Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Electronic Filing System. http://estta.uspto.gov
`
`ESTTA Tracking number:
`
`ESTTA743941
`
`Filing date:
`
`05/03/2016
`
`IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`BEFORE THE TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`Proceeding
`
`91216330
`
`Party
`
`Correspondence
`Address
`
`Submission
`
`Filer's Name
`
`Filer's e-mail
`
`Signature
`
`Date
`
`Plaintiff
`Leonard Webb
`
`JOE GRIBBIN
`DECHERT LLP
`CIRA CENTER, 2929 ARCH ST
`PHILADELPHIA, PA 19104-2808
`UNITED STATES
`joseph.gribbin@dechert.com
`
`Other Motions/Papers
`
`Joe Gribbin
`
`joseph.gribbin@dechert.com
`
`/Joe Gribbin/
`
`05/03/2016
`
`Attachments
`
`2016-05-02 Webb TTAB complaint.pdf(2471412 bytes )
`
`

`

`IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`BEFORE THE TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`In re Application of Reginald Clinton Brown
`
`OPPOSITION NO. 91216330
`
`: :
`
`: :
`
`:
`
`:
`
`: :
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`:
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`Mark: BLACK TRIBBLES
`
`Serial No.: 85/696,371
`
`LEONARD WEBB
`
`Opposer,
`
`v.
`
`REGINALD CLINTON BROWN
`
`Applicant.
`
`In response to Footnote 1 in Docket # 15, Opposer Leonard Webb (“Opposer”) files a
`
`copy of the Complaint from the related Federal Court litigation as Exhibit 1. A full update on
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`the status of that litigation will be filed next week.
`
`Respectfully submitted,
`
`/s/ Joe Gribbin
`Joe Gribbin
`DECHERT LLP
`Cira Center
`2929 Arch Street
`Philadelphia, PA 19104
`(215) 994-2327
`
`Attorney for Opposer
`LEONARD WEBB
`
`Dated: May 3, 2016
`
`

`

`Certificate of Service
`
`I hereby certify that, on May 3, 2016, a true and correct copy of the foregoing letter and
`
`the attached Complaint has been served upon the Applicant’s attorney via email.
`
`/s/ Joe Gribbin
`
`Joe Gribbin
`
`

`

`EXHIBIT 1
`EXHIBIT 1
`
`

`

`Case 2:14-cv-02487-AB Document 1 Filed 04/29/14 Page 1 of 8
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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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`FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
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`: :
`
`: :
`
`LEONARD WEBB,
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`Case No.
`
`COMPLAINT
`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
`
`v.
`
`:
`:
`REGINALD CLINTON BROWN :
`and BLACK TRIBBLES, LLC, a
`:
`Pennsylvania limited liability
`:
`Company,
`
`: :
`
`Defendants.
`
`:
`
`COMPLAINT
`
`Plaintiff Leonard Webb (“Webb”), by and through his attorney, for his complaint
`
`against Defendants Reginald Clinton Brown (“Brown”) and Black Tribbles, LLC, alleges as
`
`follows:
`
`NATURE OF THE ACTION
`
`1.
`
`This is an action for trademark infringement, unfair competition, and false
`
`designation of origin in violation of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), and common-law
`
`trademark infringement and unfair competition in violation of Pennsylvania law, 54 Pa. Cons.
`
`Stat. Ann. § 1126.
`
`PARTIES
`
`2.
`
`Plaintiff Webb is an adult individual who is a resident and citizen of the
`
`Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
`
`3.
`
`Defendant Brown is an adult individual who is a resident and citizen of the
`
`Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
`
`

`

`Case 2:14-cv-02487-AB Document 1 Filed 04/29/14 Page 2 of 8
`
`4.
`
`Defendant Black Tribbles, LLC is a Pennsylvania corporation with its
`
`principal place of business at 7903 Knox Road, Laverock, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
`
`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
`
`5.
`
`This Court has jurisdiction over this matter under 15 U.S.C. § 1121, 28
`
`U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1338, 1367, and 2201, and the doctrine of supplemental jurisdiction.
`
`6.
`
`This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendant Brown because he
`
`resides in this District.
`
`7.
`
`This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendant Black Tribbles, LLC
`
`because it conducts business in this District.
`
`8.
`
`Venue is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391.
`
`FACTS
`
`9.
`
`Defendant Brown is infringing Plaintiff Webb’s common-law trademark
`
`rights in the mark BLACK TRIBBLES. Plaintiff Webb owns the BLACK TRIBBLES mark and
`
`has used it in commerce since 2011. Defendant Brown left the BLACK TRIBBLES podcast less
`
`than one month after its first broadcast in April 2011. Defendant Brown then failed to use the
`
`BLACK TRIBBLES mark in commerce until the following year, when Defendant Brown formed
`
`Black Tribbles, LLC, filed a federal trademark application for the BLACK TRIBBLES mark,
`
`and began producing his own show using Plaintiff Webb’s BLACK TRIBBLES mark.
`
`Meanwhile, Plaintiff Webb had continuously used the BLACK TRIBBLES mark in commerce
`
`during that time, and continues to do so today.
`
`10.
`
`The BLACK TRIBBLES podcast premiered on April 30, 2011, on
`
`G-Town Radio, a community internet radio station based in the Germantown area of
`
`Philadelphia.
`
`11.
`
`Less than one month later, Defendant Brown chose to depart the show.
`
`2
`
`

`

`Case 2:14-cv-02487-AB Document 1 Filed 04/29/14 Page 3 of 8
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`12.
`
`After Defendant Brown departed, Plaintiff Webb continued to produce the
`
`BLACK TRIBBLES podcast (and still continues to do so now), and the podcast gained more
`
`listeners.
`
`13.
`
`In December 2011, Plaintiff Webb registered the domain
`
`www.blacktribbles.com, which would later contain the group’s podcasts and short biographies of
`
`each co-host. Around the same time in late 2011, Plaintiff Webb created a Cafepress shop for
`
`BLACK TRIBBLES, i.e., an online market website for people to purchase BLACK TRIBBLES
`
`merchandise. See www.cafepress.com/blacktribbles/7844945. Since 2011, Plaintiff Webb has
`
`continuously used the BLACK TRIBBLES mark in commerce.
`
`14. More than one year after BLACK TRIBBLES premiered—and almost one
`
`year after Defendant Brown left the podcast—BLACK TRIBBLES caught its first big break. On
`
`May 2, 2012, Philadelphia Weekly featured BLACK TRIBBLES as its cover story. The article
`
`was titled “Why Geeks of All Colors Need the Black Tribbles” and Plaintiff Webb and his co-
`
`hosts were pictured prominently on the cover. See Ex. A, available at
`
`http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/cover-story/149726275.html.
`
`15.
`
`The Philadelphia Weekly article discussed the BLACK TRIBBLES
`
`podcast’s history, the hosts’ backgrounds, and summarized the podcast’s mission in extremely
`
`positive terms: “To bring together fans of all different backgrounds and let them appreciate life
`
`perspectives they hadn’t considered up close and personal before—and, along the way, to inspire
`
`those young black kids, in Philly and everywhere, who otherwise may never have been given the
`
`cultural blessing to take a superhero as their role model.” The article also noted that “[Plaintiff
`
`Webb] conceived the basic format of Black Tribbles together with local actor [Defendant]
`
`3
`
`

`

`Case 2:14-cv-02487-AB Document 1 Filed 04/29/14 Page 4 of 8
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`Reginald Brown, and the two of them assembled the team of on-air talent before Brown bowed
`
`out a few episodes into the show’s run to pursue other projects.” See Ex. A.
`
`16.
`
`At that time, Defendant Brown had not used the BLACK TRIBBLES
`
`mark since he had departed the show in May 2011. But nonetheless, eight days after the
`
`Philadelphia Weekly article was published, Defendant Brown created “Black Tribbles, LLC”, a
`
`Pennsylvania Limited Liability Company.
`
`17.
`
`Three months after the Philadelphia Weekly article was published,
`
`Defendant Brown filed for a federal trademark on the mark BLACK TRIBBLES. In the
`
`application, Defendant Brown claimed that he first used the mark BLACK TRIBBLES in
`
`commerce on August 8, 2012—well after Plaintiff Webb began using the mark in commerce.
`
`18.
`
`On the same day, Defendant Brown registered the domain
`
`www.blacktribblestv.com. And the next day, Defendant Brown created a Facebook page for
`
`“Black Tribbles TV,” and posted: “BLACK TRIBBLES TV... Coming Soon!” See Ex. B at 42–
`
`43, available at https://www.facebook.com/BlackTribblesTV.
`
`19.
`
`Since August 2012, Defendant Brown used the BLACK TRIBBLES mark
`
`in commerce by producing and publishing videos that use the BLACK TRIBBLES mark and
`
`discuss science fiction, comic books, movies, and other topics identical to Plaintiff Webb’s
`
`BLACK TRIBBLES podcast.
`
`20.
`
`Defendants’ use of the BLACK TRIBBLES mark in association with its
`
`entertainment services is likely to cause confusion in the marketplace, as customers are likely to
`
`erroneously conclude that Defendants’ “Black Tribbles TV” videos and other content are
`
`sponsored, endorsed, or is otherwise affiliated with Plaintiff Webb’s BLACK TRIBBLES
`
`entertainment services.
`
`4
`
`

`

`Case 2:14-cv-02487-AB Document 1 Filed 04/29/14 Page 5 of 8
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`21.
`
`The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office refused to register Defendant
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`Brown’s BLACK TRIBBLES mark in February 2013. Defendant Brown then abandoned his
`
`application, and Plaintiff Webb applied for his own trademark on BLACK TRIBBLES in
`
`September 2013. But Defendant Brown revived his application two months later. Because
`
`Defendant Brown filed for a trademark before Plaintiff Webb, the U.S. Patent & Trademark
`
`Office suspended Plaintiff Webb’s application—despite Plaintiff Webb’s prior continuous use of
`
`the BLACK TRIBBLES mark in commerce.
`
`22.
`
`Defendant Webb’s trademark application was published for opposition in
`
`January 2014. Plaintiff Webb’s attorney called Defendant Brown on three separate occasions in
`
`January 2014 to discuss a possible resolution, but Defendant Brown declined to speak. Plaintiff
`
`Webb’s attorney wrote a letter to Defendant Brown offering to speak with Defendant Brown
`
`and/or his attorney to discuss a possible resolution, but Defendant Brown did not reply.
`
`Defendant Brown has not made his attorney available for discussion.
`
`Trademark Infringement, Unfair Competition, and False Designation of Origin, in
`violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)
`
`COUNT I
`
`1.
`
`Plaintiff Webb repeats and re-alleges the allegations of the preceding
`
`paragraphs, as though fully set forth herein.
`
`2.
`
`Plaintiff Webb’s prior and continuous use of the BLACK TRIBBLES
`
`mark has made the mark a source identifier for Plaintiff Webb’s services and business.
`
`3.
`
`Plaintiff Webb’s BLACK TRIBBLES mark is inherently distinctive as
`
`used in conjunction with Plaintiff Webb’s services and business, and/or it has acquired
`
`distinctiveness by virtue of the nature and extent of Plaintiff Webb’s use and promotion of the
`
`mark.
`
`5
`
`

`

`Case 2:14-cv-02487-AB Document 1 Filed 04/29/14 Page 6 of 8
`
`4.
`
`Defendants’ use of the BLACK TRIBBLES mark in commerce is a
`
`confusingly similar imitation of Plaintiff Webb’s BLACK TRIBBLES mark and constitutes a
`
`false designation of origin and is likely to cause confusion, deception, and mistake by creating
`
`the false and misleading impression that Defendants’ services and business are based upon or
`
`related to Plaintiff Webb’s services or business, or associated or connected with Plaintiff Webb,
`
`or otherwise having the sponsorship, endorsement, or approval of Plaintiff Webb, in violation of
`
`Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a).
`
`5.
`
`6.
`
`Upon information and belief, Defendants’ activities are willful.
`
`Plaintiff Webb will be damaged as a direct and proximate result of
`
`Defendants’ use and registration of the BLACK TRIBBLES mark.
`
`7.
`
`Further, Plaintiff Webb will sustain irreparable injury for which no
`
`adequate remedy at law exists due to Defendants’ use of the BLACK TRIBBLES mark.
`
`8.
`
`Defendants’ acts set forth above constitute unfair competition in violation
`
`of Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a).
`
`COUNT II
`
`Common-Law Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition,
`in violation of 54 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 1126
`
`1.
`
`Plaintiff Webb repeats and re-alleges the allegations of the preceding
`
`paragraphs, as though fully set forth herein.
`
`2.
`
`This Count arises under the common law of the Commonwealth of
`
`Pennsylvania.
`
`3.
`
`Defendants’ use of the BLACK TRIBBLES mark is an imitation of
`
`Plaintiff Webb’s BLACK TRIBBLES mark that is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or to
`
`deceive consumers.
`
`6
`
`

`

`Case 2:14-cv-02487-AB Document 1 Filed 04/29/14 Page 7 of 8
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`4.
`
`Defendants’ use of the BLACK TRIBBLES mark constitutes trademark
`
`infringement in violation of the common law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
`
`5.
`
`Defendants’ acts of infringement have caused, and unless enjoined by this
`
`Court will continue to cause, irreparable injury and other damage to the business, reputation and
`
`goodwill that Plaintiff Webb enjoys in its BLACK TRIBBLES mark, for which Plaintiff has no
`
`adequate remedy at law.
`
`6.
`
`Upon information and belief, such acts and injury will continue unless
`
`enjoined by this Court.
`
`PRAYER FOR RELIEF
`
`WHEREFORE, Plaintiff Webb prays for judgment against Defendants Brown
`
`and Black Tribbles, LLC as follows:
`
`1.
`
`A determination that Plaintiff Webb owns prior rights to the BLACK
`
`TRIBBLES mark.
`
`2.
`
`A permanent injunction prohibiting and enjoining Defendant Brown,
`
`Defendant Black Tribbles, LLC, and its officers, directors, agents, servants, employees,
`
`subsidiaries, affiliates, assigns and licensees, and anyone in active concert or participation with
`
`either or both Defendants, from:
`
`(a)
`
`using the BLACK TRIBBLES mark in any manner or form, alone
`
`or with other terms, on or in connection with the promotion, sale, advertisement, merchandising,
`
`display, or sponsorship of any entertainment product, service, or program, or related product,
`
`service, or program, and from otherwise competing unfairly with Plaintiff Webb’s BLACK
`
`TRIBBLES entertainment services; and
`
`(b)
`
`performing any other acts that are likely to lead the public to
`
`believe that services performed, produced, sold, or offered for sale by Defendants are in any
`
`7
`
`

`

`Case 2:14-cv-02487-AB Document 1 Filed 04/29/14 Page 8 of 8
`
`manner licensed, sponsored, authorized by, or otherwise affiliated with Plaintiff Webb’s BLACK
`
`TRIBBLES entertainment services.
`
`3.
`
`An Order directing Defendant Brown to withdraw his BLACK
`
`TRIBBLES trademark application.
`
`4.
`
`An Order directing Defendants to pay to Plaintiff Webb the costs of this
`
`action.
`
`5.
`
`An Order directing Defendants to account for and pay over to Plaintiff
`
`Webb all gains, profits, and advantages derived from Defendants’ wrongful acts.
`
`6.
`
`Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.
`
`Jury Trial Demand
`
`Plaintiff Webb respectfully demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable.
`
`Dated: April 29, 2014
`
`Respectfully submitted,
`
`/s/ Joseph J. Gribbin
`
`Joseph J. Gribbin (PA #315445)
`DECHERT LLP
`Cira Centre
`2929 Arch Street
`Philadelphia, PA 19104-2808
`Tel:
`215-994-2327
`Fax:
`215-994-2222
`E-mail:
`joseph.gribbin@dechert.com
`
`Attorney for Plaintiff Leonard Webb
`
`8
`
`

`

`Case 2:14-cv-02487-AB Document 1-1 Filed 04/29/14 Page 1 of 9
`Case 2:14-cv—02487-AB Document 1-1 Filed 04/29/14 Page 1 of 9
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`EXHIBIT - A
`EXHIBIT - A
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`

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`Why Geeks of All Colors Need the Black Tribbles | Cover Story | News and Opinion | Phi...
`Case 2:14-cv-02487-AB Document 1-1 Filed 04/29/14 Page 2 of 9
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`Page 1 of 8
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`
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`Powered by
`
`Why Geeks of All Colors Need the Black
`Tribbles
`Five black Philly radio hosts talk superheroes and sci-fi—and show the
`world that geek culture isn’t as white-and-nerdy as the media would have
`us believe.
`
`By Stephen H. Segal
`
`Share this Story:
`
`Tweet
`
`Posted May. 2, 2012
`
`|
`
`Comments: 9
`
`|
`
`Add Comment
`
`The Black Tribbles have gathered in the radio studio, as they do every Thursday night, to banter about the
`things that excite them. Tonight, that means they’re arguing over which actors they’d cast in their dream
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`http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?expire=&title=Why+Geeks+of+All+Colors+...
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`4/10/2014
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`Page 2 of 8
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`movie version of the Justice League, the comic-book super-team that includes Superman, Batman and
`Wonder Woman. Their guest this evening, local comics publisher Shawn Pryor, is lamenting that the
`fantastic black actor Idris Elba can’t be Batman. “Just let him go ahead and be the Martian Manhunter,”
`Pryor sighs, referring to a much more obscure green-skinned alien character. “We all know Martian
`Manhunter is a black dude anyway.”
`
`“Yeah,” says co-host Jason Richardson, “he’s extra black.”
`
`“Or just go ahead and get the dude that voiced Martian Manhunter in the Justice League cartoon, Carl
`Lumbly,” Pryor says.
`
`In the corner, co-host Randy Green nods thoughtfully behind his horn-rimmed glasses. “Carl Lumbly
`would work, too.”
`
`“I ain’t forgot that Carl Lumbly played M.A.N.T.I.S.—” Pryor starts again, before being interrupted.
`
`“Years ago, yeeeeeah!” Over at the sound board, producer Len Webb has perked up at the mention of
`M.A.N.T.I.S., an obscure ’90s TV show about a black superhero.
`
`“Loved that show,” chimes in co-host Erik Darden. Jason agrees: “He was like a handicapped Batman.”
`
`Co-producer Kennedy Allen, the sole woman in the room, suddenly grins big and starts hopping up and
`down in her seat: “I remember that! M.A.N.T.I.S. was awesome! Yo, I forgot all about that show!”
`
`“What hurts me about M.A.N.T.I.S.,” says Pryor, “is—watch the pilot. As corny in spots as that pilot is, and
`as well as that pilot did, Fox executives looked at that and were like, ‘Yo, this is too black—you gotta pull
`back on some of this stuff.’ Watch the pilot episode if you can find it, and then watch the regular episodes
`that followed it—there’s such a big difference with the cast members they put in the show when the series
`started.”
`
`They’re all quiet for a moment, before Webb lets out a simple: “Hmmm.”
`
`It’s a typical moment in the broadcast life of Black Tribbles, airing weekly on the Germantown-based
`online radio station G-town Radio: a quintet of black Philly natives who laugh, geek out, and bust the
`occasional rhyme about superheroes, sci-fi and all sorts of fantastical pop culture. It’s a labor of love for
`this crew—though they all hope turning pro is in the cards for the show’s future.
`
`Its name comes from the classic Star Trek comedy episode, “The Trouble with Tribbles,” about a race of
`adorably fuzzy little alien critters—purring, throbbing balls of happy fur that radiate love and, along the
`way, reproduce new tribbles at a startling rate. “I was a little worried people would think it was a strictly
`Star Trek show,” says Len, the show’s producer, “but I knew I didn’t want ‘geek’ or ‘nerd’ in the title. A
`tribble is this round furry thing that’s so cute you want to hug it, but it’s still cool. It’s one of the most
`memorable things that was ever on Star Trek even though all it did was sit there and multiply. Also, it’s
`kind of obscure—and so is a black nerd. You don’t see many black nerds in pop culture.”
`
`It’s that simple fact that makes Black Tribbles so remarkable. In real life, there have always been lots of
`black nerds, both the everyday ones—like the 900 geeks of color who rapidly sounded off a roll call in May
`2009, when a viral Internet survey asked nonwhite sci-fi fans on LiveJournal to come say hello and prove
`they existed—and the historically influential ones, like mathematician Benjamin Banneker, scientist George
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`4/10/2014
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`Page 3 of 8
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`Washington Carver, author Octavia Butler and astronaut Mae Jemison. But in pop culture? Black nerds
`depicted as an actual part of black America? In the onslaught of media imagery that television, magazines,
`movies and comic books hurl at us every day? Not so much. For a long time, it was pretty much just Steve
`Urkel, the clichéd brainiac on the ’90s sitcom Family Matters, whose nasal whine, physical clumsiness and
`giant glasses underlined every week for eight years the idea that geek and cool were polar opposites.
`
`“I was always called Urkel growing up,” says Jason, rolling his eyes. “Really? That’s all we get? White nerds
`can grow up and become scientists and get hot chicks, and I get Urkel?”
`
`Even Star Trek’s much-heralded vision of a peaceful post-racial future has only ever shown us a single
`black character at a time—Lt. Uhura in the 1960s show, Geordi La Forge in the ’80s, Benjamin Sisko in the
`’90s—amid a sea of white faces.
`
`Black Tribbles bucks that trend. For two hours a week, five hip, funny, well-rounded young black adults let
`their geek flags fly on air in a freewheeling bull session that thrives on the fact that there’s no pretension,
`no self-conscious radio shtick—just microphones present while a bunch of friends talk about what they love
`most, from comic books and fantasy movies to science and history and ancient mythology. And they do so
`in a hip-hop-flavored atmosphere that’s as likely to name-check Dr. Dre as it is Doctor Who.
`
`The show just marked its one-year anniversary, and its audience gets bigger with every episode: some 1,500
`weekly listeners through G-town Radio streams and Podomatic downloads, plus an unmeasured but likely
`larger number via the iTunes podcast store. In January, Black Tribbles was picked up by the 2GuysTalking
`Podcast Network, which has 30,000 listeners—”though I don’t know that they’re all listening to us,” Len
`offers.
`
`In part, Black Tribbles’ growth is due to its own charms, but there’s also a broader context at work. “Right
`now, geek culture is so accepted,” says Kennedy. “ Avengers, Dark Knight, Men in Black—millions of
`people are going to see them. The way people dress today, it’s all superhero T-shirts and caps.” She shakes
`her head. “The same things I used to get clowned about for days, laughed right out of school.”
`
`If the Tribbles can find a way to take their scrappy Internet radio show to the next level, they’ll be pushing
`that cultural crossover for a long time.
`
`
`
`RANDY: If something in Toy Story 3 doesn’t make you cry, you have a black, black soul.
`
`ERIK: The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice.
`
`—Black Tribbles, episode 47, April 13, 2012
`
`
`
`If any city ought to know what black sci-fi geeks look like, it’s Philadelphia. Since 2001, we’ve had one of
`America’s greatest science-fiction authors, Samuel R. Delany, heading up Temple’s graduate creative
`writing program. Author Linda Addison, a Philly native, has won the Bram Stoker Award for horror poetry
`three times in the past decade, most recently this March. Acclaimed Philly choreographer Charles O.
`Anderson, after winning a 2007 Pew Fellowship in the Arts, promptly produced a dance work inspired by
`African-American science fiction. Heck, when America elected its first black president in 2008, the
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`Philadelphia Science Fiction Society immediately followed suit.
`
`But popular culture has long presented the black geek as an anomaly—an almost unthinkable deviation
`from both the stereotypical image of the geek, usually portrayed as white or Asian, and that of the black
`youth, usually portrayed in one of several unimaginative ways: as “street cool” via hip-hop or sports; as the
`affable and/or doomed sidekick to a white hero; or as a drug-dealing thug. And the new mass-culture of the
`Internet, where geeks congregate most enthusiastically, isn’t a lot better. “If you see a meme going around
`the Internet with a photo of a black person, any black person at all,” Jason sighs, “expect to see it eventually
`show up with a KFC bucket or a watermelon Photoshopped in.”
`
`Len Webb wanted to change that. A producer for G-town Radio with a background in children’s theater and
`improv comedy, he’d spent three years running the fledgling online radio station’s two most popular talk
`shows: first a local culture show called The Rec, and then a sex-discussion show called The Pleazure
`Principles. As the latter program wound down its run in early 2011, Len started mulling over the idea of
`finally doing a show about what he really held dear.
`
`“I grew up loving comic books,” says Len, who, at 45, is the oldest of the Tribbles. “And I fell in love with
`Batman. I’d say to my twin sister, ‘Leslie, draw me Batman!” and then I’d copy hers. Then I realized if I
`could do that, I could just copy the comic book myself—so I did, and drawing became my thing. But I
`always knew it wasn’t cool. I wasn’t the cool guy on the street.”
`
`If liking superheroes wasn’t cool for a little black kid in Philly in the ’70s, it was nonetheless another pop
`sci-fi series that helped Len figure out how to construct a personal identity that could flourish in his Mt.
`Airy grade-school social circle. “When Mork & Mindy debuted,” he remembers, “man, Robin Williams was
`just totally unfiltered, batshit, ‘Nanu-nanu!’ I went to school the next day—it was Catholic school, shirt and
`tie—and at recess I was Robin Williams, I was a nut, like Daffy Duck bouncing off the walls. It was a license
`to come out of my shell, and people could just deal with it or not.”
`
`That newfound, alien-inspired extroversion led Len over the years to the drama club at Martin Luther King
`High, to professional theater around the city, and eventually to G-town Radio. He conceived the basic
`format of Black Tribbles together with local actor Reginald Brown, and the two of them assembled the
`team of on-air talent before Brown bowed out a few episodes into the show’s run to pursue other projects.
`
`It’s that team’s broad spectrum of backgrounds and interests that makes the show come so vibrantly to life.
`Kennedy, like Len, is a veteran comedy performer. Jason is a professional graphic designer, comics artist
`and geek-event producer—his website, J1Studios.com, is hosting its second annual Playstation
`tournament/music festival in West Philly on May 20. Erik is a videographer and filmmaker working on a
`documentary about a Pennsylvania man who may have been wrongly imprisoned. And Randy is a touring
`musician as well as a comics retailer.
`
`One thing is foremost in the producer’s mind as he plans the content of upcoming episodes: “Presenting
`this culture in all its aspects in an entertaining, diverse, inviting and educational way. Sure, we’ll do the
`shows where we imagine how we’d cast a Justice League movie, but we’ll also do shows talking about what
`it’s like being a black geek, or about how superhero comics portray homosexuality. Next we want to do a
`show looking at the treatment of women in this culture. Let’s pick this stuff apart.”
`
`
`
`KENNEDY: I would love, more than anything else, for Wonder Woman to finally get some
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`respect ... We went to Comic-Con in October, and one of the crowd members asked [DC
`Comics’ animated-TV chief] Bruce Timm flat-out, when are we gonna see a Wonder Woman
`series? And he couldn’t give a concise answer. “Oh, well, I’d love to see it too, but—[she puts
`on a “Peanuts grown-up” cartoon voice] Wah wahwah wahwah wah wah.”
`
`LEN: Always that “but.”
`
`JASON: [sings] Big ol’, big ol’, big ol’ butt.
`
`KENNEDY: [squeals] Aaaaoooow!
`
`—Black Tribbles, episode 45, March 30, 2012
`
`
`
`At 5 p.m. on a Saturday, Kennedy stands atop a bright red double-decker bus, microphone in hand. The
`Philadelphia Sightseeing Tours vehicle is waiting for a red light to change, and Kennedy, its host, is
`entertaining her flock by staring at the light and chanting a childlike attempt at telekinetic powers: “One,
`two, three—green light!” Amazingly, she nails it on the first try, and laughs in triumphant delight.
`
`She’s always had that kind of sincere enthusiasm. “I remember in grade school, being tortured for liking
`Star Trek and being open about it,” says the 27-year-old North Philly resident. “I spent a lot of time trying
`to figure out if I was OK being a nerd, if I even was a nerd. You know, I looked at these guys who liked the
`same things, and I had better social skills, dressed better ... For me it wasn’t so much about being a geek as
`it was about growing up liking guy shit: watching Thundercats rather than My Little Pony, playing with
`Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rather than Barbie. I speak fluent ‘dude’—which makes it difficult to be
`well-versed in speaking ‘chick.’ I can do it, but it’s an effort.”
`
`Today, as an adult and as an aspiring actress who worked the local improv sketch comedy circuit for years,
`she’s found the perfect balance of goofy eagerness and suave cool, talking on-air weekly with her Black
`Tribbles co-hosts about the HBO fantasy epic Game of Thrones and the supernatural adventure comic
`Hellboy with the same smooth ease that marks her day-job banter with tourists. And sometimes those
`streams cross: When her tour bus drives past the expanse of lawn below the Philadelphia Museum of Art,
`Kennedy spots a preschooler at play and blurts out: “Hey! That kid had a lightsaber in one hand and a
`Captain America shield in the other! He is prepared.”
`
`It’s the same seemingly effortless riffing that’s the reason Len wanted her on the show in the first place.
`“Kennedy is the star,” he says. “I told her she would be. Well, her and Jason. She’s the lone woman in the
`bunch of us guys, and she’s sharp, and she’s pretty, and she knows her stuff.”
`
`Listen to the show and you’ll hear Kennedy and Jason regularly clashing over feminist issues, as Jason
`casually tosses around explicit appreciation for female movie stars (though he deliberately never uses R-
`rated swear words) and Kennedy roars back indignantly to demand more sophisticated respect for the
`women of nerdkind. Off the air, it’s clear that the two like and respect one another, know that their battles
`make for good radio, and see the male-female debate as one more opportunity to showcase the diversity of
`perspective that makes Black Tribbles unique.
`
`“I love that Black Tribbles is run by black folks—because other [geek-culture] podcasts aren’t,” Jason says.
`“I listen to all of them, and I like them, but they’re missing something, and it’s variety. They’re usually all
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`guys, too. Or, if they have a woman, she’s a yes-girl—‘Tee-hee-hee, I’m pretty.’ Where’s the strong woman?
`That’s why I like Kennedy.”
`
`
`
`KENNEDY: Ghost Protocol was amazing.
`
`RANDY: Is it OK to like Tom Cruise again?
`
`JASON: Yeah, I forget, why were we supposed to stop liking him?
`
`KENNEDY: You don’t jump on Oprah’s couch.
`
`JASON: Look, I don’t mind white people jumping on my couch. But black people, I don’t
`want them jumping on my couch.
`
`KENNEDY: That’s ’cause you have issues.
`
`JASON: Hispanics and Asians are in the middle.
`
`KENNEDY: I don’t care what country they’re from—
`
`JASON: Dunno about Cambodians.
`
`KENNEDY: —you don’t jump on Oprah’s couch.
`
`—Black Tribbles, episode 47, April 13, 2012
`
`
`
`If Jason, Kennedy and Erik provide Black Tribbles’ off-the-wall antics, Len and Randy provide a quieter,
`more philosophical take on their shared geekery.
`
`Most weeks, Randy joins the show remote by phone rather than coming into the studio with the other four.
`That’s because, much as he loves his Tribble identity, he’s already juggling two other personas: as assistant
`manager of Comics and More, a comic-book shop in the Plymouth Meeting Mall, and as a serious hip-hop
`artist who goes by the name R-Son and tours as a member of Gangstagrass, a Brooklyn-based
`rap/bluegrass hybrid that recently played SXSW and can be heard performing the theme song to the FX
`television drama Justified.
`
`“I’ve been geektastic since I was yay high,” Randy says, holding his hand at waist level. His cousin
`introduced him to Dungeons & Dragons at age 8, and from there he followed the familiar ’80s progression
`of comic books, G.I. Joe, Transformers.
`
`“Comics expanded my vocabulary,” he says. “Comics taught me the speed of light, and I never forgot it.”
`
`Randy, at 38, has an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old of his own now, and he’s more aware every day how
`important it is for young kids of all backgrounds, boys and girls both, to see themselves reflected in the
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`heroic imagery that pop culture provides. He was startled recently to realize how deeply he was touched
`when Marvel introduced a new, alternate-world version of Spider-Man, a brown-skinned teenager named
`Miles Morales who takes up the identity out of respect for the previous web-