Nerd SATs

So...having a recognizable character on your arm is something I really wasn't prepared for. I mean, most people seem to dig all the visible tattoos, but Wonder Woman has just brought something out of people. They feel they need to see it and see it in its entirety, which means me lifting up my shirt sleeve, or alternately THEM lifting it up, which I find off-putting at best. When I got the peacock on my left arm, I was introduced to this, but now it's at an unprecedented high: people will touch you if you have tattoos. People will make uncomfortable conversation with you about your tattoo. People will be caught staring and say awkward things like, "Hey Wonder Woman!" Not "Hey, Wonder Woman!" as if they are noticing her and doing so aloud, but like they are calling me Wonder Woman.

I have gotten some awesome responses from kids, who see a cartoon on my arm and pretty much respond with their little kid version of "rad" or just gasp and say "ooooh." Ladies ask me about my tattoos in general, and once a lesbian asked me a ton of detailed questions in a semi-flirtatious way, but it's grown men who make it weird. Just, why, dudes? Why make it weird? "Nice tats" by the way, sounds to me like "nice tits" which is gross (not something I've ever heard directed at my small Bs, but gross nonetheless), and I've only heard that from men. Last night, a whole table of fanboys at the bar were fascinated by Wonder Woman. Two had the guts to actually ask me about it, and they both provided me with a hilarious story for you.

Fanboy number one looked like a cross between a doofy skater and Judah Friedlander. He came up to the bar right next to me and created this fake reason for being so close to me. He squinted his eyes at the bottles as if he was looking for something and made it super obvious, so I asked what he was looking for (mistake numero uno). He was looking for a liqueur named "Hypnotiq." At a dive bar. It looks like this:

Why yes, the bottle is bedazzled.

He said that it was kind of like Alize, and that you mix it with Hennessey to make what's called an "Incredible Hulk." I had a patented Sweet Lady look of disgust/confusion/surprise and was speechless, and the guy looked down at me (because he was tall) and said, "Oh, you don't know what Alize is do you?" Like in a "isn't that cute" condescending way, to which I replied, "Oh no, I know what it is, but couldn't you just drink Nyquil for cheaper?" And he felt what people in the 19th century would have called chagrinned, or maybe vexed. This attitude problem of mine is not new. It's the reason I was single more often than I was in a relationship before I met M and convinced him to marry me, but I digress... he then said what he really meant to say before he came up, which was "I really like your tattoo." I think the Incredible Hulk drink quiz was part one of Fanboy Table's ploy to find out if I was a real nerd. Because later, when part two went into effect, it all seemed so clear.

Fanboy #2 was a nerd by-the-book. Glasses, pasty, hoodie, graphic-T, awkward, and with a speech impediment of some kind. I get back from the bathroom, and before I can get to my chair, I have this nerdy guy come right up in my personal space circle and say the following:


"I saw your Wonder Woman tattoo earlier and, um, I was wondering which artist inspired it."

This, dear readers, is nerd code. He wants to know if I am actually a fan of the comics or if I am a lesbian/feminist/tough chick who's just into the pop culture reference. I know this because when, after a beat, I replied with, "Actually, I had a couple different artists in mind," he spoke over me and said "or is it just the female empowerment thing." So I told him the truth, that I wanted the piece to reflect both a 70s version of her as well as a 1940s version, and that the composition was inspired by a Terry Dodson Wonder Woman poster, plus I wanted to reference the TV show too:

60s-70s style


Golden Age comics style - 1940s

The Terry Dodson poster

Lynda Carter as TVs Wonder Woman.

Here's what I've got so far, for those that forgot:

At this, the nerd boy had a visible reaction. The reaction was like as if he'd won a bet, won the lottery, won something, but also was forced to bottle up his celebratory instinct. When I said "Terry Dodson" he did a little jump and made a little noise. I surmised that he and his friends had a little debate over whether I knew comics or was just into the symbolic WW. And he went out on the nerd version of an epic journey for truth. Then I was like, his super friend and he wanted to talk comics and specifically artists, because everyone knows who Captain America is, but few people know the cadre of artists who brought him to life by name.

So, after all these years of being queen nerd, crown weighing down all chances of thinking myself even remotely cool, I get the late-in-life Nerd SAT exam. And you know how I approach exams. They are the nerd version of a fight. I win all my fights.

We left soon after that, and nerd boy #2 tried to catch me on the way out, with purse in hand, and asked if I liked some random obscure artist, like a final exam. He actually had to raise his voice for the last part of the question because I was walking out the door. But I just said "bye" and now he will never know. I swear there is a movie in this somewhere.

I wonder if they had seen a guy with a comic-related tattoo that was wearing chucks, a hoodie, and glasses (my swanky Saturday night attire), would they have entertained the notion that he didn't know comics and was just into getting a fun tattoo? Would they have gone on a similar mission to uncover the nerd-poseur in their midst?

Sigh...probably NOT.

Meanwhile, your nerd quotient goes down with every tattoo, even the nerd-related ones! Who knew?

LB Comic Con Pt. 1

Man it is tough to get into fall when it's 92 here at the beach. It's officially October. Come on! By keeping all curtains closed in my apartment, and putting the fan on oscillate, I have managed somehow to avoid being sweaty in my own home. The portable AC unit is working, but expensive, so I try to only use it on days when it's unbearable. Meanwhile, in my future city of Philadelphia it's currently 52 degrees. People there get to wear jackets. I have about 5 cute 52 degree weather jackets gathering dust right now. Next year, hopefully I'll be wearing them and drinking pumpkin lattes, not once thinking about whether my makeup is melting.

Anyway, complainypants can take a seat, because I am gonna have a big awesome weekend. Not only is my Wonder Woman tattoo going to get some color-which I am super excited about-but M. got me a weekend pass to the first annual Long Beach Comic Convention. Yep, Long Beach gets its own ComicCon. I didn't even know about it until a few days ago, but thankfully M. cares about his community and reads the local paper. The convention will have a lot of famous people in the comics world, as well as a Robot Chicken panel, with Seth Green.
I've been a big Seth Green fan for a long time. He's the go to guy in Hollywood when you want to cast a nerd with sympathetic qualities (which is what I like to think I am). He was Scott Evil in the Austin Powers movies. And he played a role in the heist film The Italian Job, which I saw on my first date with M. But I will always love him as Oz from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

There are at least 5 female artists on the list of guests, one of them being Amanda Conner, who is working on Power Girl now, but was one of the first artists to work on the Vampirella comics.

Stan Lee is going to be there. Which is cool and gives the con some credibility for sure, but I'm there, of course for the learnin' and for the ladies.

The best part of this convention is that it seems to be focused on artists, with a lot of panels aimed at developing skills in digital art, character building, and narrative structure. I'm looking forward to those. Here's hoping there are other ladies there who like comics and I'm not the only woman there not in some kind of costume. No, I'm not going in costume. I think my costume choices are pretty limited if I'm going to do a comic character. I'd have to do someone from Love and Rockets and I don't think anyone would get it.

I'll let you know how it goes....

New Website For Ava

Hey folks, I've been working hard on my comic, Axis of Ava: The Undead Adventures of Ava Perez. This weekend was made up of 30% work for next week's classes and 70% work on the new website. Yes, that's right, Axis of Ava finally has its own website with a comic-friendly design. Click on this link to visit her new home: www.axisofava.com!




There's a neat list of comics I visit on the regular on the website, so you can check out some professionals and their cool work.

Designing websites is hard work, and I'm kind of glad I'm too poor to afford a decent web designer, because it was a good, if not necessarily fun, learning experience.

I've even got my own nifty e-mail address: sandra@axisofava.com

The blog is still up and will be used for the wordy aspects of publishing an online comic. Research I've been doing, any progress Ava's made outside of my little group of readers who know me (if that happens), and anything else that I can think of. So visit the blog too.



For those of you who don't already know, Axis of Ava is my webcomic. I write, ink, and color the thing. It's my way of not just commenting on pop culture, but making it as well. It's about a half-vampire, half-human gal living in Long Beach, California who spends her time fighting vampires, saving humans, and sometimes vice-versa. Go check it out.

Next Year

Next year I'm going to SD Comic Con. It's a reality. I'm saving right now. Ok, I have nothing to save right now, but I will! I didn't have the cash or the info that you have to buy tickets months in advance. Whatevs. I'm missing awesome things this year. Johnny Depp at the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland panel, the True Blood panel (ps, they are selling a real blood orange soda drink in True Blood bottles, for real at HBO), a panel with Eliza Dushku and other ladies about women superheroes. Sigh. Anyway, I thought this picture from yesterday was funny:


Why does she always pose like that? It's like she constantly needs to pee. I feel for her and her obvious discomfort at all things publicity related. Kristen Stewart is currently filming the Runaways movie and she plays Joan Jett, so her hair is what it is for a reason. But why the matching outfits on the guys? And have you ever tied your medium t-shirt like that? By the way, the guy who plays Jacob really bulked up. Mad props to him for begging to keep the role.