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Marvel’s Women and Diversity in Comics Problem: FemmeGeek of the Week

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This week’s femmegeek post was not intended to be about diversity in comics. Well, the idea of femmegeek is about diversity but not in the generalized sense. Then Marvel’s VP of Sales decided to blame women and diversity for the problems with the brand’s sales.

Lemme drop some knowledge about diversity in comics.

Femmegeeks of the binary women variety are not the unicorns people make them out to be. In 2014, The Atlantic ran a whole article on the female comic book reader. That same year, Comics Beat noted that 46.67% of comic fans are female, in a headline nonetheless. In 2015, Comixology ran a buy-one-get-one-free sale, and female superheroes dominated. According to the February numbers from Comichron, the only Marvel books in the top 20 were Star Wars Darth Maul 1, Star Wars 28, Amazing Spider-Man, and IVX 4 & 5. (For the records? Batwoman Rebirth 1 cam in at 21 and Wonder Woman at 22 and 26.)

Let’s chat, y’all.

Last year, at the same time, Marvel was dominating with Star Wars, Spider-Man, Deadpool Mercs for Money, Deadpool, Darth Vader, Power Man and Iron First, Amazing-Spider-Man, Spider-Man Deadpool, Old Man Logan, Invincible Iron Man, Obi-Wan and Anakin, Avengers Standoff Welcome, Might Thors, All New All Different Avengers. How many of these books had women (or people of color) as main characters?

Two.

Just two of those books had “diversity” as their gimmick.

How many of those books are still in the top 20?

Two.

This means that more than “diversity” is bringing sales down. So, let’s chat about what those numbers mean and why Marvel’s blaming women and diversity in comics not only acts as a cop out, but it’s the kind of thing any parent would remonstrate a child for doing. Marvel refuses to take responsibility for the writing and marketing problems plaguing their brand. They decided to blame it on the hegemonic, patriarchal, institutionally racist theory that their attempt at diversity failed because no one wanted it.

Let’s all say this together: BULLSHIT.

The numbers prove several things butnot about diversity in comics bringing down sales. They prove that women are out in force buying books. They also prove that in the last year, DC has done a phenomenal job of gaining market share to move up from a 20ish percent share to a 30something percent share in a year. Meanwhile, Marvel has lost about ten percent share in a year.

Things that make you go hmmmm.

The number of women buying comics remains approximately 45-50% of the population, if we’re looking at people who identify as binary. Fair enough. I’d be curious to know what the numbers would say if they looked outside that male-female gender distribution. However, that can be saved for another day.

Women didn’t stop buying comics. Women didn’t decide to ignore representation. Some of those stories just… they went bad. Giving me a female character just to “appease” me is like handing me McDonald’s and telling me it’s the same as a filet mignon because it’s beef. That isn’t true. We all know it.

Want to know the numbers that prove the theory of poor writing and derailed stories?

Old Man Logan. In February 2016, Old Man Logan, a much beloved white male character, ranked 15. In 2017, it ranked 44 and 45 respectively. That would be a drop of 30 spaces in the span of a year. That would be a lot of sales right there. None of them related to the idea of diversity in comics but all of them related to story and marketing.

Chatting numbers means chatting like Old Man Logan and giving actual demographics.

Want to look at the diverse stories? Guess what, they didn’t drop in sales exponentially because for the most part, Marvel didn’t write them in ways that would get them to the top twenty. However, sure, let’s take a look at the demographics for them anyway.

The 2016 Eisner awards were as follows:

Diversity in comics

Best New Series: Paper Girls. The word “girls” is in the title.

Best Reality-Based Work: March: Book Two This is about the civil rights march. This is the definition of racial diversity.

Best Digital/Webcomic: Bandette It’s about a female thief.

Best Academic/Scholarly Work: The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art.

Let’s take a long thing about what this says.

Marvel’s problem is not that it failed at diversity in comics. It’s that it failed at promoting good storytelling.

I’ve bought every female led Marvel book in the last year. I’ve watched as they’ve gone from some of my favorites to some of the ones I put to the side and wait to read until, well, meh.

Spider-Woman started out amazingly strong. The writing is still good, but the current love plot? Turned a bit trite to me. The “he loves her from a distance and then OMG she finds out and realizes she loves him too” trope was a bit much for me.

Spider-Gwen has been a bit repetitive in the last few issues. Although, I totally admit, I ship her and Miles for whoacakes.

Thor, I can’t talk to that one mainly because, while I buy it to support it, Thor ain’t my jam.

The best of the books out there from Marvel right now? World of Wakanda. You want diversity in comics? This is a book about a lesbian same-sex relationship that handles all of the guilt some people feel when trying to own a non-hegemonic sexuality. However, there’s been little to no promotion of this book. I only knew about it because I follow Twitter.

Ms. Marvel is a favorite, but the whole Kamala nearly getting her best friend killed and losing a main character led to a lot of weirdness in the story since he was so integral to the relationships. The issue isn’t the diversity in comics problem. It’s the plot not being linear because of the Civil War II tie in stuff that derailed the plot and character.

That brings us to the biggest problem Marvel faces. You want to know what killed Marvel’s sales? Civil War II. The convoluted plots and tie ins lost readers. In fact, by making Carol Danvers the de facto villain throughout that plotline, Marvel undermined one of its more powerful female characters. Marvel argues that it was diversity in comics that killed its sales? It was precisely the lack of diversity. Fans screamed in anger over the fridging of War  Machine, followed by the inconsistency of Captain Marvel’s response to his death. Marvel took one of the strongest female characters in its toolbox and turned her into a trite shrieking harpie over helicopter parenting. Marvel willfully continued down its path of plot-oriented sales demise.

Marvel’s marketing VP used the words “women” and “diversity” as an easy excuse. Marvel, in this case, decided to use those words to evoke a response of agreement from precisely the demographic that continues to harass women and people of color in the geek world. Marvel limited its shallow investment in the majority of these books to characters. Hoping for an easy payoff, they underestimated the diverse populations. They assumed that all we wanted were high level represenations. They ignored the fact that to keep a readership, the books much be, by definition, readable.

Shame. Shame. Shame.

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Gareth Edwards Calls ‘Rogue One’ A “Love Letter” To Carrie Fisher

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Speaking with The Telegraph, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director Gareth Edwards talked about how the death of Carrie Fisher impacted him.

“I’ve not really sat and watched the film since the opening weekend, when Carrie was still with us. I just feel the whole thing was, to be honest, one big love letter to Carrie. What we’re doing with the entire movie is all building to that one moment [of the Death Star plans being handed to Princess Leia] where we hand the baton to her, to go off and make that film that inspired us all as kids. So it couldn’t have ended better from that point of view. It’s just sad – I was always thinking that I would get to meet her and talk to her at some point about it, and I never really met her properly. I walked past her once on the set of Episode VII, I was meeting some of the crew, and she walked past me, and I had a little fanboy freakout.”

Then, Edwards gave detail on how the Leia cameo came to be.

“When it came to our film, it went so late with that shot, trying to get it right, that Kathy took it down personally, on a laptop, and showed her. And initially Carrie apparently didn’t realise it was CGI, and wondered if it was footage which we had taken from somewhere else. Which was really reassuring for us. I thought, one day, either at the premiere, or one of these conventions, I’d get a chance to talk to her. And it’s really sad that it’s not going to get to happen.”

As a fan of Star Wars, seeing the ending now is poetic in a sense. It’s a send off to the character while simultaneously throwing her back to the original trilogy days, where she first made a difference to fans around the world.

Rogue One will be available on Blu-Ray/DVD on April 4.

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Amber Heard Trains For ‘Aquaman’ Role In New Video

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Amber Heard, who’s set to play Mera in Justice League and Aquaman, posted a new video that sees her training for the role. Watch it below.

Another day at the office #Aquaman #fighttraining @87elevenaction @jonvalera

A post shared by Amber Heard (@amberheard) on

The caption read,

“Another day at the office.”

Do you think Heard was a good choice to play Mera? Comment below, let us know!

“Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.”

Justice League stars Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Ezra Miller as Flash, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Amber Heard as Mera, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Willem Dafoe as Vulko, and Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta.

The film is slated to hit theaters on November 17, 2017.

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Norman Reedus Compares Rick and Daryl to Kirk and Spock

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As fans frantically wait for the season finale of a gut-wrenching seventh season of ‘The Walking Dead,’ Norman Reedus brought a lighter side to his character Daryl Dixon and Daryl’s relationship with Rick Grimes.

Reedus attended the 2017 Garden of Laughs Comedy Benefit on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City and Page Reporter, Lindsey Kupfer was curious about Daryl’s potential love life on The Walking Dead. The answer surprised us at Monkeys Fighting Robots and adds a whole new dynamic to Daryl and Rick’s friendship.

“It’s such a thing, the love story, you know what I mean? Once you throw someone up against a tree, it’s over. I kind of don’t know that Daryl is mature enough to do that. Let Rick get all the girls. I’m like Spock on ‘Star Trek’ and he’s like Captain Kirk. He gets all the ladies and I sit in the background and say weird things,” said Reedus.

Do you want to see Daryl find love in Season 8, or are you a fan of his loner status? Comment below. It’s probably best for Daryl’s health that he does not find happiness, because in the cruel world of ‘The Walking Dead,’ happiness usually leads to someone’s death.

The Season 7 finale of “The Walking Dead” airs Sunday night on AMC.

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The Importance Of Cinematic Critical Re-Evaluation: ‘Showgirls’

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Every Film Deserves A Second Chance, Even ‘Showgirls’!

The success and legacy of a film lies in the hands of critics. One bad review has the chance to completely derail a film before it even hits the box-office. But what if the critics at that time got it wrong? That’s the point of this editorial series; looking back at a film that was once hated and giving them a second chance. First up is the infamous ‘Showgirls‘.

If you don’t know about the enigma that is ‘Showgirls‘, here’s a brief history. The film is basically ‘All About Eve‘ but set in sleazy 90’s Las Vegas. A young beautiful drifter named Nomi (Elizabeth Berkley) arrives in Las Vegas with big dreams to dance. After a chance encounter with the biggest act in Vegas named Cristal (Gina Gershon) and her boyfriend (Kyle MacLachlan), her dreams begin to come true. Nomi realizes that all isn’t what it seems and that the industry she dreams of us is darker than expected.

The plot alone lets you know that this script is attempting to be a serious deconstruction of how society views women and the dark-side of fame. Even the hyper-sexual scenes and chats about nails can’t distract from the powerful vision from director Paul Verhoeven. Some still discredit the work Verhoeven put into the film but the director always defends the film, going as far as calling it “the most elegant film he’s ever made”.

Showgirls

Initial Reaction:

Before ‘Showgirls‘ saw a release in theaters, it had a relativity big hype surrounding it. Not only was it the first (and only) widely released NC-17 rated movie but it marked the turn around for Elizabeth Berkley’s career from good girl to more mature actress.

With all this talk going into the film, it was met with a fiery passion. Critics tore into it with a cynical rage. The average critic would mock the film for being campy but when presented with the idea that it is a satire, it’s dismissed. Even famed “bad” filmmaker John Waters said he loved the movie but he thought “the writer and director, no matter what they say today, don’t appear to be in on the joke.”

The reviews of the film were negatives but it seemed like the hate became directed to one person. Elizabeth Berkley took most of the critical lashings. People would go as far as saying the “screen would go dead the moment (Berkley) was on it”. Because she had the most notoriety, she became an unfair target and scapegoat for critics. People seemed to loathe her but ‘Showgirls‘ would’ve been nothing without the iconic role of Nomi Malone.

With a 45 million dollar budget, it didn’t even hit 38 million at the box office. Some blamed the harsh age restrictions, while the critics played a huge part in the film’s near complete failure. Roger Ebert called it a “sleazefest” & an “expensive soap opera”. Even lead actor Kyle MacLachlan talked about his disappoint after seeing ‘Showgirls‘ at the premiere.

Current Reception:

It didn’t take long for ‘Showgirls‘ to gain a cult following. The home video sales of the film helped the film make money and became a bestseller for MGM. The idea of seeing something like this at home adds to the appeal; either you can feel comfortable seeing all the dirty scenes with less strangers or you can join together for a group viewing with a few drinks and of course, some chips!

Within a few years after the release, ‘Showgirls‘ was a cult classic. It seemed like a callback to the days of exploitation films and midnight movies, the fans were ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show‘-level of crazed. And then the wonderful Special Edition DVD commentary with superfan David Schmader brought the film into a whole new light.

Rising from the grave, director Paul Verhoeven never expected the cult following. “Maybe this kind of ritualistic cult popularity isn’t what I intended, but it’s like a resurrection after the crucifixion.”, he said. Because of the rise of ironic viewings and the camp appeal, it forced critics to begin to look at the film again.

Chicago Reader critic Jonathan Rosenbaum and critic for The Village Voice J. Hoberman both went on to say ‘Showgirls‘ should’ve been looked at as a serious satire. In 1999, French filmmaker Jacques Rivette would call the film “one of the great American films of the last few years”, while Quentin Tarantino said it’s one of the only few big-budget exploitations films. With a few powerful voices in the industry and some years passing, ‘Showgirls‘ began to gain steam as something more than “so bad, it’s good” movie.

“There’s always someone younger and hungrier coming down the stairs after you.”
-Cristal Connors (Gina Gershon)

Final Thoughts:

Because of my age, I wasn’t aware of the film when it was first released. I found the film on my own, years later. It was playing late on some movie channel and I sat mesmerized at the screen. Even when the film hits the pool sex scene, there’s laughter for all the right reasons. By the time the credits rolled, it became an instant obsession.

It came as a shock to me that this was hailed one of the worst movies ever. Maybe I was desensitized to the insanity because I saw it in a post-‘Showgirls‘ world but I honestly found it to be a beautiful and humorous look at women, fame, and sexuality.

That’s why movies need to be watched and reviewed constantly. Seeing a hated film so far removed from its initial release can really factor into the viewing experience.

Let me know what you think about ‘Showgirls‘ in the comments below!

What other films do you think need a critical re-evaluation?

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Reverse April Fool’s Day Prank – ‘Rick and Morty’ Season 3 Premiered Today

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Amidst a slew of fake posts today (i.e. Zac Efron cast as Eddie Brock in the Venom spin-off film), Adult Swim pulled a reverse April Fool’s prank by premiering a new episode of Rick and Morty. 

After a series of tweets about the delay of the new season by Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon, he concluded with an April Fool’s surprise – an all new episode. The episode is playing over and over on Adult Swim’s live streaming site, presumably until midnight (UPDATE: The final loop of the episode ended at 12:06am EST). If you weren’t able to catch the episode during the surprise stream, it will most likely appear on Adult Swim’s app, or on demand.

Without giving too much away, the new episode brings the drunken genius Rick, and his neurotic grandson Morty BACK IN A BIG WAY, BITCHES!! What can be said is that it picks up not too long after the second season ended. Here are some other bullet points:

  • Nathan Fillion
  • McNugget Szechuan dipping sauce
  • The Council of Ricks
  • The “original” Rick

all of which fill this action-packed, hilarious episode. The stinger of the episode hints at an upcoming season of, as Rick puts it, “the darkest year of adventures.”

Rick and Morty is back, and it feels so, so good.

Adult Swim also confirmed with clips during the streaming episode that the remaining episodes will premiere this summer. However, they did not confirm a specific date. Nevertheless, this was a tremendous surprise for fans who have been clamoring for a new episode since October, 2015.

Did you watch the new episode of Rick and Morty? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!

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Ranking The Films In The Marvel Cinematic Universe

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Since 2008, Marvel has released a total of fourteen films as part of their interconnected cinematic universe.

Broken into three “Phases”, these movies include Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger – all of which lead up to The Avengers, which serves as the grand finale of Phase One. In Phase Two, meanwhile, we got Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World, and Guardians of the Galaxy – all of which lead up to Avengers: Age of Ultron, with Ant-Man rounding out the end of this block of movies. Since then, Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange have kicked off Phase Three which is set to include Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnorak, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, and the (as of now) untitled Avengers 4. Every one of the movies that have been released so far have managed to score a “Fresh Rating” on Rotten Tomatoes, having been well received by both the general audience and critics alike, and altogether, they’ve amassed over ten-billion dollars worldwide.

With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 due to hit theaters in just over a month’s time, and Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnorak due out later this year, I thought it was time to look back on the films that have come before and reflect on where I think they rank against one another. Mind you, I don’t hate any of the Marvel movies, but I do prefer certain ones over others. Having said that, here we go – starting with my least favorite.

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‘Aquaman’ Writer To Pen Script For ‘Creature From The Black Lagoon’

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Will Beall, the Aquaman screenwriter, is set to pen the Universal produced Creature From The Black Lagoon, according to Deadline.

Along with the DC Extended Universe film, Beall is credited with writing Legend of Conan, which hits theaters later this year.

The outlet also reports that Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan are producers on the project.

Universale is creating a “monster-verse”, which includes remakes of not only Creature From The Black Lagoon, but also The Mummy, The Invisible Man, and The Wolf Man, among others.

Are you excited to see Beall’s take on Creature From The Black Lagoon? Why or why not? Comment below, let us know!

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‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Releasing In China On Same Day As US; New Poster Unveiled

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On Twitter, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 director James Gunn revealed that the film will be hitting theaters in China on May 5, the same day as in the United States. Attached to the message was a new poster, which you can see below.

“So happy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be in theaters across China on May 5th, same as in the US!”

This is significant because certain films, including the original Guardians of the Galaxy, don’t release in China until months after other places. With a same day release, less people will have to avoid spoilers online, and it will surely help the film’s box office success.

Plot synopsis: “Set to the backdrop of ‘Awesome Mixtape #2,’ Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.”

Guardians Vol. 2 stars Chris Pratt as Star-Lord/Peter Quill, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Raccoon, Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, Michael Rooker as Yondu, Kurt Russel as Ego The  Living Planet, Karen Gillian as Nebula, Dave Bautista as Drax, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, and Sylvester Stallone in a currently unknown role.

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Wynonna Earp Celebrates First Anniversay At WonderCon

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Earpers, the devoted fanbase of Syfy’s Wynonna Earp converged on WonderCon today to shower the series with praise and to wish it the happiest of birthdays. The series, which returns to SyFy on June 9th, debuted at last years’ WonderCon.

Based on characters created by Beau Smith and a variety of artist, Wynonna Earp focuses on Wynonna, the begrudging heir to a supernatural curse, and her sister Waverly as they rid their town of Revenants first sent to Hell by their famous ancestor, Wyatt Earp.

And like the Earpers, star Tim Rozon, writer and co-producer Alexandra Zarowny, and actress Kate Drummond offered the fans as much praised as they received. “It’s going to be so much bigger,” Rozon said. “It’s a binge-worthy show. And we got to be there from the beginning.” The show also debuted on Netflix today, offering the opportunity for the next generation of Earpers to fall in love with world developed around Smith’s characters by executive producer Emily Andras and writers like Zarowny.

“I’ve been working with Ms. Andras for a good long time,” Zarowny said. They met when both worked on the Canadian fantasy series Lost Girl — which also featured Rozon as recurring bad guy Massimo — where the two discovered that “we have a similar crazy brain.”

“Hers is a little crazier and faster,” she continued. “We connected. We love this genre and we think its important to represent all types of relationships and all types of people.”

But Zarowny said it was a special treat to see characters they developed “in a vacuum” to be inhabited by actors like Rozon and Drummond, and then embraced with the passion the Earpers have already shown to characters like Doc and Agent Lucado.

For Drummond, who starting acting after a ten-year career as a teacher, felt especially lucky to be part of a show with such a devoted following. “Sometimes you read a character and say ‘oh, I know this ice queen part of me,’ she said of Black Badge Division Agent Dolls’ (Shamier Anderson) frosty superior. “In season one, I just popped in from time to time and when I was reading the treatment for season two, I just went ‘Oh my God!'” Sadly, she could not expand on what to expect from Lucado in the new season.

“To be immersed with this group is so special,” she continued. “There’s something about the heart of this show that you just fall in love with the work and the fans and the actors. I’m super blessed to have stepped into this family and watch masters at work.”

“People won’t think [my enthusiasm] is genuine, but it is! What part do I want? Darth Vader’s long lost son, maybe?” added Rozon. “It’s amazing! I’m living the dream. I’m aware of it and can appreciate it. Being a part of this fandom and this show at the beginning, we’ll look back at it as some of the best times.”

Asked if she has a favorite character to write, Zarowny quickly looked at Rozon and Drummond and said, “These two next to me.” She added that it changes based on the episode. Sometimes, it is definitely Doc, but then she’ll get through a scene and imagine how star Melanie Scrofano will nail the jokes as Wynonna.

Continuing the theme, Drummond said her favorite part of the job is working on the stunts. “I need to be in my body and if I’m throwing things or fighting, that’s my happy place,” she said. “Everybody from the set decoration to our directors to lighting makes the stunt look amazing.”

Rozon admitted he prefers kissing scenes to fights, but enjoys doing as much of the stunt work himself, saying “If I can physically do it, I want to do it.” He also praised the stunt team for creating a safe environment for the actors to work. “I trust them so much that there’s not much I’m unwilling to do,” he said. Comparing it to the classic trust exercise, he added that “they always catch me.”

Though, for all the safety on set, he admitted he managed to jab himself in the ribs with his gun between takes just this week.

Returning to the theme of kissing, he told the audience to thank Zarowny for those moments. “We all talk about it,” he said. “When Wynonna gets sexy, it’s an Alex script.”

“It’s what the fans want,” Zarowny said.

“It gets so much better,” teased Rozon. He revealed he has read the season two finale script, but could only offer a laugh and an expansive gesture as his reaction. Fans will get to know what he really means when Wynonna Earp begins its second season on June 9th.

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