Storm Front is the first book of The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, which is a series of fantasy mystery novels. Storm Front follows Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, wizard and private investigator, as he helps the police solve a series of violent and grisly murders with magical origins.

I love fantasy-set-in-the-real-world books. I adored Harry Potter—who didn’t though?—and the Artemis Fowl books (before they went south, which really means I liked the first one and the premises of all of them). Fantasy is actually my favorite genre; I like it much more than science fiction. The juxtaposition of the real and the unreal makes for interesting and fun reading.

My favorite thing about this book is its voice. When I read something, I like being able to imagine someone actually saying all of the words. Not as in reading the book aloud, but as if the author and I were sitting in the same room and he was just talking and telling me a story. I know I tend to write how I speak, and I love an author who does that too. Butcher really gives Harry a voice by writing the book in first person. And I enjoyed what Harry said/thought and how he said it.

It’s not a very long book—I read it in under three hours—but it’s definitely worth the read. I’m really trying not to give anything away because it is a really enjoyable, shorter book. So go read it!

Because, in the end, it wasn’t about being brave after all. It was about being pretty. (source)

Recent protest of the redesign forced Disney’s hand and the “new” Merida was removed from Disney’s website, but the battle isn’t won—not by a long shot. In fact, I’d say we already lost the war a long time ago.

I’m sure that’s not the most uplifting thing to say ever, but it certainly seems that way. For example, despite the Merida redesign being taken down from the website, it’s still being used for their merchandising. Target recently introduce a new Merida doll that looks so little like Merida if I hadn’t been told it was her I literally never would have guessed. And though everyone is freaking out about Disney ruining Merida—and, yes, Merida is probably the most feminist Disney princess, followed closely by Mulan—Merida is hardly the biggest problem.

Every other princess has also been redesigned once they joined the Disney Princess line.

Others more qualified than me have talked about how the princesses look, so instead of rehashing anything let’s just look at what they have to say:

A similar change happened for Mulan, who resists hyper-femininity in her movie but wears the very outfit that causes her distress for the sake of Disney’s glammed-up merchandise. (Marinda Valenti)

And:

I’m especially creeped out by Belle who appears to have had major surgery. Or, wait, maybe I’m more creeped out by the way they’ve changed Aurora (who used to be called Briar Rose).Or, wait, what about what about the apparent lobotomy that Rapunzel has had? OrAnd [sic] Cinderella looking like Taylor Swift? And Pocahontas?  Tiana looks like she’s not getting enough to eat at that restaurant of hers. And Mulan, poor, poor Mulan. (Peggy Orenstein)

It’s all off the shoulder dresses, sparkles, make up, and stick-thin bodies, with few to no princesses of color. Even the few that are there are slowly pushed to the back of the lineup. We don’t want to distract from the other princesses, right? Ugh!

The real problem comes from the whole Disney Princess line and how it markets to young girls. The Disney Princess line is a 4 billion dollar franchise. The sad fact is that Disney makes money off selling pretty dresses and sparkly tiaras. I’m not saying that they don’t care about the effect their products have on young girls (they might). But I’m also not saying that Disney should be excused for continuing to market and sell these sexist, body-shaming, and white-washing stereotypes just because it makes money for their business. But we may never beat Disney. First, you can’t avoid Disney. Even if you never liked or watched any of the Disney cartoons, chances are that you’ve seen something on ABC before, or or that you’ve seen a Marvel movie, the Studio Ghibli movies, anything at all from the Star Wars franchise, and much more. Chances are, even if you actively try to avoid all things Disney, you have probably given them money either directly or indirectly at some point. The most we can do is support Disney when they do something right (like with the Brave movie) and call them out and not support them when they do something bad (like the Merida redesign).

But not supporting Disney is difficult, not just because they’re everywhere, but well… I’m not a parent, but I can imagine that if I have a daughter, someday will we inevitably find ourselves at the Disney Store. And maybe she’ll be clutching onto some terribly sexist looking Cinderella doll that I would never have picked out for her myself. But I can imagine that she’ll look up at me with big, tear-filled doe eyes and say, “Please can I have it, mommy? I want to be a princess like Cinderella.” And I’ll cave and buy it for her, because how can I not? The most I can do is try to minimize the damage. That is depressingly why this fight with Disney is so hard to win, because no matter how much you may hate them, your kids will end up loving all things Disney, and then it’s pretty much game over. The best we can do is just to continue to push for Disney to be better, but it’s going to be a long and difficult battle.

Well, that’s a major downer, so I figured this week I’d look at some fabulous lady-duos and focus on the awesomeness of women supporting other women.

These first two are frighteningly similar in situation—Glinda and Elphaba from Wicked and Amneris and Aida from Aida. Glinda and Amneris help temper their fiery friends’ wills and teach them to enjoy themselves, whereas Elphaba and Aida help the more flighty ladies gain some perspective and learn what’s really important in life. Neither overwhelm or undermine the other—they both help each other to grow.

Wicked also brings us the most tearjerking-but-great anthem to friendship ever, “For Good”, so I’d be remiss not to post it here.

My third pair’s friendship isn’t quite as high-profile as the others, but I still think it’s worth mentioning. Phantom of the Opera‘s Christine Daae is close friends with Meg Giry, the ballet mistress’s daughter. Over the course of the musical, we don’t see Christine doing much for Meg, as she is beset by suitors and dealing with sudden fame. However, Meg is a constant presence, and is full of both pride and practical concern for her friend. Christine probably would have avoided a lot of crap if she’d spent more time listening to Meg.

There’s also Maria and Anita from West Side Story. Their relationship is a bit more complicated, but, like Meg, Anita just wants what’s best for Maria. Their friendship is sorely tested when boy drama—which here means that Maria’s boyfriend was sort of responsible for Anita’s boyfriend’s death, and that when Anita tries to help Maria and her boyfriend out anyways she gets the crap beaten out of her (and, in some productions, raped) for her efforts—intervenes. They are a good example of the fact that nobody’s perfect, and of the toll that outside stressors can have on an otherwise healthy friendship.

Finally, let’s consider Nettie and Celie from The Color Purple. (Yeah, they’re sisters too, but it still counts.) Nettie and Celie have a truly hard life, escaping a sexually and physically abusive father only to be separated for years when Celie is married off to another abuser. Despite this long, forced time apart, Nettie constantly thinks of Celie and even helps raise the children Celie had as a result of her father’s abuse. Celie gains strength and hope from the belief that her sister has it better than she does. It isn’t till the end of the story that they’re reunited in person, but despite the physical distance between them throughout the rest of the play, their bond never really weakens.

I sadly had some trouble compiling this list, which I think means there needs to be far more musicals with chummy lady leads. Of course, I haven’t seen every musical, so maybe I’m forgetting some—let me know what I’m missing in the comments.

In the meantime, I feel like I need to lead into that post by talking about Tony’s comic book demons. Specifically, his alcoholism.

You see, in 1979, David Michelinie and Bob Layton penned a 9-issue story called “Demon in a Bottle.” The story is considered necessary reading if you enjoy the Iron Man comics.

In the story, Stark begins to drink himself into oblivion after the Iron Man suit begins to malfunction and Stark begins to lack confidence in himself.

Stark’s descent into the bottle was a new turn for comic books. Stark at the time was a high-profile guy in Marvel Comics. He was the leader of the Avengers. He was competing with Captain America as the face of Marvel.

And he was a drunk.

The history of alcoholism is lengthy. Currently, the Americans with Disabilities Act recognizes alcoholism, and really all addictions, as a disease. But in the 1970s, society was just beginning to consider alcoholism as a problem (source). Until then, alcohol was an important part of business, and any problems you had controlling your alcohol consumption just meant you were a weak human being.

So, for Tony Stark to admit that he had a problem was a big deal. This was a tough guy, a superhero, painfully admitting he was simply human.

While “Demon in a Bottle” is over 30 years old, it still holds weight for what it did for both comic books and for Tony Stark’s character. There was even discussion of using “Demon in a Bottle” in Iron Man 3, but it was changed to something else, which I will tackle Saturday.

Furthermore, Stark’s struggle with addiction has helped several people I know deal with their addictions. They weren’t afraid to admit their humanity because of the push they got from Stark getting help. A comic book story holding that kind of impact for so long is a big deal.

From DiYA’s tumblr:

Diversity in YA was founded in 2011 by YA authors Cindy Pon and Malinda Lo as a website and book tour. While the tour is over, we’ve revived the website as a tumblr! We celebrate young adult books about all kinds of diversity, from race to sexual orientation to gender identity and disability. We hope you’ll enjoy celebrating them with us.

Malinda Lo and Cindy Pon are excellent and talented writers in their own right and their stories are filled with diverse and interesting characters. It’s great to see that they’re also taking the initiative to celebrate other stories like their own.

The DiYA tumblr features a variety of content. Sometimes they recommend upcoming books that feature diverse characters. Sometimes they have interviews with authors who are of color or are GSM or disabled, or whose stories include such characters. And sometimes they just moderate discussions about topics like “Dismantling White as the Default” and “Beyond Diversity 101: On Bisexual Characters and YA Literature”, just to list two examples. They are pretty new on tumblr, as their description points out—they’ve only got about fifteen pages of content so far—but they’ve recommended dozens of books that I would probably have otherwise not heard about, and they are contributing to an important discussion in the literary world just by existing at all. Give their tumblr a look-see and let me know if you try any of the books they’ve featured!

It’s been a big week for the LGBT community. There’s been some truly awful news, like the apparent hate crime killing of Mark Carson.

There’s also been some quite heartening news. A Federal Court decision took effect this past Thursday, May 16, making marriage equality the law of Brazil. Francois Hollande, the president of France, signed a marriage equality bill into law and France will have its first gay marriages on May 29. The state of Minnesota, for its part, also legalized marriage equality, with its governor signing the bill into law on Tuesday. These are big steps forward.

When compared with these things, what I’m about to tell you will seem trivial, but I’ve deemed it worth mentioning. On August 7, Archie Comics will feature its first homosexual kiss.

It’s reported that the openly gay character Kevin Keller, who first came out to Jughead, will share a kiss with his boyfriend Devon. While this is certainly not a first for comics at large, there is the sense that this will make a few waves.

When Kevin Keller was first introduced as a character in September 2010, Veronica #202 (his debut comic) was so wildly popular that Archie Comics issued its first reprint ever. Two years later, Life with Archie #16 featured Kevin’s wedding to a gay black man whom he met while serving in Iraq (the wedding was something of a flash forward. As of his high school years, he is dating Devon). One Million Moms, an arm of the non-profit hate group called the American Family Association, organized a protest, calling on Toys R’ Us to remove the issue from its shelves. Toys R’ Us did not, and the wedding issue went on to be almost as popular as the issue in which Keller first appears.

The August 7 comic, which is already making big news all over the internet, is in fact,a jab at this protest. Dan Parent, the artist for Kevin Keller #10, in which the kiss will appear, has referred to the comic as a “playful poke” at One Million Moms, with the NY Daily News reporting:

Parent said he wrote the story after efforts to remove a comic magazine showing Keller getting married drew at [sic] complaints. One Million Moms, a project of The American Family Association, asked Toys R Us not to display “Life With Archie” No. 16 near its checkout aisles. Toys R Us did not, and the issue went on to sell out its print run.

What’s exciting to me about this is that it serves as a reminder that organizations like One Million Moms seem doomed to fail. You see, for all their petty successes, their high-profile campaigns against businesses who have the audacity to treat LGBT people like human beings deserving of representation always seem to blow up in their face. Take for example, their opposition to Gay Day, an event which dares to expose children to homosexual couples “holding hands, hugging and kissing.” Or, take their widely publicized efforts against JCPenney’s employment of Ellen DeGeneres and general use of LGBT persons in advertisement. This failed, resulting in highly visible and very successful gay and lesbian Mother’s Day and Father’s Day ads. OMM continued to fight this battle throughout the year, again failing each time. It’s a losing battle for them.

Having Archie Comics in the fight for the respect and dignity of LGBT persons is heartening, if only because it’s a popular comic-printing company, with a 74-year history as a cultural institution in the United States. It’s a small victory, at least. I think the last few years (and even the last week!) have shown that we are making genuine progress toward LGBT equality in this country and around the world. So, perhaps there’s time for a little celebration of achievement.

And a moment of silence for Mark Carson, too.

Robert Lacayo/Twitter

–

via USA TODAY

For more, please check out:

The Atlantic Wire | The Murder of Mark Carson: A Hate Crime Where It Wasn’t Expected
The New York TImes | Hollande Signs French Gay Marriage Law
Daily KOS | #14 – Brazil – Marriage Equality Nation Wide
Southern Poverty Law Center | Active Hate Groups
Hollywood Reporter | Archie Comics’ Gay Wedding Issue Sells Out Despite Protest
Gawker | JCPenney Responds to Homophobic Boycott Calls with Gay Father’s Day Ad
NY MAG| JCPenney Actually Benefits from One Million Moms’ Ire

42 follows Jackie Robinson’s first two seasons in ‘white’ baseball, where he played for Montreal and then the Brooklyn Dodgers. In the movie, he faces racism from all sides. However, his boss, Mr. Rickey, makes Robinson take the high road and not fight back. Robinson is forced to keep his head held high and take every jibe and fastball at his head in stride. This proves hard for Robinson, but once his teammates recognize Robinson as more than just some black guy he gets better at overcoming these obstacles and helps his team win the pennant.

I watched a bootleg version of this movie, so I’m really not going to go into certain details because I couldn’t get a full grasp of some things. I can tell you what the ceiling of the movie theater looked like, but that’s not why you’re reading.

As something of a history buff, I’m actually surprised that there wasn’t more racism in the movie. There was a lot of racism, don’t get me wrong, but I was shocked that so many white people, especially the higher ups of the Brooklyn Dodgers, didn’t care he was black. Even many of the players weren’t bothered by it. Not that any of the players were really looking to be his BFF, but they weren’t as offended as I would have thought they would have been.

I also have a problem with the portrayal of Mr. Rickey, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The movie makes Mr. Rickey out to be a sort of hero, that he could do no wrong and everything in his life came for the love of baseball. When Mr. Rickey hired Jackie Robinson, he said he did it to get more black people to buy tickets. Later in the movie, Mr. Rickey told Robinson the true reason he hired him, and it wasn’t for the money. I would have found the money reason much more realistic of the times than some sort of sob story (that honestly wasn’t all that sob-worthy). While I don’t know the exact history behind the movie, as someone who has seen and read plenty of stories from the late 40s early 50s, Mr. Rickey’s portrayal was too holy-roller to be realistic.

In short, 42 was a good movie. I’m not a baseball person by any stretch of the imagination and I still enjoyed it because I’m a history nerd. However, if you don’t like history, baseball, or minority issues, this probably isn’t the movie for you.

I know this slot is usually used for upcoming movies and new seasons of popular television shows, but this week I’ve decided to use it for my own devious plans. Well, okay, it’s more like to pimp out the game that I’m super excited for.

After getting completely shafted at last year’s E3—don’t think we’ve forgotten or forgiven, Nintendo—the Animal Crossing fandom was sitting on the edge of their seats, foaming at the mouth for any mention of the long-awaited title. Or at least a goddamned release date. Many months we waited patiently (which is a relative term, I realize) and as the days passed, more and more information finally came to the surface. With the release date finally nearing—June ninth: two more weeks, only two more weeks—I feel that I can take a little time on this blog to gush about this game that I feel like I’ve been waiting for my entire life.

I love Animal Crossing. Seriously, it’s about my favorite game series (right under Dragon Age and Mass Effect) and why not? It combines the decorating/hoarding of The Sims and combines it with cutesy graphics and an easy-to-use interface. Its mechanics are simple to understand, so much so that my eighty-six year old grandmother, who is convinced that all video games everywhere are too high-tech for her, adores this particular game and plays it whenever she gets the chance. For a group of animals that follow the same six-ish base personalities, it’s strangely easy to get attached to them. (Some, instead, may be easy to hate and thus drive you to force them out of your town.)

Even though so much information has already been released, this trailer in particular does a rather good job at giving a brief synopsis of what a newcomer to the series can expect. Fishing, bug catching, swimming (a feature new to this game!), shopping, clubbing: truly you can spend hours, days meandering through your town and still find something entertaining to do.

I have to admit that I really hate the voiceover, though. Could you find someone to sound any more bored? I don’t think so. But, that’s just me being picky.

If this sort of game seems interesting to you, check out some of the sites talking about it! If you already have a 3DS, I’d highly recommend picking it up, even if you wait until the price drops. Or, you can be like me and just give Nintendo all your money for the 3DS bundle pack. Needless to say, when that glorious day arrives I’ll be glad to finally get my hands on the next game in this series I love.

(picture via dcwomenkickingass)

DC Comics recently stated that they will be releasing a free essentials guide to their graphic novels. This guide will be sent to fans, comic shops, and libraries. It is also notably lacking in women.

Certain characters have received multi-page spreads in this book. Most of these characters are the ones that you’d expect, such as Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and, weirdly, Green Arrow. Perhaps Green Arrow was given his very own spread because he is currently a popular character due to the TV show Arrow, but Green Arrow has never been a part of the main lineup of DC superheroes.

You know who is, though? Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman, who is an Amazon, member of the Trinity, and one of the main leaders of the Justice League, does not get her own multi-page spread with her fellow superheroes. Neither do any other female superheroes—not even Batwoman, who is one of DC’s top selling female-led comics along with Batgirl and Wonder Woman (source).

So where are the women in this “essential” guide? In a two-page spread called “Women of DC”. The only women featured in this section are Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Batwoman, Catwoman, and Huntress. Yes, the ladies have been screwed over.

(picture via dcwomenkickingass)

Furthermore, no women or men of color are being featured. There’s no sign of Cyborg, Cassandra Cain, Mister Terrific, Static Shock, Katana, or Vixen.

This book says a lot about who DC Comics are trying to promote and sell to. Remember, this guide is going to be used not just by fans but by comic shop owners and libraries to determine what graphic novels they should order. It has often been said by creators and companies alike that ‘for some reason’ the comics which don’t feature white heterosexual male characters don’t do as well. Well, maybe that has less to do with what DC’s readers want and more to do with how they promote their characters. Just a thought, DC.

Let me clarify. The term hijab (which appears as حجاب in Arabic)‎ is used specifically to refer to the headscarf worn ostensibly for the sake of modesty. The term can be generalized to refer to any form of cover which conforms to a standard of Islamic modesty. These vary by region and degrees of Islamic orthodoxy—there’s a good list here. The term hijabi is used to refer to women who wear one of these kinds of veils.

So, when I introduce Faiza Hussain (Excalibur) and Sooraya Qadir (Dust) to you, you’ll understand that they wear the veil. What I love best about these characters is that their Islam is not incidental or inconsequential to their heroism. They are proud hijabi heroes.

Excalibur

Faiza Hussain is a British doctor of Pakistani descent, who was performing triage in the middle of a Skrull invasion when she was zapped by a laser and rendered unconscious. When she came to, she had developed powers over living organisms which were effective on the most minute levels. She also wields the legendary sword Excalibur. So, why is she so cool? Because she’s both a capable combatant and a complex character. Her powers enable her to stop a Skrull onslaught and heal the most grave of wounds. She’s counted among Captain Britain’s most trusted allies, and if that weren’t enough, she’s a self-proclaimed superhero fangirl.

Yes, ladies and gents, in addition to being a kind and caring person, a brilliant doctor, and the superheroic wielder of one of the western world’s most famous weapons, Faiza Hussain is one of us. She’s a complete inclusion success, in my opinion, and you can read her adventures in issues of Captain Marvel and MI:13 and other volumes.

Dust

Sooraya Qadir is a Sunni Muslim mutant from Afghanistan, with a sense of faith and resolve which at least equals her impressive powers, if it doesn’t surpass them. A former member of the Young X-Men and the Hellions, she’s capable of manipulating sand and turning herself into a living sandstorm that can break down steel and tear flesh from the human form, among other powers like an extreme durability and a resistance to psychic manipulation. While impressive, it’s not only this power which makes Dust such a compelling character. Rather, it is her role as a representative of Islam in the comics that makes her storylines worth reading. Sooraya’s faith is her motive to stand up to Xorn and to fight Belasco and the demons of Limbo. It is this same faith, coupled with loyalty to her teammates and her new home (the Xavier Institute), that gives her the courage to face down and defeat William Stryker’s Purifiers. For her, Islam is a source of power and pride.

Her conflicts with her erstwhile roomate, Noriko Ashida (Surge), a rebellious electrokineticist of Japanese descent, allow her to serve as a sort of raisoneuse for a modern, self-empowering perspective on an Islamic woman’s choice to cover. In fact, her presence is itself an argument for the strength and dignity of Muslim women. You can read more about Dust in a variety of X-Men titles.

I feel like a lot of time gets spent pointing out the errors that companies like Marvel make in terms of inclusion, representation, racism, sexism, and the like. It’s equally important to raise the profile of killer examples of positive inclusion. If you’d like to know more about Muslim superheroes in comics, there are resources all over, including this March Madness style contest to see who is the top Islamic hero. Guess who won?