Best of 2017 - Part Two

NOTE: Here, there be hyperlinks!

In honor of Banned Books Week, which will conclude tomorrow, I am posting my Best of 2017 books that have simply blown my mind (and that's not an easy thing to do, though I feel my tastes are wide-spread enough that I'm often more satisfied than disappointed) and wish to share my findings with my readers and visitors...

Next up is Chain Mail Bikini- a comic anthology about female or femme-affirming gamers! 

Any Robert E. Howard fan would know the title is a nod to one of his most famous characters, Red Sonja, the butt-kicking shero/heroine of his Conan the Barbarian series as well as her own series.

I spoke about this anthology many posts before and I will provide that hyperlink when this post goes live. In the meantime, I feel this title deserves a second post review! 

Chain Mail Bikini is a trail mix of delightful ruminations and musings on a little-media-attention topic: girls and women who like to game (video games/board games/role-playing card games, etc) and how it sculpts one's identity, defines an individual, as well as the overall affect on that broader gaming community. 

Now, this may sound lofty and I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. All I know is that as many people as possible need to read this gem of comic "essays" about gamers and the lives they lead - whether offline or online. Whether the favored game is made of paper, in pixels, or penned by a 'circle', the emotions are nevertheless real, the social commentary biting, sexism crackles, and feminism shines. 

As I said before, the comics are a mixed bag: some of the comic art is adorable, some are quite polished, even professional, some are quite rough, while others are drawn somewhat amateurish. But, however the aesthetic might be, this anthology carries a lot of heart. There is no BS. What you see is what you get and the authors aren't here to waste their time or the readers. They are just here to tell you their stories. No Ifs, Ands, or Buts about it. And no spoilers from this reviewer. 

Chain Mail Bikini is guest edited by Hazel Newlevant  and the intriguing front cover (for which I am now a fan of!) by Hellen Jo !

Please pick up Chain Mail Bikini directly from its website (available in PDF, hardcopy) or where ever books are sold.

Info on Banned Books Week here: Banned and Challenged Books

Being a Geek

Not me as a child.

Currently reading The Secret Loves of Geek Girls and remembered an ex-friend asking me years after high school, "Were you always like this?" meaning "Were you always a nerd/geek/dork even when I knew you in high school?" And I said, "Yes, I am but-" She said, "You were trying to fit in?" And with inner shame, I said, "Yes. Because-" I let my response drop. I didn't get a chance to clarify that statement as this friend started showing her true colors to the point I could no longer be around her. But I digress...

Not me as a teen.

Yep. Definitely still not me.

Since I work at a college campus as a lab tutor, I have been introducing nerd-related clothing into my wardrobe. I'm middle-age and feel more comfortable with who I am. I really don't care anymore. However, it comes to a point when one realizes that one can no longer go by certain dictates imposed on. Back in grade school, I had to hide what I watched, and in many cases, what I read, what I wrote. In high school, Commercial Art class was the one time I was allowed to draw what I wanted. It's been freeing and also an eye-opener to understand the strictures from society. It has been freeing in what I read, what I write, in what I discuss with others. I'm letting my geek flag fly.

From my Facebook post

This graphic novel anthology was recommended to me by Amazon.com. If one reads my "In Pretty Print" Blog, anthologies have been and are very important to my reading/writing life. Who would think that a comic collection about being a female gamer would be a thing?

"Chain Mail Bikini" is not just a nod to Conan the Barbarian's Red Sonja signature yet highly implausible outfit. This comic anthology is created by female and femme-identifying artists.
Each stand-alone story shows how each author connected to different video games. How the gaming life influenced their own lives.

Here are dreamlike tales, coming-of-age, and slice-of-life/memoir-like stories on how playing video games actually informed a life, gave direction, and even set many of the authors on a path to their destiny.

As both, an artist and writer, it's good for me to find such anthologies. Such collections surprise me, delight me, and not only create for these authors new fans. They inspire the best in me as a fellow creator.

Imagine Nation (Pop culture TV show)

Imagine Nation is a show on NHK World TV's channel (a Japanese news' channel for English-speaking viewers) that deals with anime, manga, animation, video games, cartooning, and speaking to industry insiders. The show is less than half an hour and I'll talk about it in another post. Right now, I want to bring up a quote I wrote down.

"There are things I don't want others to know about me. And there are things about people close to me that I wouldn't want to have disclosed either. I feel the same way about characters. I mean, not everything has to be revealed to the readers, because it's more beautiful when some things are left unsaid. I think the readers will appreciate it more." - Reiko Shimizu (mangaka)

This is an important quote to a writer from a comic writer. I don't know how to better place this in the context of the life of writing. The best I can understand from this quote from Mangaka (Comic writer) Reiko Shimizu is that a writer, not even the creator of whatever given media can absolutely know every bit and detail about one's characters. These clues may only be revealed in the process of writing. While in the moment of writing one's story can the stranger become the friend. The unfamiliar becomes the familiar. What is the mystery can only be understood and revealed through the active process of WRITING.

To learn more about "Imagine Nation" the show:

Imagine Nation official site

Imagine Nation On Demand

Imagine-Nation on NHK-World on Facebook

Random Rant That I Have Given Much Thought To

I'm a college lab tutor and so my students are from FOOHS (Fresh out of high school) to their 50s.

Many of my early 20s-30s students tell me how their families harass them for being 'nerdy' and preferring to: read manga/comics, watch anime/cartoons, and even *gasp* dare I say it? Play video games!

My students confide in me and when I hear these laments over and over, I get irate. There are so many temptations in this world.

I asked a student why were her parents so angry at her for staying in on a Friday night? And for staying in to read MANGA!

As a late teens to early thirties, there are so many temptations in this world, so many bad things to be involved in. One can be addicted to drugs, sex, alcohol, or even run away to join a cult! Instead, one's LARPing? Playing D&D, doing podcasting...

And these aren't considered by parents and guardians to be the healthier alternatives!? I'm confused.