Give a little geek this Christmas...

Not too long ago, practically every geek on the internet was reading an article about a little girl called Katie who was bullied at school for having a Star Wars water bottle that was "for boys".

In no time, a Facebook event sprang up calling for people to get their geeky pride on and wear something Star wars related on this Friday - December 10th.

Katie's mom, Carrie, posted a follow up article which I thought made a really awesome and important point - which was that we should think very carefully about how we gender label our toys and the effect that that has on children.

To that end, she suggested a really wonderful thing - which is that we each donate a Star Wars/geeky toy to a shleter/hospital/children's charity and very clearly label it as being suitable for a girl OR a boy.

If we all stop and thing about it - anyone who is in to geeky things definitely has at least a little bit of cash to spare. We go to conventions, make costumes, and buy lightsabers when we really shouldn't (GUILTY!).

So this Friday I'm heading out in my Her Universe Star Wars t-shirt and dropping my geeky gift off at the Salvation Army Christmas Present Appeal - which anyone in the UK can do at their nearest Salvation Army or participating Superdrug.

You can also Google for local children's charities or your nearest children's hospital as they always appreciate donations.

Let's make an effort to get some awesome toys to kids who wouldn't have the chance to receive gifts like that otherwise, and raise a new generation of geeks while we're at it!

Empire Strikes Back Poster

I was certainly appreciating my job in its own right already, but the awesome perks are starting to roll in... I won this signed limited edition 30th anniversary Empire Strikes Back poster by Joe Corroney at a pub quiz we had the other night and frak me, it's worth $40!!!

Isn't it gorgeous? I can wake every morning to see Darth Vader reaching out for me... *happy sigh*

Now if only I could currently afford a frame to put it in!

The Art of Drew Struzan

If Drew Struzan's name doesn't immediately ring a bell with you - and it certainly didn't with me at first - don't panic. You may not know who he is but you definitely know what he does.

Struzan's photo-real portraiture has been adorning theatre walls since the 1980's. With movie poster designs for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Back to the Future under his belt, it is hardly a wonder that Struzan's iconic style is immediately recognisable.

Thankfully, someone recognised that his work needed some considerable celebration and The Art of Drew Struzan is being published this September.

Collecting the original commission sketches in addition to multiple versions of the finished posters, The Art of Drew Struzan is a visually stunning walkthrough Drew's remarkable career.

Struzan's sense of humour pervades throughout - with an amusing backstory to go with his work on each movie.

I just couldn't stop reading this book. It's a gorgeous coffee table hardback and you'll find yourself flipping through pages again and again. I thought I was just going to skim through some of the artwork, but I found myself compulsively reading.

As the book goes on, a saddening trend becomes apparent. Studios commission Struzan to do a comp poster, then ultimately go with something Photoshopped and completely minimalistic. His proposed Pan's Labyrinth poster was particularly powerful. Yet even his Back to the Future ideas were fun, quirky and ultimately unused. If anything, this book is the story of Hollywood's inability to keep up with one man's imagination.

It also has the distinction of being the only book I have ever read with both an introduction and outroduction.

Memorabilia, Star Wars, art, cinema history; if any of the above do it for you then this is the book for you. Even if you don't buy it; definitely rock up to your local bookstore and leaf through it. Try not to scare the staff with your fangirl squeals though.

You can check out a video of Drew at this year's SDCC here. Information about the feature length documentary Drew: The Man Behind the Poster can be found here.

The Art of Drew Struzan is published by Titan Books on September 14th in the USA and September 24th in the UK. US folks can pre-order it on amazon.com and UK folks on amazon.co.uk

Wookiee the Chew

One of my favourite things in the world is when someone takes an existing idea and puts a new and creative spin on it. This is why I enjoy alternative/modern versions of traditional fairytales (except when they are made into movies featuring Vanessa Hudgens *shudder*), steampunk, Jeffrey Thomas' Twisted Princess series etc.

Two other things I am insane about are children's books and science fiction.

You can only imagine my joy when geek with curves introduced me to James Hance's Wookiee the Chew drawings. For me, at least half of the joy was in recognising the direct references to the EH Shepard illustrations that I sell every day, and that I grew up with. It's pretty much exactly my brand of geeky!

Nods to classic stories of childhood aside, these are genuinely adorable little drawings and a whole lot of fun whether or not you are familiar with Winnie the Pooh. They'll cheer your day right up! Although I have now gotten myself into an internal debate over what Wookiee the Chew goes for instead of pots of honey... any suggestions?

Prints are available from James' website (where you can also check out his other awesome geek art!) and now there are even t-shirts - one of which I definitely did not spontaneously buy... You can also follow him on Twitter @JimJeroo

Darth Vader TomTom

Celebrating my return to laptop functionality by sharing a video that some of you may have seen, but that never, ever gets old for me.

Professional Geek!

The reason for the tumbleweed blowing around here lately is the fact that last week, as much to my own surprise as anyone else's, the largest comic book publisher in the UK hired me! So, a couple of weeks from now, I will officially start getting paid for being a GEEK!

I'm not going to lie, I never thought being a geek girl would pay off in the financial sense! Professional geekery; bring it ON!

The other high point to this week was that via the wonderful Cari who is visiting from San Francisco, I *finally* obtained a Her Universe Star Wars shirt! I've been lusting after these bad boys since they first hit the rails interwebs, but as they can only be ordered on a card with an American/Canadian billing address I was at a bit of a loss for a while...

Evidence of the geeky joy (please note that I don't usually have a double chin *shame*)

This shirt is a] awesome b] soft and comfy and c] also awesome. The picture might give the impression that it's not well fitted but the truth is that I ordered quite a big size because I have - shall we say - a generous bust, and I didn't want to risk it being too small. On the contrary; these shirts are definitely very well tailored.

My only problem with it is that the writing is almost completely see through, so even if you are wearing a nice bra (actually probably more so if you are) it's quite distracting for passers by. This is easily solved by wearing a white top underneath (as I am doing here) but obviously not always ideal.

Without a doubt, I will be nabbing myself some more Her Universe apparel with my new geek paycheques! Ashley has hit it on the button; comfy, wearable, nicely designed geek girl clothing is exactly what most of us are after! If you live in Europe, either try and find a friendly American like I did, or hang tight til they can handle wordwide orders. If you live in the US/Canada - what the frak are you waiting for???