Labor Day Overload
Ok, so I'm totally wussing out this week. Between the holiday(BBQ in 2 hours), the house hunting (fingers crossed) and the anniversary (5 years married, 14 dating), I am so out of time for the week. I am reading Spider-Woman Origin, and Astounding Wolfman for next week though, and so far, I am really happy. I just don't have time to do the necessary stuff that equals a podcast this week. So I am not gone, just up to my eyeballs in stuff. Oh, and if you were waiting with breathless anticipation to find out if my computer switcharoo was successful, I give you the answer that you seek. It was definitely a fail. Lucky for me, it simply didn't work. An Epic Fail would have been taking apart the old machine, realizing that I wouldn't be able to get the new machine running, and then finding out that I had done something to break the old machine. In this case I was able to put all the peripherals back together and it came up just fine. Or just like normal anyway. I imagine that computer like a grumpy old woman in a housedress, telling all the neighbor kids to leave her cat alone. Kind of like the computer equivalent of "get off my lawn" Sigh. So thanks to everyone emailing and commenting. I love to hear from you guys. If you have any questions of suggestions, just drop me a line. I'll talk to you all next week Angela
New Avengers Took Over My Brains....
 Hey again. The weather is beautiful this week, and I am healthy again, so no weird "how fast can I get it recorded?" show this week. I'm posting this a little early because I get to go back out to the store and see if I can swap out the cash register computer for one that actually works. If you are one of my regulars, odds are that you have been in while it was doing its update thing. Everyday, usually around 2ish, the computer does a virus scan update, but the scheduler is locked behind a password that no-one seems to be sure of. So we have to wait while it eats up all the system resources and grinds sales to a halt. This happened recently at a really bad time. There were a couple of guys standing near the register and having a loud conversation about how much they hate the government, and what they'd like to... um.... do about it. In sort of graphic terms. This poor woman came in and just wanted to buy some Wonder Woman stuff for a present, and the computer seizes up. She's standing there, looking more and more uncomfortable, and I'm trying to just appear calm and competent with all the loud nonsense coming from right behind her. Pretty quickly I gave up on the computer, and did the transaction by hand with a calculator. I told her if she needed her receipt she could come back for it. She looked me in the eyes, and said with desperate sincerity, " I don't need a receipt. I just need to GO". So it's time to do the computer switcheroo.  New Release Sandman Presents: Dead Boys Detectives Written by Ed Brubaker; Cover by Dave McKean; Art by Bryan Talbot and Steve Leialoha Yes, I know. More Sandman stuff. It's good though, I promise. This one came out in singles in 2001, and is just coming out collected this week. I really enjoyed this one with all it's creepy darkness. There's just something nice about ghost detectives that have play sword fights while dressed as Sherlock Holmes.  Marvel
New Avengers Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Ok, so I kind of read the entire run of New Avengers this week. I was just going to pick one up, read it, review it, and get on with my day. Instead, I read volume after volume until I got to the end of Vol 7 and realized that now I am caught up with where I started reading the singles with Secret Invasion. So obviously I really liked it, but there's a little too much ground to cover to easly sum up what I read. I will say that I really like the team dynamic that we see with Captain America, Iron Man and Luke Cage feeling like the core power structure. I also really liked the ongoing drama around Spider Woman. And I now have a total comic crush on Luke Cage. So. Yeah. I hit this one hard this week, and really liked it a lot.
 Dark Horse Conan Vol 01 The Frost Giants Daughter & Other Stories Written by Kurt Busiek ; Art by Cary Nord & Thomas Yeates Hmmm. So parts of this I really liked. And parts of it made me uncomfortable. It is a great story in the barbarian tradition. The art is gorgeous and easy to follow. Unfortunately, all the women are either throw away plot objects, coniving devil women, or harem girl slaves. Conan even tries to rape one of them. So, while I thought the book was beautiful, and the stories well told, I kept getting squicked by the sort of misogynistic use of women in the story. I will probably read the next volume just to see where the story goes, but right now, I don't think I would recommend it to most of my female customers. Men: sure, ladies: not so much.  Viz Black Cat Vol 01 Art and Story by Kentaro Yabuki This one is not really a fair review, because it's the first volume in a 20 book series (13 so far in US). I intend to continue this one, so we will talk about it again. I was pleasantly surprised with how serious the story was. Having just flipped through it before it looked sort of silly, but having now read the whole book, I find that it has some really human characters with complex histories and motivations. The bounty hunter plotline makes the part of me that loves Cowboy Bebop happy. I do think the anatomy of the male characters is a little strange, giving them grown-up looking bodies, but sort of tiny, kid proportioned heads. I got used to it after awhile though. Alright. Wish me luck on the computers. I'm giving it about 50/50 odds that I'll be able to get it done with no major deal-breaking hang-ups. Subscribe to my podcast to get the full reviews. Or click here to listen to it now.
Greetings PX!ers
Hey, folks from PX! The following is a shameless plug: For those who don't know, my husband and our friend Manny do a webcomic called PX! which is short for Panda Xpress, and does contain a panda. An atomic powered panda, even. I have been putting off mentioning it because I didn't want it to be weird, like I was showing favoritism or something. Since he linked to me though, it's only fair if I link back, right? My boys' book was Eisner nominated in 2, count 'em 2 categories at Comic-con this year, and though they didn't win, they did lose to Joss Whedon. Which is kind of like winning, anyway. Joss Whedon is cool. So if you have time, and if you want to know why I have a comic-crush on someone named "Wikkity," you should go check out the pinkness that is PX! 
Sick, but here for YOU!
This week is brought to you by Fred Meyer brand decongestants. I have a nasty ear infection, and it's making me feel like I have a permanent hang-over. On top of that, the high was 107 F in Spokane today. Since I have to turn off the air conditioner and the fan to record, you get a quick and dirty podcast this week, with a small cameo from my cat.   New Release Simon Dark : What Simon Does Written by Steve Niles; Art and cover by Scott Hampton This was really great. I remember reading The Crow when was 17, and this gives me the same kind of joy. It is a dark mystery, but the main character has no memory, and the innocence of a child. This is one I will be following.  Marvel
Punisher Welcome Back Frank Written by Garth Ennis, Pencils by Steve Dillon
Andy left me a note telling me to read this one. According to him, it's better than sex. I don't know that I would go that far, but it's definitely a good read. I love it when Ennis and Dillon work together. Yeah, we gotta cover the Preacher.
 Vertigo Books Of Magic Written by Neil Gaiman; Art by Art by John Bolton, Charles Vess, Paul Johnson, and Scott Hampton Yay, another great classic from Neil Gaiman. I warned you I was kind of a fan-girl. I read this ages ago, before I knew who half (or most) of the characters were. Reading it again was totally different, and way cooler. That said, this is a good book to introduce new readers to a bunch of the cool magic using characters in the DC universe. It was followed up by a really great series of the same name, but sadly, most of that is out of print.  Udon Tales of the Grim Peddler Art and Story By Lee Joung-A I'm always a sucker for retellings of classic stories, and this book was no exception. The art is beautiful and clean, while still having a delicate intricacy that is perfect for stories like Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid. Lee gives the stories a creepy twist that really works. Another winner from an excellent Korean artist. Ok, My decongestants are totally wearing off, and I'm calling it a night. Thanks for listening to my bleary ramblings. Subscribe to my podcast to get the full reviews. Or click here to listen to it now.
I'm Old
When a 8-10 year old kid comes wearing a Beavis & Butthead shirt, that means their parents used to watch it when they were kids. Weird.
I don't always like everything
Hello to the little handful of readers from Europe! How on earth are people in Berlin finding me? I hope I don't sound too tired this week. I have spent pretty much all day recording, first engineering for my friends, the band Sidhe, and then with this. I'm going to be editing in my sleep tonight, but it's totally worth it. On to the Comics!  New Release Foolkiller: Fools Paradise Writer Gregg Hurwitz, Pencils Paul Azaceta Wow. Um. This was awful. I know that there are people out there that are going to like this book, but I am not one of them. The whole thing felt kind of like Punisher fanfic done by that kid in Jr High that everyone is afraid is going to snap. The art is good looking though, so points for that.  DC
Batman Tales of the Demon Art by Neal Adams, Irv Novick, Dick Giordano and others
This collection of short stories was dense and rich with the old school Detective gumshoe goodness. I wish I could say that the cover made more sense. I had this book on the counter for a couple of days last week as I tried to find time to read it. People kept seeing the flung out Robin and the broken-hearted Batman on the cover and going "Ooh! What's this?" Robin only appears in 2 of the stories in the book, and he doesn't really get enough page time to be given that level of cover exposure. He's got great gams though.
 Vertigo Sandman Vol 01 Preludes & Nocturnes Written by Neil Gaiman; Art by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, and Malcolm Jones, III; Painted Cover by Dave McKean Reading this book was like having dinner with an old friend. This was my first graphic novel, back when I was a little grunge/goth teenager. Now that I am a grown-up person, I have the posh Absolute Edition. Wow. The new coloring is amazing. They updated the colors and shading and it's way less garish than my old paperback. If you have the $$ to drop on the fancy ones, go for it. No matter what, everyone should read these. If you have not yet, consider it your homework.  Viz Nightmare Inspector Story & Art by Shin Mashiba Yay! More great manga! Like last week's excellent books, I read both of the available volumes in one sitting. The books are short story collections revolving around a "dream eater" He helps out clients with thier arcane and sometimes spooky problems in exchange for the dream or nightmare that is the root of thier problem. Which he then eats. Cause he's a dream eater. Some of the stories were creepy as heck, and some were dark but sweet. I look forward to Vol 03 of this series, which should be out soon. Subscribe to my podcast to get the full reviews. Or click here to listen to it now.
Now on Itunes
Girls Don't Read Comics, now with theme musicSpecial welcome to Matt Watson and Sami and Jesse and Swiss. It's so nice to hear from friends, and know that someone is listening. This is also an exciting week, because this is my first week as an official Itunes Podcast. I know it's not that huge a deal, there are thousands of free podcasts on Itunes. But if you do a search in the store for Girls Don't Read Comics, my show comes up. And that makes me happy. I had a lot of fun reading this weeks books:  New Release Thor Vol 01 Story by J. Michael Straczynski , art by Olivier Coipel This was actually my first experience with the comic book character Thor. I grew up reading mythology, so the Norse god of thunder is a familiar figure to me. I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I found was a good looking book, with a cool story and a lead character that I felt I could really understand. I can't wait to read more, but now I'm behind on the issues. I'll just have to wait for the next collection.  Marvel
Young Avengers Vol 01Sidekicks Writer Allan Heinberg Pencils Jim Cheung
I admit, before Secret Invasion, I hadn't really spent any time with any of the Avengers titles. I had a customer wax poetic about this one a few weeks back, so I thought I'd give it a go. I really dug it. I liked how they didn't know what they were doing at first, really. I bought that they were young and inexperienced and it worked for me. I look forward to spending time with these, and now I need to go back and read Avengers Disassembled. Darn.
 Vertigo Heavy Liquid Story & Art by Paul Pope I read this one based on a recommemdation by Matt (not the Matt above), manager at the main Comic Book Shop. I'm really glad he put it in my hand, because I probably would not have read it otherwise. I really don't care to much for the color, but everything else is so very good. I love a good tale of a dark future, and I love some noir tastyness. This delightfully combines the two with a raw-edged visual style. In the podcast I keep saying it's intense. It's intense.  Seven Seas Hollow Fields Vol 01 Story & Art by Madeleine Rosca I almost feel bad playing favorites, but I had a lot of fun with this book. I actually read the Vol 02 right away, and when I finished it, I was dying to read the Vol 03, but I have to wait for it to ship. This is a great all-ages rated story. It's probably better for girls than for boys, but you don't have to be a kid to enjoy it. I got the same sort of kick out of this that I got out of Harry Potter, but in a much smaller dose. I'm going to make it a goal to send it home with someone this week. If you have time, click the picture, and go read the sample at the publisher's website. Subscribe to my podcast to get the full reviews. Or click here to listen to it now.
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