DC Relaunch Reads: Why I'm Excited

Though I'm sad and upset that a lot of my favorite DC titles aren't going to be relaunched this coming September (Think Secret Six and Gotham Sirens), on the whole, I'm pretty excited. See, I'm not a big DC reader. (I know, I just blasphemed all over this space) I blame it on my upbringing. My comic-reading uncle who got me into comics was a big Marvel man, and I spent many a lazy summer day flipping the pages of his old Avengers and Spiderman issues, lusting over Scarlet Witch's costume and wishing I were in the arms of the macho Thor. (Gosh, my childhood was warped)

Being a child of the 90s, I grew up watching the super popular X-men series (1992), which explains my obsession with Storm, big hair, and shoulder pads. Sure I watched Batman: The Animated Series (1992-95) and Wild C.A.T.S.(1994), but neither the stylistically drawn characters of Catwoman or Poison Ivy nor the outspoken and commanding personality of Zealot could captivate my attention as much as the blue eyes, melodic voice, and awesometastic hair of Ororo Munroe could.

Young and very impressionable, I was hooked with everything "X." I got comfortable with the characters and the stories, which made it easier for me to transition to other Marvel titles. For a long time (as in until 2007), my knowledge of all things DC came from whatever I remembered watching in cartoons or in movies. OK, that's not true. I read a little bit of Catwoman back in the early 90s, but I don't remember much of it now, only that her costume was purple and awesome.

At some point, more specifically, during high school, I gave up all kind of pleasurable reading, desperate to mold myself into the nerdiest chemical engineer to ever walk the earth. Eight years and an English degree later,  I married a comic-loving man who got me back into reading them. Of course, I wanted to impress him. So I spouted off whatever bits of Marvel knowledge that had stuck. Marvel was familiar. Marvel was comfortable.

One of the first DC titles that my fonfon ru got me interested in was Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges's Shadowpact series. Gail Simone's Secret Six followed. After that, I was hooked. I read Kingdom Come, Identity Crisis, 52... Slowly, I was adding to my DC arsenal. But I never felt quite as comfortable with DC characters, their own stories, and how they connected with previous arcs/characters.

I'm the type of reader who WANTS to read between every single line. I wanna know exactly why a character puts on a sly smile when mentioning something seemingly trivial. I want to be a CONTINUTY MAVEN! 

So there.

Here's what my September list is looking like so far:
09.07
1. Action Comics
2. Batgirl
3. Green Arrow
4. Swamp Thing

09.14
5. Batman and Robin
6. Demon Knights
7. Green Lantern
8. Red Lanterns

09.21
9. Birds of Prey
10. Wonder Woman

09.28
11. Aquaman
12. Justice League Dark
13. The Savage Hawkman

♥ Laura

Fashion Post: I Love Thor.

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Thor redesigned by Olivier Coipel via

outfit details:
navy dress: F21, modified by me :: grey leggings: JCPenney :: striped legwarmers: courtesy of Mel ::
red cardi: thrifted :: black booties: Payless :: bangles: Maurices :: wing earrings: made be me

As some of you may already know, I am a huge comic book geek, and one of my most favoritest (if not my ultimate favorite) Marvel comic book character has been Thor. So, when, two days ago, I was lucky enough to score a couple of movie passes for an advanced screening of the movie, I was overcome with child-like glee--the kind that leaves you sleepless, uninterested in food, and extremely anxious but also paranoid (OK, maybe that's just me). 

Anyway, when I started blogging, I stumbled upon Betty Felon's tumblr. And I love all her reinterpretations of superhero styles into wearable street wear. Secretly (ok, not really that "secretly"), I longed to be able to put together something like those of her awesome outfits. Given that I had two days notice of the event and a thesis to turn in, I jumped at the opportunity, which I am oh so glad for since my mild depression over the slump of the semester was magically lifted.

So I set off to aSECRET MISSION-- to make a street-wear worthy Thor outfit! I didn't want to have to pay too much for a new outfit, so I got this dress from F21 (which was WAY too big at the top/back, but still worked) for $11. All the rest I had on hand. 

I won't say much about the movie, except that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Apart from being a huge Thor fan, I think Chris Hemsworth is a hunk of hotness. I also love Kenneth Branagh and am in awe of his amazing ability to reinterpret a comic book character, with a lot of continuity behind it, for people to enjoy. Coming from an academic standpoint, this movie really holds dear to my heart (and the months' worth of work I've done with Old English and Anglo-Saxon magic). As a comic book reader, I thought the essentials were taken care of, and that Tom Hiddleston was an amazing, amazing Loki.  

♥ Laura

Meeting Schmeeting

Let's just start with this: This semester has been extremely busy.

Apart from the unending amounts of reading and writing I have to do, I also have a few obligations that require me either presenting or attending meetings.

I dunno about you, but I am not a "meeting" kind of gal. If there's food, fine, I'll look interested. But in all honesty, meetings are really awkward, and most of the time, they're set only to force people to finally do something they should've already done on their own a long time ago. Ok, I exaggerate.

But that's what stress does to one, I suppose... Drive them to exaggeration.

My recent curiosities have (finally) impelled me to seek out new comic book titles, and I am happy to announce that I am no longer a Green Lantern virgin. As an added tidbit, it was really Guy Gardner who forced me into it. [ooh!]

I came upon this little treasure of a strip a few days ago:

via

I'll go into Leezle Pon some other day, since he's battled Despotellis who infected Guy Gardner with his nasty bits. And we all know how much I love me my Guy Gardner.

Back to the topic. This strip made me WISH I was like Dkrtzy (whom I only learned about after reading this strip!)

via

If I were a bio sentient mathematical equation, I would be totally set. Apart from the most RAD ability to erase the "brains of [my] enemies" (because we all know that "brains" are just a conglomeration of 2D, multi-colored, crayon-drawn scribbles on the paper-canvas that is known as the "head"), can you imagine how meetings with my colleagues would be like?

Colleague A: Hey guys, I've noticed that some people haven't been coming to our meetings.

Colleague B: Oh are you talking about her?

Colleague A: Seriously. I can't believe she's been able to dodge meetings every since she started working     here! I swear, it's totally unfair.

Colleague B: I bet she's sleeping with... 

Colleague C: You MORONS! Don't you know that Laura is a progressive mathematical equation who can only be perceived by the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY? Be grateful she hasn't erased your brains yet. 

Yup, what a sweet life I'd live. 

♥ Laura

From the Ashes...

via

It's been a while since I've blogged about my love for all things nerdy. Other priorities have taken over, but now I am starved for a geektastic outlet. I've been giving it a lot of thought, and I've decided to take this blog in a different direction.

I realized that I have been increasingly understanding the world around me through my nerdiness. So, I'm going to pull this blog from the ashes (so to speak) and from it, draw this new idea.

Stay Tuned.


♥ Laura

A Letter to Matt Fraction

Picked this up from my local library. (Support your library, kids. Explore it. You'll be surprised with the treasures you'll find.)

The Five Fists of Science (2006)

story: Matt Fraction

art: Steven Sanders

This inspired me to write a letter.

Dear Mr. Fraction,

I consider myself to be an astute reader. I have worked, since childhood, to accumulate a book base to build my cred (street and off-street) up to "book snob." As my snobbishness grew, I thought myself too good to even glance at the works of popular and well-loved authors such as Jane Austen, Herman Melville, and Mark Twain. And while I still feel somewhat that way (to a much lesser degree now that I know much more) about Jane Austen, I have recently gained an immense appreciation towards American Literature and the genius of Melville through. Even after that, I still felt hesitant towards Twain, though, even though I vividly recall the details in his "Mysterious Stranger." I somehow only associated him with steamboats, rivers, and rafts. Upon reading your Five Fists of Science graphic novel, though, I think I will pick up some Twain when ample time becomes available to me to leisurely enjoy a book.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

♥ Laura