Girls With Comics

A while back, say, 92 or so, DC decided to kill off Superman. I remember when this event happened. I was in elementary school, and had been visiting my local comic shop (at that point) very regularly. I didn’t care for Superman as a child, and as an adult I could still give a shit. My Dad on the other hand, loves Superman. We had heard about the possible death of the Mon of Steel a little bit before, and when we got to the comic shop, my young eyes were confused and amazed by grown men wearing black in honor of the fallen Superman.

And then, the next issue, he came back.

Recently, Captain America and Batman were both killed off. Both, have come back (or are comic back). While the idea of a comic character dying is good on paper, rarely do any of the publishers keep the guy dead. If you want to make a statement, keep the guy or girl dead. Do not bring them out from another planet or say they were stuck in time. They’re not Doctor Who. They are not some magical time lord. Just keep them dead. While I may not be thrilled with Bruce Wayne being dead (because I’m not), I would respect you much more if he would just stay dead. No, he’s coming back.

This would also be why modern comics blow loads. The only series worth a damn right now is Lenore, which is published maybe 2 times every 10 years.

-Lauren

So I finally got my copy of Jughead #200, and read it. While I really have not read an Archie comic in a while (I still really love the art), I’m starting to wonder why I stopped!  The writer, Tom Root (of Robot Chicken fame) is funny as hell. This comic is full of one liners or facial expressions that are actually, really funny.

Rex W. Lindsay is the main artist, and his art never puts a frown on my face. His cartoony, fluid lines and facial expressions really bring the 60+ year old characters to life.

Seriously, so read it. You won’t be disappointed!

-Lauren

While the story is still good, and the cross over with Red Robin is fun, I do not like this new artist. Batgirl’s lips piss me off to high heaven.

Jughead has had his 200th comic! While this boggles my mind since technically Jughead has had his own comic since 1949, what do I know. The variant cover is cool, but the regular Dan Parent cover kicks just as much ass!

I still think Avatar sucked.

Justice League: Cry For Justice ended. It was a good ending, and it was nice to see Green Arrow do his thing. I’m looking forward to reading the new Flash series.

Chris Evans as Captain America makes me happy because he’s hot. Beyond that I don’t give a damn.

-Lauren

What can I say that has not already been said. This autobiography of Marjane Satrapi’s young life in Iran is surprisingly warm and brilliant. The conflict in the novel, stemming from her being a girl in Iran, still hits close to home. There are tons of similarities between herself and any other child; She has dreams. She wants to listen to rock and roll but society doesn’t allow it. Growing up I wanted to listen to some pretty shitty music, and my parents were against it. Her family has dreams of her having a brighter, happier future in Iran, a dream that is too this day not yet realized.

What really hit home was her desire to just be a normal child. She buys bootleg heavy metal albums. She wears a denim jacket. She  does all of the things a normal kid would do in a normal rebellious situation, however unlike you and I, she could have been arrested or killed for being so out spoken. When she is sent to Austria to go to school, she is treated unfairly due to her heritage. Faced with discrimination and fake friends, she points out more than once they all take their freedom for granted. And we all do. I can not imagine being arrested simply because I wore a denim jacket.

The book is amazing. I have yet to see the movie, but I will soon. If you have not read this novel (and really, why haven’t you) pick it up today. Or tomorrow. Just get it by the end of the week. You will not be sorry.

-Lauren