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SupernovaShock

Name: Kevin Spooner

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SupernovaShock's Recent Comments
December 6, 2012 4:08 pm It's a GREAT book. Actually my favorite thing Marvel is doing right now. And of course Pyynk likes it. Of course he does. You know what this book needs? Bucky.
December 6, 2012 4:06 pm And it was in this hobby that I passed my Cap shield to you, sir. You wear the colors well.
November 16, 2012 3:44 pm Only if they're bad at it. ;)
November 16, 2012 3:10 pm @USPUNX Good points all around. I think I may need to clarify my position a bit, and I'll agree that my language may have been unintentionally divisive. I'm a colorful guy, and I tend to use colorful language. I used the terms "civilian" and "tourist" only to distinguish people inside the culture from those outsiders who were hanging about, perhaps out of curiosity, perhaps to join. I in no way intended to be divisive. On the contrary, I actively try to win people over, thus my practice of talking to people and engaging them rather than trying to stonewall them and make them feel unwelcome. So for the purpose of this discussion I shall cease the use of divisive language and instead adopt the term "newcomer" to describe people who might be new to geek/convention culture. It's at the very least, a bit more positive. I agree completely that the purposeful isolation, and the snobbery that ensues therefrom, of the "geek culture" (we should really find a better word for that, too) isn't doing us any favors. I do think at the very least, most of the newcomers who show up at cons, stores, etc are there because they have some kind of passing interest in what we do. Not hatred. Not disdain. Just, at the very least, curiosity. That's why I'm willing to answer questions. When we start talking, the conversation usually starts with a pointed question on the newcomer's part along the lines of "what's this all about, then?" and if they're gonna ask about the costuming, I'll talk to them about the craftsmanship that goes into it, the workout regimens you have to follow, the places you'll travel for events, etc. To them it usually winds up being interesting and identifiable to their own interests. Then we get around to the even more mundane stuff like our jobs, our families, music we're into, our pets... all that lovely stuff that unites everybody. Ultimately everyone will realize that we all are so much more alike than we are different. If we as a culture are being seen as an "other" by anyone on the outside, I'd assert that the onus is upon us to be ambassadors to the rest of the world. We have a choice, we can choose to be insular and perpetuate an "us v. them" attitude and always be uncomfortable with the outside world, or we could welcome everyone in, and show them how awesome it can be in here. I know a lot of us may fear the assimilation into the mainstream that comes from the success of a cultural phenomenon, it therefore becoming diluted into the mainstream, and no longer our special little thing... but that's just how it has to go! It's like when a band becomes successful, you will always have hip people complaining about the success of their favorite musicians because they've sold out, and that the people who are now into them don't have the same cred that they did when they were playing in a dingy club for ten people. Know what I mean? But that's a bit of a digression. For my part, even when I'm at work or just out and about, I try and spread the word in a way that gets through to newcomers who are open minded. I had a guy at work last month who came up to me and initiated a discussion about The Dark Knight Rises, and we talked about it for a while, and I made some references to the comics stories that were drawn upon to inspire the movie, and I suggested that he give the books a try. When he pushed back with the predictable resistance that you described with your friends at the LCS, I offered to loan him a copy of The Long Halloween so he could thumb through it (I keep loaner copies of this book in my collection, it's that good of a tool to hook people in). After the following weekend, he was hooked. Now he has a pull list at my local shop. So, yes, putting people at ease and welcoming them in is an absolute necessity. As is us becoming comfortable with being a little more in the mainstream, the public eye, and the cultural zeitgeist. That's the trade-off. Like it or not, it's no longer going to be an underground, insular culture. And it wouldn't have survived if it had stayed that way, to boot! But that's the way things go. That's AMERICA, man! I guess that's the "where do we go from here?" question answered, as thoughtfully as I can. I bet you that this self-same conversation has been had with any fringe culture that has made its way to the center over the last few centuries. I bet fans of H.G. Welles and Jules Verne had the same struggles. This is a good discussion. PS - Hey, ever met a Civil War reenacter? Make no mistake, that IS cosplay. You'd think we'd be natural allies.
November 16, 2012 12:16 pm @USPUNX I'd throw it out there (to venture an answer to your question) that the problematic behavior you're talking about is associated with the suspension of conventional morays that can exist in a convention atmosphere. You've got a lot of people, many of whom don't get to this kind of an event too often, surrounded by what is essentially a living fantasy setting. Once the perception of "not being in the real world right now" sets in, that may be when the bad behavior ensues. To contrast it, look no further than the beach. Any beach in warm weather with a human population around it (or indeed swimming pools or lakes... Something about sun and bodies of water) tends to attract scads of scantily clad women in extremely revealing outfits, usually much more revealing than your average cosplayer's outfit. And is harassment the norm for these people? No. There is an unwritten social contract in place that says "people a going to wear fewer and potentially provocative clothing here. Everybody be cool!" And if some jerk DOES decide to go about harassing said people, it's perfectly ok to stand right up to him and subject him to every appropriate means of containment. In regard to the geeky guy types being the offenders in this situation, I disagree. Of course there will always be exceptions to the rule (the odd mouth breather who stares in appropriately for way too long), but in my experience I've found that most of the problematic behavior comes from the "tourists." That is, those who are either new to the scene or outsiders who are coming to the events for cheap thrills with per-conceived and outdated notions of what this swath of the culture is about. They don't see nerdy types as people they can identify with (at first), and that sense of "otherness" manifests itself in terms of treating others not as people with emotions who are deserving of respect, but as mere playthings, objects for their enjoyment to dispose of as they wish. That's my experience anyway. Every single convention I've ever gone to, I've regularly been interrogated more than once by a civilian (usually drunk) about what we do (it's for fun,etc), why we do it (no, we are not a bunch of crazy sex pervs), and how we all seem to know each other (ever heard of the Internet?!?). Usually I'll just talk to them. Once you're engaging them on a human level where they can generate empathy and understand that you actually have more in common with them than you don't, it helps normalize things a lot. Of course, about ten percent of the time, you'll get someone who is unrepentantly rude, belligerent, or just unwilling to be reasonable, and that's where I usually start using the stick instead of the carrot. I find public humiliation works beautifully, as does the threat of being ejected from the premises or arrested. And, you know, there's always the big hammer. ;) An adage I like to live by is "people can't walk on you if you don't lay down for them." It's true across the board. So to me the answer to what you're asking is through engagement and enforcement. Hope this helped!
November 14, 2012 2:54 pm Ryan, believe it or not, as a kid I was very shy. Also skinny, and socially withdrawn. I have no idea what happened. Oh, and if you get the chance, try out the Lucifer Belgian Ale. It is exactly your taste. APoet, thanks, man. Its an enormously satisfying thing to do. We appreciate it. Spread the word!
November 14, 2012 1:43 pm Hey, it's us! Hey, Ryan, fun fact, that photo of us was actually on display at the bar at our wedding (I'm the big guy with the hammer, everyone else. Hello! How are you?). Thanks for writing this, man, it's reeeeealy nice to have a rational and intelligent voice in your corner. As far as the "they're not real geeks" thing... I don't know, I've never heard anyone say that to me. Not to my face anyway. I guess maybe its attributable to the idea that we tend to hang out with other stable couples who ALL tend to also be costumers ( for the record, I know it's getting to be the accepted term, but I still hate the term 'Cosplay'). Maybe it's a sign of success that people, both personally and as a movement, get hated on this way. At sort of thing always accompanies success. But I'm a pretty positive person and I can rationally look back at all the commentary and when only like 10% of it or so is negative, then it's a pretty good indicator that you're doing it right. Do we like attention? Sure. It's not really for shy people. Most of us do it, as you said, because its fun, and we enjoy the craftsmanship and the esprit de corps. I can't help but think that most of the grumbling is coming from people that for whatever reason don't have the conviction to do something they want to without so many reservations. Haters gonna hate, as they say... Also, thanks for bringing up www.heroesalliance.org here, Jen. It's something that could really change minds if they were aware of and understood our mission. Doing the costumes for fans at conventions is fun. Doing it for a sick child who gets comfort in the hospital, or a family at a community event with a special needs child who gets to meet a "real super hero" is amazing. Thanks again, bud.
March 21, 2012 3:39 pm It's basically an underarmor onesie underneath it all, and we built a suit of foam rubber to give it the "bulking" effect. I'm already kind of a big guy (6'4"), but we wanted to go for unnatural hugeness. So we built the bodysuit and then some custom "huge foot boots" out of foam covered pirate costume boots (easier to walk in than you'd think). The "rocks" of the exterior were sculpted in sheets by a guy I know in the UK and shipped over and assembled here. The head and hands were molded as single pieces, obviously. As you may be able to guess, the sweating was UNBELIEVABLE in that suit.
March 21, 2012 2:36 pm Thanks, guys. We worked on it as a group, and split up the labor. I spent countless hours over at She-Hulk and The Human Torch's house cutting patterns and sewing. I had a friend from Florida come up to help sculpt the "bulk suit" for underneath the rocks, and the design and sculpting of the rocks was an international effort between the USA and UK. It's really an awesome thing when people from all over the place can come together with a common goal. It's a pretty interesting hobby. We do charity work for children's foundations to help bring kids with medical challenges their favorite superheroes, and I'm also involved in an indie film project called Avengers Assemble where I play Captain America (it's comedy... think "The Office" but with the Avengers). All things considered, it beats wasting your days vegging out in front of the TV or your nights getting senselessly wasted in bars. :)
March 21, 2012 1:00 pm Hey, I was the guy costumed at The Thing in that picture you used up there. Thanks for the recognition! We really do work hard on our stuff, and it's great to see people appreciating it. Sure, it's possible for some people mock costumers from a distance, but honestly, I think it's more of a jealousy thing than anything else. They don't have the guts to get out there and do something really fun and extroverted, and they're envious that we can. Honestly, I don't give a CRAP what other people thing. We get to do really fun and awesome stuff and have you SEEN the girls we hang out with?