Let's write up some comics

This week I bought and read this lot:

Black Canary 1
Much more interesting than I thought it would be from the preview.  It doesn't really feel like my Dinah though, but I guess I'm looking for a Dinah in her 30s ready to settle down with Ollie (who to be fair would never be a rock star).  So this version not feeling like her isn't a criticism.  It is a good comic.  The only thing that pulled me out of it was that I don't buy her wearing her Canary outfit  on stage.  If they'd given her shorts or a skirt it would work much better.

Harley/Peej 1
This was a lot more fun than I expected.  I've been underwhelmed by Harley's main series but this was far better.  The two of them work well together. Unfortunately the cover is not Amanda Conner's finest hour.  The inks are rather heavy and it just doesn't flow very well.

Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman 11
Another bad cover,  Yeeuch.  Badly composed, badly pencilled, badly inked and badly coloured.  Inside is Jamal Igle's pencils which are much better but the inks are a bit too heavy handed.  The colours are OK.  Overall, this lacks the finesse of the Gates/Igle Supergirl work, but that's not Igle's fault.  In the issue Di goes to Africa to try to get two sides of a warring nation to reconcile.  It sounds a bit white saviour-ish doesn't it.  I don't think it comes across that way but I'm willing to listen to other opinions.

Princeless book 4 issue 1
The story is good but I hate the art.  The composition of the panels is good, the actions (and interaction) of the characters are good, but the style of faces, the inks and the colours are horrible.  It won't stop me buying this series, but if you do pick it up please be aware that this art is not indicative of the rest of the series' art!  And on the plus side, we do have killer squirrels:

Battleworld: Thors 1
I think I bought this for horse Thor.  It's OK.  I suspect it's more for Marvel aficionados than me.  It seems like a bit of an industry vanity project, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Battleworld: Runaways 1
The only actual Runaway in this is Molly Hayes.  The rest are mutants, Cloak and Dagger and some other randoms who I expect regular Marvel readers will know.  They are all attending a school to train them as Doom lackeys, or some such.  I tell you what, I do like the premise for Battleworld.  It works far better than Convergence, at least for these two titles.  This was a fun enough comic.  It also queered up Jubilee and Pixie, which was good to see:

Are they gay in the regular 616 universe?

Ms Marvel: Crushed (trade)
This is volume 3 of the current Ms Marvel run.  I really liked it, it's a good young adult comic about teenage crushes and the pitfalls that come with it, with added superpowers.  The only thing I didn't like was the thinly veiled lesson about consent.  It just seemed a bit too obvious to me, but maybe that's because I've been seeing this sort of stuff discussed for years and given where I am at the moment, I really could do with not having these conversations.  Quite frankly, I don't care.  That sounds awful doesn't it.  But I don't.  I'm concentrating on my pregnancy and everything else that requires energy, or passion can piss off.  So, I'm wondering who the teenage audience this is aimed at would take this lesson. If they don't find it too much, then I guess it's a good thing.

Batman: The Ring, The Arrow and The Bat
I've been meaning to get this for about 2 years.  Despite the name, it's a Green Arrow trade, not a Batman book.  The first story is Hal and Ollie meeting for the first time.  Hal is working for the government and doesn't realise he's being used, and Ollie is out for a good vigilante time, until he realises the wrongs being done, and then he gets all angry about it.  It's quite a quick change.  Hal and Ollie argue but end up friends.  Art is by Greg Land, before his porn tracing days.  If you like these two, and you like these trades, then you'll like this story.

The second story is Green Arrow and Batman meeting and working together for the first time.  There is lots of snark and one liners.  The villains in the story are stereotypical/generic Asian bad guys, which makes me wince, and plot development is a bit obvious, but apart from that, it's good fun.

I've also been watching Arrow season 1, and while I'm kinda enjoying it, it's a bit bloody miserable isn't it?  Oliver Queen enjoys life, but Ollie in Arrow doesn't.  Granted, he has just come back from the island and is traumatised, but by all accounts he doesn't get any happier over the seasons.  Le sigh.  I like the flashbacks to the island the best.  He looks and acts more like 'my' Ollie there.

Ten characters from literature

My old podcast mate, @feemcbee for you twitterers, put up a tumblr post listing ten characters from literature she's in love with.  So I decided to do the same.  I came up with six and then got stumped:

Superman
Black Canary
Green Arrow
Susan Sto Helit
Young Granny Weatherwax
Wonder Woman

I don't know who else I'd put on there.  Granny and Green Arrow are there because I like cocky bastards. Canary, Susan and Wondy I'm in awe of.  And Supes is, well he's Supes.  Who isn't a little in love in with him?  My first thought on seeing this list, was yeesh, I'm so gay.  Except I'm obviously not and then a little while later I thought ooh this could be seen as bi erasure by the self and then I started snoring because conversations like that bore me senseless nowadays.

Fee and I decided that comics totally count as literature.

Who would be on your list?

LSCC 2014: Cosplay

As promised, here are all the cosplay photos I got:

 

 

 

 

And then there was me.

No wonder no one wanted to take my picture. Sigh.  I'll never be one of the cool kids.

Here are links to other people's photo albums:

401 Photography - on facebook.
Holloh - on flickr.
Poisoned Pirate - on Sta.sh.
A Mystique - on twitter.

LSCC 2014 report

I went to London Super Comic Con yesterday and had a fine old time.  LSCC is great to attend - it's really well organised and it's got a really nice feel to it.  Unlike MCM, it's completely focused on comics - no games, no anime, no films, just comics.  Both cons are held at the Excel Centre in London yet MCM felt like a massive, soulless warehouse and LSCC feels friendly.

This likely to be my last con for a quite a long while, as a fresh baby is going to put a dampener on our social life for a while.  So I wanted to make this count.  So I dressed up as this Aquaman:

On me, this translates into this:

(I didn't get any full length shots at the con so I took these photos Sunday morning at home).

With this glove:

Why Aquaman? Because I adore the character.
Why this costume?  Because I genuinely love it.  I think it's a really cool version and I thought I could get it comic-accurate.
Why the blue glove? Because the hook I spray painted gold turned out bloody awful so I decided the glove would do for the waterbearer version.
Why no appropriate wig?  Because the wig made me feel stupid....

Hmm, I'm not quite the same as the comic version am I!  Sod it, I love the costume and I'm really pleased I wore it.  I wish I could be less self deprecating but I feel the need to get in jibes at myself before anyone else does.  It's taking me quite a lot of courage to post these photos.

I didn't make the leggings or top - I commissioned it from Too Many Heroes (facebook link) and I think they did a fine job.  Anyway, I'll do a post on the costume and the process for putting it together (including costs) soon.

I arrived at the con venue, changed into the outfit and felt terrified.  It's really quite revealing you know?  Also, I was convinced I looked fat rather than months pregnant.  Looking at photos, I can tell I'm quite clearly pregnant but I didn't have that at the time. I felt so self-conscious.  But perhaps I'll write more about that in another post.  Once I put on the knitted beard I started feeling less stupid, probably because I felt it was more obvious that I was having fun with it and not taking myself too seriously.

The queue went down really quickly (LSCC is super well organised) and I headed to Peter David's table, where I saw another Aquaman, who looked far more in character and faer better turned out than I was.  So we gave each other a smile and later on a friend took this photo of us:

I had earlier seen a Mera who was graceful and elegant and dressed in a lovely flowing green gown.  Clearly I felt far too ungainly, short and inelegant to ask for a photo with her, which I am not regretting. Arrgghhh.

Anyway, at Peter David's table.  He recognised me from when I told him on twitter I would be the 6 months pregnant Aquaman, and his wife took a couple of photos of me. :D  I did apologise for looking a bit foolish, but he brushed that off and seemed to liked the costume.  He said he'd seen lots of Aquamen over the years, but never a pregnant one, so I've got that going for me.  He signed my comics.

These are all the books I got signed that day.  The Green Arrow book is signed by Mike Grell, not Peter David!

I got to tell David these books all mean a lot to me and I was especially pleased with the Supergirl and Young Justice sign language issues he did.  He was really friendly and I'm glad I saw him in-costume.  He had his daughter with him as they were selling copies of a book they'd co written, I really should have bought it.

After this I met some friends, one of whom was dressed as incognito Black Widow, and we saw this really cool pair:

Then I queued to see Gary Frank and he also signed my Supergirl trade.  He liked my beard.  I expressed my disappointment that I couldn't grow a real beard.  Most people seemed to think my fake beard was the best thing I was wearing.  It was pretty cool, but also damn hot.  I hadn't quite realised that all wool is hot.

Then I went to the science of superheros panel but despite being in the third row, had trouble hearing the presentation.  It can get really damn echoey in these places!  So I tweeted this photo of myself and then left.

I'm really not helping my concerns over looking fat as opposed to pregnant am I?!

Then I met my friends again and we went for lunch.  I got a green thai veg curry from the noodle bar in the Excel centre - it looked ranked but tasted fine.

Once back into the hall we went and met Andy Clift, the guy behind Bertie Bear (whom we interviewed on Radio Bamf here).  I got into a discussion with him and another guy about DC's movies - specifically, Man of Steel and Green Lantern and whether they were any good or not.  Opinions varied!  I bought this print from him which will go in the nursery:

The more I looked at it the more I liked it so I bought it.  I'm really pleased with it.

We also visited the Art Heroes table and I caught up with Daniel Clifford again.  I last saw him at Thought Bubble, he's a lovely guy, doing really really good comics work.  I've written reviews of two of his creations over at New readers...start here!.  Halcyon and Tenderfoot is an all ages comic and Sugar Glider is for teens and adults.  Both are excellent and far, far better than most of the crap that comes out of the big 2.

I went into the Jonathan Ross/Ian Churchill panel and it was great fun.  Ross is really hyper - he talked nine to the dozen and barely stopped for breath.  They had good things to say though - talking about their new comic The revenge, comics they like now, comics they've loved in the past and superhero films.  I left halfway through because I experiences a sudden urge to use the toilet (thank you baby).

Last person I visited was Mike Grell.  I asked him to sign my Longbow Hunters trade and we had a little chat, mostly about my beard.  Told you everyone liked the beard.  I told him how much I valued his GA work, as well as saying (again) how sad I am I can't grow  real beard.  He said I carried the beard well.  t was fun, with the beard, I feel like I've made quite a few people smile.

After I left Grell I went to a massage are and paid £10 for a 10 minute back, neck, head massage.  It was well worth it and really loosened me up.  My right side has been a mess lately - it's rock solid. Ugh.  Anyway, the masseuse was great.

Throughout the day I also bought some comics:

The top left one and the Avengers one were in the goody bag you got as you arrived.  I'm certain I own one of the Resurrection Man comics already, but I couldn't remember which, so I bought both.  They were only 50p each.

I nearly bought this Billy Tucci print:

The reason I didn't buy it was partly due to the price (it was only £20 but I was down to my last 20 quid by this point) but also to concern over whether the boyfriend would like it or not.  As I guessed, he doesn't like it (he finds the Japanese wave theme overplayed) so it's a good thing I didn't get it.

I drooled over these Canvas Warriors shoes:

These are all hand painted and the lady on the stall assured me that the paint won't rub off, crack, or otherwise be ruined.  The paint if guarenteed for the lifetime of the shoe.  When they start at £130 for an adult pair and £70 for a baby's pair, you want the design to last.

I bought this Pocky-alike snack:

I met @FacetiousBeard, a twitter friend.  He was fun!

It was a really good day.  I took quite a lot of costume photos and I'll post those shortly.

Super Sexy Saturday

Today's Super Sexy Saturday posts are brought to you courtesy of Jennie Gyllblad, Swedish illustrator and artist, based in bath, UK:

So for those that don't know the characters, clcokwise from top left they are Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Oliver Queen Green Arrow and Loki.

Here's a full version of Ollie:

Jennie has given him the perfect dirty look.  Humina!

Her Ivy has also got a lovely taint of filthyness.  Humina indeed.

*fans self*

Jennie tweeted about these as she is offering pre-show commissions for Edinburgh's Hero Conventions show taking place on 12th to 13th April.  Paintings cost £27 each.  Contact details are listed here.

Happy pancake day!

To celebrate, witness Green Arrow the second:

Them Green Arrows are good cooks.

As a bonus, witness this:

No idea where this second one is from - anyone know?  

Comic reviews

Spoilers ahead for Green Arrow 24, Savage Wolverine 9, Marvel Knights Spider-man 1, Batwing 24, Forever Evil 2.e GA title.

I would give you photos but blogger is not uploading my pictures. Grr.  Last week I got Ultimate Spidey (boring), Revival (not as good as other issues but still pretty good), Lex Luthor (good but forgettable), Black Adam (good and I remember some details), Doomsday (origin for Doomsday and young Kara - aces), First Born (good) and Adventures of Superman (fab).  I talked about them on Radio Bamf episode 30.

Comixology comic reviews

I am SO behind.  These may be very short.  Since it's been a while since I read them I'll just have to skim them again, oh no, the horror! ;)

Spoilers ahead for: Power Girl 13, Batman L’il Gotham 4/5/6, Green Arrow 16/17, Justice League 16 and Aquaman 16.

Mike Grell's Green Arrow

This is not a batch of comics I picked up at LSCC!  This is a batch I picked up from ebay, when I was intending to only buy the Black Canary one. Ooops.  The picture is missing one issue, number 7.

Black Canary 7 completes my collection of this 12 issue run.  It's very good. I adore the cover.  In it, Dinah gets tricked into helping the CIA, but they aren't up front with her so it goes wrong.  The killer escapes, then find him again and it's all over.  I miss the pre New 52 Dinah.  The new one just isn't the same.

Green Arrow 7 has Ollie and Dinah living together above Sherwood Florist.  I would love to live in this building - it's a stone tower, it's amazing.  Anyway, Ollie decides to go off hunting criminals in South America.  Dinah can't follow him because she's got a business to run.  Dinah then bumps into someone who tried to rob her a few months back.  A curious confluence of events later and I suspect that in the next issue Dinah and Ollie's paths will cross.  So it's a pity I don't have the next issue.

Green Arrow 13
Ollie returns from a trip (presumably the one started in issue 7) with some injuries.  Dinah is not impressed.  She forgives him and they have sex in their amazing tower.  Ollie does some deliveries fro Dinah and rescues a cat from a tree, intervenes in a domestic violence incident (not very well I must say), and helps a woman with a flat tire.

Green Arrow 14
Someone is trying to assassinate Oliver Queen.  He goes back to the people he encountered in issue 13, with amusing results.  I shan't spoil it, as it;s worth getting these two issues .

Green Arrow 20
This is about the aftermath of Ollie shooting a teenager.  That's good enough but then he wakes up on a  mountain as Hal Jordan has dragged him though to sober him up and make him deal with it.  They then have a fight.  It's rather amusing.

Green Arrow 28
Travis Morgan, fella who's been living in Skataris for a long time, turns up in Seattle and is mistaken for Ollie - they are identical.  Because Ollie has pissed a lot of people off, Morgan gets the brunt of this and everyone wants to pick a fight with him.  The issue opens with some crooks discussing how to get rid of Ollie/Morgan.  Morgan goes to Sherwood Florist and picks a fight with Ollie and patronises Dinah, so Dinah lays him out.

Then there's trouble outside the amazing tower and they all go out and fight for their property (and the love of fighting, because it is these three).  I had forgotten about this story arc and it really tickles me :)

Green Arrow 47
Oliver is in Africa trying to stop illegal poaching.  I don't know why.  Things aren't straightforward as the anti poaching gang have different ideas on how to proceed.  It does seem to be quite well researched though, as there is lots of detail that doesn't need to be in there.  That and the fact they they list a technical advisor in the credits.

I cannot wait to get my paws on the rest of this run :)

Comic thoughts

Really short reviews this week, because I'm ill  Should be writing far more, but I'm ill and very very tired.

Aquaman 13 and 14 - I far far prefer my Aqua books when they are exploring Atlantis and not the surface world.  The cultural differences are far more interesting than the surface fights, and the art is always more interesting.  I do kind of wish that the first big crossover wasn't a war with the surface world though.  I think that's where this is going, and I am not impressed.

Ame-Comi girls 11 to 15 - Gretat.  Avril Palmer is Atom and is fully covered up.  The distinction of her being a scientist not an action hero is something I miss from other comics (where anyone with skills or strength atumatically becomes an superhero, regardless of their suitability).  It's brilliant to have a narrative where Shayara is the Point of View character, not Katar, and where Katar is the romantic interest and only serves to drive Shayara's plot forward.  Even her silly skimpy police outfit didn't look stupid, at least not on the last page where she's drawn with respect and strength.

I also got Fanboys vs Zombies as part of Comixiology's current promotion. It's awful.  No one speaks like that, surely.

Demon Knights 14 -  It's full of sarcasm and pretty art.  I approve.

Green Lantern nu52 #1 is a corker.  Nearly makes me want to get the back issues.
Is the War of Light story collected into 1 trade?   Or did ity spread over several series? What issues did it cover?

Smallville 23, 34, 25 - I adore this comic.  It's perfect.  But good grief, what is Bart wearing?

Arrow 1 - better than I expected.  Will read more.  Need more money first though.  Mike Grell's art give sit a very different feel to Smallville.  I was under the impression Arrow was a spin off from Smallville.   It appears not.

Green Arrow 14 and 15 - It feels good to enjoy a Green Arrow book again.   #14 made me almost tempted to go back and read the savage hawkman..
And I like the art.  I know it's not popular, but the cartoonish, scratchiness of it appeals to me.

Detective Comics nu52 1 - i wish this was a comic I could give give to kids.

Super Sexy Saturday

I was gonan do just one post, but heck, when I searched images of Black Canary, loads came up, so let's make today's post a Canary spectacular.  Of course, quite a few images of just Dinah are porn or just bad, or they are her doing heroic stuff.  I don't really want the heroic stuff, b/c when she's being heroic my main thought is she's heroic, not sexy.  So I've included a few images of her with Ollie as well.  Enjoy!

 (The above is by Paolo Rivera)