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https://blacknerdproblems.com/ms-marvel-the-character-the-person/

Disney+’s Ms. Marvel has two episodes left and things are heating up. Kamala Khan seeks info on her Djinn heritage and the truth about her great grandmother. Finding comfort in new allies, she’s once again thrown into fire. Iman Vellani must be given all the credit; she really captures both the wide-eyed wonder and the crushing weight of the world coming down on the shoulders of a teenager. Acting aside, there’s another reason why this scene really works, and it’s far more important to the direction Marvel has been going in as of late. It’s because there’s actually very little superheroness in this superhero show. Instead, they’ve focused so much on the character of Kamala Khan that it elevates the story and the show. And with this seemingly being the direction Marvel has chosen to go, will this be the future of the superhero genre as a whole?

The Power of World Building

I want to start out with a dive into the story telling of Ms. Marvel so far. With the very first episode, it felt like the least superhero property that the MCU has put out so far. That sentence on it own would seem like a negative for the genre, but I’m here to tell you, good reader, that it was the smartest move they could make. We’ve been in Earth-199999, according to Vellani, for 10 plus years now. Ten plus years of futuristic technology, gods, magic, and monsters. A whole generation of people grew up with this as common place so of course kids see them more as celebrities than anything. And Kamala Khan is up to her eyeballs in the fandom. She’s got posters in her room of her favorite hero, writes fanfic, and by her world’s standards, is deep on the nerdy side of the spectrum. Hell, in our real life we see how deep fandoms go for fictional characters. So, Kamala wanting to go to a superhero convention seems typical for a person her age. 

And just like our world, liking heroes isn’t necessarily a nerdy thing. I’m sure earlier on it was, back when heroes were still rare and not everyone knew Thor’s dating life. But now, everyone knows Thor is a god, magic is real, and aliens live among them. Hell, everyone probably knows it from Scott Lang’s podcast. Heroes aren’t myths, they’re the modern-day celebrities. So, it’s no surprise that it’s not just the outcasts, but the “cool kids” are just as star struck as anyone. Zoe Zimmer, played by Laurel Marsden, is presented as the queen bee of Kamala’s school. Yet she’s into Captain Marvel just as much a Kamala. Just like us, superheroes are the in-thing, and the show not only reflects that, but is allowing Marvel to fill in their world in a way that connects to the audience on a level they haven’t really explored in depth yet.

Character’s First, Powers Second

Ms. Marvel feels like the first Disney+ show to really focus on the “origin” part of the origin story and get it right. We’ve had Hawkeye which was a fine origin story for Kate Bishop but it’s still a Clint Barnes focused story. And with Moon Knight, while we saw his origin, he was well into his hero journey (well half of him was). But Ms. Marvel just hits different. We meet her at the very beginning of her story and has no established character to rely on. Yes, being a huge Captain Marvel fangirl is a large part of her character. But she’s not appearing in the show as far as we know. It all falls upon Kamala’s shoulders and she’s carrying that weight. 

And carry that weight she does. Iman Vellani nails the starry eyed unsure of herself nerdy fangirl. She brings a type of youthful fun that flows from Vellani so naturally. On the flip side, the angst, the awkwardness, it is so authentic. So when she struggles to figure out who she is and what she wants to be in life, ON TOP OF figuring out her new powers, I feel that -ish. A lot of us can relate to being completely overwhelmed in our youth, hell a lot of us feel that in our adult life. Creating that relatability makes us more endeared to the character, so when they hurt, we hurt. All this without a lot of action and superpowers. Marvel really doubled down on focusing on the person of Ms. Marvel with the powers coming second and so far, it’s really working.

Faith in Family

The length of a miniseries allows for a deeper dive into the different aspects of a character that you might not have time for in a movie. Marvel smartly used this opportunity to look at an important aspect of Ms. Marvel’s character, her faith. It’s no surprise that we rarely see characters in media practice Islam in a positive light, if at all. Not only do we get some respectful representation for the culture, but it’s also presented in a non-overbearing way. The show doesn’t stop to pat itself on the back, it’s just part of these characters everyday life. 

And that’s what’s so important. The representation for a group who doesn’t get it in such a manner is invaluable. There’s going to be kids who will finally see themselves in a live action hero, see how their everyday lives are presented in a positive and realistic light, and we’ll need more of that moving forward. And I give the show credit for not backing away from the trials and tribulations would face in real life. The gender issues at home and in the mosque, the politics and unfair treatment, millions of people face this every day. And we’d be fooling ourselves if we thought that would disappear just because they got some powers. It’s not over the top and portrayed in a realistic manner, and that was the smartest thing they could have done.

Family in Faith

It’s touching and heartbreaking to see Kamala go from such enthusiasm in her powers to the dread of bringing unwanted attention to her family and community. And surrounding her with a stellar cast elevates the drama that much more. Her parents, Yusuf (Mohan Kapur) and Muneeba Khan (Zenobia Shroff), are portrayed with a caring yet traditional love towards Kamala that when everyone is having fun, we have fun. Yet when conflict inevitably arises, when we see Yusuf heart break over something Kamala said carelessly or her mother comfort her daughter, it hits. It could have been real easy to overplay the parents either “too traditional” or dropping most of their cultural values, but they’ve struck a good balance here. And I hope they keep this up for the rest of the show.

We’ve also got her brother, Aamir (Saagar Shaikh), who knows he benefits from simply being a man in his family but is still a loving brother. He helps Kamala when he can and is just a genuinely a loving brother. Nakia Bahadir (Yasmeen Fletcher), her friend who is of mixed race. I was actually pretty surprised Disney talked about the difficulties someone of mixed heritage could encounter within the culture. It wasn’t a huge part of the stories but I’m glad the character is there none the less. And Bruno, Kamala’s best friend and her (what will be) her guy in the chair. Bruno is white but is very intrenched in the Muslim community in the show. Not in the overly obnoxious way we tend to get in movies and shows (rewatch the Christmas episode of The Boondocks) but in the “we’ve more or less adopted you” way. He’s knowledgeable in the customs and practices so it’s not presented to the audience as a cultural shock, but when there’s something he doesn’t know, he just asks. It allows for the show to showcase Muslim and Pakistani customs while still feeling natural to the story itself.

And we need more of this, we need so much more of this. Giving representation to the underrepresented and just as important, normalizing the unfamiliar. Because it is normal, it’s everyday life for some people and just because some of us may not be familiar with it, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be shown and celebrated like everything else. And Marvel has been trending this way more and more as of late, but it’s still not perfect.

Not All that Glitters

At the end of the day, I’m loving the focus on Kamala’s life as a person rather than a superhero. And Marvel has chosen to really go in on this. Maybe to the point of overkill. It’s still a story about a superhero; a fictional comic book character with powers and villains and the like. And well, there’s not a whole lot of that 3 episodes in. Hell, if you remove 10 minutes of each episode so far you wouldn’t even know it’s a show about superheroes. Episode 4 had a lot more action by comparison, but even then, its strongest moments came from the family drama and character development. And to me, that’s refreshing. It’s a true origin story so we probably won’t get her fully fledged hero persona until the last episode. But one of the main criticisms floating around is due to that. People want to see the action we’ve become accustomed to in our comic book movies/shows, and I can’t really blame them for that.

Another, more significant issue is the presentation of the powers itself. What we have here just isn’t Ms. Marvels powers. In the comics she’s more liken to Mr. Fantastic. She can grow parts of her body and stretch them out. And by that description, I can see how visually that would be hard to do. In the show, we have what they are calling Hard Light, where Kamala shapes hard light into shapes like a platform of a giant fist (harking back to her original power). The issue is… the power change is less interesting than what it originally was. Not only that, but it’s cheap looking and at times, lazy. It’s like a low rent Green Lantern, and it’s pretty distracting. It doesn’t help either that the fight choreography has been real choppy. I’d like to hope that in her film debut with a much larger budget, it’ll look leagues better than it does now. The show is so good right now, and it’s a shame that the actual superhero part so far hasn’t had the same love and care as the story. Maybe it’ll get better and maybe they’ll change up her powers down the line. Right now though, it’s a little busted.

Cosmic

While not perfect, Ms. Marvel represents an important step forward in the future of comic book movies and shows for Marvel and in general. It’s not the first of its kind, newer superhero properties have been trending this way for some time now. The Boys and The Suicide Squad revel in their violence but also are character studies on how broken some of their characters are. In Invincible, we’re shown how the loving and deprave Omni-Man is which creates that since of dread in us when the shoe finally drops. The story of the characters is just as important as their power set, and Ms. Marvel doubles down on that sentiment. It’s not perfect, and still has 2 more episodes left. But for me, and many others, it’s one of the best shows to come out of Disney+. And I for one, hope they continue to refine their stories in this manner. 

Cover image via Wikipedia

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The post ‘Ms. Marvel’: The Character, The Person appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

https://blacknerdproblems.com/what-if-miles-morales-had-a-black-writer/

Did you know for the decade that Miles Morales has been a character in Marvel Comics, he hasn’t been written by a Black writer in his main title yet? He was co-created by Brian Michael Bendis, and Sara Pichelli, and after about a six-ish year run, it was handed over to Saladin Ahmed. 

Now, Saladin Ahmed is most definitely that dude, and he’s been holding it down for Miles, but in all this time, it’s a shame that we haven’t had a Black or Afro-Latinx writer get to really flesh out who Miles is, and provide to the audience a well-rounded, believable character in the medium that birthed him. 

Instead, we get this:

Please don’t scratch your eyes out. That’s not going to change the fact that this image exists, and you’ll just be in excruciating and debilitating pain. Unfortunately, this is just more proof that we live in one of the darkest timelines because seriously, this is… a lot. 

If there was ever a doubt that Black people should have the opportunity to tell their own stories, that doubt has been yeeted into oblivion after the release of this comic book. 

This opening page is part of Marvel’s What If…? Miles Morales series, where each issue tells the story of an alternate Miles who became another beloved Marvel hero instead of Spider-Man. In this one, as you can see, Miles becomes Thor who lives in an Asgardian version of Brooklyn. But by the end of the issue, instead of what if, we’re just wondering why?

Miles Morales is one of the most popular characters in comics today, and his stock continues to rise with appearances in comics, television, and movies. He’s an embodiment of the idea that anyone can be anything. For a character that’s only been in existence for the better part of a decade, the future is looking bright. But there are still some major pitfalls from those behind the scenes that continually disappoint us and often leave us infuriated. 

How Did We Get Here?

Why am I asking that question? You know the answer by now. We got here because the person who wrote this issue, Yehudi Mercado, isn’t Black. That isn’t to say that a Black writer can’t make questionable decisions about a Black character, *stares hard at Falcon & The Winter Soldier*, but having a seat at the table in these instances will at the very least slow the rate that this type of thing happens.

To be fair, Miles is Black and Puerto Rican, and Mercado does bring Latinx representation, but everyone’s gripe is that this story so specifically highlights Miles’ Blackness, that everything else is secondary. Plus, Miles is Afro-Latinx, which Mercado is not so that just brings us back to square one.

While some of the decisions Mercado made for this character are questionable at best, the ultimate blame should really fall on the institution that allowed something like this to happen, and probably didn’t even realize it was an issue until the justified outcry on the internet.

I could get into the weeds about Marvel and those in charge there, but it’s really bigger than them, too. This is an instrumental problem that needs to be addressed. And it’s not just in this industry, it’s everywhere.

There needs to be deliberate and intentional dedication to finding the write voices to write and flesh out these characters, even in a fun side series like What If…? Because when it’s mishandled like this, we all feel disrespected. So yes, Mercado shoulders a lot of the blame, but there’s a team of people that approved this idea. It went through a pitch, most likely a few revisions, and a lettering pass or two before it was completed, and no one at any point thought that maybe this wasn’t a good idea. 

It’s wild that the most authentic versions of Miles that we’ve gotten have been from Into the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales video game, and Miles Morales: Spider-Man, written by Jason Reynolds (who is Black). While I love that these iterations of Miles exist, and they undoubtedly add to his legitimacy, it sucks that other mediums are handling this character better than the one that gave him life.

Instead, we get Miles saying “Hammer Time” while holding Mjolnir. 

Marvel’s Voices

I know Marvel knows that diversity and representation are important in this industry and to fans. Just look at their Voices series, born out of a podcast, which is an ongoing anthology book dedicated to giving platforms for diverse creators to tell the stories of characters that represent who they are. 

They’ve got issues spotlighting Black, AAPI, Latinx, Indigenous, and Queer creators and characters, so it’s not like Marvel is oblivious to this issue. This is exactly what we need more of in this industry, but it has to go further than spotlights and eight-page stories. Diverse creators deserve to be handed the keys to a franchise, especially if their very being adds substance and depth to that character that will ultimately make them better. 

I love Voices, and I think it’s some of the best stuff Marvel is putting out there, but why can’t we do books like this, and write Miles Morales? Continuing to not provide us with opportunities on big named books just tells us that you either are afraid to invest in us or aren’t making it a priority, and both of those reasons are disappointing. 

BrookGard

Why did this book have a hybrid of Brooklyn and Asgard? What was the purpose of that?

Maybe the point was to drop Miles into the fantastical world of Norse mythology. But if that was the case, why did there have to be a blend between that and Brooklyn street life? There can be Black people in Asgard.

To me, this is one of the things that really does a disservice to the story. It’s so concerned with trying to combine these two elements that everything else falls to the wayside. I think it would have been stronger if Miles was just straight-up Asgardian, or if he was just his normal self from Brooklyn.

It would make more sense if Miles was a regular kid that somehow became worthy of Thor’s hammer. That probably wouldn’t have gotten rid of the ill-advised references in the dialogue, but at least it would have been able to avoid the meshing of two otherwise completely different cultures that really don’t fit together. You could also focus on the unfamiliarity of that object and its background as it’s juxtaposed with Miles and the neighborhood that he comes from. The version of Miles we got isn’t Thor in the way Jane Foster is Thor, he’s literally Thor Odinson, so it makes you come in with a certain level of expectations.

*Sighs in Black*

Reading this issue, it just seemed like there was no attempt to make this version of Miles a well-fleshed-out character, and in turn, he becomes a soundboard full of outdated and corny catchphrases that scream that he wasn’t written by someone who talks like this, let alone someone who is actually representative of our culture. 

Twenty-two pages is not a lot of real estate to develop a new character, and it’s got to be even harder to do so in a book like What If…?, where you have to subvert the audience’s knowledge and create something new. With that being said, this is the multiverse we’re dealing with, and just because that means you can do whatever you want, doesn’t mean that you should.

To make matters worse, it seemed intentional to make Miles as “Black” as possible by using visual identifiers to try and sell what this version of the character was all about. The first few images of the book show Miles with a blonde fade and a lightning bolt buzzed into his haircut, shoes hanging from the powerlines in the streets, and some Jordan-esque sneakers in a poor attempt at a reference to Into the Spider-Verse, while managing to lack all of the substance. 

I think the thing that really took me out was the ’80s era rapping that Mercado tried to add into Miles’ dialogue. It felt like trying to write in the style of Run DMC, Slick Rick, or Kurtis Blow. 

As I write that out, that idea doesn’t inherently sound horrible. Scott Snyder has borrowed from the aesthetics of the Heavy Metal genre for a lot of his stories, and it works; however, adapting the aesthetics and lifestyle of hip-hop for something like this requires a lived-in experience, not just a reverence for the genre.

Keep the Pressure

It’s bleak out here, but as annoying as this has all been for us Black nerds, we definitely know how to get these jokes off, and we more than know how to let our voices be heard. Since all this uproar, Mercado has released an acknowledgment and apology for the issue, as well as promised to donate the money he made from this issue to the Brooklyn Book Bodega.

That’s all because we spoke up. So with that, I’ll say let’s keep it up. Keep our foot on their necks until this type of thing happens less often, and we can continue to celebrate a character instead of screaming into the void for people to make better choices.

Miles deserves more. We as fans deserve more. And unfortunately, it’s ultimately up to those in power to ensure we get opportunities to tell our stories but until then we’re applying pressure. 

We are tired, and at this point, we want more than a seat at the table.

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The post What If… Miles Morales had a Black Writer? appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

https://blacknerdproblems.com/5-coming-of-age-manga-series-youll-want-to-read-and-collect/

Hopefully without coming off as snobbish, I want you to know that coming of age is one of my favorite genres. In cinema, yes, but also a genre of manga that I feel is severely underappreciated. There has always been something fascinating about the stories and lessons learned in manga, one of my favorite mediums that have a coming of age lean of young people growing up, maturing and learning about the world. Because you wanted another manga list, here I am delivering the good word!

Here’s a list that includes manga series with up to six volumes in total. It is not a bunch of twenty plus volume runs that may overwhelm you. This list is meant for manga readers new and old who are looking for shorter series to get into that are acclaimed, coming-of-age feels being talked about in enough circles that can be your signal to finally start reading. Note: the manga on this list lean to the teen and older teen audiences to my last pick that has a Mature rating for readers 18 and up.

Boys Run the Riot

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Shout-out to one of the best manga debuts of 2021! A trans coming of age tale with a lot of heart mixed with a love for street fashion and that age old pursuit of wanting to express and prove yourself! Rounding out at just four short volumes, Boys Run the Riot was created by Keito Gaku, and this English version was brought to life with the help of translation by Leo McDonagh.  The creative team includes lettering by Ashley Caswell, editing by TIFF Joshua TJ Ferentini, and this edition’s book cover is designed by Phil Balsman. Street fashion becomes the escape that trans teen Ryo uses to escape the pressures, expectations, and disappointments of his everyday life. 

Boys Run the Riot has strong coming of age vibes, and those who love series set in high school will appreciate the narrative of Ryo coming into his own. The series created by a trans manga creator centers a trans teen looking to escape the frustrations and anxieties that comes with his circumstances. It is with his clothes that he feels freedom to express himself and be comfortable in his own skin. When he meets Jin, a new kid at school, they find that they have the same taste in clothing and boom: their budding fashion brand is born!  

We are in a time where we’re seeing more and more manga with and about trans, nonbinary and genderqueer characters getting their due and not in the background. I love the ripples Ryo and Jin make to where their efforts reach others like some of their classmates and even older folks like established professionals and parents. These teens’ struggles and triumphs really moved me; they were inspiring others to be more courageous and stand up for themselves and others in a world that often punishes individuals for standing out. Boys Run the Riot never loses focus on Ryo and his struggles and pulls readers into this beautifully heart wrenching and hopeful story about finding your true self and the unexpected allies and truths you find along the way.  I really liked the narrative threads that included social media and the art of visibility, especially the volumes that leaned into the story of the LGBT+ friendly blogger and how exposure can often hurt more than help. 

I love all the care that went into the English release of this manga: Kodansha not only hired an all-transgender localization team to edit and translate the manga but also released the first chapter of Boys Run the Riot free to read online on March 31, 2021, in honor of International Transgender Day of Visibility. Boys Run the Riot found its way to many eyeballs and many lists including being nominated for a Harvey Award in the Best Manga category in 2021. The first volume of the series was listed as one of the top 10 manga of 2021 by The School Library Journal and YALSA even listed the first three volumes in its 2022 Great Graphic Novels for Teens Top Ten list. Included in the fourth and final volume is the one shot story that inspired this series that also features a trans character centered dealing with identity and school.

Recommended for: For fans of LGBTQIA characters, School Life, Drama, Fashion

Satoko and Nada

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Home is Where Your Friend Is! Satoko and Nada is a short but sweet manga series about a pair of foreign exchange student roommates who meet in America: Satoko from Japan and Nada from Saudi Arabia. Created by Yupechika, this slice of life manga series’ script advisor is Marie Nishimori with Jenny McKeon credited as translator for helping to bring this English version to life. The creative team includes Lianne Sentar credited with adaptation duties, lettering and retouching by Karis Page, and book design by KC Fabellon. This endearing four volume manga series published through Seven Seas Entertainment about how friendship is precious and can be found and nurtured anywhere leans in with comedic approach with its 4-Koma format.

As a series, Satoko and Nada celebrates friendship between women: our titular characters are young women who at first don’t think that they have anything in common. Satoko is from Japan, Nada is from Saudi Arabia. While they do in fact come from vastly different places, the joy is getting to see them on the page learn about each other. These two go from new roommates tiptoeing around each other to the best of friends who take the time to learn about each other’s cultures and protect each other. I love that they are college students as I feel that I don’t read enough manga set in college. 

As foreign exchange students centered in a narrative, I feel this adds another layer to their diverse story that’s not often seen much in manga. As an ode to friendships between women, I love that this manga places Satoko and Nada as individuals who see each other as precious. Food is a great common denominator between the two and the pages of them discovering the best dishes from each other’s home countries and sharing new faves togethers are always some of my favorite pages of the manga. If you’re looking for a manga series with coming-of-age energy focusing on a diverse friendship that honors differences with great humor, you’ve found Satoko and Nada, a worthy choice.

Recommended for: Fans of 4koma, Comedy, Slice of Life, works by female mangaka

The Golden Sheep

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Growing up means being impatient with the world. Growing up means learning how to reinvent yourself. Growing up means finding your way and hopefully becoming someone you are proud of. The Golden Sheep created by Kaori Ozaki is a three volume manga series that takes to a set of childhood friends when reunited as teens who find that nothing is as easy as it all once was. Published by Vertical, an imprint of Kodansha, this English version was brought to life with help from Daniel Komen with translation duties, with Risa Cho and Lorina Mapa credited with production duties. When rock and roll loving Tsugu moves back to the small town she was born to attend high school she’s reunited with the three childhood friends she loved dearly and soon finds trouble.

Now as a teenager, Tsugu finds that Sora, Yuushin, and Asari aren’t the sweet kids she remembered having so many adventures with long ago. In fact, they have all become people she doesn’t even recognize! A few big intense moments serve as the catalyst for change, temporarily separating them as they all search for answers in this emotional ride about friendship, maturity, and figuring out who and what needs reinvention and redemption. What this series really, really gets well is the messiness of relationships and the recklessness that comes with youth. This is the pick on this list that is my problematic fave. While I think the story is worth reading, I acknowledge the content is trigger warning happy and includes very intense moments like bullying and a suicide attempt that is stopped by a friend. 

I’ve been following Ozaki’s more recent work that has been translated into English and while this series might not be my favorite, it is still a worthy read that is as thought-provoking as it is heartfelt–totally her brand of manga. Even if the ending might cut it too close with not enough closure for some or some readers think certain characters don’t deserve forgiveness, The Golden Sheep still strikes me as a true, messy tale of being a teenager. I think there’s enough commentary in the series about the failures of parents, self-loathing, indecisiveness, and how our actions affect more than just us.

The Golden Sheep was one of twelve manga series to make the 2021 Young Adult Library Services Association’s top 126 graphic novels for teenagers list which make sense as it is a narrative about the lives of teens. A cool bonus: included in the third and final volume is one of Ozaki’s one-shot stories, Love Letter about a soul who chooses to constantly be reincarnated to interact with the mother in its first and brief life that just emotionally devastated me. 

Recommended for: Slice of Life, Romance, School Life, Drama

Our Dreams at Dusk

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Simply put: Our Dreams at Dusk is a manga about community, safe places, and the people who fight to make those places available for those who need them. Created by Yuhki Kamatani, this English version was brought to life with help from Jocelyne Allenwith translation duties. The creative team includes Ysabet MacFarlane who aided with adapting this edition of the manga, lettering and retouching by Kaitlyn Wiley, and KC Fabellion with cover design of this book. Published by Seven Seas Entertainment, this queer coming of age tale with magical realism sprinkled in every volume illustrates that everyone is looking to be loved and looking to figure out who they are in a world that is unkind.

This short four volume manga series revolves around Tasuku Kaname, a gay teenager who meets other LGBT people at a drop-in center/small community building after being involuntarily outed at school. This place becomes a sort of haven for him, and he meets other folks who are just looking for peace and acceptance in the world. It also becomes a place where he constantly finds himself challenged by views he’s always had of others in the world. At times poetic, other times heartbreaking and always illuminating, Our Dreams At Dusk about coming out and coming into the light with those who love and support you.

Nominated for a Harvey Award in the Best Manga category in 2019, this series features a broad LGBT+ community that certainly isn’t a one size fits all with members of all ages and different backgrounds. It all makes the series one to behold. In a world where rejection abounds, Tasuku finds a place where no one is rejected, and it is one that saves his life. His new found family include: Someone-san, a mysterious person comes and goes at her pace, middle school student, Misora, and an older man who loves classical music, Tchaiko. Harujo, Saki, and Utsumi are other members of the drop-in center that become a part of his new found family and also have challenges of their own.

For a narrative that explores coming out for a closeted teen, this manga includes others in different stages of their lives figuring out what gender, sexuality, and self-expression mean to them. Another tale of self-discovery while finding your people, your community, this is a manga that I can never not recommend simply not just for the dreamy artwork but the beautiful story about creating bonds that hopefully last a lifetime. This series was included in a selection of “outstanding works that tackle diversity and inclusion issues” by The Japan Media Arts Festival in their 2020 online exhibit: Manga, diversity, and inclusion. Created by a manga creator who identifies as X-gender and created this amazing manga with thoughts of their turbulent teenage years dealing with their own identity struggles, I’m so grateful such a queer masterpiece exists and can be reread again and again. 

Recommended for: For fans of LGBTQIA+ characters, School Life, Drama, Found Family

Sex Ed 120%

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I love a good gag manga! I also have been loving being able to ride the wave of more sex positive manga that’s being translated and published nowadays. Sex Ed 120% is such a series that I adore brought to us by the creative team of writer Kikiki Tataki and illustrated by Hotomura. Published by Yen Press, this manga was brought to life with Amanda Haley translating and Sara Kinsley’s lettering duties. The series follows the enthusiastic efforts of Gym teacher Tsuji-sensei in her mission to modernize sex education in the health class she teaches at an all girl’s high school. She believes that Japan is terribly lacking in the sexual education department, and she wants to ramp things up to be inclusive and helpful. She’s hyped to make a difference, and she knows exactly where to start: the classroom!

Luckily for Tsuji-sensei, she has curious students who aren’t put off by her approach nor are they ever not asking questions. The group of girls that end up coming to her the most are three friends: the school’s biggest BL lover, a girl who only cares about cats, and a girl who has a girlfriend but who hasn’t come out yet. In the school, this teacher also has an ally in the school nurse, Nakazawa-Sensei, who tries her best to bring her back down to reality when she senses the lessons are veering too far off topic. It’s such a fun dynamic between the friends and the two adults–learning about the lives of the students is fun, but the adults steal the show again and again! There’s a lot of laughs to be had, dirty jokes, and random trivia to be found, but what I love the most are these students finding that their school is a safe place. For the girls: Tsuji-sensei and Nakazawa-Sensei are adults who can be trusted, and that’s way more than most young people have in real life, to be honest.

At only three volumes, the Sex Ed 120% covers a wide range of topics including LGBT-friendly couples (and the prejudices they face), the pressure media puts on girls’ appearances, consent, and so much more. While I think readers of any gender could appreciate reading this series, I am delightfully happy with the woman-leaning narrative as girls and women are so often left out of educational texts, especially sex education material. The humorous approach is really just a breath of fresh air. I didn’t think I’d learn how many vaginas female sugar gliders have or how to pick up a love hotel in Japan’s most popular areas, but I know now! 

In just a few short volumes, I’m pretty sure I learned more than I picked up in my middle school and high school health lessons which is a shame. I can totally see this manga series being very educational and instrumental in a young person’s coming-of-age into adulthood which makes the publisher’s decision to print with a Mature rating unfortunate. Regardless, Sex Ed 120% is charming and another great addition to more manga that’s sex positive and more in the realm of comics available that educate on topics that are still very much taboo.

Recommended for: Fans of Humor, Sex Positive Manga, School Life, Yuri/GL 

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And that’s it for this list of manga, folks! Next time we are focusing on a Josei lineup of manga with some messy, messy titles that I love rereading!

The manga series featured here can be found both digitally and physically where comics and manga can be found.

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The post 5 Coming-of-Age Manga Series You’ll Want To Read and Collect appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

https://www.thenerdelement.com/2022/06/28/aew-descends-upon-sdcc-2022%EF%BF%BC/

“In its short history, AEW has put on some absolutely incredible matches that have captured the hearts and the imagination of the wrestling community, creating some real wrestling history in the process” – Sports Obsessive

Five Powerful Champions from the Massively Popular Franchise Hit the Convention Floor for the First Time

WHAT: Join some of the biggest stars of TBS’ AEW: Dynamite and TNT’s AEW: 

Rampage at their San Diego Comic Con debut, giving a ringside view of the wrestling promotion which draws 4 million viewers each week. CM Punk, Jade Cargill, Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy and Bryan Danielson will be available for daytime interview opportunities, followed by an evening panel moderated by AEW commentator Excalibur. This discussion will dig into the heroes, villains, and championship quests through the eyes of the biggest names in wrestling. 

AEW: Dynamite airs every Wednesday from 8-10 p.m. ET on TNT and attracts the youngest wrestling audience on television; the fight-forward show AEW: Rampage airs every Friday from 10-11 p.m. ET. Follow the fandom on Twitter and Instagram at @AEW and @AEWonTV.

WHO:             

Bryan Danielson 

Jade Cargill

CM Punk

Darby Allin

Orange Cassidy

WHEN & WHERE:     Saturday, July 23

                                    Panel Begins at 6:30p PT / Room 6BCF at the Convention Center

The post AEW DESCENDS UPON SDCC 2022 appeared first on The Nerd Element.