Comics Alternative

The Dynamic Doctoral Duo is back for another action-packed episode promising thrills and chills! This time, Gwen and Derek begin by discussing Brecht Evens's  Panther (Drawn and Quarterly), a book that gives a first impression of innocence but then becomes darker and increasingly disturbing as the story develops. Gwen is a scholar of children's literature, and she points out that Evens follows many of the tropes found in picture books, and his style -- what you'd find in his earlier works, The Wrong Place and The Making Of -- may even lead readers to see this as one. But she argues that Panther is anything but a text for younger readers. Evens's penchant for watercolor and his borderless panel style make this a most sophisticated narrative, one with no easy answers and ending in ambiguity. Next, Derek and Gwen transition into yet another portal narrative, Gene Ha's Mae #1 (Dark Horse Comics). In this new creator-owned series, which began last year as a Kickstarter, the titular character's older sister, Abbie