Kat & Phil See the "Wicked" Movie!
What did the authors of "The Witches of Oz" think of the "Wicked" Movie? Also announcing new LGBTQ+ Enamel Pins!
Hi Lifeline Comics Subscribers!
The biggest movie release of the year — and one that we have a very personal connection to — is finally here! What did we think of Wicked: Part One? We’ll dish it all here!
We’ll also officially reveal our next wave of LGBTQ+ Enamel Pins, clue you in on an upcoming Black Friday Sale on our website, talk about Absolute Batman and Abbott Elementary Season 4, and tell you all the details of Kat’s recent trip to Japan!
Let’s get into it!
LGBTQ+ Enamel Pins - Rainbow, Aro, Demi, Bears, & More Launches on Kickstarter December 2nd!
Kat: We launch a lot of comics on Kickstarter, but it has been such a surprisingly rewarding venture to build our own enamel pin business.
We’re excited to expand our LGBTQIA+ offerings with “Demi” Gorgons (we love a good pun), Aromantic Manatees, Gay & Trans Axolotls, Gay Bears, and even a pin for the Parents!
Bombshell & Atomica Returns to Kickstarter December 2nd!
Kat: More from Lifeline Comics on December 2nd! We continue our team up with Bad Bug Media to release the second issue of the mature Superhero series: Bombshell & Atomica!
“Two women must keep their superpowers and forbidden lust for one another a secret in this sexy, post-WW2, pulp superhero comic.”
It’s such a pleasure working with the Bad Bug Media team! It’s been true smooth sailing to pull together a killer product. We’re super proud of this issue as it takes a deeper dive into the girls’ superheroics, the world’s mythos, and, of course, their romantic relationship with the rich backdrop of the 1950s.
Phil and I love superheroes, and we’re so excited to continue exploring this universe. Help make this Kickstarter a success so we can tell even more Bombshell & Atomica stories!
Join Lifeline Comics on Bluesky
Kat: We’ll continue posting on the dumpster fire that is Twitter (FOR NOW). But, in the meantime, if you’re looking to escape the heat join us on Bluesky. It’s Twitter for nice people!
Black Friday Sale!
Phil: In case you missed the news, Lifeline Comics has a website now! And next week, we’ll be hosting our first Black Friday Sale!
For Friday, November 29th only, all purchases through our website will be 20% off normal purchase price! This includes both Physical and Digital comics!
We’ll send out another email on Black Friday to remind you about the sale, but we encourage you to check out the website now to see all we have to offer!
Last Call for Ace/Aro Anthology Submissions [PAID]!
Phil: In case you missed it, we currently have submissions open for our next Comic Anthology — this one focusing on the Asexual and Aromantic Spectrums!
Interested creators can apply as Writers with a 2-8 page comic script, Artists with samples of past sequential work, or as a full team!
This is a PAID opportunity open to both first-time creators and industry veterans! Submissions close on Sunday 11/24! More details on the submission form!
Lifeline Comics Sees the Wicked Movie!
Phil: In case we haven’t made it obvious enough, we LOVE Wicked! Not just Kat and me, but the entire Lifeline Comics Team! So we had a big group of friends and family join us for the premiere!
We were all decked out in our Wicked gear — much of which was purchased when we saw the Broadway show earlier this year as research for our own Oz-inspired comic book.
Wicked was my absolute favorite show growing up. We talked a lot in a previous newsletter post about how the Broadway show, the 1939 film, and the L. Frank Baum Oz novels have influenced us.
There’s a reason the Oz property is as omnipresent in our culture as it is today. It’s constantly referenced in media. And it’s literally part of our everyday language (a friend of mine, completely unprompted, dropped “She melted like the Wicked Witch of the West” in a story about work the last week).
It’s such a wonderful, fantastical world. And Wicked, in particular, puts such a refreshingly unique spin and creates one of my favorite relationships in fiction with Elphaba and Glinda. Even as a middle schooler reading the Wicked novel and watching the musical for the first time, I was so enamored by the enemies-to-something-more journey of these two witches.
There’s no greater testament to our love for that relationship than us having made a comic based on the same source material (Baum’s Oz novels) with an explicitly queer spin. And (teaser alert) we’re even planning a second comic series from the world of Oz in 2025. But more on that in another post 🤫
Our Review of Wicked: Part 1 (2024)
Okay, we’ve gone on enough about what Wicked and The Wizard of Oz mean to us. Now it’s time to actually review the movie!
Phil: I don’t think I’ve been this excited for a movie in recent memory. On top of my existing love for the stage musical and anything Oz, a feature adaptation of Wicked has been in the works for over a decade. And add the very positive pre-release buzz to the mix, and my expectations were through the roof. But somehow, Wicked defied both gravity and my lofty expectations.
The Wicked film is a triumph on every conceivable front. It does everything a movie musical should. It’s big, colorful, and beautiful. Director Jon M. Chu perfectly understands the assignment of adapting from stage to screen. His experience from In the Heights in bringing Broadway gravitas to the screen AND his experience from Crazy Rich Asians in dazzling with breathtakingly colorful and opulent set pieces are both on full display throughout Wicked.
Beyond the beauty and splendor of it all, the film adaptation absolutely captures the spirit and heart of the stage musical. Both Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo excel in these roles. They bring it all: from the comedic timing, to the breathtaking musical talent, to the pathos, to the chemistry between their characters. Everything feels so real and sincere, even amidst the fantastical settings of Shiz University and Emerald City. And that authenticity and humanity is in massive part thanks to the stellar performances of the two leads.
Unlike other movie musicals (looking at Mean Girls earlier this year) which seem almost embarrassed by their own genre, Wicked fully embraces that it is a musical — as it should, because Wicked has some of the best music in Broadway history. The film adaptation does a fantastic job of preserving the sound and identity of the original show while still managing to put its own twists on the featured songs. This applies to the vocals of the performers, the instrumentals, and the blocking and set design.
Every song in the Wicked film has some unique twist or innovation that is unique to this version of the show and would have been impossible (or very difficult) in a stage adaptation. From “The Wizard and I”’s beautiful and haunting use of colored glass and lighting, to “What Is This Feeling”’s use of montage and location changes, to “Dancing Through Life”’s elaborate moving library set (as well as some surprising-but-very-welcome queer coding from Fiyero and several male Shiz students). There were surprises and treats at every turn that had a smile on my face and/or my jaw on the floor.
The only real complaints I’ve seen about the film adaptation concern its 160 minute runtime. I don’t personally share this complaint as I really appreciated the ways that the film expanded on the story. Whether that was through new or extended scenes, or in slowing down existing sequences (such as the Ozdust Ballroom dance). The time flew by for me and somehow even left me wanting even more time with this movie.
If you’re a fan of the Broadway show or of musical theater in general, Wicked is an absolute must-see. I’d call it a perfect adaptation, doing everything a movie musical should. And it even works as a stand-alone film in its own right. Obviously, the story will continue in Part 2, but Part 1 has the benefit of feeling like a complete movie with complete character and thematic journeys that simply will have more story to tell in the future. As opposed to a single story that gets cut off in the middle without proper resolution (a la Across the Spider-Verse).
I really look forward to seeing how they follow up with Wicked Part 2 next year, especially since they’ll have to add a lot more to the much-shorter second act of the play to get it to feature length. Anyways, I’m off to see this movie another five times, as you too should be!
Kat: Wicked lives or dies on the connection between Glinda and Elphaba, and I’m happy to report Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo completely nail their relationship. (even if this felt less queer than the Broadway version). The almost three hour movie takes its time to show the slow burn from enemies to best friends. Extending scenes or adding jokes to really live with their growing bond.
I was worried about the whole “part 1 of it all”, but even if the movie felt long at times I don’t really know if there was anything you could cut without losing the essence of the original. The reason this adaptation works as well as it does is because it stays SO TRUE to the original, while still putting their own flare to the song arrangements and using the movie medium to their fullest with grand set pieces that could never fit on a stage. It’s a love letter to not just the Broadway show, but a celebration of The Wizard of Oz’s influence on filmmaking.
Ending Next Week: The Witches of Oz #1-2
Phil: Before we completely move away from the Wonderful Land of Oz, let us take one more moment to plug our Witches of Oz comic, which concludes its crowdfunding campaign next week!
If you’ve ever wanted a Mature Queer Romance between Glinda and the Wicked Witch, then you won’t want to miss out on this book! And especially not the exciting second issue which dives into Glinda’s origin story!
We recently added a Campaign-Exclusive Metal Cover option, and next week we’ll be giving backers who missed out on our First 48 Hours Only Cover a one-day-only second chance to grab it!
What have we been up to?
Let’s dish on our recent trips — including Kat’s long-awaited trip to Japan!
Kat Goes to Japan!
Kat: I can probably write a book about my almost 2 week experience visiting Japan, but let me give you the highlights!
Japan is so beautiful, every corner you turned was a new muse.
One of the things I look forward to during any trip is the food, and Tokyo was one of my favorite food experiences…ever. You literally could not have a bad meal. And there’s a lot of diversity in their food scene ranging from 7-eleven goodies to an up-and-coming Italian scene.
But, of course, we had to get some Japanese staples. Wagyu that was cheaper than some McDonald’s orders in the States. Some of my favorite meals were not the “must have” restaurants, but the ones we randomly stumbled upon. We went to one place that didn’t have anything in English, and we went totally off of google translate and tried the most randomly delicious things.
Anime was EVERYWHERE! (which was to be expected), but especially Pokémon. I got to hug Pikachu! He was very cute as he ran up to all the fans as he wiggled his little arms.
It was also cool to see some American comics. I got a few Marvel titles in Japanese including Young Avengers and Spider-Gwen. They even had a Venom pop up store. (No DC Comics to be found though)
I found some of my favorite things thousands of miles away from home.
I even went to a cafe where John Lennon used to spend his time. I didn’t even know this existed. We just randomly stumbled upon it. The mocha soft serve ice cream was one of my favorites from the trip.
We also got to visit Disney Sea/Disneyland for a few days, as a big Disney fan this was a life altering experience. The rides aren’t as intense as Disney World (which obviously aren’t that intense to begin with), but the attention to detail was out of this world.
My favorite rides were the animatronic driven ones (which usually aren’t the highlight of my other Disney trips.)
We got to ride the newest Frozen, Tangled, and Peter Pan attractions. Frozen is similar to Epcot’s version but better on every level. The choreography and animatronics are light years away from the Maelstrom replacement.
Tangled was short, but the Lantern scene made up for its length. Peter Pan was the most “thrilling”, but similar to other rides. It’s like Universal’s Spider-Man, but I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the “best ride ever made”. Don’t fight me on this. I don’t make the rules!
My favorite ride wasn’t actually from the three new ones, but instead it was Beauty and the Beast. You are truly transported into the story as you dance along to “Be Our Guest” and fight alongside the Beast & Belle. It’s like Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway and Ratatouille on steroids.
Aside from the rides, I was most amazed by the atmosphere! The larger than life set pieces, and most importantly the enthusiasm from locals. Ranging from their hardcore love for Duffy merchandise to finding the perfect spot for the parade right when the parks open.
And unlike the Disney parks in the states, visitors can dress up as their favorite characters. There were plenty of Anna and Elsa’s roaming around, but it was also cool to see how many lesser-known characters got their time in the sun. I saw plenty of costumes from a mobile game (Disney Twisted-Wonderland) I didn’t even know existed.
Phil’s Trip to Fort Lauderdale
Phil: While certainly not as exciting as a trip to Japan, I had my own mini-vacation the past weekend. Kat and I actually coordinated our vacations to make sure one of us was available to “man the fort” of Lifeline Comics while the other way away.
I left for Fort Lauderdale, Florida the day that Kat got back from Japan. And I had a wonderful long weekend visiting my friend Rocco.
Working from the beach in November was a surreal experience, but so much fun. And I always love a chance to catch up with my oldest friend (we’ve been friends since Kindergarten, so a whopping 25 years).
When we weren’t at the beach, we were recreating a perfect picture of our childhood by playing Dragon Ball Z video games (Sparking Zero rather than the Budokai Tenkaichi of our youth) and eating pizza rolls.
We also made time for plenty of drinks, games, and fun.
And we ate the biggest lobster I’ve ever seen in my life (five pounds 😱)
Ever since Rocco moved to Florida in 2021, we try to make an effort to visit each other once every couple of months. It’s great seeing a friend that you grew up with — someone with whom you can so easily fall back into old habits and jokes.
Until our next visit, back to the cold of New York!
Media
We already talked about Wicked in the main section of this post. But let’s also take a moment to discuss one more piece of non-comics media!
Abbott Elementary - Season 4
Kat: Season 4 has been one of the stronger starts for Abbott Elementary. The show is always at its best when the ensemble gets to deal with problems around the school TOGETHER, and that’s been a major focus of this season now that Janine has returned as a teacher.
But one of the biggest improvements is seeing Gregory and Janine as an actual couple! The “will they, won’t they” had been extremely drawn out in previous seasons, and now that they’re together the show better balances their relationship with the rest of the cast.
Phil: Abbott Elementary, since its premiere, has always been a strong sitcom — particularly in a time when we don’t actually have as many sitcoms airing. But consistently throughout its first three seasons, the weakest link for me has been the “will-they-won’t-they” between Janine and Gregory. Maybe it’s partially because we, as entertainment viewers in 2024, are over this trope in sitcoms. But as someone who doesn’t mind a slow-burn romance, I think my biggest gripe is that Abbott Elementary has never really had strong enough reasons for Janine and Gregory to not just get together. It was an annoying song-and-dance of dating subpar partners or being melodramatically afraid of the effect of their potential romance’s effect on their workplace (which, as predicted, ends up being minimal).
Suffice to say, my biggest gripe of the first few seasons has surrounded this core romance. So what I find really refreshing about Season 4 is that Janine and Gregory finally just get to be together. Do I think they’re the most interesting and engaging relationship in television? No. But they’re charming and the fact that they don’t need to spend so much time pining after each other anymore means that each character becomes a lot more consistently fun and engaging.
Gregory in particular has been a lot of fun this season. Seeing his neurotic and germophobic reaction to a ringworm outbreak (his reasonable requests to self-isolate to which Janine was surprisingly not very sympathetic) and how much he loved his class pet rock have been two memorable highlights. And the rest of the cast are also a lot of fun, as always, with special shout-outs to Ava, Mr. Johnson, and Melissa who are always an absolute blast.
Abbott Elementary is good, consistent sitcom TV in a time when we don’t have as much of it as we have historically (when the genre dominated the television slate). And with the most frustrating element of the show no longer an issue, Season 4 has to reach Season 1 levels of quality from what I’ve seen so far. Looking forward to completing the season!
Comics
Let's discuss some comics we've enjoyed recently!
As always, we’ll spotlight an Indie Book, a DC/Marvel book, a Live Kickstarter book and a Webcomic!
Indie Comic: Youth Group (First Second)
Kat: We’re always looking for the “modern” Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I see it in reviews ALL the time. “This is the next Buffy”….“No trust me this time. This is really the next Buffy. I retract what I said earlier. I was a younger more naive version of myself”.
But maybe we need to stop putting so much pressure on the “next Buffy” and look around for the stories that could only be told because Buffy walked for the rest of the horror teen genre to run.
Jordan Morris and Bowen McCurdy’s Youth Group follows a group of religious kids who fight monsters in the name of God. Our POV character is flung into the action as she tries to find some stability in her life, which perfectly establishes us into this wacky world.
For a comedy book, the series doesn’t take the easy way out and make religion the punchline to every joke, but instead uses different religious beliefs as a way for the teens to relate to each other. Wiccas fighting alongside demon fighting Catholics - I mean that’s pretty cool. Youth Group carves its own name and doesn’t have to be compared to Buffy to be an allegory to the modern high school experience.
DC Comics: Absolute Batman
Kat: If you stick with the Big 2 long enough, you’ll live through a few reboots, relaunches, and reimaginings. But is it truly possible to continue reinventing the same story and characters for 80+ years on a weekly basis without it just being the same regurgitation?
If Absolute Batman proves anything…the answer is yes. It is possible to tell a refreshing story about Batman. But why does Absolute Batman work better than some of its predecessors?
1- Scott Snyder - Following his DC sabbatical, Snyder comes back with a vengeance taking Nick Dragotta along for the ride. Snyder crafted one of the most important modern superhero stories with “Court of Owls” and picks up where he left off with a new commentary on the Batman mythos. Because he uses the building blocks from his former run, he’s able to dive into those same themes in a twisted way.
As a fellow New Yorker, Snyder used Court of Owls to commentate on old New York, while Absolute Batman is a commentary on our modern world. A world where Martha Wayne is still alive, Barbara Gordon followed her father’s footsteps and became a cop, and where his father died from a mass shooting that Bruce witnessed.
2 - Not Afraid of Being Different - We’ve seen the alley stories over and over again. I’ve seen the Joker Vs. Batman match on more than a few occasions. This feels different, all while staying true to the themes of Batman. He’s still the brooding, loner who uses trauma to help people. But now there’s a new flavor. How does his story change if Martha is alive? And who the hell is Martha, we’ve never had this much real estate to explore her character.
3 - The Promotion - This I applaud the whole “All In” initiative! The creators seem excited for their projects, and with a writer spearheading the team it feels like a genuine relaunch for DC not just a money grab - one that resonates with the fans.
The new #1s and creative teams bring excitement for the Wednesday Warrior to jump into a fresh take of their favorite characters (while maybe even finding new favorites), and it’s a perfect jumping on point for readers we’ve lost along the way.
WEBCOMIC: Diamond Dive [GL]
“When Karta Kloss entered Montgomery University marked as a witch of special talent, she didn’t expect to end up with a crush that would challenge the very system of the world she just joined!”
Phil: If it isn’t already obvious, Kat and I are big fans of Madamka. We’ve already worked with her on two different variant covers for our projects, with a third on the way to be announced in a few weeks. And we’ve been saving her webcomic, Diamond Dive, for the perfect witchy newsletter.
Diamond Dive is a Sapphic series about the sarcastic-but-quick-on-her-feet Karta who discovers that she’s a witch and is promptly thrown into a witch school and introduced to a whole cast of fun characters — including the prodigious Bailey on whom Karta develops a quick crush.
Diamond Dive is one of the best series offered on Webtoon Canvas. In addition to Madamka’s amazing art, the series is dripping with wit and plenty of fun cultural references. But most impressive to me is the skillful way that the series balances both humor and heart — an attribute that I value more than anything in narrative.
If you’re a fan of Sapphic Witches (which you probably are if you’re reading this newsletter), then you should definitely be adding this series to your reading list!
Read “Diamond Dive [GL]” here!
KICKSTARTER: Sidequests: A Comics Anthology About the Road Less Traveled
“Twenty short comics about the little adventures that make the journey, from goblins to superheroes to ghosts to spies and beyond!”
Phil: It’s all about the JOURNEY! And this creative anthology embraces that sentiment with 21 short comics about “side quests” — the “off the beaten path” adventures you take on the way to the end goal or the “big bad”.
As a lover of “side stories”, this anthology is right up my alley. I’m a big fan of the theme- and character-driven stories that step away from the big overarching plot. At the end of the days, those “little” moments are what truly get us invested in a world or characters. And I love the creativity of dedicating an entire anthology to these stories.
This campaign has everything I want to see from a good comic anthology campaign — including previews of each of the stories featured, a diverse slate of genres and art styles, and even its own theme song! Looking forward to reading it for myself!
Check out “Sidequests” on Kickstarter here!
In Closing
Thanks for reading our newest post!
We hope that you enjoyed our thoughts on Wicked and hearing about our vacation experiences!
Be sure to check out our own Oz-inspired Sapphic Romance Comic before the campaign ends next Thursday! And make sure you follow the Pre-Launch Page to be notified when we launch our next wave of LGBTQ+ Enamel Pins!
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Buy Lifeline Comics on our Website!
Current Kickstarter: The Witches of Oz #1-2 [Ending 12/05]
Next Kickstarter: LGBTQ+ Enamel Pins [Launches 12/02]
Previous Paid Post: First Look at our Next EverAfterVerse Series!
Open Submissions [PAID WORK]: Asexual & Aromantic Anthology [Closes 11/24]
Next Cons/Events: TBA
Loved this! Just checked out Diamond Dive, looks super fun!
Kat, what was that Kit Kat drink you showed in one of your Japan trip posts?