Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Walking Around , Being Mediocre , and Being Rewarded For It : An Open Letter To Noelle Stevenson

In 2012 I took notice of an ongoing gag surfacing my dashboard where male superheroes would be put in feminine poses in order to mock certain comic book artists for their choice of poses in popular comic books mainly within the DC and Marvel Universes.

This was the first I had heard of you Noelle or " Gingerhaze " whichever name you prefer.

Anyways , when I read the purpose of this project I honestly found it laughable and along the lines of whiney and pathetic victimhood.

Apparently you took issue with certain outfits and poses and tried to flip it order for people to understand how " sexist " the art execution is and how uncomfortable it makes female readers because of the male gaze .

Your intentions were ... okay I suppose even with the misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic undertones .

Of all of the things you chose to address in regards to misogyny , you chose not only a first world problem but you tried to police the freedom of these comic book artists who unlike you worked their behinds off for several years the RIGHT way .

In typical privileged white girl fashion , you chose to combat something that you do not have to be subjected to. No one is forcing you to spend money on these comic books that feature fictional characters whom clearly hurt your self esteem.


I was very shocked to learn that you had your own comic series going as well as some opportunities doing guest work , but kudos to you .

It's not easy in the comic book world so I can give you props for your hustle .

The real reason I am writing this letter or whatever you want to call it is to address your hypocrisy , thin skin , and dismissive attitude.

I remember a few years ago during an E3 presentation , you complained that it was a " sausage fest " despite you not being a gamer and having any idea what was going on in the loop to begin with . I was not surprised to see you bring up Anita Sarkeesian's " Feminist Frequency " webseries which often displays her cherry picking of videogame tropes she finds offensive . All I simply did was point out that she was incorrect about her analysis and that Princess Peach as well as Princess Zelda were not damsels in distress , and that they were royal figures which would result in them having some type of protection because of their roles in the kingdom . You took words out of my mouth and implied that I was saying all women needed to be protected and then you blocked me on your twitter . I had a better and more in depth conversation with someone else who was tagged and although we disagreed , we listened to each other and ended the debate with respect towards one another despite the argument being heated at the start.

Noelle , you preach on your tumblr , twitter , and you go to these panels pretending to hold your head high and be this feminist hero to us women when the truth is that you are dismissive and insecure . Victimhood is what fuels you and you know it .




It amazes me how you act like you are so brave and heroic yet you shed tears and moaned for media attention because you claimed a store clerk who offered you something along the lines of a My Little Pony comic book made you stop going into comic book shops .  You felt alienated as a woman and an " industry professional " and even made a sad doodle to indicate your sorrow ... you poor poor thing. These people owe you so much.

Do I believe there is sexism in the comic book industry ? Yes I do , there is sexism , racism , homophobia in pretty much every industry and every fandom you will come in and it should not be tolerated in the least bit. With that said your methods do nothing but keep people divided , you don't really want to see things get better because that would be a loss of ammunition.

I am a woman of color and I have felt alienated at times but never for my gender but rather the color of my skin , so it's very interesting to see a white woman like yourself creating sad doodles and crying your eyes out because of a book that was offered to you ... like of all things that is what makes you ... as an industry professional stop visiting comic book shops ? Try being followed and subjected to pretend small talk so that people can make sure you are not trying to steal because the color of your skin . Oh the small things you have to put up with <3





It's amazing how these days being a bitter and outspoken white woman with mediocre story telling and visuals equates to hardwork and dedication. You played the game right though , you pandered to the insecure individuals and slacktavists on tumblr who enjoy nothing more than to be full of negativity and now you get to work with Marvel entertainment and be in company with those that you had no problems insulting a few years ago.


But congratulations to you Noelle on all of your success even if you took the pity route . Your dismissive and entitled attitude has helped you a great deal .

If it were up to me perhaps we would cross paths in this industry …. but should I chose to enter this field I would do it with my head held high and rely on my skill and dedication rather than pity.

Much love mama

-Ash





Monday, October 20, 2014




 Claiming that the gaming community is unwelcoming and threatening to women is absolutely ridiculous .


Three time WWE Diva's Champion AJ Lee who has been hailed as the " geek goddess " in WWE was the first woman to win the THQ Superstar tournament

Feminist icon ( yes I meant that ) and the biggest living music star Beyonce endorsed Nintendo and it was awesome.

Zelda Williams was named after the princess of the Legend of Zelda franchise by her father Robin. Do you know what the response was to her commercials with him ? People cried and were truly giddy knowing that he named his daughter after the incredible and powerful princess of Hyrule.


Penelope and Monica Cruz both endorsed Super Mario and Professor Layton games in Europe and no one complained.

Gabby Douglas was immediately called to endorse Nintendo and the new Super Mario Bros game after becoming the first woman of color to win the All Around gold medal. I would also like for people to understand the importance of this photograph by the way.


The women of Girls Aloud also endorsed the Nintendo DS with no issues .

Infact here is a list of women who endorsed Nintendo , a company that people claim is sexist and bigoted towards women.

Beyonce Knowles
Sarah Hyland
Utada Hikaru
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu
Gabby Douglas
Zelda Williams
Kim Cattrall
Liv Taylor
Nicole Kidman
Diane Agron
America Ferrera
Penelope Cruz
Monica Cruz
Girls Aloud
Olivia Newton John
Carrie Underwood
Hanna Griffith


Lupita N'yongo captured the hearts of millions when she revealed she played Final Fantasy 8 growing up , instead of people raising eyebrows and insulting her people were excited because she was one of us.

Utada Hikaru , this woman right here is the one that made us shed tears with " Simple and Clean " / " Hikari " the english and japanese themes for Kingdom Hearts .

Yoko Shimomura , the woman who gave us Guile's epic theme hit it out of the park with " Dearly Beloved " a song that always brings fans of the Kingdom Hearts series great joy no matter the incarnation.
I am posting this because it is so important for people to know .

Stop defining the gaming community by a few people's experiences , it is becoming hurtful and vile .
Gamers are spread out across countries , we come in all shapes and sizes , there are millions of us all around the world but you choose to define us by a small margin .

Why don't you take a moment to play games , appreciate them , and make friends ... because all of you people who are convinced gamers are hateful and unwelcoming are so wrong.

Pay attention once more women of different age ranges and ethnicities were mentioned above .... to the people who think otherwise I wonder what your response is ? that they are exceptions to the rules ? I named more women here than those who claimed to have been harassed for being girl gamers ... just let that sink in.

Please do no sit and think these women suffer from special snowflake syndrome because they do not.

- Sincerely , a strong black woman who has been gaming since her childhood

Thursday, February 27, 2014

I Can't



I don't care what anybody says , if you ask any person who is truly into video games in the age range from 25 - 40 years old they will tell you that the gaming community was NEVER this divided … NEVER.

I can't believe someone who doesn't even play video games divided the community.
Honestly look back at your childhoods , while yes video games were marketed more towards little boys everybody was playing them , they even marketed the color Gameboys in pink because little girls were playing them as well , not to mention that exclusive Pikachu Gameboy that came along with Pokemon Yellow …. no boy over the age of 10 years old was walking around with no Pikachu Gameboy ( especially with Jigglypuff and Togapi sticking out )despite the fact that they were the ones always getting in trouble for school for playing with Pokemon cards.



Contrary to popular belief the gaming community never said " NO GIRLS ALLOWED " that idea was never in place . Just like boys and girls all ran home from school and woke up on Saturday mornings to watch the same popular cartoons we were all playing the same video games and getting along just fine for the most part.

In the damn Beethoven movie you see Ryce , Emily , and Ted playing Super Mario Bros 3


Fuck you know what the first video game I owned … I mean that was actually mine ??


I shared most of my video games with my siblings but my mom asked me what I wanted for my 13th birthday and I told her I wanted Street Fighter Alpha 3 , we went to the store together to buy it , a dude sold it to us and it was easy as pie. When I got this game I talks amongst the gamers in my class who were male and female about it and we had a grand ol time.

When 5th generation gaming began , while previous games featured female protagonists from past consoles we saw a huge influx leading ladies who are still relevant in the year 2014. 





Resident Evil , Tomb Raider , and Parasite Eve are all incredible games that appealed to boys and girls , and hell ya'll know damn well girls thought Leon was hot as fuck even with his Nick Carter haircut.


Now it's the year 2014 …. and this is what gaming has been reduced to 



Anita Sarkeesian doing nothing but stir shit and pitting men against women in the gaming world .

I honestly believe something is very wrong with this woman because she doesn't play video games but she created a huge controversy , picking fights with people and then recoiling to act as if she is some kind of victim . I'm amazed that Anita goes through this much trouble to try and convince people that she actually plays video games …. I mean it worked considering how many people donated money to her campaign which makes the situation even more sad.

I do believe there is sexism in video games however Anita has not addressed it , all she is doing is grasping for straws and saying things to enrage her videos … in other words she's just seeking attention.

It's very clear what kind of girl Anita was growing up , she was one of those girls that wanted boys to roll out the red carpet for her just because she played a level in Super Mario World and when they they told her to fuck off she got mad and 15 years later she's still not over it.

Now I know people keep saying that " if you ignore her then she will go away " …. I feel like we can't ignore her anymore .

I understand that Anita will never change the video game industry considering how there is not market for what she is requesting , however there is a great amount of tension in the community and she is one of the people responsible . The gaming industry is so afraid of standing up to this woman , despite her claiming she needed kickstarter money to play video games and do research only for her to steal Let's Play footage and take things out of context to make her arguments seem valid. Also she's receiving an award for being nothing but a professional victim.

Despite what Anita and her missionaries want to believe , video games ARE entertainment and escapism from the real world . No one wants to hear this but … sorry ….. video games are not meant to be political . I would also like to take a moment to say that gamers have every right to be frustrated at this woman , we have been putting up with the whole " blame video games for all the wrong " crap since Mortal Kombat was released and we have every right to be sick of it.


The fact that a misinformed non factor is actually being worshipped for doing nothing but divide the gaming crowd is just beyond me , we have to do better . 


Before I go I would like to let you all know that I am working on a response to Anita's crap , It's taking forever but you know I don't have 160.000 to help speed up the process XD !!! But seriously I've just been busy with real life stuff but this video is coming soon and the good news is that I don't think it will easily be ignored by Anita and her party .


Monday, October 14, 2013

New York Comic Con 2013 Cosplayers

Well another Comic Con has passed This year was a great one and to celebrate , enjoy these amazing cosplayers who put lots of effort and creativity into their costumes!!!










Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Crossovers and Collabos


We recently heard some exciting news , that's right The Simpsons and Family Guy will join forces in the fall of 2014 . The two series have been head to head for quite sometime and we will finally see the characters interact with one another. In celebration of this occasion lets take a moment and celebrate some memorable crossovers and collaborations in animation ,music , television , and video games that really stood out .


Animation

Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue

Year : 1990 This drug prevention special featured pretty much every popular saturday/sunday/weekday cartoon character you could imagine in the late 80s - early 90s joining forces to help teenage Michael say no to drugs and alcohol

Captain N: The Game Master

Year : 1989 This story originated from Nintendo Power magazine and was given a series soon after . It featured a boy named Kevin traveling with his dog and meeting with famous videogame characters such as Mega Man , Kid Icarus , and Simon Belmont. I guess that gamers were not as elitist as they are today because this series had some bizarre ass character designs to the point where you can't really recognize any of them :/ but it served it's purpose to help market the Nintendo Entertainment System and entertain gamer kiddies for 34 episodes. Space Jam
Year : 1996 In what world could you ever imagine the NBA'S GOAT and Bugs Bunny being chummy ? A very random collaboration but it worked out so well and still holds up in the year 2013.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Year : 1988 A crossover between live action and animation , Who Framed Roger Rabbit would probably be considered the " It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World " of the cartoon world ... or something along those lines. From Betty Boop to Bugs Bunny , from Donald to Daffy , this film is what a fanboys dreams are made of and it is truly classic.


Comic Books
Archie Meets Glee
Year : 2013 The folks from Riverdale get caught in some confusion with that one Glee club thanks to Dilton Doiley.

DC vs. Marvel

Year : 1996 Two brothers who personify the DC and Marvel Universes become aware of the other's existence, and challenge one another to a series of duels involving each universe's respective superheroes. The losing universe would cease to exist. The story had an "out of universe" component in that, although there were eleven primary battles, five outcomes were determined by fan vote Worlds Collide: Sonic and Mega Man Year : 2013 Archie comics who have published the Sonic comic books for about 20 years acquired the rights to adapt the Blue Bomber. It didn't take long for Capcom , Sega , and Archie to join forces and have two of the most iconic ( and very blue ) video game mascots of all time crossover for the first time since that one time in an old EGM magazine ( I wanna say it was EGM ) let's hope that Nintendo is nice to us and brings Sonic back so that we can have the holy trinity in the upcoming Super Smash Brothers.
Music
Black Republican - Nas and Jay-Z Year : 2010
The Boy Is Mine - Brandy and Monica
Year : 1998 Not Tonight ( Ladies Night ) - Lil Kim , Angie Martinez , Missy Elliot , Left Eye , and Da Brat
Year : 1997 Scream -  Michael and Janet Jackson
Year : 1995 Telephone - Beyonce and Lady Gaga
When You Believe - Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston
Year : 1998 Walk This Way - Aerosmith and Run DMC
Years : 1976 / 1985 We Are The World - USA For Africa
Year : 1985

Television
Cheers/St. Elsewhere
Batman / Green Hornet
Boy Meets World / Sabrina The Teenage Witch
Family Matters / Fresh Prince
Some people do not believe this actually happened because in some of the syndicated versions of Family Matters they cut this scene out , but here is the rare moment when Uncle Phil barges into the Winslow household.
Family Matters / Full House
Fresh Prince / The Jeffersons
Seinfield / Mad About You
Power Rangers / TMNT
I can't recall anybody asking for this , but it was still a great moment in tv history to see the Power Rangers and the Ninja Turtles together.

Video Games
Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 Year: 2000 Despite the swag jacking and weak attempts at shade throwing , Capcom was feeling charitable and decided to do a few crossover titles with their longtime bitter rivals over at SNK to make the fans happy. It worked out fairly well especially for Capcom since the titles they published sold more than the ones that SNK published. Kingdom Hearts
Year : 2012 Disney and Square Enix joined forces and created absolute perfection. Cloud Strife and Aladdin in the same game ? sign us up please !!! It has the Disney magic and the flare of Square Enix and this title touches gamer's hearts so much that some even shed a tear once they hear " Dearly Beloved " or " Simple and Clean " . Perfection example of east meeting west and snatching wigs in the process. Marvel vs Capcom ( series )
Year :  1995 Capcom began a partnership with Marvel in the early 90s and halfway through they finally go the go ahead and paired Marvel Superheroes with their own and create pure excellence with X-men vs Street Fighter. Many believe that the reason that the Marvel vs Capcom franchise was so successful and beloved was because aside from the characters crossing over Capcom always cared about the quality of their games that were based on comics and cartoons ( see all of their Disney games )  and that appeared to be very uncommon back in the day. Capcom and Marvel spent almost a decade apart but in 2011 they rekindled their relationship and revived the series. The mutual respect each company has for one another is what makes this series so amazing , you have Viewtiful Joe looking up to Captain America and Chun Li joining the X-men ... it's just beautiful. Super Smash Brothers ( series )
Year : 1999 This Nintendo crossover was originally released in the days of the N64 and doubled it's popularity with it's Gamecube follow up. When the second installment of the series was released for the Gamecube fans were lead to believe that Sonic and Tales would be included in the game but it turned out to be an April Fool's joke which enraged many in the community. However in Super Smash Brothers Brawl gamers rejoiced when Sonic The Hedgehog ( who was Sonic's main competitor in the early 90s and even defeated him in some areas ) was included along with Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid as playable characters despite being third party characters. Mario and Sonic also went head to head in the Olympic games for the Wii .
The fourth installment of the series was announced at E3 back in June and the first third party character to be revealed was Mega Man who has always been seen as a cousin in regards to Nintendo , will Sonic return to complete the holy trifecta of gaming ? Let's hope ^__^