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[addiemon]

Mean Tweets - President Obama Edition #2

[addiemon]

bless <3

Groundbreaking Female Comic Book Store Owner Now Appears on a Marvel Cover

Ariell Johnson has been collecting comic books for more than a decade, but she’ll soon add a very personal one to her collection.

The 33-year-old founder and president of Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse, Inc. in Philadelphia will appear on a variant cover of “Invincible Iron Man #1.”

The first image of the book, which goes on sale next month and features Johnson having a meal with new Marvel superhero RiRi Williams, is below.

Johnson said she owes the collaboration to her colleague Randy Green, whom she said spearheaded the project and conceptualized the cover.

“When the email went out about potential variants for stores, he was really excited and took it upon himself to work out the [details]. It was really his hard work,” she told ABC News. “I knew what it was supposed to look like, but having the actual art in front of you is so much different. It’s really exciting.”

Not that she hasn’t earned it. Johnson opened Amalgym last December, becoming the first black, female comic book store owner on the East Coast. However, her obsession of all things geek really began around age 10 or 11, when she discovered “X-Men” character Storm. Johnson credits the character, one of the first black, female superheroes, with being “the bridge that got me into this world.”

“To think I made it a decade-plus and I had never seen a black, woman superhero is crazy because little white boys have so many [with whom they identify]: ‘I want to be Iron Man!’ ‘I want to be Batman!’ ‘I want to be Superman.’ ‘I want to be Han Solo!’ When you are a person of color, you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel to find someone you can identify with. I always felt like I was watching other people’s adventures,” she explained. “Being introduced to Storm was a pivotal moment for me because had I not come across her, I might have grown out of my love for [comics].”

After graduating from cartoons to comics in high school, Johnson began buying her own books in college. Her Friday routine was comforting: She’d go to the comic book store to get her weekly stash, and then take the books across the street to her favorite coffee shop, where she’d read them over a hot chocolate and piece of cake. When the coffee shop was forced to close some 10 years ago, Johnson decided it was up to her to create a space that gave her the same feeling of warmth.

“The goal is to be an inclusive geek space,” she said. “So it’s not just comics; it’s gaming, it’s sci-fi, it’s horror, whatever you geek about, we want to make room for you!”

She’s also proven to be a role model for girls and women. Johnson, who points to Marvel’s diverse cast of characters and story lines as proof that the industry is evolving in a positive way, said that she’s worked hard to make sure that everybody feels welcome at Amalgam.

“I had a girl tell me I had an excellent book selection and she was 7 or 8. I don’t know how welcome she might feel in some other spaces,” she said. “Women exist in this space! We’ve always been reading comic books, we just may not have been as open about it. I definitely get very positive feedback from not just little girls, but grown women too.”

[addiemon]

And it still is 

[addiemon]

Seven would definitely be weak for cat stockings

bonus~ 

He wanted to match

[addiemon]

this has been my mood for the past month or so 

[addiemon]

me after getting through all of secret 01′s chapters:

[addiemon]

i can’t even take you seriously right now

[addiemon]

Have you devised your master plan to steal Elly from Mr. Jumin yet?

((there will probably be no next time))

[addiemon]

but. can. you. IMAGINE. It’s not normal MC but u git it ☄

[addiemon]

It would be really great if there would be a Saeran Route. I want to know how he exactly feels about everything. And what exactly happened to him. His POV would be really great. - Art by Hachiimi on tumblr

[addiemon]

Extrapolating

Re: my earlier post.

If you listen to the Judge John Hodgeman podcast, you’ve probably heard of this principle: People Like What They Like. In theory, this is easy.But throughout my fandom years- 20+ now (I’m an old!) -I’ve met numerous people in fandom who would attempt to shame me or others for the things they like. Which is hilarious because even today, there are few geeks out there who have never been shamed for liking geek things, but they’ll still go out there and try to shame others for liking the “wrong” geek things.

Did I say hilarious? I meant REALLY RIDICULOUS.

Look, as an old, I know a lot of folks on Tumblr are young, and I know when you’re a young, establishing and experimenting with your identity is key. As a master’s candidate studying consumer and fan psychosociology, I am also aware of any number of psychological theories that talk about how A) in their fandom circles, fans’ proclaimed tastes can essentially serve as shorthand for their identity; and B) even within a social group (like a fandom), the instinct to positively distinguish oneself from others is strong.

In other words: we can be strongly driven to express our identity in terms of what we like- and what we don’t.

And you know what? That’s totally fine- when you’re expressing your likes and dislikes respectfully and kindly.

But if you’re just shit-talking another group/fandom/ship, or- as in the inspiration for my earlier post -fansplaining to someone you don’t know why they shouldn’t like a ship they lightly, casually, and briefly expressed affection for -you’re not productively adding to the conversation, you’re just trying to shame someone else for what they like. You’re trying to establish your identity- but at the potential expense of someone else’s sense of self, worth, and acceptance.

I’m an old, so while it might bother me, I don’t let rando Internetters define my identity. But this behavior can literally shut others- the younger, the more anxious, etc. -into a closet where they don’t feel like they can safely express themselves.

So…just think about that the next time you’re about to lay the smack down on a random internet stranger’s Thing They Like, ya?

Yes, ships- most of em! - are problematic in one or dozens of ways. It's important to discuss those and to discuss what they do and don't mean as far as Real World Expectations, and I would never suggest otherwise.

But trying to shut down someone's tastes isn't discussion. It's just shutting someone down for something they like. That's never OK, and for all the Tumblr community's best efforts at being inclusive, progressive, and a safe space, it's really frustrating to see this happen over and over and over again.

TLDR, treat people with respect, even randos who stumble into your replies when tag surfing, regardless of what they like, provided that they're bit being straight up rude or intrusive about it.

And...go!

[addiemon]

lol sometimes you just find the right gif at the right time

A message for the Mercy tags

[addiemon]

Sick of the Tumblr purity test for ships

Don’t condescendingly assume people don’t know that their faves are problematic.

Also, everyone should ship what they like and should be able to say so, provided that they’re not forcing explicit / inappropriate content on others.

:)

[addiemon]

haha 24 fics since i posted yesterday, gj guys! WE DID IT!

[addiemon]

WE'RE SO CLOSE YOU GUYS

[addiemon]

New headcanon for Elizabeth 3rd? Maybe that's part of why Jumin's so protective of her...

[addiemon]

Jaehee: Zen and Seven are in your office.

Jumin: What do they want?

Jaehee: To make fun of you, I think.

Jumin: And you let them in?

Jaehee: And got them coffee.