Geeking Out

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Mace
  • ROBOT SUIT FROM JAPAN! Cyberdyne invented and manufactured the Hybrid Assistive Limb, and it has been issued a Global Safety Certificate, which means that this robotic limb can give a lift to the elderly and disabled around the world!
  • For those searching for productivity and creativity help, Coffitivity created a soundtrack that simulates a coffee shop, sans the annoying outlet hugs and loud talkers! (If you want just plain white noise to drown out everything, we also like Simply Noise.)
  • Joss Whedon released the trailer for his upcoming film adaption of Much Ado About Nothing!
  • The 25th Lambda Literary Awards finalists have been announced, Malinda Lo has been nominated for her latest book, Adaptation! While the awards won’t be finally announced until June 3rd, you can still check out and promote the books on the submissions list! (The Lambda Literary Foundation nurtures, celebrates, and preserves LGBT literature, honoring excellence, promoting visibility and encouraging the development of emerging writers.)
  • An interesting perspective: Oz, the Great and Powerful: a step backwards for women?
  • New series involving exorcisms in the works from Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman!
  • Puppet Community! Whoa.
  • A sneak peak into the next four episodes of Doctor Who.
  • While there are plenty real life female scientists to admire, we still love this list of inspiring fictional female scientists.
  • Don’t have the interest or training to go on a mission to outer space? Well, you can still picnic like an astronaut with this kit!
  • The first video is up in Anita Sarkeesian’s much discussed series on tropes in video games!
  • We love Underground NY Library blog, capturing photos of subway riders reading books. Related to that, students at Miami Ad School have come up with an interesting proposal to harness smart phone technology and get people into New York’s libraries.
  • Tumblr you should follow: For Girls In Science!
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We’re No. 1! SXSW Digital Edition

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Jeff

In honor of SXSW, just about the biggest technology and media conference in the galaxy, this week’s column will spotlight the best and worse new #1’s in their digital format. (As I’m on a plane headed to Austin, I missed my much beloved trip to the comic book store for print editions!) Let’s see if the digital editions, presented by the good folks at Comixology, can hold up to the bagged and boarded treasures we geeks know and love.

First up is Image Comics Lost Vegas #1lost-vegas-1-cover, from writer Jim McCann and artist Janet Lee. This sci-fi extravaganza is the story of Roland, an intergalactic card sharp and hustler, finally getting his comeuppance. Captured by the loan sharks who hold his outstanding debts, Roland is held captive on the giant space casino Lost Vegas, as he works to slowly pay down a debt that can never be truly erased. Roland, ever the arrogant sort, has a plan to escape with the help of some of his fellow coworkers cum inmates. His voiceover – a long winded, jargon filled conversation directly with the audience – is a little difficult to follow, but it sets the mood well, establishing the hustler’s creed of self before all others, giving the story a bit of an Ocean’s 11-meets-The Great Escape-in -outer-space vibe. Roland’s galaxy is certainly a polyglot, filled with all manner of unusual creatures, but there is little overtone of enmity between them, avoiding the common trope of addressing racial or cultural issues with the metaphor of disparity between alien beings. Here, the servants wear collars that digitally “mask” them as generic humans, not considered offensive or inferior by the aliens and other human whom they serve, but simply as blank slates. In fact, the only prejudice in a place like Lost Vegas is between the wealthy and the poor, with the marked xenophobia being the fear of the have not’s, or at least of becoming one. Roland intends to change his luck, with the help of his “friends” but not to their benefit; he’s character with an unusual lack of moral center but still a certain charm. Once can palpably sense that’s he’s not done dropping a few pegs. The digital edition, meanwhile, is stunning in it’s HD format, with Lee’s work well displayed. What it gains in visual glory, though, it lacks in lettering quality. Good lettering can make or break a story, and the details of the complicated escape plot are blurry because often the words themselves are unclear, or entirely too small. Otherwise, the science fiction lends itself well to the glowing iPad screen. Continue reading →

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Geeking Out

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Mace
  • Relevant and interesting: 8 Young Women Of Color Authors.
  • We still want Michelle Rodriguez to be Alej Muñoz, nth generation Puerto Rican NYC cop, but we’ll settle for Michael Ealy. Although this show technically is not a Robocop remake, just a show about robot cops, in a more or less literal sense.
  • People know Tracie Thoms from RENT and Death Proof, but now she’s slated to star in a new show described as a “dark soap opera.”
  • S3 trailer for Game of Thrones is here, and it’s a nice teaser, but could definitely use MORE DRAGONS.
  • Speaking of the series, these GoT coins are incredibly detailed and worth every penny (sorry).
  • NBC’s Believe is sounding more and more interesting, and now Jamie Chung has joined the cast. We’ll be keeping an eye on how the production of this series progresses.
  • The Mary Sue has a great write-up of the first female MMA UFC fight.
  • The Amazing Spiderman 2 has cast its Norman Osborne, and it’s seasoned actor Chris Cooper.
  • The Muppets… Again! will be bringing back one of the original female puppeteers, Louise Gold, and her character Annie Sue, rival to Ms. Piggy.
  • Guillermo Del Toro? Superheroes? We’re in.
  • Calling Science nerds! Check out Omnisci, a site where scientists can share data, methods, protocols, and review products!
  • Joan C. Williams has some insights into the gender wage gap.
  • Some notable Hispanics in STEM use their cultural intelligence to further science.
  • A lovely list of prominent Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (including our favorite, Mae Jemison).
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We’re No. 1! “So Many Ladies, So Few Clothes” edition

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Jeff

This has been a solid week for comics, although without many true #1’s. Still, there are great new tales from a lot of indie publishers, and we also get to revisit some classic characters we love and see interesting departures in ongoing series.

Frink-1-CoverThe first of this week’s new #1’s comes from a familiar franchise, brought to us by a less familiar comics publisher: Bongo Comics’ Professor Frink: Fantastic Science Fictions #1. Yup, THAT Professor Frink, of The Simpsons. This is essentially three short stories, filled with the wise-cracking characters we’ve all been watching on television for over two decades. There’s not a lot that’s new in the comic, but it’s fun to see a less well-known Simpsons regular like Professor Frink having some science-y fun! If you are a big hard-sciences nerd, or get you giggles from the fields of STEM, then this comic is loaded with exactly the kind of word play and puns that’ll have you chuckling all the way to the lab. It’s not an ongoing series to follow really, but it’s worth the read.

Continue reading →

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A Mid-Season Look at Mindy

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Lois

mindyprojectWe’ve been on The Mindy Project train since Day One, ready to set the haters straight ever since the first season of Mindy Kaling’s new show kicked off last fall. A lot of the initial push-back involved Kaling trying to break into the Manic Pixie Dream Girl territory. (“Who needs another show about some shallow woman chasing after a husband in New York City!” basically.) Griping abounded about Kaling’s character being frivolous and vapid, but Mindy Lahiri (M.D, bitch!) has been proving everyone wrong as a multifaceted character who has avoided many dreadful tropes, thank Cheese-us. Let’s just take a look at the different sides of Mindy, ones that don’t involve posing for cell phone self-portraits.

SHE’S TOUGH.
No, really. Mindy admits to being a pushover (as evidenced by her interactions with her younger brother) and often has a hard time saying “No” (reinforced by the Samurai sword hanging in her apartment), but when it’s something important, she is going to come down on you like an entire DSW sales rack of high heels.

mindytakedown

People don’t expect any steel from Mindy because she likes celebrity gossip, romantic comedies, and cries at a box of Girl Scout cookies. In fact, she is the only person in her office who really calls people out, gets shit done, and rolls with the punches. (Sometimes literally, like when she was the first to notice nurse Brenda’s incompetence and the only one professional enough to fire her.)

When Danny and Jeremy staged a mini coup and tried to turn the practice into a boys club, they not only hemorrhaged patients but needed Mindy to come back and fix things. She did so by marching straight upstairs to the Holistic Center and publicly smacking everyone down – not with emotional theatrics but with stone cold facts. Just because she’s sensitive and girly doesn’t mean that she won’t swing her handbag down on you like the hammer of Thor. Continue reading →

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Geeking Out

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Mace
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We’re No. 1! “Prequels, Spin-offs, and Reboots”

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Jeff

This week in #1 issues in comics we have no less than TEN new series to talk about. To sort through them all, let’s talk a little bit about the types of stories, and how these fit into certain patterns.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and certainly more than one way to start a new comic series. The most obvious is to start a brand new story in a brand new universe, with original characters and a whole new world, with no expectations. There are two solid examples of this purist form of the #1 this week, and they are about as different from each other as can be.

The first is Vitriol the Hunter #1, 7251582-vitriol-the-hunter-1from IDW comics, set in a near future world beset by Vampires. These are not local teenagers mooning over each other but fanged, nasty bloodsuckers running the streets at night and conspiring to eat us all. Enter our hero Nimirus Vitriol, Vampire Hunter. Vitriol is on a mission to clear his family name, as his father was a scientist who attempted to enslave vampires to work for the government, leading to them coming out of the coffin, so to speak, and into the open night. Vitriol’s name gets right to the heart of his anger with the nosferatu, but he’s a fairly flat character, frankly, and the Vampires themselves are also somewhat one dimensional. The art work by rocker Billy Martin of Good Charlotte leans more towards the Saturday cartoon and gives the book a lighter feel than I think was intended. It’s a simple horror action piece with one stock female character and not a lot to offer in terms of diversity, but it’s harmless fare to be sure.

FeverRidge_01-CvrThe second of the pure new stories this week is Fever Ridge: A Tale of MacArthur’s Jungle War #1. Obviously a WWII comic, this book’s tone couldn’t be more horrific or serious, and its cover is cringe worthy enough. It’s a well-researched story about American troops fighting against the Japanese in New Guinea before the invasion of Normandy. Unfortunately, the first chapter is too disjointed, beginning in a New Mexico boot camp with two German-speaking recruits suffering snake bites. There’s also a distracting and largely irrelevant flashback to the actual snakebites, and I was curious why the story wasn’t more linear. The art by Nick Runge has a very realistic feel and does well to illustrate the horrors of war, but the narrative isn’t coherent in either of the settings, and it’s so off-putting I’d have a hard time recommending the series any further.

Continue reading →

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An Open Letter to DC Comics

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Tanya

This letter originally appeared on The Hero Blog on Valentine’s Day, but we really thought it was worth sharing here as well, so we’re cross-posting it with Miguel’s permission.

Dear DC Comics,

First off – Happy Valentine’s Day. And thank you for your ongoing commitment to representing the different kinds of love there are in the universe – man/woman, man/man, woman/woman, alien/amazon, amazon/man…I’m sure there are some robots in there somewhere…anyway, you get the idea.

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You’ve done much good and created many role models in your years publishing comics. You’ve created (and re-created) a group of inspiring heroes for kids of all ages (I’m nearly 40!) to look up to.

Which brings me to the purpose of this letter. Today, a day of love, I wanted to share with you my thoughts on your hiring of Orson Scott Card to author a few stories in your upcoming “Adventures of Superman” digital release.

As you are well aware, Card is an outspoken Mormon who believes gay rights are “a collective delusion that’s being attempted”. And he’s not just a passive anti-gay supporter – he’s an activist. He’s a board member of the National Organization for Marriage – a group whose purpose is to deny marriage to homosexual couples under the guise of preserving the sanctity of traditional marriage.

Now I firmly believe that you, DC, have the right to hire whoever you want to write your stories. You own the characters and the DC Universe. And, of course, I have the right to not purchase a book based on the author you’ve chosen. Continue reading →

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Monsters! Kittens! Stan Lee!

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Hilary
Stan Lee and the children at the launch of Stan Lee's Kids Universe.

Stan Lee and the children at the launch of Stan Lee’s Kids Universe.

A few Saturdays ago, the biggest name in comic books brought another universe to life. Stan “The Man” Lee, best known for his and Jack Kirby’s creation of the modern Marvel universe, has hitched his label, POW! Entertainment, to frequent collaborator 1821 Comics in order to create a whole new universe geared specifically towards kids (ages 1-10).

Along with actress Jamie Pressly, Stan Lee and CEO of 1821 Comics Terry Dougas sat down with the media to describe the content that will be launching in Stan Lee’s Kids Universe.

Terry Dougas (left) and Stan Lee.

Terry Dougas (left) and Stan Lee.

“We thought there was a need for books for very young children that would really entertain them and also teach them a little something,” said Lee, “And we couldn’t find anything that really excited us, so we said, okay, we’ll do it ourselves.”

With an emphasis on educating children, expanding their imagination and furthering art education, the new content will include picture books, graphic novels, eBooks, mobile games and apps, and an ever-increasing amount content on their website.

The main content in focus for the launch is the super-cute and educational book by Dani Jones, Monsters vs. Kittens. The book centers on the comparisons between big monsters and tiny kittens, and how you should love your friends, no matter what they look like.

Opening the doors for content for children with special needs is also something now on the discussion table with this new universe. “If there’s something we can do, for kids with special needs, I think we would love to do it.”

Monsters vs. Kittens

Monsters vs. Kittens

Stan Lee has expressed such joy at working with Terry Dougas again, after POW! Entertainment and 1821 Comics’ stellar collaboration on the bestselling graphic novel Romeo and Juliet: The War.

“This guy is so much fun to work with, because he’s just as energetic as I used to be,” said Lee. “It’s like going back fifty years.”

After the interview and playtime with the kids, Stan Lee read Monsters vs. Kittens to them, which we have for you guys here!
Video after the cut!

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Geeking Out

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Mace
  • You know you miss the good old days of indignant 8-bit chirps about not cleaning up massive piles of poop. The Tamagotchi returns!
  • We’re a little weary of change to our childhood classics, but after a while the new Harry Potter covers started to grow on us. Kudos for keeping the title font treatment and the soft focus!
  • Wizard of Oz meets Game of Thrones? Sign us up!
  • The ladies behind the Genderbent Justice League are kickstarting a web series about a cosplayer who believes she is a superhero. The show is being developed by Dexter Adriano, who has been editing TV for the past decade, and Michael Premsrirat, who wrote the script.
  • Food for thought: this open letter raises concerns about the ongoing struggle for intersectionality within the feminist sphere.
  • Peter Dinklage is joining the cast of X-Men: Days of Future Past.
  • The Jane Dough has put together this great list of 50 African American women, kicking ass and taking names in business, politics, and philanthropy.
  • The chart of the popularity of the name Bruce looks awfully familiar. io9 breaks down why.
  • These heads made from the waxy wrapper of Babybel cheese are both really, really disturbing and kind of cute. (via NotCot)
  • Some of your favorite movie posters and album covers done with Star Wars figurines.
  • Speaking of which… Han Solo: Time Traveler.
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“OK, Now Kiss!” Some Favorite LGBTQI Couples in Comics

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Rick

In honor of Valentine’s Day, and thumbing my nose in the general direction of documented homophobe Orson Scott Card writing Superman, I hereby present my unscientific, completely biased, entirely personal, and in-no-particular-order list of top four (with a bonus) favorite LGBTQI couples in superhero comics.

Queer characters have had a rough go of it in mainstream comics (not surprisingly, given what’s perceived to be the primary audience). Even so, writers, especially in the past decade, have managed to include some truly wonderful relationships.

Continue reading →

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We’re No. 1! “Ladies with Swords, Guns, and Proton Packs”

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Jeff

There’s lots to talk about this week, with new #1’s in some of the biggest franchises around, including the Avengers, an all new DC book featuring a female superhero in her first ongoing series, and the debut of the new comic series from music icons Coldplay.

PowersWomen with tons of guts take center stage this week, and one of the standouts is the return of Deena Pilgrim in Powers: Bureau #1, by comics rock stars Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. This is a new run on a series that’s been around at Icon – Marvel’s creator owned imprint – for a while now,  a story of the human cops who pick up the pieces in a super human filled world.  The Powers, as they are referred to rather disdainfully, aren’t always as friendly as you’d think, and Deena Pilgrim has had her share of their troubles. Having spent a year out of the crime fighting game, she gets pulled back in, trying to save a little girl. Deena is also searching for her lost partner, all while being recruited into the FBI. Deep down, Pilgrim feels that they’re out of her league – not because she’s a woman but because she’s human. Still, she’s tough and uncompromising in her belief in doing the right thing. Her efforts to rescue a powered little girl, all while working to bust a super powered smuggling operation, make for a great lead character in this issue. It’s not for younger readers, but this is a good place to get into the Powers series if you’ve not been here before. Continue reading →

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Geeking Out

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Mace
  • WTF, Evolution? is our favorite Tumblr blog (this week), hilariously spotlighting some of nature’s most terrifying or bizarre creatures. (Have you seen the blobfish?)
  • Cheese Cupid is the cheese and beverage pairing app you need, although our default mode is always just “eat all the cheese within vicinity.”
  • Most of the time, searching for GIFs online just leads to Tumblr tags, which are impossible to wade through. Enter GIPHY: a search engine dedicated solely to GIFs!
  • If you’ve got to do an emergency clean up of your home, or just need help getting started on your spring cleaning resolution, this guide can help!
  • A short animated film about the childhood of Ronald E. McNair, one of the astronauts on the Challenger.
  • Because we can’t get enough of her, a list of things Malinda Lo learned from the X-files.
  • Matt Smith will be starring in Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut, How to Catch a Monster.
  • Gabe Newell and J.J. Abrams working on a Half-Life or Portal movie? Don’t toy with our hearts!
  • George R.R. Martin lands a deal with HBO, leading ASOIAF fans to cry, “finish the books first!”
  • With an awesome twist on the aerial view in photography, this Swedish artist turns the streets of Hong Kong into a 2D platformer.
  • Autostraddle profiles the members of the The Suga Mamas, Beyoncé’s incredibly talented and gorgeous backing band.
  • Gail Simone’s newest project, The Movement, brings the Occupy movement to the DC Universe. Coming in May!
  • Monopoly has welcomed its newest token: the cat! Sadly, that means that the gold old iron has been asked to retire. NPR has the interview.
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We’re No. 1! – “Holidays, Heroes and Homicide” edition

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Jeff

Holy heavy lifting, comics fans! There’s a ton of new stuff on the shelves this week, with stories featuring all-female super teams, the return of DC’s openly gay couple Apollo and Midnighter, re-imagined fairy tales, murder mysteries, wizards, and holiday fun.

DIA The most vividly arresting offering this week is the beautifully illustrated Dia De Los Muertos #1, a collaborative piece between artist Riley Rossmo (Bedlam) and writers Alex Link (Rebel Blood), Christopher E. Long, and Dirk Manning. Presented in the classic Golden Age format, this large volume is a collection of three stories centering on spirits that wander back into the lives of humans. Be they fantastical musings on the loss of a parent, a horrifying revenge tale, or a sadly macabre story of love lost and found again, Rossmo’s style dominates the book, bringing the three disparate tales together in a way that’s both cohesive and moving. The characters here are strong and nuanced, the standouts being the tattooed (and physically realistic) female lead of Link’s story Dead, but Dreaming, and the heartbroken Mariachi of Manning’s Te Vas Ångel Mío. This is a book you’ll want to keep on your coffee table more than bagged and boarded in your longboxes. Continue reading →

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Interview with Malinda Lo

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Tanya

Malinda-LoRegular visitors to our site will probably know that a few of us here are unabashed fans of good YA fiction, and we’ve been particularly fond of the books by Bay Area-based author Malinda Lo. In Ash, Lo brought us a beautifully reimagined Cinderella story; Huntress served as a prequel, deeply influenced by Chinese legends; her latest book, Adaptation, is a bit of a departure from the earlier two novels, a yarn of science fiction, conspiracy theories, and teenage love. In all of her novels, Lo has written compelling gay and straight characters, spinning their narratives with tender and attentive detail. Besides being a well loved YA author, Lo is quite active on Tumblr and is more than a bit of a geek. (Her graduate research at Stanford focused on The X-Files!) Basically, a woman after our hearts. To find out more about her writing process, her academic background, and which Hogwarts House would her three main protagonists belong to, read on for our interview! (Special note of thanks to Lois and Mace for contributing some excellent questions.) Continue reading →

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