Cosplayers: Dress Sexy, Act Smart

The pilgrimage to nerd Mecca starts in a couple of days: San Diego Comic Con has once again arrived! Every July fans of all ages travel to the biggest convention in the world to seek out their favorite movie stars, comic book creators, and ultimate collectibles. Over 130,000 people attended last year, many of them participating in cosplaying.

There's one main difference between Comic-Con (and similar comventions) as apposed to other mass gatherings of people for an event: Cosplay. Simply put it's when fans dress up as fictional characters. A lot of problems can arise when someone see's a good looking woman or man wearing the revealing costume of their favorite comic book character. 

Whenever this time of year comes around, bloggers give advice to attendees on how to properly interact with those in costumes. One of my friends and the best Comic Con guru around, Crazy4ComicCon has written a wonderful piece on his site about Cosplay Etiquette, which you can read HERE. I would also recommend his other tips on all matters concerning SDCC.

My advice to attendees is to simply be courteous to cosplayers. For example, don't initiate physical contact or follow someone around to take their pictures without permission. Treat them with respect and suppress your urges to shower them with affection. This may seem like common sense but when thousands of people get together in a crammed, rushed environment excitement eclipses manners. Another thing I've noticed (which is the central theme of this piece) is that there is a distinct lack of advice to cosplayers themselves: Don't forget your common sense.

my Black Canary costume

After every major convention there are a slue of people complaining about the harassment they received while in costume. Most of the time they are well warranted complaints that deserve attention, but those seem to be the ones that end up taking a backseat to the people who lament endlessly about being cat called or having inappropriate pictures of them showing up online. 

Let me make this distinction clear right off the bat: I do not defend nor support the harassment of cosplayers at conventions. Comic-Con in particular has a very large police, security and staff presence throughout their public areas. Stalking, sexual assault and the like are a sad but very real part of our society. If you feel threatened or harassed look to them for help immediately. 

YOUR SAFETY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FEELING EMBARRASSED ABOUT ASKING FOR HELP. 

That being said, more people need to take a smarter and more realistic approach when cosplaying. If you are dressing up as a character with a revealing costume you need to  be accepting of that from day one.

(click for bigger image)

I don’t care how much you love Power Girl’s personality or good intentions or her importance to the fate of the DC universe. If you decide to cosplay as her you are making the conscious effort to show off your breasts in a manner that will draw much attention. From ALL genders. Cosplaying as Power Girl and then complaining afterwards that everyone kept starring at your chest all weekend is not an argument; it just shows how little common sense you have.

If you are choosing to wear a costume that purposefully shows off your rack then embrace it! You're wearing a costume for a reason, so have fun with it. Show it off, don’t complain about it. If you run into a fellow attendee who makes a rude comment in passing, BY ALL MEANS call them out on it (you ARE dressed like a superhero after all, feel free to be courageous).  But you have to let it go. They do not deserve your time nor your effort. Assholes are all around us, and that doesn't excuse Comic-Con especially considering how many people who attend have a tendency to act immaturely. If you spend your entire time there miserable because of one or two people's unnecessary comments you'll miss out on the HUNDREDS of people who enjoy seeing you flaunt your fandom. 

I'm not new to cosplaying. I have dressed up as various characters over the years from Ramona Flowers (practically every interpretations of the character including from the Scott Pilgrim video game where I simply wore underwear & a sweatshirt), to a Pokémon on kid’s day, as well as Peggy Carter from Marvel's Captain America movie. Back in 2010  I dressed up as Black Canary at an anime convention. Now, I made a few conscious decisions about my costume: I chose a leotard that covered my butt more than Black Canary's customary thong. I also did not zip my costume down to my navel. Why? Because as much as I love the character I didn't feel the need to be naked in public to prove it. Granted, I was still in a skin tight leotard and fishnets but I was fully aware of the consequences that might ensure. Many costumes at Comic-Con look like my Black Canary leotard: skin tight and hardly covering the butt. I knew that every time I squirmed to fit into the costume and that there was no denying it was revealing. 

Sure enough, within 15 minutes of my leaving my room and walking down to the lobby of my hotel a teenage guy called out to me from the upper level. He said I dropped something behind me. I turned and couldn't see anything, so I bent over lower, worried that one of my boot straps had already fallen off. Of course I hadn't actually dropped anything, the guy just wanted to see me bent over. I quickly realized my mistake, gave him the finger, and went on my way. I did not dwell on it because that idiot did not deserve my attention, which is what he was ultimately after. But you'll be dammed sure I never made that mistake again. 

If you go to a convention and are disgusted by attendees having any type of reaction to your costume besides the exact thing you want them to do/say, don’t wear it. Does this seem unfair? Maybe, but it's even more unfair of you to demand everyone to act the way you see fit.  The attention and compliments for a cosplay well done is empowering and deserving after weeks of hard work building the costume. Not to mention the gym time put in to make sure your abs look perfect. There is nothing wrong about wanting to look sexy at a convention! However, wearing a costume that's more revealing than half the stuff you'd find at Victoria's Secret and then complaining that attendees were staring or taking pictures of your ass is idiotic. You are attending an event with over 100,000 people (again, some of which are a bit more immature than regular folks) and if you truly believe that no one will objectify you then you are naive.

Surprise, surprise: Characters in comic books and movies are sexualized! This is not a new fact and anyone dressed up in a sexy costume and claiming they did not do it to look sexy is either lying or in utter and complete denial. If a cosplyer does not want to dress up in as revealing an outfit as a character, he or she can easily modify the costume to be more to their liking. If someone wants to dress up as Power Girl but doesn't feel comfortable with the bust opening, there are other Power Girl costume options one can chose.

There are countless articles written degrading men for saying lewd things to women in revealing costumes at conventions. I am not giving those arguments any less meaning. Some people can shrug that stuff off but if you're honestly offended, you're honestly offended. What I'm saying is that you need to apply the same awareness and common sense you use in your day to day life (i.e. wearing revealing clothes to bars, clubs, etc) to what you do at conventions. 

Utilize self preservation, ladies and gents. Take care of yourself, and have a fun (and safe) Comic Con.

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Bookish Things: #1 Roller Skating

Hello all!

On this Sunday afternoon I'm sitting in the cafe at the bookstore eating dinner on my break. My schedule is still as busy as ever, but I've been trying to keep to a schedule to make the most of my days. I'm rather infamous for not wanting to wake up early. I like sleeping until the last possible moment before I have to get up and go do what I have to do. Recently, however, I've woken up early and got a few things done: namely writing and running. 

For example, yesterday I woke up and wrote for a few hours before I went for a run and then to work for the rest of the day. This morning I did the same thing, expect I decided to roller skate instead.

For a couple of years now I've been interested in roller derbies and thought it would be awesome if I could give it a try. This was always a far fetched idea because I'm not very good at sports and I mean, really. When would I have time to join a derby team? Then a few months ago I finally caved and purchased quad roller derby skates. I figured, I'm a pro at roller blading, it's the same thing.

Not at fucking all. The first time I tried on my skates I tried to stand and fell flat on my ass. I thought I had broken my wrist, I landed so hard. My mom, my sister, and Pietro were very worried considering my notorious lack of grace or athleticism. However, I was determined. I bought a bright pink helmet to match my pink wheels and a set of wrist guards/elbow pads/ knee pads to cushion my looming falls.

I tried skating twice in the city, but it never worked out too well because the ground was not flat nor paved well enough. Time went on and the skates became another box in my closet. Lately though, the skates have been calling. I get bored of running every day and wanted a different kind of exercise to try. 

This morning was the morning that I would try again.

And so I did, still as clumsy and awkward as ever. It took a few laps up and down a well paved path in Riverside Park before I was able to gain any speed or fluid motion. The trick is to squat really low and keep all my weight balanced in my butt. This resulted in a fantastic work out because I basically held a squat for a half hour.

What surprised me most was that skating is as good as a release as yoga. For a half hour I was so focused on not falling that I did not have a chance to worry about anything. As previously mentioned, I sometimes have trouble with feeling severe anxiousness. While running I don't have anything to distract me and my ind often wanders to everything that I have to do, or the rent that has to be paid. Skating this morning though cleared my mind if everything!

Long story short, I will be on these skates more often now and perhaps one day be god enough to join a derby team. I guess that means I'll have to learn how to punch though.

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About Me (So Far)

Ramona Flowers

Some of you have been loyal readers, followers, and friends for the past two years and others of you are very new to my corner of the internet. I figured everyone (myself included) could use a reminder of who I am, and why the hell you should be reading what I have to say. 

My name is Zoë Gulliksen, I'm 22 years old and living in Manhattan, New York. I started really doing damage on the internet in April 2010 when I decided to cosplay as Ramona Flowers at the AnimeNEXT convention in New Jersey. This was before Scott Pilgrim got really big and hardly anyone was sporting the bright wig + goggle look. Scott Pilgrim author Bryan Lee O'Malley retweeted a ton of my pictures and suddenly I had hundreds of followers overnight. 

That July, Midtown Comics in Times Square, held a Scott Pilgrim volume 6 midnight release party where I suggested via twitter that they should hold a costume contest. I went with my best friend Angela (@Angelaplz) and met up with a bunch of people we had befriended online. I ended up coming in 2nd place in the contest (behind a brilliant Wallace Wells), but the following week I was offered a job to co-host  store events. Thus I was plunged into the geek world full time.

I had already been reading comics for a couple years before this happened, but working at a comic shop and blogging online about it escalated my involvement in the industry. I started cosplaying more, most notably as Black Canary, Video Game Ramona Flowers (which I was the very first person on the internet to do so-> Fact) and Peggy Carter from Captain America. If you Google "Zoe Gulliksen Cosplay" you'll be able to find more pictures.

With Scott Snyder,
Trevor Mccarthy & Kyle Higgins

In 2011 I started co-hosting the Midtown Comics Book Club, and filmed a pilot for a reality show based in the store. If you go the Midtown Comics YouTube page you can find all the videos I did with them, including the one I did with Angela at the Scott Pilgrim costume contest! However, be prepared- I act much the doofus in the majority of these videos. ;)

In May of that year I also auditioned and was given a starring role on Kevin Smith's "Comic Book Men" A string of crazy and surreal events occurred as a result from that which you can read about all over the internet but it's summed up pretty well HERE. You can also listen to what Kevin Smith had to say about me on his podcast HERE.

With Chris Evans

In Summer of 2011 I started working for The Daily BLAM!, a new entertainment site as a journalist. This turned out to be my big break where I was able to start attending movie screenings and interviewing celebrities. Notable people I've talked with since then include Steven Spielberg, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Frank Oz, Gary Oldman, Chris Evans, Tom Hiddleson, Clark Gregg, Nick Frost, and more.

Until May 2012 I was still in college majoring in Creative Writing and Organizational Leadership, juggling school work as well as working at a bookstore, the comic shop, and at The Daily BLAM! However, once I graduated I had to try and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I started working as the Director of Social Media & Events for a start up company in Manhattan which didn't leave me with free time for much else.

In September 2012 I moved to the Upper West Side in Manhattan, the neighborhood of one of my favorite movies "You've Got Mail". I also quit my job at the start up because I didn't like the hostile people working there. I took a month off of everything to figure out what I wanted out of life. I knew I didn't want to be around people I couldn't trust or who treated others cruelly. However, I did know that more than anything I wanted to be around books again.

The New York Public Library

In October I started interning at The New York Public Library handling Social Media & Events as well as working at a bookstore by my apartment, both of which I'm still doing. I'm also writing a lot, go to movie screenings with Pietro @Poni_boy all while enjoying living a quiet though odd life in Manhattan.

So that's a general overview of who I have been and who I am today. You can read more detailed stories about my adventures in previous blog posts here. It's strange to see how I've changed in the past few years, I'm no longer actively involved in the New York comic book community because I have learned that the majority of the people are unnecessarily catty and I have no desire to deal with that. I'm still friends with many people involved and dedicated to comics, I'm just taking a break for a while. My priorities are more focused on making my rent on time and writing my novel. I'm enjoying my ridiculous life, working seven days a week and I'm very thankful that so many of you have cared enough to follow all the endeavors I've gone through.

So back to the question at hand: Why should you read what I have to say? Well, I tweet about my crazy every day life in New York City, I blog about the bigger events such as meeting celebrities, and work events, and I plan on becoming a published author at some point in the near future. (Also, I finished a comic book script in the works). If you ever have doubts ask any of the people who do follow my adventures- they know better than I do! I'm still just a girl trying to make it in the world  and sharing my experiences with you. Thanks for sticking with me<3

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Bookish Review: "Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore"

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore

by Robin Sloan

As soon as I read the title for this novel, I knew that I had to get my hands on it. It's a good size newly published hardcover with a bright yellow cover and enticing name. Any bookstore open 24 hours a day must have a good story to tell within it's walls, especially at night. And so we meet Clay Johnson, a causality of tech nerd culture in San Francisco, California. Clay is laid off from this poorly executed bagel start up company and is looking for a job he doesn't despise.  Clay finds a position working the nightshift at a queer little store that has book shelves stacked up stories high instead of rows deep. He can mostly do as he pleases but he is not allowed to read inside any of the books, which all happen to be in some sort of code. 

The book from there on follows Clay as he becomes entangled in the crazy world of the people who buy these books (the few and far between) and more importantly, the people who make these books. I was very engrossed from the beginning, wanting to know where Clay's mission end up leading him (thankfully to New York City at some point) and also more about the colorful characters he befriends. 

Namely, we learn more about Mr. Penumbra himself and how he managed to get himself into this mess. Also, we meet Kat: a tech savvy and ambitious Google employee who sparks up Clay's life. I enjoyed this book because the writing is well done, the plot is full and not predictable, and Sloan managed to pull off the present day setting very well.

Often in stories that are set in our present technology filled society miss their mark. I just tried reading a novel titled "The Twitter Diaries" about two females whose friendship unfolds through the social service. The book failed to reach a certain level of literature and ended up resembling too much of an everyday interaction. It was as though the author she copied and pasted her own twitter feed and bound it into a book, which I could have found anywhere online. 

However, "Mr. Penumbra" did not fall into this trap, instead recreating the world of Googlers and coding nerds paired with old school scholars and literary professionals. I recommend this book for the surprising plot to anyone who loves books, the modern technology, and (not kidding) World of Warcraft.

Read up more about Sloan on his website and follow him on Twitter. Drop us both a line if you end up checking out the book!

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Jay Baruchel Encounter, Johnny Wander Meeting, & CulturSHOCK News!

Hey guys!


This has been one of the craziest and most exhausting weeks I can remember. Those from Twitter may recall the horrendous professor episode on Tuesday (where for no apparent reason a professor told me in a meeting that I was not competent enough to pass the 7 classes I'm taking) but that was quickly dealt with after filing a complaint to a dean. 

I always look goofy in celeb pictures

I also finally met my biggest celebrity crush, Jay Baruchel! My one on one interview was combined with a bunch of other journalists, which was unfortunate but actually for the better. About 15 journalists sat at a conference table with Jay Baruchel, Liev Schreiber and Sean Williams Scott for their new movie Goon. As the talent walked in the room, Baruchel sat down, looked around and noticed me right away from across a crowded room! He made eye contact, grinned and said, "Hey! It's you!" I practically melted and just grinned like an idiot. He recognized me from talking on twitter all these months (I guess cause I'm a stalker *sigh*)

JAY BARUCHEL

The conference mostly centered around hockey and less on the movie, which meant that I was a bit lost, but it was alright because I honestly was so star struck that I could not trust myself to ask a question without faltering. I was shaking more than when I talked with Spielberg in December! After the conference was over, I waited while other journalists hounded the talent pictures and such. Baruchel then came over, gave me a hug and said we needed to take a picture together!  So we did and he signed my Fanboys DVD and the special edition comic on the inside while I attempted to appear normal. Other journalists tried to intervene but he ignore them =) Of course I could HARDLY SPEAK AT ALL. I was speechless. A fangirl mess.

Bathroom Shot!

You can dress me up in professional clothes, give me questions to ask, and put the intellectual glasses on my silly face but you cannot take the fangirl out of me. And so Baruchel gave me another huge hug and took another picture with me and my life was made. I was shaking for the next two hours. In fact I'm shaking now as I'm typing this because it was so amazing, minus me being a mess. For YEARS on the internet I've been known for my massive crush on Baruchel. The amount of fangirling and money I've spent on this crush is well....rather absurd. 


However I know he and I will cross paths again! After all, he's in my comic book so I have to ask his permission to use his name & likeness =) Speaking of which, I hope you all have seen the first page of my new comic, "EPiC"! (Just look one post below this one) The last panel of the page is currently the background on my computer, SO PERFECT.

Friday night I also had the honor of co-hosting the Midtown Comics Book Club with writer Ananth Panagariya and illustrator Yuko Ota of the webcomic Johnny Wander of www.johnnywander.com. It was crazy seeing them walk in the store because they look EXACTLY like their characters (as they are meant to) and it was very surreal. They even brought along their room mates and fellow characters in the book John and Conrad, who in turn commented on behind the scenes adventures of a bunch of the stories in the book. If you guys haven't checked out this comic, RUN! GO READ IT NOW! No seriously, its a great collection and they are fantastic people, so I give my stamp of approval.


And now just a normal Sunday listening to the Tony Bennett cd I bought yesterday, which was the greatest purchase I made all week. I love the hell out of his other albums, and I can never get enough of him, Norah Jones, and Michael Buble. 


We also released the official logo for the new website I'm going to be Editor in Chief of, CulturSHOCK! Tomorrow I'll reveal my amazing crew of writers for you all =) (Just remind me if I forget....)

And I think that's it for now! I'm still taking applications for an LA based journalist (details HERE) so forward it to your peeps on the West coast if you know of anybody interested! 


I'm also taking applications for anyone who can make me Toothless/Pascal stuffed animal, as shown here--->


Until next time!
-Zoë

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Comic Book Men Gives Their Apologies

Just a quick note everyone! A lot of you have been reading my blog because of my involvement with Kevin Smith's new reality show, Comic Book Men. It's been pretty surreal this week because twitter friends have linked me to articles about the show where I'm mentioned, including The Observer, MTV Geek, and a blog called Mercury Town. (click those names for links to the articles)

It's interesting to be talking about for not having accomplished anything at all. It's even weirder when random people on Twitter will tweet at @BrywaltQ, telling the guys on the show that they wont watch it because of the way they treated me. I have never bashed this show nor have I told anybody NOT to watch it. I'm looking forward to it very much! The only time I was upset was when Walt said I shouldn't have showed up at their comic shop half naked in my Black Canary costume on their podcast.


I was deeply offended by this because the producers of the show during filming had told me specifically to wear my Black Canary costume to the shop. I didn't understand why I had been yelled at by Walt for wearing what producers had told me to wear. But that's show business guys.


This morning I politely addressed Twitter this morning: "Guys, I don't appreciate berating @BryWaltQ on my behalf. I'll be watching the show tonight & I hope it does well! Dont be mean to anyone." And for the first time, Walt and the guys contacted me directly in response to all this hoopla on the internet.

In case the picture looks blurry to you, they quoted what I had said and added, "You clearly have more class than I. It shouldn't have taken you saying it, but I sincerely apologize for any remarks I made that hurt you. I'm a reactionary type when mine are attacked & you paid for the other girl's remarks. Again, apologies."

I will admit that this meant an enormous deal to me. All this confusing and conflict cleared up just in time for the show to premiere tonight at 10pm on AMC! I'll be tuning in after The Walking Dead, and I hope you guys will too!

---------edit----------

I was just told via Twitter that Bryan said the tweets from this morning, not Walt. But Walt apologized apparently the day after the podcast, I just wasn't aware of it. So there's that!

----------edit--------

I would also like to add a link to a post I wrote last year after interviewing Kevin Smith in March 2011. People have asked me about what it was like to meet Smith, and here are all the details again =) READ HERE

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a poem for irvin kershner

On November 27th, 2010, Irvin Kershner, the director of Stars Wars The Empire Strikes Back, I apparently wrote this little poem in a notebook. I found it over the weekend, and I thought I would share it with you.


irvin kershner died today:
& two suns did not set in the sky
nor did an r2 unit fix the hyper drive.
a falcon's wanderlust did not call,
   the snow on hoth dare not fall.
  in silence cloud city gave a pause
and even wampas mourned into their claws.
rest at ease as we cry,
 he who taught us you do or do not,
     there is no try.

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Overview of 2011: Best & Worst Movies

I'm going to start a series of blog posts about the highlights of my 2011 such as favorite books, music, movies, events, and celebrities I talked with. Let's start with movies!

Top Favorite 5 movies I saw that we were released in theaters in 2011 

1.) Hugo (November)

2.) Super 8 (June)

3.) Captain America (July)

4.) The Adventures of Tintin (December)

5.) Midnight in Paris (May)

I tried to do a top 10 but after 5 it just became fillers. 

Other movies I fell in love with this year but were not released in 2011

1.) Tangled (2010)

2.) Before Sunrise (1995)

3.) Before Sunset (2004)

Top 5 Worst Movies of 2011

1.) Warhorse

2.) Sucker Punch

3.) Griff the Invisible

4.) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

5.) Immortals

And here is my complete list of movies I saw that were released in 2011:

Movies I saw in 2011

January: -

February: -

 

March:

Sucker Punch

April:

Scream 4

May:

Thor

Midnight in Paris

X-men First Class

Pirates of the Caribbean 

June:

Super 8

Bad Teacher

July:

Friends With Benefits

Captain America

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Cowboys & Aliens

The Devil’s Double

August:

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Final Destination 5

One Day

Conan the Barbarian
Griff the Invisable

September:

Warrior

Contagion

October:

Reel Steel

Margin Call

Puss in Boots

November:

Immortals

Hugo

Arthur Christmas

December:

Tinker, Tailor, Soilder, Spy

The Adventures of Tintin

Warhorse

Sherlock Holmes

 The ones in italics were ones I thoroughly enjoyed. This list is not nearly as long as I hoped it would be! My goal for 2012 is to see a lot more movies, for my professional life and for my personal life.

To check out the collective lists my Daily BLAM! crew & I complied, follow these links!:

Top 10 Films of 2011

Most Anticipated Films of 2012

Worst Movies of 2011

Top Ten Trailers Released in 2011

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