My first comic! (I'm aware that sounds like a children's book.)

 Elisa Feliz's wonderful pinup for my "Archetypes: A Christmas Crime" short story.

As you may have seen in my earlier post about Womanthology, I'm now officially a comic book author. In case you're wondering, I am indeed doing an embarrassing happy dance right now. It's best that you don't see it.

I did two pieces. One of them, "Ladybird" was co-written with the wonderful Rachel Pandich with art by the amazing, Eisner-award-winning artist, Janet Lee (Return of the Dapper Men). It's based on the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and I'm incredibly proud of it. Check out my video interview with Janet at NYCC for Newsarama to see some of the art.

Me at the Comikaze Expo "Womanthology" panel in front of Janet Lee's art for "Ladybird."
The second one (which I actually wrote first) is "Archetypes," with art by the fantastic Elisa Feliz. That one is about a woman who dreams in archetypes and solves crimes. Weirdly enough, I wrote it on a plane back from New Orleans. Neither of these are exactly what you'd call "fluffy, happy" stories. In fact, when I was lucky enough to get comic legend Jim Lee to critique them, he said, "Wow, you're really dark!"

Me at the Comikaze Expo "Womanthology" panel in front of Elisa Feliz's art for "Archetypes."

Anyway, we were recently asked to contribute a holiday piece based on our work for Womanthology supporters. Now that we're allowed to share it with everyone, here is mine. This one is a short story based on "Archetypes." Elisa Feliz did the pinup above to go with it. Give it a read and let me know what you think!
Stay tuned for information about "Womanthology" signings at Emerald Knights, Meltdown and others, and pre-order your copy here.  xoxo

"Archetypes: A Christmas Crime"

 

The white trim on his suit glowed in the black light. Wait, that seemed odd. What would Santa be doing in a club? Well, it was Los Angeles. The Beverly Hills mall had a shirtless “Hunky Santa” every year, so I guess it's not that weird. Right, back to the dream. As he moved through the throbbing, surging crowd of dancers, the pack on his back seemed to be weighing him down. Scene change. A sneering Santa moving around a Christmas tree. He laid down his empty sack in front of the fireplace and eased himself down on the couch to eat the cookies that were left out for him. Empty sack, huh? Oh god...

Suddenly, it was like someone was ringing the damn jingle bells from his sleigh in her ear. Stupid phone.

“Hello? This had better be good, Prince Charming. I was dreaming.”

“Ha! I knew you still dreamed about me as the Prince.”

“Oh shut up. You're married now and I have a crime to report. I think.”

She turned to look at the picture of him next to her bed. You don't dream about Prince archetypes very often. Stupid her for letting this one go. She didn't know how this whole dreaming thing worked back then, but you'd think she would have been smart enough to hold onto him.

“Alright cop. Here's the deal. I dreamed about Santa...”

He snorted. “Really? But he's...

“I know. He's not an archetype. But he is a symbol. I guess it makes sense. I don't know. This stupid gift didn't come with instructions. Also, if this particular Santa shows up in my house, I'm converting.”

She heard laughter on the other line. “From what to what, pretty lady?”

He loved teasing her. Princes might be good guys and end up as cops, but they certainly mess with your head. “Couldn't tell what he had in his sack, but it was heavy. He moved through a club with it, then ended up in a house in front of a fire with an empty one.”

“So what am I looking for here? A guy in a Santa suit who likes dance music, cookies and milk?”

She sighed. “The Santa symbol means comfort. Presents. Once a year...they leave things at your house...hmm. Any reports of a missing person?”

“If this is the usual scenario, we'll get one tomorrow. Grandpa got drunk and kidnapped his grandson. Someone killed someone else and dumped them in the chimney. Definitely someone close to them or they wouldn't have let them in. I suppose it's too easy to assume this is a mall Santa?” he said.

“Yeah, well, it's rarely that literal. Good luck with that though.”

“Listen, what are you doing for Christmas? Come have dinner with my wife and I. I can't stand the idea of you being alone.”

Her heart skipped. She was never going to tell him his wife was the Evil Queen. Sure, she knew exactly what that woman had done to take her Prince away, but he was happy. He might be a flirt, but you could see the love in his eyes when he spoke about her. She'd let him have that a little longer.

“I have plans.” She didn't. “Have a Merry Christmas though. Goodnight Prince Charming.” She hung up and rolled back up in her blanket. Yeah, let him have a few more weeks of peace. Something big was coming. She felt a dream coming on...

RIP Anne McCaffery, the single biggest artistic influence on my life

I really didn't expect to be writing another sad post after the last one, since things have been pretty darn wonderful lately. So I refuse to make this weepy.

I just heard on Twitter that author Anne McCaffery passed away. It was like a punch in the gut. I mean, hardly unexpected since she was 85 years old, but still hard to hear.

I've read every book she's ever written. In fact, her book "Dragonsong" was the first fantasy novel I ever read. I actually remember getting it for Christmas from my mom. I unwrapped the package, and there was Menolly, surrounded by fire lizards on the cover. Tiny dragons! I'd never seen anything like it before!

I was a book fiend as a kid. I learned to read early and I spent so much time at the library that the librarians all knew my name and had a suggestion list for me when I got to the counter. They'd laugh, watching me attempt to carry home a stack of books half my height, knowing I'd be back in a few days for more.

But dragons? I hadn't really encountered them yet. When I cracked open the book, I was immediately hooked. Menolly sang. She loved music. She'd do anything to get to do it for a living. She went to a school that taught it! I didn't even know that was possible! She was brave and talented and she "impressed" a slew of fire lizards. I still have that book. At the beginning of one chapter, I wrote, "I wish I was her," in pencil. Considering I ended up going to Syracuse University for musical theater and sang for many years (if you're good, I'll show you my goofy acting reel which has me singing "Evita" and doing a short film of "Star Wars" done by pirates), and then ended up as a writer, you can see what this book did to me.

I went on to read every one of her books. Strong, powerful women were all over the place in a time when that wasn't really the trend in fantasy. I read many of those books before I really knew what the sex scenes were about! I was definitely too young to read "Dragonflight," but one thing did stand out. Lessa.

This lady was tough. She survived anything. No one gave her shit. I knew when I read it that this was the woman I wanted to be. (Which may explain all the weaponry in my house.) I wanted to walk into a room and have people know I was there. It changed the direction of a very shy little girl's life.

So did "Crystal Singer." Another tough lady, who after her singing career comes to an end, goes on to do something even better. When I decided to stop my theater career, I re-read this book, looked at the wider world and marched proudly onto the next thing, just like Killashandra.

Anne's work was directly responsible for my career choices, how I developed my personality, my love of dragons and space ships and so many other things. Reading about how she broke into what was mostly a male dominated genre influenced me in so many ways, they're beyond counting.

Anne McCaffery was the single biggest artistic influence in my life. Though her passing is sad, I'm about to celebrate her life by pouring one out and re-reading (for the zillionth time) "Dragonsong." Rest in peace, Dragonlady.

A different sort of memorial...

If you've been following my blog for a while, you probably read my post about where I was on September 11th.  I wrote it last year and it tells the story pretty well.  At the time, I wasn't sure why I was doing that particular post on the 9th anniversary.  I feel like I should have waited.  Now I know why I didn't.

It's the tenth anniversary of the tragedy today.  Every minute of that day is still painful to think about. The worst part of it all was that I had no idea where my then boyfriend was and I thought he was working near the Empire State Building that day.  I couldn't find him for hours.  My boss at the time, who was only a few years older than me lost her husband in the second tower.  The sadness of that still lingers.

I imagined I'd be watching the 9/11 specials and tributes and crying with memories this Sunday.  But I can't.  Because 8 years ago today I was standing in front of a justice of the peace in a little town in Scotland with that same man, getting married.  Just the legal ceremony.  The big to-do in a castle with a kilt and bag pipes and a priestess was all the next day.  I didn't even dress up for the legal part.  But I had no idea how emotional we would all get.  Even the sweet old lady reading the vows choked up and had tears in her eyes.  So did he.

On the tenth anniversary of 9/11, I'm sitting with divorce papers on my desk.  This was not of my choosing.  Not at all...that is a story for another day.  So as my heart is breaking into a million shards of broken glass, I can't watch anything about the towers or the aftermath or the terror threats.  I can't watch the memorials because I'm having one of my own over the end of a 15 year relationship with the love of my life.

That said, I have a lot to be thankful for today.  I've recently learned what wonderful, supportive friends and family I have.  They say you never really know someone until you go through a tragedy with them.  Well, now I've gone through two.  If I'd been posting about 9/11 alone, I'd tell you to go home, hug your loved ones and be thankful for what you have.  Posting now, with these papers on my desk, the sight of which make my hands shake and my heart drop to the floor, knowing I've probably seen someone I love more than anything in the world for the last time makes me want to scream it from the roof tops.  Treasure every moment.  You never know when it will be the last.

Peace to us all.

Womanthology and my comic book debut

UPDATE:  We did it!  We hit our goal in less than 15 hours!  Let's keep going!  Here is what happens if we raise more:


 What will you do if you make OVER your goal?

The current Kickstarter goal amount would help us print a small run (1500) of books. This will be 300 page, 9x12, Hardcover, full color book. All money earned goes directly to printing costs and other fees such as postage of the book to all of you fine people! :)
Our current goal is 25,000. If we, by some miracle, make OVER that goal, here is what we will do;
- Up to 50,000 will mean MORE books printed. Every book printed and sold earns even more for our Charities :) We may even be able to afford a special Womanthology table at a big upcoming con!
- 50,000 - 70,000 I will put to funding the printing of ANOTHER Charity book that will bring more opportunity to creators that just need that chance! Not just women this time! :)
- Over 70,000 .... if there was a miracle in the universe that would allow us to earn more, my ultimate goal would be an expanded version of what this book is about. To create an organization the supports new creators and their creator owned comics, helps fund them to complete their works, and get them out to major publishers for their chance to shine. The comics industry NEEDS this right now! This would really be a great way to support comics, and help move the industry an all the fantastic creators in it, to brighter, more awesome future!

I am about to write my very first comic!  I'm not sure I've ever been this excited!  It's all part of Womanthology, an upcoming anthology featuring the work of women in the industry...just women!  And damn there are some great ones!  Contributors include:

• Gail Simone ( DC writer, Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey, Secret Six)
• Annie Nocenti ( Marvel writer, Dardevil, Editor for Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants)
  
• Ming Doyle ( Boom, Image, Marvel artist)
  
• Devin Grayson (DC writer; Batman, Nightwing, New Titans)
• Lauren Montgomery (Director & Storyboard Artist - Justice League, DC)
  
• Fiona Staples (DC, Wildstorm, IDW , Vertigo artist)
  
• June Brigman  (Creator; Brenda Starr, Power Pack)
• Samantha Newark (Voice of JEM, Singer/Vocals - God of War, Hook)
  
• Bonnie Burton( Grrl.com)

I've mentioned the wonderful Bonnie Burton before.  Check out our interview about her wonderful Star Wars Craft Book here.  Also, Samantha Newark doesn't know this, but I was just interviewed for the upcoming JEM DVD collection.  Showtime Synergy!






I'm honored to be working with artist Elisa Feliz, who's work you can check out here.  No hints on the story yet, but I'm really excited about it!

So here is why I'm writing.  We need to raise money to get this thing published.  (IDW is doing it for us if we can get the funds.)  Do me a favor and check out the video and the website for the Womanthology Kickstarter Project.  You can donate as little as a dollar, but there are some really cool rewards for donating more.  REALLY cool ones!  All the info is in the site so take a look!

Also...and this is a thing that's very close to my heart...you're helping inspire young women to pick up a pencil and draw, or write a script for or at the very least read comics.  I'll wear my cape in your name.

Lara Croft's Boobs

Here we go again!  First it's boob gate (thanks to the very awesome Blair Butler for coming up with the term), now we have Lara Croft's mammeries to argue about.  The most famous pair of video game breasts this side of Soul Calibur's Ivy are getting a reduction and it's caused quite a few arguments to start on the interwebs.  I hit the floor of E3 this week and got a behind-closed-doors look at the upcoming reboot of Tomb Raider.  You can read my preview here on Coming Soon for info on game play and why it seems weirdly masochistic, but today I'm talking about boobs.

Maybe she uses super glue?

Lara Croft looks very different this time around.  Certainly more realistic.  Her chest has gone from one that made her look like she would face plant if she stood on her toes to a large B/small C.  Some have argued that this is a non-issue, but the truth is, the game has been famous for more than just it's action.  There have been nude hacks, posters, fan clubs...even Angelina Jolie had them enhanced (not surgically...don't sue me) for the films.  Her breasts are a signature part of the character and there is no way this wasn't going to be noticed.

Let me be clear here.  I don't care how big or small her chest is.  I mentioned it on Twitter and Facebook last night and the discussion was intense.   Friendly and intense...I'm not trying to start a war here or imply in any way that there ever was one.  I was just really surprised at how many people felt that I should be thrilled by the change.  So many, in fact, that I thought I'd share my feelings about it all here.

 The new, less busty Lara Croft.

I have many issues with the way women have been portrayed in film and television.  It's changing, of course, but there is a long way to go.  I've also had issues with stupid/weak women in video games.  There is no way in hell that you could ever call Lara stupid or weak.  This goes back to the discussion about sexuality and geek women, and whether or not we need to neuter ourselves to be taken seriously.  As the very awesome Jane Espenson told me in our interview for Huffington Post, "I like to think of sci fi fans as people who genuinely embrace the idea of infinite diversity in infinite combination. Diversity includes the sexy. It just does. There's no way around that. We are simply going to have to embrace the sexy."  Nothing wrong with being sexy AND kick ass.  And nothing about being sexy takes away from what you can do with your brain or your sword.

The incredibly talented Jane Espenson.

All I care about is game play.  I don't care if Ivy's boobs are the size of pumpkins and there is no way they could stay in that strip of tooth floss.  That's the unrealistic style of Soul Calibur.  I don't think Siegfried could hold a sword that size either.

 That's some sword you've got there, Siegfried!  Ahem.

I do not ask for realism in video games.  I ask for art design.  I ask for fun.  I ask for object permanence so my feet don't go through the stairs instead of standing on them and my arms don't poke through walls.  I ask for fewer fire bats.  I ask for kick ass characters.  I laughed my ass off when someone told me on Twitter that it was unacceptable that her breasts were so unrealistic.  Realistic?  Oh, because it's totally realistic to have magic, or carry 50 items (including armor) in an invisible backpack, or to find treasure chests in every household, or to die and respawn or find giant spinning coins lying all over the world.  Hedgehogs do not skateboard.  Girls in bikinis do not play sexy games on a private island that only you have been invited to.  Zombies are not running around, waiting to be taken down.  (Well, not yet.  I'm prepared for the zombie apocalypse, just in case.)  Why the hell should I care if a character has large, unrealistic boobs?  I'm not looking to video games to tell me how I should look.  And if some guy won't date you because you don't look like Lara Croft...run from him.  Hell, he's probably not out of his basement anyway.

I hope there's a pony inside!

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.  Pontificate below and happy gaming.

Geek and Gamer Girls, We're Unbelievable!

Geek girls have been all over the news lately, from Boobgate to little Katie Goldman who was teased for liking Star Wars (and the unbelievable outpouring of support from geek girls all over the world) to why some people think Game of Thrones is for guys, to whether or not celebrity women are pandering to geeks. I've talked about it. I've discussed it on Twitter and ComiCenter. I just chatted about it with my very good friend and honorary geek chick George Roush and new buddy Jennifer Landa on My Geek Lady. (Check out the show below.) But I thought it was time to put my feelings down, if not on paper, than on the web.


Watch live video from GeekWeek on Justin.tv
I think it's easy to dismiss us because the prevailing feeling out there is that being a female geek is still an unusual thing. I still have men look at me in shock when I tell them I play World of Warcraft (to be fair, I might be mistaking that for what is really shock that I leave the house and play World of Warcraft). Not so very long ago, I told the producers of a show on a major gaming network that I love video games and comic books and they called me a unicorn. Rare, they explained, because I don't look like a troll and I know what a drow is. This from a network that regularly hires geek women.

If you're reading this, you probably know what a drow is too.

Now, I don't say this to slam them. Not at all. Our culture tells us that women who aren't ugly shouldn't have deep interests of any sort. Yes, my friends, I am prepared for the shit storm that sentence is going to cause. But look at which geek girls are being targeted as panderers and betrayers of their sex. There are posts about how women who cosplay as Slave Leia or characters with any sort of sex appeal shouldn't be taken seriously. (Read Bonnie Burton's fantastic post on SFX about this.) There are posts about how hot, famous chicks couldn't possibly be into geek stuff. They're just talking about it to get guys to think they're cool. (Oh my, how the worm has turned.)

As Bonnie Burton said, Slave Leia strangled Jabba all by herself...in a metal bikini. Hardly a weak woman.

Now, this reminds me of a few of my feminist friends...and yes, I proudly identify myself as a feminist...back in college who told me I couldn't be a feminist and wear makeup/be a makeup artist/do my hair/care about my appearance, etc. As though being attractive disqualifies you from being smart or caring about anything. Of cooourse. Attractive women don't have to have interests. People give them things as soon as they bat their painted lashes. Interests and hobbies are for people who don't have social lives or mascara, and have to occupy their hours with comic books because no one will talk to them. Apparently you don't count as a feminist/geek if you fall into that category.



It's not a stereotype that will disappear any time soon. And it does exist for a reason. I'm not saying no one out there has ever pandered or used liking something to look cool/get guys/land jobs. But I'm sorry, I can decorate my face and still want equal pay for equal work. I can talk about having boobs (I'm sure you read the post where amazing blogger Jill Pantozzi was called out for naming her blog Has Boobs, Reads Comics) and dress in sexy costumes and still be able to talk about comics and video games with conviction.



So where does that leave us? Well, there is very little we can do about the guys and what they say or think, other than to continue to have the conversation. But there is something we can do about our own community from the inside. We can support each other. We don't need to be tearing each other apart from within. Calling each other out for names of blogs and threatening to punch a fellow geek in ''her stupid boobs'' is not helping. Telling someone that the way I'm a geek is far more legitimate than the way you're a geek isn't either.

Something that I mentioned on the ComiCenter podcast is the difference between geeks. There are the exclusionary geeks who say, ''I know this really cool thing about Batman and you're an idiot because you don't,'' and the more welcoming sort who say, ''I know this really cool thing about Batman. Do you want to know too? That way we can geek out together.'' I'm hoping we're moving towards the second sort. Maybe we stop judging those who might have just entered the world of comics because of Iron Man or Thor, or just read Watchmen for the first time. They can be just as excited as those who read it years ago. Or those who didn't start playing video games with Pong. Are they less legit because they're new? Do you remember the first time you read The Lord of the Rings? The wonder you felt? It is possible to feel the same thing, even if you only read it after the trilogy came out.

Me in the Owl Ship. I like it more than my Honda.

So this is what we do. We support all types of geeks. We welcome new ones to our ranks. We stay vocal about what we love and support films/TV shows/blogs that reflect our interests. And we geek out in any way we want, whether that means auditioning for geek shows, playing with plastic lightsabers, tattooing our arms with geek symbols, posting in the Facebook group the League of Extraordinary Ladies, dressing up as either Slave Leia or Senator Leia and not judging either way, using our extensive knowledge of Middle Earth to impress a guy (no, that does NOT make you less legitimate), carrying our dogeared copies of Dragonsong proudly on the subway, tweeting the Daffy Duck version of the Green Lantern oath...be proud and loud about your geekiness, ladies. We are everywhere.

''In Blackest Day or Brightest Night...um, watermelon, cantalope, yada yada...a superstitious and cowardly lot...with liberty and justice for all!''

New Blog!!!!

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to let you know that I started a new blog called "Did You See That Stupid Commerical?" As I told a friend of mine, it was either that or throw a shoe at my television.

So far I've taken on the stupid "Ankle Show" Old Navy commercials, talking cereal and the dual bathtubs in the Cialis ads.

Take a look by clicking HERE and let me know what you think. If you like it, please subscribe. And feel free to leave ideas for commercials you'd like me to take on. I can promise only one thing. I won't be kind.



XO Jenna