Unwinnable

A couple of weeks ago, a video spread across the internet that documented a nine-year-old child named Caine and his makeshift arcade, made entirely out of cardboard boxes and random odds and ends. In the video, Caine’s dad explains that Caine has only had one customer since he built his arcade: the director of the film itself. In an attempt to help the boy realize his dream of having people enjoy his arcade, the director recruits a flash mob to descend on his arcade all at once, spending an entire day buying his “fun passes” and playing his self-made games. It was a manufactured but effective emotional payoff because of Caine’s obvious joy at having a group of people show real interest in what he had created. (more…)

Much like Peter Parker and his alter ego, Spider-Man, my love of comics is something that I can never permanently walk away from, even though I’ve tried multiple times. Since I started writing for Unwinnable, I’ve rediscovered my love for comic books – and what keeps me coming back. There’s just so much more to discover and journeys to be had with characters that have been there with me for many years. (more…)

There have been many deaths of girlfriends and loved ones over the years in comics, but none has caused such a stir as Alexandra DeWitt. A photographer for a newspaper in Los Angeles, Alex was the girlfriend of Green Lantern Kyle Rayner. One day, however, Kyle came home to find his girlfriend stuffed in a fridge by a guy named Major Force. This spawned the website, Women in Refrigerators, which dedicated itself to cataloging the often violent ends of the female lovers of superheroes. But there’s more to superhero love than dying, and sometimes a hero’s girlfriend turning up in a refrigerator is the best thing to happen. (more…)

“Your only worth is your partner; it doesn’t matter what you do, it’s who are you with,” Christine Love tells me, matter-of-factly. I’m pretty certain at this point that I am the only person in the world who has ever Skyped a game developer I’ve never met to complain about my love life but, goddamn, if you’re going to do it, it better be Christine Love you call. Love by name, love by nature. (more…)

“I love _____.”

Go on. Fill in the blank. Pretend that I have a gun to your head and the only thing that is going to stop me from pulling the trigger is by stirring my heart and soul. Say it out loud. This meal. This game. This movie. This song. This book. This place. My friends. My job. My kids. My dog. The fall. The ocean. Drinking. Mom. Dad. God. Life. Sex. You. We say and think these things every day, but the word itself doesn’t mean anything. It barely touches on the actual feeling we seek to convey, a feeling that is as varied as the things we apply it to.

For a single word meant to describe the fundamental human pursuit, it seems woefully inadequate. (more…)