Comics Digest: Winter 2016

These days I read a fair number of comic books, but I just don’t know how to talk to you lovely people about them. Writing a whole post on one comic book feels a little like cheating, but I hate not talking about them. So behold my solution: seasonal comic book digests. Here’s what I’ve been reading for the first couple of months of 2016. Leave me a comment and let me know what you’ve been reading or what you think I should read next!

Red Sonja Volumes 1& 2 by Gail Simone

Red Sonja has been on my radar for a long time. Literally the first time I was in a comic book store I was there for research for another writing project and asked the clerk about problematic gender portrayals and he highlighted Red Sonja for being super empowering to some people despite or because of her metal bikini outfit. I didn’t really believe him, so it took me another three years of having person after person telling me to give Sonja a chance before my love and trust of Gail Simone won out. So far I’ve read Queen of Plagues and The Art of Blood and Fire and everyone was right. I LOVE RED SONJA.

For the similarly uninitiated, Red Sonja is a barbarian along the lines of Conan. A former slave in the fighting pits, she is legendary as the Red Devil for being almost unbeatable in combat.  She drinks, fights, fucks, and eats all with about equal abandon. Red Sonja is strong, funny, fierce, human, and not to be messed with. She’s not ashamed of her sexuality (my favorite through line in Volume 2 was her inability to get laid) but she is very firmly in control of it. And, of course, Gail Simone gives her a compelling and hilarious voice.

Alex & Ada Volumes 1-4 by Jonathan Luna

Boy meets girl, girl is a sentient robot. It’s not an original concept, but Jonathan Luna still does it originally in his short series Alex & Ada. Alex is a young, disconnected, tech-loving worker who has never gotten over his ex-girlfriend. When his grandmother buys him a state of the art humanoid android, he doesn’t want to be responsible for her. But soon he is compelled by Ada, who looks so human but acts so artificial. True artificial intelligence may be illegal, but Alex soon finds a way to illegally unlock Ada. His actions create a strange love story while also putting them in hiding and on the run.

Alex and Ada is a fascinating look at a world that seems more and more plausible. It’s charming and thought provoking. It was fascinating to see an intelligent creature learn how to think and create an identity, and also interesting to think through just a few of the moral conundrums that creates. The whole series is only 4 volumes, so this is a nice series to be able to read without committing yourself to something forever. I do think the ending of the series was a little forced and rushed, but overall it’s worth checking out.

Star Wars: Princess Leia Volume 1 by Mark Waid

Who doesn’t love Princess Leia? I always want more of her in any Star Wars movie or book, so I was excited to get the first volume of the new comic series centered on her for Christmas. This Princess Leia series tells of Princess Leia’s struggles post A New Hope. Trying to wrestle with the terrible destruction of her home planet, but left as little more than a figurehead, Leia decides to take action and gather the scattered survivors of Alderaan.

The comic is fun, action-packed and pretty easy to read in one delightful and brainless afternoon. I don’t know how much this Princess Leia really connects to the Princess Leia I know and love from the movies and other books, but it’s still fun to see her get to do things she doesn’t normally get to do!

Bitch Planet Volume One by Kelly Sue DeConnick

If people haven’t already told you to read this comic by badass Kelly Sue DeConnick, allow me. Bitch Planet takes the insidious sexism in everyday life and extrapolates it to a dystopian future where the world is run by a council of men and everyone is expected to adhere to narrow gender ideals. Non Compliants are arrested and sent to a penal colony known as Bitch Planet. The book mostly takes place among the prisoners of Bitch Planet. It’s graphic both in terms of nudity and violence. It’s got amazing vintage looking ads in the back that are sarcastic as hell. And it’s a lot of fun. Bitch Planet is exciting, different, fresh, beautiful, and really interesting to think about. Check it out!

2015 Year in Review: New Comic Books

This year I fell hard for comic books. My obsession started in 2014, but has really taken off this year. As I discussed yesterday, I’ve read some older books, but it’s the new stuff I’ve really been falling in love with. There are so many great stories out there and it’s hard to keep up. There’s plenty I want to read but haven’t, but here (in no particular order) are my favorites this year.

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Volume One

I fell HARD for this comic. It’s an unqualified joy from the get-go. Doreen Green is the spunky college student I’ve always wanted to be, and she has squirrel powers! Ryan North knows that squirrel powers are totally ridiculous, so he keeps the story light and fun. And as I’ve said before, his subtitles are one of the greatest things ever. That all said, this book could have easily been a short run or a one-trick pony, but Doreen has an amazing supporting cast of friends who help bring fun and variety to the story. I’m actually reading this in single issues and can’t wait to see where the story continues to go, but the first few issues were the amaze-balls. Check out the collection if you haven’t yet!

Nimona

Have I already written odes to Nimona? If not, I’ve been remiss. Nimona started out as a web comic by Noelle Stevenson, and it’s the comic that got me into comics. I have so much love for this story of a shapeshifting girl who joins up as the sidekick to a supervillain. Nimona herself in my spirit animal (animals?). She’s sassy, ambitious, likes to destroy shit (the sequence of her playing board games might be my favorite thing ever), and not afraid to go for what she wants hard. And Blackheart and Goldenloin are the cutest, most delightful friends turned nemises I can think of. But beyond that, the story takes so many unexpected twists and turns. It’s compelling from beginning to end. After reading it page by page over a couple of years, it was fun this year to get the whole thing in book form and experience it all in one sitting. Then I started my mission of lending it to everyone. Read it friends.

Ms. Marvel: The Last Days of Ms. Marvel

Ms. Marvel is also a story I’ve been enjoying from the beginning (both of the story and of my blog), and it’s only gotten better. This year Ms. Marvel got swept up in the Secret Wars arc that consumed most of Marvel, and it made her story deeper, richer, and more powerful. Kamala Kahn is coming into her own as a hero and as a person, and it’s a joy to watch. As her world gets pushed to the brink, she has some amazingly beautiful moments with the family and friends that have supported her. Also she gets to meet her hero, Captain Marvel!

Saga Volume Five

Let’s take a break from my love of super-powered teenage girls and talk about Saga. This is another book that had me from page one. I’ve enjoyed every moment of Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ epic space drama. I’ve been reading this one in the trade paperbacks, so I was thrilled to finally get an update on the story when Volume Five came out. It didn’t disappoint. With stunning art, crazy plot twists, and the characters I’ve come to love, I will follow this story for as long as they let me.

Sex Criminals Volume Two

Sex Criminals is the filthy grownup comic that brings balance to the Force. I love stories with sincerity and sass, so my comics reading tends towards spazzy teenage girls with superpowers. But sometimes I need something where they actually use curse words and tell the truth about the weird minefield that is adult sexuality. Sex Criminals is another book that could have just been a funny premise, but became so much more. Volume Two of Sex Criminals tackles some serious issues like depression and brings us whole new views of sexuality as we bring Dr. Kincaid/Jazmine St. Cocaine into the conspiracy.

Lumberjanes

Back to stories and spunky young women. Lumberjanes is a constant delight. I love spending time with Ripley, Jo, and the whole gang. I love the crazy adventures they get themselves into. I love that friendship, bravery and quick thinking gets them out. I love the endless worlds of myth and legends that the great writing team have to draw on. I love it all and can’t wait to keep seeing what comes next. Bring it on 2016!

Honorable mentions: The Wicked + The Divine, Rat Queens, Thor.

2015 Year in Review: Classic Comic Books

The stated purpose of this blog was to teach myself about nerdy things I might not have encountered before, and comic books are a huge part of that for me. I wasn’t raised on comic books. I read my first graphic novel in college and really only started regularly reading comics in the last year and a half. I’ve become a big fan of several comic series that are currently running (more on that later this week) but I’ve also tried to go back and read some of the classics of the genre.

I’ve ranged around a bit. I read Red Son to get a little Superman in my life. I read Allison Bechdel’s beautiful Fun Home to see the depths of artistry that this genre is capable of. I’ve dabbled in Wonder Woman, Captain America, Batgirl, and Deadpool. I’ve tried some classic indie titles like Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere and Brian K. Vaughan’s Y: The Last Man. And there’s many more on my list to read next year.

But my favorite comic not published this year that I read this year was: Marvel 1602.

Marvel 1602 was the Neil Gaiman comic book I’ve always wanted. I tried Sandman and found it too graphic, too disturbing, too disjointed for me. I enjoyed Neverwhere, but found that it felt like a comic adaptation of a novel (which it is). I wanted more depth and felt like something was missing. But Marvel 1602 is the perfect compromise.

The premise is simple: take many of Marvel’s most iconic characters and drop them 400 years in the past in the year 1602. So we have Sir Nicholas Fury, spymaster to Queen Elizabeth. We have Matthew Murdoch, blind balladeer. The list goes on and on as the X Men, Fantastic Four, Stephen Strange, Black Widow, Peter Parker, Thor, and Captain America all play their parts.

The story ranges far and wide across the European continent, England, and the New World. It is a time of turmoil with Queen Elizabeth at the end of her life and succession not crystal clear. There is strange weather that might be fortelling the end of the world. The Spanish Inquisition is persecuting the strange “witchbreed” of mutants and sorcerers. And a long forgotten weapon is set to reappear. That’s a lot going on, and there are a lot of heroes to help it all happen.

The whole series is a delightful game as we get to speculate and see who shows up and in what form. It’s fun to think about how superhero powers would be perceived in a much more superstitious and much less scientifically-advanced age. The premise is exciting and the execution is clever, not to mention beautiful. The old-fashioned art by Andy Kubert is truly spectacular. Some of the surprises made me laugh out loud in shock and delight. This is the kind of creativity, artistry, and unusual storytelling I have loved in others of Neil Gaiman’s works. It was a joy to watch him unleash his talent and take a romp with characters as rich and beloved as the Marvel crew. If, like me, you weren’t aware this existed, I recommend checking it out.

 

Honorable mention: Y: The Last Man. Brian K. Vaughan is a talented storyteller with a sense of humor close to my own. His epic story about the disappearance of every male animal on earth except for a boy named Yorrick and his monkey Ampersand is a fascinating thought experiment loaded with ladies who kick butt. I found a few of the storylines problematic, but overall enjoyed the word play, geekery, and apocalyptic mayhem.

Ryan North Subtitles For Everyone!

I knew I had curated an excellent set of comic book subscriptions when a couple of months ago I went in to pick up my latest issues and the sales guy at my comic book store said “Have you heard of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl?”

You guys. Ryan North (beloved for Midas Flesh and Dinosaur Comics) is writing a Marvel comic about a college student named Darlene who can talk to squirrels and has never been beaten in a fight. That’s basically my Christmas wish list. And it fits perfectly into my ideal niche of “spazzy teenage girls with superpowers who kick butt.” So obviously I’m reading it. And obviously I think it’s the greatest thing since acorns.

The icing on this perfect cake is that about halfway through the first issue I realized that in tiny, almost white print, Ryan North was providing a hilarious running commentary on the action. Apparently he also does these subtitles in his Adventure Time books, and they are pure brilliance. I love them so much, that I now believe every comic book should have them. Since I’m pretty sure Ryan is busy, I took the liberty of imagining what that beautiful world would look like. Enjoy:

Ms. Marvel #1 By: G. Willow Wilson  Art By: Adrian Alphona

“Cap named that goldfish Bucky. Tony named his sloth-mutant Cupcake the Destroyer.”

Captain America: Winter Soldier By: Ed Brubaker Art By: Steve Epting, Michael Lark

“Later, at karaoke: “If yooooou don’t know me by noooooow. You will never never never know me””

 Superman: Red Son By: Mark Millar Art By: Dave Johnson, Kilian Plunkett, Andrew Robinson, Walden Wong

“Imagine a tiny Communist Superman. With his adorable forelock and his tiny sickle-shaped raddle that he’s just harvested a whole field with. Who could be jealous of that?”

Watchmen By: Alan Moore Art By: Dave Gibbons

“And at one o’clock all the detectives. And at 2 o’clock all the fishmongers. And at three o’clock all the ventriloquists.”

Saga By: Brian K. Vaughan Art By: Fiona Staples

“What do you even call that? Spider-gina? A Vag-der? Arachnivag? I’m going with Arachnivag.”

Emerald City Comicon Day 1 Recap

If Friday was any indication, this is going to be an awesome year at Emerald City Comicon! It’s my first year going all three days, and day one was a blast. I should probably have called this post “Favorite Females Friday” or something because I got to meet and hear so many amazing creators, especially of the lady variety. I’m sure I’ll talk more about some of these things later, but highlights included:

The Being Noncomplient Panel with Kelly Sue DeConnick, Erika Moen, Noelle Stevenson, Kate Leth, and Spike Trotman. It was an amazing panel of people creating awesome stuff and mostly just hanging out. There was advice to people who want to create (“Start now. Start now. Start now.” – Kelly Sue), hilarious and poignant and angry comments about Gamer Gate, and the revelation that many of your favorite All-ages comics writers are also writing porn for Spike and her Smut Peddler series.

Speaking of smut, the Strip Tease: Adult Comics and the Perverts who Draw Them panel was by far my favorite panel turned super long dish session. Most of the content I won’t repeat here, but needless to say the women drawing awesome feminist comics porn are awesome.

Other highlights include learning that Hayley Atwell’s go-to karaoke song is Black Velvet, Jewel Staite neither confirming or denying that she might be part of Nathan Filian and Alan Tudyk’s upcoming Con Man project, and hanging out with the creators of my favorite comic Lumberjanes.

The Saga Begins/I Begin Saga

At this point, basically anyone who’s following comic books has probably told you that Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ Saga series is amazing. Words like genius, brilliant, and “one of the standout comic books of the last decade” have all been thrown around by people a lot smarter and faster on the uptake than me.

So after devouring Volume 1 & 2 today, I’m going to try not to say all of those things, and say instead that I think comic books like this one are exactly what we need in order to get people into comics.

The whole point of this blog is that I’m working on educating myself about parts of nerd culture I’ve missed, and front and center in that curriculum are comic books. I didn’t read my first graphic novel until a friend handed me Watchmen in college. Frankly that was the first time comic books entered my orbit. I was a young girl in the world before the Marvel Comic Universe took over our lives and multiplexes, comic books weren’t really a thing for me and my friends.

But lo how the world has changed in the last twenty years. Comic books have blown up in a big way, and I’ve slowly found myself getting closer and closer to their orbit. But how do you even begin to approach a medium you hardly understand? I think it’s telling that the comic that brought me to comics is Lumberjanes. “Hold the phone,” I can hear you saying, “I thought this was a review of Saga.” I’m getting there.

Lumberjanes was my first title because I had been following Noelle Stevenson for years, and if she’s writing it, I was damn sure going to read it. But Lumberjanes was also my starting point because it was accessible. As an independent comic book, it doesn’t have all the intimidating history and weight of a DC or Marvel comic. There aren’t really ground rules you’re supposed to go in knowing. It’s just good clean fun, and that’s what I also find appealing about Saga.

Saga is a story that you don’t have to know anything about comics to enjoy. Brian K. Vaughan is creating a fantasy world that’s totally new and fresh. It doesn’t have baggage, and basically no matter how big of a nerd you are, we’re all starting from the same place. And what a place to start. The first moment tells you so much you need to know. A woman with wings is freaking out because she thinks she might be pooping on her horned husband while giving birth to their daughter, who has both wings and horns. Welcome to the world of Saga, where the facts are preposterous and fantastical, but the human emotions are familiar. And really, that’s the second piece of brilliance in Saga – the emotions and real and accessible. I may not have wings or children, but I know what it feels like to be freaked out and embarrassed by what my body is doing. I may have never been on the run from magical creatures or robot-headed armies, but I know what it’s like to feel cornered, singled out, and out of control of my own life. Who doesn’t? And that’s the magic of Saga.

Saga is so accessible, but that’s not the only thing that’s making it my official comics recruitment tool. Saga also has amazing, diverse, and well-rounded characters. From the good guys to the bad guys, these people are complex, contradictory and human (even when they’re actually floating teenage ghosts, or robot-headed royalty). This story screams come one, come all. This is a world with a place for you in it. A violent, sarcastic place, but a place nonetheless.

Finally, let’s get down to the real reason that this is the comic for you to give to that friend who never got your comics obsession: this story is COOL! Saga gets that part of the joy of comic books is that they connect you to your inner child. Comics give you crazy awesome things you won’t find anywhere else, and Saga provides that in spades. There’s a spaceship that is also a giant treehouse. WHO DOESN’T WANT A TREEHOUSE SPACESHIP? Finally, the art is stunningly beautiful, and sure to make those new to the medium understand how powerful it can be to wed words and glorious images like these to tell a story.

So if anyone tells you they might be interested in picking up a comic book for the first time, don’t try and catch them up on the 70 year history of the Dark Knight, or give them a comic book continuation of their favorite movie or TV show. Show them the full power and fun of comics by giving them the wide, wild, welcoming world of Saga.