Tag / comics

by GirlGoneGeekBlog

My Cosplay Bucket List

As you may remember from my post “Confessions of a First Time Cosplayer” I really like cosplaying. Who doesn’t?! But I have to admit, even after my numerous Doctor Who cosplays and my pretty killer femme Spike Spiegel, I still feel like a newb since I didn’t actually make anything from scratch myself. The designs and concepts were my own, but the crafting was not. But after some drinks with Cosplay Queen Darth Rachel and a little pep talk from her, I feel less newby.

I let my lack of craftiness limit me, but I will not let it hold me back any longer! I will try my damndest to create most of these clothes and items by hand. I will probably fail many times, but that’s part of the fun… right?

Either way, here’s my cosplay queue, the characters I want to cosplay badly because they are my faves and they look super freaking cool. Shout out to the homie Leslie IRL for the blog post idea!

 

Space Dandy 

Space_Dandy_001

Space Dandy is ridiculous anime and I love it so much. I’ll genderbend this up with a ’50s style dress or skirt and top to match Dandy’s Greaser look. But this cosplay is actually happening irl at NYCC this year! I have the jacket already, I just need to make shoes. >_<

 

Delirium from Sandman

delirium sandman

Sandman is one of my favorite comic book series of all time. Delirium was definitely one of my favorite of the Endless. I was always excited when she would pop up in the comic. Making the wig for her cosplay will be fun!

 

Gwendolyn from Saga

saga8f gwendolyn

I freaked out when I first saw Gwendolyn. Being a black girl who reads comics, I don’t see lots of characters that look like me, so when BVK created bomb-ass Gwendolyn I was beside myself. Just look at her looking all magnificent!

 

Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell 

motoko-kusanagi

The Major is one of my favorite characters ever! She’s a shining example of a strong female character. The Ghost in the Shell series is one of my all time faves as well. I even wrote a 20 page paper in grad school about GITS and post-humanism (see: Cyborgs Exist and Humanity is Doomed for a shorter version). There are so many looks I could go with; but I already know I’m not going to do the one where she doesn’t wear pants.

 

Spider Jerusalem from Transmetropolitan

Spider_Jerusalem_01

Spider is one of my favorite comic book characters. He’s such a lovable bastard! I’m doing a genderbent Spider. I really like genderbending.

 

Leatherface Joker

batman-13-interior-joker leatherface

I want to cosplay Leatherface Joker so badly. He’s so gorgeously gruesome! I’ll probably genderbend this one too because I just like to do that and it’s fun. I have no idea how I will even do the mask but if there’s a will, there’ s a way!

 

Lumpy Space Princess from Adventure Time

lumpy space princess

Oh my glob! How can you not love LSP?! With this cosplay I’ll probably go the non-lumpy route and wear a over-the-top dress instead, with a big purple wig and of course, the star.

 

Berg Katze from Gatchaman Crowds

Berg-Katze.full.1544538

So I actually haven’t finished this anime yet… whoops. BUT I immediately fell in love with Berg Katze and his character design. I MEAN LOOK AT THAT HAIR! He’s fun villain and reminds me of the Joker because you don’t really hate him as much as you probably should.

by GirlGoneGeekBlog

Fangirl on a Budget: Comic Book Edition

fgbudgetbanner

Let’s be honest, being a fangirl is pretty expensive. Don’t see how? Just add up how much you spend on comics, books, toys, clothes, cons, games, etc. But this made me wonder, can you be a geek and be on a budget at the same time? Well of course you can! But since our love runs deep for these fandoms, saving money isn’t that easy. I spend the most money on comics since I pick them up every Wednesday. I’m sure a lot of you are in the same boat so I figured that’s the best place to start.

Here are a few simple ways you can save money when it comes to comic books:

I’m Just Not That into You

You should probably trim the fat at least once a year. Look at your pull list or the titles you buy each month and ask yourself, “Do I really care about this series?” You may realize that you’re reading them out of habit. The ones you no longer care about can go in a box to the left.

Go Digital

Now take a look at your pull list again. Are there any titles that you don’t need to physically collect? I know when it comes to being a fan, our wants camouflage as needs. But really ask yourself if you need every single issue of each series. Maybe you can switch to buying only milestone issues or covers that you really like. If so, read those series on Comixology. They can be cheaper than the print version (but not always) and they always have sales, so in the end you’ll save money and space. Also, their guided view is pretty cool!

Used TPB

Switching to digital is the hardest one in my opinion. So I totally understand if you’re not down for it. I’m a big fan of print books and comics and rarely read digital comics unless it’s manga. When I want to read an older series or catch up on an ongoing one, I buy used trade paperbacks on Amazon (or read the digital volumes on Comixology). The used TPBs are a lot cheaper and often look just as good.

Volumes over Single Issues

Volumes can be a substitute if you’re not down with digital. If there’s a series you like, but don’t need to read the single issues every month, wait a few months and buy the volumes instead. They are usually cheaper than individual issues when you add them up.

Libraries- Submitted by Kia

This is the best option if you don’t want/need to own the trades that you want to read. I used to do this a lot when reading older series. If your library doesn’t have that volume, sometimes they can ship it from another library so don’t forget to ask!

NetGalley– Submitted by Kia

If you’re a reviewer, blogger, journalist, librarian, bookseller, educator, or in the media, NetGalley is a great place to read digital comics for free.

Local Comic Shop Sales- Submitted by B of You Fancy Me Mad

Most comic book stores have big sales monthly. Sign up for their newsletter to hear about their latest discounts and sales. Like B said, “It’s a great time to pick up trades or that variant cover you’ve had your eye on.”

Have more tips on saving money when it comes to comics? Share them in the comments section!

by GirlGoneGeekBlog

Where I Freak Out About ‘Sandman Overture #2’

Sandman_Overture_2_Neil_Gaiman_JH_Williams_III_covers

OMFG YOU GUYS! I cannot even deal with how friggin’ gorgeous Sandman Over #2 is! J.H. Williams III is a GOD. I will build an alter in his honor and put food there every Wednesday (because that’s the sacred comic book day). Next door to the JHW3 alter I will build a shrine in honor the letterer, Todd Klein. I will pray to The Endless there and all my dreams will come true.

Williams’ panels in Overture #2 are some of the most creative I’ve ever seen. But he’s been stuntin’ on these pages since Overture #1. Remember that “OMG IT’S A MOUTH! Panel”? Genius!

Well back to #2. I open the first page and there is Daniel Dream looking gorg in all white (Oh hey, boo. *wink*). But peep the panels! I mean can you even call them panels at this point? Well, the pentagon goes all Inception on us because it’s a panel within a panel. The pentagon shape itself probably has some Gaimanesque 4-layer literary meaning. But I can’t figure out because I’m lost in Dream’s beautiful black eyes.

Sandman_Overture_2_Neil_Gaiman_JH_Williams_III

Neil Gaiman’s story is too magnificent to be confined to regular box panels. The rest of the issue is all like, “Panels? WTF is a panel?”

Sandman_Overture_2_Neil_Gaiman_JH_Williams_III_3

Then you skip a few pages and you feel like you’ve taken some hallucinogen. But don’t worry, it’s just what happens when you combine the awesome power of Klein’s lettering, JHW3’s art and Gaiman’s words. You start trippin’!

Then there’s a freakin’ Dream convention which is both brilliant and hilarious. We meet the very first Dream (holy crap!) and all of the creatures he was/is Dream for (holy crap!). Then all of the different Dreams basically realize that they can be, “self-satisfied, irritating and self-possessed”. I love him, but come on; Dream can be such a dick. If you’re like me, you probably spent like 10 minutes on this page because there is so much going on. It’s so overwhelming! But it makes you happy because it’s so epic. I took the time to marvel at every single Dream.

This page is also where Todd Klein shows why he’s an OG. The thing with lettering in comics is you don’t really notice it most of the time because most speech bubbles are “regular”. But Klein’s lettering in Sandman is legend. My favorites are Dream’s black bubble with white text (and sometimes the opposite) and Delirum’s rainbow bubbles and irregular text size.

On the page below, he goes ham and each Dream gets their own unique speech bubble. This was my favorite part of the entire comic. I had so much a fun coming up with the voices for Dream to match the different types of bubbles.

Sandman_Overture_2_Neil_Gaiman_JH_Williams_III_4

Then some really cool things happen in the story. Like we find out Dream is going to see his DAD with the Dream of Cats. OMFGWUT?!

Sandman_Overture_2_Neil_Gaiman_JH_Williams_III_2

by GirlGoneGeekBlog

Breaking Up With “The Walking Dead”

Michonne-Full-620x1450

I feel like I’m breaking up with a longtime boyfriend. I’ve been dating “The Walking Dead” for a few years now. Our first date was at the Compendium One and it was love at first sight. I was head-over-heels. Smitten even! I think it was partly due to having previously been in intense relationships with older men like “The Invisibles”, “Sandman” and “Transmetropolitan”. Albeit beautiful and brilliant, those relationships were filled with mind-fucks, counter-culture, social commentary and layers upon layers of metaphors. So “The Walking Dead” was a welcomed brain break from my “Top Three”. That’s not to say that I was dumbing it down or settling by being with “The Walking Dead”. But that relationship was heavier on the heart, rather than the mind.

I adored his grayscale gore and the excitement I felt whenever we were together. But then, things started to change…  The dates became repetitive and predictable. His friends weren’t interesting anymore or they were dead. It started to seem like all of the reasons why I loved him were slowly fading away.

Instead of thinking fondly of the future we’d have together, I find myself focusing on the good times we had in the past. I used to get excited whenever I saw him. Nowadays, I barely make time for him. A relationship that started with love now exists solely out of habit and comfort. I keep telling myself maybe he’ll change. Maybe the next time I see him, things will be different. He’ll be different. But things went from bad to worse when he brought a tiger to one of our dates.

It’s hard to break up with “The Walking Dead” because I’ve invested to many years into this relationship. But I think it’s time to let go. After the next few series of dates, it will be time to part ways. It’ll be tough. We had great times together, but I have to be the bigger person and know when it’s just not working out anymore. Maybe we’ll grab coffee every few months and I’ll see how he’s doing. I don’t know. We’ll see…

by GirlGoneGeekBlog

How Hawkeye #13 Helped Me Deal with Death

hawkeye013_1

Hawkeye #13 made me cry. It’s not because I was emotionally attached to Grills. Although, I was fond of him and it was sad that he died. But as some of you may know, my uncle passed away last year. I’ve blogged about him a few times. We were close and he was the biggest influence in my life when it came to comics and geek culture. He took me to my first comic con when I was little. And he’s been even more top of mind because New York Comic Con was this past weekend and we would go together.

hawkeye013_2On Wednesday I headed over to Forbidden Planet to pick up my comics after work. I hadn’t been there in two weeks so I had quite a few to catch up on. I knew I wouldn’t get to them all that day, but Hawkeye was one of the top titles on my list that I had to read that night. If you’re a fan of Hawkeye, you know the series went on a little break, so I was super excited to get back into the world of Clint Barton and his crew.

Once I started reading I knew I was in for an emotionally heavy issue. But I had no idea how much it would end up affecting me. I was in Clint’s head. I felt what he felt. Which then in turn, brought up my own personal feelings. I saw myself in Clint. It was a comic about me.

After my uncle passed, I’ve been more sensitive to death, even fictional death, because I now have a point of reference. It’s easy to kill off characters in comics, but it’s not easy to make the reader connect to that loss.

If someone wanted to know why I love comics so much, Hawkeye #13 is why.

by GirlGoneGeekBlog

Chew Takes a Bite Out of NYCC 2013

nycc chew panel

I’ve been a big fan of the comic book series, Chew, for a while now. John Layman’s writing and Rob Guillory’s style are a perfect match. It’s one of the few comics that actually make me literally LOL. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, pick up the first volume. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!

Being a fan, I was excited to see the Chew crew for the first time. During the panel, we learned that Chew started off dark. I mean really dark. Which isn’t surprising considering the main character eats human flesh on a frequent basis (he gets telepathic readings from meat). But thanks to Rob’s artistic style, Chew turned out to be more light and goofy.

Chew1The art style John wanted Rob to use in Chew was actually Rob just screwing around on the internet because he confessed that no one actually liked that style. No one except for John Layman. The first three issues of Chew weren’t written for Rob’s style, so as the series went on, it got funnier because John would write to Rob’s strengths. They both thought Chew’s concept was so crazy no one would buy it. But a few years and one Eisner Award later, they were proven wrong.

It comes to no surprise that Rob channels Broadway’s dramatic over-actors when illustrating the characters. He likes that you can tell what’s going in the story, even if there was no dialogue. Speaking of exaggerated, the two talked about fan-favorite Poyo, the cyborg rooster that’s kicking ass for the USDA.  John descried Poyo as, “Chew without the rules.” Fans should be happy to know that the next arc will feature Poyo, followed by The Vampire, then Mason Savoy and ending with Tony Chu.

You may remember hearing about Chew being pitched to Showtime for as a show. John updated the fans that it’s no longer on the table. It seems that the Showtime people weren’t interested in a cartoon, which is the direction John and Rob wanted to go in in order to keep the story genuine. Thankfully, they have a new “Hollywood guy” that’s focused on animation and they want to keep it to as close as the story as possible.

If nothing else, learned that John Layman is a pretty big gamer an really just wants to play Warcraft and GTA all day.

[Photo via Bleeding Cool]

by GirlGoneGeekBlog

Tattoo Tuesday: Brian K. Vaughan’s Saga & Y the Last Man Comics

With the return of Saga last week, I thought it was the perfect time to dedicate a Tattoo Tuesday to one of my favorite comic book authors, Brian K. Vaughan!

You’re doing yourself a great disservice if you’re not reading Saga yet. But seriously, what are you waiting for?! I blogged about Saga being my favorite comic book series of 2012 and it hasn’t let me down yet. Whether you fell in love with Yorick, Mitchell, Nico or Alana, we’re all part of the BKV family!

Read more when I saw BKV at NYCC las year here and here.

I include all the information about each tattoo that was available. If you’re interested in your tattoo being featured on a past or future Tattoo Tuesday or Tattoo Tuesday Featurette, email me at jamila[@]girlgonegeekblog[.]com.

Girl Gone Geek Blog Brian K Vaughan Saga Comic Tattoo

Girl Gone Geek Blog Brian K Vaughan Saga Comic Tattoo_v2

Saga #1 cover tattoo from the  [Source 1 Source 2]

Girl Gone Geek Blog Brian K Vaughan Saga Comic Tattoo 2

Izabel from Saga [Source]

Girl Gone Geek Blog Brian K Vaughan Y the last man Comic Tattoo 2

Poppy’s Y the Last man tattoo [Source]

Girl Gone Geek Blog Brian K Vaughan Y the last man Comic Tattoo 3“From Jed K. in Revelo, Ky.: “My tattoo is of very last page fromY: The Last Man #60, the last issue of the series. It is Yorick’s straitjacket flying through the air.”

He adds, “I got this tattoo after I finished my graduate degree. It is my first and only tattoo. The reasons I picked this image are twofold: First of all, I really like the series and hated to see it go. Secondly, the open straitjacket represented freedom from expectations and freedom to do what I wanted to do with my life. Sappy, I know, but I’m a bit sentimental that way.” [Source]

Girl Gone Geek Blog Brian K Vaughan Y the last man Comic Tattoo

Y the Last Man [Source]

Girl Gone Geek Blog Brian K Vaughan Y the last man Comic Tattoo ampersand

Jennifer said, “An ampersand on my left wrist, to symbolize writing, plurality, a general dorky love of punctuation, and a character from my favorite comic (Ampersand the monkey fromY: The Last Man.)” [Source]