Fishnet Friday!

It's been making the rounds, but I thought the Flaming C was worth posting here because Conan is awesome!

Check out this action figure mod of the character over at Comics Alliance!

Happy Fishnet Friday!

Did you just get engaged, get lost, have your car break down and get trapped in the pouring rain with only a newspaper between you and the lightning??

What's that light off in the distance? Is it a place to go?

There's a light over at the Frankenstein Place

There's a light burning in the fireplace

Surprise! You just want to use the phone to call for help, but....

This guy is hosting a party...

Aw, he made him a man...

Then that happens amongst much singing, dancing, rejoicing, motorcycle/foot chase and hacking with the blood spurting and oh mercy!

Everyone gets freaky with everyone else and I'm sure there's a mathematical formula that you can develop and, or Java code that you could write to show how this part works.

Oh yes, and I can't forget. Like any good host Dr. Fank-n-Furter serves his guests dinner.

Funny, looks more like roast than ...Meatloaf...

It's all doomed! How could it end...

Halloween and Fishnets!

Hey guys!

It's Friday and around here that can only mean fishnets! Since Halloween is coming up you will notice that I changed my banner to include a costumed 8-bit Chronic Geek wearing fishnet gloves.

I am interested in hearing some of your Halloween costume stories! Have you ever donned fishnets to dress as a vampire? You can bet that I have! If you are dressing up for Halloween what will you be wearing?

Geeky Bridesmaid....Librarian Style?

It's Fishnet Friday and today I am featuring my bridesmaid ensemble from last weekend! The wedding was a lot of fun.


I will do another post featuring some of the fun elements of the wedding, such as the favors. You guys will love them!

So I am wearing green fishnets, sweet lolita shoes from Bodyline Japan, and a Time Turner necklace as one of my accessories.

Yes, a time turner. The bride and I both really love Harry Potter and I don't own very much gold or brass colored jewelry, so I went for it.



After I got everything put together I realized that I looked, in my mind, like a librarian bridesmaid!

Fishnet Friday : Dragon Con

This is not my year for Dragon Con, but hopefully my schedule will work for next year.

I did a quick search of images from the 2009 Dragon Con and who did I find? These lovely ladies portraying Daleks and one in fishnets!

I have a mixture of amazement and fear. Amazement because these Dalek dresses are really cool and illustrate how creative fans can be. Why the fear? Well, they are DALEKS! They want to exterminate us! It seems that the photographer survived.

Just watch out in case the Dalek lovelies show up at Dragon Con this year. You have been warned!

It's Fishnet Friday!

Remember the Snowtrooper in a fishnet shirt that I posted back here?

Well some obliging photographer caught these troopers in action!

Awesome! These guys rule.

It's Fishnet Friday!

Oh no! You don't want to hear anymore about that certain movie with 8-bit game references, awesome music, and a very cool story?

Ok. Ok. Yes, I am going to see it again.

But have you read the graphic novels?

The movie focuses on the story of Scott battling the evil exes, the band trying to hold it together, Wallace and his many boyfriends, the way friendships have changed between characters due to success and relationships, and Cho. I think of all the things the movie tweaked a little bit I liked how they handled the angst of a 17 year old girl who "just found out good music existed".

If you want to find out more check out the graphic novels.

There are fishnets! (And in the movie too!)

Happy Friday the 13th!

I love Friday the 13th's. Why not?

For today's Fishnet Friday I recommend that you check out the song "Goth Girls" by MC Frontalot. This song includes the lyric:

"And her purse in patent leather held in fishnet glove"

You can check the song out on the MP3 part of his website. It's in the first section under singles found here.

It's Fishnet Friday!

Felicia Day!

Next week I will be at Gen Con where I will hopefully get in to listen to Felicia Day discuss her work on The Guild and maybe even get an autograph.

Felicia Day has to be one of my favorite people on the internet. Her show The Guild proved that web-based television can succeed in the marketplace. Not only does she write a hilarious series about gamers that includes a diverse cast, but Day also wrote prequels to the show in the form of The Guild comic book series. Her blog includes book reviews that she writes and lets her share her creative experiences with her fans.

Day's background is even more interesting to me as a nerdy girl. She studied opera and ballet, then in college double majored in math and violin performance. I mean come on! If the universe was different she probably would have been on my scholastic bowl team!

Felicia Day is exactly the kind of person that Hollywood needs and I'm very grateful for the hard work she does to bring entertainment to life that resonates with those of us who who don't fit in the entertainment industry's narrow molds. She's really an internet pioneer.

It's Fishnet Friday!

On the hunt for items from the past we came across Marvel Triple Action 23 a comic book from 1974 featuring The Avengers, Goliath, Power Man, and Black Widow. Stan Lee, Frank Giacoia, Don Heck and Sam Rosen worked on this.

The existence of this book in the old collection is kind of an anomaly, so it must have been picked up on a whim of some kind. Everything else was from the late 80's up to the mid 90's.

The cover tells you what is going on. Goliath can't change back to normal size and the Black Widow is up to no good. However, the cover version of her outfit is vastly different from what I found inside the book.

Since it's fishnet Friday you can probably guess what she looks like...























Madam Natasha has been brainwashed to destroy the Avengers as we learn from the panels in the image on the right. She goes to see The Swordsman and even though he's at a circus he seems surprised to see "A girl in costume". I think he resembles Lando a little bit in this image and when I did a search for images of Lando I immediately found this:

Kindred spirits divided in by several years, space, and franchises...

But, back to the fishnets.


I think what we see in this comic book is an example of the liberalization of the Comics Code that began in the early 70's. This book is also part of the Bronze Age of comics and you can see the artwork is pretty colorful and sharp.

Sometime in the future I'll scan in some of the ads and do a post about them because they are truly awesome!

It's Fishnet Friday!

Vampires vs. Mutants. There's no way with a title in that vein that those black criss-cross stockings can be ignored. We are, of course, talking about

X-Men issue #1.

Yes, that's right, this vampire invasion is starting the X-Men off back at #1. The Marvel website calls this " a war of the species that will wrack the Marvel Universe". This first issue is a flawlessly beautiful piece of work. The writing is engaging, intelligent and sometimes darkly funny.

The art is beautiful and I want to point out that they have done an amazing job using lighting in every panel. This is incredibly important to a vampire story since light and the absence of it is such an integral part to what makes a vampire, a vampire. For instance just look at the light and shadow on this vampire in an alley. This is a tiny fraction of the whole panel and the whole page and yet the detail is intense and perfect. The layers of darkness, night fall, the lighting in medical rooms, and outdoor spaces is the most naturally rendered I have ever seen in a comic book. The way the sun and sunset are colored in contrast with the moon is breath taking. I am so pleased to see a proper vampire story like this.

I could go on and analyze this and the clever use of the gutter and floating panels....but FISHNETS!

This guy luckily had just the right clothes on hand from his past as a Bass player or maybe from his many times LARPing Vampire the Masquerade.

It's Fishnet Friday!

Issue #600 of Wonder Woman brought with a new character with a very awesome look:

This is an oracle that appears in the story to give out a lot of important information. She's another reason that I think people need to really read this issue before they condemn the change in direction that Wonder Woman is taking.

Oh, plus, she's wearing FISHNETS!

Superman Celebration

Today I drove to Metropolis IL, a long winding trip through beautiful Southern Illinois, to attend the annual Superman Celebration

I'll post a full write-up of the Celebration as the weekend progresses. Since it's Fishnet Friday I thought I'd report on the presence of costumed superheroes and fishnets...

We had several lovely ladies, but I only got a picture of one.

I've decided we need more men in fishnets however. I mean Spiderman is almost wearing fishnets; there are nets on his costume, ok webs. (I tried). I think characters like Green Arrow or Hawkman could wear some subtle fishnet gloves or sleeves. Aquaman. Hell yes.

Ok, I digress.

It's Fishnet Friday!

This is the title that hooked me into reading manga, Nana. I had been watching anime and attending anime club showings for years. When I lived in China I improved my Chinese language skills by watching some of the animes like Conan (here in the US called Case Closed) which had an easy to understand Chinese dub. When it came to reading manga, however, I could never get into a story enough to really want to keep reading.

That all changed when I saw a curious sample magazine at Barnes and Noble called Shojo Beat. It was the free issuse 0 and I loved it enough to subscribe right then.

Nana was serialized in the magazine and then I started buying the graphic novels themselves. It's the story of two young women who share the same name and move to Tokyo on the same day. They meet on the train and then part ways, but collide together again when looking for an apartment to rent. The two become roommates and from there we experience a really amazingly told tale that falls under the realm of "everyday life" comics or "slice of life", but is always captivating to read.

Ok, so what about the fishnets! Nana Osaki is the dark haired one and she lives a very punk-rock life. She's often clad in fishnets like the ones to the right, or ripped up tights. Nana is a singer and part of her reason to move to Tokyo is musical, but the other part, the part hidden from Nana Komatsu (the second Nana), connects the two together.

Nana is also available in the US as an anime and has two live-action movie adaptations. In Japan this series is tremendously popular and has everything from a theme cafe where you can see Nana Osaki's dressing room to video games!

Here's the opening of the anime:

It's Fishnet Friday!

Where can you see ladies in fishnets kicking ass on their own terms? At the roller derby!

Last week we enjoyed watching the women of SIRG skate against the Circle City Socialites in Marion Illinois. I really like the wide variety of people that roller derby events bring together, people who would probably often not gather in one place.

Now, is derby geeky? Well, there is a fair correlation between being involved in derby and being awesomely in touch with the cool worlds of sci-fi, horror, gaming, and fantasy. For example, the St. Louis roller derby team has a group called the Zombie Squad that runs stuff at their events.

Also, we can't forget the awesome derby names. Some of the skaters for SIRG include:

• Ninja Hurtle
• Tess LaCoil
• Dawn Gin Master
• Dread Pirate Robyn
• Theda Barium

While the Indianapolis team, The Circle City Socialites (and anyone who has driven around Indianapolis a lot can attest to the fact that sometimes you feel like you're in a derby going in circles in your car!) has team members with names like:

• Dread Pirate Roberta
• Ionic Bondage
• Roll-R-Damage

Let's not forget the Refs who sport names like Oh Grrr and Captain Obvious and the Jeerleader Zom B. Atrix Potter.

Whew. Roller Derby is a fun, empowering activity both to watch and participate in. Fishnets are a common part of the derby attire and add a great punk-rock feel to the sport.

You can see more videos at the Chronic Geek Youtube.

Fishnets and Female Characters!

Here it is, the inaugural issue of Zatanna.

Tub woh si ti?

Maybe we often miss or overlook the layout of the panels and the gutter in comic books, but they are crucial to the story. I really got into reading manga because of way the panels moved in many of the titles.

DC Comics has not disappointed me in its creative layouts. For example in Zatanna the panels sometimes have a clear, white gutter between scenes that then switches to floating over other panels. When Zatanna reads someone's mind in the story each panel is surrounded by a smoky looking and messy frame that really emphsizes the action and what Zatanna is doing with her powers.


Ok, what about the fishnets? They come out when Zatanna has to confront the story's villain. Gl

For a first issue of a series I thought this book worked rather well. There wasn't a lot of back-story exposition and yet we still got comfortably situated into Zatanna's reality.

The ending promises much more to come.

Finally, I had an observation about the two big American comic book publishers that came out of my pulls for this week. A few years ago I passed the time in my life that I happily read media that contained mostly male driven plots and played games with only male PC's. It had never bothered me, but I also don't believe in gender roles aside from the social constructs of individual cultures. I don't fit into what the American female gender role is and I don't care.

At some point in my mid to late twenties I realized that I wanted to see more female characters just being people and doing things like any one else. I realized that male was the default in almost anything I liked and I started to realize that maybe that's what kept so many other women away from the media I liked. Maybe the media saturation of our culture with traditional, outdated ideas about gender is a contributing factor to staunch gender divides and all those related problems. I've always just felt like a "person" and not one particular gender, although due to what I liked I often found myself cast in the role of being masculine.

Well, Marvel Comics declared 2010 their year of women and have done several things to spotlight women artists and have put out some good one-shot titles with female characters. I think drawing attention to the issue and writing about is important. Meanwhile, DC is just releasing a bevy of great comic books with female leads. Both approaches are awesome.

It's Fishnet Friday

S'it
Tenhsif
Yadirf!

Zatanna's Ame-Comi incarnation is the focus of today's Fishnet Friday. This is the first Ame-Comi statue I have purchased and I am pleased with the quality of the sculpt and the attention to detail. Her fishnets are actual fabric and add a nice touch to the overall look of the statue.

I love the magic whisp coming out of her hat. The statue is a whimsical take on Zatanna, but really does justice to a different concept of her character. This is the first series Zatanna and I was able to pick it up at the comic convention this past weekend from the Castle Perilous table.

She can watch over me while I read her new series!

It's Fishnet Friday!

Every Friday we will celebrate the sexy fashion accessory fishnets, whether it be in stocking form or worn on the upper body as gloves or undershirts. It's fish on Fridays for us! (Forgive me).

We might think of goth or punk fashion when it comes to this look, but fishnets are a great accessory that seem to enhance the appearance of one's body. Sexy stuff. What do fishnets give to the characters that wear them? Confidence, disarming the enemy, and a nod to the inner nature of the character's personality are all possible reasons to add fishnets to one's wardrobe..

Today we will honour the DC character, Black Canary. Future installments will look at characters (of any gender) across a broad spectrum of games, comics, manga and film that happen to rock some hardcore fishnet goodness. I'd also love to have readers submit their own geeky use of fishnets whether worn for a Rocky Horror Picture Show celebration, a con, or hell even playing games at home. If you are a geek we want to see your fishnet pride!

Golden Age Cover Art (Right Image)
Artist's Website (Left Image)
©2010 *windriderx23

Black Canary is one of the older group of female comic book characters and premiered in 1947. Since then she has appeared in numerous story lines, in her own books, and as a part of the excellent series Birds of Prey. Black Canary is two characters, however, Dinah Drake and her daughter Dinah Lance, the current Black Canary.

As you can see fishnets play an important role in Black Canary kicking ass. Happily, we will see more of the Dinah's adventures as she returns in the Gail Simone headed Birds of Prey.

I would love to include the Ame Comi figure of Black Canary, since I love that line of manga styled DC characters, but she's not wearing fishnets! We'll save her for a future post.

In the meantime get ready and subscribe if you haven't to the new Birds of Prey that is coming out May 12!

Image copyright DC Comics http://www.dccomics.com/dcu/comics/?cm=14709
*I want to note that this series is inspired by a friend who started wearing fishnets on friday!*