yesrhysspeaces-blog

[yesrhysspeaces-blog]

Beware of pretty wrapping on empty boxes.

Anonymous

[yesrhysspeaces-blog]

The Princess (A Poem)

When I was a little girl

I dreamed of being a princess;

Locked away in a high tower somewhere,

Waiting for my prince charming,

Cloak billowing in the wind as he rode

Across the plains, through the forests

To slay a dragon

And save me from all of my problems.

When I was a little girl

I thought that ‘love conquers all’-

I thought that having someone who loved me,

And called me beautiful,

and bought me flowers

Could erase all of the pain

I had shoved down deep

In the darkest corners of my heart.

I thought, stupidly thought,

That I was a prize,

That someday some man would wake up

And realize that he couldn’t live without me.

That I was somehow still meant to be the princess,

Locked away for some deserving prince

Who would somehow, in some grand gesture of love and heroism,

prove himself to me and whisk me away from the tower I had trapped myself in.

When I was eighteen, I gave my heart away to a boy who said all of the right things.

He called me beautiful,

And kind...

He kissed me- touched me in all the right places,

And made me feel like maybe- maybe I was worth something.

But the thing they don’t tell you about the princes in the fairytales

Is that they never really get to know the princesses

they so desperately think they are saving.

Sometimes they kill the dragons

That she hatched from eggs,

Dragons that she loved more than anything,

Dragons that were there for her,

Long before any prince came to shake things up.

And sometimes, when these princesses have had enough-

When the prince’s mask falls off, revealing the monster-the beast- beneath,

When she weeps for her dragons,

And vows to leave the prince behind forever…

Sometimes these princesses are called witches.

Hags. Evil spirits.

How could such a lovely, darling prince ever fall for such a horrendous creature?

The princesses- witches-

Are left to pick up the pieces alone

Relive all of the darkness they thought their prince had taken away.

More princes come.

They tell her she is not a witch.

She’s beautiful.

She’s lovely.

She’s worthy.

She’s worth their love.

The witch falls- hard, again

Not learning from the first time

That all princes are the same.

She ignores the forest animals

She has befriended,

Ignores her new dragons,

Ignores her potions,

Her house in the woods,

Her cat.

This new prince is different,

He’s kind,

I know him better.

I’ve taken the time.

I know him.

But time and again,

Prince after prince,

It’s all the same.

Because this princess-

This silly, stupid princess-

Has failed to realize that a prince is not a hero.

That she is not merely the prize to be won

At the end of some man’s journey.

No,

This princess never learned

That she has her own story to tell-

One in which she is the hero,

On a long, trying, heartbreaking,

Soul-searching, healing,

Heartwarming, vengeful, powerful,

Kick-ass, epic adventure

To save a damsel

In more distress than she’ll ever know.

Because every tale seems to have some damsel to save

But sometimes we princesses forget

That the damsel in distress is us,

And that she can only be saved by ourselves.

-Akinleye Rhys

[yesrhysspeaces-blog]

So sweet!

Meet the New Comic Shop Opening the Door for Inclusion

The news has not been good for Local Comic Shops this year. Many shops are closing as the market shifts. But a few weeks ago a new shop opened up in Lexington, Massachusetts. Lexington has a strong connection to superhero comics as writer Kurt Busiek was raised there. And now Lexington has Omar’s World of Comics whose proprietor has a enthusiastic love of comics that he shares with everyone who comes in.

Omar Masood, who is 22, is a student in a High School program designed for students with special needs. Omar will age out of the program this year and he is now working at his chosen vocation - comics.

When I visited the store earlier this week, Omar and I talked a bit about his love of comics. His favorite superheroes are “Black Panther, Spider-Man, Hulk and Captain America.” And as you can see by his shirt, Superman. That said if he had to pick two comics to bring to a desert island it would be Batman and Green Arrow. He has pretty firm opinions on the actors who have best portrayed superheroes - Adam West as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman. 

,As you can probably guess, I asked him who his favorite female superheroes were and he quickly said Wonder Woman and Batgirl.

Clearly, Omar has excellent opinions. 

But there’s more to this store than just the man whose name is on the door. The shop is big, brightly lit and welcoming. 

Inside there is clearly marked are for kids comics.

There is lots of comic related merchandise including the very popular DC Superhero Girls and stuffed toys for the youngest fans.

The store has the newest comic floppies and shelves of graphic novels.

In addition to comics and comic related merchandise the store also features games and game nights.

The store is being backed by Omar’s parents according to Wicked News with less of a focus on profitability and more providing an opportunity for Omar.  The store has a manager, Sally Hoops, who told me she is a newcomer to comics. 

Omar also hires his friends, interns from the same program he is graduating from, to work in the store. 

The store also has a rock hard code of conduct policy that states, they “are dedicated to providing a harassment-free shopping and event experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion, or any other factor.”

A few weeks ago I discussed on Twitter the challenges of the LCS and the hard fact that the market is changing and the market will need a new strategy. More focus on trades and toys for one thing. And of course a realization that they must reach out beyond their traditional demographics. Omar’s shop is the kind of shop I was thinking of. It’s family friendly, it has a good mix of products. And there is no question it is welcoming to all.

You can find out more about Omar’s World of Comics here.

[yesrhysspeaces-blog]

Absolutely love this song- all about spreading peace (”Two High” references putting up a peace sign). You should check it out!! :)