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2014 HAHAT - On Representation
May 17, 2014
There's a rallying cry in fandom: Disregard canon, acquire representation. For those who don't live their lives neck deep in fandom (like me ahem >.>), the short version is that it means when you're sick of seeing cis, white, straight dudes as the stars of all the stories, bend that shit. Write about bisexual transgender Captain America. (You know who you are and I love you.) Roll around in the Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy 'ship. Read lifetimes into that shared look of intensity between Lagertha and Siggy. And while you're at it, racebend the hell out of Jane Austen.Why? Well, for one, it's fun, so why not?
But for another, if we're not gonna get representation, we'll make our own. The stories we read and see become a part of us--that's why we feel so 'unf' when something connects and hits that right spot. Living in someone else's head, having someone else's adventures, they become ours. We internalize the way the people and situations are presented in those stories. The beauty standards, the morality--even if we're actively fighting it, it seeps in sometimes, especially when we're young. If we don't conform to that naturally, it often results in internalized ____phobia, right? What's wrong with me? Should I be something else? Oh god.
Speaking as someone who's seen the horror wrought by internalized biphobia, lemme tell you. It's no joke.
When we do get representation. Magic happens. Like this letter from the the letters column of Young Avengers #17 by Allen Heinberg. WARNING: This letter contains a non-explicit reference to a suicide attempt:
Powerful right?
Not all representation is perfect. It's important for those who consume the product to call it out, and for creators to not be a dick about it when they screw up. But all that conversation can't be anything but good, in the end, and that's what's important. So that's my main idea for this year's International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia : representation is where it's at. I'm gonna work harder at it, myself, and I'm gonna celebrate it where I see it.
In that spirit, one commenter on this post will be chosen by the magical random.org fairy to get a trade paperback of an awesome comic that represents--and a decent romantic subplot. The winner can choose from:
Young Avengers Volume 2, #1 by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. The teenage love affair between Billy Kaplan and Teddy Altman might save the world... or break it. The series also includes several other LGBTQ teens, including David Alleyne (Prodigy), America Chavez (Miss America), and, of course, Loki.
or
Astonishing X-Men: Northstar by Marjorie Liu and Mike Perkins. Contains Marvel's first LGBTQ wedding between Northstar and longtime boyfriend Kyle Jinadu. Bonus: interracial relationship FOR THE WIN. (I might be biased there. But still.)
Just drop a comment and some way I can contact you--email, twitter, tumblr (make sure your ask box is open!), whatever works for you. I'll random.org it after the hop is over.
Happy hopping, y'all!
Angry Bi Kid Approved Comics: Young Avengers
September 23, 2013
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Warning: This blog post contains spoilers for Young Avengers v2 #s 8 and 9.
You know, I've had a half-written review of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie's Young Avengers v2 for this blog sitting here for, no kidding, three months now. Or since my last comic book update post happened. But this summer has been completely ridic (not in a good way), so nothing that was meant to get done got done. Anyhow, McKelvie is my favorite artist working right now in comics--I know, I say this like every day, but still--and Gillen, man, even when he gets crap editorially dictated to him, he manages to make the writing shine. These guys. These guys.
So today is Bi Visibility Day + Celebrate Bisexuality Day and I'm an Angry Bi Kid™, as you may have noticed. Possibly. So I'm gonna use this opportunity to talk about one of the coolest recent bisexual happenings in popular fiction and why it was awesome. And it just happens to be from Young Avengers, so I'm just gonna scrap that half-review and focus on this one reason why it is my favorite comic right now. And on its way to the all-time greats list, probably.
Skip this paragraph if you don't care about the background: David Alleyne, aka Prodigy, is a Marvel mutant--X-Men affiliated... on and off--who had the ability to telepathically absorb knowledge, skills, abilities, and (awkwardly enough, sometimes) memories from the people around him. I say this in past-tense because he was depowered on the travesty that was M-Day, but for convoluted reasons he regained the stuff he'd absorbed before then and still has it. He's with the Young Avengers in this arc, trying to rescue a friend.
Some of you may be aware that one of the most talked of couples in the Marvelverse are Billy and Teddy, or Wiccan and Hulking, who are adorably angsty right now.
And in the end of issue #8 David kissed Teddy. Much to Teddy's surprise and David's embarrassment, but you can read to find out all that awesome. My point is that this, from #9, is a great but simply written and drawn explanation/analogy:
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No, it's cool, you can click them to make them bigger and read. I'll wait. Because lemme tell you, I am feeling David pretty hard right now. (Also haha "the wiki has since been updated" ♥)
And yeah, I know, I didn't need that last bit in there, but Teddy and Billy's constant Game of Thrones references kill me so. You know. Had to be done.
Now, I've seen people complain that this makes it sound like David's powers "made him gay". I cannot tell you how angry that makes me on multiple levels without sputtering and spewing obscenity that would rival even my most foulmouthed character (looking at you, Malory--another Angry Bi Kid™, wahey, I see a pattern). I will simply--and calmly!!1!11!one!--point out that it is willfully removing the entire context in order to present something very positive--both for the character and for bisexual readers, who do not get enough of this at all ever--as negative for absolutely no good reason. Except to complain about the book.
It also makes me angry for the same reasons of erasure and dismissiveness the concept of 'Gay For You' in romance often makes me angry, but that's an old rant, I know, I'll stop.
Here are Kieron Gillen's author notes on the issue, containing his thoughts on how and why he went about David putting it precisely like this, which I won't rehash. If you don't wanna read the rest, scroll down to where he starts taking about "Page 5".
So that, basically.
Okay, so all that said, how fucking rad is this? God, I wish so hard that Marvel had been producing things like this when I was a kid, but I can't even be upset because I'm just so glad it exists now. Like emotionally moved to the tearing-up hand-flapping stage that this exists in a popular mainstream comic. I felt much the same way about Julie Power in Avengers Academy (which I talked about here before after it happened because yay bi-girl!), but I'm giving this one its own post because 1. the day and 2. I promised to talk YA ages ago.
Anyhow, Young Avengers #10, which will finish out this super-intense (oh god, my feels) arc, goes on sale in comic shops and the Marvel app this Wednesday the 25th Sept. And the trade of the first arc is already available. Can you jump into it right at #1 of this volume/with that TPB if you haven't read the stuff that happened before? Probably. It'd be better if you started from the beginning, yeah, but I think people with a passing familiarity with the Avengers could figure it out. There's always wikipedia.
Plus, come on. It's so pretty.
And that's all from your friendly neighborhood queer comic pusher on Bi Visibilty Day 2013. Woohoo!
Plus, come on. It's so pretty.
And that's all from your friendly neighborhood queer comic pusher on Bi Visibilty Day 2013. Woohoo!
Comics Update!
May 23, 2013
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You know, this was gonna be a regularly scheduled comics update, but it turned into a Young Avengers v2 review/rant. I cut that out and I'm gonna go with that tomorrow. So here's a quick rundown of my other books right now.
Spider Books:
Avenging Spider-Man. Fun. Spider-books are a bit weird atm thanks to Doc Ock taking over his body, but what can you do? Rotating writers and artists, some are better than others, obviously.
Ultimate Spider-Man. Miles, why are you so amazing?
Team Books:
Fearless Defenders. Love it. Great fun, and I don't normally enjoy Asgardian-type storylines as much, but these ladies...
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| Valkyrie and Misty Knight from Fearless Defenders V1 by Bunn/Jiminez. Sorry Misty. Yeah. There totally is. :/ |
Young Avengers. Rant incoming tomorrow. But it's awesome.
I dropped Astonishing X-Men, finally, the last vestige of my X-team reading for the moment. I can't with the characterization. It was too painful. I really wanted to like it, but I feel super let down. :/
I'll pick up Wood and Copiel's new all-lady X-Men team at the end of the month and hope it's half as good as I want it to be.
Solo Books:
Gambit. Really good fun. Self-deprecating and charming and nobly idiotic and outside-the-superhero-box. Just how we like our Remy. Also this...
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| From Gambit V5 by Asmus/Mann. Yeah she screwed you over big time and you're gonna go to the rescue anyhow and oh my god Remy could be you be more ridiculous? Or hotter? DIDN'T THINK SO. |
Captain Marvel. Shit is getting pretty intense and Kelly Sue DeConnick's Carol is great (though I don't really love Andrade's art, it's interesting). I've even picked up the first issue of the Avengers crossover, The Enemy Within, which is a huge leap of faith since crossovers generally spell disaster at Marvel.
Hawkeye. This is up for an Eisner or two. For good reason. My initial fears have been unfounded, yay!
Other Books:
Saga. Also up for an Eisner or two. If you want an incredible story with brilliant characters, definitely check this out. BKV wins with this one, big time. Wonderful story, brilliant worldbuilding, and Julia Staples' art, just, wow.
I've got a bunch of old stuff to read and re-read loaded onto my iPad (X-23, Excalibur, Journey into Mystery), but this is the current monthly buy stuff. Back with that rant soon!
I know I haven't done one of these in a while, guys, but I found a bunch of my old comics from high school this weekend while visiting my parents, and Kellan insisted. His favorite bromance, my favorite bromance, Pete and Johnny, Spider-Man and the Human Torch, are back! Time for more Scans from Kellan's Comic Collection. (You can find the old ones in the Nobody's Hero tag, if interested.)
This one's from #4 of Spider-Man Team-Up (featuring Fantastic Four) by Jurgens and McLeod from June '96. Pete is doing something pretty intense and dangerous, looks like...
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| Uh-oh, Spidey! (Click to embiggen!) |
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| Happy birthday, Torchie! (Click to embiggen.) |
I get the feeling Kellan has to do something similar to get Jamie out of bed on his birthday.
(Um, you can take that however you want. I swear I meant it innocently, but then after I typed it... yeah.)
In other news, there will be a general comic-reading update coming soon, since my last one was sadly out of date, and a writing update, too! We're finally properly settled in one place--and certain we'll be here for a year or so at least, so this show is officially back on the road. ♥
The Regularly Scheduled Comics Update
September 11, 2012
Long post will be long, but it's been that kinda summer, my friends.
Okay, so it's comic book time again. And this one is going to be less enthusiastic than the last few, I'm sorry to say. Much has changed since the hopeful beginning of this summer. I'll just start at the beginning with the monthly buys, but I'll do categories this time. As usual, this is mainly Marvel, because that's how I roll (for some ungodly reason). I should also point out that in the wake of the Avengers vs. X-Men clusterfuck, Marvel is doing a reorganizational thing (not a reboot) known as Marvel NOW! in which all the usual lineups are reshuffled--and apparently priorities too. So this is basically shit leading up to that.
Spider-Books
(Note: these aren't getting reshuffled--though Pete's an Avenger, obvs. These will be the nice ones, though, so much more brief than the X-Book rants coming up...)
1. Avenging Spider-Man. Still good, actually, though the last issue (#11) was totally phoned in by return/original writer Wells. It was meant to be the 50th anniversary, so of course it went back to the beginning. But it was fuck ugly (Dillon, wtf are you doing? No.) and cheesy in a bad way. I was disappoint. But hey, the arc before it with Captain Marvel was fun as hell, as advertised, and we get Deadpool next month with a new artist and writer, so maybe it'll be fun again.
2. Ultimate Spider-Man. No complaints here. I admit that I don't always love Bendis, but when I do, it's generally Spider-Man. He's doing a good job tying Miles back into the whole Peter Parker thing while still giving him his own excellent drama. The last issue brought in Captain America, who's a huge dick and it's awesome. Marquez's art remains fabulous. Etc.
3. Spider-Men. Only has one issue to go. I mentioned this in my Amazing Spider-Man movie post, but it's basically 20-something 616 (as in, usual Marvelverse) Peter Parker getting zapped into the Ultimate Universe where 13-year-old Miles Morales is the new Spider-Man... cuz Pete's dead there. #4 actually had the touching moment Avenging Spider-Man failed miserably to deliver, so I was happy, there. It's Bendis writing, and I adore Pichelli's pencils.
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| From Spider-Men #4 by Bendis and Pichelli. BRB tearbending. |
I may or may not decide to start buying Amazing Spider-Man again. This is the book my dad grew up on, and therefore the book I grew up on... and the book that always sends me into one of my "NO MORE COMIC BOOKS sulks when it inevitably breaks my heart. I bought the 50th Anniversary #692 and enjoyed it, both for the actual story and for the bonus stuff. Hesitated over buying the next one this week, though. Dan Slott has written some stuff I really like and some stuff that makes me want to throw things. We'll see how desperate I get.
Avengers Books
1. Avengers Academy. Still the best thing going, but unfortunately it's not going to exist in the wake of Marvel NOW! Not only that, but Christos Gage, who I can safely say is my current favorite comic book writer, doesn't look to be a regular on any upcoming Marvel title. So yeah, you could say I'm fucking pissed. This book had better not go the same sporadic route the bad ass Young Avengers went--or the suddenly sub-par route Runaways did.
Marvel, this is why you can't have nice things.
Still, I'm enjoying this final arc a lot. Great character moments, good action, nice art from Divito, and I just hope they don't let these kids get lost.
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| From Avengers Academy #36 by Gage and Divito. See, Berto? See what happens when you talk shit on The Hero's Journey? Tsk. |
Also the "Island of Misfit Toys" collection that is the teachers here. I will never, ever like Hank Pym, but he is at least interesting here, and Gage did such a beautiful job picking up loose end characters (Speedball, Quicksilver, Tigra, Justice) and carrying through a real arc. Gah.
So yeah, I definitely still recommend the trades of these, if you're interested in dipping your toe into the Marvelverse. Well worth it.
ETA: UPDATE: Marvel!NOW was already dead to me, but now it's official. NOPE.
ETA: UPDATE: Marvel!NOW was already dead to me, but now it's official. NOPE.
2. Fuck the Avengers, basically.
X-Books
(Very little love, some outright hate. Fuuuuuck.)
1. Wolverine and the X-Men. It seems like far more than four months ago that this book had favorite potential. The cracky fun was occasionally interrupted by some stupidity, but it seemed as if these were issues that might be sorted out later. Mainly, issues of character interaction and relationship. Surely, Aaron would explain what the hell he was doing with Shadowcat/Iceman, right? Why the fuck he was dicking Husk over?
Thing is, I don't even care any more. After a few really, really bad continuity errors rising out of this AvX thing, plus, far from decreasing the creepy in his character relationships, Aaron actually upped it with sexual harassment as a repeated punchline... yeah. Nope. I'm done. You have punched my squick button, buddy. Ugh, what a waste of a great setup.
2. Uncanny X-Men. Here's the thing: I think Kieron Gillen is honestly a very good writer, and I'm not just saying that because of Phonogram. I think he understands his characters. The problem is that this whole AvX editorial mandate means that Cyclops and Emma Frost, in particular, have to act in very un-Cyclops and Emma Frost-y ways. Any time he does character interaction, it's perfect. It makes total sense.
But he got landed with the Phoenix Five. Which is the dumbest idea in the history of dumb Marvel crossover ideas. And I don't give a shit, so I stopped buying it as of last month.
It's kind of a shame I don't read Iron Man, since that's where he's going with Marvel NOW! But whatever.
3. Astonishing X-Men. Actually got better. I've discussed previously how this is basically my dream team, so I'll spare you. I got my Northstar Wedding Issue and it was well enjoyed. Had a few WTF moments, but overall gave me BEAUBIERFEELS (yes, allcaps) for a week or two. Helped because Aurora was depicted as an actual human being with feelings. Can we just say that only women are allowed to write her from now? That'd at least give her a fighting chance...
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| From Astonishing X-Men #51 by Liu and Perkins. BEAUBIERFEELS. |
The arc was uneven, writing-wise, but it's starting to smooth out on the Karma arc happening now. I'm still a bit sick to death of the "woman gets mind-controlled" plot device, but I trust Liu to finish it off well. Still not a Perkins fan, however. Sometimes I really like his panels--the ones above are a great example--but his style is the polar opposite of all my favorite comic book art, really. He's good, but I don't care for him, if that makes sense. (And seriously, that one shit-eating grin he gives everyone. I can't deal.)
**As a side-note, for those of you interested in this arc for wedding purposes only (entirely possible considering the content of this blog in general), I can recommend the hardback collection or the trade when it comes around. The story stands alone without much background. The bonus stuff isn't that exciting, but it's interesting for historic purposes, I guess. Basically they just reprinted Alpha Flight v1 #106, which is the issue where Northstar comes out. It's ugly as hell--Marvel in the early 90s was ugly in general--and the story is both problematic and a rushed mish-mash of an after-school special, basically. But it was a big deal, and I guess is... vaguely relevant? First Marvel superhero to come out, first to get married to someone of the same sex? Or something? Sure, why not. Go on and pat yourself on the back, Marvel. Why stop now?**
4. X-Men Legacy. Also relegated to the "don't care" pile. Which is sad because it's Gage writing, and I really trusted that given some time he could save the book for me. But I just don't give a shit at this point. I'm waiting til the reshuffle, then I'll decide what to buy.
5. Uncanny X-Force. I came late to this one for the Dark Angel Saga. The line up is a cool one, but I really only had an interest in Psylocke and Archangel at first, hence my finally hopping on for that, and only once it was out as a collection. I liked it so much that I eventually caught up with the whole series... and fucking loved it. The Apocalypse Solution was amazing in every fucking way (basically one of those "if you could go back in time and kill Hitler as a child, would you?" stories. Their answer is one of my fave comics panels ever for sheer "holy fuck that just happened" effect). Jerome Opeña, marry me. Remender, way to write some fucking anti-heroes. Then the lead up from Deathlok Nation into Dark Angel. And then...
Okay, the Trial of Fantomex was silly as fuck, but nothing involving the Captain Britain Corps will ever not be silly as fuck. I had been forewarned that things went downhill for this series here, but even after that, I still wasn't quite sure it was going to happen. And then... and then momentous issue #25. Which was... okay-ish. Sorta. Except the "special bonus material" (vintange Remender and Opeña!) was complete shit. A casually misogynist Wolverine backstory moment and a crappy Deadpool issue that was a giant fat joke? Yeah. Fuck you very much.
I'm caught up with the whole run now, and it genuinely did go downhill, as I was warned. Every awesome thing they built up with Psylocke is effectively tanked (oh wait, a woman being mind-controlled again? VICTIMIZING YAY! Also, PS: she is not actually Japanese, fuckers, so stop making her an appropriating douche, ugh); the man vs. animal debate inherent in a mutant kill squad run by Wolverine has gone off the interesting rails into STFU territory; and they completely screwed Fantomex, who fast became my favorite character. The dude, everything about him, every fucking detail and word, was the most brilliant existentialist experiment. And... blargh, now. Blargh. I'm so annoyed I might even have to write fanfiction just to FIX IT in my head.
It's almost over, as in for good, and now that they're on the new Brotherhood (Daken! Yay!) and Evan (who is part of my whole existentialist experiment love), I'm interested, at least. But blargh. Please save it. Please.
6. Sortakinda--I have been told I must start reading X-Treme because apparently Dazzler is kicking ass. Due to a recent sale, I also bought a large chunk of the current New Mutants title, and I'm a huge New Mutants fan. So we'll see how that shakes out, since I dropped three other X-books...
Solo Books
(A mixed bag, but most of the bad is conjecture.)
1. Captain Marvel. A few months ago, Carol Danvers, previously Ms. Marvel, took on the Captain Marvel mantel left behind by Mar-Vell when he died. (Again. He does that a lot.) This shiny new series is written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and drawn by Dexter Soy--and it's pretty much a clinic in storytelling. I didn't think I'd like Soy's art when I grabbed the first issue, but I've changed my mind. We've just had #3 and I'm in love.
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| From Captain Marvel #2 by DeConnick and Soy. |
Marvel's late to the girl power party, but they went at it good and hard when they finally did, I reckon. Also, I got a bunch of flack for this from friends when the design was first made public, but I still say McKelvie's costume redesign means he should redesign ALL THE COSTUMES. Fuck yes.
2. Hawkeye. Hawkeye is my third favorite Avenger ever, as I've mentioned multiple times. So him getting a new ongoing--and one kicking this fucking gorgeous David Aja design, at that--was a matter of some excitement for me a few months back. I don't have a great deal of faith in Matt Fraction, as he's committed some atrocities in the past, but hey, new book, new start, right? Anyhow, how can you fuck up Hawkeye?
Well, the first issue didn't. And I thought the second would be even better, because they were bringing in the other Hawkeye, Kate Bishop, my favorite Young Avenger. (Okay, second-favorite--my favorite is Speed, but that's obvious to everyone who's ever met me.) And I mean, look at this page. This is some serious mastering of your medium shit from Aja:
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| From Hawkeye #2 by Fraction and Aja |
Click to enlarge if you like, but seriously. Fucking gorgeous.
And then they had to go and make it all awkward with Clint telling Kate that he wanted to work with her because he "doesn't want to sleep with her". And Kate telling him that would be creepy (she's, like, eighteen, and he's her mentor hellooooooo position of power!), so yay... then looking all disappointed.
Now, Fraction has said that this is not going to be a thing. Like ever. At all. Clint meant what he said, and that's that. But seriously, it was so. Creepy. You guys. And I'm so annoyed because the rest of the issue was so. Awesome. It would've been perfect. No joke. Fucking gorgeously brotp Hawkeye awesome.
So if it was a writer I trusted, I'd be fine with the way it went down. But it's not. So I'm not. Goddammit, do not fuck up an awesome thing, please. :/
3. Gambit. As a child of the 90s (well, a teenager of the 90s), Gambit is the reason I got into the X-Men in the first place. I'm starting to think part of the requirement for being on my list of favorite X-People involves some manner of bastard-French accent (three is a pattern, and even if I count Northstar and Aurora as one, which I do, now there's Fantomex so fuck). Also, I like my good guys to be bad as often as not, if you haven't noticed. Anyhow, point is, I always try a new Gambit series, and recently I have always been horrifically bored with them.
But we're on the second issue of this one and it's kinda fun so far. Asmus doesn't go overboard on the dialect (writing dialogue in dialect =/= writing out an accent phonetically for the love of god), and Mann's art is good for the story they're telling. Remy looks suitably hot, which is also important.
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| From Gambit #2 by Asmus and Mann |
So we'll see.
And that's all for this especially long edition of "what I'm reading in comics". Lately there have been a lot of questions about my superpowered love stuff and when it's gonna continue. I hope that even for those of you who don't care about comics, this post at least puts to rest any fears that I will not be continuing in that vein. Because oh yeah. I've been this obsessed (and more) with comics since I was born, basically. Makes it difficult to run out of superpowered heroes and heroines of my own. Looooooooove!
The Amazing Spider-Man Post
July 8, 2012
Okay, so, as previously noted, Spider-Man is kinda my thing. I'm still being pretty tentative about getting back into 616* Spider-Books, though, since Amazing Spider-Man broke my heart with a shitty Gwen Stacy-fucked-Norman-Osborne plot some years back. This is a love-hate cycle I have: Marvel does awesome things, I open my fangirl heart to them again, and then they punch me in it. Heart-bruises, particularly of the Peter Parker induced variety, take time to heal, as we all know.
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| Cover for Avenging Spider-Man #9 by Terry and Rachel Dodson |
But like I say, I've been really enjoying Avenging Spider-Man, which is the fun, ridiculous Spidey team-up book right now. So looking forward to this month's, which starts a 2-part arc with the shiny new Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, written by deConnick and drawn by the Dodsons. Hell yes. [Side note: the first issue of Carol's solo book comes in a week or two eeee! OMG!] Plus, the Spider-Men event has now had its first two issues, and I'm rather loving it.
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| Teaser in the back of Spider-Men #1 by Bendis and Pichelli |
Miles is currently going through that incredibly emo phase that Pete did at first. You know, family drama, getting used tot he powers, etc, so it's cool to see him hooking up with an older, arguably wiser Pete for some cross-verse shenanigans. For one, he gets a chance to be kind of silly. For another, their reactions to each other are so far priceless.
Okay, so why am I telling you this if I'm supposed to be talking about the movie? Because I feel like The Amazing Spider-Man, the movie, is probably not as great as I thought it was, so prefacing this with me doing some general Spidey fangirling is appropriate. How far can you trust my recommendation that you see this film? Well, that far. But for what it's worth, I'm sure it's at least worth the price of a matinee--especially if you can see it in 3D, which I hardly ever say, but really.
So I'm just going to tell you the stuff that I'm positive was super awesome about it, as in not just the result of my being a big enough fangirl to actually have a Spider-Man tattoo. (Yes, you can see it if you want, it's just on my back, but mind the blinding whiteness.)
Awesome thing #1: Andrew Garfield. You hate to do the comparison, but it's inevitable so I'll just get it over with. I'm not a Tobey Maguire fan anyhow, but thanks to his absurd attempts at Pete!Emo, the original Spider-Man wasn't just funny intentionally, but unintentionally. Other than his horrible attempts at crying and being serious, he was a pretty capable Pete, and definitely dorky enough. But Garfield has something Maguire couldn't pull off: the right amounts of emo, nerdery, self-deprecation, and adorable earnestness. I actually bought him as the kind of kid (in spite him being barely younger than me in real life) who could put on a mask and make ridiculous wisecracks at a supervillain while getting his ass kicked. I totally teared up a few times. And then I laughed my ass off. A lifetime of being a Spidey fan--if what I hear is true--did good by this one. He's officially my Pete.
Awesome thing #2: Emma Stone. Goddamn, how awesome was Gwen Stacy? Stone not only holds her own on screen (and against The Lizard...), but she outshines everyone at many points. They went to great lengths to call up the soul of Gwen Stacy--which those of us who have seen it recently maligned found relieving, for the record--and get her just right when they updated her. Even her clothes echoed old school, self-reliant, oh-god-I'm-in-love-with-her-too Gwen. She pulled off smart and capable teenager with just enough compassion and age-appropriate absurdity to make it utterly believable. Again, one hates to do the comparisons, but if they'd done to her what they did to MJ in the first movies, I would've cried. (Because yes, I love Mary Jane too. So much. And god. damn.)
And these two together, yeah. So awkward and sweet and believable. And so much chemistry, even if I didn't know they were an actual thing, that would've sold me. Seriously, watch interviews with these two. It's absurdly cute.
Awesome thing #3: Rhys Ifans as Doc Connors. I've always been a big fan of Curt Connors since some of the 60s and 70s books I have from my dad's collection are Lizard-centric. I liked what they did with his Jekyll and Hyde issues with the serum, I like how they kept Oscorp on the backburner, and I like how, in spite of being a cheesy 60s comic book plot, it really managed to hold to the Marvel Comics tradition of the villain being a real, multifaceted character. They had it easier with The Avengers since the plot was much more modern, but here they went full out Stan Lee cheese at times. Good stuff, but yeah. Needs a certain cast of characters and actors to pull it off.
Awesome thing #4: Dennis Leary as Captain Stacy. Speaking of cheese--well, no spoilers, but at the end there, it starts to feel like a big old plate full of nachos. I'll just say that. BUT, I could tell even from the trailers that I was going to enjoy Leary in this role, and what do you know, I did. It's not complicated or all that interesting, I guess--he's just Captain Stacy. But I enjoyed him. Especially at dinner with Pete. Heh.
Awesome thing #5: The updates to the backstory. Of course some things simply must remain the same, but I liked that they shifted the focus more to Peter's past and his parents in this one. The changes they made to the typical Uncle Ben/Aunt May stuff in particular were both streamlining and far more believable in the best traditions of a reboot. Think the Season One graphic novels I was on about last time I did a comics post. There's nothing new or original to be had here. But what is there is really well pulled off, for sure.
So like I say, chock full o cheese in the best Stan Lee tradition, but also strangely believable in a way we've not really seen from a Spider-Man movie before. There are things that bugged me--like, wow, so many white people, even in terms of just extras--NYPD, even. And while I do think it was a little too soon to do a reboot, I get why they did it: it's Spidey's 50th this summer, so how could they resist? The point is that they did it one better. I'm probably gonna go again, not gonna lie. I might even cry the second time around, too.
Also: best Stan Lee Cameo yet. Trufax.
Do I wish it coulda been Miles? Yeah, actually, I do, in spite of my undying love for Peter Parker. But Miles's first arc is only just wrapping up, so there's just no way. Maybe next time, right?
*Earth 616 = standard marvel universe. Ultimate = Earth 1610. It's a multiverse thing. Don't bother with it, seriously, it's not worth the trouble.
Happy Independence Day!
July 4, 2012
Okay, I realize that was about Transformers, but I am totally going to see The Amazing Spider-Man tomorrow with my dad so... sorta relevant? Anyhow, two of Kellan's favorite things: 4th of July family shindig and Spidey. So relevant to this blog, anyhow!
Happy Independence Day to y'all Americans. If you're into that. In honor of it, I have secured a bottle of Kelly's favorite, Powers Irish Whiskey, to get me through it. This heat. I mean. I can't even.
I'm off in Wild Wonderful West Virginia. See ya when I get home <3
Comics Update
June 6, 2012
Comic book post ahoy. Yes, now is the time when I ramble about the books I'm reading. Ta-dah!
Right now, a lot of it is caught up in the Avengers Vs. X-Men debacle. While I was behind the Schism storyline, I am over AvX. If it was revolving around Jean or Rachel or someone I gave a shit about, okay, but... no. Fuck Hope-as-Phoenix-and-wtf-mutant-messiah.
As my dear friend the superpowered scientist Irene says, "Kill the spare."
Still, there is much goodness to be had, even in those books that are currently Hope Obsessed. So here we go.
First, some self-contained graphic novels that might interest people who want to get into comics but aren't sure where to start. The Season One series is Marvel's little way of updating the origin stories of some of its favorite heroes. A lot of longtime fans don't see the point, especially since some might say that's precisely what the Ultimate universe is there for, but I'm not one of them.Of the first four (there are three more coming soon, I hear), I own X-Men and Fantastic Four, and both were well worth the cash. The FF one is probably a little better, story-wise, but one of my all time favorite artists, Jamie McKelvie, did the X-Men book, and it's worth buying just for that... and how badass Jean is in it. I'll probably snag Spider-Man and Daredevil for my birthday, or something, and I'm looking forward very much to the upcoming Dr. Strange one.
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| From X-Men Season One by Hopeless and McKelvie |
Now, on to the monthly buys...
1. Avenging Spider-Man. I love this book so much. It's basically just Spidey teaming up with other Avengers, and it's definitely the funniest thing going. So far there's only been one story that hasn't been totally self-contained in a single issue, which I also really like. Pete is the best, and, thank god, it remains independent of the AvX debacle. I liked Wells on it as the writer, but it's fun now they're rotating artists and writers in and out. The last one with Kathryn and Stuart Immonen doing Spidey and She-Hulk was hilarious. I read this book when things make me angry. Spidey fanboying all over Cap or mouthing off with Hawkeye... no one can stay angry in the face of that. NO ONE.
Side note: this year is Spider-Man's 50th anniversary. Happy birthday, Pete. Still my favorite <3
2. Ultimate Spider-Man. I mentioned before that it's the only Ultimate-verse book I'm reading right now. Still the same! I like the things Bendis is doing with Miles, and I think Miles is a perfect Spidey. He's got just the right amount of curiosity, intelligence, and self-doubt that he needs to carry off the whole teenage superhero thing as a free agent and make me buy it. Also, yeah, he's still effing adorable with his teenage angst and screwed up family.And really, look at Marquez's broody, oh-god-someone-hug-that-kid work here:
I hear he'll be meeting the other-verse Pete soon, too, in the Bendis/Pichelli joint Spider-Men project in honor of the anniversary, so I'm looking forward to the start of that next week.
Side note: this year is Spider-Man's 50th anniversary. Happy birthday, Pete. Still my favorite <3
2. Ultimate Spider-Man. I mentioned before that it's the only Ultimate-verse book I'm reading right now. Still the same! I like the things Bendis is doing with Miles, and I think Miles is a perfect Spidey. He's got just the right amount of curiosity, intelligence, and self-doubt that he needs to carry off the whole teenage superhero thing as a free agent and make me buy it. Also, yeah, he's still effing adorable with his teenage angst and screwed up family.And really, look at Marquez's broody, oh-god-someone-hug-that-kid work here:
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| From Ultimate Spider-Man #10 by Bendis and Marquez |
3. Astonishing X-Men. In spite of being kind of another "teacher book" for WXM (more on that later), this one remains blessedly outside the AvX clusterfuck and functions as a standalone title. This is the book I mentioned last time that is pretty much my dream team: Iceman, Gambit, Cece, Karma, Northstar, Wolverine*. After a minor editorial hiccup that dampened my enjoyment of the first issue of the rebooted book, it's been smooth-ish sailing. Not a huge fan of Perkins's art (half the time it looks beautiful, the other half it looks like people's faces are melting), but Marjorie Liu is a badass. And you might've heard, but one of the team is about to get married.
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| Variant cover for the upcoming Astonishing X-Men #51, by Marko Djurdjevic AKA: Prettiest Cover Ever |
It just so happens that Northstar and his sister Aurora, the hot chick in the pretty dress holding the bouquet, are one of my particularly consuming obsessions**, as X-Men go. I like the way they've handled Northstar's personal arc being the first one, so far, and god knows I love the Kyle/Jean-Paul dynamic (worst. proposal. ever.), so to say I'm excited beyond reason is an understatement.
Obligatory Northstar rant:
Massive fans have watched Jean-Paul, in spite of his crippling cynicism, chase the idea of having a real family for long, emo decades now. It's how Department H emotionally blackmailed him into becoming Northstar in the first place. You see that guy who loves him for his snarky bastard self? You see that happy, supportive sister (who, ftr, was Kyle's friend first, and totally hooked him up as JP's company manager just to keep her brother out of trouble)? You see those in-laws looking all proud? Fuck the haters; it's about time something good happened to our boy. Get it, JP.
4. Avengers Academy. Wrapped up in AvX, but still probably my favorite ongoing right now. I love the characters, and I love Christos Gage's writing in every way imaginable. I actually started reading because it's where Quicksilver landed after the whole "No, it wasn't me who did all that horrible shit with the terragen crystals, it was a Skrull!" debacle, and I really can't resist him.*** In particular I enjoy him and the half-blackmail, half-genuine relationship with Finesse, but I also liked the recent Lightspeed/Striker coming out thing, I'm impressed by how Tigra's being handled, and, on a purely fangirly note, oh my god Lightspeed and Karolina from Runaways are THE CUTEST. McKone's art has been great from the off, too -- I love the character design and I love... everything about it, pretty much.
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| From Avengers Academy #27 by Gage and McKone. Post Striker's massive coming out press conference. The dumbass. |
Side note: This is a good monthly comic to start out with if you're previously uninitiated into Marvel but curious, because so many of the characters are brand spankin' new, and the first three volumes of the collected comics are already available in TPB, so it's even easy to go from the beginning. Just search your favorite bookseller for Avengers Academy Volume 1: Permanent Record and go from there. I totally got my neighbor's kid hooked. *proud*
5. Uncanny X-Men. I keep telling myself I'm going to drop this book, but I really like Gillen's writing & characterization -- best example: Namor. Yes, I'm totally reading it for Namor, it's true. For those not following along at home, this is the book that follows one half of the post-Schism X-Men: Cyclops's Extinction Team on the island of Utopia. Cyclops, true to form, treats the situation with the depleted mutant population and the mutant kids that have cropped up post-Hope (The Lights) as one requiring a military response attitude. They're soldiers for mutantkind. Makes sense, but there are a lot of problems with the way it's happening, from my PoV.
That, and Greg Land is the artist on it currently. I used to love him, but now his pornstarfaces make me ill.
6. Wolverine and the X-Men. The Schism-created counterpoint to Uncanny, full of cracked-out, almost early Excalibur-style storylines about a school full of mutant teenagers: The Jean Grey School. I think Jason Aaron has been knocking it out of the park from the beginning, like I said in my last comic book update, and now Bradhaw's on it, I think the pencils are perfect for the kinds of stories they're telling: dynamic, full of humor and character. This is the school Wolvie opened to keep the kids who didn't want to go paramilitary with Cyke safe from harm -- but yeah, not really an option, in their world, let's face it. In spite of AvX, this one has still been a load of fun, and I think it's the best X-Book out there right now.
7. X-Men: Legacy. This is the other teacher book, a companion to WXM, focusing on the grown-ups and their missions and lives protecting the kids there. It started out kind of blah, as I might've mentioned, with it mostly being about Rogue agonizing over which side to pick, but since Gage picked it up a few issues back it's been really interesting. Particularly like the little things with Chamber, Husk, and Cannonball that are going on, though for the moment it's all gone back to "which side should we fight on?" Gage is doing it with excellent characterization, though, and Rafa Sandoval's pencils are clean and well-suited to the amount of action that goes on in this one. I really like the way he draws Rogue, and it's safe to say this is her book.
*Okay, so I wouldn't have Wolverine on my dream team, but whatever, the rest of them are awesome.
**All that fanfiction I wrote? Yeah. It's about them. All of it. Really.
***Yes, there is a pattern here. Massive speedster weakness. Speedsters with badass twin sisters, even.
The Avengers Post
May 4, 2012
Yesterday was Avengers Day. Initially we had planned to do both Iron Man movies, Thor, and Captain America--because apparently The Hulk was bad. I didn't see either of them because I heard I would cry, but it's cool. Unfortunately when I went out shopping the other day I bought George Harrison: Living in the Material World on impulse. Fun fact: if you put George Harrison on the cover of something, I'll probably buy it--I would've even if I hadn't already seen it on HBO and loved the hell out of it. Anyhow, that blew my Fun Budget for the whole month... totally forgetting that a.) I do not own Thor and b.) it is not streaming on Netflix. So no Thor either.
We did Iron Man 1 and Captain America as a pre-game (Iron Man 2 came after at like 4am. No lie.) Then, just in case the lines were murder, we got to the theater, got some good seats, and hunkered down to wait for like 2 hours for The Avengers.
Now, to preface this, my favorite Avengers, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, will never be in an Avengers movie because they're also mutants. And, uh, Magneto's kids. The Marvel movieverse X-Men timeline is already completely screwed up after only five movies (one of which was meh, two of which sucked, and two of which I actually like) that I sincerely doubt they'll ever try and work it into the Avengers timeline. I have come to terms with this. However, my third favorite Avenger is Hawkeye. He got a short uncredited cameo in Thor, but otherwise he's the new one to the franchise. So I was excited about that.
I was not excited about much else when it came to the makeup of the team. Iron Man, Cap, and Thor all had movies that I enjoyed, albeit to varying degrees, and I don't have a problem with any of 'em. I like Hulk, but they couldn't seem to get him right, so I was a bit meh there. I love Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, but otherwise, let's be serious, every other named character movie is white, which is creepy. And while I really like Black Widow as a character--seriously? One woman? One who had heretofore been present in a peripheral/support cast capacity and has no superpowers (therefore, will be much, much easier for the super-duper powered boys to upstage, if this plays out how I fear)? Really?
These are all things I had to accept before I set out to see this movie. Which genuinely looked awesome from the trailers. While I don't always like Joss Whedon's stuff, he can at least be relied upon to have an excellent sense of humor, and he is, above all things, a lover of comics. Plus, the casting is great. I can do this... I can do this...
Glad I did, because I really enjoyed it. I will keep this non-spoilery, so if you care, read on! Not sure what it says that it required so much mental prep and the company of a like-minded girlfriend to get me there, but hey, that worked out. I pretty much agree with the review on PornoKitsch--except I don't precisely agree about the Black Widow stuff.
In truth, I think the Black Widow and Hawkeye stuff was the best because it played with one of my favorite tropes in an admirably subtle way: that of the non-superhuman in the superhero role. I always loved Hawkeye for his smart mouth, but beneath that (if not very, since I wouldn't call Clint deep) is a vast sense of insecurity--a recent issue of Avenging Spider-Man touched on it, actually, if in an over-the-top-manner. As a non-superhuman in that situation, you have to be better. You have to be the best. Hawkeye can't miss. Both of the non-superhumans were put in seriously compromising positions and have shaky reactions to them after the fact. And then they get the fuck up and go kick some ass--though it's implied that the effects will be psychologically with them for some time, well, those two are just piling on the damage at this point. If they require some help from others, they give plenty, too. Hawkeye probably got the least amount of attention, but, uh, there's a reason for that. So it's okay.
Now, that said, the movie would've been improved greatly by the application of another woman hero, one on par powers-wise with Thor or Cap, to contrast and commiserate with Natasha. There are so many options, it makes the head spin.
But everything you've heard about the Hulk being THE BEST AVENGER is pretty much true because holy god. Mark Ruffallo needs his own Hulk movie yesterday. Loki was amazing. I've never been a huge fan of the Asgard stuff in Marvel, honestly, it always made me roll my eyes. But a soft spot for Loki has always been there, and wow. Just perfect, man, silly helmet and all. Cap was even more Cap than he was in his own movie in some ways; Tony was the Big Damn Hero, battered and emotional (seriously he almost cried at least twice) and badass; and Thor was--well, his bits mainly consisted of punching things and repeatedly trying to give Loki a much-needed hug, which is for the best.
Also, oh my god, the after-credits scenes. I can't even. Just. All the excitement.
So yeah. Though it was far from perfect, it was a really good time. I reckon I enjoyed myself immensely.
And now I should probably get back to work. Five hours is totally enough to go on. Sleep is for the weak.
We did Iron Man 1 and Captain America as a pre-game (Iron Man 2 came after at like 4am. No lie.) Then, just in case the lines were murder, we got to the theater, got some good seats, and hunkered down to wait for like 2 hours for The Avengers.
Now, to preface this, my favorite Avengers, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, will never be in an Avengers movie because they're also mutants. And, uh, Magneto's kids. The Marvel movieverse X-Men timeline is already completely screwed up after only five movies (one of which was meh, two of which sucked, and two of which I actually like) that I sincerely doubt they'll ever try and work it into the Avengers timeline. I have come to terms with this. However, my third favorite Avenger is Hawkeye. He got a short uncredited cameo in Thor, but otherwise he's the new one to the franchise. So I was excited about that.
I was not excited about much else when it came to the makeup of the team. Iron Man, Cap, and Thor all had movies that I enjoyed, albeit to varying degrees, and I don't have a problem with any of 'em. I like Hulk, but they couldn't seem to get him right, so I was a bit meh there. I love Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, but otherwise, let's be serious, every other named character movie is white, which is creepy. And while I really like Black Widow as a character--seriously? One woman? One who had heretofore been present in a peripheral/support cast capacity and has no superpowers (therefore, will be much, much easier for the super-duper powered boys to upstage, if this plays out how I fear)? Really?
These are all things I had to accept before I set out to see this movie. Which genuinely looked awesome from the trailers. While I don't always like Joss Whedon's stuff, he can at least be relied upon to have an excellent sense of humor, and he is, above all things, a lover of comics. Plus, the casting is great. I can do this... I can do this...
Glad I did, because I really enjoyed it. I will keep this non-spoilery, so if you care, read on! Not sure what it says that it required so much mental prep and the company of a like-minded girlfriend to get me there, but hey, that worked out. I pretty much agree with the review on PornoKitsch--except I don't precisely agree about the Black Widow stuff.
In truth, I think the Black Widow and Hawkeye stuff was the best because it played with one of my favorite tropes in an admirably subtle way: that of the non-superhuman in the superhero role. I always loved Hawkeye for his smart mouth, but beneath that (if not very, since I wouldn't call Clint deep) is a vast sense of insecurity--a recent issue of Avenging Spider-Man touched on it, actually, if in an over-the-top-manner. As a non-superhuman in that situation, you have to be better. You have to be the best. Hawkeye can't miss. Both of the non-superhumans were put in seriously compromising positions and have shaky reactions to them after the fact. And then they get the fuck up and go kick some ass--though it's implied that the effects will be psychologically with them for some time, well, those two are just piling on the damage at this point. If they require some help from others, they give plenty, too. Hawkeye probably got the least amount of attention, but, uh, there's a reason for that. So it's okay.
Now, that said, the movie would've been improved greatly by the application of another woman hero, one on par powers-wise with Thor or Cap, to contrast and commiserate with Natasha. There are so many options, it makes the head spin.
But everything you've heard about the Hulk being THE BEST AVENGER is pretty much true because holy god. Mark Ruffallo needs his own Hulk movie yesterday. Loki was amazing. I've never been a huge fan of the Asgard stuff in Marvel, honestly, it always made me roll my eyes. But a soft spot for Loki has always been there, and wow. Just perfect, man, silly helmet and all. Cap was even more Cap than he was in his own movie in some ways; Tony was the Big Damn Hero, battered and emotional (seriously he almost cried at least twice) and badass; and Thor was--well, his bits mainly consisted of punching things and repeatedly trying to give Loki a much-needed hug, which is for the best.
Also, oh my god, the after-credits scenes. I can't even. Just. All the excitement.
So yeah. Though it was far from perfect, it was a really good time. I reckon I enjoyed myself immensely.
And now I should probably get back to work. Five hours is totally enough to go on. Sleep is for the weak.
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