Despite having article publications delayed again and navigating some rough freelance waters, I believe that I managed to finish off this year strong. Without further ado, here are my articles and essays from November and December 2023.

Brain Mill Press

A Crown So Cursed Is A Thrilling Conclusion To The Nightmareverse Trilogy– At long last, I was able to review the final book in L.L. McKinney’s urban fantasy trilogy The Nightmareverse, A Crown So Cursed. I’d been reviewing this series since 2018 so it made me both happy and sad to read this book.

The Afro YA Holiday Gift Guide 2023– Featuring my favorite Black young adult books that I have reviewed this year, this holiday gift guide provided suggestions for books to gift Black readers of any age.

Joysauce

When Pro-Asian Feels Anti-Black– For Joysauce, I critiqued the undercurrent of anti-Blackness in the films Turning Red and The Paper Tigers, how it relates to the complicated relationship between the Black and Asian communities, and how both affect me as a Black-Asian person.

Comics XF

Spirit World Is A Magical and Poignant Story About Being Remembered– I reviewed DC Comics’ limited series Spirit World, which featured the debut of the hero Xanthe Zhou as they team up with bad boy warlock John Constantine to rescue Batgirl Cassandra Cain from the spirit world.

That Eric Alper

The following music press releases were written for music publicist Eric Alper:

Folk Rockers Eclectic Revival Celebrates the Introvert Life with ‘Boring With Me’

Redhead Mack Band’s “Pick It Up” Reveals the Complex Balance of Doing What You Love for a Living

Black Sci-Fi

The Best Stranger Comics I’ve Read In 2023– I’ve been a fan of Stranger Comics’ lush and racially diverse fantasy universe for years, especially their Black half-elf flagship heroine Niobe Ayutami. Having read about half a dozen new comic books from them this year, I decided to combine my new and old favorites into one “best of 2023” roundup.

Superjump

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of The Duelist Bridges The Past and Present of The Franchise– One of the things that brought me joy this year was getting back into the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game via the video game Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy Of The Duelist. Not only was I invited to become a freelance contributor to the gaming website Superjump, but I was allowed to write about Legacy of The Duelist to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game. Shortly before Christmas, this was selected as Superjump’s cover story.