GOLD STAR AWARDS, April, 2012

Damn. I’ve been busy this month. But I’ve yet to fall more that two months behind on my Hall of Fame awards, so here are April’s, and I’m going to follow up with May’s on this, the last day of May.


The Year is 1974 - Two BWAA inductees and two from the Veteran’s committee.


The MICKEY MANTLE Gold Star #49: Armchair Subversive

OMG! I'm so psyched! They’re back! This fine collection was originally in my inaugural HoF class, but I bumped them out in favor of Cracked.com when their website went defunct. Now they’re back, and hopefully will show Williams once and for all what the difference between homosexuals and pedophiles: Homosexuals tend to be Democrats, whilst Pedophiles tend to be Republican!


The WHITEY FORD Gold Star #50: A Blog of Dorain

Although infrequently updated, and from Canada, this crazy cannuck has a better understanding of U.S. policy than most Americans. It’s also a great collection of political cartoons, including critiques of some coming from the opposition. He posts in fits and spurts, being quiet for awhile and then posting a lot for a couple of weeks.  Very insightful when he does though, and his blog makes for a fun read.


The JIM BOTTOMLEY Silver Star #46: The Princess and Eve’s Apple

Two web-comics by Christine Smith. Both feature transgendered protagonists, portraying both in a positive light, while at the same time addressing the social hardships they face. Eve’s Apple (which seems to have gone on hiatus) is drawn in a noir style and deals with the complex relationships between the Transgendered and Homosexual communities. The Princess is drawn in a more cutesy, cartoonish style, and deals with transgendered youth though it’s protagonist Sarah; who made her first appearance in Eve’s Apple, and whose mother is Lucy’s sister. (One of the reasons I’m combining these is that both take place in the same universe, so I consider them two parts of the same thing.) Superficially, The Princess appears more light hearted, but in truth is considerably darker, considering that the events are happening to, and being dealt with by, a child. I recommend reading both from the beginning, and the beginning.


The SAM THOMPSON Silver Star #47: Power Nap

“The sleep of reason brings forth monsters.”

A newer web-comic with an infrequent update schedule, Power Nap presents a dystopian world in which people no longer have to sleep, thanks to Z-Tabs, and the struggles of one man to survive in this world who’s allergic to them, and thus… still needs to sleep. It’s still in its infancy, but I see a lot of promise with it, and can’t wait to see where it goes. It’s been a real trip so far. Read it from the beginning.