I think the surprise and/or fetishization that I encountered at comic shops was a combination of not looking entirely like a cave troll, female readers being less common, and conversely the vast majority of customers being hetero guys. (I wonder if a male manga fan would have a similar experience?)

Man, I should have mentioned some of the funnier incidents in the podcast, like the guy who tried to hit on me by telling me that pretty girls shouldn’t work in comic shops. And this one older guy who kept telling me these dreams he had about me and writing me into screenplays and bringing them up to the counter. Apparently he threw a tantrum after I left the store and never came back.

But you know, I was working retail in New York, and at the time walking home through a high-crime ghetto was far more threatening than noobs hitting on me ineffectively at work. On the whole I think people were more confused and intrigued than scary or rude. Fetishization can get old, but at least in terms of regulars and the people I worked with, after a while I earned their respect and they began to accept me.

I think it’s similar to how someone might react when meeting a female mechanic — some guys might be surprised or even skeptical, but if she fixes your car a couple times, you’ll probably get over it. (Or at least stop asking her if she’s REALLY a mechanic.)

Comics, video games and fiction in general allow the user to experience another life in another world. This implies that this life in this world has not worked out as well as the user would have liked. Hot people, both male and female, tend to do pretty well in this world, so they have little use for alternate realities.

Hence, nerds (people who prefer fiction to reality by my definition) are not always hot. Of course, that does not need to be a purely physical thing. Some people just don’t interact well with others for one reason or another. And obviously, there are exceptions, such as Laura, and ideally they would be treated as equals and appreciated without jealousy or confusion getting in the way.

It’s pretty hard for me to see this as anything but insulting to almost any comic book fan, though of course I am one myself, I admit to certain flaws and have no intention of hurting anyone’s feelings, but it’s the way I’ve come to see things, and it applied to this excellent episode of Ajax. My apologies to all I offend.

MODOK never appeared in any of these swimsuit specials, did he? Please say no.

That was awesome. More swimsuit commentary!
I vote you do the one with the New Warriors where Turbo has that freaky African facemask-type helmet on while she’s sunbathing (which has to be a really distinctive tan line in the making), and in the background the oldest kid from Power Pack (13 or 14 years old) was jumping around – they really DID objectify everyone!