“Comic Book Men” Needs Women

Over the weekend, we received an email from Diana, a casting assistant and producer for the television show Comic Book Men. The show is a mix between Pawn Stars and a bunch of guys just sitting around talking about comics and geek culture. Emphasis on guys. The show is testosterone heavy, but they are looking to change that according to Diana. From her email:

I hope you don’t mind me contacting you. My name is Diana and I’m working to help cast season five of AMC’s runaway hit Comic Book Men, produced by Kevin Smith. I was reaching out in the hopes you could blast, post or otherwise help us spread the word!

We’re just beginning our casting process and would love to find people who would like to buy or sell any of their fun, valuable or unique items from comic books or pop culture!

As a female producer, it’s extremely important to me that enough badass fangirls get the screen time they deserve.

You must be at least 18 years old to be on the show. You can download a copy of the casting flyer here. If you have any questions or want to talk to Diana directly, let me know and I will pass along contact information.

First Look: DC’s Legends of Tomorrow

While Marvel continues its dominance at the multiplexes, DC is quietly building a small screen empire of interconnected superhero shows. It started with Arrow, which gave us the Flash. And soon they will be joined by Supergirl on CBS and the intriguing Legends of Tomorrow on the CW.

Legends of Tomorrow has time travelling Rip Hunter assemble a team of heroes and villains to battle the immortal conqueror Vandal Savage through time.

White Canary, Firestorm, Hawkgirl, Captain Cold, Heatwave and the Atom heed the call and join forces to save the Earth and all of humanity.

Fan-Made Xena Warrior Princess Cartoon Wins The Internet

From September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001, viewers around the world were captivated by Xena: Warrior Princess, a TV series about Xena (played by Lucy Lawless), a once infamous warrior turned formidable defender of the innocent and champion of the greater good. NIA, a now 18 year old graphic designer by trade and talented artist by nature, was – and still is – one of Xena’s biggest fans. In lamenting the current lack of well-rounded female characters in movies and on TV for girls to admire today, NIA decided to draw her childhood hero… and lots of people took notice, including us.

When NIA’s drawing first hit WYSK’s radar, it was positioned as a Disney-fied Xena. We didn’t know the full back story, but were intrigued. If Xena was the kind of “princess” (i.e. multi-dimensional and kick ass) that could be added to the Magic Kingdom’s high court, then we were all for it. But as it turns out there was way more to NIA’s drawing than its subtle Disney-esque style. Here’s what we learned when we caught up with the talented woman behind the art yesterday.

“Characters like Buffy, Dana Scully and Xena just aren’t around these days, and girls need female heroes that kick ass.”

“I’m a huge fan of Xena and her story! I think she’s a timeless character and huge inspiration to women everywhere,” NIA told Women You Should Know. “She was my hero when I was a little girl and I think if she were to be revived she could be that for girls today.” She added, “Characters like Buffy, Dana Scully and Xena just aren’t around these days, and girls need female heroes that kick ass. If you asked a child to name male heroes they’d give you a whole list, but if you asked them to name a female, could they name anyone offhand besides Wonder Woman?”

As for the presumed connection to Disney that started circulating around her drawing, NIA clarified things for us. “When I first drew Xena, I simply said she was ‘Disney-fied’ because I based the animation style off of Disney’s Hercules. Quite a few people have taken issue with the idea of Xena being revamped by Disney – and trust me, I wouldn’t want Disney owning Xena either.”

She went on to explain, “If an animated Xena were to be done, I’d rather have it be by an independent studio that would keep to her story, keep to her culture, and have her be the first canonically LGBT ‘princess’. There are so many girls watching animated movies and wondering why there isn’t another option besides Prince Charming.”

So in addition to Xena, NIA also drew Gabrielle, the Warrior Princess’s trusty companion and favorite battling bard. For some context on their relationship and the latter part of what NIA shared with us, consider this factoid from Neatorama, “The [show’s] writers intentionally teased viewers with a the possibility of a lesbian relationship between Xena and Gabrielle, never affirming nor denying the homoerotic subtext. Executive producer Steven L. Sears said that ‘(Xena and Gabrielle) have love for each other. It’s up to the audience to determine what that love is.’”

Check out NIA’s awesome animations below and connect with her on her tumblr page or on Twitter.

Reprinted with permission from the fine people at Women You Should Know.

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