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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.
TV

A Poem For Rose Quartz, Wherever I May Find Her

May 11, 2017December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on A Poem For Rose Quartz, Wherever I May Find Her

Here’s one for a mother lost.

Movies

How to Learn Pixar Storytelling for Free

April 27, 2017December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on How to Learn Pixar Storytelling for Free

Pixar and Khan Academy are putting Pixar in a Box, and by a box they mean your computer screen.

TV

‘Moral Orel’ Still Shreds Trump and the Christian Right

April 14, 2017December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on ‘Moral Orel’ Still Shreds Trump and the Christian Right

Religious hypocrisy, patriarchal abuse, fetishization of violence. Orel is the American Christian, and he’s more screwed than ever.

TV

Charlie Murphy Is Dead at 57

April 12, 2017December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on Charlie Murphy Is Dead at 57

And the world is way worse now.

so much for so little
Movies TV

This 70-Year-Old Cartoon Made the Strongest Healthcare Argument Ever

March 25, 2017December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on This 70-Year-Old Cartoon Made the Strongest Healthcare Argument Ever

Chuck Jones’s award-winning short “So Much for So Little” broke down the issue of public healthcare in the Truman era. We still haven’t learned.

Movies

Hayao Miyazaki’s Castles, Ranked

March 6, 2017December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on Hayao Miyazaki’s Castles, Ranked

Dude loves castles.

TV

It’s a Great Big Universe, Yakko Warner

February 24, 2017December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on It’s a Great Big Universe, Yakko Warner

And we’re not.

dexter's laboratory
Interviews TV

The Secret Hustle of the First ‘Dexter’s Laboratory’ Short

February 8, 2017January 16, 2020 John MaherComments Off on The Secret Hustle of the First ‘Dexter’s Laboratory’ Short

Cartoon architect Fred Seibert reveals the astonishing backstory behind Genndy Tartakovsky’s work on the first ‘Dexter’s Lab’ short.

TV

Jazz Standards Used As ‘Kids On the Slope’ Episode Titles, Ranked

January 25, 2017December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on Jazz Standards Used As ‘Kids On the Slope’ Episode Titles, Ranked

This one’s for all you Jazz Boys and Jazz Girls out there.

TV

Everything Is Terrible, But at Least Mark Hamill Is Still the Joker

January 20, 2017December 29, 2019 John MaherComments Off on Everything Is Terrible, But at Least Mark Hamill Is Still the Joker

Everything is terrible, and everyone’s favorite laughing Batman villain is here to, err, help?

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EDITORS PICKS

madoka magica

Inside the Godhood in ‘Madoka Magica’

By Fiona Day

Let’s unpack why Madoka was a holdout among her friends.

Poem: Nobody Cares About Skeeter Valentine

By Joanna C. Valente

A poem for Nickelodeon’s 'Doug.'

A Talk With Ralph Kelsey, the Man Who Wrote the Opening for SNICK

By Rob Ryan

Master of sound Ralph Kelsey’s done it all — from Nick at Nite to Sesame Street. Here’s how he did it.

Fred Seibert on Why ‘Adventure Time’ Became a Hit

By Eric Vilas-Boas

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

John Wouldn’t Recognize a Good Walk-and-Talk if He Walked Right Into It

By Cara McKeown

Part of #JohnWithTheWind — a week-long editorial event.

Read or Watch Miyazaki Films. Or Both!

By John Maher

As someone who writes about books by day and about cartoons by all the rest of the times, very little makes me happier than to read something about both. Well, here’s the good news! Literary Hub published just such a something today with Gabrielle Bellot’s “The Magic of Hayao Miyazaki’s Literary Imagination,” and it turned […]

The Dot and Line’s Best Writing of 2016

By The Dot and Line

Previously, on The Dot and Line…

Why ‘Evangelion’ Benefited From Its Time Away From American Audiences

By Patrick Craig

One of the most influential anime in history will have a chance to gain a whole new audience, literally overnight. That invites some questions.

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GREATEST HITS

faye valentine cowboy bebop intro

Faye Valentine’s Debts Made Her—As Mine Made Me

By Talia Jane

The ‘Bebop’ femme fatale’s devil-may-care attitude is the natural conclusion to resignation to a debt-filled future. I can relate.

your name

‘Your Name.’ Is the Ultimate Missed Connections Movie

By Eric Vilas-Boas

Makoto Shinkai’s masterpiece may be the most compelling movie about missed connections ever made.

2017 editorial | Editorial by MysteryThemes.