Girls With Comics

After some months of having these comics sitting on my desk, I finally sat down and read them. I’m not sure what took me so long, but reading all four issues of this mini series in one sitting was a brilliant idea.

This series is best summed up as ‘what if the Archie comics universe was more realistic, and Archie decided to one day kill Veronica?’ because that’s what it is. Riley Richards is a broken man living in the big city with his heiress wife, Felix Doolittle. He has all but left behind his old life in his small town, until his mother calls him up telling him his father has stomach cancer. Riley leaves the city just in time to say goodbye to his father, and that’s when everything starts to spiral out of control. His best friend Freakout has been sober for one year, but with the “help” of Riley quickly goes back to his old ways. The girl next door, Lizzie Gordon, is suddenly back in the picture. As for Felix, she’s having an affair with Riley’s rival Teddy, and Riley knows it. Wanting an escape to get back to his old “perfect” life, Riley creates an imperfect plan to murder Felix, and frame Teddy while doing so.

The series is nothing short of brilliant. Riley is a piece of shit, Felix is a spoiled brat, and Lizzie doesn’t know any better. Freakout is a sad excuse for a human being, and the only one who really suffers here is Teddy. Perhaps this is the most realistic portrayal of Archie anyone will ever see. This is how Riverdale is, or should be, if Archie wasn’t a comic aimed at kids. The art switches from gritty to cartoony without warning. It works. The writing is fantastic, and really exploits all of the negative traits the Archie cast has. This is a comic you need to read, that’s all you really need to know.

‘Criminal: The Last Of The Innocent’ is by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.

-Lauren

2011 was a fantastic year for nerds, geeks, social nerds, and everyone in between. From movies, shows, comics, and more, this year was very much full of nerd goodness.

The Good:

The Green Hornet: Despite that most people didn’t like this movie, I did. Jay Chou literally stole the show as Kato. It’s easy to forget there were other characters because he was so good.

Thor: What a fantastic movie. Funny, solid, and to the point.

X-Men First Class: This reboot was AWESOME. We can finally forget that X3 and Wolverine ever happened. Here is the start of a terrific X-Men franchise.

Captain America: America, fuck yea!

Young Justice: If you haven’t been watching this show, you’re missing out. It’s a more of a serious show that appeals to both kids and adults. Cartoon Network did good with this one.

Brightest Day ending: This series was terrible and I’m glad it’s over.

The Bad:

Green Lantern: Oh man. I love GL, but this movie was pathetic. Lousy acting, characterization, and just over all not good. If only DC could make magical movies like Marvel does.

The Walking Dead season 2: NOTHING HAPPENS IN IT UNTIL THE END. Hope you enjoy prolonged episodes about doing nothing but hanging out at a barn. Some kid was missing, she was found, and then zombies were killed. This all happened during the last 10 minutes of the last episode of this year. Otherwise the show really let me down.

The New 52: Barbara Gordon can walk again and is now Batgirl, thus eliminating Stephanie Brown? Lame. Superman is kind of a dick and his uniform makes my eyes burn? Lame. Justice League issue 1 has nothing of real value and is a fluff issue? Double lame. While Catwoman shines in her solo issue, everything else is just sub par. Hopefully within a year everything will go back to normal.

Price decrease…then they went back up: How come three months ago I was paying $2.99, but now my comics have magically gone back up? Suck my nuts, comic companies.

Batman: Brave And The Bold ending: This show was campy and fun, but ultimately came to an end. I’ll miss it.

Green Lantern cartoon: While I like that it jumps right into the story, the four-year old I babysit summed it up best: “This is lame.”

Can’t wait for 2012!

-Lauren

Out of all the “new” titles DC is pumping out, I only read two: Batgirl and Catwoman.

While hoards of people out there are shocked and dismayed by the rampant sex that is prancing through the pages of this comic series so far, I for one am not bothered by it. Traditionally Catwoman is a sexual character. In Batman Returns she was a deliciously sexy beast in a stitched up suit, and through the Batman history she’s always had a sexual thing with Batman. This comic just shoved it in your face.

Judd Winick has the character down better than anyone I’ve seen. She’s quick, witty, and you can’t help but to root for her. She is the perfect anti-hero in this comic. Above all else the art by Guillem March is amazing. I’ve been a fan of his since his work with Gotham City Sirens, and I’m thrilled he’s drawing the new Catwoman. He draws her with the dangerously sexy curves I’ve always fancied her to have. The duo have created a sexy and dangerous love interest (and foe) for Batman, and so far I love it.

The story so far is pretty basic. She pissed someone off, and is squatting from home to home. With the help of her pal Lola she seems to be good to go. That is untill a new villain–Bone–finds Lola and kills her. There’s much more to this story then that, and the comic is only 2 issues in.

Needless to say, so far so good.

-Lauren