Black Widow Flash Mob #WEWANTWIDOW

Today, hundreds of cosplayers and internet supporters around the globe are taking a stand about the inequality of female super heroines in the media and on the shelves, especially for the First Lady of the MCU. We want to see Black Widow given the same attention as her male counterparts. She deserves it. We deserve it. Today, we want our message heard loud and clear ‪#‎WeWantWidow‬. 

Spearheaded by Kristin Rielly, mob captains from all over have been covertly coordinating these flash mobs to bring awareness in a positive and fun way. 

How you can help: You can find all the deets about this multi-city flash mob movement at http://riellygeek.com/WIDOW. If you're unable to get to one of these mobs, please spread the word online, using the hashtag #WEWANTWIDOW, change your profile/cover pic to featuring Black Widow or get dressed up at home and post pictures. Every little bit helps. 

Below is the press release:

“BLACK WIDOW FLASH MOB”

SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2015 AT 12:00 P.M. LOCAL TIME 

WHAT :   We have coordinated a massive multi-city flash mob for June 6^th 2015, where hundreds of cosplayers will be dressed as Black Widow to send a POSITIVE message that this is a character we WANT to see more of. We want to see her star in her own movie, we want to see her on apparel, and she totally deserves her own action figure! 

Each city flash mob has a secret location where Natashas will appear, create buzz, get their images online, and trend our message #WEWANTWIDOW.

In collaboration with our cosplayers, we have hundreds of online supporters that will be simultaneously changing their profiles to a Black Widow image while sharing our flash mob photos across every social media site. 


When:    Saturday, June 6, 2015 beginning at 12:00 p.m. local time 

Where:   From Seattle to Boston, and Canada to Sydney

WHO:   We have hundreds of cosplayers and online supporters already signed up for this massive event. Our “City Captains” are the ladies organizing this important event in their hometown: Kristin Rielly (Founder & Event Coordinator), Jay Justice (Event Coordinator, Philly), Juli Mayers (Boston), Autumn Wheelock (NYC), Andrea Levine (NYC), Jennifer K. Stuller (Seattle), Theresa Marie Salvador (Tampa), Jennifer Williams (Las Vegas), Belle Bredehoft (D.C.), Tanya Wheelock (Orlando), Sarah Boutcher(Ottawa), Priscilla Crocker (Minneapolis), Kelly Kirstein (Detroit), Keisha Howard (Chicago), Courtney Cuellar (San Diego), John Marcotte (Sacramento), Stephanie Rector (Sacramento) , Catherine Kyle (Boise), and Variable (Sydney).

*In memory of Terrance Kelly, father of our honorary City Captain Bronwyn Kelly*

Comics Book Comics Release Party

This Wednesday, I attended the Midtown Comics Release Party for Comic Book Comics #5 by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey. This series studies the history of the comic industry, with this issue dedicated to the comic lawsuits. Also on the panel was Jeff Trexler, the pro bono lawyer and writer for Newsrama, who consulted on the issue. The panel was expertly moderated by Midtown Comics' own Thor Parker, who introduced himself this time. ;)


The lecture started off with the guys telling us two of the stories from the book. This was the same slide show given at the NYU law school. The two stories they read were The Grabbers and Mouse Pirates. The Grabbers is about the copyright fights between creators and publishers, with a focus on the Copyright Act of 1976. The Mouse Pirates is about a publisher that parodied Disney characters into porn. Both Van Lente and Dunlavey (Dunlavey even had a cold!) impressed me with how well they did voices for all of their characters. Guys, if comics doesn't work out, go into voice acting.

After storytime, we learned about how this issue came to be. It took a long time to research for stories. After Van Lente wrote it, they had Trexler check everything. He did say that Van Lente did a great job on research.


One fan asked how this series has been received by Marvel, since they both have worked for Marvel. According to Dunlavey, Marvel is a big fan of this series and even tried to do one with him but it didn't pan out. Van Lente did stress that the stories in this issue reflect very different regimes in these stories. Trexler added that comics like this and internet forums have made companies rethink how they handle pursuing cases. They are now much more open and transparent.


The best tidbit that came out of this whole discussion is this from Van Lente. When discussing the impact that this history had on the industry compared to other industries, he said that the history of comics is held up by certain franchises, which makes it hard for creators to parody or satire. The companies may never be able to pay back creators.

I even asked a question! I asked about the stories they found that didn't make it in to the book. There were two stories they mentioned. One was about the Trademark and Copyright characters on the front of the book. They had a story about the differences between trademarks and copyrights, but Van Lente said it just didn't fit with the flow. The other story was a comic version of the Creators Bill of Rights as an airline pamphlet. When Dunlavey began to sketch it out, it was just too big of an undertaking for it to fit. I would still like to see that if you get a chance though!


Finally, we got a little insight into the next issue, which is sadly the last one. In it is the Future of the Comics Industry including Japanese comics, graphic novels, digital comics and piracy.


If you are interested in the law or comic history or just plain fun, go pick up this issue. I personally find the law incredible boring but this kept my attention. They made the subject matter fun and easy to understand. The story they didn't read, 1986 AD is a fascinating read about how American Comics impacted in Britain with Captain Marvel at the center of it all! Go pick it up today!!!


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All New and Improved Video Friday!!!

After taking a break last week and mulling things over (and who doesn't like a good mulling), it's been decided that we're retooling Musical Friday and making it Video Friday instead. This doesn't mean we won't showcase musical videos we come across, but there are so many great non-musical videos out there we want to be able to include them too.


For starters, a much needed dose of Lego violence -





Special shout out to the geeks group on Facebook where this video was thrown up. Not to brag, but our group contains some of the best geeks around. They always share awesome stuff.


Next up is something that made me feel a little silly for including it, but this is something we've all done with our friends, and it's nice to see celebrities goofing off and being silly, especially when it's to The Backstreet Boys. So here's Selena Gomez and The Scene "covering" I Want It That Way.





Hmmm, now that I think of it, maybe I should have put the Lego violence after this one, for anyone who dislikes her. Oh well.


This is one of the cutest and most creative videos I've watched all week. Disney Pixar's Up if it had been made in the '60s.





I can definitely see this as a movie. Can't you?


Finally, a theme song for all the Nerdy Girls out there -





A special thanks to Jill Pantozzi, who introduced Amy Lee Radigan to the geeks group. This is Amy Lee's first youtube video, so I can't wait to see what else she has in store for us.


This concludes our first Video Friday. Let us know what you think and if you see any great videos you want us to share, send them to us at insertgeekhere@gmail.com.


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Review: Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon

A few weeks ago, an acquaintance handed me a book and said he thought I’d like it. I didn’t know him very well; we only spoke occasionally, but I took the book and was automatically intrigued. The book was Mermaid, A Twist on the Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon.

The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite Disney movies, and one of my favorite fairy tales. I grew up wishing I could be Ariel (Disney ending, not the original). This might also be the reason I want to be a redhead, but I digress.

How can you not love the hair? 

Goodreads.com summarizes it as, “The story of two very different women, one mortal, one mermaid, and the clash between worlds best kept apart...” but I disagree. While it is the story of two different women, the worlds are not best kept apart. If anything, the story is more about uniting all lands and worlds, whether it can or should be done, and the sacrifices that must be made to do so.

The characters are wonderfully fleshed out, and the alternating between the mermaid and the mortal give the story a little something extra. Even with knowing how the story is supposed to end, I cared enough about each woman that I didn’t know who should end up with who. Anyone who can take a familiar story and still manage to surprise me is aces in my book.

One of the best things Carolyn Turgeon has managed to capture is the wonder a person feels when they see something amazing and magical for the first time. Seeing our world through the eyes of the mermaid makes me appreciate the good a little more, and seeing the ocean through both the mermaid and the mortal make me want to explore its secrets (I should probably learn to swim first).

It’s a darker version of the classic story. It stays true to Andersen’s original tale, and is very graphic at times, but as tragic as the story was, I saw more hope and love in the pages than pain. I felt like everyone was trying to do the best they could with their circumstances, and no one was out to intentionally hurt anyone else.

I loved the book. It recaptured old feelings of wonder and magic. Mermaid is published by Three Rivers and it slated for release in March 2011. To learn more about Carolyn Turgeon, check out her blog here.