Photos: The First Asian American ComiCon

This past weekend, NYC hosted the first ever Asian American ComiCon. My top three highlights:

1) Fantastic original art for auction to benefit the Museum of Chinese in America.


2) The NerdPop panel, which featured the following quote by Derek Kirk Kim on how nerdiness is relative: "Sometimes I think I'm a nerd because I watch Star Trek, then I meet actual Star Trek fans and I realize I'm just a normal person."

3) The Writer's Bloc panel, which yielded some really sincere and down-to-earth advice about writing, as well as one amazing anecdote from original GI Joe writer Larry Hama. He recounted a semi-recent pitch for a new GI Joe series that would have re-imagined the characters as more realistic, modern solider archetypes. This would have included Snake Eyes as "the owner of a kid's karate school in North Carolina", who had simply imagined his own epic ninja dojo backstory. The entire audience gasped at the brilliance of this idea, and we were all collectively crushed when Hama told us how the publisher passed on the series.

Many more pictures are up on Geekanerd's Flickr, including a doodle battle between Cliff Chiang and Sean Chen, shots from Artist's Alley, and more auction items.

NYC'S First Ever Asian American ComiCon - Now With Gnerd Discount Code

Every time I go to a comic convention, I see tons of Asian American girls and guys in attendance, as well as on panels and behind the tables in artists alley. It's lame that this kind of representation doesn't usually transfer into the actual pages of mainstream American comics, where the highest profile Asian American superhero is...maybe Cass Cain? Is she the new Batman yet?

With this imbalance in mind, a band of creators within the Asian comic community have recently embarked on some awesome projects that give Asian Americans in comics the spotlight. April saw the release of Secret Identities: The first Asian American Comic Anthology, and this Saturday, Manhattan will host the first Asian American ComiCon.

More info after the jump, including details on Geekanerd's very own discount code!


The AACC will feature a bunch of top tier writers and artists who all share an Asian American background (including those folks in the picture above), and will feature such comic con staples as an artist's alley and a day's worth of panels. Topics range from the general, such as advice on storytelling, collaborating, and the business of comics, as well as more socio-anthropological topics such as nerd pride, the Asianization of pop culture, and one area of comics where Asian characters are becoming OVER represented (villains!).

I'm definitely going to be taking my non-Asian self there early on Saturday (maybe I'll finally get a Cliff Chiang sketch?!), and the folks behind the Con have been cool enough to give Geekanerd readers their own discount code: GEEKNY! It'll give you $5 off general admission and $10 off a VIP pass; hit the link for more info, and head over to the official site for time and place, a full schedule and the list of guests. They've also got a Facebook page; you know, for kids!

Wear A Bikini, You Zombie, You!

One of my favorite Homestar Runner memes is "Wear a Bikini!" I always thought it...it was so funny when they said that.

My point is bikinis are funny. What happens when you put something so funny on the most TERRIFYING CREATURE EVER THOUGHT OF? Scariness of hilarity? HILSCARITY?

I'm sleep deprived. Wednesday night saw the return of Drinking and Drawing to NYC. Drinking and Drawing is an event hosted by Frederator Studios that combines the grind of cell animation with the fun of getting drunk in a bar. The fine examples of zombie art above were part of the sketch wall. Some great pieces there, be sure to click for full detail (can you tell which one is mine? HINT: It's unprofessional!). This however was mere practice for the main event...


Animation party! Drinking and Drawing shorts are produced thusly: 10 lightboxes are set up in a bar (M1-5 Bar in this case), and participants are given a theme and invited to draw up to 8 frames within ten minutes, at the end of which someone else takes over the station, and picks up where the last frame left off. You can draw anything you want, as long as it's a zombie wearing a bikini!

It's even more stressful than it sounds! More after the jump...

I was part of the very first group to go up and sketch, and man did I blow it. I am GLAD I didn't take any pictures of my cells, because it wasn't pretty. I blame the fact that we were forced to use crayons. No one uses crayons except babies and serial killers. And I am neither, sir.

I'm now anxiously awaiting the fully animated result, which will be posted on DrinkingandDrawing.org. If my 8 frames create any semblance of movement, I will be happy and surprised. In the mean time you can check out some past product. You know what I notice about these past animations? THEY'RE NOT IN CRAYON. Goddammit.


This is supposed to be a semi-regular event, and despite the stress I was made to suffer, I would highly recommend it. It's free, and there are lots of cool looking nerds around. Keep an eye on the site for the next outing, or just watch our Weekanerd sidebar, because it's sure to show up there.

More photos (with sketch details) on the Gnerd Flickr!

Photos: Friday at the 2009 BookExpo America

Though the bulk of our collective attention may be split between the siren songs of DVR, the internet, and video games, I think most geeks maintain a special place in their hearts for regular old books. It's certainly true of me, and it's why I love the BookExpo America, North America's biggest book publishing convention. The sheer concentration of booths filling the Javits Center in Manhattan makes the NY Comic Con look like the Montgomery Flea Market.

I was able to pick up review copies of a few upcoming comics (including the very awesome looking Pixu) and I'll be posting about those soon. In the meantime, here are some Friday highlights (frilights?) from the convention floor...

As you may already know, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies from Quirk Books is a paperback best-seller, cultural phenom, and further proof that geek memes are pushing their way into the cultural mainstream. The formula is fiendishly simple; take the ultimate romance novel, insert zombie mayhem, and publish to a waiting nation of zombie fanatics. Love that public domain!

At the Quirk Books booth, publishing reps were promoting a new Deluxe Edition of PPZ coming out this winter, which will include "30% more zombies". I half-jokingly asked the rep if this addition was a concession to reader demands, and she answered in all seriousness, "Yes, we got a lot of reader feedback on the subject."

The big news is that on July 15th, the next "...With Zombies" title will be announced. The only hints I could get out of the rep were:

1. It won't be another Jane Austen book
2. It will take place in the Regency era (I'm guessing they'll stick with the Romance genre too)

I'll call it now: Jane Eyre With Zombies. Maybe cause that's the only Regency era book I can think of that isn't Jane Austen.



Neil Gaiman was signing copies of The Graveyard Book at the Harper Collins booth, bringing fans to tears with a mere word or touch of his hand. The autograph line was absolutely soul-crushing, so I just snapped a picture and moved on. We're BFF on twitter, though.

Life-sized Clifford is actually pretty frightening.


Let's talk bookmarks. Old and busted.....

NEW HOTNESS:
It took me a minute to understand the point of an XMarxit, but it's actually pretty smart. You point the dot at the spot you stopped reading, so when you open up the book you know exactly where you left off. Boom. Elegant it's simplicity.

And if you ever need to prove that you're a bigger nerd than someone else, whipping out a speciality bookmark is going to be your ace in the hole.


The idea of making a tiny Ultimate Fighting ring for the Ultimate Fighting book to live in is totally adorable, but I question whether it's a good idea to give Beat-Em-Up gloves to a person who is so obsessed with Ultimate Fighting that they'd want this thing in their house. Someone in that house is going to get punched, that's all I'm saying.


From the publisher's notes: "Meet all these cute baby animals that find clever ways to solve their not-so-small problems". I have a problem with crying when I read children's books. I didn't even try to read these on the floor because there would have been trouble.


Oh look, it's a little tiny novelty book!

Or is it....?I can't decide if this is a great idea or not. Playaway is a self-contained audiobook - you'd just get it from the library or as a gift, plug headphones in, and listen to it like an iPod. It's kind of cool to not have to transfer CDs to your computer to your music player before listening to something, and the "tiny book" visual impact is definitely appealing.

My biggest problem is the packaging...

WHAT THE HELL? Why would you create a giant VHS sized package for something that's smaller than a cellphone? Just because something is going to be housed in a library doesn't mean it HAS to look uncool.


In case you were wondering what to get your mom for Christmas. My mom might actually like this, actually.

Reuniting the Sunnydale Class of 1999

Can you believe it's been ten years since Buffy Summers and her wacky pals graduated high school? How old does that make you? Pretty old, probably.

Last night, Whedonites of all ages gathered at the Manhattan JCC to celebrate those magical high school years when Cordelia, Oz and Angel were series regulars, Buffy was not clinically depressed, Dawn still an inter-dimensional SuperKey and Willow was still crushing on boys. Okay so maybe I personally am actually a bigger fan of the later seasons (and possibly for those same reasons?!?), but still. Faith!

The free event was put together by the folks who gave us that beloved geek institution The Buffy Sing Along, a fully-interactive screening of Once More With Feeling (that's the Buffy Musical Episode for you dilettantes). The Buffy Sing Along was of course tragically shut down in 2007 by the same suited geniuses at Fox who killed Firefly and Dollhouse.

That said, the event-planners at the reunion put together a delciously nerdy evening, complete with Buffy AMVs, a trivia contest (won appropriately by a group called The Firsts), and A SUPER SECRET MAIN EVENT which I totally cannot blog about because they asked us not to, for reasons which may be clear from this very post!

The whole extravaganza will be repeated on June 2nd at Brooklyn hipster-nerd magnet Galapagos, but this time with BOOZE! That's right, it's the Sunnydale Reunion: BRONZE EDITION. Buy your ticket now, and be sure to wear your best 90s gear and/or Vampire outfit. That means a leather jacket.

More scans from the "Class of 99: Where Are They Now?" after the jump...it's so full of Buffy Season 8 in-jokes your brain might explode. From insiderness.

Photos: Lightsaber Battle in Washington Square Park

Newmindspace, the nutty funsters behind the recent Wall Street Pillow Fight, were the brains behind Saturday's free-for-all cardboard lightsaber battle. They provided 3,000 florescent tubes to the crowd, plus a bunch of black lights to get the glow action started.

The effect was...okay. The blacklights didn't cover much of the crowd, so you really had to use the unlimited powers of your imagination to believe the cardboard tubes were elegant Jedi weapons. I didn't hear many people making "VMM VMM KSS" sounds effects, so I'm not sure if the whole lightsaber theme really held up.

Still, it's not every day you get to hit strangers with cardboard tubes. More pix after the jump.


Some masochistic individuals (probably siths) got into cardboard boxes and allowed people to go totally apeshit on them. Good times!

Discarded lightsabers.

More pics at Geekanerd's Flickr page.

Photos: Spooky Custom Toys

Halloween 08 wasn't all costume parties for the Gnerd staff. We also hit up Lower East Side's APW Gallery to check out the Halloween Custom Toy Show, featuring over forty artist's custom work on Dunnys, Munnys, Smorkin Labbits, Be@rbricks, and more.

my personal favorite pair, by Pocketwookie and Jared Cain

Lots more pictures after the jump, and find out how you can order one of these babies for your own personal collection...

this fuzzy octothing by hollypop gets my vote for "creepiest of show"

General Grevious meets Edward Scissorhands? This piece by Jurgen van Zachten clocks in at $1,500

Is that the Phantom of the Opera?

These guys are part of a new DIY toy line called OUIP, and were shipped in all the way from Korea

another favorite...IJG3's adorably evil take on the smorkin' labbit

Credit where it's due to the organizers of the event, Kerry Lee, Hans Yim, and Patrick Francisco. For more information on the show (including artist info and a full price-list), check APW Gallery's official site.

Geekanerd's Halloween Costume Bingo: 2008 Edition

Back by popular demand, a Geekanerd Halloween tradition...

Click on the above graphic to get a full 5x5 card. You'll be taken to our custom-made RANDOM BINGOTRON CARD GENERATOR, where you can generate as many cards as you want.

Now make yourself a good card, print it out, and play against your ghoulish pals at your local Halloween party or parade.

Forget how this works? FAQ after the jump!

Frequently Asked Questions:

How's this work again?
If you see someone wearing a costume on your card, cross out the space. First person to get a row wins.

What if my opponent lies and says he saw something when he didn't?
Both parties have to see the costume, unless you are both unfalteringly honest people.

What if I see a costume I need, but my opponent has it on his game card too, and I don't want him to get the space?
Take a cell phone pic, and show it to your opponent after the costume in question is long gone.

I don't have a cell phone camera.
Can't help you.

Why is Joker the free space? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a free space?
If you go the whole night without seeing someone dressed as The Joker, your town is either impressively innovative and original or really out-of-it and lame.

What happens if I win?
The loser has to buy you an Incredible Hulk at a local tavern, and you have to drink it.

What if neither one of us ever gets a row?
You should have generated a better card, loser! Whoever has more spaces checked wins.

Why don't you have Sarah Palin/Joe The Plumber/The Olsen Twins/Sexy Nurse on here?!?
This is Geekanerd. We're only interested in geek iconography.

Does Sexy Batman count as Batman? Does a dog ninja count as a ninja? Does Sarah Palin Hermione count as Hermione? Does steampunk Spider-Man count as Spider-Man?

Yes, yes, hell yes, and omg yes. Any and all riffs are fair game (except a non-Nurse Joker doesn't count as a Nurse Joker, cause... It just doesn't).

Is this really an annual tradition?
Yessir. Here's last year's card. As a matter of fact I played last year against my famous girlfriend at the West Village Halloween parade and er, I can't remember who won.

Photos: NYC's First Annual Great Big Wheel Race

This was a busy weekend for the Geekanerd photo team - our fair city was host to two great events, the ZombieCon and the first annual NYC Big Wheel Race, presented by ZombieUnicorn. I got to cover the race, and I spent the whole time whining about how I wished I was competing. It was that awesome.

As with all of these "weird sports" events, pageantry is a major part of the proceedings. There were plenty of geek-centric costumes, and we've got shots of Ninja Turtles, Batman, and um, Joe Dirt? after the jump...

Please note the triple decker luge-style skateboard....not too functional, but a sight to see.




The race was run in several heats down a paved hill in Central Park, between 103rd street and 107th street. This dude, in his highly appropriate Formula 1 speedsuit, won multiple times. I asked him if he'd souped up his Big Wheel somehow, but he said he'd just picked it up that day for $2 at a garage sale. So I guess it was pure driving skills that got him to the finish line...

...OR WAS IT SABOTAGE?


This was the coolest cart of the day - a very homemade Turtle Van and two Ninja Turtles! It wasn't the fasted rig in the line-up, but they scored major style points for shouting "Turtle Power!" as they made there way down the hill.

Bonus points for a seasonal reference and democracy power!

This was also a ambitiously rendered cart. And yes, that's Norse lettering on the back, spelling out the competitors names. Awesome.

How did we get a Joe Dirt reference in this event? Did that movie have more cultural significance than first assumed?

Dangit, sorry this is blurry. Two fine nerdy costumes! Batman and....uh. I thought this was Speed Racer at the time, but I think I'm wrong. Someone help me please.

Here's another shot of that crazy triple-skateboard.

The sweet logo. Go ZombieUnicorn! This event was massively successful, with an unscientifically estimated turnout of, oh, like 50 racers, maybe? Spectators gathered all along the route, and after a few heats, tons of photographers were clogging up the starting line. I'd expect next year to be even bigger, so next time you see a big wheel in a trashcan, nab it and save it for next fall.

For lots more great photos of the event, check out our new friend Hbomb's coverage of the event over at Flickr! He got some of the costumes we missed, including the wheel-less Ziggy Stardust!