A young comic artist talks about her path to success. Innsmouth Press releases a new anthology of Lovecraftian stories centered on women. And Matt Ryan's depiction of the demon-hunting sorcerer Constantine returns to television with the CW's Arrow. It's Airy Monday, our weekly take on magic and religion in pop culture. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

One of the great things about crowdfunding is that it has allowed projects which are creative but might be financially nonviable in ordinary circumstances. One artist who's benefited from the use of crowdfunding is Michelle Czajkowski, the creator of the popular web comic Ava's Demon. You can learn more about her process and how crowdfunding helped her here, at Comics Alliance.

Although one of the most popular fantasy properties around, Dungeons & Dragons doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to movie adaptations. All three of the previous adaptations were produced cheaply and have been received poorly. But could that change? io9 takes a look at how Warner Bros. and Hasbro are teaming up to make a new film based on the popular Forgotten Realms setting.

One of the most popular and influential authors of science fiction, fantasy, or horror of the last century is undoubtedly H.P. Lovecraft, the famed creator of Cthulhu and other otherworldly gods and monsters. In addition to influencing new creators, Lovecraft's mythos is continued today by numerous artists and writers, many of whom are featured in the new anthology She Walks in Shadows, a female-centric take on the Cthulhu mythos.

After NBC's Constantine was canceled earlier this year many of its fans were worried that was the last they'd see of Matt Ryan's take on the antisocial con man and mage created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben. Fortunately for fans of the character (and DC Comics), the CW has agreed to incorporate the character into its hit show Arrow, based on the Green Arrow comics by DC. The Hollywood Reporter has the details on Constantine's imminent return.

In the struggle to improve Hollywood's representation of ethnic minorities and women across film and television, few counter-arguments have been as exhausting or nonsensical as "only quality matters." The Mary Sue's writer Dan Van Winkle explains why the argument not only falls short, but does actual harm.


Top image by Mikel Janín, Ulises Arreola, and Rob Leigh.