Fanboy Pimping

I liked this comment from Dyuken on my recent comic con post so much, I decided to just run it here:

"I agree that the current trend is a juggernaut created by us comic fans constant need for stimulation. However, it is something far more insidious, in that these large media conglomerates are PIMPING US.

They have realized, being creatively bankrupt as they are, that comics and geek culture is a very creative force. So they MINE the culture and try to find nuggets that can me massmarketed ie have CROSSOVER APPEAL.

Since our culture is so insecure, we are more than happy to invite any mainstream outlet that pretends to recognize the culture's value access to our culture.

So its kinda like the victims of a vampire. We are being drained of our life blood and exploited for it, AND WE ARE LOVING IT.

But, using the vampire analogy further, we will be discarded when the media conglomerates move on to something else to exploit."

My Penthouse Article (Article SFW, Site NSFW Obvs)

Well, the larger context of the article is on comic convention love stories, but me & my BF David were interviewed.

My "bargain with God" quote always seems to get picked up. :-D

I'm not sure if I told the interviewer how I literally pushed a guy who was talking to me out of the way so I could get at David & give him my phone #.

I...was also apparently blonde when I met D. Forgot about that.

Anyway, Penthouse: not just photos. Read it for the articles. :-D

The Comix issue, on sale now!

Nitpicky Fans: Why?

"Captain Nemo"

The Columbia Journalism Review has a cute post on newspapers who have had to run retractions on their Star Trek movie articles as the result of (their words) "hard core fans" who sent in corrections.

To be fair, the examples cited in CJR and excerpted on the Regret The Error blog aren't that nitpicky. I think things like the basic title of the movie and the alien race of the Big Bad aren't the result of basement-dwelling mouth-breathers having an Aspergers attack. I mean, the Los Angeles Times called Eric Bana's character "Captain Nemo."

But post any inaccuracy on comic book and sci-fi topics, and watch the corrections fly in. Or get stuff wrong when putting out a comic. At DC the level of editorial stressing over getting every minutia of continuity right was intense. And when the inevitable minutia got through the cracks, there was the fan backlash.

Now, I can understand the need to keep continuity and all that; to make the fantasy universe in question as rich, textured, and comprehensive as possible. When that gets into grayer matters like characterization, it can get kind of stupid, because there are often several versions and takes on the same superhero.

But why do comic book & sci-fi fans get so nitpicky? Does this happen with sports fans as well? Or with any sorta fan? Is it just in the fan DNA?

Meanwhile, Roger Ebert baits Trekkies. He's a brave one.

Ebert Called On Carpet For "Anti-Fanboy" Comments

Recently, Chicago Sun-Times movie reviewer Roger Ebert reviewed the movie "Fanboys," and sparked controversy with the following statement:

"Extreme fandom may serve as a security blanket for the socially inept, who use its extreme structure as a substitute for social skills. If you are Luke Skywalker and she is Princess Leia, you already know what to say to each other, which is so much safer than having to ad-lib it. Your fannish obsession is your beard. If you know absolutely all the trivia about your cubbyhole of pop culture, it saves you from having to know anything about anything else. That's why it's excruciatingly boring to talk to such people: They're always asking you questions they know the answer to."

Response, as you can imagine on teh Internets, was swift. From one letter-writer, "Jimmy Mac":

"Now… when I read the words "Idiotic Lifestyle," my heart sunk. I actually felt personally offended. I've never felt such emotion before while reading a review. I felt like you were calling out my lifestyle as Idiotic. Why the hate??? Where does THAT come from. It was an ignorant and close-minded put-down that needs to be addressed. Remember when Chuck Woolery said the 501st (Star Wars costuming group) were guys who need to get a life at the Rose Bowl parade??? He realized afterwards that it was a ridiculous remark and he apologized. I think this situation is just as bad times 10!

An idiotic lifestyle? Tell that to the members of the 501st and the Rebel Legion who sacrifice their spare time to visit children hospitals all over the world just to bring a little joy into a sick kid's heart. Doing it for no money…Only the payment of a child's smile. Receiving hugs while dressed as Star Wars characters – tears streaming down their checks underneath their stormtrooper helmets."

In response to Jimmy Mac's letter, "Ed" had this to say:

"It may be true that 501st and the Rebel Legion sacrifice their time to bring joy to sick children. God bless 'em. It may also be true, however, that such selfless compassion on their part does not accurately reflect the majority of "fanboys." My sister was a volunteer nurse at a hospital and I gotta say, she never came home and told me the one about a group of Stormtroopers visiting the leukemia ward. You bring up a few stories to cynically tug on the heartstrings, as if THOSE were the reasons you like to play dress-up. The fact that you have to bring up a few exceptions to the rule just reveals how deep you have to dig to find respectability in what amounts to grown men who, when asked to state their religion on a government form, fill out "Jedi" on the "other" line"

Of course, the movie "Fanboys" has been stirring up controversy in the fan community for some time now...Flying Monkeys Comics summarizes the whole thing for you quite nicely (in webcomic form, natch!) EDIT: this site seems to be down. So check out this Wikipedia entry for the backstory on the movie & its troubled history.

Has anybody seen this movie? Is it any good?

"The Comic Book Geek" Now Power Broker

"Power Geek" Archetype:
Kevin Smith in "Live Free or Die Hard"

Details Magazine has just released their "Power 40" list, and "The Comic Book Geek" comes in at #13:

"Only one person can make or break a potential blockbuster before it hits theaters, and he doesn't work in Hollywood or control a penny of the multi-million-dollar budget. He lives in his parents' basement and sometimes wears a cape—but the much-mocked comic-book geek possesses the ass studio execs must kiss to hit superhero-movie gold."

I whole-heartedly agree, except for the "living in parents' basement" part. I haven't lived in my mom's basement for a good three years now. :-D

What do you think? Are "comic book geeks" the new power brokers?

I think geeks in general have been power brokers for some time now. Case in point: Bill Gates.

(you can read more about the Details "Power 40" in their December issue, on stands Dec. 2)

Stop Bashing Older "Fanboys"

Note: I didn't write the following quote: Evan Dorkin did.

"Average age, I'd say, at a guess, was in the late 30's, early 40's. Older, balding, grizzled, overweight, zombified manboys in t-shirts and faded old clothes, shambling, ghoulish prospectors of dead dreams and junk, panning about with their crumpled want lists and thumb oil-soaked notebooks of who to hit up for what drawing or signature or who to browbeat into a 2-out-of-3 falls Texas Submission Monologue Death Conversation Match. A lot of sports talk. Knicks, Rangers, Nets, Yankees, Mets, local talk, boy talk, men talk. And a lot of cursing. I like cursing, but I shut it down at shows, at least I work at it, especially loud cursing. With a lack of female pheremones in the room, and far, far fewer kids at the show than any I'd seen in years, vulgarity was on the loose. And the volume was set at 11 for the majority of the boisterous contingent, which was amplified by the closeness of the surroundings and the horrible acoustics (I'm not kidding when I say Artist's Alley was a fire hazard, and I'm not talking about attendance). It was a sports bar, a 1986 comics shop, a Creation Con atmosphere. It was a vibe I haven't witnessed in ages, something I quite honestly forgot about. It was dinosaur times, and I like dinosaurs, but there's a reason the fuckers died. This was one disheartening scene, even allowing for my own inherent pessimism and cynicism."

I don't have time to write a big thing about Evan Dorkin's comments on Big Apple Con, but I just want to say: it's getting tired already. Yeah, I think the comic book industry should more aggressively market to teens and women. Yeah, I've been on the receiving end of harassment from one or two individuals from this demographic. But this level of bashing sounds elitist.

"A lot of sports talk. Knicks, Rangers, Nets, Yankees, Mets, local talk, boy talk, men talk."

ZOMG! Sports talk! The barbarians!

"Older, balding, grizzled, overweight, zombified manboys in t-shirts and faded old clothes, shambling, ghoulish prospectors of dead dreams and junk."

Have a heart. I know I'm going to be laughed to oblivion for saying that, that it sounds ridiculous. But have a fucking heart. Some of these older collectors are some of the nicest people I've ever met. I grew up around these people. I'm not ashamed of it. Some have used comics as one of their only bright spots in a life that in every other respect might have been awful. If it makes them happy, let them do it. If they aren't bothering you (other than by the fact of their very existence, offending your delicate sensibilities), stop fucking ragging on them. I can't fucking stand this anymore.

Big Apple Con/The National donated Friends of Lulu a booth this year. We raised a good amount of money for our organization. Most of the people who donated are in the basic demographic Dorkin cites in his post: late 30s/early 40s comic collectors. Big Apple Con's organizer, Michael Carbonaro, used to attend every New York City Chapter meeting of Friends of Lulu.

"It wasn't just one endless freak parade by any means, but the monsters did tend to obscure the fauns and woodlings. Whatever the fuck that means. A backhanded way of saying thanks to the non-nutjobs who stopped by to say hi, we certainly appreciated the breath of fresh air and humanity and the brief staving off of thoughts of suicide or career change."

I want to expand the audience for comic books to younger people, and I believe that not doing so will hurt this industry. I believe that comic companies that get too hung-up on nostalgia are sacrificing long-term viability for short term profit. But there is no call to dehumanize a whole (really frickin' large) segment of the comic buying populace in the process.

It's this elitist attitude that will be as much responsible for "killing" comics as the targets of their criticism. I have no fucking patience for it. It's elitist, it's socio-economic-cultural snobbery.

"This time around, I wanted to go get a job in a deli."

Go! But are you sure you want to work there? Bologna is so low-class.

Comic Book Guys Can Be Teh Sexy

Sean Kleefeld raised some interesting points in his article "Dudes Vs. Chicks," and I would like to counter with pictures of skinny/well-built comic book professionals who challenge the "Comic Book Guy" stereotype (commentary will follow):


Kleefeld's article raised some interesting issues:

1. Yes, there does seem to be a higher ratio of "skinny/well-built" women in the comic book industry. Why is this? Is it because women are smarter? Or because skinnier, more attractive women tend to get hired more?

2. DOES the "comic book guy" stereotype really hold water in terms of comic book fans? I have no way of knowing this outside a poll, or head count, or something. But I do wonder.

3. As way of a personal example: when I met David the G., I thought he did not fit the stereotypical fanboy profile. I thought he was a hottie, and nearly knocked down another comic fan at the convention to get to him & give him my phone number.

4. As I get to know more fans, I do not see the fanboy stereotype really bourne out in the numbers one would expect based on the way the media/entertainment industry typically portrays them.

5. When I worked with Silver Bullet Comics, one of the projects we discussed was having a "Mr. Fanboy" beauty pageant. Contestants would be judged on hotness and comic book knowledge.

6. It is far more common to see heavy dudes with skinny chicks than heavy chicks with skinny dudes. It's a societal thing. It's a "World According to Jim/King of Queens" thing. The pressure is on women to be teh sexy -- but not just teh sexy, but society's vision of teh sexy. It's ok for men to gain a few pounds and wear one of those cool oversized shirts with the dice on it. I've just gained 15 pounds because I was 15-20 pounds underweight. I've gone from a size 0 to a size 4. This is a healthy step, and it is nice having an ass again. But such a process is accompanied with fear -- fear of not being teh sexy. Why does there seem to be much more skinny women in the comics industry than men? Maybe women try harder because they are afraid of not being teh sexy.

7. I think this post needs more Paul Pope and John Cassaday:
Oh, and here is a picture of David the G.:

How I Found Sex & Love At The New York ComicCon
Part One

Slow dancing with David G. in his kitchen to Richard Cheese singing a lounge version of "You Oughta Know." Two sets of plastic Marvel Comics action figures watch from their discreet perches above his kitchen shelves -- roughly 200 of then separated out by good guys and bad guys. Across from us an Archangel figure is mounted on the wall like a piece of modern sculpture.

"Marvel Legends," I remember telling him when seeing those toys for the first time. "Whoa. Good stuff. Good sculpts."

What does dating a fangirl really mean?

It means exactly that -- being with a woman who doesn't see 200 action figures in the kitchen as a minus, and who can appreciate the difference between the Marvel Legends line and that early-90s Toy Biz crap.

I never planned on dating David.

No, that's not true. When I first saw him at the New York Comic Con in February, I eagle-eye zoned in on him and planned on dating him. I rarely use such forwardness. Despite periodically joking that comic cons are my "meat market."

But on that Sunday as I walked into the crowded convention center, I had no intention of getting involved with another man. I wasn't even really intent on doing the ol' comic book pimparoo -- passing out business cards, shaking hands, and making a lot of crazy promises.

I didn't exactly want to be there at all. I was tired. I had spent every free moment working on the manuscript for my agent. I was physically and emotionally spent. And the act of so intensely reviewing every aspect of my life as a comic fan left me ambivalent regarding the industry. Well, ambivalent was a plus, a step up from abso-f**king-lutely jaded and spent. But still.

I was also intensely ambivalent about running into any of my former DC cohorts. Honestly, I preferred not to. I stuck w/Marvel & Artist's Alley. Sometimes, I would catch a glimpse of so-and-so and squint and think, "Hm. That's him now. Three years." Then it was back to Artist's Alley, or hanging out with one of several pockets of friends & associates.

I had a Catwoman mask in my knapsack. There were always chicks at these cons dressed as Emma Frost & Black Canary & whatnot & I thought I might experiment. I said to my friend Hassan,

"Dare me to put this on & pull a Sean Young?"

I saw the mask as part of a possible "Occasional Superheroine" crimefighting costume. Every superheroine should have at least a mask or knee-high vinyl boots.

"Occasional Superheroine" was a name that, among other things, stood for personal female disaster. It stood for this "batshit insane" rant written one tense morning following a humiliating failed attempt to talk down my $11,000+ bill at the hospital. It was a laundry-list of every man who let me down in my life. It was pretty damn-near nihilistic, the narrative of a personal apocalypse.

"Sorry very much for the incidents that destroyed you," wrote one overseas reader. The use of the word "destroyed" hit me particularly deeply.

Was I destroyed?

Could there be a "chapter two?"

I was still scared of sex. I couldn't give sex to men. Me and Donovan gave it the old college try. But I felt damaged, unmarketable. Or, if marketable, only as an "angry comic chick."

The day I met David, I was wearing a tight T-shirt that depicted Snoopy sticking his tongue out and had the phrase "Stop Staring At Me!" on the top.

I think Snoopy was right over my boobs.

David had showed up for the Valiant Comics panel, which I was scheduled to speak at. The only reason I decided to attend the con at all was to fulfill my obligation to panel moderator Jeff Gomez. Jeff was one of my old co-workers at Acclaim/Valiant. So was Hassan. Was it not for them and the Valiant Fans network spearheaded by John Rosas, it is likely that I might not have had the stones to attend these comic cons. But here I was, dragged out of my Batgirl Cave yet again.

And among the smallish but enthusiastic crowd gathering to attend the panel I saw David.

And I said to Self,

"Him. I want to know him better."

Totally unplanned. I literally pushed another person out of the way to talk to him. I pressed my business card (okay, an index card with a hastily-scribbled phone number) in his palm and said, "We should hang out."

"That would be awesome," he answered.

"We should really hang out," I repeated for emphasis.

Then I said,

"You know, we should really hang out."

"That would be awesome," he replied.

David didn't exude the usual fanboyness (besides the fact that he was attending the Valiant Comics panel discussion), so I was caught a little off-guard. No superhero shirt. He had a portfolio in his hands filled with samples of his advertising work, which he showed me. In the seconds before the panel started, I hastily tried to figure him out, to pin him down. He was different.

My cynicism, finely tempered through various and sundry events including a torn cervix and boyfriends who wanted to get an agreement up-front that I was "down" for pregnancy termination in the off-chance we screwed up, hemmed and hawed:

"Watch out, Xena," Cynical Superheroine cautioned, "This might be a trap. Ares might be behind it. You're better off playing pinochle with Joxer, drinking a warm beverage, and calling it a night."

But then I thought, as I approached the podium for the panel discussion, as I saw David in the crowd --

--what did I think? Should I tell you? Should I tell you what I thought, this utterly jaded, angry, distrustful, damaged Occasional Superheroine?

"Oh God...I know this sounds crazy. But. Please. Him."