Archive for the Events Category


Why We Tell Stories About Stories, at Harvard

November 8th, 2013

wtitle1Sorry for being away for so long. Obviously, I had to spend some days with my family. But in the midst of death life goes on.

Wednesday I had the chance to present my lecture on LGBTQ Audience Interpretation of Comics and Manga to a Gender Studies class at Harvard, thanks to the generosity of Prof. Kerey Luis, a good friend of ours at Yuricon. (And thanks to her wife and another good friend, Jude, for coming and getting us at the airport and chauffeuring us. Thanks so very much to both of you for dinner and fantastic conversation!)

This is the lecture I did at Montclair University’s Chibi-con this past summer and a similar lecture to the one I did in Kanagawa University last month. (Here is the the full-text of the lecture and companion slides to the Kanagawa University lecture. I hope to get the videos up soonish)

The basic idea is that we, as an audience, always reinterpret media as we consume it, through filters we create to fill our own needs. You can most easily see this in fanfic and fanart.. We recreate characters and situations to suit ourselves and tell the stories we want to hear. The first half of the lecture is me introducing myself, my writing and Yuricon, “Worldshaking” Fanfic and Okazu, and the second, more infinitely interesting half is comic pages presented without context, that the audience has to discuss and tell me what they think is going on.

The lecture went well, and the students were very receptive, and then we got to listen to them present and discuss issues of fandom. It was exhilarating, honestly.

Now that the lecture is done for the year, I’ve put the whole thing up, with my notes from Kanagawa on Slideshare. But since the good stuff is the class talking to me about how each panel makes them feel, you’ll have to do the work yourself to make the lecture interesting. ^_^

I am now taking applications for 2014, if you’d like to have me speak for your class, organization or event. Feel free to contact me!





So You’d Like Me to Speak at Your Event

October 22nd, 2013

As a person “invited” several times a year to events that then are confused as to what the word “Guest” entails, I wanted to explain a few things about inviting people to your event:

 

Before you invite someone to speak at your event, know something about what they do.

If you are inviting a funny, but controversial, comedian, you would attend a show first so you know what you are getting into.

If you invite me to speak, please do not assure me that the Yuri panel is all ages, until I get there and find that it has been listed as 18+ only. I do not do 18+ panels. They skeeve me. They are always the opposite of mature. Yuri is not about sex. It’s a genre with a literary history, about which I will gladly educate and engage in discussion.

I do not show videos. I guess some folks are no longer capable of enjoying a panel at an event if images are not beamed into their eyes. If you are asking me to host your zOMG sex! Yuri hentai hour, I respectfully decline. If you’re asking me for a suggestion of a decent Yuri anime to show at your event, just ask. You don’t need me there – the answer is Aoi Hana, contact rightstuf.com for permissions.

If you’ve attended a Yuri Panel or lecture by me, you have seen what I provide. I do not do something else.

 

When you “invite” someone to speak at your event, they become your responsibility.

If they are flying in they, need to know where they will be met and taken care of. If they are driving in they need to know where to park, where they will be met and taken care of.

Someone needs to be there at the airport, train station, car park, to help them through the minutiae of a strange city.

You are the host, they are the guest. Do not leave a guest to make their own arrangements for such things. Of course if you are local to me, I’m glad to handle my own arrangements, but as soon as an event outside my hour or so in the car ride radius, I’ll need you to step up.

You need to lay out what you will do to make their attendance at your event as friction-free as possible. Let them know what you are willing to do for them and what you cannot possibly do. In a sense, you are applying to them to get them as a guest.

 

Don’t assume your event is worth making an effort to get to. 

This is the #1 disconnect I encounter on a regular basis. Events ask me to speak all the time, but provide no transportation, accommodation or food options. (Or, possibly they offer me hot dogs and bagels in their staff room.) I am not a college student. I do not wish to spend my time and money attending your event, only to be given the option of sharing a room with staff, and eating warm yogurt in your green room. Thank you, but no. Unless your town is otherwise on my bucket list, I probably won’t come without at least a token effort on your part. Free admission to your event may not be a draw for me, if your event isn’t otherwise a must-go for me.

 

Before you “invite” someone to your event, make sure your Con Chair and the entire organizing committee is backing you.

I cannot tell you how often I am invited by Programming or the Guest Person, only to agree, clear my schedule then learn that, oh wait, the Con Chair already spent that money on some other guest. To be very honest. this has happened so many times that at this point I no longer say yes to small events unless they can confirm upfront that they are not wasting my time. “Informal” invites, are not invitations – you’re asking me to pay my own way to your event for your own entertainment.

 

Talk to your Organizing Committee, come up with a formal procedure for inviting guests.

To make your event process as smooth as possible, develop a Chain of Command on guest invites. For instance: Anyone can suggest  potential guest. Org Com. votes on it. If suggestion is approved, Guest Chair writes out proposal – Programming and Con Chair have to approve it, so they know what they will be on the hook for. Then you ask potential Guest.  Have your offers and answers ready – We’ll provide XYZ, you provide ABC.  No, we can’t fly you First class, but we can offer a plus one, etc, etc.

 

If it doesn’t work out, there are no hard feelings.

Please do not be annoyed if I reject your offer. I’m not annoyed at you, I promise. This is business. It just isn’t going to work for me to fly myself out to your event, pay for my own hotel room, so I can sell a few books and do a panel for you. Thanks anyway.

 

I know you’re doing your best to run your event. Consider this advice from someone who has been there before you and wants you to not have to reinvent the wheel. ^_^





Whispered Words, NYCC Friday Report

October 14th, 2013

nycc-logo-2013-loWith Herculean effort, I managed to spend Friday at New York Comic Con. This is the second year in a row life has thrown spectacularly bad timing my way in regards to NYCC. Last year you may remember I was in the hospital, and this year I flew in from Japan the day it began. As a result everyone I spoke to was doing a slow spin as we stood there. ^_^

My main reason for being there was to discuss the upcoming release of Sasamekikoto in English as Whispered Words. To that end, I sat down with Robert McGuire of One Peace Books and GEN Manga.

One Peace was created in 2006. They distribute globally. Recently they brought over the long-running manga Crayon Shin-chan and have the title Black Bard coming soon (which thrills my wife no end.)  Robert says that they were actively looking for a Yuri title and Media Factory, publisher of Black Bard, made it possible for them to get Sasamekikoto. (For those of you not familiar with the series, I have an entire category on the topic, but be warned the anime is no longer available on Crunchyroll and the manga reviews will contain some spoilers.)

Robert confirmed that they’d be publishing the book in three 3-in-1 omnibus volumes. The first omnibus is scheduled for Spring 2014, the next is scheduled for Fall 2014 and the final one for Spring 2015. Editorializing a tad here, I think omnibus format is a great choice for the release. The price point for the pre-order on Amazon is a mere $12.43, and if the last two follow suit, you’ll have all 9 volumes for about $30 over a period of only a year.

When asked about e-formats, Robert replied, “One Peace plans to convert it and distribute to all major digital stores, kindle, nook, apple, etc.” I know I’m really pleased about that. I genuinely like reading comics on my tablet. In many ways, it’s the perfect device for them.

So, good price point, good value, good schedule and multiple formats. If the quality of reproduction is good – and I have every expectation that it and the translation will be – this could set a benchmark for Yuri manga in the west.

Robert and I spent a lot of time talking about being small press publishers and we discussed GEN’s plans a bit. Like ALC, GEN deals directly with the manga artists and does some really interesting doujinshi anthologies and individual volumes. Robert gave me and I read VS Aliens on the way home, which starts off as a kind of creepy story, but ends up as a utterly grin-making cheezeball romance. ^_^  GEN is broadening their focus a bit, as well, with an upcoming BL release, and they are continuing with their anthology, GEN Manga.

Robert assured me that One Peace is interested in other Yuri titles, so we’ll be talking again. (Additionally, we floated the possibility of a promotion here on Okazu, so keep your eyes peeled for that. ^_^) Robert assured me that One Peace intends to publish the whole series, of course, but it’s really up to the readers to make it successful enough to continue. Pre-orders go a long way to making bigger print runs possible, better longevity and more availability. (And let me take the opportunity to thank all of you who ran out and pre-ordered the first volume when I announced it! You are awesome super-fans. ^_^)

Thanks to Robert for taking time out to speak with me about Whispered Words. We’re all looking forward to it. ^_^

Moving on, in their pre-con industry conference, ICV2 reported that, generally speaking, comics sales are stable to good in America and that manga is filling up a good chunk of slots in the best selling comics lists. I urge you to look at the September best seller list. The mix of manga, superhero comics, indie and even comic strips looks…dare I say it?…healthy. Notably, Alison Bechdel’s stunningly fabulous autobiographical comic, Fun Home, is on the list, no doubt driven by news of the musical based on the book.

Walking around NYCC, the top cosplayed anime/manga series was definitely Attack on Titan. Which brings me to…

I had a chance  to speak with Ben Applegate at the Kodansha booth for a very long time. We discussed the good timing of both anime and manga for Attack on Titan being simultaneously available – something that rarely happens in the west –  and how that’s helped the series popularity. But, Ben made the point that the real reason the series is popular is that it is full of great characters – including, he feels, a strong lineup of female characters and androgynous /gender ambivalent character Hanji. I promised him I’d read it and let him know what I think.

I then attended one panel – CBLDF presented Carol Tilley’s discussion of the infighting, rivalries, misrepresentation and general bitchiness that led to Frederic Wertham’s infamous anti-comics screed, Seduction of the Innocents, and the Senate subcommittee hearings that led to the gutting of the American comic industry and the creation of the Comic Code.This panel was fantastic. You can read Carol’s article about her research on BoingBoing and I urge you to do so. Although the Comic Code is history and the CBLDF owns the rights to the name and images, the reputation comics acquired has lingered. In the 50s, the Senate went after publishers. In the 70s and 80s, lawmakers went after comics retailers and now, readers can find themselves targeted. Just in case you think that we’re done with that nonsense, I remind you of the September House hearings on videogame violence and the (non-existent) link to mass shootings.

The rest of my day was taken up with people. I was able to meet briefly with A Case Suitable For Treatment’s Sean Gaffney, Comic Fusion Owner Stacy, and an old friend of mine from high school whom I have not seen for 30 years. That was kind of amazing. ^_^

Had a lovely, dishy discussion about comics with  First Comics publisher Ken Levin, who was responsible for bringing manga classic Lone Wolf and Cub to the USA.

And I met up with and had many discussions with vociferous campaigner for diversity and equality in American superhero comics and in the comics industry, rabid Stephanie Brown fan – and my dear friend –  KyraX2, the infamous Batgirl of San Diego Comic Con. Time with her is always well spent. We debated much about our roles as women with opinions on the Internet and cognitive authorities. She is a much, much nicer person than I am, and wants people to communicate better. I suggest matches to the death. ^_^

My day finished off with an unspeakably good dinner and conversation with Manga Bookshelf‘s Melinda Beasi and Mangablog‘s Brigid Alverson.

For any one of these conversations, it would have been a great day – for all of them, it was a brilliant blur of mad genius. Short as it was, my attendance was highly productive both personally and professionally. I sincerely hope that next year I can make it there for more than one day and hopefully get a few more interviews for you!





Event: Manga Lecture in Yokohama

October 7th, 2013

Tomorrow you can find me at Kanagawa University, talking about LGBTQ audience and comics and manga.

The program is open to the public. The lecture will be in English.

Weaving Our Stories Through Manga and Comics: LGBTQ audiences and Re-telling Stories
October 8, 4:20PM – 5:50PM
Building 20, Room 109
Sponsor: James Welker, Department of Cross-Cultural Studies
Kanagawa University

マンガとコミックを通して私たちの物語を織る
１０月８日、 16:20 to 17:50
ビル20、 109室
スポンサー: ジェームズ・ウェルカー、学部国際文化交流学科
神奈川大学





Convention Harassment and What We Can All Do To Help

July 5th, 2013

If you have read any comics industry news in the last year or so, you’ve probably run into reports of a person having been harassed at a convention. For many of you reading this, you may have been the victim of harassment for one reason or another.

As we’re in full convention season swing (and I am moving at the rate of molasses through my piles of books to review,) I thought it might be nice to note that the issue is getting some very excellent commentary these days – that is to say, it’s not just the loud obnoxious few who are being heard.

In particular, I want to draw your attention to John Scalzi, who is the Hero of Nerds everywhere. A few weeks ago, he wrote a post about a female friend who had been harassed at a convention, and he gave his well-read blog over to her article Reporting Harassment at a Convention: A First-Person How To. If you, for any reason, have been harassed, please read this post.

Some folks thought the article was putting the responsibility on the victim to make something happen. On Twitter, Matthesen pointed out that that was not her meaning, but that if a report is going to be made, there was a more effective way to do it, and a less effective way.

A lot of people were talking about the post, and a conclusion of sorts was reached that there are three responsible parties in any harassment situation – the lion’s share of the responsibility is with the harasser. But the convention must also take some responsibility. Events should have publicly posted anti-harassment policies that are consistent, with staff that knows how to implement them. And, should someone flout the policy, it’s good idea to keep Matthesen’s rules for “How To Report” an issue in mind.

This week Scalzi put into place the first thing WE can do. When he gets an invitation from an event to be a guest, he is now going to check and confirm the event has a publicly posted anti-harassment policy.

And it dawned on me that we can all do something like that. We’re not all famous, but as con-runners, staff, volunteers, vendors, guests, industry and yes, attendees, each one of us can do *something* to make events safer and more welcoming for everyone.

Con-runners/Organizers – Sit down with Senior Staff and discuss your con’s anti-harassment policy. You and I know that attendees may be literal-minded and if your policy is not specific they will argue with you that it “wasn’t against the policy.” Be specific. Otakon, for instance has a very non-specific policy in 2013: We also have a general policy that we do not tolerate disruptive behavior of any sort, and we can and will take action when we see something we feel is dangerous or disruptive. That is, IMHO, a terrible policy, because flawed human nature makes it really easy to see the crying victim as the “disruptive” party.

2018 Note: Otakon’s policy this year is even worse. It has detailed discussion of everything…except harassment, which is mentioned once: “The sorts of things that may trigger such action include but are not limited to: fighting (fake or real), heckling, impeding traffic flow, offensive behavior, harassment, failure to observe basic hygiene, public inebriation/intoxication, or any other failure to follow the rules and directions of staff members. ” 

That’s not a policy. 

A much better policy would specify that “any speech or behavior that is prejudicial, harassing, demeaning or discriminatory on the grounds of color, race, religion, dis/ability, sexuality, gender or gender presentation will be considered disruptive” would be much less open to interpretation.

2019 Update: Otakon has taken this much more seriously this year. It’s a stark improvement. Now they need to work on the procedure.

Every con should have a policy. Period. It’s the first step every event can and should make to ensure the event is safe for everyone. Which leads me to:

Con Staff – If you’re working with a con in a position of any rank, check right now to see if your con has a specific, enforceable policy against harassment. If not, make it your business to get one added to the con site and program book.  To see if the con you volunteer with has a clear policy, check out the Geek Feminism’s Conference Anti-harassment Policy page – or if you know your con does have a policy, make sure it’s public, visible, and known! Know *who* on staff is responsible for what. Who gets notified – what will happen? Make it your job to tell the folks working with you and for you, so everyone is on the same page.

Every single staff member and volunteer should know the 1-2-3 Steps for handling harassment issues presented to them.

  1. Make sure the person is OK. (If not, get help *immediately* Even if that means you’re not watching that door anymore.)
  2. Know who to contact to handle the situation. (Junior staff and volunteers should not be taking reports like this. Have a person or persons on staff whose job it it to immediately address these situations.)
  3. Do NOT try to Fix the situation. If it can’t be fixed with duct tape, it cannot be fixed by you. Find the person who is trained to handle it – as quickly as possible –  then hand the person off with encouragement and comfort.

Volunteers – When you get your training and/or assignment, make it your business to learn what the policy is, what you can and can’t do, who to contact, etc. If no one tells you, ask! Ask what the policy is, who you should contact and where they might be found.

Industry and Vendors – At the very least make sure all your representatives know the event policies (and your policies) and ensure that they do not find themselves on the wrong end of them. If one of your reps is involved, please be prepared to take responsibility. Report harassment when you see it – so, know who you need to contact. Vendors, especially, if you can be counted on to be a safe haven when a problem arises, that would be nice. I know you’re busy, but someone might really need an act of kindness just then.

Guests – I’m not asking you to follow Scalzi’s lead,but…yes, I am asking you all to follow Scalzi’s lead. You are a Guest and you have some pull. Require the events that host you to step up to the plate and have a clear, public policy.

Attendees – Look for the con’s policies online, in the program book, or on a sign. If you do not see one, ask if there is one and how can people learn about it? Read the policy. Ask yourself – if someone was vile to you or someone you love, would that policy protect you? Go to the con after-session, write the con chair and ask for a public, specific policy if there is none. Make it your business to make your con a safer place for everyone. Don’t go vigilante on the con – work with them. Ask politely *who* is responsible for taking reports. Ask them if they can make the policy clearer, or assign a senior staff member to take reports. Don’t confront, don’t harass, just offer to help. And, if something happens to you, don’t be afraid to report it. You didn’t do anything wrong.

We’re at the tipping point. Fandom is for all fans and so it makes sense for all fans to take a hand in making fandom a safe, welcoming space for everyone. ^_^