kate

In the last 24 hours there has been a lot of chatter about Apple banning Saga #12 from our Comics App on the Apple App Store due to depictions of gay sex. This is simply not true, and we’d like to clarify.

As a partner of Apple, we have an obligation to respect its policies for apps and the books offered in apps. Based on our understanding of those policies, we believed that Saga #12 could not be made available in our app, and so we did not release it today.

We did not interpret the content in question as involving any particular sexual orientation, and frankly that would have been a completely irrelevant consideration under any circumstance.

Given this, it should be clear that Apple did not reject Saga #12.

After hearing from Apple this morning, we can say that our interpretation of its policies was mistaken. You’ll be glad to know that Saga #12 will be available on our App Store app soon.

We apologize to Saga creator Brian K. Vaughn and Image Comics for any confusion this may have caused.

–David Steinberger, 2013 (separate context)

Unbelievable. So let me break this down. I should probably do this at length, but I’m at work so here’s some light work. Let’s hash it out in the comments, because I’m sure I’m leaving something out:

1. Brian K Vaughan releases a statement that Apple has banned Saga #12, specifically citing “two postage stamp-sized images of gay sex.” Fiona Staples cosigns it. They stand behind their comic, which is the only sane choice.
2. These statements are later cosigned by Image Comics and ComiXology via retweets, tweets, and reblogs on Tumblr.
3. People urge others to boycott Apple and to buy Saga from ComiXology or Image Comics directly. ComiXology implicitly supports these actions by spreading word that the comic will be on the website, not the app.
4. Twitter goes ham, understandably, because it looks like Apple is back rejecting gay content for vague or unstated reasons.
5. Websites follow suit, and a widespread discussion about Apple’s past practices follow.
6. This morning, 24 hours later, ComiXology CEO David Steinberger releases a statement that basically says “oh it was us ha ha sorry!”

The discussion about Apple and access is valuable, considering Apple’s place as a gatekeeper. If comics is going to hitch itself to Apple’s products, comics needs to be sure that it isn’t being handcuffed at the same time. Cape comics just escaped the Comics Code — there’s no reason to volunteer yourself to be controlled again.

But:
1. Apple’s gatekeeper status. This specific instance is a case of someone incorrectly interpreting Apple’s rules, which is actually a big part of the problem. What’s explicit? What’s obscene? As far as I know, Apple has never clearly said, and they often contradict themselves or go “Oh wait no this one’s good. We meant this other thing.” It’s a crapshoot. If you’re going to have a code, make it public so we know what the deal is.
2. Saga is THE comic right now. More than anything else, it’s an important comic in the comics industry. It’s a high selling title from a celebrated author and a ferociously talented artist, and they own it. Saga, to a lot of people, represents a sea change in the industry. So this is important on a few different levels.
3. Who told BKV that Apple said no to the gay content? And how does that jibe with ComiXology’s statement that “We did not interpret the content in question as involving any particular sexual orientation, and frankly that would have been a completely irrelevant consideration under any circumstance.”? What’s true here? Either ComiXology spiked it because of the gay sex or they didn’t. Who’s lying?
4. By purchasing directly from ComiXology or one of their partner sites, ComiXology avoids having to pay Apple a 30% fee for distribution. That increases the profits for ComiXology and, I assume, the creators. Even if there’s no actual wrongdoing here, there is definitely the appearance of shadiness, thanks to ComiXology and its partners repeatedly and aggressively suggesting that you should buy Saga directly from them while claiming that it was “banned by Apple,” or rejected by Apple, or whatever the correct terminology is here.
5. The criticisms that were previously aimed at Apple should now be turned toward ComiXology — who on their staff is in charge of content approvals? What are they using as a guide? Do they have the best interests of the comics industry at heart? If no, should they?
6. ComiXology is the new Diamond. They’ve got all the big names and they call the shots with impunity. There are alternatives — I’m extremely fond of DRM-free PDFs and JPGs where I pay directly to the creators — but if you’re talking digital comics, you’re talking ComiXology.
7. It took 24 hours for ComiXology to fess up, which is utterly pathetic. Why the delay? To dodge the worst of the backlash while enjoying the benefits of it?
8. Petty, but: Steinberger didn’t even mention Fiona Staples in his apology, even though she’s co-creator of the book and just as affected by this news as BKV. Try harder. Artists matter.

This is a quagmire. What am I forgetting? What leaps out to you? Let’s conversate.Similar Posts:

• Image’s Eric Stephenson on the Saga #12 Drama
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• Iron Man: Armor Wars
• Who benefits from DRM? (Not the consumer.)

I’m a huge fan of Skipmore. So when I saw that they released one of their more popular titles, Fairune, in English for the Android and iOS I was very excited. When I saw that it was available for free, I instantly downloaded it.

Official Launch Trailer

If you like classic JRPGs and adventure titles like The Legend of Zelda then you’re going to like this game. And if you don’t have a smartphone that supports this game or access to one at the moment, there’s a free flash version of the original Fairune available online to play.

However you play it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

source: Skipmore

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - President Barack Obama wants NASA to start work on finding a small asteroid that could be shifted into an orbit near the moon and used by astronauts as a stepping-stone for an eventual mission to Mars, agency officials said on Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In a case straight out of a heist movie, police arrested five men in a burglary crew that sawed into Los Angeles-area banks through the roofs and netted a total of $6 million, authorities said on Wednesday.

These two pieces of Iranian animation caught me by surprise because they are so stylistically different from other recent animation I’ve seen coming out of Iran. The first is a commercial for Lina Luke snack food directed by Moin Samadi. It has been accepted into this year’s Annecy Animation Festival:

The next is an energetic and funny hand-drawn piece called Evolution by Mehdi Alibeygi.

“EVOLUTION” CREDITS
Director, Writer, Animator: Mehdi Alibeygi
Executive Producer: Moin Samadi
Sound and Music: Armin Bahari
Composite: Sare Shafipour
Logo Designer: Amin Maftoon
Produced by Raiavin Studio

David Steinberger, CEO of ComiXology writes;

In the last 24 hours there has been a lot of chatter about Apple banning Saga #12 from our Comics App on the Apple App Store due to depictions of gay sex. This is simply not true, and we’d like to clarify.

As a partner of Apple, we have an obligation to respect its policies for apps and the books offered in apps.  Based on our understanding of those policies, we believed that Saga #12 could not be made available in our app, and so we did not release it today.

We did not interpret the content in question as involving any particular sexual orientation, and frankly that would have been a completely irrelevant consideration under any circumstance.

Given this, it should be clear that Apple did not reject Saga #12.

After hearing from Apple this morning, we can say that our interpretation of its policies was mistaken. You’ll be glad to know that Saga #12 will be available on our App Store app soon.

We apologize to Saga creator Brian K. Vaughan and Image Comics for any confusion this may have caused.

No apology to Fiona?

Bleeding Cool’s original piece quoted Brian K Vaughan liberally, blaming Apple and neither ComiXology nor Apple were replying to enquiries. It was noted that ComiXology also removed Saga #12 from the Android App, though made it available through their website. Saga #12 is howver still available on Apple’s iBooks, without ComiXology.

However, it was Apple that banned 1500 French comics from Izneo for doing a lot less.

I am reminded somewhat of Steve Geppi, President and owner of Diamond Comic Distributor, who at one point tried to ban the likes of Miracleman #9, with scenes of graphic childbirth, threatening. At that point it seemed that Diamond was about to become a moral arbiter, instead they moved to a system of segregation, where graphicaly adult comics were solicited and ordered separately, indeed, creating a healthy market for them at one point.

Could ComiXology be trying something similar here? Shifting certain titles exclusively through the website – and as a result getting the sale without the Apple or Android charge, so that more money goes to ComiXology, and the creators and publisher?

And could The Boys: Herogasm also be returned to iOS? What about Black Kiss 2?

 UPDATE: Saga #12 is available on ComiXology throughg iOS now.

UPDATE x2: Brian K Vaughan responds;

I wanted to apologize to everyone for this entire SAGA #12 kerfuffle.  Yesterday, I was mistakenly led to believe that this issue was solely with Apple, but it’s now clear that it was only ever Comixology too conservatively interpreting Apple’s rules.  I’m truly sorry.  I never thought either company was being homophobic, only weirdly inconsistent about what kind of adult material was permissible.  I’m grateful that the situation was cleared up so quickly, and I’m delighted I can go back to reading smutty comics on my Retina Display iPad.

The post Apple Didn’t Ban Saga #12, It Was ComiXology – And It’s Back On iOS Now (UPDATE AGAIN – BKV Responds) appeared first on Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movies and TV News and Rumors.

On Tuesday of this week, Image Comics and comics writer Brian K. Vaughan reported that this week’s issue of Saga, the star-faring fantasy series written by Vaughan and drawn by Fiona Staples, has been banned from being sold “through any iOS apps” over two background depictions of gay sex in the issue.

Update: Comixology released a statement on Wednesday taking responsibility for the snafu, saying that their interpretation of Apple content policy was in error.

[Vaughan and Image on the ban]

The move had initially puzzled the writer, publisher, comics industry, and readers of the series in regards to its inconsistency. Image Comics and Brian K. Vaughan had this to say regarding the matter:

As has hopefully been clear from the first page of our first issue, SAGA is a series for the proverbial “mature reader.” Unfortunately, because of two postage stamp-sized images of gay sex, Apple is banning tomorrow’s SAGA #12 from being sold through any iOS apps. This is a drag, especially because our book has featured what I would consider much more graphic imagery in the past, but there you go. Fiona and I could always edit the images in question, but everything we put into the book is there to advance our story, not (just) to shock or titillate, so we’re not changing shit.

The two (censored and safe-for-work) panels in question can be found here at The Comics Beat.

As a reader of the series I can definitely confirm that the comic, a take on Star Wars that is more realistic while also somehow being more fairytale-esque, has depicted far more gruesome and sexual images in its pages. (Although it is mindful never to attach any glamour to them.) I mean... one of my favorite characters is the ghost of a child who has been torn in half, and that’s not even the craziest thing in the series. (Jill Pantozzi of The Mary Sue helpfully points out that this is the NSFW first page of the never-banned previous issue.)

Update: The below was written before Comixology's explanation. See the above link in the second paragraph.

Apple is famously active when banning apps submitted for its store (a Google search on “Apple bans” will bring up a lot of reading material) but it’s never meddled with published content that it distributes, at least not in a way that is uncommon for large distributors, with the exception of Wal-Mart.

Thus, this behavior on the part of Apple appears inconsistent with its own business practices and with the content of the material itself. If Apple is choosing not to distribute content, why hasn’t it applied this standard across the board? If Apple just really doesn’t like Saga, why ban only this particular issue?

Currently, Apple is quiet on the subject, but for those who read the series through Apple mobile or tablet devices, Image Comics suggests these workarounds:

Apologies to everyone who reads our series on iPads or iPhones, but here are your alternatives for Wednesday:

1) Head over to you friendly neighborhood comics shop and pick up a physical copy of our issue that you can have and hold forever.

2) While you’re at it, don’t forget to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which helps protect retailers who are brave enough to carry work that some in their communities might consider offensive. You can find signed copies of Saga at the CBLDF site right now.

3) Download the issue directly through sites like https://comics.imagecomics.com or on your non-Apple smartphone or tablet.

4) If all else fails, you might be able to find SAGA #12 in Apple’s iBookstore, which apparently sometimes allows more adult material to be sold than through its apps. Crazy, right?

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Chris Lough is the production manager of Tor.com.

Are you planning on attending the 15th anniversary of Disney’s Animal Kingdom this Earth Day, April 22? After attending the anniversaries of Magic Kingdom Park and Epcot in 2011 and 2012, respectively, I’ll be there for sure.

Here are a few of the details of what’s planned for the park’s anniversary.

• Special opening ceremony – Meet at the Tree of Life at 8:40 a.m., to hear from Josh D’Amaro, Vice President of Disney’s Animal Kingdom; Dr. Jackie Ogden, Vice President of Animals, Science and Environment; and Joe Rohde, Senior Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering Creative. Make sure you arrive early for this!
• Earth Day “Party for the Planet” festivities – Special interactive activities that focus on animals and nature will take place throughout the park from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Artists and other vendors will present their work on in Africa and on Discovery Island, with their work available for purchase.
• Opportunity to purchase special 15th anniversary merchandise, available in limited quantities.
• Special food & beverage.

We’ll have more details on Party for the Planet fun, food & beverage and merchandise closer to the event date – stay tuned!

To join the conversation about the park’s anniversary online, use the hash tag #DAK15 on Twitter.

Celebrate the 15th Anniversary of Disney’s Animal Kingdom April 22 by Jennifer Fickley-Baker: Originally posted on the Disney Parks Blog

accompanying music

By Jorge Solis

This spring, Shout! Factory, along with Eurocorp, invites families and music lovers to join them on a whimsical adventure of fantasy, comedy, and action in "A Monster in Paris." With an English-language voice cast that consists of singing sensation Vanessa Paradis, singer/songwriter Sean Lennon, Catherine O’Hara ("Frankenweenie"), Adam Goldberg ("A Beautiful Mind"), Madeline Zima ("Heroes"), Danny Huston ("X-Men Origins: Wolverine"), and Jay Harrington ("Private Practice"), imagine how they will bring their CG animated characters to life!!

From Shout Factory:

A wacky inventor, his camera-crazy best friend and a madcap monkey make a massive mistake when they're let loose in a mad scientist’s laboratory. With lotions and potions spilling everywhere, the troublesome trio accidentally creates Franc, the product of a reaction between a common flea and one of the scientist’s mystery concoctions. What they fail to realize, however, is that this "monster" is actually a soft-centered soul with an astounding talent for music.

With the help of an enchanting nightclub singer Lucille, Franc becomes the talk of the town. Just when stories of Paris’s newest monster attracts unwanted attention, the egotistical police commissioner becomes hell-bent on securing a big prize to help his battle to become mayor. The unwitting scientists and singer must team-up to save Franc, a monster with more than a musical career to protect!

 Writer/Director Bibo Bergeron ("Shark Tale") takes audiences on a mesmerizing journey to the Parisian cityscapes of the 1900s. With a musical score by French singer/songwriter Matthieu Chedid (aka M) and Patrice Renson, expect nothing but memorably catchy song and dance numbers. "A Monster In Paris" is a fun animated film for the whole family to watch!

  Own "A Monster In Paris" on DVD  and Two-Disc Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack this April 16th, 2013.

Related Videos:

Inhhumans Clip From Shout Factory

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“Video games showed me who I could be:” transgender gamers share their stories, joys, and fears

A project by Michael Lee Lunsford – of Supernnormal Step webcomic fame – that sees some of our favourite women superheroes dressed in non-revealing costumes has been causing a splash on the internet today.

All illustrations from Michael Lee Lunsford’s tumblr here. 

Point of this: An exercise in character design, attempting to clothe the heroines nearly all the way and not making them painted-on, while still keeping the look of their original costumes in some way. Hopefully keeping them looking as iconic as the originally were. Just showing what can be done with a costume breaking outside the barrier of the norm.

NOT the point of this: some moral code I’m trying to push on you.

Judging by the reaction on my own Twitter and Facebook, the overall response is incredibly positive and the negative responses somewhat revealing in themselves. There’s criticism that all the women are wearing trousers for example, or look frumpy, with fellow Beat writer Steve Morris noting that he was somewhat initially taken back by the fact that these women are drawn with realistic body shapes – not something superhero comic readers are perhaps used to.

Other negative comments followed the predictable paths of, “but superhero men are half naked too!”, “they look like men in drag!”, “prudes!”, and the ever popular, “TWILIGHT!!”. Criticising superhero outfits is, of course, a favourite past time of all superhero comics fans, but when it comes to the women characters such criticism can skate worryingly close to the sexist edge (if not outright flying right over it).

So it’s easy to see why Lunsford is keen to point out that he is not pushing a moral code here. Let’s remember too, that women who like these outfits are not out on a crusade to ban all bare legs and boobs from superhero comics (Vampirella’s famous costume for example was designed by the wonderful and feminist Trina Robbins). But it is nice to see that these characters remain as iconic and powerful without all having to bare skin. Just as all superhero men should not have to sport the Namor speedo look. (Although actually, another illustrator has done almost exactly that to further illustrate this very point!)

I really love these, and it’s heartening to see the positive reactions. In my own world, superheroes would have more than one outfit because while some days we all feel like sex kittens, other days we just want to wear our pyjamas and veg out while reluctantly saving the world. And who wants to wear the same thing every day? Stick to a colour scheme to be recognisable, but work that capsule wardrobe folk. Lunsford is now working on a series called Super-Casuals, starting with Spider-Man.

Some of these characters of course have had (or currently have) equally non-revealing outfits. I think what sets these illustrations apart though is that realism in body shapes that Stephen spotted, and the fact that these also look like everyday wear for everyday women. I would totally wear that Supergirl outfit (minus the cape!).

(And wouldn’t these be great for real all-ages comics that aren’t just for kids but are suitable for them too?!)

Source: Tumblr via Geek Native

Insurance premiums in the Mushroom Kingdom must be through the roof. Then again, I think this is all a scam. Mario puts them in the hospital and then who do they see? That’s right, Dr. Mario! When is enough gold coins enough for that man?!

source: deviantART
via: Dotcore

How many times have we seen something fan-made like a custom figure or plushie and found ourselves asking why isn't this real? Well, here's another one for the list. LEGO modeler David Frank has put together one heck of a detailed version of  Castle Grayskull from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe using his building experience and some new tricks he's learned along the way. The end results speak for themselves!

I really love the overall look he came up with for this rendition. Is it cartoon accurate or anything? Certainly not, but Castle Grayskull is one of those things that has been tweaked a lot over the years and it's fun to see what types of idea artists come up with in their own variations. I'm pretty impressed by the jagged foundation under the castle and the way the stone wall is so rough and sticks out in every direction. Almost forget that these are LEGO bricks. One of the biggest eye-catchers is the spine coming off the back and over the top. If this were an actual toy and not a LEGO model that spine would make for a great handle to lug this around. 

The interior is also decked out with walls, rooms, and corridors. There's a bunch of decorations everywhere and even stairs going from floor to floor. Definitely captured the medieval appeal of the Masters of the Universe franchise. It does appear to be missing the throne room, though, castles need a throne after all. That's OK, David said that after he built this there were things he didn't like so I suspect there might be a version two in our future. 

Meanwhile I'm going to continue to wonder why Mattel isn't giving us a bunch of mini MOTU figures with little vehicles and playsets or an all out LEGO-type series. While we're waiting for that to never happen check out the gallery for more images and David Frank's flickr page for the full gallery. 

[via The Brothers Brick]

Read more...

Nickelodeon’s weekly ratings serve as a sobering reminder of the network’s perputual stasis and its inability to produce a hit show for well over a decade. But this wasn’t always the case. In an earlier era, Nick used to be the dominant name in children’s entertainment, pumping out hit show after hit.

That classic era of Nickelodeon is the subject of “It’s the shizNICK”, a group art show that will open Friday, April 19, from 7-11pm, at the iam8bit gallery (2147 W. Sunset Blvd., LA, CA 90026):

Nickelodeon—a network brave enough to broadcast bold, awesome, epic and irreverent programming that embraces the free-flying spirit of being a kid, ignoring the conventional rules of TV development and just… well… going for it!

An entire generation was raised on Nick’s onslaught of 90′s awesomeness – truly weird, funny, and honest entertainment that speaks for itself:

The Ren & Stimpy Show, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Rocko’s Modern Life, Salute Your Shorts, Doug, Double Dare, You Can’t Do That on Television, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Rugrats, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Hey Dude, SpongeBob SquarePants, etc.

The list flows on, but you get the picture. Nickelodeon has had a lasting cultural influence, far deeper than any other cable channel can claim.

The line-up of artists exhibiting in “It’s the shizNick” is impressively eclectic:

Opening night festivities will include DJs, drinks, an “Animated GIF Theatre”, a photo playset, and, of course, green slime. Full details on the Facebook event page.

Iam8bit provided Cartoon Brew with an exclusive preview of some of the art that will be exhibited:

As most Cartoon Brew readers are aware by now, we’ve had a “no crowdfunding” policy in place for a long time. But times change, and as more animation filmmakers incorporate crowdfunding into their production plans, we feel that it’s necessary to provide a platform for noteworthy projects that need funding. Starting today, we’re going to try something new by featuring a curated selection of crowdfunded animation projects on Fridays. We especially aim to give exposure to promising animation that may slip through the cracks due to a lack of exposure in mainstream media.

For starters, I’d like to highlight WONDER 365 Animation Project by Japanese filmmaker Mirai Mizue. Mizue creates his abstract films the old-school way by drawing and painting onto paper, but he uses digital compositing techniques to fantastic effect:

If you follow Mizue on Vimeo, you know that he’s been working diligently on WONDER 365 for the past 365 days in a row. Mizue received a grant from the Agency for Cultural Affairs in Japan, which allowed him to hire over 150 painters to help color the film, but he’s still looking for funding to complete the music recording and post production.

The Wonder 365 crowdfunding effort continues through April 30. The project is currently 22% funded. Here is the film’s trailer:

East Coast fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones who were patient and lucky enough to brave long lines and cold winds got a special treat when the network and Time Warner Cable brought a traveling exhibition to New York City for a very limited time.

After two attempts and over two hours, I got a chance to see an impressive (and free!) collection of props, costumes, and art direct from the land of Westeros.

[Pictures and impressions after the cut...]

 

Beyond the Wall

Some distressed and furry costumes for Ygritte, Jon Snow, and Mance Rayder. The level of detail for all costumes on display was exquisite. A closer view of Ygritte’s snowshoes revealed their soles were made of antlers! Who knew? 

 

The Blackwater Bay Experience

I wish more shooter games came with gigantic bows and arrows. Who wouldn’t enjoy lighting a few gallons of wildfire from the safety of Columbus Circle?

 

House Lannister

Opulent costumes fit for the richest family in Westeros. Jaime and Tywin’s armor was especially impressive.

Tyrion and Jaime (detail):

And overlooking the Lannisters....

Ned’s head, baby. Ned’s head.

Speaking of, the first and now the last time we’ll see Ned’s costume with the rest of his family. 

 

Across the Narrow Sea

I was immediately struck by how tiny Emilia Clarke is. Something you can only learn by seeing these costumes in person.

Drogon overlooking the hall.

A plaque next to Quaithe’s mask describes how the shape of the medallions echo the necklace worn by The Red Priestess, Melisandre, as they’re both from Asshai.

 

Arms and more arms....

While Dany may be small, Sandor Clegane’s helm is frigging gigantic.

The High Septon’s severed arm rests in a place of honor after being torn off in a riot in King’s Landing. It’s next to a jug of wildfire and one of Cersei’s necklaces.

Davos’ lucky charms were also on display:

There was also a nice amount of some really lovely fan art:

But perhaps the greatest picture in the exhibit was the below screenshot—Joffrey post-Tyrion bitch slap. It got many chuckles:

Visitors also got to take their picture on the Iron Throne and recieved a nice little keepsake snapshot. Tonight, the exhibit packs up and heads first to Sao Paulo, then Amsterdam, and finally to Belfast, where much of filming takes place. All in all, it was a great time, well worth the wait, and you couldn’t argue with the price. HBO once again outdid itself with a great promotion for a great show.

Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9P.M. E/PT on HBO.

---

Theresa DeLucci would probably have a Corgi on a field of purple as her house sigil. She is a regular contributor to Tor.com, covering True Blood, Game of Thrones, and gaming news. Follower her on Twitter @tdelucci

These days, everyone wants to be a geek—or at least watch one on television. The ratings supremacy of The Big Bang Theory and the centrality of San Diego Comic-Con to the pop-culture calendar have put the kids who couldn’t get picked for baseball at the center of the field (did I say that right?), but in this form of celebrity to be special is still to be strange. It may “get better” after you’re clear of high-school bullies, but it doesn’t get any easier to be a geek as you make your way up-mainstream through life—and acclaimed indie playwright Crystal Skillman explores this in GEEK!, the new play from art-pulp troupe Vampire Cowboys.

[The next level]

We’re at a Cleveland, Ohio anime con where two cosplay addicts are fighting their way through rival fanbases to get to the autograph line for their fav franchise creator, while processing a darker event from the real world they have to return to. The show runs in New York City through April 13th, and I posed five questions to Skillman to cross the ominously swaying bridge over a mist-shrouded ravine, I mean, to get to the bottom of the interests and issues in GEEK!

 

How much did you know about the world of cosplay before you took on this theme, and how much did you immerse yourself in while you were developing it? 

This was the most fun play to “research” because rather than having to pursue, those who cosplay found me. Cosplayers love to pose and very often wear their hearts on their sleeves; when at a comic con everyone is connecting. So just being at so many conventions over the years with Fred [Skillman’s husband, cult-star comic writer Fred Van Lente] I was meeting tons of people, and seeing how his own fans respect and come to meet him.

As I roamed each convention I would often stumble upon cosplayers playing different games; a lot of them story games. The joy from sharing and being a part of this with one another was so inspiring, especially as most are so young; it’s a time in their lives where this is something that can be there for them, and that is a great hope to me. The real world is a harsh and scary place, and they had a place to feel like home with others who have the same love of a certain story that can change your life.

 

Does it actually help to be an outsider to this world to connect with its sensibility? Or are we all outsiders to each other, and subcultures like this just put that on the outside and help us accept our inner misfit?

In most of the plays I write I’m an insider with an outsider eye if that makes any sense. I find my personal take in obsessions that I feel ask big questions relevant to the world right now. Taking on reality-TV writers in CUT allowed me to dissect reality and friendship and explore my concerns with those themes. Diving into the adultery in Wild allowed me to expose the more complex ideas of love I came to learn growing up. GEEK!, while funny as hell, asked the most of me in many ways.

I got through life by having a wild imagination and, well, some anger. While I don’t cosplay, I felt a connection to those playing, wanting to act out stories or just feel like a strong character—put that out there in the world. Writing GEEK! allowed me to explore the power of story and how we can wear it like armor to face our lives. We are ALL inner misfits; it depends on how honest we are with ourselves and others about that. Stories can, and have, changed the world and shaped it, and help us realize we are all connected no matter how different we are. 

 

Which comes first, the acolyte or the deity? Have people attached to the eternal innocents of anime because that’s what the market offered, or did these characters take shape, like the gods we need, out of young people’s desires (in this case, the need for uncomplicated ideals of gentle power in an era that rushes people through childhood with all-too-real violence, aggressive commercialism, sexualized image-standards, etc.)?

The need always comes first. I think there is a deep sense of history and the past that creates immediate needs. Anime and manga came out of a culture that was changing radically—a country no longer able to believe what it was told, or trust in the same way again. Anime took the myths always there and brought them forward in new ways. Every new generation is doing that—and looking to let go of who they were and move forward. To do that, one needs belief and hope.

As far as entertainment drawing from the exposed concerns of modern living, oh yes, it has to. But the violence and sexuality was always there in each culture. It just comes out now in new ways. I don’t think, though, that manga or anime has gentle power. I think it’s intense. While some might retreat from violence by seeking out gentle lands (perhaps using religion to find a calmer, simpler way to live) many want to fantasize “What would I do if I could?” I could list off a thousand moments in my life that I’d love to have the power to change. 

 

The characters of GEEK! have a personal trauma that they are either fleeing by going off to this fantasy setting, or confronting by getting on with their lives and dreams—are cartoons and games and comics and serial novels an escape from what we have to face, or the healthy processing of it? (A question that seems trite to ask, but an accusation that comes up with every generation’s form of entertainment…)

There are so many times I wished I stepped up and stood up for myself or others. In the story of GEEK!, the bad way these girls were treated was a result of standing up for themselves in real life. Both Danya and Honey, the main characters in the play, at first dive back into playing, wanting to overcome these dangers in that way. Through the new people they meet at the con they have an opportunity to make other choices...if they can listen. Then they can change. We get excited when we learn that the creators of the shows, comics or games we admire had obstacles they’ve had to face to become who they are.

That’s the point of this play to me. It explores how we can escape through the stories we love and come out the other side with a real examination of how we live our lives. Maybe not every time, but it can get you closer to where you want to go—if you don’t lose yourself in story to the point where you stop questioning yourself and your own choices. 

 

The kids in GEEK! are obsessed with a franchise that’s loosely based on Dante’s Inferno, and they’ve based their lives not so loosely on the characters from the franchise. What are the elements of a classic work like that that stay relevant, and how long is the relevance of modern entertainment—and what’s the distance between what any such works can tell us and what we have to figure out for ourselves?

What I so dig about Dante’s Inferno is that it’s an epic story where Dante’s crisis couldn’t be clearer. He is at odds with himself, his own life, its meaning and has he lived it well or in sin? Is God an answer for this? The whole journey feels like each sinner offers answers but not really—each character questions where they are and how they got there. Through these other characters Dante is purging his own grief and disappointment in his life and the world. Growing up was so this for me. I got through it with a great dose of imagination and well...through other people. Observing them, being inspired by them, and also noting where they found happiness and why or where they lost that sense of happiness.

I poured in these feelings from both my own life and the great structure-idea of the pursuit of getting from level to level in the struggle Dante has. For Danya, as driven as she is, her sense of hope is deeply in question at the start of this play. She is living moment to moment and throws herself into this goal of meeting the creator of a world that formed her childhood. But she and Honey are growing up along the way—the only true answers lie in the self. The true moment of adulthood comes from making choices not because we don’t want to be like someone (i.e., “not becoming your parents”) but because we know who we are and who we want to be.

 

One of the most interesting characters, for the mystique that the play revolves around, is the one we only know by reference—Joto Samagashi, the sage-like manga author the superfans are trying to meet. Not to give away too much of what we do see in the play, but to explore a bit of what we definitely don’t—Did she start as an outcast like them? Do you have to be different to create what no one has ever seen? Did she need acceptance by millions of kids like this, or is the true nature of leveling up that you realize everyone’s part of the same community?

Joto I think is so strong that while she is aware of her fame, she doesn’t need it to create or to be who she is. I’m always looking for ways to write proactive super-awesome female characters. When diving more into mangas, I became really excited about shojo manga. The idea of Joto first came after reading about the Magnificent 24s. They rocked shojos and really made a splash as woman creators doing comics which cared about their readership of girls and young women. The characters are very empowered.

In my plays I love addressing the modern world and its ongoing struggle with the issues of diversity. While subtle, it’s there in GEEK!, as Danya, who is questioning her own identify, is Asian-American. She refers to her mother wanting to visit this little village in Japan and Danya fantasizes about going there herself. It can be read in any which way but it asks the question of her own obsession with this anime. It for sure explores the idea that she has a need for community, and knowing where she’s come from. Joto represents that to her.

I based a lot of Joto’s backstory on the idea of Osamu Tezuka drawing from an early age. Tezuka was made fun of a lot at his elementary school. His mother encouraged him to ignore the bullying and keep going with his stories. When he shared those drawings and stories, he began to find meaningful friendships. This is very inspiring to me as it’s my own philosophy. Work hard and put it out there to create a new conversation. By being clear who you are the world must embrace you.

The girls in GEEK! know that Joto came up with Dante’s Fire, her manga, at the age of ten. These girls feel nothing but misunderstood, and so do all the “Geek!”s at the con, so there is a fever for this story and pretending to be in it. I hope GEEK! inspires. And most of all I hope it makes you laugh like hell. It’s a ride of crazy nutty fun with the deeper and darker always looming underneath. 

Poster by Kurt Tiede; photos by Robert Ross Parker. Danya (purple hair): Allison Buck; Honey (pink hair): Becky Byers; Ellen (red hair): Emily Williams; steampunk diva: Rebecca Comtois; steampunk cowboy and Scottish barbarian: Sheldon Best; goggle and hair-bow dude: Eugene Oh; and “Squeaker” as itself.

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Adam McGovern’s dad taught comics to college classes and served as a project manager in the U.S. government’s UFO-investigating operation in the 1950s; the rest is made up. There is material proof, however, that Adam has written comicbooks for Image (The Next issue Project), Trip City.com, the acclaimed indie broadsheet POOD, and GG Studios, blogs regularly for HiLoBrow.com and ComicCritique and posts at his own risk on the recently launched Fanchild. He lectures on pop culture in forums like The NY Comics & Picture-story Symposium and interviewed time-traveling author Glen Gold at the back of his novel Sunnyside (and at this link). Adam proofreads graphic novels for First Second, has official dabblings in produced plays, recorded songs and published poetry, and is available for commitment ceremonies and intergalactic resistance movements.  His future self will be back to correct egregious typos and word substitutions in this bio any minute now. And then he’ll kill Hitler, he promises.

Gennie Rim, who worked for the past decade at Pixar and Disney as a production coordinator and artist manager, opened the GR Works gallery space in downtown LA last fall. Her most recent show, “Ladies of Animation”, which featured the personal art of fourteen women who work in animation, wrapped up a few weeks ago. Samantha Conroy of the Animation Heroine Tumblr spoke to Rim about the show and Rim’s curatorial approach. The piece is a good introduction to this young and promising gallery that has the potential to do a lot of good for the animation community.

when does a serious looking face not mean something like this

This video is actually very relevant to me as I cut the cord myself back in October. I’m actually planning on doing a post about it and explaining the monstrosity that put together in the process of doing so. This actually motivates me to do it a little sooner than later. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this video.

source: YouTube

Winter has come and gone, which means it’s time for the third season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Fans of the books know how important food and drink are in giving life to the world of Westeros. So as you gather with friends to watch the season premiere on Sunday, March 31st, why not liven up your viewing party with a little authenticity (and Tyrion-approved amounts of spirits)? Click through for a new round of third season-inspired specialty cocktails and a few standout Westerosi recipes collected from around the web.

[Read more]

 

House Tyrell

1.5 oz of Hendrick’s gin
.75 oz of rose syrup
.75 oz of fresh ruby red grapefruit juice
.25 oz of fresh lemon juice
2 dashes of Peychaud’s bitters
seltzer water
ground cardamom

Combine gin, rose syrup, bitters, and fruit juices in a shaker filled with ice, shake for 20 seconds, then strain into a highball glass over fresh ice. Dust with a bit of ground cardamom and garnish with organic rose petals. Smirk a lot. Wear a dress that looks like a burrito. Marry every king in sight.

Recipe courtesy of Design Sponge

 

House Reed

 1 generous swig of moonshine

We were going to get all fancy and do an absinthe-based drink as a nod to Jojen’s green dreams, but that’s just a bit too high-falutin’ for the North’s backwater swamp folk. (Come to think of it, maybe the Reeds can get a spin-off series on TLC.)

 

Wine of Courage

1.25 oz mezcal
1.25 oz tawny port wine
2 tsp Grand Marnier
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Note: Please do yourself a favor and don’t get mezcal or tequila with a worm at the bottom, even though it’s thematically appropriate. This isn’t a frat party. Quality mezcal has a long, smoky finish... like after a dragon attack. We recommend El Buho or Del Maguey Vida mezcal.

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass filled with ice, stir, strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange peel. While this isn’t exactly as poisonous as the nightshade concotion the Unsullied drink in training, if you have enough mezcal, you, too, will be numb to pain.

 

The Lightning Lord

(Note: Flaming drinks are best served with a hefty does of common sense safety tips. Tor.com is not liable for any injuries resulting in you looking like The Hound.)

1 oz Absolut Peppar
1 oz Everclear, 190 proof
6 drops Tabasco sauce
1 pinch salt

Put the Tabasco sauce in the bottom of a shot glass, pour equal parts Absolut Peppar and Everclear 190 on top, and then add salt. Set on fire and serve.

Recipe courtesy of The Daily Drink Recipe.

 

The Red Wedding
2 oz of El Dorado rum
1 oz lime juice
.75 oz demerara syrup
3 generous dashes of Peychaud’s bitters
3 mint sprigs

This is a built drink that starts sweet and ends bitterly. (And that is all we will say on this topic until episode 9.) Muddle mint and lime juice at the bottom of a highball glass, add rum. Then, fill glass to the top with crushed ice. Pour three generous dashes of bloody red Peychauds bitters over the top and garnish with another sprig of mint. Drink with a long straw and keep an eye on your viewing party hosts.

Recipe courtesy of the kind mixologists at Pouring Ribbons, NYC.

 

The Red Wedding II

Make your favorite, tastiest, cocktail, then add a bunch of rage-filled tears. Hurl drink across the room and call George R. R. Martin a rat bastard. Let your viewing party host clean up the mess. (Unless we’re hosting the viewing party.)

 

If mixed drinks aren’t your thing, you can of course scour your local beer stores for Ommegang’s official Game of Thrones Iron Throne ale. No cheap quickie tie-in here (hello, True Blood soda.) Ommegang brewery has crafted a Lannister-blonde ale with noble hops and a bite of citrus. They plan on releasing a new themed batch every season. Trying to find a few bottles in your area may be a challenge, though. 

And what will you eat while you’re downing very strong drinks?

You can never go wrong with recipes from the fantastic Inn at the Crossroads food blog. Better yet, get the official cookbook. Containing over one hundred recipes, you can recreate medieval and modern versions of meals from all over the Seven Kingdoms—bonus points to those brave enough to attempt honeyed locusts and broiled snake. While not every casual party calls for heartier, sloppier fare like bowls of brown or roast aurochs, quiches are simple and easy to serve. While not lifted directly from the cookbook, this bacon and leek quiche was a hit at last season’s viewing party. However, to paraphrase The Simpsons, you don’t win friends with Sansa Salad. (But it was beautiful and made nice leftovers.)

Lemoncakes are always a nice touch, and there are two different kinds on Inn at the Crossroads, but I prefered HBO’s version, created by Top Chef Tom Collichio. More patient hosts can create creepily adorable Ned Stark head cake pops or a weirwood tree cake. The truly insane can create a Dothraki horse heart dessert. Even though it’s so first season.

Set your tables and set your TVs and kick off a new season of Game of Thrones with your closest allies—who hopefully don’t turn out to be your biggest enemies.

Game of Thrones premieres this Sunday at 9 P.M. E/PT on HBO.

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Theresa DeLucci had way too much fun researching this post. She’s a regular contributor to Tor.com, covering True Blood, Game of Thrones, and gaming news.  Follower her on Twitter @tdelucci

After years of debate, the New York City Council has finally come to an agreement on paid sick leave legislation. It is now poised to pass a bill that would require any company with more than 15 employees to provide five days of paid leave annually, and any company with fewer employees to give 5 days of unpaid leave.

On Thursday, Speaker Christine Quinn (D), considered a favorite for the New York City mayoral race, signaled that she would be willing to work on a compromise. Quinn had previously refused to bring the bill up for a vote, expressing unfounded concerns that paid sick leave would be bad for business and lead to job loss.

Just hours after Quinn said she would participate, the deal was reached:

“Throughout these negotiations I have always said that I was willing to listen and engage all sides,” said Quinn in a statement. “Because of deliberate, thoughtful, and at times hard-nosed negotiations, we now have a piece of legislation that balances the interests of workers, small business owners, and local mom and pop proprietors across this City.”

The legislation is not as strong as paid sick leave laws in Seattle, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Portland, Oregon, which all require companies with more than five employees to offer paid sick days. The New York City proposal also will be implemented slowly: it wouldn’t take effect until 2014 and would only apply to companies with more than 20 employees for the first year and a half. Some low-wage workers, like the many restaurant workers in establishments with fewer than 15 people, will still be forced to choose between losing wages or coming into work sick. Quinn’s colleague and mayoral opponent Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio tweeted that he will keep pushing to make the law more inclusive:

The final #paidsickdays bill excludes over 300,000 NYers & took far too long. I intend to keep fighting for these New Yorkers left behind.

— Bill de Blasio (@deBlasioNYC) March 28, 2013

Companies with more than 20 employees would have until April 1, 2014 to comply with the law; companies with between 15 and 20 employees will have until October 1, 2015. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to veto the proposal if it is passed, but the Council likely has enough votes to override his rejection.

MARIANNA, Florida (Reuters) - Florida officials said on Wednesday they will seek federal money for a forensic investigation into unmarked graves on the grounds of a shuttered state reform school for boys that has been the target of numerous allegations of abuse and mysterious deaths of children.

These would definitely make some good books to share with the kids.

source: Joebot

Alasdair Stuart writes for Bleeding Cool

Fringe, much like BBC Radio 4 (Trust me, I’m going somewhere with this) is a perfect example of what happens when you leave something alone to grow and develop on its own terms. What started out as a show with pretty much exactly the same premise as The X-Files evolved, very quickly, into something much spikier and more interesting than it first appeared. In five years, the show ran the gamut from spy thriller to full on parallel universe science fiction, stopping for possibly the only discussion of scientific terrorism so far this century. Everything about the show, for me, didn’t just work but both demanded and rewarded attention. The monster of the week episodes often plugged into the uber-plot in surprising ways, the show would often answer questions inside the same season they were raised and the central cast were consistently excellent. Anna Torv in particular does amazing work as she’s called upon to play multiple iterations of the same character at the same time as slowly opening Olivia up from the buttoned-down Federal agent we meet in the pilot.
It’s not perfect by any means, entire plots, and characters, ultimately dead-ended and the temporal physics of a couple of plots are incredibly torturous but Fringe did extraordinary things in five seasons, including a cheeky wink to its predecessor that made my black little postmodernist heart beat a little faster. That willingness to take chances, and cross boundaries both in show and out, has transferred over to September’s Notebook, the first in a series of tie-in books published by Titan.
The first thing you notice about September’s Notebook is it’s size. This is a chunky, hardback tome of a thing with some real weight to it. The second thing you notice is that the book’s existence actually neatly embodies one of the principles of the series; it’s a copy of a book referenced repeatedly in the final season, a notebook that exiled Observer September kept in the years the main characters were missing. Or, In Fringe parlance, it’s a book from ‘over there’ that’s made it’s way ‘over here’ The history of the Fringe universe from a man who simultaneously is part of it and distanced from it.

The end result could have been a mess but instead, it’s extraordinary. What authors Tara Bennett and Paul Terry have done here is taken what could have been a pretty standard episode guide and turned it into something that provides real insight into the series as a whole. We’re walked through the lives of Walter, Peter, Olivia and William Bell from the very beginning, showing how September observed all of them leading up to his ‘mistake’ in Walter’s lab. We’re also shown, in tremendous detail, Walter and William Bell’s scientific careers, Bell’s relationship with Nina Sharp and the tragic events at Reiden Lake. All of this is illustrated with concept sketches from the show, photographs of props and constant annotations and observations from September. The level of detail is frankly amazing, to the point where, during the section on Olivia’s experiences in the Cortexiphan trials, the book reproduces the drawings she did showing the universe she travelled to.
This level of detail, if anything, intensifies as the book steps into the show’s actual continuity. Each episode is given a brief summary, formatted like a Fringe Division incident report, again with notes from September and copious illustrations. The more arc important cases, such as White Tulip, have further notes from September and scattered throughout the book are envelopes marked LEVEL 10 CLEARANCE. These include things like an Observer propaganda poster and detailed briefings on the shapeshifters and the Machine, which is also graced with a beautiful reproduction of the diagrams of it we saw in the show. This is both a charming bit of over-designing and, in the case of the Machine and September’s note on it, a playful nod to one of the creakier elements of the show’s mythology, with even the Observers getting a little turned around by its complicated history.

This level of self-awareness and attention to detail runs throughout the book, but is really highlighted in the section dealing with Over There. We get a complete breakdown of the Fringe cases we saw from Over There as well, all of which are on Fringe Division headed paper, framed by a collection of stills of Show Me cards and other items unique to that universe. In other words, the chapter looking at Over There is designed to look like the information in it was gathered from Over There. There’s real visual imagination and wit to this section in particular and it’s particularly nice to see the Red Arrow and Opus the Peahen fake comics make a return too.
The section dealing with the final season, whilst shorter than the previous ones also impresses. Again there’s a real sense of visual wit to it, with several photos overlaid with the HUD from the Observer’s binoculars and the beautiful resistance posters from the show scattered throughout the section. Most impressive of all, there’s a breakdown of Walter and September’s plan, the items they need for it and what happened to September during the years Walter was ambered. Again, lavishly illustrated with everything from cyphers for the Observer language to art from the comic based on Fringe Division we saw in The Recordist it’s a fantastically detailed section. Unfortunately, this is the one place where the book’s status as an in-universe artifact works against it, as the events of the final episodes are absent due to September being a little busy to meticulously scrapbook them.

September’s Notebook is an incredibly well put together piece of work. Whilst it doesn’t hang a lantern on all the show’s unanswered questions it provides you with both a guide to the show’s timeline and a very different perspective on events. The attention to detail gives you a real sense of September’s chillingly calm, organized mind and his ability to plan across universes and vast swathes of time. Packed with images, details and insights into one of the best TV shows of the last ten years, September’s Notebook is a must for any fans of the show. It’s a relentlessly smart, detailed, accessible piece of work that isn’t just a good companion for Fringe but an indicator of what licensed books can be.

Fringe: September’s Notebook is written by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry with a foreword by JH Wyman and Jeff Pinkner. It’s published by Titan Books and is available now, priced £29.99

The post From Fringe To September appeared first on Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movies and TV News and Rumors.

Have drawing skills been erased from films?

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc launched a same-day delivery service in the San Francisco Bay Area on Thursday as the world's largest Internet search company works with retailers such as Target Corp to compete more with e-commerce leader Amazon.com Inc.