For those of you who don’t know, let’s talk about John Constantine. He first appeared in issue 37 of Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing. Since then he’s been written by a host of phenomenal folks (and a few assholes I like to ignore). He remains one of the most popular comic characters to date; while he is particularly of British national importance, also has a large audience in the United States. More than that, he’s… a pretty remarkable character, in that he represents a lot of minorities ignored even by “diversity in comics” efforts.

Doctor House. Doctor Cox. Doctor Lecter. These names, these titles—they have weight. Some of it is their pop culture clout: they are fun, they are snarky, they say it like it is (even if one of them does eat people, and another is a space alien). But there is something more than that. “Doctor.” We know who they are. Stories about doctors are not exactly a new thing. Doctor Faustus gave way to Doctor Frankenstein, and so on. But like any story that doesn’t die, the doctor fable has changed, reflecting the culture around it. _ Alternate version in publication through ICSJ.

Exactly as it says on the tin. (Also, you’ll want to hug him. ‘Cause he’s adorable.) Meet the protagonist of Rice Boy: a small boy shaped like a piece of rice. The plot is good, part prophecy-journey, part bildungsroman. Both of these do not go anywhere near as expected—the prophecy causes more problems than it foresees fixing, and it’s not the main character who ultimately grows up.

Something beautiful is going down on the internet. And this is it: It’s called “The Hawkeye Initiative.”. Here, the often-forgotten member of the five six Avengers in Marvel’s 2012 film takes a stand (…or, rather, a spine-twisting pose) against sexist body positioning in modern comics. Its existence is an accident that can be—not surprisingly—blamed on Tumblr.