For almost four years now, the popular YouTube gamer channel ScrewAttack! has hosted a show titled “Death Battle!” In each episode, two commentators (Ben Singer and Chad James) pick two characters from separate geek properties and glean the extent of their powers and abilities based on a particularly thorough combing of each character’s history and…
Tales of the Captain Duke Author Rebecca Diem Talks Steampunk, Writing, and the Joys of Airships
My behind-the-scenes job at this year’s Fan Expo Canada didn’t leave me much time to visit the show floor, but in a fortuitous moment, someone from the show floor happened to drop by. This is how I met steampunk aficionado and writer Rebecca Diem and soon after that Clara and the Captain Duke with whom…
Pre-Orders, Debt, Timekeeping: The Stressful Economics of Indie Comics
Today we’re talking about the absurd economics of comic books. It feels strange and rude, asking ugly questions about income and insider knowledge. But what does the readership of a comic know about the economics behind the book in their hand or on their screen? Not as much as they, or we, could–and that’s a shame, because ignorance…
Copyediting: What Even IS That? Four Copyeditors Discuss The Matter
Back in May, Claire—WWAC’s Features and Opinions Editor—and Jasmine—the co-editor of The Psychedelic Journal—had a little roundtable discussion on editing and what it’s all about. This got us—the copyediting team here at WWAC—thinking. Perhaps we should have a little roundtable of our own. “Copyediting?” “What even is that?” “Why do you need a copyeditor?” “Don’t…
By Banning Books Do We Challenge Parental Rights?
For the purposes of this essay, I’m going to keep the conversation of challenging books, also called banning books, at my local level. I agree there are much larger discussions to be had on freedom of speech and parental rights, but I want this conversation to have a lighter tone, if possible. These are my personal thoughts as…
I’m Loving: Mind of a Chef
I am a foodie—un-ironically, unabashedly. I love to cook; I love to eat. Cookbooks are like porn for me. I nerd out on food writing, food history, and cultural analyses of food at the intersections of race, class, and gender. I get irrationally upset over poorly written or edited recipes. I don’t have cable, because…
Give Yourself a Self-Five: Organization, Anxiety, and Sparkly Stickers
Last month, we explored the world of cosplay with a range of interviews and perspectives. This month, in preparation for the new school year, we decided to talk organization and productivity.
The Winners of the 2015 Hugo Awards: Puppies Lose, Translations Win
WorldCon opened this year in Spokane, Washington, amid roiling controversy that’s been brewing ever since Vox Day, editor, publisher, and blogger created a voting slate for the Huge Awards back in February. An industry award for science fiction and fantasy works, the nominees are voted on by fans who pay to become members of World…
“Feminist, Unruly, Cheerfully Monstrous”: Highlight on Dodie Bellamy
Mostly, Dodie Bellamy doesn’t care what you think of her writing. Or, that’s not quite right—she thinks that you should respect her writing for reasons that you’re maybe unused to respecting writing for. She wants you to question what is respectable in literature.
Better Together: Autostraddle’s Rad Gay Zines
Better Together Zine Series Curated by Riese Bernard, Laneia Jones, Dannielle Owens-Reid, and Kristin Russo Edited by Alyse Knorr Illustrations by Sophie Argetsinger (Issue #1), Amanda Matthews (Issue #2), Rory Midhani (Issue #3) Zines started for gays. Ok, maybe that’s not true. I would hesitate to say that there’s one true origin of the zine,…
Fail Better: Folders Full of Chaos
In theory, I ought to be a really organized person. I was raised by a father who still uses the phrase: “There’s a place for everything, and for everything there is a place.” My dad is the definition of meticulous organization. He avoids clutter and can literally count on one hand how many times he’s…
Books That Shaped Me: A Wizard of Earthsea
Ursula K. LeGuin’s A Wizard of Earthsea sank into me like a song. I don’t recall the exact summer that I first read it. It was somewhere between Patricia C. Wrede’s Dealing With Dragons and Mercedes Lackey’s Arrows of the Queen, and I was somewhere between ages nine and thirteen. It was probably one of those summers I spent…
