But what fueled my fire, what bolstered my righteous rage, was the thought that Captain America, and all the other heroes of my comic book fantasies, would not let this stand. (Jennifer Margret Smith, "The Captain in the Capitol: Invoking the Superhero in Daily Life")Mad Norwegian Press must be pretty pleased to have two books in the running for Best Related Work in this year's Hugos (the other being Chicks Unravel Time). It is less my cup of tea, to be honest; my knowledge of comics is rather inferior to my knowledge of Doctor Who, and this book is clearly for enthusiasts. (I was also a bit puzzled to find that the foreword is by a man, and there are two interviews with male creators, which seems to me to contaminate the "Chicks..." brand.)
However, there were some interesting pieces. Jennifer Margret Smith's very political chapter (see quote above) spoke to me, though, and I found the two chapters on cosplay.(by Erica McGillivray and Anika Milik) very informative (perhaps because the authors did not assume much familiarity with the subject from the readership). Other chapters recounting the authors' love for this or that character or author I generally skipped. There are also some interesting stories about being female in a social environment that is male and not free of misogyny - though perhaps fewer than I had expected. This is generally a feelgood book by and for those who have stayed the course.
I'm afraid this won't be at the top of my Hugo ballot, but it may not be at the bottom either.
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