#The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe

[avengerscompound]

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe (2016)

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: July 2024

I read a lot more than I was expecting this month but I ain't complaining. Here's how I spent the month of July!

……….FILM……….

Evil Dead II (1987) Didn't love Evil Dead (not that it's not good, I just get too spooked by straight horror) but had no idea that this would be what it is. Puppets and stop motion! Looney Tune antics! Magic with rules! This is my kinda movie and I'm baffled the modern films in the franchise don't try for this sort of energy.

Poor Things (2003) It took a while for me to settle into this, but around the time Dafoe's Godwin explains Bella's condition, I was all in. It's a dreamlike movie with dreamlike logic so despite some of the discourse I tried not to take too much of it literally. Beautiful and far funnier than I expected.

……….TELEVISION……….

Columbo (Episode 1.04 to 1.07) Gosh I love the era of television where each episode was self-contained. Episode 7 features Columbo smoking in a doctor's office and I was not at all expecting him to comment on the dangers of tobacco, but he did! I notice this first season only had a handful of episodes with the classic "oh one more thing" schtick so I'm curious if that pops up more in later seasons.

Scavenger's Reign (Episode 1.01 to 1.12) This is a show where I sit down, turn it on, and while the beautiful opening credits play, think, "I wonder what horrifying imagery is gonna f*** me up this episode?" The animation and design are sooooooo good that it made up for the occasionally baffling writing. Please go watch it so a second season can get greenlit.

Bridgerton (Episode 3.05 to 3.08) I missed a few eps there in the middle but it all worked. That final party, and all that went with it (the speech, the bugs, the reveal of who paid for it) was 10/10. Good stuff.

……….YOUTUBE……….

Yoko and The Beatles by Lindsay Ellis Yoko Ono didn't break up the Beatles. And while this video essay expands on the factors that DID split up the band, it's also a really great dive into the weight of fame and the weight of fame on women. VIDEO

Was starting a product business a mistake? by Simone Giertz An honest and detailed insight into the dream vs. reality of small business and internet fame. Looks like it's going to be a full series and I'm looking forward to more. VIDEO

……….READING……….

N or M by Agatha Christie (Complete) Spy Thriller set during the Second World War? With a husband/wife spy duo? Oh heck yeah. Sometimes I find the clues to be a little convoluted/unnecessarily obscure but this one struck a great balance of visible but easily forgettable.

The Knight of the Swords by Michael Moorcock (Complete) Having first read the comic adaptation (penciled by Mike Mignola!) I now realize some of my issues (pacing, understanding the abstract) work better in novel form. An elevated pulp adventure that has some great ironic twists.

Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula or The Adventure of the Sanguinary Count by Loren D. Estleman (Complete) Thrift find purchased based on the premise alone. Exactly what you'd expect but not much beyond that. It's at its best when you get Dracula directly interacting with Holmes and/or Watson.

Spider-Verse by Dan Slott, Christos N. Gage, Mike Costa, Dennis Hopeless, and many many more (Complete) Really enjoyed reading this but am baffled by its production. Why the issues aren't collected in chronological order, I'll never know. I know the book is over ten years old now but the writing (especially all of the Spider-Women) really stands out as...not great. All but the Superior Spider-Man essentially sound the same (perhaps the point?) but Gwen and Jess and Cindy mostly talk about things like body image and pheromones and it's glaring. I'm curious what I'll think upon a second readthrough (reading in order, and after the first wave of nostalgia has completely rinsed off) but I definitely think this story walked so the movies could break the speed of sound.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe! by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Complete) North's writing and Henderson's artwork are the perfect blend for such a bright and enthusiastic character. Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is such a great series (which I gotta go back and finish) and this is an equally great introduction to the character.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man Vol 1 by by Nick Spencer, Marcos Martin, and Steve Leiber (Complete) I was really excited for this series (the premise! the cover art!) but the pacing, humour, and art just didn't connect. Honestly really bummed that I didn't like this more.

……….AUDIO……….

3D6 Down the Line (Podcast) A nice change of pace from the modern D&D games I play in. They use Old School Essentials for their system (more akin to 2nd Edition D&D) and play with a mindset similar to the 70s style of play (treasure for experience, everything is lethal). I'm still having trouble distinguishing some of the voices from each other, but it's a great listen.

……….GAMING……….

Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) Tuesday crew watched a peaceful inauguration and gained notoriety for saving a neighbourhood from roaming monsters (you can read all about it here!) and the Mof1 crew is dabbling in dangerous contracts with dangerous people (all for a cap that controls the winged monkeys).

And that's it. See you in August!

[specificpollsaboutbooks]

(Unverified yet) submissions for fiction works with footnotes :

Discworld (Terry Pratchett)

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)

Babel (R.F. Kuang)

You Feel It Just Below The Ribs (Jeffrey Cranor & Janina Matthewson)

House of Leaves (Mark Z. Danielewski)

Nation (Terry Pratchett)

The Bartimaeus Trilogy (Jonathan Stroud)

Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians: The Dark Talent (Brandon Sanderson)

How to Train your Dragon (Cressida Cowell)

2001 : A Space Odyssey (Arthur C. Clarke)

The Name of This Book is Secret (Pseudonymous Bosch)

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Heather Fawcett)

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (Susanna Clarke)

Pale Fire (Vladimir Nabokov)

Revenge of the Translator (Brice Matthieussent)

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe (Ryan North and Eric Henderson)

The Nevernight Chronicle (Jay Kristoff)

[squancy]

Squirrel Girl wielding Mjolnir

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up The Marvel Universe (2016)

[arojenniferwalters]

Canon AroAces 240/?: Gwendolyn "Gwen" Poole/ Gwenpool in Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe! #1 (2016)

[dova-70]

Let me tell you something about Squirrel Girl. Doreen Allene Green first appeared in Marvel's super-heroes 1991 as a joke character who helped Iron Man defeat doctor doom, and would only make short appearances until the series "Great Lakes Avengers", who were all joke characters, trying to work to be taken more seriously. She would leave them, because she felt that she was holding them back. How, you ask, was she doing this? She was beating the bad guys so bad, the others didn't have a chance to fight, so they never improved. She would often beat the bad guy before they got there. She defeated Thanos, who, I believe, had the infinity gauntlet, during this time.

She was also part of the U.S Avengers, was a nanny to the New Avengers, and was shown to be, at some point in the future, the leader of the main team of Avengers.

As you might guess, her powers are all squirrel themed; proportional speed, strength, and agility of a squirrel, retractable claws that come from under her nails, knuckle spikes, constantly growing teeth, love of nuts, and the innate ability to speak squirrelese, the language of squirrels. Her most powerful ability, however, is her "cosmic level empathy", which is used to make friends with Tony Stark, a Sentinel, Kraven the Hunter, Galactus, The Rhino, The Hippo, and a skrull, as well as being able to see the good in t-rex-Ultron, and allow him to regrow into something nicer; namely, a metal, laser eyed, oak tree.

She had her own stand alone comic run from 2015-2019, involving an 8-issue short series, a full 50-issue series, and a graphic novel, "Squirrel-Girl Beats up the Marvel Universe", as well as an in-character podcast on Spotify, named "The Unbeatable Radio Show", after her title, "The Unbeatable Squirrel-Girl", In 2020, where she had started a radio show, and would answer listener questions, have celebrity guests, and solve an overarching plotline of an art thief who would call in to the show as they were stealing.

She isn't alone in her fight against crime, with her superhero friends "Chipmunk Hunk", "Koi Boi", "Brain Drain", and her non superhero friend, Nancy Whitehead. She also has had several squirrel friends throughout her life, with the standout two being Monkey Joe, (RIP Monkey Joe), and Tippy-Toe.

In her own comic, she's a student at Empire State University, studying computer science, and living with Nancy and her (their) cat, Mew. She teaches a beginner level computer science night class, and has been known to enjoy sightseeing, such as when she travelled with the Silver Surfer to see the Living Tribunal.

There was production on a "Young Avengers" TV series, which would show Doreen in a main role, however, it was cancelled before ever showing. It's largely speculated that The show's female lead, and apparent queer themes, were largely to blame for the show being cut.

Everyone reading should go read squirrel girl. She has the powers of squirrel and girl! She eats nuts and kicks butts!

favorite character from any media BUT it has to be a woman. in the tags now go (pls talk to me about your favorite fictional women pls pls pls pls)

[koraesrambles]

KORAES SUPER DUPER COMIC READING CHALLENGE 2024

Alright, I've decided to set a goal for myself. I've been binge reading comics for over a year but only of a specific variety and it's time to expand my tastes. Especially since OUTCAST ODYSSEY is updating on webtoons. The more comics I read, the better my own comic should be, right? I mean, supposedly.

I decided to read 100 of the top graphic novels on goodreads. The list spans all ages and genres, so there's going to be some VARIETY here. There are some graphic novels I've already read (like Maus or Calvin and Hobbes) that I didn't include. I dunno if I could handle reading Maus again (It stabs you in the heart, twists it and pulls it from your chest still beating, but instead of being happy about it like I am with fiction it's soured by the realization that this actually happened and then I want to die).

Here's the list I copy and pasted from Goodreads. If you don't see your favorite on here, add it! I need to read all of the things!

Watchmen

V for Vendetta

Batman the Dark Night Returns

Saga

The Complete Persepolils

The Sandman

Y: The Last Man

Batman: Year One

Batman: The Long Halloween

The Walking Dead

Preacher

Sin City

Locke & Key

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Fables

From Hell

Blankets

Fun Home: A family tragicomic

The Arrival

Haven

The Far Side Gallery

Marvels

Kick-Ass

Habibi

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Pride of Baghdad

Cult Girls

The Crow

The Absolute Batman: Hush

Chew

Amulet

X-men: The Dark Pheonix

American Born Chinese

The Umbrella Academy

Kingdom Come

The Absolute Death

Marvel 1602

Sweet Tooth

The Cartoon History of the Universe

Transmetropolitan

Superman: Red Son

All Star Superman

The Ultimates

The Unwritten

Runaways

Astonishing X-Men: Ultimate

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Planetary

Wolverine: Origin

Identity Crisis

Black Hole: A graphic novel

Spider-Man: Blue

Hellboy: Library Edition

The Books of Magic

Astonishing X-Men

Lone Wolf & Cub

Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter

300

Squee

Rat Queens

The Uncanny X-Men: Days of Future Past

Monstress

Wolverine: Weapon X

The Wicked + the Divine

Captain America: Winter Soldier

My Friend Dahmer

Blake Orchid

Dr. 2

Once Upon a Time

Superman: Secret Identity

Asterios Polyp

Ex-Machina

Domu: A Child's Dream

One Piece

Civil War

Mouse Guard

Summer Blonde

Desolation Jones: Made in England

I Kill Giants

Pumpkin Heads

The Wolves in the Walls

The Batman Adventures: Mad Love

Through the Woods

Absolute Dark Knight

Lenore

The Fountain

The Eternal Smile: Three Stories

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

Death Note

Girl Genius

Wonderstruck

The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch

Happy New Year

Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth

Skooter Girl

Daytripper

A Little Prince in the Land of the Mullahs

Absolute Justice

Wanted

Velvet

Obviously, a lot of these are series, and I'm not going to read the whole series of every book on this list. If I like it enough, I might continue it for fun, but it won't count toward the list. I'll cross the title off as I finish them and write up my thoughts. Cuz what's the point if I don't post an analysis, right?

[thedreamagevolumezero]

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up The Marvel Universe by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

[avengerscompound]

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe (2016)

[big-gay-apocalypse]

god i love you doreen

[clintbartoncomics]

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe

written by Ryan North

art by Erica Henderson

link to read

[the-final-sentence]

And Annihilus, dude…you just cheesed off the wrong friggin’ girl.

Ryan North, from The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up The Marvel Universe

[overclocksaa]

anyway, sometimes with steve and tony (and by sometimes i mean most times) it feels like...when they fight about something tony’s done it’s less “you did this thing i don’t approve of” and more...”you did this thing and didn’t tell me you were going to do this thing and i’m hurt/upset/jealous about it.”

like it tracks for a lot of their fights; those fights are insanely personal between the two of them, and what on the surface seems like steve’s self-righteousness and humorless sense of duty is more being hurt because tony did things on his own and didn’t trust steve enough to tell him.

[snark-notes]

Book Review: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

Squirrel Girl has defeated pretty much every bad guy in the Marvel Universe – Thanos, Galactus, Doctor Doom…everyone. But thanks to a series of unfortunate coincidences and some unknown technology, Squirrel Girl finds herself face to face with an exact duplicate of herself! Well, perhaps not an exact duplicate. It seems like this twin is more of the evil twin variety. So Squirrel Girl, Tippy Toe, and their friends are going to have to team up to save the Marvel Universe!

I’ll be the first to admit that I am late to the beautiful party that is Squirrel Girl. I’ve been hearing and reading about how great Ryan North and Erica Henderson’s run is, but I hadn’t taken the time to picking up a trade. So when this original graphic novel came out, I figured it was the perfect place to start.

What I have learned that any place is the perfect place to start because this run is just as amazing and fun and smart and hilarious as all the reviews say it is. I had a total blast reading this graphic novel. Henderson draws an excellent Doreen and I love all the cute outfits she’s created for her. Squirrel Girl has the body of a wrestler/gymnast and not a super model and that is so amazing. North also writes a hilarious script and his running commentary at the bottom is hysterical. The supporting cast is fantastic.

I imagine that the best place to start is at the beginning of the North/Henderson run. But if you’re not convinced yet or still trying to figure out what comics you may like, I would suggest reading this first.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a sharp, funny comic with a kick-butt female lead. Stop reading this review and go pick it up!

I gave it a 5/5 on my Goodreads account which translates to “It was amazing.”

[nonbinary-octopus]

Nancy Whitehead, the voice of reason.

[folderolsoup]

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe (2016)

Ryan North

Erica Henderson

Rico Renzi

Travis Lanham