Going Digital: The Future of Comics
I love my local comic shop. The owner is a great guy, who cusses like a sailor and loves to chat about old story lines. He is one of the few people who can actually follow what I'm talking about when I start to ramble about Justice League Europe in the '90s, or the old "New Teen Titans". However, in recent months I have started buying most of my comics digitally. This isn't because I dislike comic stores, quite the opposite, but it is so much more convenient to buy online. I can curl up in bed at 11:30pm and buy the latest editions of my favorite comics. Best of all, I don't have to worry about storing them. The storage part is HUGE! I hate throwing comics away and already have hundreds of plastic covered gems filling my bookshelves and boxes. Digital comics take up no space, but I can reread them whenever the fancy strikes me.
I'm sort of a traitor.
However, the comic industry has to evolve to keep up with the times. We are moving into the age of digital everything. A good comparison is the music industry. Many people claim that iTunes is killing the music industry, but it's not dying, it's evolving! The music labels are definitely not hurting for cash, and small bands (like mine!!) have a chance to sell their music on a global scale, all thanks to digital distribution. There is an adjustment, and unfortunately, retail stores can suffer. But in order to continue growing their fan-base, comic companies are going to have to continue to move into the digital realm.
The first step that the comic book companies need to take? Agree on a universal format that can be easily bought and read with programs like the Newsstand app. Having a separate app for each comic company is really a joke. Can you imagine if each record label had their own app that you had to buy and listen to music through? For god's sake! I couldn't listen to "Weird Al" Yankovic and Johnny Cash without switching apps! I believe that the comic industry would increase their sales if people were able to easily subscribe to their favorite titles and have them show up in the same app. The convenience might tempt people to try a comic who normally would never visit a store or download a comic-specific app. I've found amazing musicians buy buying a single song, just to try them out. The same would happen with comics. The comic companies could even include ads, like in current printed titles, to insure that they made a profit. They'd also save money by eliminating the need for them to maintain their own apps. Another perk would be that it would create a wonderful platform for independent comics to reach a much larger market. Everybody wins.
With the incorporation of programs similar to iCloud or iTunes Match, a digital customer could access their comics anywhere that had an internet connection. Your entire comic collection at your fingertips! How amazing would that be? Bus running late? Pull up your favorite DC title. Bored at work? Read X-men on your desktop, and still look like you are working! Did you only get through half of Batgirl before you left for class? Pull it up on your iPhone during the lecture. I love rereading old comics from the 80s and 90s and having them only a few taps away would be amazing! Convenience and mobility are the major perks of the digital age, and the comic industry is missing out.
Store owners and hardcore printed comics fans will disagree with me, but in a world where music and bookstores are closing at alarming rates, the influence of digital distribution is undeniable. I'd rather see the industry change than have it die completely. Over 19% of the US population now owns a tablet of some kind and millions more are being sold each month. I think it's pretty obvious where the future lies for comics.
EDIT: A few people have mentioned ComiXology to me, and they have a very valid point. ComiXology has many of the perks I mentioned above, but ComiXology does not actually sell comics... they sell the license to view comics from their servers. It's a really great option if you aren't the type to reread comics, but if you are an archive reader like me there are some drawbacks. If they lose their license with a company like DC, they'd have no choice but to remove those comics from their servers... and your collection. (Thanks Trent for bringing this up!)
Thou Shalt Not Play with Assholes
Should subjective tabletop RPG rules be eliminated since they can allow the GM's biases to influence the game?
This rather hot topic has arisen lately, especially regarding mechanics where the GM can reward players for their role-playing. This discussion was started by site called Gaming for Women and we recently discussed it on an episode of the Happy Jack's RPG podcast.
While misogynistic behavior was the main concern of the article, any time you allow the human element into activities it opens the door for prejudice. I will be the first to admit that this can lead to horrible situations in games and in gaming groups. However, I argue that this subjectivity is imperative to gaming and especially vital with reward mechanics. The human element is the reason we play tabletop games. Otherwise, we'd all just go play video games since they are available whenever we want and don't drink all the beer when they come over. I have seen reward mechanics bring quiet role-players out of their shell and bring games to a whole new level. If a numbers mechanic regulated the use of rewards, rather than the GM, the same people would always get the bennies! Only the subjective judgement of a GM can evaluate the amount of effort a player is putting into the game.
Some people (read: self-proclaimed feminists) chimed in on my twitter feed and claimed that women may need all subjective rules to be eliminated in order to insure total fairness in all gaming groups. WTF? Seriously? I cannot begin to describe how insulted I was by the idea that women need rules to protect them in RPGs. If you are in a group where you need rules to protect you from a GM's vindictive actions, get the fuck out of there! We play games FOR FUN! If you are playing with people who treat you unfairly based on your gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, beer preference, or anything else, it isn't going to be fun. Nobody should ever stay in any type of relationship (romantic, friendly, gaming, or otherwise) where the only thing protecting them from abuse is rules. Being empowered includes the power to remove yourself from a bad situation. Find another group, or start checking out online gaming options if the pickings are slim in your area.
Remember Kimi's golden rule of gaming: thou shalt not play with assholes!
Huzzah! Ren Faire has Arrived!!
The Southern California Renaissance Faire opened this weekend. It was the largest opening day in the faire's 50 year history. Yep, this year is the 50th anniversary of this faire!
I have been performing at Southern for over a decade now and this was by far the best opening weekend I've ever had. Our shows went wonderfully, our new t-shirts sold well, and our new songs were well received by the audience. Most importantly, my new funny drinking song had the audience laughing in all the right places. You never can tell 
what the audience will find funny. I've written songs that I thought were brilliant that didn't even earn as much as a cricket chirp from the audience, so it's always very rewarding when they enjoy a song. I'll be writing more verses in the next week to perform next weekend.
I'm very happy about our new t-shirts, which were designed by yours truly and the amazingly talented Sam Balcomb. The rooster one debuted last year, but the swallow shirts are brand new. Both were inspired by some very funny songs that we perform.
I have a few days to rest up between weekends. You know it's faire season when going to work on Monday morning seems easy compared to wearing 4 layers of clothing (including a bodice) and singing full volume in the sun on a 90 degree day. Yes, I have an insane hobby... but it's fun! If you haven't been to the renaissance faire before, you should go! It's a totally unique experience.
Debut of Sif & WonderCon
What a crazy weekend! I am still recovering and it's Thursday. Seriously, who's idea was it to have my Irish music persona and cosplay persona collide? Two days of cosplaying at a convention with a concert and night of heavy drinking in between is not the best idea. Fun, but not the best idea.
Sif debuted at WonderCon and was a huge success. I was asked to pose for more pictures than ever before and got more complements than ever before, despite the fact that most people couldn't identify my character. Oh well, they still appreciated the craftsmanship and the overall impact. I consider this to be my most successful cosplay to date.
There are many reasons for this, but here is a list of the biggest differences between Sif and my previous cosplays:
- I was the only Sif at WonderCon (I'm pretty sure) and this made me stand out. It also helps that I was nearly 6ft of bright red woman warrior. I did not blend in.
- I finally invested in a good quality makeup kit. It made a huge difference in the photos and the quality of the images that were taken at this convention. I felt a little ridiculous putting it on the first day, but the impact it had on my cosplay was undeniable. I looked good the morning after St. Patrick's Day! I can't even begin to explain how amazing that is!
- I'm getting better at posing and working the convention floor. Despite my experience working at Renaissance Faire and performing on stage, it's taken me a while to get comfortable as a cosplayer at conventions. I still have things to work on, but I'm getting much more comfortable.
- I picked a character very suited to my body type and physical features. This is always a smart move with cosplayers. A woman as tall as I am can look awkward in group pictures, but when you're supposed to be a Norse goddess it makes more sense. I'm working on some cosplays for San Diego ComicCon that are not in my body type, we will see how that goes...
- My outfit is friggin' leather. That's just stinkin' impressive and badass. Not to brag, but it is!
I still have improvements to make to this outfit, but overall I am incredibly pleased with how everything turned out. I'm hoping to have a photo shoot with this outfit very soon and will be posting a gallery once I finish collecting all the images off the internet. If you have a good picture, please email it to me! I'd love to see it!
I did discover that this is the best cosplay to wear in cold or rainy weather. It was POURING rain on Saturday. The cloak is very resistant to water and isn't harmed by the rain! The hood flips up to protect my leather headpiece and makeup. Even the boots are actually pleather rain boots! It was unplanned, but it worked out very well on this stormy WonderCon weekend.
WonderCon was a very fun convention, and I hope it returns to Anaheim again next year. There is a bigger variety of vendors at this show since the booths are probably much cheaper than at SDCC. The crowds are also much smaller. Everyone says it's like SDCC was 10 years ago, but I wouldn't know. I love the current Comic-Con for all it's crazy size and commercialism, but I really enjoyed WonderCon as well. The parking was a mess. The traffic in the whole area was terrible and the shuttle buses were a mess because of it. We spent a very large percent of Sat dealing with that situation. Not fun. I highly recommend getting a hotel in walking distance, or if you wait until the last minute like I did, get a hotel with a shuttle. Sunday was very much improved because of my Saturday night hotel stay and the parking/shuttle it provided. That was my only real problem with this convention, and it was made worse by the rain. I hope they can come up with some productive solutions for next year to keep the traffic flowing more smoothly.
Overall, it was an amazing weekend that I will never forget! I met and got to spend time with so many incredible people and revel in my two favorite pastimes, performing (cosplaying and an MWOW concert) and drinking. What could be better?
WonderCon Countdown: Sif's Belt and Skirt
WonderCon has arrived in Southern California! While this has caused many Northern California people sorrow, I am happy to have an event before SDCC to debut my Sif cosplay! There is only one problem... it's not done yet. I have made a lot of progress and will be able to finish tonight, but sleep may be sacrificed. Everything is looking great and I am very excited!
Belt
Sif's belt is a trademark of her costume. No matter how many times she is redesigned, she almost always has a prominent, geometric belt buckle in the center of her abdomen. I started with a faux leather corset belt that I got on Ebay for $6.99. I really liked the pattern the sections made and how it added texture. Plus, it's stretchy without being spandex. Bonus points! The biggest problem is that I wanted the pattern in the belt to accent and frame the Sif buckle, which meant I had to move the buckles already on the belt. I removed them with a seam ripper and restitched them on the opposite side of the belt which would be on my back. I stitched the front together to prep it for the Sif buckle.
The buckle was actually much easier than I expected. I measured and cut the basic shape out of an old teaching poster I had. It was stronger than poster board, but not as thick as cardboard... plus I already had it. I'm not planning on teaching Kindergarten again anytime soon, so it's not a huge loss. I cut up the rest of the red leather purse that I used to make straps for my leg armor, and covered the polygon (see? I'm such a teacher...) by gluing it and then stitching the edges. I was happy that my new sewing machine could handle the laminated poster board and leather.
The white boarders on the belt were the most time consuming piece, just because they needed to be perfect. I traced the finished, red leather polygon on the back of my white leather hide and measured out the designs. Then I carefully cut out each section so the lines would be perfect and keep the geometric look. Once it was cut I sewed white stitches 1/8th inches from the edges of the white. These served no structural purpose, but added texture and gave the illusion that the white was stitched onto the red. Then I carefully used barge cement to glue the white onto the red. This was the most stressful part, because if I messed up I'd have to start ALL over again. I also had to glue the white leather on perfectly so the lines and angles would stay straight. Luckily, non of the leather had stretched, and it ended up looking great.
Skirt
The skirt was fairly simple, but time consuming. Lots of measuring and cutting very straight lines. I had it basically put together, but realized that it looked like cheap plastic from even just a few feet away. I decided that adding metal studs would give the leather a little more weight and help give it more texture. I carefully added them to each strip of the skirt. This is pretty challenging since the leather was very prone to wrinkling under the studs and the wrinkles showed up a lot on the white. Once this was finished, I put the waist band on over my corset, inside out. I than taped (you don't want to use pins on leather because they leave holes) each strip in place to get the desired look. It's important to do this with the corset on, because the measurements will be very off otherwise. Finally, I sewed everything down and added Velcro to close it at the top. I'd usually use laces to close a leather skirt, but it's not going to show and I wanted it to stay as flat as possible under the corset.
To Do
I still need to finish the garter belt that will hold up my leg armor, and my sword belt tonight. My first try at making a cosplay sword ended in a very unremarkable, heavy sword that flakes paint at every turn, so I will be wearing my backup LARP sword this weekend. It's very lightweight and doesn't distract from the outfit. The armor will be the most difficult part, so I hope the concept for the garter belt works. Wish me luck!
I'll be posting pictures from WonderCon and from the Merry Wives' St. Patrick's Day concert this weekend, so check out my facebook page or twitter feed to see them!
RPG Inspired Comedy Music
My good friend Stu has put his lyrical genus to use for RPGers everywhere. "Let Me Tell You About My Character" is a collection of five EPs that are all based on situations that are very familiar to every dice-rolling gamer. The songs are written in different styles, including country, rock, Indie electronica (yes, that's a thing), and dance mix. What really makes these songs stand out is the high quality of the mixes and recording. Produced in the Angry Folk Studio, "Let Me Tell You About My Character" lived up to the high sound quality and base humor that have made the Happy Jack's RPG Podcast moderately famous. The songs are $0.99 each and the hilarious lyrics alone are worth twice that. Aren't I generous?
I suggest you buy all the songs, but I have three favorites. "Plan B" is a country song about the intricate plans that RPG players create, and the many ways those plans fall apart. This is track one of the collection and touches on many different games, including Call of Cthulhu and Dungeons and Dragons.
Next on my list is "Storked It". This song is about the traumatizing experience of rolling a critical failure at the vital moment where everything depends on you. This song has GREAT gamer lyrics and mentions lots of different games like GURPS, Savage Worlds, Amber DRPG, and World of Warcraft. Everyone knows how this feels. The term "storked it" was inspired by the Happy Jack's host Stork, the worst dice roller on earth. This song also contains the word "fuck". You shrinking violets have been warned.
The finale and my absolute favorite track in the collection is track five, titled "Laser Printed Hero". This is the theme song of the Happy Jack's RPG Podcast, and this particular recording includes the powerhouse vocals of Heather Greene. They lyrics in this song are the smartest and the most entertaining in this collection. It's based on the incredible lives and adventures of our heroes, who only appear to be printed numbers and words to the unknowing of the real world.
Do yourself a favor and buy these songs. Listen to "Laser Printed Hero" before every RPG you play and you will roll all critical successes. Really...
Lady Sif's Cape
Sif is an Asgardian goddess in Marvel comics, and is based on a beautiful (blond!) goddess in Norse myth. Her current costume pays tribute to this with a red cape adorned with large amounts of white fur.
As with all my cosplays, I wanted to make her cape as realistic and functional as possible. This meant changing it into a cloak so that it could actually do some good in the frigid Norse climate where her myth originated. It also meant finding a use for the furry shoulder pads, which seem very functional but would keep the wearer much warmer if they were located on the inside of the cloak. Once again, I fell back on historical costuming for the answer.
The Kinsale Cloak is a traditional design that originated in Ireland. It is very popular with historical reenactors because of it is a very attractive garment and is incredibly functional. It is a lined cloak that will keep you very warm, but its trademark piece is the hood that hangs down around the shoulders when not covering the wearer's head. I decided that I'd get the desired Sif look by lining the Kinsale cloak hood with fur, then wearing it around my shoulders.Plus, I already had the pattern. Huzzah!
I am very happy with the results... ignore my exhausted face and pajama pants.
This was the first time I had worked with (fake) fur. It was challenging, but I was lucky enough to get some pointers from very experience friends.
- Cutting - Don't cut through all the hair! It will ruin the texture and make your edges look bad. Flip it over and make shallow cuts to the fabric at the base of the hairs.
- When sewing, pin the hairs flat away from your seam allowances before you pin pieces together. Yes, this takes a LOT of pins, but it keeps you from sewing the hairs into your seams and messing up the cool look of your fur. It may seem time consuming, but it will save you a lot of time later and really improve the look of the whole garment.
The fur will get EVERYWHERE, but once you finish off your garment it *should* stop shedding since it should only be losing hair around the edges where you cut. Be sure you have a good quality lint roller on hand to clean up your garment after you finish.
I have about a month until WonderCon, and I still have to finish Sif's belt, skirt, and sword. Those are all fairly simple pieces that are very similar to previous projects, so I might actually be done early. Amazing!
Middle School History RPG
It is a constant challenge to keep students engaged in middle school. You know the age, spring has sprung and suddenly girls no longer have cooties. In fact, they are darn attractive. Suddenly, school is the last thing on your mind when you are sitting in class. It's Mother Nature herself that I am fighting against each day when I try to keep my 7th graders interested. What weapon can a teacher use in this battle against hormones?
Dice of course! Don't tell me you are surprised...
I've designed a class RPG/Risk inspired simulation to bring Medieval Japan to life in my classroom. Each group of students is responsible for maintaining their feudal state, including the earning of food and money to upkeep their armies. They can declare war and battle against other feudal states, and face the twists and turns that fate can bring upon any civilization. Once my students figured out they could conquer and become the feudal Lords of Japan, their hormones didn't stand a chance. Score one for gaming!
It started with a map. I did research and created battle maps that showed the actual feudal boundaries in Medieval Japan. I then broke my class into 4 small groups and each group was given a feudal state. They created a "nobori" (Japanese for banner) and a symbol to represent their state. I was really impressed by their banners, and they are showing so much team spirit and loyalty to their own states.
Each state started with 3 armies, 2 food, and 1 money, which are marked on the battle map with notes and push-pins for the armies. Each day, they can earn more armies, food, and money by completing their assignments. They need to maintain a minimum level of money for their armies to continue fighting. They also must have 1 food for every 2 armies each day, or their armies start starving to death. The students can trade amongst themselves for food, money, or armies. They can also attack other feudal states, and if they win a war they get to take over the armies, food, and money of the other state. They also take all the students from the conquered group and become one larger group, so nobody gets left out if their group loses a war.
Wars are where the dice come in. For every push-pin army a group has, they get to roll 1d6. I thought this was a fair way to resolve battles. A group with 5 armies is still capable of defending themselves against a group with 7 armies, but the odds are not in their favor. They can have one battle a day, and a group must win 3 battles in order to win a war. If a group runs out of money during a war, their armies go on strike and they are left defenseless. If they run out of food, their armies will die and be pulled off the battle map. Groups that lose a war are absorbed into the victorious group and get to continue participating in this new larger group. Eventually, one feudal state may conquer all of Japan... but maybe not!
But as always, fate plays a hand in the success or failure of nations. This is represented by the Wheel of Fate in my classroom. The groups spin the wheel each day, and luck decides if something beneficial or detrimental happens. Examples:
- Extra rain falls in your feudal state. +2 food
- Bandits attack local farming villages. - 2 food
- Your Lords give you gifts for a holiday. +1 money
- You give an inspirational speech to your troops. +2 armies
- Your armies need new armor. -1 money for each army
This seems to be the biggest piece of excitement each day. The students all hold their breaths when their state spins the wheel. It is a game changing event each day. As with real life (and RPGs), a well placed famine or flood can cause real damage to an otherwise successful civilization.
So far, this has been a very successful experiment with my students. It has really increased their interest in history. It's also increased their interest in math as they figure out their chances of success for winning a war, and make long term plans to sustain their armies during their campaigns. We will see if it lures any students into the RPG hobby.
OrcCon 2012 - Laser Ponies Game for Adults
I didn't know what to expect when I ran my adult-theme Laser Ponies convention game at OrcCon 2012. Convention games are an unpredictable beast. You never know who will show up at your table, or if they will buy the concept that you have spent endless hours prepping. This concept was especially risky with Laser Ponies, but I hoped that anyone who signed up for a twisted game of alien ponies would show up ready for anything.
I love having an amazing setup for my players when they arrive. I also like the players to be surprised by the characters that they get. Usually, my players have little clues when they arrive at the table, but nobody gets to see their character sheets until everyone is seated and we get started. For this game, each player had a bag waiting for them that contained their character sheet, a map, a set of My Little Pony stickers (just because they were fun!), and a customized toy version of their character. On each bag was a picture that represented the character inside, and that was their only clue.
The customized ponies were the biggest part of my prep time for this game. Lots of people were very excited because of the crazy description and because we'd been talking about the game on the Happy Jack's RPG podcast for months. EIGHT people were signed up, so I had to make a lot of ponies! They took about two weeks to complete, but I loved the challenge and the creativity involved. I sanded small toy horses that I bought at the Dollar Tree. Then painted each one with spray paint and puffy paint to make them look unique. I was thrilled that the players were so excited to get them.
I was supposed to co-GM this game with my friend Casey, however he fell ill about 10 minutes into the game intro. Things went smoothly and the players bought into the crazy concept that we had created. Basically, the home of the Laser Ponies is being overrun by a drug cartel. The only ponies who can take a stand against this threat are the P-Team. Yes, we ripped off the A-Team, but damn did it make for a funny game. Each character had weaknesses, like uncontrollable lust, war flashbacks, drug addiction, fear of flying, and more. These weaknesses have to be rolled so the players never know when they will kick in. It made for a very adult, but very funny addition to the game.The players got so into it they started rolling their weaknesses, even when I hadn't asked!
The game went incredibly well, and was one of the most fun games with which I have been involved. The players were what really made it magical. They were incredibly creative and energetic. The started making creative props of their own and kept acting out scenes using their toy horses. The insane plot ideas that they came up with were so unexpected, but it really made the game. Multiple times in our 4 hour game we had to stop because we were all laughing too hard to speak. I feel bad for the other Happy Jacks games that shared the room with us, but holy cow was it fun! The 4 hours flew by, and the game timed out perfectly, ending 10 minutes before the cut off time.
The one thing that I wasn't prepared for was combat. I had planned to co-GM, and Casey is a numbers guy. I had read the rules a few days before, but I couldn't recall the exact damage rules once it was obvious that Casey wasn't coming back. I was subtly trying to look up damage rules while I started the first scene. It didn't impact the game for the players (as far as I could tell!) but it made those first few moments stressful for me. Lesson: Always have the book/PDF with you (huzzah! I did that!) and always read the combat rules before the players show up if its a new system to you.
This was a REALLY amazing game. REALLY. I won't be sharing any plot points here since I may have to run this game again. I might have to retire from adult Laser Ponies forever though, because I doubt any game could live up to the original P-Team.
DC Survey & Women - Pay Up or Shut Up
Women, do you buy a comic book every month?
If your answer was yes, wonderful! If you said no, then you are part of the problem with women in comics. It's time for women to pay up, or shut up.
Most women don't read comics. It's a fact. Before you start disagreeing, think of all your female friends. How many of them REALLY buy a comic every month? More specifically, how many follow the same titles from month to month? When I realistically count out my female friends who regularly buy monthly comic books... I get the number zero. I am the only one. This is especially sad because I hang out with a ton of geek girls. They can tell you all about their favorite characters, buy tons of merchandise, cosplay these characters, but for some reason they don't buy their favorite character's comic each month. This doesn't lessen their geek-cred, but it does point out that most women are apathetic when it comes to regular comic buying.
THIS IS NOT DC's FAULT!! They marketed the hell out of the New 52. Do you really think an ad in Cosmo would have made the difference? You can try to blame the way they write female characters all you like, but they have AT LEAST five current titles with powerful, well written female leads. Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Batwoman, and Huntress are all great books and the women in them kick ass. If you are boycotting DC because of Starfire, Voodoo, or another character that upset you, you are only shooting all of us in the foot. You are simply affirming their current assumption that women don't buy comics. Pick a book, just one, that you DO like and buy it each month. Seriously. It's $2.99 and you can even buy it digitally so you don't have to leave your couch or computer chair.
The reality is that the large comic book companies aren't going to change until women are a viable market. To become a viable market, we have to buy comics! Money talks and has more influence over any company than all the blog posts and tweets in the world. Businesses do not produce product for a demographic that they aren't sure will buy said product. SAYING women are a marketable audience does nothing when decades of comic sales say the opposite. We have to prove to them that they will make a profit on us. We do that by buying comics.