Saturday, May 22, there is going to be a free comic book show at the Windup Space in Baltimore. The address is:
THE WINDUP SPACE
12 W. North Ave,
Baltimore MD 21201
The show will be from 2-7pm. I’ll be there wearing my Jughead crown. Stop on by and say hi!
-Lauren
Last night I went to my local $4 theater (yes we have one), to see the movie adaptation of Diary Of A Wimpy Kid. This is easily one of my favorite kids series, but since book to movie adaptations usually fall flat on their face, I was a little weary going in. The movie overall is really cute. There were some things that were made for the film, and some things that were left out. The use of animation was clever and a great touch.
Zachary Gordon plays Greg, the 12-year-old protagonist we all know and love from the books. Gordon is simply adorable as Greg. He’s pretty convincing too. Greg in the book is mostly a selfish asshole who has to learn right from wrong on his own, and Gordon has that down. Gordon loses some cool points tho, since according to Wikipedia he also plays Young Aquaman’s voice in Batman: Brave And The Bold. And as we all know, Aquaman can die in a fire. Robert Capron plays Rowley, the dimwitted but good-hearted best friend. Capron also plays a great Rowley, and even looks like him. Sort of. I’m not sure how closely one can resemble a stick figure from a book. Devon Bostick plays Greg’s older brother, Roderick, and I think I have a big girl crush on him. I would have been alright with seeing more of him in the movie.
The rest of the cast was more or less decent.
A few of the new things added for the movie, was the invention of the 7th grader Angie–played by Hit Girl/Chloe Moretz–who is supposed to be there as Greg’s conscience. Her character was unneccessary, as Greg has to figure out he’s a tool on his own. The mother-son dance was also just filler, although it was nice to see Greg’s mom get some more screen time. Patty is also very prominent in the movie, and attempts to beat up Greg throughout most of the film.
Much of the humor found in the books is lost in the movie. It still had some hilarious parts, but for the most part is was a cute kids movie. I was not disappointed in it, but I wasn’t overly impressed either. I would probably buy it on DVD just because I would like to see more Diary movies made.
-Lauren
Raise your hand if you were under the notion her strip ended a few decades ago.
After 85 years, her strip–which has only been in select newspapers for the past few years–is being pulled from the comic section. Instead she will be transformed into an internet comic strip, in hoped of alluring new fans! I do like Annie, but I simply don’t see her appeal to kids these days. I just don’t think she can hold up to say, Archie, who has proven to be able to maintain a steady readership for 60+ years.
However, I wish her all the best, and I hope that at some point in time she gets a set of pupils.
http://www.argus-press.com/news/national/article_e380da02-1741-5c79-ae67-090f7fd039a9.html
-Lauren
While driving to the doctor today, my mind randomly though of Lupin the Third. An older anime, for sure, yet entirely enduring through time, Lupin is simply awesome. I fell in love with Miyazaki’s Castle of Cagliostro, however his portrayal of Lupin was unlike the Monkey Punch Lupin. Miyazaki made him a gentleman, and not so much a deviant like he really is. However, that is the Lupin I love.
The actual Lupin is a womanizer, a deviant, a devil and what have you, but I love him just as much. The character, much like Archie, can change with the times. Fujiko, the beautiful gold digger, is just as great as Lupin. Their eternal hate to love, love to hate, and love to sleep with relationship is a treat. Jigen, Ishikawa and Zenigata are all great too.
Anyhow, all of this was to lead up to one of my favorite Lupin things: The live action movie from the 70’s.
-Lauren
I didn’t want to put “conservative”, but the two almost go hand in hand.
Since Kevin, the new gay Archie character, is still a hot topic for fans, I sat and thought about how anyone could mistake Archie Comics as being conservative, or Christian based comics. And then I opened one of my long boxes, and pulled out a few Spire Comics featuring Archie and the gang. I remember when I bought these. Dad and I were at a shop an hour away from my house. I pulled out a comic from a rack that looked like Archie, flipped through it, saw him talking about Jesus, and promptly put it back. Now, for the record, I am Jewish. I never thought Archie was religious. I had never, in my young life, seen him mention any kind of God (well, he does celebrate Christmas) or act in any religious way.
Frankly, the comic shocked and even scared me. Archie was just a person, with no religion, nor was he liberal or conservative; Riverdale was just a magical place where everyone belonged. No one was nothing but a person with a name and a personality. Seeing Archie mention Jesus threw me for a loop. Needless to say, I bought the book for a buck, took it home, and read it front to back. The internet was still pretty new at the time, so Google didn’t exactly exist.
Eventually I asked the owner of my local comic shop. He told me about Spire, and how they were allowed to use the characters since Al Hartley, the Spire artist, also worked at Archie. I was still pretty upset, but since it wasn’t published by Archie, I got over it. However, this may have triggered the thought process–in many people–as to Archie being a good conservative/Christian comic. Simply put, they are not.
In an early Archie’s Girls Betty and Veronica, there was a story where Betty, Veronica and Jughead go to eat at a Chinese restaurant. The waiter, who is inked with enough yellow ink to last a few years, asks them if they need more “lice”. That would not fly in today’s comics. I bet 10 to 1 that if you’re bitching about the gay character–who is not being stereotyped–saw that in today’s Archie comics, you would be offended. Well, so would I! However, given the time frame when that story was published, that was acceptable in society. Seeing as how Dan Parent is doing the whole Kevin thing, I’ll go out on a limb and say he will not be written or drawn in a rude, stereotypical way. He will simply exist in Riverdale, where everyone can be accepted as a human being. And really, isn’t that a beautiful thing we want to teach our kids?
-Lauren
Well, so far the ongoing blackest night saga has been pretty good. I’m still not sure how I feel about the ending of Blackest Night, but I certainly did enjoy it.
I like that DC somehow tied in Bruce Wayne’s “death”, by spinning it into him being lost, rather than dead. While it was a little predictable, I’m also glad Bruce Wayne is not dead. However, that being said, why the fuck did Aquaman come back. Mera was so much more interesting as an angry mermaid bitch then someone who actually loves that assclown Aquaman. They could have kept him dead. I really would have been a lot happier with Mera being miserable and taking it out on people. How cool would that have been!?
Oh, and Deadman coming back. That was also stupid. But he did bring a dead baby bird back to life, and that was kind of awesome. Aside from that, I have nothing else to say about Brightest Day. Hopefully it will be awesome and blow my mind.
-Lauren
Guess who is not celebrating Mother’s Day this year?
Batman. Zing!
Happy Mother’s Day!
-The girls at Girls With Comics.
But first, a story from my life.
I went to eat dinner before the movie at California Pizza Kitchen. While I was in the bathroom, I had the misfortune of my eyes staring at these girls God ugly cowboy boots. Of course the girl got in my face for “staring at her ass”. In the nicest way I could muster I laughed and said “You don’t have much of an ass to look at. By the way, we’re not in Texas.” She left in a huff, and my life went on. I know a comic nerd usually doesn’t give out fashion advice, but seeing as how I care for my fellow man, I feel that I can tell you that cowboy boots are fucking stupid. Unless you are riding a horse or are in Texas, do not wear them. I will find you. I will humiliate you.
Moving on.
Before that, let me say this now: THERE IS SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Iron Man 2!! It was long, it was kind of confusing. The main plot is that Tony needs a new material to keep his arc reactor going, or else he’s going to die. The palladium inside of his arc reactor is slowing poisoning him. I think they tried to touch on his alcoholism, but it fell on its face. Don Cheadle as Rhodes works better. ScarJo wasn’t half bad, and I really enjoyed watching her kick ass. Ivan as Whiplash kind of felt out of places, or vastly under used. Justin Hammer was the main villain, but other than an almost school yard rivalry with Stark, he too seems just useless. The romance between Stark and Pepper was amped up, and I was really happy with the out come. RDJ again, brilliant as Stark. I really think Favreau hit the nail on the head with getting him as Iron Man.
Again, the plot. I don’t really know what was going on. It was like a rough draft. The movie was heading in a lot of right directions, but I think they needed to be more clear. The action scenes were terrific. The use of Captain America’s shield was amazing. AND SIT THROUGH THE CREDITS. I cheered with nerdy joy. You will too.
Overall, I give this a solid B. I will see this movie again, hopefully in IMAX!
-Lauren
Honestly, if children never get exposed, or gain an interest in comic books, this hobby will die. I happily give out comics to kids I know (their parents are usually co-workers of mine) just to get them interested. Some parents are against their children reading comics. To them I propose this:
Chances are you have a young child who does not want to read traditional books. They are boring, no pictures, ect. However, they do want to read comic books. Don’t stop them. They are still reading. While some comics are truly not meant for kids, there are LOADS of kid friendly books–Archie, Tiny Titans, Batman: The Brave And The Bold, Shazam, Sonic, Owly, and more. If it gets a kid to read, I don’t see the problem. And be pro-active in what your child reads. Do not just hand them a stack of Batman books and say “Good luck.” Read them as well. When I was a kid, my reading level was 3-4 grades ahead because I read comic books very actively. Even my dad read the books with me. I still catch him flipping through a Jughead every now and again!
To those of you who are totally for your kids reading comics, bravo! Keep up the good work!
-Lauren
Girls With Comics 