April 17 2013

1. The puppies are growing quickly. This is all to the good! In a few weeks they will not need to be fed every four hours, which will mean that we can stop feeding them in the middle of the night.

It’s like having infants again. Or, no, it’s like toddlers.

Okay, no, it’s like that window of time in which K was a toddler and M was an infant, and we could not take our eyes off of either of them for an instant and they would split up and take off in different directions.

Yes. It’s like that.

2. I am working on plank variations in my workouts. Elbow plank, arm plank, one-arm plank, one-leg plank, plank with feet up on a bench, plank with one of my kids sitting on my back.

3. The Eisner Award nominations have been announced. Congrats to all the nominees!

As I mentioned on Twitter, this is truly a golden age in comics — because of the vast number of deserving works that did not get nominated. Comics these days are so good, so wonderful, that there are just not sufficient awards to recognize them all.

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Superman: An Unauthorized Biography, by Glen Weldon

Superman: An Unauthorized Biography, by Glen Weldon.

I try very hard to not be the person who says “normally, I don’t like this thing, but I like your version of this thing.” I mean, if I don’t like that thing, why am I reading/watching it? And if I do like your version, what have you done that is so different (wrong? terrible? missing the point?) that I like your version? It’s meant to be a compliment, of course, but it doesn’t necessarily come across as such.

Yet I feel I need to say something very close to that statement when discussing Glen Weldon’s history of Superman. Because the thing Mr. Weldon has done is make me care about Superman. He has translated, explained, and represented Superman to a life-long comics fan who has just never cared for the big guy before.

In short, I have never cared one way or the other about Superman. And what Glen Weldon has done in this book — that is different from other people talking about Superman — is describe Superman’s history so lovingly, so thoroughly, with such humor and passion and joy, that I have come to appreciate Superman.

Superman: An Unauthorized Biography is not a history of the making of Superman properties, though it touches on that. Nor is it a history of the Superman canon, though that canon is a large part of the book. What Weldon has written is exactly what it says on the tin — a biography of a fictional character, delving first into the canon, then looking at creators, back and forth. We learn not only what Superman was, what he was doing, during decades past, we learn why he was those things and what the people creating him meant.

This book is sociology, history, and biography. Moreover, it has that quality that makes all the good histories great. Weldon loves this subject, that much is clear. But more than that, he want you to understand what there is to love. Too many specialists bludgeon the reader with information, hoping to drown any objections in a deluge of fact. Weldon deftly stays away from that trap. He tells you just enough, and no more.

If you have any interest in Superman, obviously you should read this book. But I also encourage you to read it if you do not have an interest in Superman, and have always wondered what the big deal is. Weldon’s Superman: An Unauthorized Biography explains it to you. And while you may not love Superman at the end, you will understand.

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Harvey Awards eligibility of Chicks Dig Comics

The Harvey Awards are:

“presented annually to those creators and publications that receive the most votes from their peers in the comics industry. At the beginning of each year, nominating ballots are sent to comics professionals and publishers. Qualifying professionals are able to nominate up to five entries in each category. The top five nominees, plus ties, in each category are placed on the final ballot, which is mailed in the Spring. Final ballots are returned one month later and the votes are tabulated. Winners are announced each year at the Harvey Awards banquet.” [from the website]

Chicks Dig Comics, the book I co-edited with Lynne Thomas and published by Mad Norwegian Press, is eligible for a Harvey Award. Specifically, for the Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation (Any Book, Magazine, Film, or Video That Contributes to the Understanding of Comics as an Artform) Harvey Award.

If you are a comics professional qualified to vote in the Harveys, and if you have read Chicks Dig Comics and believe it to be worthy of industry recognition, please consider including Chicks Dig Comics among your nominations.

Thank you.

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Wolverine Origins

… Was the movie Wolverine Origins supposed to work with the rest of the X-Men movies?

X-Men First Class takes place in the 1960s. During The Bay of Pigs fiasco. In that film, Xavier is young and has all of his hair. Emma Frost is in that film. She is also quite young – early 20s, perhaps.

In X-Men and X-Men 2, Scott Summers is in his late 20s or early 30s. That movie is set around the year 2000, more-or-less-ish.

William Stryker is in X-Men 2, at an age of approximately 55-65.

So, Emma Frost and Scott Summers have an age difference of between twenty and thirty years, more-or-less-ish.

Mystique, Sabretooth, and Wolverine don’t age for Plot-Related Reasons Which Are Consistent If Not Exactly Reasonable. Xavier and Magneto age consistently between First Class and the original X-Men movie.

Stryker appears in Origins as a man of about forty or so. Emma appears as a teenager. Scott appears as a teenager. Xavier appears to be about 45-55 years old.

So Wolverine Origins take place in one of the following time frames:

1950-1960, based on Emma’s age
1990 or so, based on Xavier
1985-1990, based on Scott
1980 or so, based on Stryker
or 2010 based on the clothes, weapons, aircraft, guns, phones, and all other real-world-plausible technology.
Moreover, Origins postulates that Scott and Emma are the same age, and that this film takes place BEFORE The Bay of Pigs.

Even by the loose, broadly forgiving standards of continuity to which I hold my beloved X-Men comics, this is terribly inconsistent.

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February 7 2013

1. We mailed off our passport applications yesterday. NO THANKS TO ME, who forgot half of the papers we needed even after J asked if I had everything. ANYWAY. We all got it straightened out at the end.

2. The first Spanish class was quite fun. If you are in the Twin Cities and looking for language instruction — not just Spanish, a host of things — I highly recommend giving Language Sprout a look-see. Adult, children, and family classes available.

3. I ran out of gunpowder green tea. I re-ordered, but it’s not here yet. In the meantime, I’ve been drinking mate. Which isn’t bad actually, but it’s not my green tea.

4. Yesterday was great day for me in comics. In fact, most weeks I truly love getting my new comics. There’s a ton of fantastic stuff out there featuring female characters of all sorts.

Rachel Rising, if you like crime-horror.
Saga, for epic SF
Scarlet, for gritty crime drama
Stumptown, for noir detective fiction
Hawkeye, for note-perfect character-based superhero fiction
Honestly, if you like superhero stuff, I recommend jumping on to ANY of the recent Marvel Now stuff. It’s not a reboot, it’s just a fantastic point to join the party. Almost all of the X-Men and Avengers titles are great.

5. I am enjoying A Month of Letters. I have sent something out every day, probably to the great startlement of folks who have no idea what Month of Letters is, and will be wondering why the HELL I sent them a card.

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January 31 2013

1. Roast Brussel Sprouts

Pre-heat oven to 400 F.

Cut the ends off of a mess of brussel sprouts. Peel away any loose or brown leaves. Put into an oven-safe dish that has a lid.

Trim a small head of broccoli into bite-sized pieces. I only use the florets, because I don’t like the stems. Add to the dish.

Pour a couple tablespoons of olive oil over the veggies. Add a teaspoon of pepper, and some amount of salt between a pinch and a teaspoon, depending on how much salt you want. Stir until everything is coated evenly.

Cover the dish, put it in the over. Cook for 20 minutes. Stir everything a bit. Cook another 10-20 minutes, depending on how much stuff you have in your pot.

Eat.

2. The thing I am most enjoying about Tumblr is that I can follow television shows I would not enjoy watching, and only see the Parts Relevant to My Interests. Because other people, interested in the same stuff I am, make gifs and images and fanart and fanfic and post it to Tumblr. And I get an EXTREMELY biased view of what the show is about. A happy, happy view.

3. Hawkeye #7 came out yesterday. Portions of the sales of this comic are being donated to disaster relief. But, if you just want to donate without getting the comic, donate and give it as a gift in honor of Hawkguy.

#hawkguy #greatwithboats #redcross

Spread the word.

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January 23 2013

1. I’m registered for Wiscon! And have a hotel room! This makes me excited for the con.

2. I’m planning on CONvergence this year. I won’t be at Heroes Con or C2E2, due to scheduling conflicts. I’m pondering trying to get to Geek Girl Con.

3. Comics today include Stumptown #5, and Young Avengers #1. I have already bought them on Comixology.

4. A lot of work-related projects are sitting in my email inbox today. Not quite sure when I will get to read these new comics.

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Ongoing canon is what it is

Being a fan of the X-Men has prepared me for so many fannish experiences.

I was pondering this while watching the most recent episode of Once Upon a Time. Someone on Tumblr noted that, based only on this episode, you would never know that Ruby and Belle were really close friends. Yet we had two episodes devoted to that subject.

The thing is, with a complicated and ongoing canon, you can’t make everything fit all of the time. Some episodes focus more on one character rather than another. Or on one plot instead of another. That’s just the way it is, and you can go crazy trying to fit everything together in a reasonable and consistent manner.

I know this lesson from reading the X-Men and related comics for over twenty years. Most recently the comics had a complicated plot about who was hosting the Phoenix. And, repeatedly, characters said that only Jean Grey was ever able to host the Phoenix for any length of time — and even that killed her. I read all of these declarations while mentally shouting, “WHAT ABOUT RACHEL.”

But, this wasn’t Rachel’s story. And in what was a pretty rip-roaring, damn good story, there wasn’t room for every character and every loose end and plot thread from twenty years of canon. I know this, I understand this, and it doesn’t really affect my enjoyment of the story. I can let it go.

Similarly, I can let the loose ends and character inconsistencies on Once Upon a Time go. The show is what it is, and it’s trying to incorporate not only two seasons of show-specific canon, but fifty years of Disney films and eight hundred years of Western literary tradition. Some episodes are going to further one plot or character at the expense of another. That’s okay with me. I can watch for the characters and moments I favor.

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Age of the Geek? Age of the Fan.

I’ve been reading some things online that are all swirling around that all seem to indicate something to me about fandom, and fannish power, and fannish creators. I don’t have an actual thesis here, just some thoughts.

1. Creators of properties have frequently been fans of the genre before attempting to create in it, whichever genre “it” may be. But there’s been this new thing in the last twenty years, this internet fandom. And today’s creators are people who have grown up in internet fandom.

2. The BBC article about Jim C. Hines’ cover poses also mentions the Prismatic Art Collection and The Hawkeye Initiative. The Hawkeye Initiative is entirely a fannish thing. It’s people with no connection to creating comics trying to bring about awareness of something stupid in comics. And now it’s in a BBC article.

3. There’s a whole group of creators, in comics and in SF/F, who insist on feminism and gender equality in their work by the simple fact of putting it in their work. These are people around my age or a bit younger. Who grew up being fans of the same things I am a fan of. People who read the life-changing, awesome, and problematic books and comics of my childhood. The people making my comics now are the people who remember Tony Stark’s alcoholic crash, who remember Storm’s punk transformation, who remember Rusty and Skids and Cameron Hodge. The people writing my SF/F are people who read Seaward, The Stand, and Dragonflight. Who read The Cage and Dealing With Dragons and Alanna: The First Adventure. War for the Oaks and The Dragon Waiting and Barrayar. These creators, they put women in their work because women have always been a part of comics and SF/F. A minority part, sure, but often the best, most interesting part.

Brian Wood said, in his interview for Wired magazine, “The female X-Men are amazing characters, they always have been, everyone knows that. They’ve been the best thing about the franchise.”

This is who is writing my comics these days. People who think this.

4. The writers and creators, they are talkative. They tweet and tumbl and blog and do interviews and podcasts. This is how the world is now, yes. But a lot of them, however introverted they may be, they grew up being able to talk to the creators they loved. On message boards, on LiveJournal, at conventions, on The Well, in zines. There’s this idea that communication is a two-way thing.

None of those thoughts are really coherent. I don’t have a thesis. But I like it. I like Kieron Gillen’s Tumblr posts of music and lyrics and images and words, all trying to explain something heartfelt about characters he is gleefully privileged to write. I like Jim Hines’ send-ups of cover art and his commitment to not replicate those problems in his own work. I like that Kelly Sue DeConnick posts knitting pattern fanart of Captain Marvel to her Tumblr. I love the idea that there’s a We, here, of people who genuinely love this stuff. Who love it enough to fight for it, to be angry at it, to gently correct it. Who love it enough to celebrate it, to share it, to laud it.

I’m pleased that my people are now making the things I love.

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Last night’s bruschetta, a recipe

1. My son, the poor pook, was pretty sick yesterday. Fingers crossed that he feels better today.

2. The knitting pattern for Carol Danvers’ Lucky Hat is a real thing, and I wish I was a knitter because I would wear the HELL out of that hat.

3. I made the best bruschetta for dinner last night.

Spinach Mushroom Bruschetta

Loaf or two of french bread, sliced
small pkg.of chopped frozen spinach
4 Tbsp olive oil
cup of chopped onion
3 cloves of garlic (or more if you like, I used eight cloves)
8 oz. pkg. of mushrooms chopped
1/2 cup mayo
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

Saute onion, mushroom, and garlic in olive oil. Add chopped spinach. Remove from heat. Add mayo and parmesan cheese.

Butter one side of the french bread slices and place (buttered side down) on baking sheet. Top with spinach mixture.

Bake 10 minutes.

You can also make this with chopped artichoke hearts instead of mushrooms.

NOM.

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