and adorable and you should read it.

More book reviews are coming, so stay tuned!

In not-book-review news, there’s a new sketch comic just for patrons called, “Julia.” The version patrons are seeing now is actually the new and HEAVILY revised draft of this old story idea. So if you want to read it, go pledge on Patreon.

Thank you for watching.

You. Are. Awesome.