CA Mixtapes

Marjane Satrapi’s incredible work Persepolis focuses on the experiences of a young Marji and her family growing up during the Iranian Revolution. The Revolution caused many changes to the relatively peaceful Iran of Marji’s youth, including gender segregation, the abolition of secular education, and the strict enforcement of sharia law. In Persepolis, Marji becomes increasingly rebellious, wearing denim jackets emblazoned with “punk rock,” and going to the black market to buy illegal copies of popular music. It became illegal for women to dance in public, or for men and women to dance together; listening to Western popular music and getting her dance on was a way for Marji to rebel. We’ve put together a mixtape of musicians and songs mentioned in Persepolis to inspire you to celebrate life and rebel a little yourself.

Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk and Rachelle Rosenberg's eight-issue series about the life and times of Mockingbird is one of the best Big Two comics I’ve ever read. It made me a fan of the character and everyone involved in the making of it, so much so that it inspired me to compile a mixtape in tribute to last year's cult-favorite. I like to imagine these are the songs Mockingbird AKA Bobbi Morse listens to when she’s in waiting rooms, on the way to missions, when she’s working out, or driving around.

Insexts, the AfterShock comic by Marguerite Bennett and Ariela Kristantina, mixes gothic and body horror to tell a feminist story about women monsters in love. Lady Lalita Bertram (she just goes by Lady) is a rich widow, and Mariah is her maid. Except that they're actually lovers and devoted partners, and even have a child together. They're also insectoid monsters, especially Lady, who has a tendency to sprout deadly bug-parts when she's stressed out. And thanks to the expectations Victorian society places on women, she gets stressed out a lot. And yes, some men die along the way. These songs were chosen because they reflect some combination of the monstrous feminine, the gothic violence, and the unapologetically queer themes of the comic.

Since she crossed over to comics in 2003 from the underrated X-Men Evolution cartoon, Laura Kinney --- AKA X-23, Logan's female clone and surrogate daughter --- has become one of the most interesting characters in the Marvel Universe. A survivor in every sense of the word who moved on from her bioengineered origins as a weapon to become her own person, Laura has been the current Wolverine for almost two years now and, if there's any justice, she'll stay Wolverine forever. Here, then, are eight songs that explore every facet of the All-New Wolverine's long and winding road from emotionless killer to the best there is at what she does.

Comics and music go hand in hand, and there’s nothing quite like putting on that perfect playlist, sitting down with a good story, and getting lost for a while. We’ve tasked our best writers with crafting the ultimate mixtape to compliment their favorite comics, to hopefully introduce you to comics you might not have tried and artists you might not have heard. Magdalene Visaggio, Eryk Donovan, Claudia Aguirre and Zakk Saam's new series Quantum Teens Are Go is the story of two punks in love as they attempt to build a time machine. While making this mixtape, I wanted to capture that technopunk spirit; something that would match the world that Nat and Sumesh live in; something that would match their relationship to it, and also their relationship to each other.

Since her debut in Alias, the 2001 Marvel Max series by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, Jessica Jones has become emblematic of a kind of deeply flawed female protagonist that there are far too few of in popular culture. Living with PTSD, a drinking problem, and a self-destructive streak a mile wide, she’s always created as many problems for herself as she solves for others in her job as a super-powered private detective. In recent years, her marriage to Luke Cage and the birth of their daughter has brought more stability into her life, but the current Jessica Jones series, also by Bendis and Gaydos, brings all of that stability into doubt. In assembling this mix tape, I looked for songs that embody the conflicts and contradictions within Jessica Jones and her stories. Songs about flawed and troubled people searching for something to keep them going.

Pretty Deadly, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Emma Rios, and Jordie Bellaire, is a story about stories. It's a fantasy western about Death's daughter Ginny, but it's truly a gorgeous, lyrical, epic poem about myth itself. And like traditional epic poems, there's love, and death, and vengeance. We've put together a Pretty Deadly mixtape with a vaguely "Americana" style, with songs whose lyrics contain grand narratives about death. Expect murder ballads galore.

Archie Andrews has always been quite the musician, and there are several stories involving him pursuing his dreams of rock stardom --- but his friends and family (and Reggie) have been in the musical spotlight too. For this playlist based on the current incarnation of the monthly Archie series by Mark Waid, Thomas Pitilli, Ryan Jampole, Joe Eisma, Veronica Fish et al, I decided to look at all the most beloved characters (and Reggie) and choose one song that fits each of them.

Shade The Changing Girl --- part of DC's Young Animal imprint --- tells the story of Loma, a rebellious alien who steals a magic coat of madness, runs away to Earth, and possesses the body of a comatose teenage Earth girl. Along with Cecil Castellucci's trippy script, the space-bending, psychedelic visuals from artists Marley Zarcone and Kelly Fitzpatrick are a core part of what makes Shade the Changing Girl so fantastic. When planning the playlist, I wanted to find weird, intense tech/pop songs, less focused on the lyrics and more on the mood of each song.

Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love is a superhero book, a haunted house story, and a romance comic. In assembling a playlist to accompany the comic, we've attempted to strike a similar balance, highlighting queer artists, and including a love song or two, while creating a spooky, haunted atmosphere. This playlist incorporates dark mansions, and perhaps forbidden love, and at least one dead man.