phillygirl out-fangirling me!

Phillygirl is outpacing me on comics! She has been to the LCBS about 3 times in 2 weeks.
Cheer her on as a new fangirl! Meanwhile, I'm reading Fun Home, Alison Bechdel [Dykes to watch out for]. It's textured, emotional, and literary-- the graphic novel equivalent of the edgy memoir.

http://phillygirl2873.livejournal.com/

OK, I'm just going to list some comics I've read recently and recommend to anyone that's into comics (or not).

Runaways - about a group of kids that find out that their parents are super villains and runaway and become super heroes.

Bite Club Vampire Crime Unit - more stories about the Del Toro Organized Crime Vampire Family

The Flash - Just started a new series this week, so far I like it

Sin City - Been reading a ton of them and love them all.

The Walking Dead - a post zombie attack story about a cop and his family and how they try to continue to survive with a group of other survivors

Astonishing X-Men - Joss Whedon's X-men, still trying to catch up on it, but it's up to issue 15 now, and I'm still trying to find issue #6

Dead @17 - Ordered some more from Viper Comics, waiting for them to arrive

Spike vs. Dracula - The story about how Spike and Dracula met up before. I'm not usually into books or comics based on a TV show or movie, but the story was pretty good and the art is fantastic.

She-Hulk - She's really growing on me. I've read Vol 1-3 of the trades so far.

Secrete Six - I don't know much about this title, it just started, but so far I like it.

What I haven't been into...

Green Lantern Corps

Silver Surfer Annihilation

Phillygirl reviews

While I'm still on break from RF, Ms. M, the newest fangirl to the scene,
has a few reviews below.

Send in your favorite redhead in comics to midnjcomic@comcast.net, subject: 53 to win the signed She-Hulk and Powers. It's fun to see your redhead fav's (and no Oracle or Batgirl yet!)


M: OK, I've actually finished reading a bunch of comics but haven't commented on them, so here are my reviews, comments etc on what I've been reading...

V for Vendetta - My friend Ramesses at the Fuselage recommended this one to me. Note, I haven't seen the movie yet. It was a dark tale about a Orwellian society and a vigilante trying to make people wake up and take action. I enjoyed this one, now I'm looking forward to seeing the movie.

Batgirl: Year One - This was a great story about how Barbara Gordon becomes Batgirl. I liked her story, a girl who wants to be a cop, an FBI agent someone to do good, but everyone tells oh you can't you're just a little girl. I also love the theme of girls kicking butt...Buffy, Girl Fight, anything of that nature and I'm there.

Wonder Woman #1 - This new title just started last week and I wanted to pick it up at the beginning. I was a little disappointed that most of the issue was about Wonder Woman's sister taking over as Wonder Woman, but I have a feeling we will be seeing Diana in issues to come.

[Watchmen] So this is supposed to be the end all and be all of comics, what did I think? I loved it. It's so much more than a graphic novel. It's a complex story about complex characters. I really enjoyed the flow of the book and the recurring themes. My favorite character would be Rorschach, a tragic figure who fights evil and only sees things in black and white.

The Middleman #1 through #4 - I loved it. It was funny and cute and I really just enjoyed this series. I'm going to lend it to my friend Redhead Fangirl and see what she thinks, but I think she'll love it too. I plan on picking up the next series, The Entering Dragon Conundrum, next time I'm at the comic book store.

Dead @ 17 - Another awesome book from Viper Comics. I will be picking up many more.

She-Hulk - My friend Redhead Fangirl lent this one to me. It's very cute. I never really knew much about She-hulk, but I enjoyed it. It's a bit cutesy compared to the other things I've been reading lately, but it was a nice break from some of the darker stuff.

Like Superman, I will return

I'm going on blog vacation until July 1st. Blog hiatus. Now that I've made it one year, I've got a comicon to organize, guitar to be played, 5K running, the house, the beach-- and comics and trades to catch up on. Busy ol' redhead. And that library work too. But keep sendin'your emails to midnjcomic@comcast.net if you want my 53 giveaway from the previous post.

Teeny reviews:
Walking Dead 28
I'm really disturbed by the start of the sexual assault of Michonne. The Governor, brutal and powerful, feeds people to the zombies for sport. Rick ends up severely injured, but once again any woman in a comic gets brutalized. There have been a few moments where this series has gone to a frontier style life, with the women cleaning and caring for kids and the men put on riot gear and fight. Let's hope she breaks away and mauls this governor beast-- but even with that comeuppance, it's just sad. In every end of the world type story, it seems that all men just turn into rapists.

Zombies- "There just us- they get what they want- they're only content for the briefest span of time."

Nextwave 5 [warren ellis, stuart immogen]
Crayon Butchery edition. It was a whole comic that was like a sketch cover.
General Anger of HATE lies in wait for the Nextwave team. The team has to fight various enemies

"Throwing koala bears out of an airplane just doesn't seem right". Cuddly koalas are thrown at the team, revealing themselves to have pointy teeth. "death bears!"

"drummer" is synonym for "jerk"

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man 9 [peter david, michael wieringo]
Sounds like I need to read the Civil War tie in Amazing Spider-man. Unmask himself or flee is the cliffhanger...

FNS- More of Ben Parker and the alternate reality brought on by Hobgoblin 2211. Some interesting physics and colorful art.

To Doctor Bourne (Spidey): "you loved Robin until she became her own person."
Robin/Hobgoblin has created retcon bombs to obliterate even the memory "no one remembers spiderman"

Invincible 32 [robert kirkman, ryan ottley]
Atom Eve, Invincible and Beth in Africa.
She sits on the roof watching nature, creates coffee out of atoms, and discusses how being with Beth must be hard. I like Atom Eve, being a redhead beauty and a smart, straightforward character. Invincible when a phone call lets him know his mother, and baby brother, are in trouble- held by Angstrom. Story from Marvel Teamup 14 will continue here next time

"I told you, these people never look up"

52 Week 4, 5
I think I like to read a few of these at a time, helps the story gel better for me. Luthor's metagene would let "every man and woman can be a superhero". Renee deals with her post surveillence monster attack. Dibny goes to some culty area with Wonder Girl Cassie to ask about the resurrection sign on his wife's gravestone.
Laying Steel to rest "I didn't want to set a bad example or be the wrong kind of inspiration"
Booster Gold "It is about me!"
Adam Strange, Animal Man and Starfire did not materialize. Don't miss the hot redhead alien woman bathing in the stream.

They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son.

A year plus for Redhead Fangirl

MY '53' GIVEAWAY- To celebrate 53 weeks of comic blogging, I have 2 comics I'll send to one lucky person: Powers #11 signed by Michael Oeming and She-Hulk 8 signed by Dan Slott.
EMAIL at midnjcomic@comcast.net , subject line "53", and tell me your favorite redhead character in comics.

I'm pretty happy after one year of blogging about comics, art, writing, libraries, and redheads. I've gone through the normal phases bloggers do, but mostly it's been positive. While I don't get the number of comments some of the big blogs get, I think I have a good little niche on being a fangirl/librarian. Sitemeter says I've gotten about 17,000 visits in one year.

I do think that there are many more worthy blogs that deserve your times-
try the Comic Blog Legion, another thing I created in this year of blogging. Wizard has a blog now, and between Newsarama and that, I'm afraid the drain on small "indie" blogs will be tough.

Congrats to Gordon from Blog This, Pal on two years of blogging! In just this year, I've seen Love Manga and The Comics Asylum end their runs.

June '05
The Redhead Fangirl blog blasts off! My very first post was about my very first comicon- Wizard Philly, 2005. And my first comment was from superstar artist Rags Morales, so I was off to a rip-roaring start.
That was a huge con month- met Ethan Van Sciver, Kubert brothers, Rags and in NY, I met Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris, Michael Bair.

August '05
Now I get really crazy and co-run my own comicon! The first MidJersey Comicon has a decent turnout, and I get to meet Dan Slott! The artists and dealers are all happy, and we broke even.

Sept '05
The Luna Brothers print my letter in Girls!
A redhead Batgirl decal is added to my car.

Oct '05
My first cosplay, sort of- I dress as Batgirl for Halloween.

Nov '05
National Comic Expo in NY
Began listing wacky montlhy referrals, editing the extreme redhead fetish ones.

Jan 'o5
Started the Comic Blog Legion.
Comic Treadmill - one the 9 favorite ladies of blogging

Feb '06
The infamous NY Comicon- met Chuck Satterlee, Colleen Doran, Greg Horn, and saw Rags again

March '06
MidJersey Comicon #2, and a sinus infection that put me under for a while.

April '06
Wall Street Journal reporter calls me for my take on product placement in comics
Variant Edition videocast posts a short spot with me from the MJCC.
Kirkman prints my letter in Invincible.

And coming soon- I get immortalized in an actual comic book- in a crowd scene, but by a very talented and respected artist. With a horror twist!

Thank you, dear readers. Email me and I'll feel validated...

Favorite comics of the year:
Sleeper, Birds of Prey, Justice, Banana Sunday, Girls, She-Hulk, Of Bitter Souls, Invincible, The Walking Dead, Spider-man loves Mary Jane, Y the Last Man, Ex Machina, DMZ, Bite Club...

I see food

On Sunday, C and I went to the Belmar Seafood Fest, one of my fav events of summer here. It was named one of the top 100 events in America.
I ate:
Clam bisque
Teriyaki shrimp
Fried Flounder Sandwich
Cheesecake on a stick
Fruit smoothie
Lobster ravioli
Clam steamers

I also read, on a windy, sandblown beach.
Wonder Woman 1
The Dodson art is great, strong and not too sexualized versions of Donna Troy and Diana Prince (well, sort of Diana). I like WW as part of the Justice League, but I have never read her solo series. So far, the Donna growing up in sis Diana's shadow is a good storyline.

Spider-man loves Mary Jane
For a teen series, sometimes this one hits me between the eyes. MJ thinking about how she lost herself, and how life can change you. Very little Spidey, Liz, Flash or Harry in this one, just MJ thinking and brooding. The arrival of Gwen is mentioned, but not really explored - yet.

Y the Last Man
"Just me and my monkey" Yorick and 355 wait it out in a Tokyo hotel room, Dr. Mann gets involved in a swordfight. Yorick will start speeding to France to try and find his Beth.

Birds of Prey
The trading places of Dinah and Shiva has been a great story arc. Dinah prepares to singlehandedly fight a warlords mob. Shiva and crew try to get Prometheus.

I spent $66 last week at the comic store, plus the weekends buys at Wizard. Whoa, bessy, I better reign it in!

Librarian, not lesbian

Batwoman becomes a lesbian
One of the most blogged about topics is the new girl-on-girl version of Batwoman. I don't have any major take on this. The way woman get sliced, diced, and abused in the superhero realm-
take it where you can get it!
However, I think my personal concern is the confusion noncomic friends have. I got an email from one librarian coworker saying "THIS JUST IN!", and at least 3 others emailed me stories about Batwoman.

"No, no, I gently explain, my batfamily friend is Batgirl- she's a librarian- not a lesbian"

The initial sketches seemed to have her with dark, Wonder Woman hair- but in Infinite Crisis and in descriptions, she has flowing red hair. I think the huge Batgirl decal on my Scion, that I proudly had red hair added to, will give me some alternate attention. Or give boys yet another thing to perv on.

Batman has morphed along the way from the Zorro-inspired creation of his split identity, to the campy TV version, to the film versions. "Over the generations some people have seen Batman as a gay icon. This notion is part and parcel of the strange, leather-clad and fetishistic vision imposed by director Joel Schumacher....the idea of two men(garbed in tights, no less) working closely and living together was considered too suggestive for some readers as far back as the fifties. Thus, a whole Bat family was added to the comic book to downplay the so-called gay aspects of the mythos. No doubt the most popular of the proliferating brood was Batgirl, introduced in 1968. These batadditions silenced the critics like Frederic Wertham, whose Seduction of the Innocent suggested the Dynamic Duo shared a homosexual relationship."
-The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television

While still titillating enough to get major news agency press, they are actively seeking to add a character who is a lesbian. Far cry from just adding a bunch of dudes to mask the fact that girls are her thing!

Maybe Batwoman could work for Perverted Justice and the endless "to catch a predator" shows.

53 - my comic event

On June 4, 2005 I started the Redhead Fangirl blog with photos and comments from my first Wizard. What a comic year it's been for me! Since the Wizard pre- and post- ramping up prevented me from my "year in the blogosphere", I'm shooting for 53 (52 weeks plus 1 week). In "53" there will be a *giveaway*, a revisit to cons, the whole enchilada!

Kevin Smith Q and A: Wizard World Philly
People ran to get the special ticket (needed a ticket not just your badge) From 3 PM to 6 PM, most of the con was jammed into the Christopher Reeve theatre room for Kevin. The first thing he talked about was how 3 years ago he spoke in Philly, and his dad died that night- so he was afraid his Q and A was so good it would kill somebody. The questions were sort of lame "will you direct Speed Racer?" "what happened with the Green Hornet?", but each question caused a long tangent response. He's a raunchy SOB, but not a dumb one.

Notes I took, the girl-scout version of his talk:
"Clerks sell out" straight to cartoon movie
Weinstein: "you totally ran out of ideas?"

Superman Returns- KS more excited for X-men. A long story about X-men being about tolerance, but really a gay allegory. "haven't you tried not being a mutant?"
"Wolverine and Cyclops redefine the fastball special"
KS movies "all text, so it's good when someone makes one with subtext"
Superman: "one dude with superpowers surrounded by a bunch of people with no superpowers?"

Jersey Girl: "Why did he have me cast his girlfriend?". Became albatross. Tried to hide the fact that JLo died in the film early, but after Gigli, they let it out "the bitch dies in the first 15 minutes" 'you should have done it in the credits!" Clerks2 informed by JGirl. 8 min standing ovation at Cannes at 2:30 AM.

myboringasslife- blog entries made into a book soon "Huh, I'll pay $10 when I read this shit for free"

Doesn't want to do action movies "lazy, quite terrible filmaker" Green Hornet, turned down, because it would just be GH and Kato leaning on a car saying "so did you get laid last night" then running off screen to fight. "sometimes it's best not to try, then you can't fail"

Lessons:
Take the chance, kick fear in the ass, instead of regretting your whole life "why didn't I take the chance"

Long Jason Mewes story about his 3 year sobriety and being a big cheerleader on Clerks2. And buying Greedo dolls after getting methadone every day in Asbury Park NJ.

Still have more notes from the Marvel panel, indie comics I bought,

Brunette Fangirl

M, who I christened Brunette Fangirl on Sat. We got the Kevin Smith golden ticket- so we went to the Q and A. She's a big fan of his, so I was really glad she got to see him. She also bought comics, trades, and a great Tommy Castillo Harley Quinn print. TC got out his colored pencils and paints to redden a Batgirl card he was selling when I joked that her hair needed to be less blonde and more red. How is that for custom service? See PhillyGirl2873 for her journal of the day. She's a huge LOST and BUFFY fan also.


Bob Wayne, Editor at DC Comics, and Geoff Johns. I got talking with Bob after this because he was joking how I didn't want him in the photo, but I really did because he just ran the big DC Universe panel that Rags Morales was on. Bob again spoke with me after the Vertigo panel, poorly attended because most of the con was jammed into the Kevin Smith QA waiting to see the Clerks2 preview. Geoff was pretty easy on the eyes in his black hoodie too. Oh, and I like his writing. But I didn't get to speak or meet him, sigh.

DC Universe panel things that made me think "ooooh"
- Justice League #0 Meltzer's story concentrates on the Big 3- Bats, Supes, WW- with many guest artists and past and future stories of their relationships. "made me care about Red Tornado"
-Justice Society relaunch in Oct.
-Wonder Woman #1 art by Terry Dodson, released this week
-The Flash- Fastest Man Alive (Who is the new Flash? We're told it's not Barry Allen)
-Mystery in Space- 38 page written by Jim Starlin space noir spins out of 52
-Superman/Batman 28-- lots of cheers for Van Sciver's art (some previewed in the new Wizard)
-Batman and the Mad Monk -- Matt Wagner next after Batman and the Monster Men
-Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters- Palmiotti
-DCU: Brave New World $1 for 80 page special
-All Star Batman and Robin with the adorable Batgirl cover coming
-Batman Kubert and Morrison- Batman and Son story arc
-Martian Manhunter J'ohnn is "becoming more Martian-American. Tried to hide and blend his identity for too long. Finds out he might not be the last one"
-Nightwing 125 will explain more post Crisis and almost death of the character
-Jonah Hex Sept 1-6

A big work week for this librarian- we have started a computer training lab at my library, and I'm the main trainer. Tomorrow I begin teaching absolute beginner computer classes. I hope the 6/6/06 demons are not interested in fouling up my equipment. I even made the local rag paper. Clippings to send to Mom!

Foiled plot to kill Nightwing

Librarian by Day, Rock Star by night. This was my themed Tshirt for Friday.

The crazy thing about Wizard is the hard choices you have to make- do you stand in line for autographs, go to panels, get sketches, shop, spend time in artist alley? Sometimes I get so busy it's hard to find time to eat or pee. This weekend, I gave up in the long Jim Lee signing lines, or to get Michael Turner to sign the show specials, or seeing Geoff Johns Blade panel.
On Sat I waited for about 50 mins in the Jim Lee line (after waiting an hour to get in to the show, having my badge already)-- bailed when I realized it would be another hour wait. I did sneak up to the VIP line on Fri and get a side shot of him, not even letting security tell me no.


One of the big DC Nation reveals was that Nightwing was supposed to die in Infinite Crisis. However, the plan changed (Woo-- my Oracle would be so sad over his loss). I saw quite a few Nightwing shirts, same as I have, at the con. Bats, Supes, Spidey and GL were the #1 Ts worn by fanboys. I saw 1 Poison Ivy, 1 Riddler, 1 Aquaman. Costumes, besides the hoard of SWars folks were very light this year (saw a Riddler, Speedball on Fri, along with a short Spidey and a fat Spidey).

I went to 2 Friday panels, about an hour each: Marvel X-men (the JoeQ fight over MJ) and Mondo Marvel where I asked about Marvel working with the Luna Brothers post-Spider-Woman. I said "not sure if it was a fan favorite" and Joe said it did very well for them, and Tom said that they are very nice guys, just spoke to them that week, but they are very busy with the Ultra TV show. Ultimate Cable, Union Jack, Marvel Zombies 2, Planet Hulk, She-Hulk, Spider-Girl fans keeping it alive, Nextwave, Claws, Blade were some of the titles batted around the panel. Joe Q said about Bendis "I stopped reading Bendis a long time ago- can't understand him" to laughs. Dan Slott kept saying to read She-Hulk 12 in regards to questions, and that Thing 8, "no more GLX- more Squirrel Girl"

More soon.

Nerdification

The geeks are back in town! At least a weeks worth of posts and pics from this fangirl- Stay tuned for the inside and outside scoop from the front lines.

2 most excellent and different days at Wizard. Friday was more low key, seeing the uniquely off-center creators (Rob Reilly, Mike Oeming, Brian Quinn, Neil Vokes, Geek Boy Press) and nutty fun dealers from Stormwatch Comics, JNS, and Welcome Back Comics that have done the MidJersey show. It amazes me that in one year I have met some really creative people. (some of whom I heard were arm wrestling and head butting in the bar last night!)

Dan Slott, the groovy humor god he is, filled me in on some great upcoming (off the record) She-Hulk Stories. And he is not too sad about the cancellation of The Thing- if enough of us buy the trade, Thing can return.

Rags Morales let me hang around in his gravitational orbit for a while. He is always mobbed for sketches and signatures, and you can blame this librarian for his slightly late appearance in the signing area! He just has that unflappable coolness that I could never have-- I get the 'nervous talking' thing. Saturday, the 3 times I saw him were on the DC Nation panel, at the DC signing booth, and doing a realistic pencils class.

M and I got the hot golden ticket for Kevin Smith's Q and A today. It was as expected- raunchy, funny-- and I give him credit for admitting his own limits. And owning up to the obscene deadline blowing on Black Cat.

My con started by blunting telling Quesada that I disagreed with him about the Spider-Man/ Mary Jane marriage. JQ and Editor Tom Breevort really went after the whole marriage, insisting that they could just tell so many stories if they were 'dating'. It's hard to be in a room full of at least a hundred people while 2 bigwigs are spouting their opinion, but I held my own and told him "I disagree with you" and that "they've been married when I was 12!" when they said that young kids and teens can't relate to a married Spidey. Some guy said "if you want to see a single Spidey- just read Ultimate Spider-Man". Loved him that moment!

Taking the pic with Joe Q later, he said, "I'm sorry if we beating you up about that"-- I'm making a funny face because I'm saying "keep them married" as we took the pic! I did butter up them with a "What caused the biggest fight in your office between editors and artists?" question. See my question referenced here at Newsarama Xmen panel.



RF with Civil War artist Steve McNiven - the most polite gap-toothed Canadian in the industry! I complimented him on the level of detail on the Marvel characters, got a few pics, and wondered if the woman sitting at his booth was his wife. Or mom. E, his bro and I speculated about this on the train.


Me and Joe Q. This is where I'm muttering "keep them married" after the Mondo Marvel panel.


The arches to dork heaven.

Somewhere I belong

Flashback: Wizard Philly 2005

Wizard Philly tomorrow! All jacked up to get my nerd on. Last year, I went empty handed. This year I have all my comics lined up to be signed by Steve McNiven, Rags Morales, Geoff Johns, Jim Lee. Luckily, I'm not at the box-n-dolly level, and since I'm taking the train in I'm not being greedy to get everything signed.

And Sat, my friend M is going to Wizard. She's just back from a Lost convention in LA, and visited Kevin Smith's store there. Maybe she'll get a ticket for the special session with him. She bought $100 worth of graphic novels, and I've been steering her towards titles she'll like (Bite Club, She-Hulk, Y--she likes horror, supernatural, mature stuff).

M said to me "you know what I don't like about comics? I don't want to start on issue 67 and be all confused..". I told her I try to start with new series, or restarts..but characters like Supes and Spidey with 60 years of stories...we'll never catch up.

And R, bold venturer and pulpy type, will be there Sat too. Last year he took advantage of the free Hulk Xbox game for several hours.

No new comics for 2 weeks, but I read Moon Knight 2, Fell, 52 week3, Aquaman 42. Really want to get Simone's Secret Six.

You must check out The Great Curve for 52 Best DC Characters
Yes! See #7 Batgirl/Oracle! Although 2 NC friends have emailed me about Batwoman being a lesbian (long red hair, tight outfit, high black boots)-- I've had to explain that my Bat is Batgirl, not Batwoman. Redheads, the other white meat.....