The Perils of Negative Thinking

My hero Patton Oswalt makes a lot of jokes about midgets. He had a midget bit in his first hour-long Comedy Central special and three different midget bits on this 2002 bootleg I have.
I’m not brave enough to make fun of midgets. I just know the minute I said or wrote something about them, I [...]

Blade Runner’s Hong Kong (Or, How to Read Those Dull Academic Papers)

It’s so frustrating to run across an academic paper about your favorite comic or movie or TV show. Academics always say one or two smart things and then spend the rest of a 20-page paper gabbling about incomprehensible theories we ordinary people don’t have time for.
It’s kind of cute, really. I picture a tenure-seeking associate [...]

Comic-Con Events Worth Catching

Not to be positive or anything, but here’s some Comic-con events worth attending. Below: Unproductive smirking interspersed with moments of liberal political earnestness. Klingons, Naruto, editorial cartooning, Alison Bechdel and The Black Panel (with Prodigal Sunn of the Wu-Tang Clan!).

In the Dumps: More Comic-con Events You Can Probably Skip

I had fun making fun of Comic-con 2007’s Thursday sked, but looking through the Friday and Saturday listings was a bummer. The cheesy stuff on those days just isn’t as funny. So here’s a slightly pissy take on some of Comic-Con 2007’s less-than-inspiring weekend offerings, including Seth MacFarlane, Kevin Smith, Scott McCloud, sci-fi beef- and [...]

Comic-Con Thursday: Your Bottom Priorities

Here’s a look at a few “choice” items from Comic-Con 2007’s Thursday schedule.

Fangirls sans cleavage

10/04/06 update: Check out DragonCon fangirls sans cleavage here.
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For the final installment in the Comic-con fangirl costume series, here’s a collection of no interest whatsoever: Fangirls who aren’t trying desperately to be sexy. Yes, it is possible to fight imaginary evil — or embody it — while keeping your belly button covered.
“It would be [...]

Comic-con’s Hollywood glamour

One nice thing about the kind of fans who use the word “fandom” is that they’re less tolerant of celebrity culture than the general populace is. They don’t read Star or Us Weekly. They’d never be found among the crowd outside the Academy Awards (unless it was a Lord of the Rings year). Brangelina? Suri [...]

Fangirls forever: Comic-con costumes, part 3

I usually think super-elaborate getups look incredibly embarrassing. But not only has this woman avoided tape wrinkles and paper-mache lines, she looks kickass.
Honey! Please! If you’re wearing a leotard, buy some non-control-top pantyhose! Even in this little photo you can see the lines. (I’m deliberately not even thinking about the rest of the outfit. I’m [...]