WINNER ANNOUNCED BELOW
Dear Fanboy Comics Readers:
Welcome to District 11.
As part of Smart Pop Book’s celebration of the release of their phenomenal new Hunger Games fan guide, we are pleased to announce our participation in The Panem Companion Victory Tour. Representing the agriculture district and the home of Katniss Everdeen’s beloved ally, Rue, Fanboy Comics is the 11th stop along the way, and we’ve got an exciting giveaway, courtesy of Smart Pop Books, to help share in the excitement of The Panem Companion’s release!
Described as “the definitive and ultimate Hunger Games fan text” by FBC President and Hunger Games uber-fan Bryant Dillon (read his review here), The Panem Companion by V. Arrow is a must-have for any fan of Suzanne Collins’ extremely popular book series! Smart Pop Books has generously provided FBC with a copy of The Panem Companion to give away to our readers, as well as an exclusive excerpt from the book (located below) that specifically focuses on District 11!
How can you get in the running for this awesome giveaway? No need to apply for tesserae! Instead, all interested fans should enter by retweeting the following when you see it posted on the Fanboy Comics (@FanboyComix) Twitter account:
Win A Copy Of ‘The Panem Companion’ From @SmartPopBooks & FBC!!! #thefanguideonfire – RT To Enter!!!
We’ll be tweeting this message over the next few days, so keep your eyes peeled! Multiple entries are permitted, so retweet away! The contest will officially close on Wednesday, December 12th, 2012, at 5:00 p.m./PST.
At the end of the week, the FBC staff will select a winner to receive this awesome item! The winner will be announced on the Fanboy Comics website on Thursday, December 13th, 2012, along with being notified via Twitter.
Fanboy Comics will also be hosting other giveaways in the future, so be sure to sign up for FBC’s free daily e-newsletter, The Fanboy Scoop, so you are sure not to miss any of our updates or contests! You can also follow Fanboy Comics and The Fanboy Scoop on Facebook and Twitter (@FanboyComix).
District 11 – Excerpt from The Panem Companion by V. Arrow
“Across much of the Hunger Games, both in District 12 and District 11 as well as during the Second Rebellion, the emotional resonance of music appears intended to be evocative of “slave songs” or “Songs of Freedom.” According to Allana Gillam-Wright, a journalist and historian of Canadian black history, these songs were “seemingly innocent . . . [but] more than simple hymns of endurance and a belief in a better afterlife. As sung by slaves and their descendants, the spirituals allowed the slaves to communicate secret messages and information to each other.” Although the traditional slave spirituals such as “Follow the Drinking Gourd” and “The Gospel Train’s A-Comin’” commonly communicated literal directions towards stops on the Underground Railroad, the songs in the Hunger Games are more referential of personal narratives—perhaps, given that interdistrict communication in Panem is not possible through letters, digital communiqués, or speech, songs gave district citizens a way to share their stories about the Capitol’s cruelty.”
“District 11 reads as a direct slavery allegory. They seem to be alone among the districts in not having a merchant class: instead, their only light-skinned citizens seem to be the Peacekeepers (who are all white in District 12, and so also, we infer, in Panem at large) who rule from guard towers and are quick to fire their weapons. Many times larger than District 12, District 11 is located in the Deep South, with its Justice Building in what seems to be the ruins of either Atlanta, Georgia, or New Orleans, Louisiana; Katniss describes a crumbling arena that might be the Georgia Dome or the Superdome. District 11 specializes in agriculture, the growing of cereal crops and orchard produce, and given the particular focus on fruit orchards, it’s more likely that District 11 is intended to be Georgia, the Peach State.”
Panem Names glossary excerpt:
Rue, District 11 Tribute in the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games
“As stated in the novels, Rue derives from the flower Ruta graveolens, also known as the Herb-of-Grace, which is well known for its ability to tolerate harsh conditions. In European folk medicine, rue is said to improve appetite and to prevent the Black Death. In Rome (particularly around Caesar’s time), it was used to induce abortion. Brushing against a Ruta graveolens plant can result in cuts and burn-like bubbles (much like tracker jacker stings, but without the hallucinations and death).
“To rue means to feel sorrow over; repent of; regret bitterly; wish that something had never been done or never taken place.
“The French homophone roux is a thickening agent in both Creole and Cajun cuisines in the Deep South. Rue’s origins are in the same geographical location, and her death “thickens” or deepens the discord between District 11 and the Capitol while cohering the relationship between District 11 and District 12.
“Another homophone, the German Ruhe, means peace.”
Congratulations to the following winner:
@etiberland
Congratulations and thank you to everyone who entered!
