Nubia's Nonsense: comicbooks

Because Mom Deserves The Best!

Mother's Day is just around the corner. We should all be celebrating our Mother's every day, however, it's nice that they have a day dedicated just to them. Think Geek has such a fun and unique Mother's Day selection right now. It's perfect for comicbook and movie lovers. I don't believe your mom needs to necessarily be a 'geek' to enjoy these gifts, but it's definitely a plus. Either way, giving her something that reminds her of you will probably be a gift all on its own.

No comments

Watching Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, & Reggie with their musical band 'The Archies', has always been fun to follow through the comicbooks and cartoons. I've probably danced and sang along to their classic hit 'Sugar, Sugar' about a million times. Now they're getting some big-time help in the studio to record their album from the music legends, BLONDIE!

They've worked with Tegan and Sara before but, I feel some studio drama coming on.

No comments

Cruel Intentions...

!!POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW!!

CW and Archie Comics Riverdale, has been spicing up lately. Ever since we found out South Side High is going to become a prison, shit has hit the fan.

No comments

(Variant cover by Sandy Jarrell with Kelly Fitzpatrick)

Archie & DC Comics new Batman and Robin, Riverdale Crossover has been all the rage!

Just when you thought Archie Comics couldn't get more interesting with Vampires, Witches, and all sorts of crazy, cool... Batman and Robin decide to swing through Riverdale! I hear things are going to get crazy town super fast! Archie Comics and DC Entertainment is proud to present their crossover adventure 50 years in the making: ARCHIE MEETS BATMAN 66!

No comments

The Arts & Fashion,

My whimsical passions.

Comics to start

With a little BOOM! POW!

In my heart.

No comments

Hey Nubians,

I Love, Love, Love, Music!

As a writer and a creative enthusiast that dabbles in many art forms, music is one of the things that moves me deeply. The rhythm, beats & more importantly the lyrics speak to my soul. Music has been with me through the best of times and the worst of times. Have you ever felt like a song gets released just when you need it the most? The lyrics match your situation perfectly and you just keep replaying it over and over because it gives you goosebumps and you slowly start to feel tiny little hairs on your arms rise? Well, me too! It's almost like a hidden message that reminds me I'm not alone in my feelings if there are other people writing about it too.

I haven't been listening to new music that much lately. I do, but just not too much. I'll be posting which songs I've been playing a lot lately and telling you why. Lately, I've been on a bit of an oldies binge. In my own personal opinion, music was a lot more perky, simplistic, and positive anywhere from the 50s to early 90s. But as I said prior, this is my own personal opinion. I'm sure there are tons and tons of underground artists I haven't been listing to lately that are hidden gems.

Anyway... Here we go! This is what I've been jamming to this week.

The Beach Boys: Kokomo

Gosh, when I hear this song I just want to pick up a Piña Colada and go lay under a palm tree somewhere. Kokomo was written by John Phillips (Lead Singer of the Mamas and Papas which I also enjoy listening to), Scott McKenzie, Mike Love, and Terry Melcher (Which was a target of the Mason Family who luckily went unharmed). This soothing song was performed by The Beach Boys. It was released July 18,1988.

Fun Fact: A lot of people don't know that "Kokomo" in this song is not a real place. There are a lot of places called "Kokomo" around the world, but none of them is located off the Florida Keys.

I've been particularly enjoying this classic song lately because I've been thinking of traveling around the end of this year and the majority of next year hopefully. Listening to this song and all of the places it mentions such as Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, Bahama, Key Largo, Montego, gets me super excited and inspired. A lot of people get annoyed by this song but you have to take it for what it is, just a short song with a catchy hook that's meant to make people happy. Imagine myself on an island with my fiance enjoying life just as we did in Kona, Hawaii late last year.

Favorite Lyric: Oh I want to take you down to Kokomo, we'll get there fast and then we'll take it slow.

Coldplay: Adventure of a Lifetime.

I could listen to almost any Coldplay song and lose myself. He is a top-notch performer and amazing artist. Adventure of a Lifetime was written by Chris Martin along with Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, Mikkel S. Eriksen, and Tor Erik Hermansen. It was released November 6, 2015.

This song not only has beautiful composition but its lyrics are very inspiring. To me, the song represents a journey where you find your own magic and path through life. It's a very addicting song you'll want to listen to over and over again.

Favorite Lyric: We are legends every day that’s what she told me.

The Archies - Sugar, Sugar.

I've totally been on an Archie Comics binge lately. I've been reading the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, watching Riverdale and even rewatching some of the old Sabrina The Teenage Witch episodes on Hulu when I'm bored at night and want to fall asleep to something. Great fashion on that show too by the way. "Sugar, Sugar" is a great little song written by written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim. It gets you in the mood of celebrating crushing on someone and being in love. It compares wanting someone as bad as you may want something sweet like Candy. The song was released May 24, 1969, and recorded by the virtual band the Archies. This girl is never too old for some bubblegum pop!

Favorite Lyric: I just can't believe the loveliness of loving you.

What songs are moving your soul this week? Cheers!

Xo Nubia Xo

No comments

Hey Nubians,

The Anime NYC Convention powered by Crunchyroll looks like it was so much fun! There was a nice variety of creative cosplay outfits and a vast amount of kawaii booths to satisfy any of your anime needs. It showcased the best of Japanese pop culture and featured unique exhibits, exclusive screenings, controversial panels, and so much knowledge from wall to wall! The halls were full of comicbooks, movies, clothing, plush animals, action figures, home decor... pretty much anything you can think of. My brother and longtime Nubia's Nonsense contributing photographer Daniel Mejia, stopped by the convention on my behalf to capture the energy.

No comments

Hey Nubians,

One thing I love about conventions, is the ability to take every thing in at once. You get to discover new artists, fashion, writers and creators in general because everything is next to each other in a huge space. While I was at New York Comic Con this year I bumped into a few cool tables and discovered some awesome, geek inspired fashionable items. Not only for comicbook lovers, but for devoted book readers and gamers too.

No comments

Hey Nubians,

These Archie Comics Betty and Veronica purses designed by Christian Francis Roth are to die for! Incredibly girly and classic. Archie Comics are fun to read, I started picking them up as a young girl. I loved the retro inspired art, the fun and fresh story lines and of course, Betty and Veronica. Are you a Betty or Veronica? Everyone always wants to know.

These purses make a great fashion accessory for any geek girl or lover of retro fashion or cartoons. I seriously can't pick a favorite, I would be happy with any of these. The clutch is a statement piece with the glitter but the hat box could easily be a collectors favorite and a true classic style. These purses are available for pre-order now and are expected to ship November 11th.

On another note, who's keeping up with Riverdale? Gosh I love Betty on that show. Such an interesting twist.

Take a closer look at these animated purses ranging from $65-$230 below. Click HERE to preorder your favorite and see other covetable items on the website.

No comments

Hello Nubians,

This year I went to New York Comic Con for 2 days and it was a lot of fun, but guess what? I didn't cosplay! I know, I know, crazy town. But I had just gotten back from Hawaii and I felt kind of rushed and decided not to do it this year. I have to be honest, it hurt my heart a little. If you've seen my cosplay looks from New York Comic Con past, you'd know I enjoy dressing up very much. When I saw all of the amazing looks from various comicbooks, video games, cartoons, tv shows, movies, etc. and saw all the detailed craftsmanship and time people put into their costumes...I felt a little sad for myself for missing out. However, it still made me happy to be in everyones presence. I was cheering them on in a weird way being on the other side admiring. With all of the time that goes into hair, make-up, sewing, and making armor amongst other things such as role play, it's cool to be part of this community of people. I've always believed it's therapeutic embodying these characters whether you want to play the hero or villain. We all go through different phases in our life where we may be considered the good or bad guy as do many of these characters.

Another funny thing about not cosplaying this year is that I had so much more time to enjoy booths. I got to take my time actually talking to people and touching merchandise because I wasn't being stopped every 2 seconds for photos. I'm hoping to share a few cool places I stopped by later this week.

This year I noticed a lot of people were coming up with original characters too which I thought was awesome. Last year I did an original mashup of characters partnering with my friend Kaori. I dressed as DC Comics Wonder Woman & Two-Face. You could check it out here.

Ghost Rider, Rugrats, Cuphead, Lydia & Beetlejuice, a few Anime looks, a awesome DC Cosplayers meet-up and more. Enjoy the photos below.

Cheers!

Xo Nubia Xo

No comments

Hey Nubians,

Are you a fashion lover and geek girl? You must read this Hunter Haute Comic Book Created by Kosi Harris!

I have the pleasure of personally knowing Kosi Harris and I must say she's quite the She-ro. We met through mutual friends online and we've had the satisfaction of bonding over our love of fashion, comic books, beauty, cosplay, and more. Kosi also has a blog you should check out called One Creates Oneself. This Brooklyn girl is a smart cookie! She's an account director at a public relations firm and she recently acquired a Masters Degree at the Southern New Hampshire University. BOOM!

I remember when I first met Kosi a few years ago, she talked about putting together a fashion comic book and told me she had it all mapped out in her head. I was intrigued by the idea. It was only a matter of time. Watching Hunter Haute come to life and be so damn good makes me immensely proud of her. It's one of her many accomplishments and I have a feeling this is just the tip of the Iceberg for her creative pursuits.

This comicbook co-written by Phil Buck and Illustrated by Candace April Lee, has a solid storyline involving history, love, loss, determination, and the start of a new journey for Hunter Haute.

About Hunter Haute

"Amina Williams has just returned home from Brazil after taking a gap year from her studies at The Design Institute. Her mother, Alexia Williams, was a fashion industry mogul and the CEO of her own company, Williams Industries. There was much controversy surrounding the “accident” that killed Amina’s mother. After a year away, Amina must come home to deal with the fallout in her personal life and the within the business dealings of her mother’s empire."

Make sure you stop by Webtoons to read Hunter Haute HERE.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Kosi about Hunter Haute. I hope you enjoy and definitely read the comicbook. I promise it'll leave you craving issue #2!

N: I know you’re a publicist, a blogger, you just received your Master Degree and now a comic book writer. I think I even saw a video of you recently killing it at the gym. With that being said, you juggle a lot and you do it well. What’s your advice for keeping your own Super Heroine alive? Creative people have a hard time focusing and can easily be pulled in many directions. What keeps you so focused and determined? Tell us your secret!!!

K: Ha ha I don’t know if I have a secret.. coffee helps a lot. Getting a good night’s sleep. Creating realistic goals, a friend taught me this last year. For example, stating “get website done” on a to do list is vague. My friend mentioned writing a task like that that will NEVER get done. So I learned not to list things like that and write a task more realistic with my time.

Being around my family and friends inspire me, helps keep me focused and determined. In addition, understanding that projects can be moved around/be delayed and it’s not the end of the world. You have to take time to rest and have fun, it only adds to the productivity!

N: What was your main inspiration for Hunter Haute and how does this character relate to your life?

K: I started doing drafts for Hunter Haute before I had my BLOG, I think at the time I was looking for a creative outlet where I wouldn’t feel judged for my ideas. It’s a liberating feeling when you just sit down and write, whether it’s fiction, non-fiction it allows your brain to get everything you want to say out on paper.

N: Sometimes when we have a great idea we have a hard time finding the right people to partner with us. Did you have a hard time finding writer Phil Buck and illustrator Candace April Lee? Any advice you can give to creatives on finding the right people to work with based on this experience?

K: I had a harder time finding an illustrator than a writer. I think Phil and I having a love for comics and new ideas we just cliqued. Finding Candance was tough. Before finding her on Behance, I was looking at a few schools. And kind of like Goldilocks there were illustrators that had too much of this and less of that. Candance was just right :)

N: Which was your first love, fashion or comic books? Give us details!

K: Fashion, I have my older sisters to thank for that. They worked in the retail industry as image consultants. I used to play with my sister’s clothes all the time! I remember one of them had an old school 90s belt nameplate, I always joked when I “grow up” I would get one with my name on it. Ironically I am grown and that is making a comeback so I probably should get it.

N: It’s so interesting to see Capoeira as the main source of Amina’s fighting skills. Have you taken a Capoeira class in the past? What inspired this decision?

K: I have done it once, I thought it was a fighting style not seen in comic books or even in TV/Movies. Writers go straight to Karate, which is great but I thought it would be an interesting take as Amina is an avid traveler and a New Yorker.

N: I very much enjoyed the illustrations by Candace April Lee. They're very vivid, action-packed, and made me feel as if the book was actually moving haha, it made the characters come to life in my imagination. I also noticed the detail in the clothing, did you both pick out the outfits for the illustrations together or did you design them yourself?

K: It was collaborative to where I would have excel sheets highlighting each character’s style (yep it was super helpful for Candace) and different scenarios they would be in and the type of looks I would see them in. The outfits were a mix of inspiration of street style, trends, and personal experience being a New Yorker.

N: I noticed on one of the pages, Amina was looking at an old photo of herself with her mother and she had a superhero mask on. Would you say it was Halloween or was she going to Comic Con?

K: Halloween, where she would spend quality time with her mother and they would go to the Halloween Parade and be inspired by the costumes.

N: Speaking of Comic Con, I know you’re an avid cosplayer and we have bumped into each other at Comic Con's in the past. What has your favorite cosplay costume been?

K: My favorite Cosplay has been Catwoman from The Dark Knight Rises, it was the first cosplay I really took seriously prepping about 6 weeks in advance for it. I was able to work with a rad seamstress that I was in constant communication with from start to finish. LOL I loved it so much I danced to the costume with my diploma two weeks ago!

N: You’re going to hate me for this one… DC Comics or Marvel Comics?

K: Yes I do Nubia! Growing up, I was exposed to the DC world first through the cartoons. All the cartoons shows I've watched include Batman: The Animated Series/Adventures, Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, and Batman: Beyond

It's no secret that mythology, especially Greek mythology has influenced the characters and stories in the DC Universe. Superman can be equated to the sun god Apollo, Batman to Hades, Wonder Woman to Athena, and Aquaman to Poseidon.

Over the years, writers have added more facets to these god-like characters and made it to where they want to retain their humanity, having acknowledged their mythic nature, that's very interesting to me.

From Marvel, I grew up watching the cartoons Spider-Man: Animated series, The Fantastic Four, and the original X-Men cartoon.

The first graphic novel I read from Marvel was The Dark Phoenix Saga. What appeals to me and to a lot of other people about Marvel are that the characters are flawed.

Many, if not all of these characters can be traced to characters from literature and even real-life people. Hulk is Jekyll and Hyde, Loki to Edmund from King Lear, Tony Stark to Howard Hughes , and Charles Xavier to Martin Luther King Jr.

What appeals to me the most is that my favorite group of superheroes in Marvel: the X-Men have gone through the ringer in their 50 some odd year history. Facing discrimination because they're genetically different is very appealing to me as a person of color.

Despite my cosplays being DC based, with Wonder Woman and Catwoman, I would have to go with Marvel. I think in today’s world with social media making it seem as if everyone is perfect, it is important for writers to write characters that are flawed that folks can relate to. There is already so much showing us to be “perfect” there has to be a balance.

N: Spill! Can you tell us if you’re cosplaying as Amina AKA Hunter Haute this year?

K: OMG you are the 5th person to ask me that, now I don’t know! We’ll see!

N: If you could have one Super Power, What would it be?

K: Telekenesis. Telekenesis is a power with infinite possibilities. Actually, whenever I take a Superhero quiz I get Jean Grey. She is the queen of Telekenesis in the Marvel Universe. I think having the ability to control any element, influence any movement, and manipulate any physical action is far better than any other power. Imagine being able to cure cancer by destroying cancerous cells in a person’s body, or influencing an election…I’ll just leave that here :)

N: You can give me short answers here. Think of these as hypothetical questions almost to get to know Amina’s personality a little better. (They may be one word answers)

N: One word to describe Amina’s style?

K: Girly but with a hint of Tomboy, she wears overalls with her Loubtutin heels and has multiple piercings.

N: Does Amina have a fashion blog?

K: No, but she hangs with bloggers.

N: Her favorite color?
K: Navy Blue.

N: Does she drink Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts?

K: Starbucks.

N: What’s her favorite designer at the moment?
K: Stella McCartney! With #45’s policies to damage the earth, Stella uses products that don’t harm the environment but preserve that. McCartney’s design’s are also a mix of girly and tomboy, like Amina.

N: What song is she blasting on her headphones right now?
K: HUMBLE by Kendrick Lamar.