Podcast - Episode 49: Fandom, Fanfic and Friends!

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Dave is away this week so I have invited a couple of Twitter friends to join me on this episode. I talk to Rebecca in England and Jacqui in Philadelphia, two super hero fans who I have only talked to via Twitter up to this point. It was fun talking to them! We talk about all sorts of things: fandom, fan fiction, inclusion in comics and film casting, Sebastian Stan, Bucky, The Winter Soldier...

Hey, Dave might actually listen to this week's episode (and last week's) because he's not on them! He hates listening to his own voice! Unlike me! I ONLY want to listen to my own voice!

Speaking of self-indulgence, I use my old band's music for the transitions throughout this episode. But honestly that's more because I don't understand how copyright laws work for music in podcast episodes, and I am reasonably sure my former bandmates/current best friends won't sue me.

It was really nice talking to both Rebecca and Jacqui this week. It's nice to be reminded that you can meet really nice people on social media, not just loud jerks. 

Jacqui has a podcast too! It's called Digging Diversely and you can check it out here!

Oh, and she mentions a recent incident where some girls approached a random stranger in NYC to get help with their scavenger hunt, and it turned out to be Sebastian Stan. You can see the details/photo of that here:

Jacqui did not mention how CRAZY HOT Sebastian looked in the photo. I guess it kinda goes without saying.

I just want to say a few more words about fanfic here, because I didn't really get into my own reasons for liking it too much. 

Here are some reasons I like fanfic in general:

  1. It can be a useful way to add in "deleted scenes" to canon stories that you already love;
  2. It gives writers a place to practice their craft and gives them a supportive audience;
  3. It allows fans to explore characters beyond what you see on the screen/page;
  4. It brings all sorts of new ideas about characters and story details to the table;
  5. It adds inclusive characters to films/shows/books where there may not have been any before.

Here are some reasons I like "slash" fic in particular:

  1. It's hot;
  2. The fan community is a safe space where you are almost definitely not going to find a straight dude ruining everything;
  3. I am boy crazy and why have one hot man in your erotica when you can have two?;
  4. It's erotic entertainment created largely by women that you can consume anywhere, and you don't have to worry about real people being exploited or hurt for your enjoyment;
  5. Sometimes (often) it just makes more sense than the hetero romance the studios/publishers are trying to sell us.

So, yeah. There it is. I love it. If you see me at a coffee shop reading something on my iPad, DON'T bother me.

Thanks again to my guests. Next week Dave will be back for our 50th episode!!!!

World's Finest Wingmen

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You may or may not know the story of World's Finest Comics, so here it is: Originally an anthology book in the fine tradition of Action or Adventure or Detective, World's Finest featured the solo adventures of both Superman and Batman. Accordingly, every cover featured the two, plus Robin, engaged in some kind of wholesome activity, like sledding or playing baseball or shooting Nazis.

See? The scamps are such big fans of one another it just warms your heart. The three appeared on covers together for literally dozens of issues before they ever met up in the course of the story, after which such team-ups became the main thrust of the book. That, however, is unimportant when compared to just how many odd situations were represented in those covers. Case in point:

I just can't stop looking at this cover, my friends. I mean, I know that it's no unusual thing for any of these characters to help out a citizen in a time of trouble, but... these dudes are pretty clearly hitting on the above ladies, right? And Superman in particular... I don't want to sully the Man of Steel's image, but I reckon he might be angling to break in his new Fortress of No Strings Attached.

In any case: one of the greatest covers of all time.

The Only Thing I Read This Week

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Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade #5

This book has been consistently super fun, and this week reached a new height: absolutely bananas.  A time-traveling, alternate-universe Supergirl called, "Supragirl" shows up, along with Comet, the super horse! Lena Luthor transitions from just being a whiny, clingy friend into a purple & green-clad mini-super villain! Belinda creates a Bizzaro army! Streaky not only flies a rocket, but also gets turned into a Bubastis/Battle Cat looking cat dude! Also: Mr. Mxyzptlk, Superman in need of saving and an imminent 8th grade graduation! It's all I could ever want in a comic with "Super" in the title.