WEDNESDAY | 4.22.2015 | MACEANDCROWN.COM | Vol. 57, Issue 23
Three of “Fantastic Four” win SGA Election, Ndiritu keeps Presidency. TechCrunch
Snapsolve Eases Homework Woes Rashad McDowell Technology Editor
Artist and author Justin Hall and artist Phil Jimenez speak at a panel on LGBTQ characters in comics on April 15, 2015. Josh Whitener | M&C
“Out! From the Pages of Queer Comics:” Gay Comic Author/Writer Speaks at ODU Josh Whitener Assistant News Editor The Old Dominion University Institute of Humanities co-sponsored “Out! From the Pages of Queer Comics” featuring comic artist, author and historian Justin Hall and comic artist Phil Jimenez on April 15. The panel focused on the development and progression of LGBTQ characters and themes inside both underground and mainstream comics. Hall explained (via Skype, due to an unexpected illness) the genesis and development of queer comics. By providing illustrations, students and guests were presented with a visual timeline of comics created by gay writers that were originally published in exclusive queer magazines and newspapers. Hall gave the timeline of how gay writers voiced their advocacy through the medium of comics. Jimenez spoke openly about his personal experience as a gay comic book writer and artist. He described how his childhood and early awareness of his homosexuality influenced his desire to draw.
“Growing up being gay and not really knowing what that meant, but knowing I was different and that that difference was wrong was a really sort of driving force for finding someplace else where I could be who I was and be ok with that,” Jimenez said. Jimenez grew up in Los Angeles with this mother. From an early age, he utilized his talent as a form of escapism to deal with the prejudice he received as a child for being homosexual. Eventually, Jimenez persistently presented portfolios to major comic book publishers like Marvel and DC. Jimenez came out publically while working on a tribute graphic novel, “The Tempest,” dedicated to Neal Pozner who died of AIDs in 1994 with whom he had a close relationship. “Neal had a terrible fear of being forgotten, so I think if anything the tribute to him that I wrote, the miniseries that I wrote, dedicated to him was as much about a relationship as it was about making sure that he was honored and that part of his legacy [was to],” Jimenez said. Pozner served as DC Comics Creative Editor before his death, helping
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Jimenez publish his first illustrations in a 1991 miniseries “War of the Gods.” Jimenez’s career flourished as he went on to various titles for DC’s “mature readers” imprint Vertigo, and also titles such as “Infinite Crisis” and “Wonder Woman.” He’s also known for his illustrations on Marvel’s “Astonishing X-Men” and “The Amazing Spiderman.” Additionally, Jimenez also opened up about his experience “coming out” and working in the industry as an openly gay man. “The editorial staff at the time was really young, incredibly diverse, people from all different kinds of backgrounds – incredibly tolerant and so it was really a nonissue there behind the scenes. The company was incredibly supportive, the president, the publisher, they were all very supportive,” Jimenez said. Students with varying majors in Art and English attended a brown bag lunch discussion with Jimenez before the event. The roundtable discussion touched on topics pertaining to the comic book industry. Jimenez gave students advice on the most successful
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way to enter into the industry based on his own success working with major comic book publishers. Students received answers to questions about the approach to submitting work to comic book publishers and the differences between traditional artwork versus digital art. The presentation concluded with Hall and Jimenez taking questions from attendees regarding the nature of LGBTQ characters in modern comics. The discussion focused on how current writers handle the portrayal of gay and lesbian comic characters such as Wildstorm Comic’s Midnighter or Batwoman and Marvel’s X-Men characters Mystique and Rictor. “When it comes to creating content, i.e. gay characters, typically mainstream superhero comics… gay characters are ok if they fit within a very sort of, I’d like to say, heteronormative paradigm,” Jimenez said.
Difficult homework assignments, meet your match. On April 14, the creators of StudyRoom, the world’s largest social network of college students collaborating on assignments and tutoring, released a new app called Snapsolve. As Emerson Malca, co-founder and CEO of StudyRoom, reiterated several times in an interview, Snapsolve is designed to provide on demand help to anyone who needs it. Snapsolve is designed to allow users to find near instant help with homework assignments. This is achieved by taking a picture or by typing a question in manually. The moment the app is opened, it asks for permission to use the camera and that’s about all there is in terms of set up. There is an option to create an account and sign in, but it’s not required. Once you have the question you want to ask in mind, there are four options, or bounties. Easy is the free option, which matches the user with one a StudyRoom tutor as quick as possible. Decaf, the $1.99 option, encourages questions that are more challenging and assures to have a response within 20 minutes. Coffee shop, $4.99, promises an average wait time of 16 minutes. The most expensive option, Energy Drink, has an average wait time of 11 minutes at $9.99. All paid options have a money back guarantee if the services rendered are unsatisfactory. Snapsolve is an extension of StudyRoom’s Student Tutor Program. A network of over 5,000 college students is available for cross collaboration on all degrees of schoolwork. Cont. D1
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