By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/5/2016
If you were wondering who the Face of Comics 2016 is, how about Sana Amanat, Marvel’s Director of Content and Character Development. In addition to developing titles like Ms. Marvel, she’s also become something of a media figure, with a past appearance on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and tonight an appearance with Seth […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/20/2015
Last night’s The Nightly Show, the show hosted by Larry Whitmore, examined nerd culture and diversity. Guests included Marvel’s Director of Content & Character Development. Sana Amanat, artist Phil Jimenez (Spider-Man, Wonder Woman), comedian Mike Lawrence and rapper Jean Grae. The show included a “black Batman” sketch and some other discussion of nerdly topics—including a sick burn of Cyclops. (Rachel Edidin powers unite!)
Amanat and Jimenez acquitted themselves quit well, to no surprise, but Grae’s tale of resisting the rap name “Storm” (as a black woman from South Africa) was also of note.
Thanks for the heads up
This episode featured the word “nerd” more times per minute than anything I’ve seen since the Revenge of the Nerds films.
I’d love to see this topic discussed seriously on TV, but I think outsiders have a very, very hard time taking comic book culture seriously. Ah well.
Yeah, that was bad
Larry Wilmore.
@Adam: What outsiders? This felt like one of the few times everybody on Wilmore’s panel actually knew what the hell they were talking about.
We’ve got two comics pros, a woman who literally changed her name to Jean Grey, and a guy who released a comedy album called Sadamantium. Moderated by a host who routinely throws out references to Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek. Which of those five people do you believe to be outsiders?
I still really wish Wilmore would drop the Keep It 100 segment and just let the panelists keep talking. But I felt like this was one of the best panels he’s ever had. The show lives and dies on the strength of its panel, and unfortunately it usually seems like it’s just whoever he could get to agree to be on the show, which tends to be one person who is actually familiar with the topic, one stand-up comic who keeps interrupting to spout irrelevant jokes, one writer for the show, and a fourth person who can’t get a word in edgewise. (And, the other night, Barney Frank not even knowing what show he was on and thinking he was going to be promoting his book instead of discussing whether NCAA players should be paid.)
All in all, I thought it was pretty solid. Though I wish someone had pointed out there have been female and African-American Green Lanterns for literally decades (and that if you don’t think that the Green Lantern is a character who should be changed or updated, then you’re either a big fan of Alan Scott or a hypocrite).