List #96: Things to Read from 2020 that You Might Have Missed While Sitting in the Abyss

Convenience Store Woman, Sayaka Murata

I probably shouldn't remark on how relatable I found this.

Culture Warlords, Talia Lavin (see also List #93)

Lavin catfishes white supremacists.

Giant Days (the end), John Allison and Max Sarin (see also Rec. #711)

The much-beloved long-running series finally winds up as our heroines graduate.

Gravity Is the Thing, Jaclyn Moriarty (see also Rec. #235)

Kind of a cheat (published in 2019), but at least the paperback edition was published this year.

Hiding in Plain Sight, Sarah Kendzior (see also List #93)

It's no surprise that Kendzior, who has been consistently right about our broken democracy for more than four years, has another book where she's right a lot. But, bonus, it's also very beautifully written!

I Like to Watch, Emily Nussbaum (see also List #93)

TV! She like to watch TV!

Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why, Alexandra Petri (see also List #93)

If you're going to reflect back on the past four years, this is definitely the way to do it.

Solutions and Other Problems, Allie Brosh (see also Rec. #801)

Brosh breaks our hearts all over again.

Trick Mirror, Jia Tolentino (see also List #93)

Essays on the way we live now.

Also, I'd like to state for the record that my List #66 (aka "Follow These Women on Twitter") pretty much became my List #93 (aka "These Women Have Books Now"). 

So I clearly have my finger on the pulse of ... something. And it'd be great if someone would be into paying me for that.

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #43: Lady Bird

Stream what: Writer-director Greta Gerwig shows us a year in the life of one high schooler in the early 2000s.

Stream why: Lady Bird manages to be fresh and relatable and authentic and funny and sad all at the same time.

Stream where: Amazon Prime and Kanopy.

Connection to previous Wreckage: Lady Bird was Rec. #673.

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #42: Green Wing

Stream what: This lightly surreal British comedy takes place in a hospital, but absolutely no attention whatsoever is paid to patients. The humor is all about the characters' personal lives, not their jobs.

Stream why: It's hilarious and it's bizarre and sometimes that's just what you need.

Stream where: Amazon Prime

Connections to previous Wreckage: Green Wing was Rec. #110. Also, Olivia Colman is in it (Rec. #759)! (John Oliver also has a tiny, tiny role in the first episode.)

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #41: Take Me to the World

Stream what: This 90th-birthday celebration for living legend Stephen Sondheim is two-and-a-half hours of taped-ahead-streamed-live theater magnificence.

(And unlike the actual live stream from April 26, this video doesn't start with one hour of technical problems.)

Stream why: Remember real, identifiable emotions that weren't "nameless dread"?? Feel them all here!

There is so much good, amazing stuff. The highest highlights for me personally are Katrina Lenk's "Johanna"; Alexander Gemignani's "Buddy's Blues"; Ann Harada, Austin Ku, Kelvin Moon Loh, and Thom Sesma's "Someone in a Tree"; and, of course, Christine Baranski, Meryl Streep, and Audra McDonald's "The Ladies Who Lunch."

Stream where: YouTube. And donate to ASTEP if you can.



Connections from previous Wreckage: For more Sondheim, see also Rec. #99: Company, Rec. #215: The Last of Sheila, Rec. #511: The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened, and Rec. #557: Sondheim Lyrics on Twitter.

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #40: Heathers

Stream what: In the cult classic black comedy Heathers, main character Veronica Sawyer notes that "my teen-angst bullshit now has a body count," which is a fairly accurate summary of the whole film.

Stream why: The dialogue is endlessly quotable, and the themes and plot remain relevant in new and horrifying ways.

Stream where: Amazon Prime and Hulu.

Heathers was Rec. #160.

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #39: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Stream what: Like many other late-night hosts, Samantha Bee has found a way to continue with her show.

Unlike the men, however, Bee is not sitting in her living room or office. Oh no! She has taken her blazers to the woods and has been presenting produced segments from outside a woodshed.

Stream why: Samantha Bee is great. She should get more press for being great. She's great.

Stream where: It's all on YouTube!


See also: List #63, Rec. #664, Rec. #739, etc.

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #38: The Big Sick

Stream what: The Big Sick is a based-on-real-life story written by the people who lived it, Emily Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. It's funny and sad and well written and well acted. Plus, Holly Hunter!

Stream why: Did you not see when I said "Holly Hunter!"? Also, the character Emily gets a great, underrated scene where she says, "I love it when men test me on my taste."

Stream where: Amazon Prime

Rec. #881: Quote from a Fictional Character #105

"I see everyone's point of view, which is very confusing. Seeing everyone's point of view is like mixing your drinks."

--- Annie, Doctors of Philosophy,

Muriel Spark, 1962

(See List #58)

Rec. #880: Marian Keyes on YouTube

What: Author Marian Keyes is a delight and her vlogs on YouTube are like chatting with a friend. 

A friend who is gratifyingly annoyed by daylight and warm weather, who reads loads and loads of books, who doesn't ignore that the world is a mess, who nevertheless delights in shiny things, and who speaks with a really great Irish accent.

Representative quote: "F-ing clocks! Isn't it awful? It's just not nice, it's really upsetting, all that fecking light going on at 4 in the morning."

How to get it: Visit her YouTube channel.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Marian Keyes also has a monthly newsletter that is extremely charming (Rec. #418).

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #37: Somebody Feed Phil

Stream what: Phil Rosenthal travels to lots of different places and eats lots of different things. He does everything with the gleeful enthusiasm of a puppy, but less hyper. It's nice.

Stream why: Remember travel?? Remember eating in other places??

Stream where: There are two seasons so far on Netflix.

Rec. #879: Diary of a Provincial Lady

What: A closed society on the break of great financial uncertainty -- sound relatable? But make it funny.

A chatty semi-autobiographical narrator bridges the gap between 1930 and us. Perhaps the gap never was that big in the first place.

Representative quote: “Realise that this mis-statement should be corrected at once, but omit to do so, and later find myself involved in entirely unintentional web of falsehood. Should like to work out how far morally to blame for this state of things, but have not time.”

How to get it: E.M. Delafield's Diary of a Provincial Lady has never been out of print, but you can also get the ebook.

Rec. #878: Off Menu

What: This podcast has a simple premise -- two British comedians (Ed Gamble, James Acaster) interview people (some also British, some also comedians) about their dream meal.

Very well-executed and addictive listening.

Representative guests: Paul F. Tompkins, Kumail Nanjiani, Aisling Bea

How to get it: Wherever you usually get your podcasts, or direct from the source.

Status Update: #TheHourlyWreck

So.

Most things I can't control right now, but one thing I can do is offer recommendations of things to read/watch/listen to.

Last week, I tweeted recommendations every hour M-F, 9:00-9:00, using the hashtag #TheHourlyWreck. That's 65 different books, podcasts, movies, and tv shows!

I'll be jumping in with a second full week of hourly recommendations starting next Monday, March 30.

In the meantime, remember:

• Stay home
• Support small businesses (order online from independent bookstores and buy merch from restaurants)
• Be mindful of the bandwidth you're using to stream things (maybe don't do everything in HD, huh? let's not break the internet)
• Complete the census online

And here are all of the things I've covered so far in the #TheHourlyWreck (see the twitter hashtag for links):

1. Travel Man
2. Dr. Gameshow
3. One Good Turn
4. Party Girl
5. The Allusionist
6. Widdershins
7. Harold and Maude
8. Mystery Show
9. Gentlemen & Players
10. Russian Doll
11. The Art of Process
12. The Guardian's "Blind Date" series
13. Superstore
14. Song Exploder
15. To Say Nothing of the Dog
16. Three Identical Strangers
17. Ologies
18. Check, Please
19. The Good Place
20. David Tennant Does a Podcast With ...
21. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
22. Green Wing
23. 99% Invisible
24. Good and Mad
25. Some Kind of Wonderful
26. Front Row
27. Be Prepared
28. W1A
29. The Library Book
30. Hairspray
31. Everything Is Alive
32. The Best of It
33. Britain's Best Home Cook
34. Giant Days
35. The Spy Who Dumped Me
36. Pop Culture Happy Hour
37. Trick Mirror
38. One Mississippi
39. I Know I Am, But What Are You?
40. Nothing Like a Dame
41. Nobody Panic
42. Castle Waiting
43. Taskmaster
44. Eloquent Rage
45. Wine Country
46. Welcome to Night Vale
47. Crosstalk
48. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
49. Brat Farrar
50. Pride & Prejudice
51. The Bright Sessions
52. Paris to the Moon
53. Us & Them
54. You're on an Airplane
55. His Girl Friday
56. Standard Issue
57. 2D Goggles
58. Schitt's Creek
59. Cold Comfort Farm
60. North & South
61. Victoriocity
62. Orion You Came and You Took All My Marbles
63. This Way Up
64. Day for Night
65. Colossal

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #36: Travel Man

Stream what: In the UK series Travel Man: 48 Hours in ..., Richard Ayoade goes on some mini-breaks with other funny British people. To give you a taste, the first four episodes are Barcelona, Istanbul, Iceland, and Marrakesh.

Stream why: Remember traveling?

Stream where: Seven seasons on Hulu


Connections to previous Wreckage: Travel Man was Rec. #396 and was also mentioned in Rec. #592, Rec. #814, and List #95.

List #95: Pop Culture Wish List, part 8

While we're in the zone of fulfilling my pop culture requests, I would like to put forward some additional items for consideration.

See Part 1 here.
See Part 2 here.
See Part 3 here.
See Part 4 here.
See Part 5 here.
See Part 6 here.
See Part 7 here.

Item 15: A Nish Kumar comedy tour that also incorporates his singing and guitar talents

Nish Kumar is very funny! He has an amazing bit about the drummer for Coldplay that I have tried to recreate, verbatim, for several of my friends.

One particular episode of Taskmaster revealed that he is also a talented musician! Do both! Both is good!

Item 16: Dan Levy as host of The Great Canadian Baking Show

Wait a minute ... this happened! I just really, really, really need those two seasons to be somewhere I can easily (and legally) access them. It seems like such a good fit for Dan Levy, whom I adore.


 

List #95: Pop Culture Wish List, part 7

While we're in the zone of fulfilling my pop culture requests, I would like to put forward some additional items for consideration.

See Part 1 here.
See Part 2 here.
See Part 3 here.
See Part 4 here.
See Part 5 here.

See Part 6 here.

Item 13: The Psmith stories transposed to contemporary NYC and starring Natasha Lyonne

P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves stories are iconic and the recent series adaptation of the Blandings stories is quite good fun (Rec. #379, Rec. #431). The Psmith stories, however, are largely an untapped resource frankly crying out for a modern take. Example: Psmith, Journalist (Rec. #289).

And who better to be unruffled, game for anything, and quick with a sardonic takedown than Natasha Lyonne? Dooooo iiiiiiiit.

Item 14: A book from Kashana Cauley

Kashana Cauley has written so much, in so many places! (New York Times! Rolling Stone! The Believer! Slate!) The time has come for a book, please. A collection of essays? All the cool Twitter people are doing it!

And Cauley is indeed a cool Twitter person. See: List #66, Rec. #662.

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #35: Britain's Best Home Cook

Stream what: Britain's Best Home Cook is addictive comfort-viewing in the vein of The Great British Bake Off. It even has Mary Berry as a judge!

Some differences from GBBO: contestants cook and bake; they live together and there is footage of them playing board games; the host is Claudia Winkleman, who is possibly the most charming person in the world.

Stream why: I would argue that the current iteration of Britain's Best Home Cook (series 2) is better than the current iteration of GBBO. Controversial!

Stream where: Hulu

Connection to previous Wreckage: Since Rec. #802, the show has taken my advice and swapped out one of the not-Kyles.

List #95: Pop Culture Wish List, part 6

While we're in the zone of fulfilling my pop culture requests, I would like to put forward some additional items for consideration.

See Part 1 here.
See Part 2 here.
See Part 3 here.
See Part 4 here.

See Part 5 here.

Item 11: A surreal sketch show with Aparna Nancherla and Jo Firestone

Look. Both Aparna Nancherla and Jo Firestone are doing fine. They have successful comedy careers -- lots of gigs, Netflix stand-up specials, appearances on The Tonight Show, magazine profiles, a perpetually resurrected podcast ... the works.

But, still. They work so well together. I would like the two of them to write and host some kind of leaning-into-the-void absurdity. I'm thinking the fully committed surreality of Maria Bamford's Lady Dynamite. Hey! Have Maria Bamford as a recurring character!

Item 12: A miniseries adaptation of Widdershins

The webcomic Widdershins (Rec. #870) is funny and exciting and smart. It's structured around several small stories within one longer arc, which means it's perfectly set up to be a miniseries. Lots of memorable characters and big action sequences and sharp one-liners. Creator Kate Ashwin has even helpfully cast one of the leads --- Dev Patel as Sidney Malik.

List #95: Pop Culture Wish List, part 5

While we're in the zone of fulfilling my pop culture requests, I would like to put forward some additional items for consideration.

See Part 1 here.
See Part 2 here.
See Part 3 here.
See Part 4 here.

Item 9: A remake of You Can't Take It With You directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu

The film Birdman had its flaws (I would have appreciated a content warning about the attempted rape scene!), but one thing it did well was show that director Alejandro González Iñárritu would be able to direct farce. People in general aren't good at directing screwball anymore, so that was an exciting discovery!

You Can't Take It With You is just begging for a modern remake. I'm thinking along the lines of Awkwafina, Maria Bamford, Susan Blackwell, Ana de Armas, William Jackson Harper, Aasif Mandvi, Melissa McCarthy, Lee Pace, Maya Rudolph ...

Connections to previous Wreckage: I extolled the wonders of screwball comedy in a three part series.

Item 10: A new book from Kira Henehan

I loved Orion You Came and You Took All My Marbles (Rec. #195, QfFC #75). I would very much like another novel by Kira Henehan, please.

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #34: Three Identical Strangers

Stream what: Long-lost triplets find one another. Then the mystery begins.

Stream why: It's fascinating. 

Stream where: Hulu

Connections to previous Wreckage: See Rec. #829 and Rec. #864.

List #95: Pop Culture Wish List, part 4

While we're in the zone of fulfilling my pop culture requests, I would like to put forward some additional items for consideration.

See Part 1 here.

See Part 2 here.

See Part 3 here.

Item 7: A TV series from EGG Comedy

Comedy duo EGG (Anna Leong Brophy and Emily Lloyd-Saini) are extremely talented sketch writers and performers. (I saw them in Edinburgh in 2018! See Rec. #749.)

They've had scripts in development, and I'd love to see them and their work on my TV screen.

Item 8: A Katie Presley podcast

Writer Katie Presley is sometimes a panelist on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour (see also List #92), and she has a lot of Very Good Opinions (see Rec. #673), and I would like her also to have her own podcast so I can hear her thoughts on more things.

That is all.

List #95: Pop Culture Wish List, part 3

While we're in the zone of fulfilling my pop culture requests, I would like to put forward some additional items for consideration.

See Part 1 here. See Part 2 here.

Item 5: A musical about the life of James Baldwin

In the life story of novelist-poet-playwright-essayist-activist James Baldwin, we've got a fraught upbringing and teenage ministry and life in Paris. We've got Richard Avedon, Sidney Poitier, and Marlon Brando. We have queer life and Black life and French life. We've got civil rights activism and even FBI surveillance.

We also have music. Jazz in France with Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, and Josephine Baker.

In 2016, Meshell Ndegeocello created a musical/theatrical tribute to Baldwin (Can I Get a Witness?), but I'm thinking something less ... churchy.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Rec. #23 and Quote for These Times #2

Item 6: Helen Zaltzman as host of The Great British Bake Off

With Sandi Toksvig departing as co-host of the current iteration of The Great British Bake Off, it's very fun to imagine new possibilities. Helen Zaltzman would be great! She is an adept podcast host (List #92 and Rec. #773) and could definitely transition to wacky banter with Noel Fielding.

Zaltzman herself is willing (see above)!

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #33: W1A

Stream what: The TV series W1A is a mock-documentary look at working life at the BBC. (It's British. Obvs.)

Stream why: It's got the satire and highly stylized language of Armando Iannuci's work (like Veep), but with room for some subtle earnestness. Plus, the cast! They've got David Tennant as the narrator, for goodness' sake. 

Stream where: The whole thing (it's only 14 episodes) is on Netflix.


Connections to previous Wreckage: W1A showed up as Rec. #601, Rec. #741, and QfFC #102.

List #95: Pop Culture Wish List, part 2

While we're in the zone of fulfilling my pop culture requests, I would like to put forward some additional items for consideration.

See Part 1 here.

Item 3: An adaptation of To Say Nothing of the Dog by Tarsem Singh

To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis, is perhaps my favorite book of all time (Rec. #100). I have hand-picked Tarsem Singh for an adaptation based on his direction of the insanely beautiful and surreal The Fall (Rec. #49).

Someone else might try to make To Say of the Dog twee. It is not twee. It is epic and deserves to be treated as such.

Item 4: New original songs from Nellie McKay

I adore singer-songwriter/activist Nellie McKay (Rec. #608, Rec. #667, Rec. #695, Rec. #777), and I was lucky enough to see her perform last year.

For the past decade or so, she's mainly been doing collections of nostalgic covers, which are great! But I long for the creative highs of her early original albums, like Get Away from Me (Rec. #206), Pretty Little Head (Rec. #320), and Obligatory Villagers. More, please.

List #95: Pop Culture Wish List, part 1

The success of Knives Out means that Rian Johnson is going to make more Benoit Blanc content. This is good! I approve.

Several female writers whose work I follow closely have new books (see List #93). This is also excellent!

Parasite was the surprise winner of the Best Picture award at the Oscars last night. Good job, everyone!


While we're in the zone of fulfilling my pop culture requests, I would like to put forward some additional items for consideration.

This list will likely occupy us for a few weeks, at least.

Item 1: Richard Ayoade and Aisling Bea in a romantic comedy

Last year was a big one for Aisling Bea! She mainstreamed it alongside Paul Rudd in a Netflix series and, more delightfully, created and starred in her own brilliant show (Rec. #831). Richard Ayoade is a perennial favorite of mine (List #63).

They've demonstrated ample chemistry together in an episode of Ayoade's Travel Man series (Rec. #396). More of that, please!

Item 2: Sled Dog stories from Blair Braverman as a series of children's books

The content for this one pretty much already exists as Twitter threads. It just needs a publishing deal!

Dogsledder Blair Braverman is already a published author, and she puts her words to excellent use when sharing tales of puppies learning to run, field trips off the farm, and messages from the pack. See Rec. #609 for direct links to even more examples of Sled Dog Story Time, and get ready to Feel Things.

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #32: Some Kind of Wonderful

Stream what: As the movie poster promises, Some Kind of Wonderful is a John Hughes production (although he didn't direct it). It holds up noticeably better than several of the other Hughes movies from the '80s.

Stream why: This take on teen life is told explicitly through the lens of socioeconomic disparity. It also has excellent, excellent quotes (see previous Wreckage).

Stream where: Amazon Prime and Hulu

Connections to previous Wreckage: Some Kind of Wonderful was Rec. #101, and it also brought us Quote for These Times #15.

Rec. #877: Castle Waiting

What: Castle Waiting is a graphic novel series set at an isolated, abandoned castle. The stories mix fable and mythology and irony and (points up) this guy! What's not to love?

Representative panel:

Connections to previous Wreckage: Other graphic novels or graphic memoirs I have recommended are Tamara Drewe (Rec. #271), Fun Home (Rec. #612), and Be Prepared (Rec. #826).

Rec. #876: Dylan Thomas

What: "Dylan Thomas," by Better Oblivion Community Center (aka Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst), is truly a Song for Our Times.

It also thrives in one of my favorite song configurations -- a hooky melody with devastating lyrics.

Representative lyrics:
These cats are scared and feral
The flag pins on their lapels
The truth is anybody’s guess
These talking heads are saying
"The king is only playing
A game of four-dimensional chess"

How to get it: Watch the video on YouTube.

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #31: Superstore

Stream what: Superstore is a workplace comedy that is really focused on the work itself --- in this case, being an employee at a big box store à la Walmart.

Compared to other recent workplace comedies, it's probably most similar to Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Stream why: I think this show is really underappreciated for both its high jokes-per-minute ratio and the deliberate way it shows what working class life is like in the United States. There are real consequences of ICE raids! Unions are discussed! The cast is not majority white!

Stream where: Hulu

Connection to previous Wreckage: Superstore was previously mentioned in List #65, Rec. #508, and Rec. #848.

Rec. #875: Song Exploder

What: The podcast Song Exploder asks musicians to unpack one of their songs. 

Sometimes you learn what the lyrics are actually about, sometimes you get to hear each of the individual production layers, and sometimes the episode is all about a bunch of exes staying together in Florida and somehow writing Rumours. 

Plus look at the cool art for each ep!

How to get it: As of this writing, there have been 176 episodes so far, and no musicians have repeated. So, there's a lot. Find it all on the podcast website. 

Rec. #874: Quote from a Fictional Character #104

"Burglary or pick-pocketing, that needs an apprenticeship. Not so murder -- we're all of us up to that."

--- Mr. Inspector, Our Mutual Friend,

Charles Dickens, 1864

(Rec. #88)

(See also QfFC #21 and List #13)

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #30: Hairspray

Stream what: First it was a movie. Then it was a musical. Then it was a movie musical. It's Hairspray!

Stream why: More than a decade after this adaptation, both the power-singing and the social commentary still hold up quite well.

Stream where: Netflix

Connection to previous Wreckage: I mentioned Hairspray as part of List #50.

Rec. #873: Taskmaster (UK) YouTube Channel

What: The tv show Taskmaster is, truly, one of the only things making me feel even moments of true happiness in this world right now.

As I've said before, it's completely absurd, but a joyful absurd, which is something I had almost forgotten was possible.

Representative tasks:
Buy the Best Present for the Taskmaster
Paint a Picture of a Horse, While Riding a Horse
Destroy a Cake as Beautifully as Possible
Do Something Remarkable, Synchronised
Get as Close to Alex as Possible Without Him Seeing You


Connections to previous Wreckage: I previously highlighted the task "Write and Perform a Song for a Stranger" as Rec. #858: Best Earworm. The US version of the show was Rec. #696.

How to get it: Glory be, the original UK version now has an official YouTube channel. There have been nine (9!) series of the show so far, so keep uploading those videos, please.

Rec. #872: 99% Invisible

What: The podcast 99% Invisible is all about "the unnoticed design and architecture that shape our world." We're talking mannequins, we're talking "document loading" icons, we're talking insane asylums, we're talking snow plowing patterns.

Recent episode titles: "Shade," "The ELIZA Effect," "The Infantorium," "Mannequin Pixie Dream Girl"

How to get it: The show's website is, appropriately, very well designed. 

Connections to previous Wreckage: 99% Invisible was part of List #92.

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #29: One Mississippi

[Bringing back SSoW as a recurring feature! Last seen in 2017.]

Stream what: One Mississippi is Tig Notaro's semi-autobiographical show about a woman dealing with the aftereffects of some serious health issues, her mother's death, and life back in her hometown.

Stream why: It's a great combination of funny, heartbreaking, and surreal. I think it gets even better as it goes on, which is why we're furious at Amazon for cancelling it after two seasons.

Stream where: Amazon

Connections to previous Wreckage: For more on particular nuggets from the show, see Rec. #420 and Rec. #489.

Rec. #871: The Psychiatrist Is In

What: I love Belle & Sebastian and I love their movie God Help the Girl and I love, love, love this performance of "The Psychiatrist Is In."

Representative lyrics:
Find your space
Are you breathing well?
Do you feel OK?
Are you calm?
Are you comfortable?
Is your heartbeat racing?
Is this your soul you're facing?


Connections to previous Wreckage: The concept album of God Help the Girl was Rec. #361. The film itself was SSoW #15 and appeared on List #47. Another top song from the God Help the Girl project is "Perfection as a Hipster," which was Rec. #439.

How to get it: Watch this clip on YouTube. The full movie is streaming on Kanopy.

Rec. #870: Widdershins

What: In the words of its creator, the web comic Widdershins is "a series of Victorian-era adventure stories, set in the fictional town of Widdershins, home to bounty hunters, failed wizards, stage magicians, and more."

It's de-light-ful.

Comparable to: Kate Ashwin's writing here reminds me, quite happily, of Sydney Padua's work in The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage (Rec. #269).

How to get it: Start reading Widdershins here. It began in 2011 and still has updates twice a week. Much content!

Connections to previous Wreckage: In addition to Kate Ashwin and Sydney Padua, other highly recommended web comic creators are

John Allison (Rec. #138, Rec. #658)
Kate Beaton (Rec. #95, List #60)
Allie Brosh (Rec. #7, Rec. #798, Rec. #799, Rec. #801)
Emily McGovern (Rec. #413, Rec. #794)
Ngozi Ukazu (Rec. #735, List #63)