It's that time of year again, where people across the country come together to give thanks. We asked some of our bloggers to share what pop culture events in comics, TV, games,movies, etc. they are thankful for this year. Now let's show our gratitude for some of the great things that have happened this year.
(Thanks to Joey Stern, Amber Garza, Nathan Tabak, Rachel Greeman, Shawn Noworyta, Aaron Tabak, and Jon Herzog for helping put this together)
1) Feminists Standing up Against Internet & Video Game Misogyny
#ICYMI The controversial #GamerGate spurned much harrassment of women in social media over a culture war in the gaming community.
Thankfully, despite the harrasment, people like Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency, and independent game developer Brianna Wu, continue to stand up and shine a light on this reprehensible behaviour.
2) More Diversity in Comics ( & Movies)
Both major publishers made a big push to have more titles with female leads this year. In fact there was in increase in diversity all around.
And while some books have been canceled (She-Hulk, Electra, Katana, Birds of Prey), there have been many new editions, like Gotham Academy:
And several have proven themselves to be successful (Yay Kelly Sue DeConnic & Captain Marvel!!)
Speaking of Captain Marvel, this year they announced the Captain Marvel movie and a Black Panther movie coming to theatres in the not too distant future. And while Captain Marvel won't be the first female superhero movie:
It was Supergirl and don't you forget it!
It will be the first female lead movie from Marvel Studios, who have been killing it so far (DC, we are being cautiously optimistic about your forthcoming Wonder Woman solo). Though DC did score some diversity points with the aforementioned WW movie, as well as casting 3 non-white males in major roles.
And they cast Ezra Miller, who identifies as queer, as The Flash.
Hopefully this trend will continue in the coming year!
3) Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie
(photo credit: Rachel Greeman)
Kieron and Jamie continue to give us life this year. Not only did these wonderful storytellers bring us an amazing run of The Young Avengers:
With The Wicked + The Divine, they continued to tell some of the most progressive stories that speak to that troubled 15 year old inside us all. Their inclusion of LGBTQ characters has been refreshing and their approach stands as a blueprint for how young queer characters should be portrayed.
5) Carol from The Walking Dead
Carol has always been a favorite of mine and this season has proven why she is the Strong Female Character that I want on my side during the zombie apocalypse.
6) Glenn Close's Hair in Guardians
Because...reasons.
7) The Geeks OUT Booth
We met so many wonderful people this year at C2E2 and our Mutant High Prom After Party
We also had our first panel at C2E2 on Gay Characters and Creators, featuring- Speakers: Gail Simone, Rachel Deering, Russell Dauterman, Chad Sell, Rogan Josh, and Steve Disme.
And at GaymerX2 where there were some amazing cosplay and panels
Plus we had our first trip to Boston Comic Con! We had such an amazing response, and felt so much love, we could not have had a better time!
This year was our 4th year at NYCC and it keeps getting better and better! We had our most successful NYCC ever!
We hosted a great panel with the New York TimesOUT featuring an impressive array of talent.
Featuring: Luciano Vecchio, Annie Mok, Noelle Stevenson, Phil Jimenez, Kieron Gillen, and Jamie McKelvie
And had a blast at our annual NYCC party Snikt 3: Fastball Special
Finally we ended the year right at Bent-Con:
8) Bent-Con & GaymerX
Speaking of...Bent-Con paved the way for LGBTQ Cons when they started in 2010. Since then, they've grown from having 500 people in attendance to almost 3500. They've helped mainstream diversity in cons, even their president and founder, Sean Z Maker, was on a Gays in Comics Panel at SDCC this year.
G2, or GaymerX, continued the trend with an LGBTQ con focused on gaming and geek culture for the past 2 years. Their tagline "Everyone Games" has never been more relevant.
They blazed the trail first, and showing everyone that there is a large section of people craving LGBTQ inclusive work in geek and pop culture. Thanks to them, Geeks OUT is launching our own 1-day con celebrating the entire rainbow in geek culture.
We are so grateful to all of the people who have already donated to our Kickstarter. Currently we are less than $1000 away from becoming fully funded. If you haven't already, please help make Flame Con a reality and donate today!
What are you thankful for this year? Let us know in the comments!
