Aquaman :)

Today was the first moment of realization to myself that I am indeed a nerd. Literary the first thing I did when I got up this morning was, I went to the comic book store. That is because today the most powerful super hero in this world, one that rules over 2/3 of the Earth got rebooted. I am of course speaking about my personal favorite: Aquaman. In this version he is from Boston which it nice that they made him a local boy. In this comic nothing really plot heavy happened. It was a little bit of back story and then the rest was the land-world giving Aquaman shit about being Aquaman. I personally found this hilarious because I always get crap about being an Aquaman fan-girl in the real world so it was nice for them to make a reference to it in the comic book world. I cant wait to see what fun adventures this hunk gets into next.

(wrote this on September 28th, but I kinda forgot to post it.)

The New 52

I've started reading DC's revamp of the "new 52" and have started this week with Batgirl, Batman and Robin, and Brids of Prey. Keeping it in Gotham.
So Batgirl is probably one of my favorite super heroines. Part of that appeal is that she is actually written by a women, Gail Simone. The basic concept is that Batgirl, Barbra Gordon, daughter of Commissioner Gordon moves into a new apartment. Her roommate who's name hasn't been mentioned is an anarchist, and a hugger. I feel like this particular series is going to be all about Barbra getting over her PTSD after being shot by the joker. My prediction on the roommate is that she is going to be bad news, but we'll wait and see.
This take on Batman and Robin is particularly interesting because Robin is actually Damian, Bruce Wayne's son. For those of you who don't know who Bruce Wayne is...shame on you. One of my favorite lines was when Bruce turned to his son and said," You're sounding more and more like a cold-hearted 10-year-old boy that only cares about himself." Which to me if you are bringing your 10-year-old in brutal crime fights what do you expect. He is going to turn cold-hearted just to deal with his harsh reality. Honestly Bruce, you should be glad he's not a serial killer. And that's my parenting advice to Bruce Wayne.
Ok finally, Birds of Prey, my take: freaking epic. It starts with journalist Charlie Kun trying to spy on the Birds of Prey. This gets him into a little bit of trouble and the girls swoop in to save his life. My favorite character so far has to be Starling, don't know if she has any super powers yet, unless bad-ass is a super power.
I'm super-pumped for next month's editions of these guys and will keep you updated with all their high-jinxes and my take on them.

The Great New England Steampunk Exhibition

Ok so I know I haven't written in a while, but that's due to the fact that I've been busy. The latest news is though that a couple of weeks ago I went to The Great New England Steampunk Exhibition.
For those of you who don't know what steampunk is here is your crash course. Its basically as if society had stopped evolving around the Victorian Era. The most reliable form of energy is steam (hence the steam in steampunk). The greatest way I have ever heard anyone describe it is, "I don't really know what it's about, all I know is it involves a lot of brown and goggles."
Some of the events that happened were a concert by Abney Park, a GLBT rally, and a ton of panels. I do have to preface this by saying I did not get there until the second day due to work.
The concert was epic, if not controversial. The opening band, Army of Broken Toys had awesome music and burlesque. Some con-goers were offended by the burlesque, which is understandable because there was no warning. I personally think if the band goes on stage and says, "Hey mother fuckers lets put the punk back in steampunk!" that should be ample warning. Abney Park was great as always playing a ton of crowd favorites.
The GLBT rally was another big highlight of the weekend. It was hosted by Steampunk Emma Goldman. It was just a rally to try to make the steampunk world into one that accepts all forms of love and identity. It was really low key which was nice, some rallies can ruin their cause by being too in your face and this one wasn't at all.
Honestly I didn't go to all the panels that I would have like to, I was too busy shopping. Most of the panels that I did go to I really enjoyed. Most of the ones that I liked were run by Everett Soares. Everett Soares writes one of the greatest Steampunk comics of all time: Sky Pirates of Valendor. Mr. Soares is a really nice guy that will probably hug you if you mention his comic, non-huggers you have been warned. The other thing about him is he's really open to talking about the comic book world and the trials and triumphs of making it in that world. I highly suggest you read his comic and if you see him at a convention give him some love.
Now to the bad news...the hotel. The biggest issue I faced was the non-working ATMs, and non the hotel shops or food venues were able to give cash back. Normally this would not be an issue, but due to the fact that the hotel was surrounded by highways, instead of a city it was impossible to get cash. Apparently there were some other issues with the hotel that I dont know the full details of. All I do know is that Abney Park was kicked out of their room and the con was nearly shut down on the second day. Bottom line if you are planing an event don't use the Coco Keys Marriott in Fitchburg, MA.
Overall it was a great con and I can't wait to vollenteer for next year. If you want to know more about next year's event in Connecticut Convention Center, just follow this link down the rabbit hole: http://thegreatnewenglandsteampunkexhibition.com/

Flash so Far

I am only about 100 pages into Showcase Presents: The Flash and I am enjoying it. Now maybe it’s just the collection that I have or maybe it’s the time period in which Flash was written (1950’s) but it seems to have much less over arching plot. The only story line that overlaps at all issue to issue is that he is dating Iris.
Iris as a character I honestly don’t really like. She is written as a very subservient women which given the time period is great but she needs a bit of an update. Even Superman which came out in 1939 had Lois Lane who was in her own right a bad ass. The only similarity with the girls is that they both work for newspapers; Lois is a writer whereas Iris is a photographer. Lois can also fight her own battles due to her being raised by General Blah Blah. Iris can’t fight her own battles which is why the Flash keeps on saving her.
The writing compared to Ms. Marvel (the only other comic that I have read a lot) is a lot different. Ms. Marvel a child would be able to comprehend, but the reader can tell that it isn’t aimed towards children. On the other hand Flash is defiantly aimed and written for children.
The clearest sign of this is with the foot notes. A friend of mine described it as a science lesson. Which it is, honestly I’m learning all about physics and scince facts. I was always a more arty kid so these facts are new to me. Think Bill Nye The Science Guy facts mixed with the ridiculousness of Ms. Frizzle and The Magic School Bus.

Aquaman

As I finished Ms. Marvel I realized that after that all the comics in my possession have been read. My comic book collection consists of Ms. Marvel, so not too many. ; ) So I what a nerd would do naturally in that position and went to my local comic book store. There they have a wonderful collection of the Marvel Essentials and DC Showcase Presents. These are large volumes that DC and Marvel put out that give you the issues that are the need to know about that hero or group of heroes. For me these are perfect because I am just getting into the world of comics. What I also like about these books is that they are big enough to last me a while. This is good when you have a job like mine and are able to get through a volume within about 3 days.
So I’m looking through their collection and per usual there is no Aquaman. I guess this makes sense due to the fact that most people’s favorite super hero isn’t Aquaman, the majority of the time it’s Batman or Superman (even spell check recognizes their names, it doesn’t recognize Aquaman). So I asked them to order it for me.
My love affair with Aquaman started at an early age and to tell you the truth I have no idea why. I have literary been laughed at by comic book nerds for my obsession. Aquaman I can say is the only super hero who I have a fan girl crush on. Again I have no idea why.
I was super excited when I started watching Young Justice. Aqualad is the boost that Aquaman needs in this world. I almost feel as if the writers were feeling the same way I was about Aquaman street-cred. I mean Auqaman has power of over 75% of the earth. And he can speak to and command all of the creatures that live there. No other superhero has that much power.
I’m not all caught up yet, but after tonight I should be, I’m having a mini-marathon. I really hope they keep Aqualad as the leader of Young Justice and I can’t wait to see what other adventures and people these new characters will meet.

Ms. Marvel

I just finished the Marvel Essentials "Ms. Marvel" and my take on it I loved it. For me growing up I never really read many comic books. I read a few Archie Comics with a little Sabrina and Josie throw in but never the traditional comic book. So for me this is a whole new world, and I'm loving it.
So anyway, back on to Ms. Marvel...For me she was the perfect pick for me to dive into the comic book world. I really identified with the character because she just wanted to be treated like everybody else. I feel how she feels when I am in Nerdom, I am underestimated and not always treated the same ways as "the guys" are. When the reality is I have been playing table top role playing games for a while. And sometimes its hard for me to even find a game to play in because I am a girl and I'm pinned as the girlfriend.
Okay sorry again about the rant. I liked the collection that was put together. The only issues I would have liked to seen was the ones where Ms. Marvel and Marcus had a relationship. Honestly it came out of left field when in the last issue of the collection, "The Avengers 10(1981)" Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel talks about what is essential her rape then pregnancy. Kinda some important information that was left out.
As a whole I think Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel is a very dynamic character that is all about girl power. At every point this incredibly strong women,(physically and metaphorically) is constantly being put down by the men surrounding her. She has her father, J. Jonah Jameson, and Dr. Michael Barnett.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

The other problem I have with Michael Barnett is he doesn't really do his job as a therapist. Maybe instead of trying to find a wife in his patients he might be able to help them through her problems, mainly her schizophrenia. The other heroes that I have seen seem to come to terms with their super powers. Whereas Carol does the human thing and creates a defense mechanism in her head and rationalizes her powers with Ms. Marvel and Carol acting as two different people that just share the same body. Hecate is a better therapist than Micheal, shes the one who in issue 13 helps Carol realize that she is Ms. Marvel.
I really enjoyed reading Ms. Marvel and I think she was the perfect heroine for me to get my feet wet. For my next read I'm going to DC and got to Showcase Presents: The Flash.

P.S. This is the last time I will put in a spoiler, you have had over 30 years to read this comic. Unless the spoiler is less than 10 years old I will not put it in.

Honestly I think it was for the best that Dr Michael Barnett was killed by Mystique. Not only was he her therapist but he was also her lover. The fact of the matter is they had different ideals and their relationship would have never lasted. In issue 22: Second Chance he says, "By hook or crook I'll have you as my wife...and then I'll end this Ms. Marvel craziness forever!" When this statement is made Carol had just been fired from Women magazine and now the only thing that was giving her life meaning and purpose. So in my opinion it was a good thing he died when he did so Carol's memory of him was left untarnished and she never knew that he was a womanizer like every other man in her life.