Reeeeeviews...and stuff.
I realize in my best and worse Mcthing I forgot to include all the wonderful stuff that happened to me as a comic book fan! With links to pertinent posts!
Best
*I went to the Heroes Con, where I met Jann Jones, Dan Didio, Darwyn Cooke, Amanda Conner, Todd Dezago, Matthew Sturges annnnd Michell Poust, who did my lovely Steph commission.
* I got a lovely Steph commission.
(nevermore999.livejournal.com/17353.html#cutid1)
*And a less lovely, but okay one. And a cute chibi Tim sticker. nevermore999.livejournal.com/17760.html#cutid
* Jann complimented me in her DC Nation column. ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/22551.html )
*This blog took off, and I made a bunch of nifty internet friends. ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/14085.html )
*Looking at that post, I remember Gail Simone commented on a couple posts! That was so AWESOME.
*Also I got tagged several times on WFA. ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/tag/when+fangirls+attack )
*My Steph wiki expanded and is now ridiculously comprehensive, despite the fact I had to do 99% of it all by my lonesome. That's the power of obsession, folks. And someone even added it as a source on Steph's actual wikipedia page! Without any prompting from me! So I did wikipedia a favor and kindly linked them back. (stephaniebrown.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page ) (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanie_Brown_(comics) )
* I got hired for Big Shiny Robot! ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/29332.html )
*I scored an interview with Fabian Nicieza! ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/39539.html ) ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/43386.html )
Worst
Hardly any worsts, my comic fan existence has been super cool. But here's two, minor, minor things.
*Jann Jones never answered my letter. I'm worried she's mad at me for slying saying Adam Beechen sucks in my thank you note.
*Various internet arguments, whether at Comic Bloc, Superdickery or Scans_daily, have annoyed me. Oh, Internet.
Now that the year is totally in review...Reviews!
Teen Titans #66
It's a flipping miracle.
I enjoyed this issue of Teen Titans.
OH EM GEE.
Forced to pick it up because Spoiler is in it, I was pleased to see not only did nothing horrible happen to her, she got to be kind of cool. First, of all, she sparred with Traci 13 and they became friends. Steph is awesome, and Traci is awesome and together they are almost too awesome for the world to handle. Which is why I want them to team up more. Now they have a precedent!
And the scene was neat in general, characterwise. Steph was nice enough to hold back on Traci, but once Traci says "Show me what you can do" she roundly kicks her ass...or bruises it, rather. A nice display of skill (and of course, as always, Steph goes for the face kick) even though, as said, Traci isn't an expert, relying more on magic and awesome than martial arts.
And Traci laughs and says nice one! And Steph helps her up all nice! Clearly, they like each other. This makes me happy. Steph must guest star in Blue- crap, I forgot...curse you cancellations! *sigh* My heart would stop if that happened anyway, from sheer joy, so maybe it's just as well.
And then Bombshell comes in and is all jerkish. She really annoys me, just another example of Teen Titans thinking DRAMA and CONFLICT is someone on the team being a jackass and others inexplicably putting up with it.
But I kinda loved Steph tensing up for the fight, ready to take on a girl with quantum skin. (She could win if she convinced Amy to depower, by calling her chicken a lot. And then, two seconds later, fight over) And then Misfit teleports in. Oh Misfit. I'm disappointed a little she didn't go all "Hey, saw your autopsy photos!" to Steph.
And I liked Wonder Girl being nice to Steph. Some read it as passive agressiveness, but I didn't see it. It was awkward, all right, but how could it not be? She seemes to really be trying.
In fact, I liked Wonder Girl in this issue a lot. It seems McKeever's sticking to this whole "the lasso made her a horrible person, now she's nice again" business. And she's going to get to be leader! Oh, YJ flashbacks.
Tim bringing Steph along for "moral support" for when he quits is weird. What KIND of moral support? This was partly why, when I looked back on Steph coming out of Tim's room and realized he was in his undies when Cassie came in, I was all "Wait. Did they have sex or something?"
But I doubt it. Tim is an eternal virgin. He just seems to like talking to his ex girlfriends in his underwear.
....
Okay, moving on. Jaime was cool this ish, despite his inexplicable not wanting Traci to join the team (probably he doesn't want her to die. I know, Jaime, I know). So was Kid Devil. And it is HILARIOUS no one wants to join the Titans. Because why would you? It's a death sentence!
Oh, and also hilarity in how Tim's quitting speech was essentially "This team sucks. A lot. So I'm quitting. Because...um, Batman's missing? You can handle it Cassie kthnxbye."
So....*drumroll*...I think I'll actually pick up this title again. Mostly to see how NewandImproved!Cassie does as leader. I'll drop it like a hot potato when/if it gets bad again tho.
Complaints though: Cassie's new costume is ludicrous. She's an Amazon without bracelets. Why? And how does she expect to deflect bullets and lasers and whathaveyou? And HOW does she move her arms with that metal thing? Come ON. Change costume now please.
The art in general sucked actually. Eddy Barrows cannot leave soon enough. His spines are made of silly putty, his anatomy is off, the girls lips look like they've been pumped with collagen and had glue like lipstick applied, and his boobs are all the same-perfectly round and moving as a seperate organism from the body. Also, the girls have a weird square pelvis thing going, especially apparent on Cassie in the old Titans picture. Oh, and all his clothes are impossibly tight. Not just the spandex, Cassie's outfit and Misfit's and Traci's too. AND, finally, the abdomens are impossibly concave and painful looking.
Yeah. Well.
4/5
Blue Beetle #34
AWESOME. As usual. I absolutely LOVE it. The Scarab's "Oops" and subsequent resuscitation, Jaime's one liners: ("Don't you guys ever stay dead?" "Not traditionally!"), attack of the immigrants, Brenda and Paco being awesome, Brenda being snarky, Jaime's family tackle hugging him and finally, an surprisingly nice resolution to the immigration issue, where Jaime finally gets to speak up and says he's not being dragged into the Border Patrol because he's supposed to be a hero for everyone, but he will follow the laws. And then, the most awesome afterthought "And all this? Caused by a rich white guy. Just sayin'." Oh, Jaime. MARRY ME.
Matt Sturges really has gotten his groove. I knew he would, he was nice to me at a comic convention!
They can't cancel this title. Whhhhyyy.
*cries*
5/5
Wonder Woman #27
A really enjoyable issue. Donna was awesomesauce, Genocide gets more threatening, Cassie was caring, and I LIKED Tom. Whoa.
Pretty art too. Excited for the next, as always.
4.5/5
Superman #683
Hi, Zatanna! Pretty art, but not much happening. Poor Kara, though. The punching page was pretty powerful. And nice fragment monologues from supporting heroes. (I could've done with one from Wondy, though).
3.5/5
Whew! Ending this post with a picture I did of Supergirl, Batgirl and Wonder Girl!
Unfortunately, the scanner cut the Cassandras feet off. Oh well.
Also, did a review for a Marvel mini I really like, NYX, on BSR! It's written by a woman too! Yay, more women in comics!
www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/3308
Best
*I went to the Heroes Con, where I met Jann Jones, Dan Didio, Darwyn Cooke, Amanda Conner, Todd Dezago, Matthew Sturges annnnd Michell Poust, who did my lovely Steph commission.
* I got a lovely Steph commission.
(nevermore999.livejournal.com/17353.html#cutid1)
*And a less lovely, but okay one. And a cute chibi Tim sticker. nevermore999.livejournal.com/17760.html#cutid
* Jann complimented me in her DC Nation column. ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/22551.html )
*This blog took off, and I made a bunch of nifty internet friends. ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/14085.html )
*Looking at that post, I remember Gail Simone commented on a couple posts! That was so AWESOME.
*Also I got tagged several times on WFA. ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/tag/when+fangirls+attack )
*My Steph wiki expanded and is now ridiculously comprehensive, despite the fact I had to do 99% of it all by my lonesome. That's the power of obsession, folks. And someone even added it as a source on Steph's actual wikipedia page! Without any prompting from me! So I did wikipedia a favor and kindly linked them back. (stephaniebrown.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page ) (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanie_Brown_(comics) )
* I got hired for Big Shiny Robot! ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/29332.html )
*I scored an interview with Fabian Nicieza! ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/39539.html ) ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/43386.html )
Worst
Hardly any worsts, my comic fan existence has been super cool. But here's two, minor, minor things.
*Jann Jones never answered my letter. I'm worried she's mad at me for slying saying Adam Beechen sucks in my thank you note.
*Various internet arguments, whether at Comic Bloc, Superdickery or Scans_daily, have annoyed me. Oh, Internet.
Now that the year is totally in review...Reviews!
Teen Titans #66
It's a flipping miracle.
I enjoyed this issue of Teen Titans.
OH EM GEE.
Forced to pick it up because Spoiler is in it, I was pleased to see not only did nothing horrible happen to her, she got to be kind of cool. First, of all, she sparred with Traci 13 and they became friends. Steph is awesome, and Traci is awesome and together they are almost too awesome for the world to handle. Which is why I want them to team up more. Now they have a precedent!
And the scene was neat in general, characterwise. Steph was nice enough to hold back on Traci, but once Traci says "Show me what you can do" she roundly kicks her ass...or bruises it, rather. A nice display of skill (and of course, as always, Steph goes for the face kick) even though, as said, Traci isn't an expert, relying more on magic and awesome than martial arts.
And Traci laughs and says nice one! And Steph helps her up all nice! Clearly, they like each other. This makes me happy. Steph must guest star in Blue- crap, I forgot...curse you cancellations! *sigh* My heart would stop if that happened anyway, from sheer joy, so maybe it's just as well.
And then Bombshell comes in and is all jerkish. She really annoys me, just another example of Teen Titans thinking DRAMA and CONFLICT is someone on the team being a jackass and others inexplicably putting up with it.
But I kinda loved Steph tensing up for the fight, ready to take on a girl with quantum skin. (She could win if she convinced Amy to depower, by calling her chicken a lot. And then, two seconds later, fight over) And then Misfit teleports in. Oh Misfit. I'm disappointed a little she didn't go all "Hey, saw your autopsy photos!" to Steph.
And I liked Wonder Girl being nice to Steph. Some read it as passive agressiveness, but I didn't see it. It was awkward, all right, but how could it not be? She seemes to really be trying.
In fact, I liked Wonder Girl in this issue a lot. It seems McKeever's sticking to this whole "the lasso made her a horrible person, now she's nice again" business. And she's going to get to be leader! Oh, YJ flashbacks.
Tim bringing Steph along for "moral support" for when he quits is weird. What KIND of moral support? This was partly why, when I looked back on Steph coming out of Tim's room and realized he was in his undies when Cassie came in, I was all "Wait. Did they have sex or something?"
But I doubt it. Tim is an eternal virgin. He just seems to like talking to his ex girlfriends in his underwear.
....
Okay, moving on. Jaime was cool this ish, despite his inexplicable not wanting Traci to join the team (probably he doesn't want her to die. I know, Jaime, I know). So was Kid Devil. And it is HILARIOUS no one wants to join the Titans. Because why would you? It's a death sentence!
Oh, and also hilarity in how Tim's quitting speech was essentially "This team sucks. A lot. So I'm quitting. Because...um, Batman's missing? You can handle it Cassie kthnxbye."
So....*drumroll*...I think I'll actually pick up this title again. Mostly to see how NewandImproved!Cassie does as leader. I'll drop it like a hot potato when/if it gets bad again tho.
Complaints though: Cassie's new costume is ludicrous. She's an Amazon without bracelets. Why? And how does she expect to deflect bullets and lasers and whathaveyou? And HOW does she move her arms with that metal thing? Come ON. Change costume now please.
The art in general sucked actually. Eddy Barrows cannot leave soon enough. His spines are made of silly putty, his anatomy is off, the girls lips look like they've been pumped with collagen and had glue like lipstick applied, and his boobs are all the same-perfectly round and moving as a seperate organism from the body. Also, the girls have a weird square pelvis thing going, especially apparent on Cassie in the old Titans picture. Oh, and all his clothes are impossibly tight. Not just the spandex, Cassie's outfit and Misfit's and Traci's too. AND, finally, the abdomens are impossibly concave and painful looking.
Yeah. Well.
4/5
Blue Beetle #34
AWESOME. As usual. I absolutely LOVE it. The Scarab's "Oops" and subsequent resuscitation, Jaime's one liners: ("Don't you guys ever stay dead?" "Not traditionally!"), attack of the immigrants, Brenda and Paco being awesome, Brenda being snarky, Jaime's family tackle hugging him and finally, an surprisingly nice resolution to the immigration issue, where Jaime finally gets to speak up and says he's not being dragged into the Border Patrol because he's supposed to be a hero for everyone, but he will follow the laws. And then, the most awesome afterthought "And all this? Caused by a rich white guy. Just sayin'." Oh, Jaime. MARRY ME.
Matt Sturges really has gotten his groove. I knew he would, he was nice to me at a comic convention!
They can't cancel this title. Whhhhyyy.
*cries*
5/5
Wonder Woman #27
A really enjoyable issue. Donna was awesomesauce, Genocide gets more threatening, Cassie was caring, and I LIKED Tom. Whoa.
Pretty art too. Excited for the next, as always.
4.5/5
Superman #683
Hi, Zatanna! Pretty art, but not much happening. Poor Kara, though. The punching page was pretty powerful. And nice fragment monologues from supporting heroes. (I could've done with one from Wondy, though).
3.5/5
Whew! Ending this post with a picture I did of Supergirl, Batgirl and Wonder Girl!
Unfortunately, the scanner cut the Cassandras feet off. Oh well.
Also, did a review for a Marvel mini I really like, NYX, on BSR! It's written by a woman too! Yay, more women in comics!
www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/3308