Episode 10: Culture in Comics, Marvel VS. DC, Top 5 Social Commentary Comics

Illustration by John Byrne.

“With great power comes great responsibility!” We explore how culture is depicted in comic books, discuss why diversity matters, outline how rigid character representations are bad for everyone, and describe how multiculturalism leads to better business and cooler stories. In the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER, Marvel Comics VS. DC Comics. We share our top 5 social commentary comic book stories.

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Show Notes

• 0:00 – 51:44: Culture in comic books.
• 51:45 – 59:22: INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER – Marvel VS. DC.
• 59:23 – 01:18:43: Top 5 social commentary comics.

Links

• Gal Gadot gets asked about playing "large breasted" Wonder Woman in first interview
• San Diego Comic Con 2013: The Battle For Multicultural Heroes
• Geek Therapy: Multicultural Heroes
• "Fake Geek Girls" & Dear Fake Geeks, Go Away?
• Film Crew Creepers at New York Comic Con
• Cosplayers Have A Message To All Perverts - Cosplay Does Not Equal Consent
• The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies
• Most Superhero and Sci-Fi Films Would Fail Sweden’s New Film Rating
• Study Finds TV Alters Fiji Girls' View of Body
• Marvel Body Mass Index Study Reveals Nearly 1/3 of Female Characters Are Underweight
• The Hawkeye Initiative
• Here's how awful Batman would be without the existence of Bill Finger
• 10 Diversity Resolutions for Superhero Comics in 2014
• The Psychology of Fan Outrage or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Accept Ben Affleck
• Changing Face: Diversity & Change in Comic Books and Superhero Movies
• 12 YEARS A SLAVE’s John Ridley Talks Diversity in Comics
• What If the X-Men Were Black?
• DC’s explanation of why Batwoman can’t get married is nonsense
• Study finds TV shows with ethnically diverse casts, writers have higher ratings
• Fox Says Diversity Leads To Good Ratings And Better Business
• Marvel and Natalie Portman Announce Mentoring Program for Girls Interested in Science
• 6 Hilariously Failed Attempts at Making Comics More Diverse
• Jamie McKelvie Details his CAPTAIN MARVEL Redesign
• Statistics for Diversity in Marvel and DC Titles
• Marvel Was Happy to Answer Diversity Questions at NYCC. DC Was Not.
• Marvel’s Diversity Issue: Screen Output Doesn’t Reflect Open-minded Comics

Top 5 Social Commentary Comics

Conrad: 

1. The Walking Dead
2. Watchmen
3. Persepolis
4. Marzi
5. Ms. Marvel (2014)

Ali:

1. Persepolis
2. Akira: v. 1
3. Daredevil Legends Vol. II: Born Again
4. Magneto: Testament
5. Ms. Marvel (2014)

Honorable Mentions:

• The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
• Bone
• The Dark Knight Returns
• V for Vendetta

Episode 9: Veronica Mars, Veronica Mars VS. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Top 5 TV to Films

Calling all Marshmallows! We explore the rise, fall, and return of Veronica Mars. What made the TV show so unique, how did Kickstarter bring it back, and is the film everything fans wanted? In the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER, Veronica Mars takes on Buffy the Vampire Slayer! We share our top 5 TV to films.

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Show Notes

• 0:00 - 46:02: All things Veronica Mars.
• 46:03 - 57:52: INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER - Veronica Mars VS. Buffy Summers.
• 57:53 - 01:13:40: Top 5 television shows to movies.

Links

• Why we need you Veronica Mars!
• 7 Reasons Why Men Should Give Veronica Mars a Shot
• The Veronica Mars Movie Project Kickstarter
• Can the Veronica Mars movie make up for the show's mistakes?
• Why Would You Ever Give Money Through Kickstarter?
• The Psychology Behind Gift-Giving and Generosity
• Forget Nancy Drew: Thanks To Fans, 'Veronica Mars' Is Back On The Case
• Veronica Mars Movie Cheat Sheet: What To Know If You Didn't Watch The Show
• 'Veronica Mars' at PaleyFest: Logan and Veronica weren't always meant to be, and 5 more revelations
• The Veronica Mars Cast Reacts to the Movie's 8 Biggest Moments
• 'Veronica Mars' backers experience technical difficulties with digital downloads; Warner Bros. and Rob Thomas respond
• Weekend Box Office: 'Veronica Mars' Earns $2M

Top 5 TV to Films

Conrad: 

1. Batman / Batman
2. Star Trek / Star Trek: The Motion Picture
3. The Muppet Show / The Muppet Movie
4. The Addams Family / The Addams Family
5. The Brady Bunch / The Brady Bunch Movie

Ali:

1. Star Trek / Star Trek: The Motion Picture
2. Monty Python's Flying Circus / And Now for Something Completely Different
3. The Muppet Show / The Muppet Movie
4. Mission: Impossible / Mission: Impossible
5. Traffik / Traffic

Honorable Mentions:

• The Fugitive / The Fugitive 
• The X-Files / The X-Files: Fight the Future
• The Simpsons / The Simpsons Movie
• Looney Toons to Space Jam

Episode 8: Singularity & Co. Bookstore, Kirk VS. Picard, Top 5 SciFi Books for Newbies

Cici James at Singularity & Co. Photo by Bill Wadman.

Save the scifi! The Super Fantastic Nerd Hour visits the Singularity & Co bookstore for a conversation with its cofounder Cici James. We discuss Singularity's origins, how its mission to save out of print science fiction stories got started, the community that has developed around this project, and the current state of science fiction.  In the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER, who's a better bookseller - Captain Kirk or Captain Picard? Cici shares her top 5 science fiction books for those new to the genre.

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Show Notes

• 0:00 - 25:39: Singularity & Co.
• 25:40 - 31:59: Cici James's geek origin story.
• 32:00 - 34:41: Top 5 science fiction books for newbies
• 34:42 - 36:36: INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER - Captain James T. Kirk VS. Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
• 36:37 - 47:02: The current state of science fiction.

Links

• Singularity & Co.: Preserving the Future From the Past
• Singularity & Co.'s original Kickstarter
• The Brooklyn Law Incubator & Policy (“BLIP”) Clinic
• Richard C. Meredith, author of The Sky is Filled With Ships
• Ryan Britt of I, Reader
• Twenty Sided Store
• Tom Cruise & Will Smith look the same in every movie poster
• Guardians of the Galaxy trailer
• Star Trek Into Darkness is cool and relevant, so stop complaining Trekkies

Top 5 Science Fiction Books for Newbies

• Time and Again, Jack Finney

• The Forever War, Joe Haldeman

• A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle

• The Giver, Lois Lowry

• The White Mountains (The Tripods), John Christopher

Episode 7: Role-Playing Games, Knights of Badassdom VS. Community, Top 5 Fandom Films

Level up with this week's role-playing games episode! We discuss why tabletop, live action, trading card, and massively multiplayer online role-playing games are so popular and what made them so controversial. In a non-spoiler edition of the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER, Community's "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" duels against Knights of Badassdom. We squee over our top 5 fandom films.  

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Show Notes

• 0:00 - 35:15: Role-playing games.

• 35:16 - 54:03: INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER - Knights of Badassdom VS. Community's "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons".

• 54:04 - 1:16:11: Top 5 Fandom films.

Links

• Wikipedia role-playing game portal
• The (not-so) secret origin of D&D
• Director Jon Favreau credits his success to D&D
• The real victims of satanic ritual abuse
• The psychology of falsifying memories
• Remembering Satan: A Tragic Case of Recovered Memory
• Which are deadlier: sharks or horses? (availability heuristic)
• What's it like to LARP?
• Google Street view captures LARPing
• The Darkon Wargaming Club
• Ali LARPing as a scary clown
• Investigating the psychology of cosplay
• Movies about fan culture
• Trekkies vote Galaxy Quest 7th best Star Trek film

Top 5 Fandom Films

Conrad:

1. Shaun of the Dead
2. Star Trek (2009)
3. Galaxy Quest
4. Kill: Bill Vol. 1 & 2
5. Firefly/Serenity

Ali: 

1. Galaxy Quest
2. Rudy
3. Almost Famous
4. Mallrats
5. The Lego Movie

Honorable Mentions:

• Veronica Mars
• Flight of the Conchords
• Homemade Movies: Death Star Trench Run
• Mortal Kombat: Rebirth

Episode 6: Why the Oscars Hate Geeks, 2001: A Space Odyssey VS. Star Wars, Top 5 Oscar Snubs

And the Oscar for Best Picture goes to…no science fiction film EVER! We explore how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences works, why genre films keep getting ignored during award season, and why this matters. The two biggest science fiction Oscar losers, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars, battle for intergalactic glory in the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER! We share our top 5 Oscar snubs.

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Show Notes

• 0:00 - 24:00: Why the Oscars hate geeks.

• 24:01 - 47:44: INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER - 2001: A Space Odyssey VS. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.

• 47:45 - 1:20:05: Top 5 Oscar snubs.

Links

• How the Oscars work
• A brief history of Harvey Weinstein’s Oscar campaign tactics
• Robert Redford on his Oscar snub
• Tom Hiddleston as Loki at San Diego Comic-Con 2013
• Star Wars at New York Fashion Week
• Big pharma's influence on physicians
• Genre biases in the Best Picture category
• Inclusion and diversity at the Psychology of Star Trek versus Star Wars panel at San Diego Comic Con 2013
• The Hugo Awards
• The Saturn Awards
• Peabody Awards
• If Her wins the Oscar for Best Picture, it could change science fiction forever
• Quicker, faster, darker: Changes in Hollywood film over 75 years

Top 5 Oscar Snubs

Conrad:

1. District 9
2. Inception
3. E.T.
4. Sin City
5. Alien

Ali: 

1. Citizen Kane
2. Children of Men
3. E.T.
4. Her
5. Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Rise of the Planet of the Apes)

Honorable Mentions:

• Sam Rockwell (Moon)
• Alan Rickman (Harry Potter films)
• Ed Harris (The Abyss) 
• Blade Runner
• Dark City
• Jeff Goldblum (The Fly)
• Donnie Darko
• Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
• Metropolis 
• The Iron Giant
• The Dark Knight
• Jurassic Park
• Looper
• Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) 
• Pan's Labyrinth 
• Back to the Future
• The Wizard of Oz