Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

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RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 Power Rankings, Episode 04 – The Last Ball On Earth

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This week brings back an interesting conundrum I last faced in my Season 8 and All Stars 2 recaps, but never this early in the season: What happens when the judging completely diverges from my take on the performances?

And, for bonus points: what happens when despicable personalities get rewarded by the show?

I came to Drag Race in Season 6, which you could accuse of being the beginning of “RuPaul’s Best Friends’ Race.” Sure, Gia had her shady moments and Darienne had it in for BenDelaCreme, but it was mostly a sweet season about being great at drag – and I loved it. There was no villain and everyone pretty much got exactly as far as they deserved to get.

That became my model for Drag Race – that it was a total meritocracy and that it had evolved past the nastiness I glimpsed when going back to prior seasons. Even if her fashion was aces, how could I love Raja when she was a mean girl who labeled other people “Boogers”? Even if their fashion was stellar, why would I root for RoLaskaToxxx if their sole reason for being became bullying Jinkx?

We haven’t really seen a serious villain since then, but it’s not a coincidence that the two seasons I quit ranking before the finale were the two that really turned my concept of drag meritocracy on its ear. I couldn’t understand the departure of Acid Betty and the lack of rewards for Thorgy in Season 8, and I was puzzled by the EZ-Pass given to Alaska (and, sometimes, Detox) in All Stars.

A broken meritocracy and the return of villainy have converged here on Season 10. This is the third week in a row the judging hasn’t even commented on an obvious challenge winner in order to serve a heavy-handed narrative. We have Monique Heart being criminally ignored and the early emergence of an “always a bridesmaid” story for Miz Cracker. Meanwhile, the judges fawn over any decent look from Aquaria, and Eureka gets a comeback narrative while she comes off as the nastiest queen we’ve had since original-flavor Roxxxy.

I love drag and I love this show, but I can’t get excited about parroting misguided rankings based on the judges’ feedback and the edit. From this point out, I’m going to simply write this up as “Krisis’s Drag Race,” and boost the queens I am personally living for – which so far has not included Aquaria.

Start your engines, readers. And may the best woman … win! [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 Power Rankings, Episode 04 – The Last Ball On Earth

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 Power Rankings, Episode 03 – Tap That App

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This is an all-time classic episode of Drag Race, with a difficult marketing maxi-challenge, a stunning runway theme, and a helping of drama (if you like that sort of thing) (and I don’t).

This episode’s feather-themed runway is one of the strongest themes in the history of the show. The majority of these looks would be winners against any other runway lineup, and a two of them will probably go down as a pair of the most memorable looks in Drag Race history.

Behind the scenes in Untucked, the queens get into a serious discussion of Drag Race and race when Aquaria suddenly turns timid after coming for The Vixen’s borrowed red wig. The debate isn’t that Aquaria’s argument is valid (and it’s not, really), but that their confrontation is the perfect model of how white queens never get the blame when it comes to drag drama while queens of color get vilified for clapping back.

Vixen really appeals to me here as a queen who understands the tragedy that playing the game her way – which includes calling out bullshit where she sees it – is going to earn her hate just because of the color of her skin. A white queen with the same strategy would be an all-time fan favorite, but she will inevitably go down as a more divisive contestant.

Yet, instead of playing the coquette, she chooses to lean into her personality. That recontextualizes her “here to fight” entrance line. It’s not that Vixen is mean or messy. It’s that she is unequivocally herself, and she’s not going to back down from that.

I have zero interest in the petty side of Drag Race, which means a contestant who is “here to fight” is a total turnoff for me no matter the color of her skin. Yet, I’m conscious enough of my implicit bias to understand that I can be quicker to dismiss a black queen who is being messy even without intending to be racist. Just because I love Bob, Shangela, and Chi Chi doesn’t mean I don’t have my own racism to confront.

By contrast, Aquaria now looks extra-bad for her equally deliberate confrontational nature from these past three episodes. She’s a brainy queen who knows exactly what she’s doing whens she provokes Vixen or Cracker, but she also knows she can squeak by on the power of being an easily-forgivable pretty white queen.

Wow – that got heavy pretty fast! Let’s get light as a feather with this stunning runway and another week of major shake-ups in the rankings compared to the previous rundown.

Start your engines, readers. And may the best woman … win! [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 Power Rankings, Episode 03 – Tap That App

Avengers by Jonathan Hickman Book Club: Introduction & Syllabus

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It’s a new month, and FanGirl and I are bringing you another comic book reading club! This month, we’re diving right into the heart of the Marvel Universe with Jonathan Hickman’s 2013-2015 run on Avengers and New Avengers. Some of the elements of this run are reflected in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War film, including Thanos’s Black Order.

Learn more about our book club, including the material and schedule, in our video syllabus.

The Schedule

  • 3 April: Avengers #1-13 & New Avengers #1-6
  • 10 April: “Infinity” – Infinity #1-6, Avengers #14-23, New Avengers #7-12
  • 17 April: Avengers #24-34 & New Avengers #13-23
  • 24 April: “Time Runs Out” – Avengers #35-44 & New Avengers #24-33
  • 1 May: Secret Wars #0-9

Visit The Guide to Avengers Flagships, 2010 -Present for collection information for this run.

Haul Around The World: Mignola-Verse, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Kelly Thompson, & more!

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The first “season” of my YouTube comics show is over, but it’s not like my monthly hauls of new collection editions are going to cease just because I’m simmering up some new content!

Welcome to “Haul Around The World,” where I unveil my most-recent package of collected comics shipped to Wellington from the shores of America (at least, I think they come via boat – that’s the only way to explain how long it takes them to get here).

Want to watch a full season of comic book unpacking? Here’s the complete Season 1 playlist of Crushing Comics.

Batwoman Book Club, Week 4 of 4: Detective Comics #934-940 & 948-948 + Batwoman (2017) Rebirth & #1-6

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Welcome to the final week of Batwoman Book Club!

Today we discuss the newest appearances of Batwoman – her run in DC Rebirth’s Detective Comics and the subsequent second volume of her solo series. This embed is the first of two parts of our Week 4 discussion – each video ends with a link to the next part.

Want to catch up with the reading assignments? Here’s our full schedule for the month – visit the Guide to Batwoman to learn how to collect these issues.