Ryan Klassen Guest Art

Well I guess the title of this post speaks for itself but the wonderful artist behind this piece is done by the very cool Canadian webcomic creator Ryan Klassen. His main webcomic City Folk can be found @ http://cityfolk.ca/ and is an all ages comic with some very patriotically and stereotypically Canadian main characters. His design is very cool and well constructed. We're discussing to hopefully do a guest art switch with our webcomics in the near future, keep watching for that. For now enjoy his wonderful piece he did of Deena, Tara and Tobey!

Fine Arts Advanced Dimploma

I wanted to post a photo of my College Diploma to Linked In and in order to do that I had to have an image link so here it is if anyone else is interested in seeing it. I'm an edumacated artist. :)

Bronies

There has been a lot of talk on the topic of Bronies lately, and it’s such an interesting topic people don’t seem to know how to react to it. I accept it with open arms mainly because to me it’s showing that the genders are slowly becoming more and more equal and neutral, and things should not be separated as strictly for men or strictly for women. If the writing and art is good why can’t guys think of “My Little Ponies” as an awesome TV show? It seems as though it is more socially accepted for women to like "manly" things, but the first reaction I hear when I mention this topic to people just hearing about this new “brony” phenomenon is, “Are they gay?” Perhaps some are, but even if they are or are not, who cares? They’re not hurting anyone with what they like, are they? Only if they throw a plush of Rainbow Dash at you, I suppose, but even then, they’re harmless. When I was young I used to watch a lot of “Ninja Turtles” and no one really stopped me. I think girls liked to watch it because, well, turtles are cute animals, they may be a bit slimy, but that personally has never stopped me from finding turtles fascinating as creatures. Also, the ninja thing has always made me happy. Not for the violence aspect but mainly for the self-defense part, which I believe every woman should know. I think boys enjoyed it because; well turtles are really cool creatures as stated above, they have shells which are pretty much like built in armor so they don’t easily get hurt. Plus, they’re ninjas who fight robots (in the cartoon version anyways, which I watched a lot as a kid) and what’s not to like there? It was just an over-all cool show…which, if Michael Bay has any say, will be ruined soon enough. Anyways, I used to hang out with some boys after school that my mom would babysit and I also had brothers that I frequently saw so it was inevitable that I came out the way I did I suppose, which is being a very confused girl who is a tomboy that has no problem with acting and dressing girly whenever she wants to. Now, the brony thing doesn’t shock me much like it seems to be doing to everyone else and I’ll tell you why. When I was watching Ninja Turtles with these boys after school, one of the boys who was younger normally watched them with me and we played with the toys and all of that jazz, but his mom one day bought a bunch of little ponies for me to play with. I think she always wanted a daughter and probably felt bad that the boys were “forcing” me to play all these “boyish” games. I loved “My Little Ponies” they were my “girly” toy. It definitely outshone Barbie, which (though she had more jobs then Ken) seemed like a stereotype of a girl that I was supposed to grow up to be but couldn’t bring myself to want to be. Well, that boy who was younger, quickly took possession over the ponies his mom bought, telling me they were his. His mom had intended them to be kept there for me to play with in case I didn’t feel like playing with "G.I. Joes" but he insisted they were his. At first I worried that he would grow up to be “girly” himself, but that was a reaction of being brought up where it’s ok to be a tomboy (as my mom stated she was one when she was little) but the boys in my family were strictly brought up to be men. This seemed to be very ignorant of me. I even thought as a young child that it was wrong to think that way. I let him play with the ponies, after all, why are certain animals mainly a “girly” or “boyish” thing? Horses have been ridden by men and women. Women stereotypically love horses as much as men love cars I suppose, but men have been known to love and ride horses just as much as women have been known to love and drive cars. Look at cowboys and jockeys, I know that “Brokeback Mountain” movie made Westerns now seem “gay” but there are a slew of very cool movies and books on cowboys that are incredibly “manly”. Why can’t people accept the fact that men can like “My Little Ponies” and be perfectly straight? There’s nothing wrong with him watching it and being gay, but I actually, personally know a few gay men who like the original series rather than the new one. One said, and I quote, “The drawing style is freaky and kind of even babyish.” So therefore he refused to watch it. It’s just a new style that I guess can be hard for some people to grasp. The writing is really rather wonderful though and I think the creator of the reboot, Lauren Faust, meant to make the show less boring as a lot of shows directed towards girls have been in the past and that’s why Networks very rarely go for a show meant to be for a female audience. Girls aren’t as into those kind of cartoons and with the ratings so low why bother spending a ton of money into something that won’t generate any money? The show is packed with such colour, and energy, and adventure and excitement, and even some character development so why wouldn’t people watch it? It has everything a show needs to survive. So what does all this have to do with my comic? Well lots, this show (like my comic) has strong, cool, but still flawed characters. Not only that but in a new plot-twist I have written that Tobey becomes a “Brorsey” (which is technically a “Brony” but I had to change the name of the show so that people knew what I was doing but it doesn’t disrupt this fictitious world I have created that’s not too unlike our own). Why can’t Tobey be a “Brony”? He’s has the right characteristics to be one. Someone comfortable enough with himself to like what he wants to and not care what others think of him, even if it does cause Tara to make fun of him. He can easily laugh at himself and shrug things off, which I think is a really strong trait to have that others may confuse for weakness. I love that men are breaking stereotypes just as much as women are, and are blurring the line between what the genders are supposed to be about. Why can’t “Bronies” be accepted with open arms into our society? I, for one, think this is a refreshing change for the better.

Tobey as a pony.

TBT Books @ Wizard World

Those who know me know I'm a comic artist and those who know me fairly well know that I like going to conventions, those who know me REALLY well know that the first convention I ever attended was Paradise Comicon in 2007 (otherwise known as Wizard World Toronto now) and I was selling the first comic book I ever published called "Dork Girl" there. So now you know me REALLY well I suppose. Anyways, I thought it'd be fitting to go there and launch the publication of my first set of Tom Boy Tara Books...I know! It's about frickin' time! I've been doing it since 2008 and it's now 2012 but I've finally organized myself and put together a set of 4 books each 60 pages long, including 50 comics each and some extra art towards the back. It was fun, yet tiring to do, and I had no life for a while, as I have a day job that's full time so every weekend I had was spent planting myself in a seat and agonizingly putting together a manga-sized book with my comics using a template and fixing them up to make them print-worthy. Seeing as it's an Indy comic I thought it was fitting to use the site Ka-Blam and have an online store for them on Indy Planet to make the independent comic experience more complete. Finally! I'm going to a Comic BOOK Convention to show off my TBT merch AND I finally have books to show! I know, it's a webcomic first, but now that I have books, people at these conventions can actually see what I'm talking about when I try to tell them about my stuff. Oh GLORIOUS DAY! Finally! But wait...I have not yet received my copies of comics to sell, and the Comicon is only a week away...perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself here. Maybe I won't be able to show off my wonderful comics I've been toiling over for months and months only to prepare for this one 2-day show! If that is the case and I AM indeed bookless at the convention, I have a back-up plan. Everyone can still go to my webcomic as usual and if they want to they can purchase the comics on there as they are displayed in my Products section of my site, OR once I receive the comics I plan on putting them in random stores in the Toronto region (details on that to come) which I planned on doing if I had left-over books anyways. Hopefully I get the books on time, as I would love to have them for the con, but if not at least this way I won't be too bummed out. So far though the year of 2012 has been busy but extremely fun! Hope you all come out to see me at Wizard World!

What Is Tom Boy Tara About?

I get asked this question quite frequently and it’s extremely hard for me to explain. My fall-back answer is often, “It’s about a tomboy named Tara…go read it yourself and find out!” or even sometimes, “It’s about the perspective of a tomboy who is now grown up and still remains child-like” which may not be entirely true, it’s just a simple explanation to get people intrigued enough to go check it out. Upon much reflection after creating over 200 comics it is still very hard for me to explain my work. I just do it.

After a lot of thinking about it though I feel it’s possibly even my perception of how our society’s gender roles have become almost a grey area and it’s only the beginning of the confusion we are feeling about who we are as a whole. Even though, I know how to spell the word “tomboy” I split the word up in the title to not only be cute, but to make the word “boy” in tomboy stand out. This part should be obvious as to why and hopefully there be no need to explain myself there.

I’ve even had people approach me and ask why the comic is not just about Tara, meaning, Tobey is just as involved and there have been numerous comics only about Tobey and his problems as well. Agreed, the tomboy part of the title is merely a staple to show gender confusion and how it’s slowly being accepted. Tomboys are not fully accepted by society yet, as there are very few media outlets that glorify them. If anything, the tomboys are the side-kick characters, although more and more these day’s people are beginning to realize that girls are very powerful in mind, body and soul. The worst of it is, every day I see many sensitive men in our world and a lot of them so sensitive that they feel the need to hide their sensitivity because they’re afraid to look or act different than the way a stereotypical man is supposed to be, when in actuality (I feel anyways) those men who have the “balls” to be who they are and openly sensitive are the manliest men of all, and those who lie and cheat and run away from their problems to me aren’t men at all, but merely cowards.

In Western society at least there are still a lot of prejudice and hate, but I’ve noticed a lot more acceptance too of people who are trying to be who they are. I hold those people who are who they are with highest regard and respect. Sometimes being who you are isn’t always going to make you look perfect, you may even look down-right flawed, but you’re real, which in this society (full of make-overs and plastic surgery) is a rarity that needs to be treasured.

Though, it’s not a bad thing to be girly, I know the character Deena is definitely not idolized in a lot of ways, at least not in the beginning of the comic. The main trait of a stereotypical girl is her beauty and her caring-sensitivity, which I have highlighted with Deena’s character. To make her look flawed I gave her a naivety and in some situations an absolute ignorance. She is sweet and will give you chances though for a long time until you really make her mad, which is seldom. She will stand up for what she believes is right and has an almost innocence to her which sort of makes her look like a Saint next to Tara sometimes.

All girls just like all men, are unique in more ways than one, whether it’s in looks, personality, their goals in life, etc. We need to except and recognize that our differences make us amazing beings. Instead of shunning those who are different, we need to embrace it. Our society that seems to be reaching a state of evolution still is archaic in a sense, but it is getting there slowly. There will always be those who will never understand why we want to be who we are, but we need those challenging people in life unfortunately to realize how blessed we are to find another person who understands our individuality.

Nerd Mafia Promo Party

I know I've been neglecting my duties as a blogger recently, sorry it's been busy as of late, what with working and trying to put out a comic a week as well as going to promo parties. What's a promo party, you ask? Well, only the greatest thing a starving artist/writer like me could ever attend! Put on by the very cool Nerd Mafia, and hosted by the wicked Andrew Uys who is responsible for Uysfaber and his lovely wife Theresa. A few friends of mine in the comic/creative/nerd industry all got together with some really awesome interviewers like radio/pod cast hosts, bloggers and those who do video interviews for their site, as we mingled, had some food and alcohol and enjoyed the lovely June day while listening to the magical music of Nerds With Guitars. It was wonderful. I got to see some old friends like Alice Quinn of Tdotcomics as well as my friend D.K. who's working on Hardware, Sally Christensen and her awesome boyfriend John T. who do so much for Nerd Girl Pinups and have their own little business called Yarn of Despair. I also met some new people while I was there, mainly one of the very knowledgeable and cool hosts of Geek Hard, Andrew Young who did a full interview of me here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ykge4qtnLM as well as Eli Green and Nathan Schwartz from Lazyreviewzzz who did a lovely tribute video to the party here: http://www.viddler.com/explore/lazyreviewzzz/videos/222/2.806 Also the lovely Sally Christensen that I already mentioned above asked me to do my first interview of the day so I was a bit nervous but as the interviews went on I loosened up. She interviewed me and other cool nerds here: http://nerdgirlpinups.com/article/326 check out the videos, I hope you enjoy them, and visit the websites of these wonderfully creative people in Toronto. You may realize you love what they're doing and might even come out to a Nerd Mafia party in the near future!

P.S. Sorry to those I met/greeted at the party I did not mention, there are so many cool people at this party as I'm sure you can see by the videos, I could not meet everyone there and those I did talk to and did not mention, again my apologies. Maybe next blog post! :)

My Top 10 Fave Animated Tomboys

Ok, I think cartoons are the perfect place to showcase strong, sarcastic and even gutsy women. Maybe it’s the fact that this is where most outcasts come to share a common ground but if you’re going to make a cool character, animation is the place to be. In most things, tomboys are considered to be the side-kick characters as they are in a lot of cartoons as well, but there have also been a few that have become the stars of the show either because it’s all about them or just because they stand out on the coolest people ever scale! Perhaps I am biased because I have a comic about a tomboy but I think tomboys are the most fascinating people in human nature. Either way without further ado here are my top ten fave animated tomboys:

Gadget from Rescue Rangers:

This wrench-weilding mouse is not only handy but oh-so-adorable and has even caught the eye of Chip and Dale…whom, let’s face it, aren’t even in her species. I love Gadget’s name and strong nature. Oh and by the way, cool goggles hun, you were Steampunk before it was even invented!

Lydia from Beetlejuice:

Ok some may argue with me on this one and say, she’s not a tomboy, she’s more Goth. I say, who said Goths can’t be tomboys? I think they go nicely together like skulls to Hamlet. I dunno…fact is, she doesn’t quite get along with Pru that prom-queen chick and hangin’ out with ghosts all day don’t make you all that popular with the female living unless you’re into that sorta thing like her. To me she was always very cool and I was drawn to her spunky nature and fascination for all things unusual.

Ashley Spinelli from Recess:

Often referred to by her last name, Spinelli was frequently seen getting dirty, playing sports and punchin’ out anyone who insulted her clique on the playground. I almost forgot about recess until I watched this show back in high school and Spinelli was always my favorite character on the show. I loved how she hated “The Ashleys” (the group of princesses all with the same name who were clone-like in nature and were all rich, pretty and popular…aka: Snots) and defended her friends without even a hesitation. I also thought it was hilarious how she seemed to have no emotions until the episode where we meet her parents and they embarrassingly reveal that she has a crush on T.J. the main character.

Lor from The Weekenders:

Another Disney show (I know, who knew Disney was that into producing so many shows about tomboys, it was a shock to me too, but then again, they did make Mulan) Lor was cute and a bit boy crazy but her gazillion brothers (who would often, for some reason, pile on top of Lor for fun) kept her in line I think. Also she hung out with guys and a very smart chick, these guys were never very popular in their school but they had some fun weekends together, shooting hoops, eating pizza and doing “normal” kids stuff.

Kim Possible from…Kim Possible:

Yup, yet another Disney show I dressed as her for Halloween once. Kim is the butt-kicking spy/superhero you always dreamed you could be…she also tries to keep a head on her shoulder and even tries out for cheerleading which you don’t always see tomboys doing in these cartoons, but hey she’s the leading lady, she hasta be kinda cute. Her best friend is a wise-cracking, nerdy guy who has a naked mole rat as a pet. She tries to be a normal teenager but often fails; I don’t feel that bad for her though, she’s got a sweet high school job.

Buttercup from Powerpuff Girls:

Despite her simplified and cute look this girl is very intimidating. She always looks mad whenever I see her. I’ll admit I didn’t watch this show enough (I didn’t get the channel when it was on) but I find Buttercup was the coolest outta the girls and I know a ton of people who have called her as their favorite. She kicks monkey-butt! And no that’s not an expression she really kicks monkeys in the butt, if you haven’t seen it, look up Mojo Jo-jo he’s my fave villain!

Jessie from Undergrads:

Another costume I did for Halloween, Jessie was awesome. This show was so wicked and I’m sure most would agree. Too bad it only lasted a season, but maybe that’s how it remained so good, it didn’t wear out its welcome…at least I didn’t get sick of it unless I allowed myself to watch it over and over again. Anyways Jessie totally had the hots for Nitz but didn’t bluntly flirt with him about it; at least he didn’t notice ‘cuz he was too busy pining over Kimmy. She was quick-witted and one of the guys. A good combination of sexy and cool, Jessie was a character I have always enjoyed watching.

Nikki from 6-Teen:

Another purple-haired, femme-fetal, Nikki is one of my fave characters in the Canadian born show 6-Teen. Maybe I missed an episode or two but I never quite understood why she worked at that store with so many blond clones. Maybe she enjoyed mocking them or feeling superior to their very ditsy ways but either way it made me laugh. Normally in most situations girls like her would have either been fired or more likely would have quit that job long ago but for some reason she stuck it out. She was smart, mature, gutsy, sarcastic, and had a good head on her shoulders. Out of all the girls I think Nikki was my fave and she made me wanna tune in as often as I could. This show had a lot of fun characters though too, if you haven’t seen it I suggest you check it out.

Joan of Arc from Clone High:

Another Canadian show, yes Joan did seem pretty gothy too, and who knows why she liked Abe, it was such a silly show. I loved how she would punch out JFK if he ever made an offensive comment and kicked Gandhi in the face for the same exact reason. I also loved how she loathed Cleopatra and how they seemed to share a common animosity for one another. The historical stereotypes in one school and how they interacted with each other was pure genius, and the way the characters would point out the random flaws in the writing out of nowhere made it even more hysterical.

Daria and Jane from Daria:

Ok, I know these should be #10 and #11 on the list but these are my #1 fave tomboys…and well since they’re from the same show it was really hard to separate them. I love the characters equally. I feel even though Daria is most likely thought of as a geek and Jane the crazy artist they were both drawn to each other as friends through their common tomboyish personality trait. Daria was created on Beavis and Butthead (which I’ll admit I rarely watched) that they called “Diarrhea” as she sardonically zings them back with her awesome wit. On her show she held her own quite nicely I think. Running 5 seasons long and gaining character development along the way. Jane and Daria seem attached at the hip and despite major curveballs and bumps along the way somehow manage to remain friends through everything they go through, even when Daria steals Jane’s man?! Wow, talk about sharing everything as friends! They both have their differences but a stronger similarity. Both gals agree that they possess a really good friendship. I think it’s great when two tomboys have found each other and can keep each other sane in this crazy mixed up world, especially when that world is full of those that are the complete opposite of them.

Those are my fave animated tomboys, I’m sure I forgot a few along the way, what’s your favorite tomboy of all time?