X-Shirts: Female Mutant Inspired Fashions

Do you know how difficult it’s been to find an attractive, properly fitting ladies shirt with one of the X-Womenz emblazoned across the chest? Well, it’s been damn difficult. This may shock some of you but Storm, Phoenix and Rogue just aren’t the most popular Marvel faces affixed to an item of clothing.

This also goes hand in hand with another rant/beef I have: even though Rogue is much-beloved by fangirls (this fangirl at least) there is not a single mass-produced costume inspired by her character. Any Rogue costumes and wigs have to be custom made. Which SUCKS if you want to dress up but can’t sew your own.

It’s only been recently that the Storm and Phoenix pre-fabricated costumes have appeared for purchase through major retailers (in varying degrees of skankitude).

PHOENIX:

Weird mix of old school costume and original Phoenix. With just a dash of sleaze.

STORM:

I really adore the head piece to this costume. And all the silver. It pretty much rocks 100%.

I love the Storm version, but wonder about cosplay race-bending.

Is it appropriate for a white person to cosplay as a comic book character of color? According to this blog post, no. And for all intents and purposes, I tend to agree.

So then, would it be weird for me to wear a shirt with Storm on it? Unfortunately there is no guide post on the internet for that particular question (THE NET HAS FAILED ME!)…so I’m gonna also go with “no.” And use a similar set of logic: there are enough white female X-Characters with whom I can identify. If anyone wants to argue I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.

Anywho – the whole point of this post was to highlight the trend of using the X-Ladies (the BEST ones, sans White Queen) on more clothing attire. And jazzing them up a bit, so it’s not the old Jim Lee 90s version or the throwbacks to the original crew either.

Emerald City Comic Con 2011: Day Three

DAY THREE RECAP: DARK HORSE PANEL, STUMPTOWN SIGNING, GEEKS AND GOOD WORKS PANEL AND TONY HARRIS SKETCH

We woke up fairly early on Sunday to grab breakfast and doughnuts before Smalls had to board her train back to PDX. After discovering only crazy

This picture is proof of how much love I am in with this doughnut.

expensive breakfast places within walking distance, hampered by my jacked up knees slowing down any further searching, we decided on breakfast sandwiches and coffee at Starbucks which is totes appropriate cause we were in Seattle. Grabbing the sandwiches also left us plenty of time to hit up the real treat of the morning – Top Pot Doughnuts.

HELLO PEOPLE OF SEATTLE – THESE DOUGHNUTS ARE FRAKKIN’ DELICIOUS!!! Why there wasn’t a line out the door and snaking down the sidewalk is beyond me. The only one I could stuff in my already fairly-stuffed maw was the Raspberry. RASPBERRY DOUGHNUT. With no nasty creme or berry filling. So heavenly I’m imagining how long it will be before my next trip to Seattle and thinking…not that long. 😀

Everyone snacked on and enjoyed at least one doughnut (my ma purchased a dozen) before we moseyed on back to the hotel, packed, loaded up the car, checked out and hit the Con floor.

Just in time for…

THE DARK HORSE PANEL

Since we’d missed the BPRD Panel the previous day where they announced Guy Davis leaving, we thought it would be appropriate to drop in and see if one of our favorite local publishers had anything exceptionally interesting to say about their books, aside from the news that exceptionally interesting people are leaving.

Turns out – the lovely Ms. Felicia Day was sitting in on the opening of THIS panel as well to chat about The Guild comic book series. Looks like each character will be getting their own one-shot origin via Dark Horse -Vork’s was released  on December 22nd, 2010. According to Felicia Day – Bladezz will be released next (within two months or so) and then one can only assume that Tinkerballa’s will be out after that, given the signed prints that were being offered up at their booth this weekend.

Felicia Day spilling the beans about The Guild.

Zaboo’s book will be co-written by nerd hunk and scribe Sandeep Parikh and drawn by the lovely Becky Cloonan, whom I follow on the Twitter because I like her drawerings and because she’s funny. She also did the art for DEMO.

Felicia also mentioned she has decided NOT to pilot for anything this season that is not Science Fiction related. Or I suppose she could have meant “SyFy” – either way she hasn’t piloted YET so one can either assume that there is a small market for scifi this year or that SyFy isn’t producing any new shows.

My vote would be for her to appear on BSG: Blood and Chrome (which sounds eerily similar to Spartacus: Blood and Sand). People of Syfy, make it happen! Though she is so funny and sweetly charming I’m not sure how well she could fair on the intense drama of the BSG Verse. Balls.

ANYWHO – back to comics world. We then sat through about 20 minutes (or 2 hours) of Axe Cop panel which boasted a 6 year old making crazy bird screeching noises, eating candy and offering it to everyone in sight. It was cute bordering on annoying but I really love the concept of the book and the collaboration between the brothers, as I imagine it would be difficult to find something to bond over when your sibling is 25 years younger than you are. The book is probably a bit too ridiculous and comedic for me…but the folks involved seem successful and happy with the work they are doing so props to them. If you like the random imagination of five year olds, you should check it out.

Scott Allie revealed he WILL continue to edit the work of  Joss Whedon who signed on to write Buffy The Vampire Slayer through Season 10. Whoot to BTVS fans everywhere!! I dropped out in about the middle of Season 8. Hopefully a collection will be published soon so I can catch up before the next season hits the shelves.

Allie clarified there will now only be 25 books per season (maybe he meant 24?) to keep them at two years versus four. Everyone involved recognized that was far too long a “season” for even the most die hard fans.

Apparently there’s some other big news in store for Buffy that Allie is waiting to reveal at Wondercon, so keep your ear to the ground if this book is your cup of tea. Change is a-comin’.

Try the Sampler Platter

Reviewed here: American Born Chinese, Faker and Off Road

My latest trip to the library not only yielded me around $20 in overdue fines (damn the man!) but also a stack of about 20 tpb/graphic novels to consume. I’m going to forego lengthy blogs about each for a review snack pack of three books in particular.

#1

American Born Chinese written and illustrated by Gene Luen Yang. It was nominated for a National Book Award in 2006 for young adult literature, the first graphic novel to ever have that honor.

So – sounds pretty tasty right? Sounds like something meaty I could sink my teeth into, what with seeing it on many folks Top 10 Lists popping up all over the net.

This book was engaging, but never resonated with me on a strong emotional level. On a literary level, I appreciated the artistry and craft that went into intertwining the three different stories together. The art, with the muted color palette and clean, thick lines works well with the theme, and is especially pronounced during the Chinese mythology sequences.

Again – this didn’t catch me in any emotional core – and that could simply be my inexperience with how young-adult Asian Americans might experience America. I could get on board with the concept of being an outsider, teased and tortured by classmates, and those lovely awkward first moments trying to woo the opposite sex. There were definite laugh-out-loud moments…but there were also sections that I feel alienated from.

I would suggest this for it’s intended audience – which is young adults, and not just the Asian American ones –  but I can’t say it’s going to make any of my Top 10 lists.

#2

Faker. Written by (yet another British dude) current X-Men scribe Mike Carey and illustrated by (yet another British dude) Jock (aka Mark Simpson). It’s published by the fun and edgy DC Vertigo label.

Here is what I’ve been thinking lately: I love Marvel’s line of popular superheroes. And I love DC/Vertigo’s naughty and subversive “adult” content.

The cover art is actually what initially spurred me to pick this book up – and the name Carey splattered in the white space held a special kind of promise, as he is right in the midst of gutting my beloved mutants, I thought I’d see what kind of extracurricular shenanigans he’s been getting himself into.

For a British dude – he’s writing expertise sure can cater to my assumptions of what Minnesota college students are like. He gets that compliment right off the bat. But seriously – this is a thoroughly engaging story, and I found myself nearly consuming it in one setting. Mostly because I was stood up for an orientation, and had an hour to kill waiting around in Starbucks to see if the person really would show.

They didn’t. But I clipped cleanly through the pages and emerged on the other end.

The Hulk’s Incredible OR The Incredible Hulk

I watched The Incredible Hulk last night – with the expectation that I never envisioned Edward Nortonas Bruce Banner (but to be honest, I don’t do much envisioning of Bruce Banner period) and also understanding that Iron Man was good, but not my personal favorite comic book movie. Basically – the expectations were low-ish, but hopeful.

So – what did I think? I can honestly say…I liked it better than The Hulk 2003 and Iron Man . The Incredible Hulk is a movie that women and men can equally enjoy – what with the love interest and the explosions. It didn’t seem especially geared towards one sex or the other. In fact, the two other women I watched the movie with liked it as well.

And mind you – these are women who have ZERO interest in comic books, or comic book movies. They don’t even think Edward Norton is hot. BTW – I do. Not all the time – but Mr. Norton is capable of giving intensely hot looks. Especially with the insane Hulk green eyes.

I was totally hooked within the first five minutes of the film. The opening-credit backstory actually worked well, allowing the audience to jump right in the middle of the plot without feeling totally lost. This movie needed to get the viewers hooked immediately, to purge any thoughts regarding the 2003 version.

Quitters and Lions.

Time for another round of Comic Book/Graphic Novel dorkiness. Today’s installment is featuring yet another Harvey Pekar offering: “The Quitter.” At this point – I’m not sure if I’m on some Harvey Pekar kick – or if the Multnomah County Library is. I snagged this from my local branch while tooling through the graphic novel section…I swear. This wasn’t something I actively sought out.

The first thing that struck me about this book was the artwork, by Dean Haspiel. It was much more stylized than the two most recent Pekar books I reviewed. Of course it’s black and white. But the lines are thicker, darker and moodier – which is perfect for this “coming of age” story about the man himself, Mr. Harvey Pekar.

Thematically – the title captures the subject matter perfectly. It’s about a scruffy kid who’s entire fate is sculpted around his decision to quit important things in his life when they proved to be too difficult for him to achieve. It’s not a heroic story – it’s very anti-heroic, and perfectly suited to Pekar – who is (probably begrudginly) an anti-hero. His whole comic schtick is painting real life portraits of real life people – without all that “superhero crap.”

I’m pretty intrigued by his most recent batch of comic books, which have either offered biographical fare, or historical content. The idea of a comic book is so simple, and IMHO, perfectly suited to telling stories to a modern day audience. I would much rather ingest information with pictures and words. I think there are a lot of folks in my generation who feel that way. Modern day media is all about mixing images and words (and sounds as well) to engage all aspects of learning.

Me – I’m totally a visual person. I think a lot of people respond to PICTURES as opposed to giant chunks of text. I wish there were more of a push for “educational” graphic novels in schools.

End Rant.

But seriously – this book actually gave me more (if that’s even possible) insight into Harvey Pekar – the forces that shaped him into the man he is today. OK – there was a bit of whiney parent bashing, but it wasn’t enough to detract from the main thrust of the story.

And I loved the juxtaposition of the old, balding, sour faced Pekar next to his younger, some-times smiling visage.

BONUS REVIEW!

During my work trip to Orcas Island, WA – I also read through a graphic novel written by Brian K. Vaughn called “Pride of Baghdad.” It’s the true story accounting of four lions who escaped from a city zoo during the 2003 bombing of Baghdad.

It’s a gorgeous book. The coloring is luscious (I’m a sucker for pretty art), and the artist, Niko Henrichon did a great job of capturing human expressions in a feline face.

The writing was excellent as well – the lions spoke and interacted with one another – but Vaughn did not forget to give them what I consider “lion-esque” reasoning.

The ending was abrupt and shocking, but I’m certain for allegorical reasons. In fact the entire book itself is an allegorical look at the idea of “freedom” and “liberation” – who has the power to grant freedom and for what purpose. The fact that it’s a true story adds another layer as well.

I think it’s worth mentioning that the last three comic books I’ve reviewed are a part of the DC Vertigo label, which are known for catering to teenagers and adults. Does that mean that I’ve crossed over to the edgier comics now? I don’t know. It could also be worth noting that Vertigo books are most of the only DC comics I enjoy reading. 🙂

Up Next: Fallen Angel (I promise).

Much Love, Mindy C

3 Books in 3 Days…

Or a close proximity thereof. I promised references to comics and graphic novels, and I aim to fulfill that promise here today.

A week ago – I had the pleasure of scrounging through my local MCL branch – Rockwood’s graphic novel section. It was larger than I thought it would be (back in the day, cb’s and gn’s took up a shelf, if that). The Trade Paperbacks were mostly out of order, so I tried to go for the one-shots and the Graphic Novels were sparse, but pleasantly surprising.

I scooped up two biographical novels, and one Wonder Woman TPB.

#1.  The first I read was: Ego and Hubris by Harvey Pekar.

I enjoy the writings and musings of Mr. Pekar – I own a few of his collected volumes – have read more than that – have met an Editor who worked with him – did a report on him in my Graphic Novel as Lit class – own and have watched “American Splendor” the docu-drama-comedy multiple times…but this was probably my least favorite thing Pekar has done. And that has everything to do with the subject.

Michael Malice is a total jerk-off. I hate self-proclaimed “geniuses” who spend their life treating other people like shit. The worst part – is how little accolade or credit he gives to anyone else for shaping the person he is today. Most especially his parents and grandparents get spat upon.

Autobiographies tend to be whiney, parent-bashing things…and this was no better. It was worse actually, because the main character was SO unlikeable. And becayse the character was terrible, I was hoping to get to the end of find some measure of humanity or emotional depth.

No such thing emerged. I love Pekar’s ability to humanize and deepen the most trivial of human interactions. Unfortunately, this dude Michael Malice – seems to be comprised of nary a human bone in his body. Therefore – his ticks and personality quirks were grating, and not ingratiating. He is the kind of person you want to spend your life trying to avoid if at all possible.

I would not suggest this book as a first foray into the Pekar or Graphic Novel world.

#2. The next graphic novel I read was “Fun Home” by Allison Bechdel.

A strange “tragicomic” in the vein of “Persepolis” – written and drawn by a lesbian woman from Pennsylvania. At times, a little whiney and melodramatic. I read this hot off the heels of “Ego and Hubris”…so I think I was feeling less forgiving with people whining about parents. I mean – seriously – at a certain age, I think you need to realize that your parents were people too, not simply vessels there to serve your every need.

The drawing was fairly *meh* – nothing special or specifically stylized – pretty basic Sunday comic strips kinda deal…but the images and facial expressions did perfectly capture the narration, and I enjoyed the bits of actual documents – letters, diary samples, photos – that Bechdel included.

Upon further rumination, I think I can appreciate within the story, a sort of cyclical tightening of examination regarding the relationship of Allison and her father.

Their separate journeys, their separate homosexualities, have a compare/contrast quality that is important. What I don’t think is important – is when autobiographical pieces paint parents in poor light. Which is what 2/3rds of this novel is. Only near the end do we sense Allison endearing any affection towards her father…and then it is mostly self-centered affection, having nothing to do with the man individually, but more to do with his plight as a gay man.

It was definitely worth reading – if you can overlook some of the “woe is me” aspect of the story-line.