The Ivy-Girl Cometh (or is that Returneth?)!

So—lose faith I’d ever update again? I just about did myself, ha ha. So sorry!

As it happens, my Mom’s health has been declining (cancer, if you recall)…she’s been in the hospital for quite a while and no one’s really sure what direction she’s going to turn (get mammograms, ladies! And men: urge your womens, and check your own prostates and testicles! Don’t make me come do it for you!). So that, plus this weird thing I have about backburnering “fun” work (ever do that? Like, if it’s got an element of fun, it can’t be as important as the scrubbing, filing, or budget-calculating-type stuff?) lead me to here.

It won’t happen again. And why? Because of Texas. Wizard World Texas, that is!

In Texas, I officially met Sarah Arnold, who provided me the origin quote in my previous contest entry (Congrats to Erin Wilcox of New York City who won my guessing prize, by the way!). Sarah Arnold and her (male) buddies make-up the fan-tastic group (get it?) Metropolis, a fan-made fledgling live radio show (listen to it Thursdays at 7pm Central time at http://www.ktxt.net/) and annual convention, which I understand is already garnering thousands of attendees! What an origin indeed, folks! Always feel free to tell me about what projects and art you’re working on! This is the stuff Wizard itself is made of, and I want to celebrate all of it!

Anyway, talking to Sarah and lots of other comic fans, who all asked what was up with my blog, made me realize that yeah, this is my little thing to build, just like everyone else has their own podcasts, comics, conventions, and blogs–and what a shame to let the Ivy wilt!

So that said (Whew! Where the *&^&’s the brevity button round here?), I think I’d like to give a shout out this week to the absolutely rad-tastic time I had in Texas. See if you can spot the gender-related parts of my tale, ha ha!

Day One. Boarded plane. Everyone’s favorite lesbian country singer, KD Lang is seated right in front! AHHH I freakin’ love her! I wanted to buy her a drink and have a stewardess bring it to her, so as not to be intrusive, but I chickened out. Possibly the biggest regret of the YEAR for me, but then again, what if it wasn’t her?? I couldn’t shake the nagging doubt.

Day Two. Lots of set up. Little known fact: All of us editors and writers at Wizard double as Convention Staff. Security, ticketsellers–all of us. I’m always working Exhibitor Registration and constantly get mistaken for a $4 an hour chick, and get asked to hold up garbage cans for people to spit their gum into. Not that I mind, but I do feel bad for the comics creators who don’t necessarily realize who I am and what mingle-potential they’re missing. If I can work in who I am without sounding like I have an ass-sized ego, I try to, because I really do love to hear about what folks are working on, and maybe there’s potential to give them some coverage.

Here’s Wizard Staff Writers Steve Sunu and Kevin Mahadeo, and Fulfillment Specialist Clyde Pezzini helping with set-up. All three of these guys are seriously among the most charming, smartest fellas I know.

Day Three.First day of the Con! Crazy busy. I meet Jon Cassaday, who is adorable. And then about an hour later, I meet his Mom. She says “My son Jon used to love the Kool-Aid. He had like one of those permanent cherry Kool-Aid mustaches all the time!” So cute! And blackmail-licious…hmm…

Next, I get to know the Hebert Brothers! Alan and Chris Hebert, possibly the two most delightful teddy-bears-with-a-sweet-twist-of-wiseass I’ve ever met, are at the con promoting their new Lazerman comic, available for preorder now through HBComics.com, as a Wizard con exclusive. This is us below (Alan’s on the left)!

I go out to dinner with Kevin, Steve, Clyde, Wizard photographer Dylan Brucie, and Dylan’s awesome girlfriend, Kelly at the end of the day. The girl who seats us can’t get over Clyde’s handlebar mustache, keeps asking to touch it, calls us a “big ball of funny” and doesn’t throw us out (it’s nice to stay til dessert). She’s in this pic we took at the restaurant, a place called Papacito’s in Arlington, below:

Day Four. Jodie Westhoff, assistant show manager, my roomate for the trip, and all around supergirl gets to taste the soda Mr. Pibb for the first time in years, thanks to the guys at Boomstick Comics, who brought her three freakin’ cases of it!

She really deserves the sugar: Jodie is one of those workers who not only never stops, but always handles everything with a smile. I totally couldn’t believe what this chick had to deal with (calls at 2:30 AM to organize travel for our guests, constant circulation around the show floor, fielding phone calls and walkie-talkie requests all at once). She’s such a role model!! And I’m pretty sure, sound asleep right now!

Also, I tell some dude in a spectacular Klingon suit he looks great. He comes around my counter and kisses me on the forehead with a big wet ::muah!::. Who knew there was House of Snuggles in the Empire?

And now, some dude in a Thor costume:

That night: Match Game! A charity event for The Hero Initiative, Conventions Assistant Brett White, definitely one of the funniest men I know, period (I think he thinks I’m weird because I always try to stand by him all the time (tough when our offices are on different floors)…he just really freakin’ makes me laugh), hosts. Panelists include celebs like Scott Adsit from Morel Orel and 30 Rock, artist extraordinaire Terry Moore and Talent Caldwell, who actually blew off other plans to help with this event! You rule, Talent! Below, Brett hosting (with Talent in the left corner):

Day Five.Last Day of con: everyone getting punchy, but having tons of fun. Lou Ferrigno kisses me; I die. After they put defibrilators away, I go get my victory dance for a con well done: a picture with Corey Feldman, clearly the cooler Frog brother, grabbing my head.

Why is he grabbing my head? Because I love my boyfriend. Marc grabs my head, and Marc loves Corey Feldman. Could I go wrong smushing the two? When I asked Corey about this, he agreed, replying, “You look like you have a very clean head.” He liked the smell of my shampoo, too.

Win FREE SWAG!! Seriously!

Happy Friday all!

First, let me apologize for totally not posting a thing last week! As some of you may know, besides ToyFare, I’m also Managing Editor of Toy Wishes magazine at Wizard, and we were closing that Balrog of a project that day. Ended up being a cute issue, though, so if any of you have little siblings or cousins to buy Holiday gifts for, I encourage ya to flip through it for ideas.

ANYWAY! This week, I’d like to make my absence up to you by giving you FREE STUFF! Well, one of you anyway, ha ha. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Chewing on Poison Ivy’s first-ever Prize Giveaway!

Here’s the deal:

Back in my first entry, I asked y’all to send me your origin stories–how did you, male or female, become the proud nerd you are today?–and y’all responded in droves! Coolness!

And today, I’ve selected an excerpt from ONE of those origins, printed below. I want y’all to try and guess if a fangirl or fanboy wrote it. Simple as that. Send me an email stating whether you think it’s a boy or a girl speaking and, briefly, WHY, and I’ll throw your name in a big hat, from which I’ll select ONE happy nerd to receive some fresh swag right outta the ToyFare prize closet!
Send all emails to knapolitano@wizardent.com, Subject: Ivy Giveaway.

Cool?

Then let’s begin!

Here’s the Ivy-reader origin excerpt, totally, completely unedited by my own hand (I’d swear to that on a copy of Iron Man, but that ain’t out til Tuesday (::foams at mouth in fiery anticipation::)):

“…This trend continued into my childhood with the tradition of watching Star Trek TNG with my Dad when it came on every week night. We would stake out the living room floor, then he would lay on the floor with me leaning up against his stomach to watch the episode. I’d ask how this small ship could travel around a Universe so expansive, and my Dad would do his best to try and explain how the ship worked and the basic principles of space travel. Again, my mother sighed in the background.

As a child there is no better place to go than Disney World. It’s a place where all of the characters you grew up with lived, and they even had Wookies! We first went when I was 8, staying in a cheap hotel room and taking a rental car at 5 am everyday for 4 days to the park. Not till later in life did I notice that my Dad had left a few days earlier than us for Orlando. Why was this? I asked my mother and with a roll of her eyes she explained that, that year The World Sci-Fi Con was being held in Orlando. Disney World was the side trip, my Dad was in Orlando for the world’s biggest Sci-Fi Con.”

***

I’ll accept entries from NOW until Thursday, and then Friday I’ll announce the winner (though I’ll shoot the actual winner an email beforehand so they know), and of course, the answer. Please remember not just to include whether you think a chico or chica is speaking above, but WHY. Next week I’d like to explore folks’ opinions, and tie that into a discussion about how male and female comic characters are differently and similarly written.

Oh, and probably worth mentioning here is that I am certainly not out to embarass anyone or publicly call them sexist or something based on what they guess, ha ha! If I do share your guess on the Blog, I would quote you ANONYMOUSLY, and certainly ask you beforehand if I could use your words. I just think it’s really interesting to think about how men and women use language differently–hell, the first time I read the above, I wasn’t sure who was speaking til I read the name. I’m just out to explore here, people, and have fun!

Legal Sweepstakes mumbo jumbo is below for those who like that sort of thing, lol. Otherwise, have a FANTASTIC weekend, folks, see ya next week, and good luck for the giveaway!

Legal:
No purchase necessary. Sweepstakes is open to any U.S. residents except
employees of Wizard Entertainment and their immediate families. All prospective entrants under 18 years of age must have their parent/legal guardian’s permission to enter. Entrants must complete required form and e-mail with entry. Enter as many times as you like. No more than one prize will be awarded per person or household. Sponsor is not responsible for late, lost, multiated, illegible, incomplete and misdirected entries.

Sponsor is not responsible with respect to computer-system, phone-line, hardware, software, or program malfunctions, or other errors, failures, or delays in the computer transmission or network connections that are human or technical in nature.

Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel or suspend these sweepstakes should a virus bug or any other cause beyond the control of the sponsor corrupt the administration, security of the sweepstakes.

All entries and all rights relating there become property of Wizard and none will be returned. By entering, all entrants agree to release Wizard and their employees from all liability and claims relating to participation in the sweepstakes and receipt of prizes, including any personal injury, and agree to assign all copyrights in the
Entry to Wizard Entertainment. Winners agree to the use of their name, likeness, and entry for publicity and marketing purposes by Wizard without further compensation.
All entries must be received at sweepstakes headquarters by 9AM EST 10/2/08.
Winners will be selected by Wizard from qualified entries received based on random entry. All decisions of the judges regarding selection of winners and interpretation of
these rules are final. Odds of winning will be determined by the number of
valid entries received prior to the closing date of the sweepstakes. In order to
be eligible to be a winner, winners (and their parents/legal guardians if a
minor) may be required to sign an additional affidavit of eligibility, Waiver and release form. All taxes (federal, state and local, if any) will be the responsibility of the prizewinners. Prizes will be awarded in the names of the sweepstakes winners, except, if winners are under the age of 18, prizes will be awarded to a parent or legal guardian.

Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize as Sponsor deems suitable in the event that prize is unavailable.

Glass slippers? No, no–Glass Sue!

Hey folks–Happy Friday!

First, I just want to say thank you to everyone who’s written me so far–I LOVE that there’s
already conversation going on! If you’re reading this blog for the first time, I’d love to hear from anyone and everyone a) about their Origin (in the tradition of superheroes, everyone has a story[see my first entry way below]), and b) just write if you feel like writing. I’ll take topic suggestions, questions, or whatever comments you like. I’m easily reached at knapolitano@wizardent.com, and if I haven’t gotten back to ya yet–I’m coming!

Now, moving on, I’d like to introduce a new, recurring feature of my blog:

The Ivy League Spotlight!

From time to time I’ll be bringing you interviews with various celebs, artists, writers, and folks who are just simply remarkable and deserve a li’l pat on the back.

And today, I’m starting with that last one…

Meet Suzanne Rosema. I did at this year’s Wizard World Chicago, and I learned three things: she’s nice as peaches, her husband Scott is an INCREDIBLE artist, and so is she–but in a very unique way.

Here’s a sample of Suzanne’s work:

That’s right. Picture a vibrant dawn breaking in your bedroom window–making Vader shine like a whole Sith-sun unto himself. Brilliant.

Suzanne runs her own art business, working on a commission basis (CHRISTMAS, people! Now’s the time!), and will render your favorite superhero and sci-fi characters in bold, fiery stained glass. Want a whole chapel of Jedi to worship? This lady can make it happen for realsies.

I’ve always been curious about the work that goes into stained glass (plus, of course, what it’s like to be a woman in that industry), so I invited Suzanne and her fabulous husband to sit down with me and tell her story. If you have time, do check out the whole thing–I think, both explicitly and implicitly–this couple definitely has some interesting things to say about gender dynamics and connecting with people. Plus, don’t forget to scope out her contact info at the end if you’re interested in her art!

ME: So…Why stained glass? When did you get into that particular craft, and what was it like to learn?

SUZANNE:Glass is amazing! It is a medium that is almost alive, changing constantly. Every hour of every day it provides a glow and ambiance to the surrounding environment, reflecting the changes created by the passage of light and offering new moods as it plays with your senses.

I have dabbled in so many creative things, wood carving, marquetry, sculpture, every form of needlework. I guess I was always trying to find my voice. After college, (1974) I had a girlfriend that took a community ed. stained glass class. When I went to visit her for a weekend she showed me what she was doing and said it was great fun. She then proceeded to give me a 2 hour “lesson” and I thought, “This is cool!” I then spent the next year teaching myself the ins and outs of glass (I went through at least a box of Band-Aids, ha ha) and I haven’t stopped working with glass since.

ME: Have you always been a fan of comics and sci-fi?

SUZANNE:Yes, although I always followed sci-fi, there was a time that I drifted away from comics. My Mom used to work at my uncle’s market and she would bring home all these comics with the covers ripped off. Sorry if that makes anyone cringe! But I loved reading them: super hero, Archie’s, westerns, Charleton’s, etc. During high school I drifted away from them. You know the spiel; got to get the grades, decide what to do when you grow up, get the scholarships, choose the right college… It wasn’t until I met my husband Scott that comics came back into my life. He was so passionate for them I couldn’t help but be drawn back under their spell.

ME: What inspired you to start rendering characters in stained glass?

SUZANNE: Actually that was Scott also. I would attend all of these comic conventions with him helping to man his table, and one day he said I should bring my glass. I thought ‘no way’: I hadn’t done any comic characters up to this point, and I couldn’t think of any reason that a guy looking for comics would want ot buy a ‘glass trinket box’ at a comics show. Well, Scott reasoned that there were tons of guys at these shows with wives or girlfriends back home and if they brought them something “pretty” home from the comic show maybe it might be a little easier to come next time. Whether it actually worked, I don’t know, but I was very well received (thanks guys!). Well, the next show we went to I thought, this is a comic show, so let’s do at least something comics. And I’ve been doing comic art ever since.

ME: What’s it like, as one woman, running your own art business?

SUZANNE: It’s terrific. To be able to do something you love and make a living at it is the best. I think that in art there is a much more level playing field between the sexes.

ME: Most of your work is by commission: who was your first commission?
SUZANNE: A gentleman by the name of Micheal Reason. He started out as a fan of Scott’s work and has become a good friend.

ME: What character(s) did he want?

SUZANNE: He commissioned me to do Joe Linsner’s “Dawn” character. He was a big fan and had a particular piece of Joe’s art work in mind. After I finished it, Micheal took it to show Joe. It was great, Joe liked it enough that we have ended up working together. I do a series of boxes for Joe that he offers on his web site.

ME: Were you totally nervous about getting what he wanted right?

SUZANNE: Oh my gosh, yes. I agonized over every choice of glass. The character had on a lacy bustier and trying to get that feeling was ‘yikes.’ Well, as I said, I finished it and everyone loved it.

ME: How long does it generally take you to create a piece?

SUZANNE: Well, it always depends on the complexity and size of a piece of glass. However, that being said, my comic roundels [like Vader above] usually take an average of 20 hours.

ME: Ever finish something and not want to give it up?

SUZANNE: Yeah, I feel that way about a number of pieces I do. But I always get over that because I really do glass so that I can get my artwork out there! I love glass, and when I do something for someone it’s usually because they have an affinity for what they ask for. To be able to be a part of that, and to add to someone’s passion is amazing.

ME: What was the most complicated piece you’ve created to date?

SUZANNE: The hands down answer to that question is a church job I did: Bethel Pentecostal Church. 9 windows, 17 feet tall each, a 3 level, 10 feet tall sculpture and a frontispeice for the pulpit. It took over a year to do.

ME: Is there, in your experience, a difference in the way men and women handle the art of stained glass work?

SUZANNE: From my experience, it seems men are more concerned about the mechanical side of putting glass together. I think women work in a more organic way; their feelings and aesthetics play a much more important role. Technically something may not work but we’ll make it work because it’s “right”. Does it feel right? Can I make this happen or that? And the most effective answer doesn’t always come from an exact measurement.

***
AND NOW (it’s ME again!)…Let’s get Josephine’s Napoleon in here! Ladies and gentlemen, Suzanne’s husband, Scott!

ME: Scott, You are an excellent artist. Tell us about some of the work you’ve done.

SCOTT: Thank you for the compliment. Well, this is truly a long story made short, so, in a nutshell, some of the properties I’ve worked on and the companies I’ve worked for: X-Men, Spider-man, Batman, Scooby-Doo, Space Ghost, JLA, Dexter’s Lab, Prince Of Egypt, Aladdin, Jonny Quest, Looney Tunes, Tiny Toons, TSR, Warner Bros., Marvel, DC, Valiant, Disney, Dreamworks, Battletech, WhiteWolf, FASA, Fleer, Archie, Valiant, and the list goes on.

ME: When did Suzanne first “reveal” her talent to you?

SCOTT: We were still dating and one day I went to her house and downstairs to visit her and she was soldering some glass together.
“I thought you did woodworking?” I asked.
“Oh, I do. But I do this, too.” she said matter-of-factly. That was not only when I found out she did stained glass, but also when I became aware of how multi-faceted and gifted she was with her talents. It’s remarkable to see her tackle a new creation.

ME: Do you play any role in her creative or sales process?

SCOTT: I’m proud to have added an extra dimension of draftsmanship to her glass patterns and be a source of drawing knowledge for her. That being said, she’s terribly modest in her assessment of those skills in herself. She’s an incredibly gifted designer with pencil and paper. In the proper venues, I help her flesh out designs and tighten up the working patterns. And I’m the “accurate detail” guy between us for the comic book characters, especially the superheroes.
I also pride myself at being her best salesman. You give me five minutes and I’ll have your entire house planned out with her glass with a five year designing, building and installation plan!

ME: How do you guys support each other in your efforts?
SCOTT: Again, her modesty doesn’t let her see this, but I’m always bouncing ideas for my art off of her and take great inspiration from her veiwpoints and opinions. And she credits me, overly so, for supporting her glass with my drawing skills. Overall though, we do create a very exciting creative give-and-take dynamic with each other’s work.

***

AND LASTLY…a couple of questions for them both:

ME: Do you both ever experience any feelings of competition? How, as a couple, do you work through it?

SCOTT: There’s never been a feeling of competition between us from my view. I’m truly in awe of her skill and talent and I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it with her. The closest I’ve come to what I believe you’re asking about is when I see her work garner more attention at comic shows than mine does. And then it’s really a humorous aside where I’ll take a good natured “You’ve learned much, young one, but you are not a Jedi yet!” response to her accolades. It’s really quite a bit of fun. As with everything we do, we gather more energy from it than we do conflict.

SUZANNE: No, we have never competed. Scott is such a fantastic artist and I have always felt lucky to have had his insight, his help, and his enthusiasm for what I do.

ME: How, if at all, do you think men and women think about art and/or comics differently?

SCOTT: Men (and women) tend to stick fairly closely to what is their historical roles in nature when it comes to art/comics. Men graviate to the elements that support the hierarchy of conquest, authority of power, social or community order, hunting skills or the more crude form of it in competitive fighting and symbols of achievement. Women embrace the more complex elements of self exploration, balanced life experience, accumlation of knowledge, growth and nurturing of social evolutions and protective/proactive actions. There’s never totally clear cut lines that neither ever crosses, there’s plenty of cross-over of all elements but I think those are pretty consistent.

SUZANNE: Story content is a more important element to women. The artwork has to have a certain quality, a certain flow to it. And it has to really support the story and be much more than eye candy. Characterization is also very essential; no amount of beautiful art can replace the lack of engaging characters or story line. I think the very best comics are incredibly well balanced, with the art and the story, together, being absolutely and equally meshed. Now guys care about these things too, but seem more tolerant of an imbalance if it occurs. Plus they tend to look for and celebrate a more intense level or presense of the “Yeah!” factor.

***
Alright kids, that’s about it for this week. Special thanks to Suzanne and Scott for giving up their time to have this conversation with me!

If you’d like to contact Suzanne and possibly purchase some of her work here’s her contact info:
Suzanne Rozema
TEMSTUDIO@AOL.COM
231-799-0200
www.catskillcomics.com

Big Love for the “Little” Woman

Thanks to those of you, many of whom were kind enough to write me over the course of this week, who actually trudged all the way through my loooooooooooooooooong kick off entry!

Your reward? Something (hopefully) short–but sweet? Your call.

In case some of y’all haven’t heard of him, there’s a totally fabulous, schooled, thorough and insightfully analytical dude out there named Les Daniels whose written a very cohesive series of books on superheroes. In each, he profiles a single major mainstream hero, from conception to “today” (well, at least his publication date anyway, lol). And while his Superman and Batman books are both totally engrossing reads, he even dares to get political and dabble in feminist discourse in his Wonder Woman: The Complete History.

But it’s not really him I’m writing about. It was in Les Daniels’ book that I first came across some truly fascinating details about Wonder Woman’s creator, William Moulton Marston.

This man was a Harvard graduate and lifelong academic. In fact you all know-him-but-didn’t-know-you-did as the inventor of the modern systolic blood pressure test.

But didja know he’s a freak?

The man lived in a polyamorous relationship with his wife Elizabeth and a woman named Olive Byrne. But this man was no sultan ordering these little women around, he honestly believed, “Give [men] an alluring woman stronger than themselves to submit to, and they’ll be proud to become her willing slaves!” (qtd. in Daniels’ DC Comics, pp. 58).

So, since I did plenty of talking last time, I will shut up and ask you this: Is he right?

And more importantly: is he a freak?

Remember, Marston was living his unconventional, ferociously pro-female lifestyle at a time when women had only recently received their ability to vote; a time many of us teen and twenty-somethings today think was all “Leave it to Beaver” interspersed with a couple of clear-cut, easily win-able World Wars.

Freak or fashionable ahead of his time? I’m not saying where I stand; maybe I’ll wax a little more philosophical about this on Monday. But if you do have time this weekend, I encourage you to go find the nearest library, bookstore or credible website (wikipedia’s entry honestly isn’t bad) and read up more on this guy, particular in Daniels’ book. Marston sure loved women–but what do you think of HOW he loved them?

And lastly–why the heck does sex kink stuff like D/s play and bondage always seem to get mixed up in comics? I’ll likely talk more about that soon too.

Send any comments or questions of course to me at knapolitano@wizardent.com

Have an awesome weekend!

She Comes on like a Rose…

I currently work at Wizard for two reasons: I lost my virginity and my Mom got cancer.

(Ewwww, gross! Too much information.)

Wait! Wait, please!

I swear I’m no diva, no narcissistic oversexed Paris-zilla who thinks You Tube hits are the qualifier of cool. I’m also really not trying to force-feed you the crap in my closet to clean it.

It’s just….my origin story. You’ve got one too, don’cha?

So… Let’s hear it!

Welcome to Chewing on Poison Ivy: A Girls, Comics and Pop Culture salad. My name is Kate, and I’m a humble feminist (undergraduate Women’s Studies minor) who loves men like Harley on Mista J. And women like Harley on Poison Ivy.

But that’s getting ahead in the story.

In this column, you’re going to find all the girl-related comics, movies and pop culture-palooza I can muster. Interviews with artists, writers, actors; discussions; reviews—I’ll always take suggestions on what you’d like to see covered, too. And men are always welcome. More than likely, always celebrated.

Why? They’ve got origins too. C’mon—tell me you’ve never wanted to give poor Wolverine a hug. (Logan, Weapon X, James Howlett—picture him trying to fill out a speed dating nametag. Or, just picture him speed dating.)

But—hey—we’re getting ahead again.

This first week, I figure I’d start with a handshake. I hate people who just hop on the internet and start ranting. Who are ya? Can I get a chance to see what you’re really about before I decide if I dig your opinion?

I promise I will always be honest with you. And yeah, hopefully a little entertaining too.

So, let’s get freakin’ started!

We’ve got three important things to figure out today: who the bamf am I, why Poison Ivy, and how can I get you, fabulous readers, involved here (scroll down: interactive opportunity below!)?

I could explain myself with whatever professional or academic credits I have, but we both know that origin’s no fun. How much do we really care where Pam Isley went to school as much as what happened to her there? (And do you know what happened to her there? According to her Post-crisis origin, Professor Jason Woodrue used Pam as his personal experimental piñata, eventually turning her into Poison Ivy. Pre-Crisis, a Professor tried to poison her outright. C’mon guys—are angry feminists really that wrong sometimes?)

I will say, though, that I first realized my complete thirst for education when I got to college. Before that, pretty much everything I accomplished academically I did to either not get in trouble, get my ego stroked, or spare my parents from horrendous college bills by shooting for different scholarships. But what real *&^% good is a scholarship if you don’t care about learning? For a long time, I was a walking contradiction.

I was also walking contraception. No danger of me getting pregnant, since my luck with men was like Batman’s shark-repellant. There was Bob, a dude who asked me out in our dorm’s elevator—and I wound up holding him while he wept during our second date over his ex-girlfriend. Then there was Adam, who literally hip-checked babies to get at free samples in the supermarket. Oy.

I was restless personally and academically. But at least I had my superheroes.

The first superhero that awoke the Nerd in me was Sam Kieth’s The Maxx. I was nine years old and stumbled onto MTV’s Liquid Television series during a sleepover with girlfriends. I touched the screen—I remember the static shock. And though my friends made me change the “boring” channel, I literally dreamed of his mind-warped jungle world that night.

Not too soon after, my Mom brought home my very first copy of Wizard magazine. For my brother.

I stole it.

She brought home another.

I stole it.

When my mother discovered me reading the latest Wizard in my huge horded pile in the basement one day, rather than hiss at her like Angela in Sleepaway Camp, I came out of my closet:

“Mama, your daughter is a Nerd. I mean—look at Witchblade—isn’t Michael Turner just the most luminous, engaging artist since Michelangelo? And did you know the Joker shattered Barbara Gordon’s spine!?”…

And thus emerged from a pile of coagulated Wizard pages, The Fangirl!

Fast forward now, back to restless college Me. It was fall of sophomore year, and I read a story in an English class by Nathaniel Hawthorne (you know, that Scarlet Letter guy) called Rappacini’s Daughter. If you haven’t, I suggest you check it out. Go on. I’ll wait. I really don’t mind….

…

Ready?

Did you notice? I didn’t get it right away myself—it wasn’t until I watched some Batman: The Animated Series that night that made me suspicious. I hopped on the net and googled the idea…

Our girl Poison Ivy was, in fact, partly inspired by the most classic of literature.

That was it for me: suddenly all of literature was one big cross-over event, true believers! I ended up an English major, set on professionally developing my Geekery. In fact, I was going to spread the Good Geek Word as an English professor. I had all the grad school applications ready (with samples of my Senior Capstone on the psychology of female Bat-villians in tow, of course).

Meanwhile, with my academic rebirth came a social one. If school could really be an adventure for me, then why not sex as well?

And no, I didn’t go start drinking in clubs and hooking up with strangers. I didn’t want to be wild. I didn’t want to risk my health. I just wanted to know what I wanted.

I had a million questions about my sexuality, and I decided not to clumsily work my way through them one partner at a time.

Maybe one day I will be comfortable enough to share all the details with you (I am not so naturally an exhibitionist), if you care to hear them. But for now, the short-form is, I went shopping on the internet, sorted through emails and dinners and phone calls, until I found the exact scenario I was satisfied with. In one very safe, happy evening, I was able to confirm that yes, I enjoy the company of both women and men, and not lose, but shake off my virginity into a new sense of confidence, self-respect, and empowerment. I had built the exact terms of my “loss” and now I honestly, truly believe I can do just about anything I put my mind to.

The real reason I’m telling you all this is because of an incidental point that came out of that night: I heard about a dating website, a free one that I should “totally check out.”

I did. The first day, I met my boyfriend Marc, and I haven’t looked at anyone, male or female, since. Love is truly an amazing thing. I’m not even going to attempt to be witty or wise on that—too many people have already said it succinctly.

On this note, though, I do want to pause again and think about our girl Ivy. She’s a plant-girl. And she keeps coming out of the closet with causes to green Gotham (lest we forget, Ivy managed to create a revolutionary bio-power source for the world in Ann Nocenti’s Cast Shadows), and keeps getting shoved back inside it. I worry sometimes about being bisexual. About knowing I am bisexual. There are so many pre-conceived notions out there—that I’m promiscuous, indiscriminating, perhaps even incapable of choosing one partner for life. And it’s not BEING perceived as one of those things that has me worried. I know I’m none of the above. It’s being LABELED at all. I submit to you all that Ivy is a special Bat-villain. The only one who isn’t crazy; just pure victim of being a bona fide outsider, the weight of human-made buildings weighing down on her natural personality. Remember that Arkham is an asylum—not a jail. What is this place really trying to “rehabilitate” her from?

I mean, imagine…truly imagine your workplace, right now, and you’ve got lips that kill with a kiss. Everyone’s typing, getting coffee and chatting around you, and you can take human life with a kiss. That’s what I truly love the most about superhero comics: it all takes place in the NOW—in our world—and that makes every character, including Ivy, pretty damn dynamic if you ask me. I think a lot of readers, myself included, can often forget that.

But I digress.

As all of my self-discovery was going on, I noticed my Mom was taking more and more trips to the doctor. One night—the day I’d mailed my grad school applications—she announced she had cancer. With the stage it was in, she’d have to stop working. If she stopped working, my Mom and Dad couldn’t afford their house. Okay. (EeeekOhmygoshhowcanthishappen???) This is what it is.

So I told them: no problem. I’m a college graduate. I’m getting a job.

I began searching job sites…for weeks…so many cubicles open and waiting for me…is this really where life is leading me? But then—

Hey—“Managing Editor needed for ToyFare Magazine?”

SAY WHAT??!!

No. No way, I decided. What sort of hope did a recent college grad (who had taken a temporary job teaching) have of landing that job? I had no networking connections or anything! I couldn’t handle the stress of being rejected by a company I so dearly loved while trying to help my Mom. So that was it. No.

And then that night, that very night, Marc met me for dinner and handed me an article.

“I thought this might help you on your search,” he said. “It’s about the best places to work in Rockland County.”

The first entry? Wizard Entertainment.

Damn you, God! Why you gotta have such a vicious sense of irony? Okay, okay…

So, the fight was on. And, like my virgin-adventure, I won.

I should pause here and say how very lucky I do, in fact, recognize I am. Fun fact: there are two men’s rooms on the first floor of Wizard. And yes, I work on ToyFare in one room surrounded by four men every day. But never once has being a girl ever been a hindrance to my acceptance among them. Why? Because they’re polite? Maybe. I like to think it’s because women have made a difference for themselves: that none of these guys actually care or notice I’m a girl, even though I do dress pretty much like Donna Reed and occasionally play John Mayer love songs when it’s my turn for music.

And, on a final note, funnily enough, my Dad got a big new job about five minutes after I got mine. No need for me to help them anymore.

Hello–Could things get much weirder?

I don’t know why things happened the way they did, but I think it’s pretty self-evident I was meant to be here right now. Either Wizard’s gonna teach me something, or I’m gonna teach something to Wizard. Or maybe both. I really can’t wait to find out, and look forward to doing so with you.

So there you have it. Here I am at Wizard because I lost my virginity and Mom got cancer. It’s my origin. Like it or not, there’s sex and disease in there, but you know what—so is that good ol’ Shakesperean pearl: to thine own self be true. If I didn’t admit to myself I was a horny/curious Jason Biggs, or look my mother’s current health issues in the face, I wouldn’t have found this new opportunity.

And now, to the more important question: what’s YOUR story?

I’m serious–if you’ve gotten this far in my loooooong first post–you deserve a virtual pat on the back! To any reader who’s down for some fun, email me at knapolitano@wizardent.com, tell me your Origin Story in 500 words or less, and you just might see yourself interviewed among the artists, celebs and creators I’ll be speaking to up here too! Us nerds gotta stick together!

So, whew! That’s enough writing for one day–especially one before a holiday! Welcome, again, to Chewing on Poison Ivy…hope I gave you a little food for thought today, and I’ll see you next time, when we’ll start looking at what makes other women in the pop culture world tick.