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Author: John Maher

John Maher is news and digital editor at Publishers Weekly and editor in chief at The Dot and Line, which he co-founded. His work has been published by New York magazine, The Los Angeles Times, and Esquire, among others.
coco
Movies

Here’s Why You Should Watch ‘Coco,’ Which Is Finally on Netflix

June 5, 2018December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on Here’s Why You Should Watch ‘Coco,’ Which Is Finally on Netflix

The Pixar tearjerker—now on Netflix—should do more than make you cry with its reminders of what tethers us to family. Now go call your grandma.

TV

A Pre–Memorial Day Appreciation of Alex Louis Armstrong’s Beach Bod

May 25, 2018December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on A Pre–Memorial Day Appreciation of Alex Louis Armstrong’s Beach Bod

“These abs have been passed down the Armstrong family line for generations!”

shinichiro watanabe cowboy bebop
TV

A Final ‘Bebop’ Question on Shinichirō Watanabe’s Legacy

May 4, 2018March 1, 2020 John MaherComments Off on A Final ‘Bebop’ Question on Shinichirō Watanabe’s Legacy

‘Cowboy Bebop’ busted the anime curve. But what is its director’s legacy? And is his greatest work really his, anyway?

cowboy bebop yoko kanno
TV

Yoko Kanno Took Two Melodies and Made Four Perfect Songs

May 1, 2018December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on Yoko Kanno Took Two Melodies and Made Four Perfect Songs

“Memory” and “Adieu,” “Goodnight Julia” and “Space Lion,” each flip sides of the same coin, make you wish Chet Baker and Bill Evans had been alive to play them—or that Pharaoh Sanders would.

sokka avatar the last airbender
TV

‘Cowboy Bebop’ Isn’t the Only Show with a “Mushroom Samba”

April 23, 2018December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on ‘Cowboy Bebop’ Isn’t the Only Show with a “Mushroom Samba”

Rounding up some of the silliest, spookiest, and all-around best trip episodes and sequences from your favorite cartoons.

jupiter jazz cowboy bebop
TV

The Hidden Parallels in ‘Cowboy Bebop’—and Its Links to Cormac McCarthy

April 18, 2018April 18, 2020 John MaherComments Off on The Hidden Parallels in ‘Cowboy Bebop’—and Its Links to Cormac McCarthy

Spike is Gren? Spike is Vicious? Spike is Odin, the wanderer god whose ravens represent thought and memory? Spike is Cormac McCarthy’s nameless Kid from ‘Blood Meridian’? Good questions.

sympathy for the devil cowboy bebop
TV

At Least This ‘Cowboy Bebop’ Baddie Could Wail on the Harmonica

April 9, 2018December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on At Least This ‘Cowboy Bebop’ Baddie Could Wail on the Harmonica

Is this the show’s second most annoying villain? Yes. But the philosophy, the world-building, and the blues are worth it.

Movies

Isao Takahata Has Died. Animation Will Never Be the Same.

April 5, 2018December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on Isao Takahata Has Died. Animation Will Never Be the Same.

The Ghibli co-founder was, beyond any shadow of a doubt, Hayao Miyazaki’s equal in brilliance, if not in output or recognition.

gravity falls pig waddles mabel
Interviews TV

We Asked Neil deGrasse Tyson Why He Voiced a Pig on ‘Gravity Falls’

March 5, 2018December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on We Asked Neil deGrasse Tyson Why He Voiced a Pig on ‘Gravity Falls’

And other things you don’t know about the popular scientist and his cartoon career.

TV

Watch ‘Varmints’ and Let Jóhann Jóhannson Make You Sob

February 12, 2018December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on Watch ‘Varmints’ and Let Jóhann Jóhannson Make You Sob

People and climate change and industry are evil, but the late Icelandic composer is a melancholy blessing forever. May he rest in peace.

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EDITORS PICKS

catra and shera

What ‘She-Ra’ Gets Right About Angsty Queerness

By Maya Gittelman

Catra is one complex (cat)woman.

batman the animated series eyes gif

Anatomy of an Animated Badass

By John Maher

Nine core qualities that make a cartoon cool.

“Big,” A Poem for Peridot of ‘Steven Universe’

By John Maher

A pantoum in which Peridot, one of the toughest gems on ‘Steven Universe,’ reflects on her new life on Earth.

big mouth season 2 netflix

‘Big Mouth’ Season 2 Is As Bold and Raunchy As Ever

By Sammy Nickalls

The season’s Planned Parenthood episode is a much-watch.

asteroid blues cowboy bebop

How ‘Cowboy Bebop’ Came to the States: An Exclusive Interview for Its 20th Anniversary

By The Dot and Line

With “Asteroid Blues,” the first session of ‘Cowboy Bebop,’ Cartoon Network brought something wholly new to the West.

Fred Seibert on Why ‘Adventure Time’ Became a Hit

By Eric Vilas-Boas

Executive producer Fred Seibert unpacks the show’s secret sauce.

Neon Genesis Evangelion, by the Numbers

By Eric Vilas-Boas

A tabulation.

Tropes in the Scope: 7 Bullets for Archer and 007, on the Occasion of Season 7

By Kevin Conway

As FX’s most dynamic show shifts gears again for its latest season, The Dot and Line dives into the homage it’s paid to its espionage roots.

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GREATEST HITS

An Urgent Question About ‘FernGully’

By Charlotte Dow

IS IT STILL GOOD!?

lapis lazuli steven universe

The Trauma and Triumph of Lapis Lazuli in ‘Steven Universe’

By Corinne Segal

How ‘Steven Universe’ portrays the aftermath of surviving trauma.

2017 editorial | Editorial by MysteryThemes.