‘GLOW,’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale,’ And More: What Comic Creators Are Streaming

Paul Cornell
Writer: Saucer State, Vampirella
Watching: American Gods
I loved American Gods.  It struck a balance between narrative, big characters, and the episodic nature of the book. Gorgeous, deep visuals and great performances.

Steve Orlando
Writer: Supergirl, Justice League of America
Watching: Fitzcarraldo
[Werner] Herzog and [Klaus] Kinski together in maybe their most approachable film, albeit still a strange one, that’s heartening for anyone wrestling with mad ideas that just won’t let go. For me, the film is a perfect metaphor for the creative process.

Chris Burnham
Cover artist: Teen Titans; Writer: E is for Extinction
Watching: Unsolved Mysteries
Easily the best theme song ever, and Robert Stack’s pithy narration is perfect to work to. ’80s and ’90s true crime at its peak!

Kelly Thompson
Writer: Hawkeye, Jem and the Holograms: Infinite
Watching: The Handmaid’s Tale
We just finished and I was moved more by it than I have been by anything in a long time. It was exceptional on every level, but more importantly, it spoke deeply and personally to me as a woman, which is surprisingly, disappointingly, rare.

Marc Guggenheim
Writer: X-Men: Gold; Executive Producer: Arrow
Watching: The Handmaid’s Tale
It’s just ridiculously compelling—finally, an upside to the Trump presidency!—gorgeously shot and impeccably acted.  I couldn’t stop watching.

Ben Acker
Writer: Death Be Damned, Deadpool v Gambit
Watching: The Handmaid’s Tale
Like everyone else, I’ve been watching The Handmaid’s Tale because it’s horrifying and beautiful.

Chris Roberson
Writer: The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed, iZombie
Watching: Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries
There’s nothing better for clearing away the anxieties and stresses of the day than watching a cast of charming, likable characters in period costume answer all the questions and put things right by the end of every episode, accompanied by a rollicking jazz age soundtrack.

Gerry Duggan
Writer: Deadpool, All-New Guardians of the Galaxy
Watching: Fortitude, The Keepers
Season One [of Fortitude] was very enjoyable. Try to go in knowing as little as possible. Jury is out on Season Two. [The Keepers is] amazing! It’s awful! It’s awfulazing! Wow, I’m not through it yet–but getting there. I’m recovering Catholic myself, so it’s a rough ride.

Christina Strain
Writer: Generation X, The Magicians
Watching: Please Like Me
It’s funny, painfully awkward, and incredibly real. And because there’s a genuine heart inside each character, it’s easy to root for them, even though they’re all flawed as f*ck. It’s just fantastic.

Brian Michael Bendis
Writer: Defenders, Jessica Jones, Spider-Man
Watching: Oh, Hello On Broadway
It’s a Broadway show by John Mulaney and Nick Kroll that is everything a comedy nerd, theater nerd, and a Jewish person could ever want in the world and I’m all of those things.

Tim Seeley
Writer: Nightwing, Revival
Watching: Castlevania
I care not at all about this old video game, but it has vampires, and it’s written by comic book legend Warren Ellis, so I’m giving it a shot. Dig the dialogue, not in love with the designs.

Jordan Gibson
Colorist: America, Howard the Duck
Watching: Blue Fire, Ultraman Orb
I’ve been watching Blue Fire and Ultraman Orb. Blue Fire is an adaptation of a manga about the author’s time in the Osaka University of the Arts in the late ’70s. It centers around him and his rivalry with future anime giants who are also attending his classes. I love it because I think we all can relate to the main character who wants to make a name for himself in the comics and animation world but can’t seem to get out of his own way. I think I relate to him a little too much though, haha.

Ultraman Orb is a newer Ultraman series–it’s a good introductory series because the main character calls on the powers of all the former Ultras. I really dig the designs and tropes in Japanese superhero shows, so I was hyped to realize that Crunchyroll was streaming these shows!

Chris Yost
Writer: M.O.D.O.K. Assassin, Thor: The Dark World
Watching: Twin Peaks, Legion
I loved Noah Hawley’s Legion on FX for the same reason I’m loving the return of Twin Peaks on Showtime. Both shows challenge expectations of what television (and superhero and genre shows) can be. Every episode is utterly unexpected, and for those who have read and watched and seen it all, it’s a delight to have something new.

Charles Soule
Writer: Daredevil, Darth Vader, Star Wars: Poe Dameron
Watching: Twin Peaks
I’ve been loving Twin Peaks, just like most, I’d say, but not just the new stuff. Netflix has the original two ’90s seasons, and it was fun to re-watch those as preparation for the new series on Showtime–which is straight-up brilliant. The unabashed strangeness of it–it’s like nothing else. It’s rewiring my brain as I watch, and I cannot wait to see where it goes.

Sam Humphries
Writer: Green Lanterns, Jonesy
Watching: Animal Kingdom
A juicy crime show about a family of surf-bums-turned-bank robbers, steeped in character and Southern California–as bashful as a BMX bike. Ellen Barkin slays. I’m addicted.

Kevin Wada
Cover Artist: Iceman
Watching: Fargo
I’ve streamed every season of Fargo and each one is surreal yet honest, dark yet witty.  The world-building and writing on that series is next level.

Kelly Sue DeConnick
Writer: Bitch Planet, Pretty Deadly
Watching: The Great Courses Plus
I’m obsessed with The Great Courses Plus, lately. I’ve gone through the 36 lectures in The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction enough times to practically have them memorized, and I’ve just started a series on The Founding Fathers. Oh, there’s one on Utopias and Dystopias in fiction that’s on my list too.

Chris Sims
Writers: X-Men ’92, Deadpool: Bad Blood
Watching: Star Trek: The Next Generation
[My co-writer] Chad [Bowers] and I did a con a couple months ago where literally all we did was talk about TNG. I’ve been rewatching it again, and so has [War Rocket Ajax cohost] Matt Wilson, actually–although he has a rule where he only watches episodes about Riker. Honestly, that’s a pretty solid policy–that dude gets up to some weird, weird stuff. Riker, I mean. Matt’s mostly normal.

Christopher Hastings
Writer: The Unbelievable Gwenpool, I Am Groot
Watching: Spaced
The Edgar Wright directed British TV show still completely holds up jokes wise, and the characters are wonderful. But this recent viewing go round, I really took note of how many things in the show were real proof of concept situations that would show up later in his movies. Pretty cool to see sketches of Shaun of the Dead and such here and there. Also I’ve never yelled “HA HA HA HA HA oh you go to hell you son of a bitch HA HA HA” at a Star Wars reference before. I’ll leave it to the reader to figure out which specific one I’m referring to.