10 Things We’re Thankful For This Thanksgiving Power Grid By The Mary Sue StaffNov 24th, 2011, 12:55 pm You are seeing this message because you have javascript disabled. To use our slideshows you need to enable javascript. There's no cross domain hackery or tracking voodoo, it's just some sweet jQuery animations. Please, think of the animations. In the meantime, enjoy the html version below. I guess. If that's your thing. Allow Us to Explain If you live in the U.S. (like the writers of The Mary Sue), then today you're experiencing (maybe even celebrating!) Thanksgiving 2011. And whether you're working through the day, or preparing to stuff yourself with the roasted flesh of an over-engineered domestic bird, or whatever your particular Turkey Day tradition is, we hope you'll indulge us for a Power Grid while we talk about what we're thankful for. There's a lot that has happened the fandom world in the past year, from comics to movies, cartoons, and things even weirder by far. Here's the parts that we're very, very grateful happened at all. But we'd be remiss if we didn't mention one more thing we're thankful for right here, at the beginning of the list. YOU! Every one of you who comes here every day, or maybe just occasionally or maybe you clicked a link once and never came back. It's okay. That click was important. Where would we be without you? Well, we'd probably still be here. It'd just be a lot lonelier. The Hunger Games Okay, so it was published in 2008, but let me explain. As the editor of The Mary Sue, I've spent the year of 2011 attempting to read, watch and play everything that The Mary Sue's readership shows an interest in that I haven't actually experienced yet. So far this has involved six seasons of Doctor Who (including the Tennant "season" that doesn't count), Mass Effect, My Little Pony, The Guild, and a bunch of Tamora Pierce; with Mass Effect 2, Buffy, and Star Trek: Voyager somewhere down the line. I'm also rewatching the X-Files because I was too young to watch it until it when it was current until it has already jumped the shark. But of all the media I've consumed this year, The Hunger Games is the one I most want to rant and rave about. It's not just that I love it when young adult literature doesn't act like it can afford to be less well written simply because it's intended for children. It's not just that Katniss is not a literal strong female character... she's metaphorical strong female character: a weak one. A real human being whose psyche has been damaged beyond repair in ways that she only sometimes is aware of. A character whose trouble in romance doesn't stem from plot device or immature middle school drama but because she has trouble in interpersonal relationships to begin with, and most of the time she is just too damn busy not dying to spend any time teasing out her own feelings about the people around her. But more than that, I'm willing to rant and rave about The Hunger Games because Suzanne Collins was not afraid to show her readers heroes who succeed literally and fail in every other respect. Characters who don't ever become "whole," but instead learn to live with their ugly experiences because those ugly experiences are what define the people they are now. That's a brave thing to do even outside the realms of Young Adult fiction. It's no wonder there are many fans dissatisfied with the end of The Hunger Games, but I can't help but think that they're terribly, terribly wrong. -- Susana Adult Swim There was a time in my life when I thought I was way too cool for cartoons. I was a kickass political science major, ready to take on the Wide World of Political Journalism. And that didn't work out, so I came back. But here is what originally brought me back to cartoons and the discovery that there were actually awesome, non-pandering cartoons on that were meant for twisted, demented adults like me: my first time on an airplane. I didn't fly until 2008. And when I finally did, it was from New York to California. I was pretty certain I was going to die. Didn't know how, and I was in otherwise good health. But I was quite sure I was going to die. Anyway, what was on the in-flight TV while I was waiting for my inevitable demise-due-to-flying? Robot Chicken. Six hours of it. As if it knew I was going to be scared out of my wits and needed to be reminded of the things inside of me that drove me to be the creative person I was. Yes indeed -- a stop-motion animation show that lampooned everything I held sacred as a child growing up in the 1980s, right there to bring me down to earth. Well, a little closer to earth. As close as I could get while flying in an airplane. But since that moment, I was hooked on everything related to Adult Swim. I almost can't believe I wasn't watching it since it first started. But as I started recovering from a horrible job and getting more and more in touch with my own creativity, Adult Swim was starting to have a different effect on me: It was making me want to make things. All those years of drawing weird little characters (usually inspired by trips to Disney World) were rushing back, but this time I actually knew how to write. And Adult Swim's shows, specifically Robot Chicken and The Venture Bros., showed me consistently that there was indeed a place for random, obscure humor that sounded like the best conversations you had with your friends while goofing around drunk/high in dialogue being delivered in a medium that was not only not a live-action sitcom, but a gorgeously (or hilariously crudely) produced animated show. I have yet to make something of my own. But in the meantime, I have The Venture Bros. to watch while I spend time on the elliptical, listening to all these extraordinary yet humbled characters make observational, Seinfeldian jokes about mundane things in their crazy fantasy world. But even when it's not inspiring me, it's just helping me go to sleep at night. Because I need noise when I go to sleep, and listening to whatever is happening on Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Squidbillies is the perfect weirdo concoction I need to drift off into a calm (and, strangely, not fucked up) sleep. To say nothing of Family Guy and American Dad being on exactly when I need them (which is all the time). So, I'm thankful for Adult Swim. Everyday life is so fun knowing that there are truly screwed up things for grown-ups to watch late at night. -- Jamie Twitter May the odds be ever if your favor, Twitter. The social networking site has become such a part of my daily life and routine that I can’t imagine being without it now. While it makes some little changes here and there from time to time, Twitter has never disappointed me the way other social sites have and perhaps that’s in part to its simplicity. But I’m really thankful for Twitter because of what its given me - friends, great discussions and cute animal pictures. Twitter allowed me easy access to folks just like me, some who lived across the country or the pond and some who turned out to live right in my backyard. I follow about 800 people and while I can’t say they are all genuine friends, I’ve got a great core group who I wouldn’t have known otherwise, people who I expect to be friends with for the rest of my life. You know it’s a great day on Twitter when you have an honest and open dialogue about the treatment of women in comics and then receive a video of cats fighting with lightsabers. And that’s not even scraping the surface of the great stuff I get to experience being on Twitter. Sometimes it’s really helpful when it comes to deciding what to have for lunch. I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention how thankful I am for my Twitter followers. I may not hear from all of them all of the time but they do a great job of supporting me whether or not they agree with everything I have to say and they’re an incredible bunch of folks to have behind me. -- Jill DC's New 52 You might wonder what this entry is doing here, but let me elaborate. This explanation of the impact of DC Comics' rushed, miss-handled, yet staggeringly ambitious and (so far) monetarily successful full relaunch of its entire line is going to consist mostly of backhanded compliments. Except for when I talk about Batwoman. Batwoman is the first lesbian superhero to get a title series in Marvel or DC, and the road she took to get there has been long and fraught with editorial peril. She started as a bit character low enough on the totem pole that DC thought it could get away with making her gay without garnering too much media attention (oddly enough, this turned out to not be the case), and became a character who was forgotten for a few years because nobody really knew what to do with her, then a character whose rebooted debut as the temporary central character of the oldest continuously publishing comic book title in American history won an Eisner, a GLAAD and garnered an introduction to its collected hardcover from Rachel Maddow, and then a character whose announced but long delayed debut in her own comic was finally brought to print. Despite the departure of Batwoman's main writer, Greg Rucka, from DC because of "creative" issues, Batwoman is still delivering a great story written by main artist J.H. Williams, III, full of mythological allusions, kick ass fights, and the occasional scene with Batman where Batwoman, like honey badger, just does what she wants. But I was supposed to be talking about the New 52! One of the most significant things that the New 52 has done is focus everybody on the enormous gender gap in mainstream American comics. The news that only 2% of the artists hired to pen the new DC universe were women caused a lot of people to take a closer look at the numbers, and caused more to realize that this was only a near 10% difference from the usual averages at Marvel and DC. The backlash against DC reached its most visible peak during San Diego Comic Con, when, five minutes into the DC editorial panel, after receiving two questions in a row about the dearth of female characters and female creators in the New 52, Co-publisher Dan Didio responded by raising his voice and verbally shutting down the questioning fan, dismissing his question, and moving on without any response other than scorn. These days, as far as I can tell, you can't go more than an interview or two without a current or even former comics luminary getting asked what it takes to get women to read comics, which, while it may not be the perfect question (women already read comics, women already make comics, women are already in comics... in indie comics, in webcomics, in Manga, in French comics... basically everywhere but where mainstream America thinks "comics" means: the American superhero comics that are published mostly by DC and Marvel), at least it is being asked. There are still people out there confused about the idea that comics, and superhero comics, could be for adults let alone anyone other than pubescent boys. The New 52 has been a catalyst for discussion, a clear and easily explainable example of a company promising diversity and failing to deliver, and that is very much worth pointing out. On a more personal note, the New 52 has been the straw that broke the camel's back, where the camel in this case is what kind of comics consumer I am. You see, I used to be exactly what any comic company is delighted to have: the kind of reader who will buy anything if it has a specific character in it, regardless of the actual quality of the book. The New 52, with a combination of keeping some of my least favorite parts of the current continuity, and discarding a number of my most favorite parts, finally broke me of my irresponsible consumer habits. I am now only buying books that I actually enjoy reading! Terribly shocking, I know. Thanks, New 52! -- Susana Bridesmaids Sometimes you need to see a movie that reminds you: "You are not alone! It's all gonna be okay!" But sometimes, after watching a movie like that, you're reminded that you just watched a really great movie about a group of female people, not one of whom were competing or vying for a boyfriend or husband, and that this was the first time you'd actually seen that before, and it was a freaking revelation. Before Bridesmaids was even released, people were calling it a game-changer for female-driven comedies. Because for once, this was a female-driven comedy that didn't have to be classified as "romantic." Yes, there were romantic relationships in it. (And purely unromantic ones.) But this was a movie about friendship, life, progress, and realizing your own self-worth but not for the sake of winning a boyfriend. And after so much dreck in the theaters (you know, the kind starring all the Kates, Katherines, and Katies) about women competing against each other to get married or even try to marry the same man, seeing a movie about two women who are at a crossroads in their long friendship -- one is moving forward, the other feels like she's moving backwards -- was not just a game-changer for cinema, but it was probably a welcome relief for women to watch. But on top of all that, it was soooooooo funny. Did we know Kristen Wiig was funny and had a variety of insane characters up her sleeve? Sure! Did we know she could write a good screenplay along with her Groundlings cohort, voice actor Annie Mumolo? NO. It's not that we doubted the potential, we just hadn't really thought about it before. And then we were pleasantly blown away. And even on top of that, as if we could get a whole other hot fudge sundae on top of the cherry that was on top, like a perfect little amuse-bouche of a sundae, was Melissa McCarthy. Not to ignore the rest of the perfectly cast ensemble, but Melissa McCarthy played one of the most unabashedly ungraceful but self-assured human beings to ever grace the screen. And that she was a female human being, who took every expectation of what is expected of a women in a film, put it in a sink, and shat on it, made even bigger waves than anyone expected it to. It's been a long time since I've been wowed to the bone by a movie. And that is why I'm thankful for Bridesmaids. -- Jamie Batman I think about Batman far more than any person should. But I’m ok with that, Batman makes me happy. And well, there’s been a lot of extra Batman going around this year and I really, really appreciate that. For one, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises is currently filming. Not only that, it’s been filming in my general area in New York City. I don’t like spoiling myself for movies if I can help it but it’s made me giddy each time a new set photo would emerge. And the fact that Batman was in my city means, MY CITY IS GOTHAM CITY. This year a writer also made me thankful for Batman. Scott Snyder had a phenomenal run on Detective Comics before the DC relaunch and is continuing his work in Batman in the New 52. I’ve spoken with him a few times and he’s got a great handle on the Dark Knight and truly has some great stuff on the way. We also recently got the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum, one of my favorite games ever, Arkham City. It was released last month but I only just got the chance to start playing it this past weekend and boy, did it make my brain happy. Besides how cool the game already is, I’ll be able to purchase some very geeky downloadable content for it soon. I look forward to a long stretch of time actually playing the game since the playable area on Arkham City is about ten times the size as the previous game. I could, perhaps, be playing Batman...forever. -- Jill The Avengers Okay, okay! Yes. The Avengers isn't out yet. But the mere fact that it exists is already paying dividends to the geek community, even outside of the realm of upcoming-movie-enthusiasm and Tumblr .gif posts. The Avengers is a superhero team movie, based in a continuity of setting that has already been laid out in a half dozen interconnected movies. It is, without any argument, the biggest investment that cinema has ever made in comic book characters, and all evidence points to it paying off big dividends for Marvel and Disney when it does eventually come out. But you know who else it's likely to pay off big for? Joss Whedon. Fandom's most favorite and most cancelled writer and director is making his second theatrical feature, and it's huge. Even the less lauded Marvel movies like Iron Man 2 and Thor have been financial successes, so the odds of Whedon coming out of this with significant increase in Hollywood clout are good. And that's good for his fans. But lastly, the increased presence of Marvel properties on the silver screen is leading to an increased presence of them in other places too, and it's, oddly enough, leading to greater visibility for some of Marvel's female characters. And so in particular, I'd like to thank The Avengers and its effect on Disney/Marvel television properties for alerting me to the existence of Jessica Jones. Not only just alerting me to her existence, but for developing as a television series with very experienced female screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg at the helm. -- Susana Verameat Jewelry If you're the type of person who likes accessorizing -- as I am -- but aren't into bling or fancypants jewels, but also like your baubles to tell a weird story, then you really need to head over to Verameat and check out the wares. Created by Vera Balyura, this is not jewelry for everyone -- only truly awesome people. Or truly strange people, depending on your perspective. But I like visiting the Verameat web site because I like to see what else she's dreamed up and then turned into the most unique jewelry I've ever seen. I think I have about half a dozen pieces by Vera, including my favorite standby knuckle dusters (one in silver, one in copper) and key earrings. But it's the pieces that meld a few kinds of creatures together and tell a story that are the ones I love. Like the Hip Shark, which has a hippo's head, a shark's tail, and a headless female torso wearing a dress, sitting in its mouth, and beating it with a club. It's a metaphor for life, really. Or my Hatchet-Loving Centaur Pirate. Or my Dino Eating Fried Chicken ring. What's great about Verameat is that you can almost use the pieces to gauge what kind of person someone is when they ask about the pieces. If they're a cool, open-minded person, they will at the very least appreciate these wacky things. And if they think they're just too weird...why are you even hanging out with someone like that? Then again, I'm the kind of girl who would accept this as a "special ring finger ring." So, maybe I'm the wrong person to ask about this kind of thing. Other things that I'm thankful for: small ring sizes, being able to choose your preferred metals, and sales. Like the one happening on Black Friday. -- Jamie The Mary Sue Pardon me while I get meta for a moment but I love The Mary Sue. In a world full of “geek girls,” it’s nice to have a place to call home and this site is a happy home indeed. I’m actually pretty thankful for the amount of geek girl focused websites I’m seeing these days. As much as some people don’t like setting themselves apart, I find having a place where those of a similar persuasion frequent comforting. We may not all agree on everything but we come from a mutual place of understanding. I’ve worked for a few pop-culture outlets in my time, a few were by and for “geek girls” and some were not. But it’s when you discover your love for all things Jurassic Park is shared by your fellow Mary Sue writers that your heart swells ten times its size. So thanks, ladies. -- Jill Susana's official editorial response to this unexpected and unsolicited entry can be found here. Have a tip we should know? [email protected] Filed Under: Adult SwimAnnie MumoloBatman (character)BatwomanBridesmaidsDC ComicsDisneyjewelryJoss WhedonKristen WiigMarvel ComicsMelissa McCarthyNew 52Robot Chickensocial mediaThanksgivingThe AvengersThe Mary SueThe Venture Bros.TwitterVerameatwomen in comedy Follow The Mary Sue: Twitter includePartnerTag() doesn't exist! Join the Conversation Load More
