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Pop Heist

Latonya &#8220;Penn&#8221; Pennington (they/them) is a prolific freelance pop culture critic who has written for publications such as Into More, Popverse, Comics XF, and more. They are also a poet and have been published in Videodame, The Daily Drunk, and Sage Cigarettes, to name a few.

Latonya Pennington

Characters from Goody Too Shoes, Magica Riot, Nova Hearts

Queerly Nerdy

Queerly Nerdy: Anime Inspired and Very Gay

Brett White (he/him) is a pop culture journalist and editor-in-chief of Pop Heist. Prior to this, he was a senior reporter/producer for Decider for seven years. Prior to joining Decider, he covered pop culture for Comic Book Resources, Marvel.com, and MTV News. His areas of expertise include Marvel Comics, Star Wars, Drag Race, classic sitcoms, Sam Neill, unexpected thirst traps, and unlikely menswear icons.
In his spare time, he cohosts the podcast Must Have Seen TV and is writing his first book: a biography of <a href="https://www.haydenrorke.com/">Hayden Rorke</a>.
He also lives out his feminine fantasy as <a href="https://www.barbhardly.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barb Hardly</a>, his drag queen alter ego.
His hobbies include spending way too much money on action figures, swimsuits, and fashion accessories. He currently lives in Queens with his handsome husband and two large, orange cats.

Brett White

Drag Race

Plastique Tiara and Nymphia Wind Shed Skin, Defy Expectations in Serpents Tour

Jack is an American librarian and author of the book MAXIMIZING THE IMPACT OF COMICS IN YOUR LIBRARY now residing in Toronto, where he lives with his husband and cats. He is dedicated to connecting libraries with comics and combating censorship.

Jack Phoenix

Culture

The Challenges Facing Libraries in 2026 (And Why There’s Hope)

Ian Carlos Crawford is an anxious writer and podcaster with MFA in nonfiction writing. He loves Buffy, X-Men, Scream, and pugs. His writing has appeared on sites like GQ, BuzzFeed, NewNowNext, and other random corners of the internet. He hosts the queer pop culture podcast Slayerfest 98 and cohosts the horror podcast My Bloody Judy.

Ian Carlos Crawford

Best Queer Pop-Culture Moments of 2025

Sebastian Deken (he/him) is a writer and musician originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He is the author of <a href="https://bossfightbooks.com/products/final-fantasy-vi-by-sebastian-deken">Final Fantasy VI</a> (Boss Fight Books, 2021), a critical exploration of the music from the 1994 game of the same name. He received his BA in music and French language and literature at Washington University in St. Louis and his MFA in creative nonfiction writing from Columbia University. He currently lives in Queens, New York, with his husband and two cats.

Sebastian Deken

gooey butter cake on a melamine platter illustrated with a cartoon santa

Member Exclusive

I Love This Cake and Her Gooey Body

Ethan Kaye (he/him) is a writer/editor/book hoarder. He is scared of the Loch Ness Monster.

Ethan Kaye

Saturn eating child with pilgrim hat on in front of leaves

Heistgiving

Goya’s “Black Paintings” Ranked by How They’d Ruin a Thanksgiving Dinner

An orange-haired anime girl holding an ice cream in front of a convenience store.

Anime Herald Leaps Gloriously Into Print

Lan Pitts (he/him) is an Atlanta-born writer based in Baltimore, Maryland. He learned to read from mini-comics that came with action figures and video game instruction manuals. He&#8217;s been writing professionally for almost 20 years and doesn&#8217;t think that&#8217;ll end anytime soon.

Lan Pitts

Godzilla, Inc.: When Brand Deals Keep a Monster Relevant — Or Turn Him Into a Mascot

Connor Lightbody (he/him) is a Scottish film critic, programmer and writer. He is an avid film festival attendee that you can find sipping aperol on the Venice Lido each year while ranting about how good Magic Mike XXL is.