After a year and a half.... A NEW BLOG ENTRY!

My last blog entry was dated May 2014. Since that time has gone by, I've moved in with the aforementioned Muscular Nerd and have spent hundreds on new comics. So, I guess I'm not completely a "Nerd Imposter" after all. Oh well, too late to change the blog title. All zero of my fans would be so disappointed. ;)

So in this year and a half since I started reading comics, I've amassed quite a collection. I generally go for strong female characters, which is cool, as it is receiving more focus these days. I tried reading some of the recently-released female superheros, like A-Force, DC Bombshells, The Mighty Thor. But whether it's my lack of familiarity with the characters in their past comics, lack of depth (A-Force has too many characters and not enough real connection), or just disinterest, I'm not really into those. I'm glad they exist though and am sure they fit the bill for some people. (Full disclosure: I read 4 issues of A-Force, 2 of DC Bombshells and 1 of The Mighty Thor although I may re-read it again or read another issue to just give it another chance before I write it off.)

Other comics I'm really enjoying in no particular order: Shutter, Rat Queens, Effigy, The Tithe, Saga, Fallen Angel (I own 1-14, have read 1-6 and have a lot of catching up to do. I want to know when a movie/tv show will be made about HER! Or when they create more comics about her.) Deadly Class (a lot of text to read at times), Coffin Hill, Axe Cop, Prez (like Idiocracy in comic book form), Superbia, The Woods, No Mercy, Gotham Academy (see I can read superhero stuff!), Giant Days + others. (Daytripper was my first ever comic) (Ten Grand was good, but I think it's done?)

Additional comics I've given up on that I currently have to sell: (above-mentioned A-Force and DC Bombshells), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad #1-5 (complete run I think), Graveyard Shift#1-4, Lola XOXO (already sold back), East West (already sold back), The Zoohunters #1-3, October Faction #1-9, Wolf #1-3, Americatown #1-3. Hit me up if you want to purchase any of those.

Also, if you have any suggestions, based on what I read, feel free to leave me comments!

HEAVIER STUFF (Ethnicity/Sexuality of Characters, Writers, and Personal Opinions):
Over a year ago, I sent a picture of Legend of Bold Riley to someone I knew because I thought she'd enjoy it. Why? It's about a queer, "woman of color" aka non-white woman. It takes place in a fantasy version of India/Asia. The person to whom I sent it, is Southeast Asian and genderqueer (I'm not sure I'm using her preferred labels, but you can see why I thought she would be interested). Well, "Reader X" as I'll refer to her, never responded. Instead she posted a blog on a well known "feminist of color" site (which wasn't open to comments), referred to me as a "well-intentioned friend", and shared her thoughts (based on her own life experiences, research, and opinions). She said she researched the writer and the comic and was offended by the whiteness/ethnic drag of it all. She talked about history of subjugation of cultures, cultural appropriation, white privilege etc. And THEN after her blog entry went live, she posted it and I read it, THEN she sent me the link and told me she wanted to know SHE wasn't mad at ME.

But yet she didn't think that maybe I would be upset. We haven't conversed online in over a year. I was pretty mad after reading that. I conversed with another friend who knows her (who is also "non-white" if you really want to know) and she saw my points.

My points: For one thing, it's a fantasy world loosely based on India and surrounding areas. Do you see people jumping down Tolkein's throat at his inaccuracy of the long-ago Europe(?) when he created Middle Earth? No. Because it's a fantasy and there is something called creativity involved: shaping a new world out of worlds we know and worlds we may want to know. Artistic license. It's true that in Bold Riley's world, homosexuality isn't as punished as in real-world India. It's true that in Bold Riley's world, she has TONS more freedom than do women in India and surrounding areas. This comic is a fantasy. It takes good and bad about cultures and humans and puts them in a dramatic story. I've read two more issues of Bold Riley, and maybe Reader X would be offended at the portrayal of what I can only assume is fake Africa/Middle East? Oh well. After re-reading it this morning, I'm more offended at the stiff way the characters refer to each other and the expository dialogue.

Most importantly, what rubbed ME the wrong way in Reader X's blog entry, was being told that as a white, straight woman I can't write about non-white, queer people/women which I find restrictive and racist. The author of that comic could have been me. For I, like Reader X insinuated about Bold Riley's author, am a white woman, "first-world" "privileged" traveler who was able to get a skewed glimpse at India. (I went for the wedding of two Indian friends and was asked to perform a song and dance [song was American, the dance I choreographed to an Indian song (suggested by another Indian) to rave reviews - which yes I know are partially due to my 'whiteness']; Reader X even had me and other non-Asian people dance to a Bollywood song at an Indian event at our University (I had already graduated but was thrilled to perform with the group). So am I allowed to do 'non-white' things ONLY when invited by non-white people? :P

As a person who benefits from "white privilege," I hate being reduced to my skin color and told what I'm allowed to do or not do. Gee, sounds familiar doesn't it?

• I understand that when I wore Indian-inspired tunic tops to work, it looked cute/trendy on me and made my Indian friend (from previously-mentioned wedding) look "too traditional". She's told me as much and I appreciate it.
• I understand that the summer during college when I had microbraids put in my hair (by an African woman, who was well-paid for the 7-8 hours it took),  I may have rubbed a few people the wrong way (although nobody told me they didn't like them and I got a few compliments from people of varying ethnicity), but I got to experience the lengthy, costly, somewhat-uncomfortable process, the itching in the first week, the versatility of the style, and the camaraderie a month later as two of my girlfriends and my aunt helped me take them out (women in commune with each other), the softness of the well-conditioned hair, and the scary amount of hair that came out in the shower afterward.
• I'm not stupid enough to wear a Native American headdress, but yes, I'm interested in Native cultures and even have learned some Lakota. 
• I've made blunders in all these cultures and more. I lived in South America for a semester, have worked with international students. Snaffus are bound to come up within multicultural interactions. But at least I try. I am a Global Citizen and want to nurture goodwill across man-made country divides.

One person who would hate the fact that I wore microbraids would probably be Amandla Stenberg. She's an actress from Hunger Games who has talked about the cultural appropriation of non-black people wearing black hairstyles. She also worked with a white man to create a comic book "Niobe: She is Life". Niobe is a half-this, half-that woman. I'm not sure. I think she's supposed to be part black and part fairy, but I have no idea. I read the first issue, because I wanted to give it an honest try and see if a black woman was more qualified to write about black characters, just because she lives that life. What I read came off as somewhat pretentious, mostly because the character was put on a pedestal of perfection (don't protect your protagonist) and the storyline was a bit incoherent (I think there are back stories to read but this may have been Stenberg's first involvement, if I'm not mistaken). The art was pretty and crisp though, and some of the spreads featured gorgeously-colored backgrounds. After re-reading it today, I may give it a few more episodes and see what comes of it.

I re-read my 3 issues of Legend of Bold Riley, 1 issue of Niobe:She is Life and Reader X's blog post this morning before sitting down to write this. (Medicine I'm on for an illness made me get up for the bathroom every 2-3 hours and I couldn't fall back asleep for an hour, so got up at 4 am with MN as he got up for work).

• I conclude that the correlation of skin color and sexuality of the writer and their characters do not guarantee a well-written, relatable story. 
• I conclude that Reader X is allowed to have opinions with which I don't agree about who is "allowed" to tell what stories. Her opinions are based on life experiences I don't have, but that doesn't mean she isn't free of bias. Or that I am either.
• I conclude that even as a straight, white woman, I want to see more stories about non-white, non-straight people and will do my best through my own writing to bring it about, whether or not it makes others irritated. If I am a truly great writer, I should be able to write about people that aren't me on a surface level. Writing is supposed to connect us to something more than skin deep.
• I conclude that brooding over a year is a silly thing to do. I could have approached Reader X and told her my reactions. She could have also shared her thoughts with me BEFORE writing up a blog about it, but chose otherwise. 
• I conclude that the phrase "well-intentioned friend" is hurtful and dismissive to me, even if that was not Reader X's intent. A few years ago, Reader X and I shared scripts for feedback. She sent me a script that is now getting published in novel form, so good for her. The feedback she gave me on my script is taken with a grain of salt, especially after I later read her supposed-position on who is allowed to write what characters. Just because she has her own experiences of gay life does not make her an authority, which I naïvely wanted to believe at the time I had her read my script. I respected her opinion and openly accepted the feedback, and have had time to reconsider it as well. I still respect her opinion and value her experiences, but I have to be true to my own life too.
• If Reader X reads this, she is allowed to contact me for a pleasant discussion. I like to keep the drama within my stories and out of my daily life, which probably explains why it's been over a year before I wrote out my reactions. (I had just moved to a new town, got a new job, and didn't need to focus on something that upset me and wasn't really a big deal in the scheme of things.) Reader X doesn't have to contact me. Hell, it might be even a year before she does. ;) I sometimes worry about being too diplomatic and not making waves. With enough time in between the event, it was still on my mind, so here's MY blog entry (which probably no one will read). I figure Reader X has had enough on her plate with her own creative pursuits or maybe she had no clue what my silence meant, if she even noticed. I'm still learning to balance discussing differing opinions without assuming it will lead to confrontation.

If you have any comments about ethnicity, sexuality, and their portrayal in comic books written by writers that may or may not share those attributes (or I suppose other mediums as comics get turned into movies and such), feel free to comment below. Please remember to be respectful, as like I said, we have drama in our stories, but don't need it in our daily life! 

If you have any comments for future blog entries on certain comics, please let me know!

So... without further ado, I hit 'publish' and send this out into the world, hoping for the best. #ReadOn #WriteOn

Introduction to a Nerd Imposter

Greetings, Earthlings (and anyone else).

I'm a female in my late twenties. (very late. I'm in my last year. You can do the math. Okay, I'm 29) I've been dating a muscular nerd for about 7 months now. (Grandma says he has a nice physique! me-ow!) Because of my romantic entanglement and the fact that I find it endearing to see him freak out about old toys and comic book plots, I have since visited Krypton Comics more times than I can count. Sometimes multiple times in one of Muscular Nerd's weekend visits. (We'll call him MN from here on out unless he requests to be called by name.) So much so that the staff recognizes us. (It helps I brought them brownies last week. Best Way to Make Friends=food.)

As of today, I went alone of my own volition because I decided I DO want a comic book I put back yesterday. That was my 4th trip in 3 days. So I figured, my transition into Nerd's Girlfriend is complete and I should write a blog about it (I'll be NG for short). Now, I could probably be considered a 'dweeb' or 'dork' by the below chart.

I spent many years in the company of other nerds, geeks, dorks, and dweebs, not always knowing the difference. Because of this, I have a basic understandings of Star Wars, and many superheros and villains, 'nerdy' tv shows and such. Sometimes I surprise MN and myself at the latent knowledge I've picked up in passing.

Let's investigate, shall we?

Ways I have intelligence:

• College education. Check. (BA in Film Studies and Minor in Spanish)
• Um, I can manage my money. (Tight-fisted, penny-pincher, thrift shopper; it's genetic. sometimes embarrassing)
• I was the kid that barely had to apply myself at school. Blessing and a curse.
• I'm sure there are plenty of other ways, I'm intelligent, but since I generally have friends smarter than I, with better memories, I tend to discount my intelligence, more often than not. Ooooo, big words!

Ways I am socially inept:

• I sometimes can't form sentences or speak coherently. (This sometimes has to do with being mostly-bilingual, or sometimes just how I woke up, or blood sugar getting low because I forgot to eat or pushed it off too long)
• I sweat when I talk to people, even in passing conversation, no matter if I'm wearing deodorant or not.
• I have a lot of hang-ups on:
  • food and how I hate to eat, partially because cooking is difficult and there is no manual; 
  • recycling and the evil people who don't do it, even when we ALL have recycling bins IN our cubes, although I take all mine home because I don't trust the cleaning crew (or does that go under obsessive?);
  • following the speed limit and giving a thumbs-down to other drivers (instead of the bird); 
  • corporate evil and the (limited) wages I earn from it while cursing it and ignoring everyone there and assuming they are all conceited, rich jerks...except for the ones that aren't; 
  • the strange ways my mind works and how I get hung up on doing things a certain way... like not being able to take a 15 minute walk at work OUTSIDE for fear of an uneven tan/or skin cancer so I have to walk in a covered parking garage, but only when it's not too chilly in there and if it is, I'll walk the stairs instead;
  • dressing like a schlump at work because I have a wardrobe of thrift clothes and hand-me-downs and my pants come from the latter and I hate high heels so my shoe options seem limited and I don't replace my shoes often enough but suffer with the ones I don't even really like that much because shoes are expensive and these ones aren't ruined yet; 
  • denying myself purchases if I can't have things the way I want them, which usually means being really cheap on Amazon so I can purchase them with all the gift cards I earn by racking up points on Bing and Swagbucks (my referral codes are the links) which I obsessively do every workday, including my Travel Channel Travel Sweepstakes; 
  • avoiding eye contact with most other human beings and claiming it's from living in South America for 5 months, but mostly just because I don't want to do the awkward, look-lookaway-lookback and say hi-look away somemore-dance; 
  • how I sometimes HATE getting gifts because I'd rather just buy things for myself than risk getting something that isn't quite me and then having to deal with it; 
  • sometimes I give too much info in a conversation. I thank my mom for that 'skill'.
•  Okay, geez... I guess I have a lot of things that make me strange. Some of it maybe belongs under obsessive, but it's too late at night to really think this through. Moving on...

Ways that I'm obsessive:

• See above note about Bing and Swagbucks and Travel Channel Travel Sweepstakes
• I bought a region-free DVD Player so I could purchase a British show I liked....and I don't watch it... AND season 5 is only on blu-ray so that's a bust... until I buy the next show.
• I live and die by my agenda. I have to write down what movies I watch on what day (I keep a movie blog too), my in and out punches at work, whether or not I did my online routine, what activities I did every day (partially b/c my memory sucks, but one once could say to keep an alibi for the cops)
• I have my movie collection divided into 'kid-friendly for the nephews', regular, Bollywood,  autographed movies, movies I've worked on, VHS, etc AND they are alphabetized. I also have a spreadsheet that has movie title, rating, format (VHS or DVD), length, language, etc. Almost forgot about that obsessive gem.
• If something is bothering me or someone mistreated me, I obsess about it unhealthily, but have been trying to curb that actually with some success.
• I have 10 blogs. Seriously. I don't upkeep them all, but I figure the separation of topics/interests/themes is a good thing.
• I log into Facebook and my email on my phone constantly. After being on Facebook all night, it's common for me to lay down for bed and look at Facebook mobile. First thing in the morning too. This is all quite useless as FB mobile rarely updates.
• I spend hours writing blog posts that no one reads? Prove me wrong.
• I obsessively recorded every episode of Malcolm in the Middle while it was on... although I think when I went to college, I fell off the wagon... unless it stopped running then. I can't be sure.
• I am the dolt that has taken on the task of scanning in old family photos for preservation. When I do this, it is often for hours at a time, and while 'watching' tv shows/movies I've already seen.
• I have a reward system for when I'm "productive". I pay myself basically. 
• I write in my journal almost every night and have been keeping journals since I was 9. I have probably 20-25 journals to my name. It's like a time capsule and an external hard drive for my poor memory. ;)

Okay, I'm thinking that I confirmed my long-held suspicions I'm a dork. Some of the points above may not be categorized quite right (I went a little crazy with 'socially inept'), but it's good to take stock of one's attributes every once in a while.

If you are wondering what I'm going to do with this blog, you aren't alone. [clears throat] I will be attempting to review the comic books I decide to read, partially to share with others who may be curious, and partially for my own poor memory. Such as I do with my movie blog. Probably no one will read any of it and I'm wasting my time... Oh well. I'll live on forever in the internet. No cryogenic freezing needed.

Good night, dear readers. Until I post again.

EDIT: The above lists are by no means correctly categorized. Aka they are not exhaustive, but I'm exhausted. So I wash my hands of it!