Jared AxelrodWriter of Adventure

Hit me. I can take it.

Your picture is under the definition of steampunk, but what defines steampunk to you?
I’ve written an essay on this: Rayguns In The Time of Cholera

Short version: A 19th century setting with advanced technology and themes of aggressive confrontation, anti-authoritarian behavior and the DIY atheistic.

But that’s just my personal opinion. As I’ve said before, we can be nerds and put everything in little boxes or we can include everyone and all have fun. And I am pro-including everyone and all having fun

How do we solve the Butt-Burning problem that comes with strapping a jetpack to your back? Special pants?
Most modern rocket belts have a burn shield, but I’ve always thought the easiest thing to do would be have the jets stuck out to the side like the starship Enterprise.

 Your socks. Are they awesome? Have you ever made awesome socks?
My socks tend to be more fluffy than awesome. So, in the sense that I have cold feet offen and my fluffy socks keep that from happening, yes. They are awesome.

They are also black. Which is an awesome color. So there’s that.

However, I was recently given a Sock Dreams gift certificate, so I should have some visually awesome socks in the near future.

you have some controversial opinions about fashion. did any one event in your life prompt you to have these views or did they just develop over time?
I don’t really think my ideas are that controversial. I believe that how you dress shows who you are to people, and if you dress the same as a 6-year old on the playground, that may affect that perception. I don’t think that’s particularly revolutionary thinking. Maybe it is.

When I was I college, I read the wonderful RuPaul quote, “We are born naked, the rest is drag.” Which I believe is true. Whether you dress up, down, or go naked, what you wear is part of your conversation with the rest of the world. So you should be sure you’re saying what you mean to say.

 If you had to choose a fictional world to be reborn into, which world would you choose?
FLASH GORDON, probably. I am prepared to take down that tyrant Ming and be occasionally shirtless!
 I’ve seen a lot of neat costumes that you’ve made, and of course there’s your new web comic on I Should Be Writing. But are you working on any writing projects nowadays? Anything you can tell us about?
See the answer below. At this point, all I can say is that it is awesome. And that it will most likely be podcast.

Okay, here’s more of tease: It’s about a girl who’s in trouble. In same way STAR WARS is about a boy who leaves home.

What turns you on?
New things. Shoulders. Collar bones. Muscles. Boots. Tight pants. Confidence. Musical voices. Shiny clothes. Eyes. Lips. My wife.

Have you ever gotten in a physical fight? What were the circumstances around it?
Oh, sure. But not since the schoolyard days. One kid says something aimed to hurt, and all you can think to do is throw a punch. Because as a kid, that’s all that makes sense.

But in adulthood? Only thing that comes close was a playful tussle with my wife’s then-boyfriend when I first moved to Philly. It got a little serious, but ended quickly when he banged up against a table. Which may have been my fault. In which case, I’m sorry, Rob. But even that wasn’t really a “fight.”

I have been told that I have an incendiary presence when angry that seriously frightens people. So things have never escalated to violence. I’m incredibly slow to anger in the first place, so that it itself is rare.

So, I guess the answer is “No.”

If you could make any costume, and expense were no object, what would you make?
I’ve got extravagantly detailed costumes in mind for half a dozen superheroes that I’ve calculated in the hundreds of dollars, but if expense were truly no object?

Space armor. Retro-fabulous space armor. With a working jet pack.

What is the next project that you are working on?
Something secret, which is also awesome. There’ll be an official launch at Balticon, so I’ll leak out more information as we get closer to that date.

It is awesome, though. Completely and incredibly awesome.

What is your favorite Superhero?
Batman, who I love both because of his incongruity (he’s supposed to be dressed as a bat, but really only the abstract sense of that, has no bat powers, and has obsessive need to personalize all his stuff)and his malleability. He’s Adam West and Christian Bale and Kevin Conroy. He’s a gritty, street-level avenger who regularly battles aliens. He’s a tortured loner who inspires a loyal following of younger heroes. You can alter just about everything about his costume and he’s still recognizable. He’s everything about superheroes that’s wonderful in one package.

What does Panda want for Christmas?
That’s really a question for Panda, isn’t it? But I will say that Panda, JR and I were watching KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (the American version, though Panda prefers the original British series), and Panda remarked that he would love his own restaurant where he could serve fine tea and delicious bamboo-based dishes. So, that’s clearly a dream he’s put some thought into.

I imagine that if Panda received a restaurant of his very own for Christmas he would be quite chuffed.
If you had to throw away either your TV or your computer, which would you choose?
I’ve already thrown out the TV, so I guess that answers that. That’s not to say I don’t watch television, just that I no longer watch it on a TV.