otaku room

Fanthropology: Reclaiming Terms

Otaku is a loan word from Japanese. The original definition meant "a young person who is obsessed with computers or particular aspects of popular culture to the detriment of their social skills." It's derived...
metadata

Webcomics Wednesday: MetaData

You know how on newspaper comic strips, you can usually find a copyright notice in the gutters between two of the panels? The syndicates put that in place before they send the art file off to all the...
Sherlock

Fanthropology: Creator vs Creation

Let's say that you're a fan of Sherlock Holmes. You love the character's use of logic and deductive reasoning, and you try to follow his example throughout your life, dismissing unsubstantiated claims of all...
Neil Gaiman

Fanthropology: A Fan of Whom?

Generally, when we think of fandoms, they're centered around a broad property like Star Wars or Harry Potter. They can become popular because people become enamored with the world that's been created, and they...
Questionable Content

Webcomics Wednesday: Validity

There are, of course, thousands of creators out there right now toiling away on their webcomic. Some of them are crap, of course, but many of them are quite good, some downright excellent! But even though...