Category: Guest Post

Guest Post, Music, Nerdcore

Track Commentary: “Nerds Won’t Dance to This”

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by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

I’m doing track-by-track commentary on my new EP, Gifted Student. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site.

Greetings! I’m back, the Super Bowl was yesterday between two teams I, as a Steelers fan, have personal beef with, so… yay? I didn’t get to watch it, I went to Chicago this weekend, and ended up having to leave early only to be caught in the middle of a blizzard somewhere in the state of Ohio. So wherever you are out there, stay safe and warm. Icy conditions on the roads, believe me, I know.

So back to the new EP. Thanks to everyone who continues to support it. I’m glad that people are enjoying my first official release in over a year. This year, I kinda want to make… more albums. I say that, meaning more official albums, not just mixtapes or EPs I put together for the site. Don’t worry, I want to make those too. But I’ve been a bit more motivated lately to actually sit down and make cohesive products, rather than ephemeral kind of pop cultural stuff. I’ve got a few things in the works, and for the first time in a while, mostly because of the experience I had in making this EP, I am really looking forward to starting the work on my next full-length album.

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Guest Post, Music, Nerdcore

Track Commentary: “Prometheus”

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by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

All this week, I’ll be doing track-by-track commentary on the new EP. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site, PHYSICAL COPIES OF THE CD WILL ONLY BE FOR SALE ON MY SITE UNTIL END-OF-DAY FRIDAY. If you want a copy of it, get it now, or get it at a show. 

Believe it or not, the concept of this song was formed from this webcomic as much as it is based on the actual myth of Prometheus. There’s a loose fire theme on this album, that I’ll get to in about two songs in much more detail, but it was a beat that needed a concept, and a song that needed guests on it. And it’s really fascinating when you see how Sulfur and Ran both take the idea and make it their own. Sulfur, with his sense of humor that covers up the resentment towards God in his character; Ran with his talking of legacy and obligation, the chain metaphor taken to its logical conclusion. I really didn’t have much of a road map for this song, and I really ended up loving this track.

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Guest Post, Music, Nerdcore

Track Commentary: “The Bottom”

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by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

All this week, I’ll be doing track-by-track commentary on the new EP. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site, PHYSICAL COPIES OF THE CD WILL ONLY BE FOR SALE ON MY SITE UNTIL END-OF-DAY FRIDAY. If you want a copy of it, get it now, or get it at a show. 

What’s funny is that me and Mikal both flipped this well known Drake hook into basically the same line without ever having really talked about it. So there’s kismet for you.

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Guest Post, Music, Nerdcore

Track Commentary: “Big Bad Man”

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by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

All this week, I’ll be doing track-by-track commentary on the new EP. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site, PHYSICAL COPIES OF THE CD WILL ONLY BE FOR SALE ON MY SITE UNTIL END-OF-DAY FRIDAY. If you want a copy of it, get it now, or get it at a show. 

I’m literally traveling as this posts, so it will probably be a bit short. Believe it or not, I’m not traveling to do shows, but traveling for personal reasons. What? Not for touring? People do this?

Anyway, during the making of Gifted Student, Mikal and I were pretty dismayed by the constant news of police shootings. Dismayed is probably not the right word. Upset, angry, betrayed, whatever word fits best. We both talk daily in kind of a stream of consciousness running email chain, and for a bit, it was a daily dose of reading about how our justice system had gone so wrong.

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Guest Post, Music, Nerdcore

Track Commentary: “Lost in Translation”

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by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

All this week, I’ll be doing track-by-track commentary on the new EP. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site, PHYSICAL COPIES OF THE CD WILL ONLY BE FOR SALE ON MY SITE UNTIL END-OF-DAY FRIDAY. If you want a copy of it, get it now, or get it at a show. 

There’s something about rapping in 3/4 time that can drive some crazy. I know some people hate it, I actually think kHill hates it, but I love it. It’s the same as a lot of tracks I’ve released, like the “Paperman” song I released. It’s such a refreshing challenge to write, sometimes taking your flow and delivery past the end of the measure, sometimes stopping cold a half beat before it ends, connecting the rhymes in the unlikeliest of places. It’s like figuring out a puzzle, and something that not a lot of rappers can do.

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Guest Post, Music, Nerdcore

Track Commentary: “Gifted Student”

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by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

All this week, I’ll be doing track-by-track commentary on the new EP. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site, PHYSICAL COPIES OF THE CD WILL ONLY BE FOR SALE ON MY SITE UNTIL END-OF-DAY FRIDAY. If you want a copy of it, get it now, or get it at a show. 

First up, the title track. In a lot of ways, “Gifted Student” was one of the last songs me and kHill finished for the album. Wait, let’s go back and start over at the beginning.

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Art, Comics, Guest Post2 Comments

The Art of Monstress

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by Marjorie Liu

Well, last Thursday was a big day.

I took the stage at Image Expo to discuss my new creator-owned title, Monstress, which I’m working on with Sana Takeda (who is brilliant and kicking ass).  I gave an extensive interview at Newsarama, so check that out — but in short, it’s a privilege and honor to be creating this book with her at Image, where we can finally stretch our wings. We’ve also got Rus Wooton on letters and design, and editing is being handled by Jennifer Smith, my former assistant editor at Marvel.

I’ll be writing more about Monstress, but in the meantime, here’s a full rundown of all the art we showed at the release — and it’ll give you a hint of what’s in store for readers this summer.

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Fantasy, Guest Post, Movies, Television9 Comments

Why “Fix” Tiger Lily? Why Can’t We Just Let Her Go?

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by Dr. Adrienne Keene | Originally posted at Indian Country Today

On Thursday night, NBC aired their Peter Pan Live! event, a highly publicized three-hour-plus live performance starring Allison Williams as a weirdly sexualized little boy who doesn’t want to grow up. Tucked among the many press releases for the event was the information that the role of Tiger Lily would be played by Alanna Saunders, who is a “descendant of members of the Cherokee Nation.” OK.

Additionally, the show promised us they changed the offensive “Ugg-a-Wug” song to something culturally “authentic” and appropriate. They even hired a Native composer, Chickasaw Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, to consult on the “improved” “Ugg-a-Wug,” causing National Museum of the American Indian director Kevin Gover to praise the production for being, “closer to our heritage, our culture and portrays a deeper sensitivity and helps diminish the many stereotypes surrounding Native Americans.”

I’m going to hope that he said all that before he saw the costume or the number. Because the costume. Oh the costume. Vegas showgirl-meets-Halloween-pocahottie-flapper.

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Animation, Guest Post5 Comments

Why Are We Forgetting About Korra?

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by Gabrielle Smith

A month ago, at New York Comic-Con, I attended a panel for The Legend of Korra. It was full of sneak peeks, laughs, and goodbyes (considering this is likely their last panel for the series) but there was also a reminder — that Platinum Games is making a video game derived from the series. It takes place between the second and third books of the series, where Korra is stripped of her bending by a chi-blocker, and must regain her abilities throughout the game.

What I’ve found is that people aren’t really talking much about the game. I even forgot myself, considering it was a nice reminder at New York Comic-Con. The creators basically mentioned it as a passing thought, but that may have been due to time constraints. The game isn’t meant to be long (it’s about four to six hours to play), and is a digital download, so that’s likely an aspect of it. The game isn’t a full-fledged entity, but a charming addition to the series. It’s not the most important thing. However, forgetting Korra… this isn’t exactly new. Let’s talk about how Nickelodeon has been treating the series.

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Animation, Guest Post, Marvel, Movies3 Comments

Big Hero 6 Shows That an Asian American Cast Can Top the Box Office

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by Adriel Luis | Originally posted at Smithsonian APA NOW

This past weekend’s box office numbers are in, and Disney’s latest project Big Hero 6 stands soundly on top. This might not come as a big surprise, considering that Frozen-fever is still holding every auntie’s TV hostage — but the film still breaks ground, especially in the scope of Asian Americans in cinema. And Hollywood should take note.

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Comics, Guest Post2 Comments

Raina Telgemeier and Wonder Woman

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by Gene Yang | Originally posted at Humble Comics

A few weeks ago, my oldest daughter (a second grader) bought Raina Telgemeier’s Sisters from her school’s book fair. She instantly became a Raina devotee. I’d already read Smile with her, but something about Sisters flipped a switch — maybe because my daughter has to deal with sibling drama of her own at home.

Raina’s a friend of mine. I knew from Facebook that she was doing a signing near us, so I told my daughter we’d go see her. On the morning of the signing, my daughter woke up chanting Raina’s name.

The signing was freaking amazing. I’ve never been to a comics signing like it, not even with the Image Comics founders when they were at the height of their fame in the 90s. Raina did a joint event with the inimitable Kazu Kibuishi, and the entire store was packed with parents and kids holding stacks of Smile and Drama and Sisters and Amulet.

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Comics, Conventions, Guest Post1 Comment

Things I Finally Did Right in Artists Alley

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by Greg Pak | Originally posted on GregPak.com

In our book Make Comics Like the Pros, my co-writer Fred Van Lente provides some spectacular advice about how to work a comic book convention. This year at the New York Comic Con, I took Fred’s advice seriously and did my Artists Alley table up right for the first time. And I had my best con ever!

So here’s what I did:

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Guest Post, Video Games2 Comments

Don’t Be Silent! Things You Can Do about GamerGate

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by Patrick Miller | Originally posted on Tumblr

I have spoken to a lot of people in the games industry who are frustrated about GamerGate but shaky on the prospect of speaking out themselves; they’re worried about receiving death threats, or drawing unwanted attention to their employer, or just overextending themselves getting involved in an exhausting conversation.

All of these are valid concerns! The problem is that good people being silent on the matter is what enables this to continue; many of the folks who organize under the GamerGate banner (both harassers and non-harassers) genuinely believe that they’re speaking up for the silent majority who share their beliefs but aren’t brave enough to speak out. (Personally, I tend to assume that people are jerks despite their good intentions until proven otherwise; IMO the hard part of being a good person isn’t thinking the right thing, it’s doing the right thing). In other words, silence is interpreted as implicit permission to continue.

So, here’s the thing. Speaking out doesn’t mean you have to wake up every morning and only get out of bed after reading the previous night’s GamerGate stuff for twenty minutes and getting angry. (I will say it’s pretty good at getting me out of bed, though). There are a bunch of different ways that you can make your voice heard, depending on how your personal HP/MP are doing.

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Comics, Guest Post, Marvel8 Comments

Meet Marvel Comics’ New Asian American Superhero

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by Phil Yu | Originally posted at Angry Asian Man

On Sunday at New York Comic Con, Marvel announced that its newest superhero, an Asian American woman bitten by the same radioactive spider that gave Peter Parker his spider-powers, will star in her own book.

Introduced earlier this year in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man to much speculation and fanfare, the mysterious Silk, aka Queens resident Cindy Moon, was apparently a classmate of Peter Parker’s — and the second person bitten by comics’ most famous radioactive spider. But instead of donning tights and battling the likes of the Green Goblin and Electro, she’s been locked away in a bunker for ten years.

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Guest Post, Television, Toys

Giveaway: Win a Walking Dead Glenn Action Figure

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by Phil Yu | Originally posted at Angry Asian Man

AMC hit zombie drama The Walking Dead returns for its fifth season this Sunday, October 12. Last season left off on a bit of a cliffhanger, with Rick and his merry crew of walker slayers finally reuniting, but captured and locked away in a train car by some mysterious new adversaries. How will they get out this jam?

And of course, we get to see Steven Yeun as our favorite Asian American zombie apocalypse survivor Glenn Rhee. According to this interview in Entertainment Weekly, Steven says Glenn “is a leader” in season five.

So check it. To celebrate the return of The Walking Dead, I’m giving away some official Walking Dead Series Five Action Figures by McFarlane Toys. Who wants a Glenn action figure? Scroll down for details.

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Art, Comics, Guest Post

Staging the Action in the Pages of Thief of Thieves

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by Shawn Martinbrough

Thumbnail layouts are the essential blueprint for every page that I draw. This is the stage where I do all of my storytelling editing such as choosing angles, the lighting, etc.

In this sequence from Thief of Thieves #17 written by Andy Diggle, my deadline was looming so the layout is looser than I typically prefer. It might look like chicken scratch but it was enough for me to quickly nail down the flow of Andy’s script and keep things moving.

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Art, Conventions, Guest Post2 Comments

Megatron/Soundwave Art Print Available at NYCC

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by Jerry Ma | Originally posted at Epic Proportions

Okay, so this took me much much much longer than I ever expected.  I remember sitting at my desk at work and trying to think of something fun to draw.

When it hit me to have Megatron holding Soundwave as a cassette player listening to music; honestly, I was so proud of myself. I thought it was such a badass idea. [Ed. note: Having “Awesome Mix” on Laserbeak is a nice touch.]

Then I had to draw it. And holy cow, was this grueling!

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Gaming, Guest Post, Video Games3 Comments

I Let My Pokémon Down

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by Dave Lee

Pokémon is the shit on many different levels.

First of all, I don’t consider myself a true gamer in the sense that I’m looking for more of an experience and less of a challenge. Also, I don’t have time to be consumed by a game for that long of a time. I’m trying to get that run-through action similar to when you set aside those weekends to binge-watch all of Breaking Bad. Yeah, there’s post-game content, online play, and it’s definitely heads out there on a serious quest for shiny pokémon (#veryrare). But the RPG format provides that one and done feeling.

Also, the game is marketed towards a younger audience. You know what that means to me? I’m not piling on more stress on top of the stress I already face as a dude in his late 20s, still trying to find his way in the world. Just some good ol’ fashioned fun that’s easily accessible, especially for dudes who haven’t been keeping up with the new generation consoles and getting their subscriptions of Gamepro, which doesn’t even exist anymore.

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Art, Comics, Guest Post

Designing the Covers for Image’s Thief of Thieves

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by Shawn Martinbrough

Designing comic book covers can be a challenging process especially when you’re also drawing the interiors. Since covers are done months in advance (for sales and solicitation purposes), the final script typically hasn’t been completed yet. As the artist, you have to create an image that teases the story without knowing exactly what that story is.

Usually, I’ll turn a cover design around within a day or two after I get the concept. Once approved, I’ll turn around the cover a few days after that. The biggest hurdle is stopping the process of drawing the sequential pages to shift gears and tackle the cover.

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Cosplay, Guest Post47 Comments

Cosplaying While Black? The Homicide of Darrien Hunt

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by Jamie Broadnax | Originally posted at Black Girl Nerds

This morning I read the link to a news article tweeted to me about Darrien Hunt, a 22-year old Black male who was gunned down by police on Wednesday September 10 by the Saratoga Springs police department. Several news outlets initially picked up the story as reported by the police and Tim Taylor, the chief deputy attorney for Utah county. His statement to the press was as follows:

When the officers made contact with Mr. Hunt, he brandished the sword and lunged toward the officers with the sword, at which time Mr. Hunt was shot.

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Guest Post, Interview

My Chance Encounter as Captain America with a 9/11 Responder

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by Vishavjit Singh | Originally posted at Medium.com

On a hot July summer day in New York City, I was working with a film crew hopping in and out of the subway in my costume as Captain America. We stepped out on one of the stops and after shooting for a few hours in Washington Square Park hopped back on the subway. That is when a couple spotted me and appeared amazed at having seen me a second time on the subway that day. The wife initiated the encounter and I sat down next to them for a few brief moments. The couple was from Arizona, and they were in town primarily to tick an item off the husband’s bucket list. To attend an Arsenal soccer match. They asked me what I doing, and I summarized the motivation of my social experiment. I stepped out on my next stop.

We finished the film shooting the next day. Two days later I received an email titled “Our chance encounter” from a sergeant in an Arizona police department. It was one of the most touching mails I have ever received.

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Comics, Guest Post6 Comments

From Invisible to Inevitable: Why We Need Diverse Books

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by Gene Yang

[Ed. note: Over the weekend, Gene delivered the following speech at the National Book Festival gala in Washington, DC.]

I’m a comic-book guy, so tonight I’d like to talk about another comic-book guy. Dwayne McDuffie was one of my favorite writers. When I was growing up, he was one of the few African Americans working in American comics. Dwayne worked primarily within the superhero genre. He got his start at Marvel Comics but eventually worked for almost every comic book publisher out there. He even branched out into television and wrote for popular cartoon series like Justice League and Ben 10.

Dwayne McDuffie is no longer with us, unfortunately. He passed away in 2011, at the age of 49. But within comics, his influence is still deeply felt.

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DC Comics, Guest Post, Movies4 Comments

What if Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Chooses Shazam?

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by William Evans | Originally posted at Black Nerd Problems

Yes, my people, it is I, he who typically slams everything the DCU does with its movie franchises. But look, if this all but confirmed news that Dwayne Johnson will portray Shazam comes to fruition: I like this one. I really, really like this one. If we’re being 100% honest, I think the actor formerly known as the wrestler known as The Rock would be a great Black Adam. Besides the comically-not-really-him-CGI depiction in The Mummy Returns, have we really had Johnson play a villain?

If the news is to be believed, Johnson hasn’t decided which character he’ll portray, but the smart money is on Shazam, and I can’t blame him. As far as franchising, being a good guy on the Justice League is going to afford you many more opportunities in the franchise than a villain who might appear in one flick. But I digress. For the first time since Zack Snyder started signing off on costume designs, I actually like a casting choice for this Justice League universe without having to have seventeen think-pieces to convince me of it. Johnson has proven he can be heroic, goofy, lighthearted, and certainly looks the part of being a “superman-ish” hero.

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