Shut Up. Kick Ass

Wondercon was this past weekend and although I picked up some cards and freebies, as well as getting some sketches and getting to meet Amanda Connor face to face and telling her I love her art(OMG she is the nicest nicest person ever) it was all quickly and superbly overshadowed by an event that happened that night. My friend Jenna and I went to the Kick-Ass booth to see about getting tickets to get into the autographing booth for the movie because her favorite actor portrays Red Mist(the kid in red on the ads) but when we arrived, this older woman asked if it was just us two there and when we said yes, she asked if we wanted to be on a panel for the advance screening of Kick-Ass, which was even better (maybe) than getting autographs so we got to see the entire movie before its release on April 16. I'm not here to spoil it or review it, I'm here to say it was, indeed, awesome, the fight scenes featuring Hit Girl was extremely well executed and planned, I loved the cinematography and the way it was handled. As far as I'm concerned, Hit Girl is where the movie's at. The other actors were cool, I liked Kick Ass and Red Mist, I even liked Kick Ass's friend, not the one in glasses, the other one, he looked familiar but comparing them to Hit Girl's character, they all paled immensely. She was so ruthless but so devoted to her father and equal parts badass vigilante and adorable geek girl, helping Kick Ass while also taking him down a notch. If they release her as a doll or something, I'll be adding her to my collection.

Just Rhythm Emotion

If you were a teenager or a young adult in the late 90s and early 2000s who was into anime, you can probably surmise what this post is going to be about.

Gundam Wing is one of a long running series about pilot operated futuristic robots called Gundams. It's been around since, what, the 60s?

Out of all the different series and takes on the same mythology, GW seems to be the most popular in America, I think.

I'm not sure why, in comparison to other series, that GW was more popular. Perhaps it was timing, having been released in America right in the midst of the big boom in which everyone was suddenly clamoring for anime and manga or perhaps it was the infamous yaoi fanbase that propagated underground, or the intricate and diverse backstories of the cast of characters. Although, to be fair, it seems to me the Gundam series' have all had a tradition of having complex characters, so I can't say GW was the only Gundam series to have that. More likely, I suspect, it was timing. Or the fanbase.

Anyways, I'm not going to go into detail about the plot: I found it confusing and boring, it was too political for 15 year old me. The characters I liked, but to be true, the plot and their connections to the plot went over my head and I probably missed alot of information, and such, I like characters I shouldn't and dislike characters I should like, perhaps. I digress. To be concise, I liked Gundam Wing for the boys and the fanbase, not the show or the political intrigue. Perhaps now that I'm older, I can appreciate the more nuanced subtleties of the show. Perhaps now that I'm older and rewatching the series, I'll like it better and understand it better. Maybe.

But for now, I'll go from my memories.

I got into it through friends and through the online fanbase. I was reading summaries and stories about Trowa before I saw him in action-so to speak- and I was already madly madly in love with him. He was the silent and strong, serious but acrobatic type. He was like Dick Grayson, my first fictional love, only without the sparkly panties and the nonstop wise-cracking. I just adored him, the circus acrobat who piloted the flamboyant red Gundam and who followed the other four pilots silently.

The show did have interesting parts, for me, it was the characters. I loved the parts with Trowa and Catherine at the circus, and Trowa and Heero, Trowa and Quatre, Treize, Zechs, Duo and Heero, the parts that was them in day to day life, or in non Gundam space battles and non political debates, was interesting to me, enough to keep me going.

Right from the start, I adored adored ADORED Trowa, the one with the floofy collar in the top of the picture. He was silent, and stoic, and business like but still kind and in my mind, he was just shy. Although, yeah, because of his upbringing, more likely he was just socially awkward, what with never being allowed to be a kid, and always having to be a soldier.

I liked the villains too, they were more complicated and even as a squawking fifteen year old, I could appreciate complexity in characters. Treize was the more favorite one I think. And now, apparently, I love him all the more for having had an illegitimate bastard child.

Most of all, GW was more of a community to me,than a show. My friends and I had stories we shared about the GW people, we had drawings and conversations about the series and online a whole world was open to me, where I could find stories about Trowa, as a spy, as a pirate, as a prince, as a doctor. GW was my introduction to internet fanbases, to actual fanfic sites and shrines and music videos and doujinshis. Up til GW, I only knew of the Bobby Drake site, UnFrozen, which seems to be down now, unfortunately, and I thought that was it. Sites to read and absorb information passively. GW showed me that there's people on the other end, people to email and to write to, and to fangirl over the same common like, people who formed a community.

Sailor Moon got me into the internet, and GW got me to stay.

If Only We had Wings, We Might Fly Higher

Title is from a song lyric I read somewhere and liked. And I think it suits the topic today: The Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman

In summary, the Cal Leandros series is about a half monster half human young man named Cal and his band of merry men(and women) as they try to keep New York and the world safe from Cal's monstrous relatives, the Auphe.

Basically, I read the first and second books last summer, and started the third, which I just finished recently, while on my trip to Japan last august. At first reading, they read like pretty well written fanfiction. The author has a great idea, a good grasp of mythology and seems to be enthusiastic about her characters and that feeling came across, so I was able to find enjoyment in slogging through her overuse of purple prose and nonsensical overdramatic wording. One line that came to mind is from the first book: "It took me a moment to realize that was a venomous version of a snake's wistful sigh". I'm sorry, but does that make sense to anyone? She spends too much time trying to be clever and poetical, when I prefer she spent time focusing on the story, it is a GOOD story. I found myself having a hard time reading her stuff, because her writing style was so jarring, I found myself more distracted by the wording, and so when I started the third book, I wasn't in a push to finish it. But I did recently, and I just started re-reading the first book. Let me tell you, the series is going on my list as top favorites, under 'Guilty Pleasure'. Some people have 'Twilight' some people have romances, I guess as far as guilty pleasures go, the Cal Leandros series isn't so bad.

Purple prose overkill aside, this is why I like this series. If you love 'Supernatural' this might be something up your alley. The main character, Cal, is half human half Auphe, a horrible, ruthless bloodthirsty race of monsters from another dimension. Ever since he was a teenager and was snatched away to the Auphe home dimension, he and his older brother, Niko, have been on the run from the Auphe. The bond between brothers is a favorite to be written about, and I love sibling stories, so having the two brothers be so close and so dear to each other, to the point where they will die for each other, is something I love having to read about.(Although, often, Rob Thurman will repeat that they are close brothers who love each other, rather than 'showing' it or accepting that we, the readers, already know and accept that they are awesome brothers..) Niko is pretty cool himself, a smart, self educated man in literature and martial arts, he's cool and collected and has more faith in Cal's humanity than Cal himself. Niko is also dating Promise, an older vampire heiress, who often accompanies the men on monster hunts. She's portrayed as cold but maternal. To be honest, I'm not getting much of a feel for her yet, even though it's been three books already. I'm not sure if I like her or am ambivalent about her. I guess being ambivalent about women characters is a step further than hating them. We get so many women characters who are shown as either perfect or bitchy that I can't help but hate the character for either being an unrealistic representation of women or for just being a jerk. So Promise, as an ambivalent character is ok for me. George, the young psychic that Cal is in love with(or at least until the third book...?) is the same way too. On one hand, I like her for being sassy, and strong and defiant in Cal's self-pitying sacrificial behavior, on the other, she's shown as a perfect girl, on a pedestial-in fact, Cal refers to her as his Red and Gold girl at some point, if I recall?-that I can't help but feel we are being pressured to view George in only one flat 2-d way. Even though it is through Cal's eyes that we are reading the story and such, through his eyes that we see and know George so that may very well be the reason why we only see her as the serene ever-loving girl of his dreams. Cal is pretty cool, in my book. I like him, but my favorite is the puck.

Robin Goodfellows, the immortal over-sexed charming lonely former god. The brothers Leandros met Robin at a used car lot. They blackmailed him into helping them get information on the Auphe. He got attacked because of it. But he came back. Cal saw his loneliness from endless years being the only one of his kind, and was willing to let him hang around. Over time, the two of them become friends and I totally want a later book to have the two of them go on a road trip and have wacky hijinks and high adventures culminating in a deep bro love bond like JD and Turk from 'Scrubs'. I don't know why it is Robin is my favorite, and it seems, from some cursory scanning the internet for Cal Leandro fanlove, he's a favorite of other fans too. Maybe it's because he serves as the comic relief in the story, maybe it's because he's the immortal with underground connections and who always backs the brothers up. Maybe it's because of his banter with Promise, Niko and Cal. I think, maybe, it's because when he shows up, we know something is about to go down, whether its someone's pants or a fight.

In short, the Cal Leandros series is a fun read to have in the hours before bedtime, in a comfy chair by a warm fire, or in a bubble bath. Just don't expect pulitzer level writing.

You can find her books at amazon.

"That's my good Girl'

Just recently got around to watching Supernatural's 'Abandon All Hope' episode and it left quite the impression on me.

* SPOILERS*

In the episode, Jo and Ellen Harvelle, a mother-daughter Hunter team show up and make their last stand and their finale is so heart wrenching and so tough and so amazing and perfect. They went out as heroes and as a family at the same time.

Jo, the daughter, is one of my favorite characters, I just love her independence and her sass. Even though she has the hots for Dean, and really, who doesn't? She still has enough self awareness and self esteem to not demean herself for his attention or sell herself short to be with him. I can respect a woman who would rather be a heroine than the lover, ya know?

Ellen, the mother, is just all kinds of ass kickery. She's a fierce mama bear not only to Jo but to Dean and Sam, and looks out for them all, while at the same time she doesn't cower in the corner and whimper about her babies being hurt.

In 'Abandon All Hope', Jo's mauled by a Hellhound while defending Dean and the others from these invisible monsters. She then accepts that she's going to die, tells the others to give her a way to hold the Hellhounds back, and when they try to argue with her, she shuts them down.

She's right, they need the Hellhounds to be disabled in order to reach Lucifer, and she's dying, so she might as well be the disabler.

However, Ellen is her mother, and she can't just leave her girl to do it alone. So they say their good-byes to the Winchesters and settle down to face the Hellhounds.

The following quotes that Ellen says to Jo is one of the best examples from Supernatural, if not from other media, of the love family can have and how family should be willing to sacrifice to help each other.

"Somebody's gotta let 'em in. Like you said, you're not movin'. You got me, Jo. And you're right. This is important. But I will not leave you here alone."

The men leave and Ellen's alone with her bleeding daughter. She goes on to tell her she loves her,always will.

But Jo's dead. Here we see Ellen break down. In previous appearances, she was firm, no nonsense. She would hit the men to get their attention, she didn't waste time crying or wishing things were different. She accepted it and dealt with it. To see her break down like this, seeing her realize she's outlived her only daughter, I felt so much for her. She shouldn't have lived longer than her daughter. She tells her daughter it will be ok, and sets the bombs.

She went out in a blaze, and took the Hellhounds with her.

That is how the Harvelles say good bye.

I hate that they had to die, I wish they could have made it to the end, to see all their work pay off, but if they had to go, I'm glad they went out like this. They gave the Winchesters a second chance, they gave Bobby more time. I only hope it was enough.

Seven Men, One Legend

Sol I was recently rewatching the first season of 'The Magnificent Seven' and soon I'll be watching the second season of it, but I digress.

I loved that show so so much when it was first on, even though I kept missing it, so some episodes are new to me. See, when it was on, the channel it was on kept changing the time and the night and then it wasn't on that channel, it was on a different channel, it was very frustrating and confusing, but I still loved that show so much I was willing to hunt it down and watch it.

Then it was cancelled.

So, that's the background story on the Magnificent Seven. Yes, it's a tv show based on the western movies which are in turn based on Kurosawa's Seven Samurai movie(s?) and yes, I do plan to watch them all. There's something about the theme of a group of disparate characters coming together for a common goal that appeals to me so much.

I loved that show and each character was so unique and so interesting to me, although I find that the characters I liked or disliked when I first watched it as a middle schooler have changed as a college student.

When I first watched the show, I loved loved loved Ezra, and I still do, but I liked Vin and JD next after him, and didn't care for Josiah and Buck. I still liked them, they had their moments but I was of the opinion that they were too 'weird' for me, and I hardly noticed Nathan, which is fair because they hardly seemed to give him any time at all, and Chris, well, who doesn't like Chris? When I was younger, I thought he was a jerk, but still cool, like...a bad boy with a cause, kind of thing. Wow that was the longest run on sentence ever. Vin seemed so cool back then, the casual tracker sharpshooter with a bounty on his head, that he often was my favorite character to watch but Ezra was my favorite character over all.

Now that I'm older, I still love Ezra, but I'm noticing the subtle nuances the actor put in him, the subtle eye expressions and the small smiles and frowns that I never thought of before and now Ezra, rather than the jovial devil may care con man character, is becoming the tragic but hiding it under a veneer of charm character and becoming more complex.

I don't care for JD as much, he needs to shut up and listen to the elders, and Buck and Josiah are becoming pretty cool old geezers, if you'll excuse the term. Chris is more sad than angry as I watch it more and am more familiar with people who have lost someone they cared for. Nathan still doesn't get as much screen time but Vin is becoming more of a regular guy and I find myself wondering why he doesn't just go back and fix his problems instead of running away? I guess now I just don't have patience for Vin complaining that he has a bounty but not neccessarily doing something to fix it.

So in short, I really liked that show, sure it was basic and formulaic and had some issues with the plots but come on! Cowboys! Not all of them good decent men. Even the PREACHER had issues and in a lot of ways, he was more intimidating than the whole of the rest put together.

It's clobbering time!

I'm currently re-reading the two Fantastic Four books I have in my room. The two I have are part of Mike Wieringo and Mark Waid's run. I'm not sure when they did it, or for how long, but I find their run is easily my favorite of the Fantastic Four, and quite possibly, the Marvel Universe. Considering those two men also invented my top most favoritest favorite character ever, Impulse, I might be biased. But something about the Fantastic Four series as illustrated by Wieringo and written by Waid is just so full of emotion and humor.The two books I have in my room-I have several other books from the same run in storage-are two of my favorite books: Hereafter and Rising Storm. In the first Ben dies and Reed and the others go to Heaven and battle the archangels and reject their versions of Paradise so they can bring Ben back and that story always makes me emotional. Just the idea of these people loving him so much they break into an other-dimensional realm and refuse God and his offer of time in Paradise so they can be together again in life, that's just the most perfect and beautiful example of teammwork and friendship. It's on the top of my most emotional stories ever. And the cameo they have, of presenting 'God' as, I believe, Jack Kirby? That's just..perfect.

Rising Storm, I have to re-read it, but it's pretty Johnny-centric and I love me some Johnny Storm. He ends up being chosen as Galactus's herald because Reed did something and now Johnny and Sue's powers are reversed so Sue is now the one with flame powers and Johnny is the Invisible Man. He figures out a way to keep Galactus from devouring worlds until the other Fantastic Four show up and Galactus is reverted to a humanoid man. The book shows us Galactus's past and how he ended up as the World Eater. But I really just like that in Waid's run, Johnny isn't presented as the stereotypical one sided human torch. Some stories in the past have shown Johnny to be more dimensional than we would give him credit, but most, if not all of the stories I'd read, he always ended up going back to the way he was before, and the status quo was never changed. Johnny is always the hotheaded immature brother of Sue, who plays and doesn't take anything serious. But in Waid's run, he changes. I'm not sure how things are now, what with Waid no longer writing him and the whole Civil War thing, but in Waid's run, consistence was key. Johnny was given responsibility as CFO of the Fantastic Four's business, the finances side of it, and as such he acted accordingly. He didn't go back to watching cartoons and playing around with pretty girls at the end of the issue. He continued as CFO from issue to issue and you can see his more serious an mature side coming out. Waid gave Johnny a chance to grow. Wieringo gave Johnny a really cute look-ok, I admit, I think Wieringo's version of Johnny is the best one yet and no one else has managed to capture his 'Johnny-ness' the way Wieringo did-and I love their Fantastic Four. It was serious, emotional, funny, and sweet all at once. Now I gotta go get the rest of my books out and re-read them all.

Flaunt Magazine: The Wanderlust of Anton Yelchin

Flaunt Magazine: The Wanderlust of Anton Yelchin

Currently I'm in the middle of trying to acquire the copy of this issue that has his interview, it's very thought-provoking and inspirational but whenever I try to print said article, the text is too small and faint to read!