Charlie Jane Anders's Blog, page 9

The Funniest TV Show You're (Probably) Not Watching

One of the frustrating things about loving television is the extent to which a small number of shows seem to suck up all of the attention — and if you love TV comedies, it's even worse. As many have noted, a lot of TV's most acclaimed comedy series barely even try to be funny of late.

You'd never know that we're living in a golden age of TV comedy right now. We're utterly blessed with shows like We Are Lady Parts, Poker Face, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Abbott Elementary, the recently-ended Letterk...

Bonnie Raitt's Career Ended In 1986

Bonnie Raitt's career ended back in 1986. Her long-time record company Warner Bros. had sat on her album Nine Lives for a few years, refusing to release it. Until finally, they put out an updated version with little fanfare, resulting in poor sales — after which Warners dropped Raitt from their label.

Raitt wanted to tour in support of the new album, but didn't have enough money to pay for a full band. So she went on a solo tour, playing acoustic guitar, unable to do justice to the full blues-r...

How To Build Your Online "Brand" Without Burning Out

Recently, there's been a lot of talk about people, especially writers and other creative people, needing to have a "personal brand" on social media.

This latest conversation mostly comes out of this somewhat dispiriting article in Vox by Rebecca Jennings in which she writes:

Corporate consolidation and streaming services have depleted artists’ traditional sources of revenue and decimated cultural industries. While Big Tech sites like Spotify claim they’re “democratizing” culture, they instead d...

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Is The Best Superhero Movie Ever

No, seriously. I am going to fire up this hot take — and I might even convince you that I'm right.

So I finally watched Puss in Boots: the Last Wish, because it was on Netflix and I think it was about to go away. And... it was as good as everybody in the world said it was. It's been about a week and I haven't been able to stop thinking about this movie.

Warning: there will be spoilers for The Last Wish below, though nothing you couldn't have guessed from watching the trailer.

For those of you ...

Here's What Bugs Me About Comics

I love comics so much — some of my earliest memories involve visiting the Million Year Picnic and New England Comics, and gazing in wonder at all the colorful covers, and I've been reading and collecting comics since my early twenties. I think comics are one of the most vibrant and engaging storytelling forms in the world, and I've been so grateful to get to write some recently. But there's one thing I find a bit frustrating about the comics industry, which has been bugging me as a reader recen...

10 Space TV Shows That Don't Get Enough Love

Everybody talks about Star Trek, the various Star Wars TV shows, and Battlestar Galactica. But space is way, way bigger than that — space is, in fact, pretty freaking vast, and there is room for way more interstellar adventures.

Here are ten live-action space-based TV shows that deserve way more love and appreciation:

1) Space Cases.

Peter David and Bill Mumy created this YA TV show about kids exploring space, including a young Jewel Staite. It aired for two seasons on Nickelodeon, and it was c...

Reboot Star Wars!

Just a heads up! The trade paperback collection of New Mutants: Lethal Legion (by Enid Balám, Elisabetta D'Amico and me) comes out tomorrow! It's a silly, off-the-chain heist story with some of the wackiest set pieces I've ever come up with — but it's also a meditation on trauma and how to be there for people who are hurting. You can get Lethal Legion anywhere you get your comics — but you can still pre-order from Folio Books, and I'll sign and personalize, plus I'll draw whatever doodle you req...

The Difference Between Deceptively Simple and Deceptively Complex

Hey everyone! I'm afraid I don't have time to write a brand new newsletter this week. My mom has been visiting from out of town, and I'm under a bunch of crushing deadlines, including a novel revision deadline. So I'm reupping some mini-rants I wrote for my Tumblr back in 2016-ish, which very few people have seen.

Also! Just a reminder... the trade paperback collection of New Mutants: Lethal Legion comes out on Tuesday. This is the silliest, most off-the-wall heist story you've read lately, but...

Doctor Who's Unsung MVP, Best TV Shows of 2023... and Some Rants!

Before we get started, a shameless plug! New Mutants: Lethal Legion, the collected edition of the miniseries I wrote last year, is coming out January 14. It's about Escapade, the superhero I co-created, and her attempt to help her friend Cerebella get over some recent trauma by doing the thing that always makes Escapade feel better: stealing from evil jerks. Except this time? They pick the wrong evil jerk. It's a very silly romp that has a serious undertone along with a lot of queer joy. I'm su...

The Real Reason Why We Want To Punish the Unhoused

As 2023 ends, more and more people are being left with no place to go. Wars, atrocities and natural disasters are creating incomprehensibly vast numbers of refugees, and I'm afraid this is only a taste of what's coming as both climate change and authoritarianism worsen. And here in the United States, increasing numbers of people are being put on the street — at precisely the moment when Americans are more determined than ever to punish the poor.

We're facing a crisis, and we will absolutely be ...