#speaking of which i showed my friend a drawing of barry i did in 2017 and they had to will the power of god to not laugh at me 😭😭

[danothan]

i’m in the kind of art block where it takes me 5 hrs to do a simple bust sketch bc it feels like i’m relearning how to draw, so what ends up happening is that i find myself painstakingly sculpting barry allens for half of the day and then admiring those drawings for the other half, not bc they’re any good (art block clouding my perception), but bc they are. barry <3

he could singlehandedly push me thru this block, i know he can. he has to.

[curlytemple]

niche interests list 

okay sure yes this is fun! i havent posted a thing like this in such a long time. thank you new gal pal @scottspack for tagging me! 

pigs????

alright first lets throw it back to preschool! my fav childhood toys were my baby doll (snookums) and a plush pig that my grandma got me that i just called ‘pig’ ...i watched the babe movies countless times, and piglet? that anxious little guy GETS ME bro. when my preschool did a nativity play and my class got to choose an animal to be in baby jesus’ manger, my mother recalls me saying that i would be a pig because jewish people (jesus christ) wouldnt eat me. she has no idea how or when i learned about kosher foods. ironically despite my namesake i was too afraid of the movie charlotte’s web to watch it more than once because the scary farmer tries to kill wilbur for being small and the pretty spider dies. 

sugar creek gang 

OKAY this is a book series from the 40s-70s about a group of christian little boys in indiana who went on adventures in the woods and helped people. my dad read a LOT of chapter books to me as bedtime stories when i was little (see also the mandie series, nancy drew and the hardy boys, little house on the prairie) but sugar creek gang is one that really hit. i read all 36 books with dad and at least once again on my own. there was a series of 4 or 5 movies in the early 2000s when i was the Perfect age to have a crush on most if not all of them. this might be too much detail but i have to tell you about these boys. we WILL not be revisiting the heavy religious themes. 

 the narrator is bill who is Good and Kind and wants to be a doctor when he grows up. his best friend is a chubby boy nicknamed poetry because he memorizes and quotes poems, he is the Detective of the group. BIG JIM is the leader of the group who is supposed to be like, 14, which was very cool and hot, to me. and yes there is a little jim, who is the baby of the group. then there is CIRCUS who is known for his climbing and acrobatics, and his FIVE SISTERS AND BEAUTIFUL SINGING VOICE. dreamboy. i’m almost done listing boys, i promise. a boy called dragonfly who is allergic to everything and hella superstitious. later in the series a new boy named tom moves to town and tom has an older brother bob who is NOT A CHRISTIAN (bully) 

tangentially, the buttercream gang, a movie from 1992 that was almost definitely made by some christians who grew up reading the sugar creek gang series which i’m guessing on vibes alone. will spare you Good Boy details but scott is in love with his best friend pete who moves to chicago and falls in with a bad crowd and scott just refuses to stop LOVING HIM. very gay christian film in retrospect. 

peter pan

so i know liking disney’s peter pan isnt niche, but it was the way i liked it. tinker bell stan from day one, i watched all of those disney fairies movies, even the ones that came out after i was definitely not intended audience. there was an online pixie hollow game where you could design your own fairies and play mini games where you gathered dew drops or something. had a HUGE CRUSH on jeremy sumpter in peter pan (2003) then i got really darkly obsessed with the idea of growing up when i was 12 or 13, and everything peter pan was deeply My Shit for my entire adolescence. i read the original book and every other twisted version of the story i could find and seriously freaked myself out about wasting my youth. 

shug

you’ve probably heard of jenny han now, or at least the netflix adaptations for to all the boys i’ve loved before and the sequel ps i still love you (always and forever, lara jean, coming soon?) but before she wrote THOSE, she wrote my first ever Favorite Book, about annemarie “shug” wilcox, a girl in the summer before starting middle school. it is SO engraved on my heart i cannot explain. i felt so incredibly understood and cant even tell you how many times i read it. thinking about all of the ways it made me feel SEEN is actually making me very tender so i’m gonna go on.  

the summer series

on the subject of jenny han, since she was now my Favorite author, when she came out with the summer i turned pretty in 2009, i was ALL IN. it’s not summer without you, and we’ll always have summer were published the next two years. a coming of age series about a girl isabel “belly” conklin who stays at her mother’s best friend's house at the beach in the summers. i really could talk about it forever yall. i actually dont know how to be succinct about it. i will try. her mom’s friend has TWO BOYS. one brother, jeremiah, is the golden boy and her best friend who is in love with her! the older one CONRAD is her childhood crush who's just sort of around while belly is firmly getting over her childish feelings and going out and experiencing teen beach life with jeremiah for the first time and figuring out who she is and wants to be! by the end of the summer he admits he feels differently about her (hence belly internalizing this as The Summer I Turned Pretty) and they get together. this is already too much so i will just say that the next two books deal with a PROFOUND LOSS and the selfishness of grief and the SELFLESSNESS OF CONRAD and i will absolutely lose my shit if netflix picks it up for a second jenny han series adaptation. 

pappyland

this was a kids show in the 90′s that features a character named Pappy Drew-It, an artist dressed like a 49er who lives in a magic cabin in pappyland. there’s tons of characters and music and life lessons but the meat of every episode is a detailed drawing how-to (pappy is actually a cartoonist, michael cariglio) and i have a hard back cover sketch book from my grandpa that i FILLED with drawings that pappy and DOODLEBUG taught me to do. there is a running gag that pappy always breaks his crayons.  

boy meets world

i KNOW this is beloved by many but i’m counting it because i’m simply too young to have such an obsession with it! the show ran from 1992-2000. i was born in 1996, but reruns on the disney channel and abc family cemented it as one of my favorite shows. cory and shawn, closer than brothers, shameless homoromantics, shawn is cory’s first wife!!!!! truly showed me what a best friend can and should be!!!!!! the great love of your life!!!!! TOPANGA, the og weird feminist girl who said stop shaving your legs and start speaking your mind, ladies! the characters are so richly developed that they are real people to my heart. YES every character on this show is in their late 30s-early 40s and YES i feel like we grew up together. in season one they’re in the 6th grade and we follow them all the way to COLLEGE. countless poignant life lessons, often literally dictated by the wise and hilarious MR. FEENY, cory’s next door neighbor and somehow one of his teachers for YEARS. my love was only solidified by the 2014 girl meets world reboot, centered on cory and topanga’s daughter and her best friend. (which was literally cancelled because disney didn’t want to transition from a kids show to a teen show, something essential to the original. also because that teen show would have had CANON LESBIANS. extremely shameful move in 2017!) boy meets world lives rent free in my heart and i will never evict it!!!!!!!

i consulted my mother when i got stumped for more and she reminded me that i had obsessions with the impressionist art period and babies and ANYTHING fairies or pixies, and i was way too young when my love of the canadian teen after school special degrassi began. she also said bob ross, which i was hesitant to include because he’s been super ~trendy in recent years, but to be fair (To Be Faaairrr) she’s right! i don’t think people really watched the joy of painting as much as i have throughout my life. best sick day show of all time.

lastly i could honestly list anna herself as a niche interest, my mom actually metioned that ive always hyperfixated on my girl friends (gay) but i’ll just note that YES friday night lights, YES barry lyga novels. love to share so many things with you, niche or not, they’re niche in Our Mind.

[connorxhawke]

NOT TOO YOUNG TO GET JUSTICE —

Characters: Connor Hawke, Damian Wayne (@dmianwaync), Jon Kent (@supersonjon),  Cassie Sandsmark (@wonderasms), Bart Allen (@impulscs)

Triggers: Drugs, Violence, Fighting

Timeframe: Night, 3/1/2017

CONNOR HAWKE: Connor had followed the mobsters to the old warehouse, sneaking quietly across the rooftops with his bow in one hand, a full quiver of arrows on his back. He pulled his hood up to surround his features, a slight tilt to his head as he tried to get a glimpse through the window of what they might be doing in there, but it was hard to get a good look when he was four stories up. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, not wanting to go down there and get in a fight—he knew that if he did, he’d end up hurting them way more than he would be inclined to do, so he wanted to avoid that at all costs. When he saw someone else going towards the same place, however, in costume, no less, he waved a hand to get their attention before gesturing between them and the warehouse with a questioning look through the bandana that covered his eyes.

DAMIAN WAYNE: Damian had been going on patrol more and more these days, it was almost becoming an every night occurrence for him again. Each time he went out was more dangerous on his part, but he wasn't alone this time as Jon was with him. When they first met their fathers forced them to be friends and work together, but at some point he grew used to their dynamic of working together. Although he could do without the flying. The boy had heard about some mobsters dealing drugs through some abandoned warehouse. Naturally that just smelled like trouble waiting to happen so he went to check it out. It turned out they weren't alone though. “TT, what is this a convention?” Damian muttered to himself, not even loud enough for Jon to hear. He glanced at them from underneath the hood over his head and mask over his eyes, trying to understand what he was trying to say. Did he want him to go down there? That wasn't HIS first idea, but whatever. He gestured back to the other, pointing at the roof. Why not find a different way inside rather than go through the most obvious way in?

JON KENT: to be honest, jon was very excited to be out and about with damian. it had been a while since they had done anything this together. now that jon had gotten to understand and control his powers lightly more then before, his father superman often would let him come out; and it was always exciting. so being out doing this seemed like a good way to spend time with his friend. a smile came across jon’s face because even if the other male had not intended for him to hear it, he did. one of the perks of having super hearing after his father. sure damian did know of it, however since jon wasn’t one to brag too much about his powers anymore it was easy to forget, even he himself sometimes forgot. jon then looked from damian to the silhouette. knowing perfectly well that damian would want to go in from the roof. jon then took of flying up to see if there was anything up there to stop them but it seemed safe so he landed there waiting for the others to join him.

CASSIE SANDSMARK: Cassie had been in Chipotle when she heard about a deal going down in a near by wearhouse, it somehow always surprised her how stupid bad guys where when they planned on doing bad things. Well more fun her she thought as left the restaurant with her order and got on the nearby roof and took her lasso out of her book bag. The blonde green eyes scanned the area before noticing the other figures around her." I hope they don't think they are having all the fun." Cassie said to herself as she begean to hover over the rooftops untli she was behind the guy in the bandana, burrito inher hand she took a bite before speaking." What are we doing?"

BART ALLEN: Bart was heading home from work and all that was on his mind was that leftover pizza in the fridge if Barry hadn't touched it first. However, he noticed Cassie on a rooftop and wondered what was going on. His eyes scanned around his surroundings, using his speed to run home and change into his Impulse suit. He didn't get to wear it often because he wasn't even supposed to use it. He promised his grandpa that he wouldn't use it in public unless no one was watching. However, being out as Impulse in this bright suit of his would draw attention he most likely DIDN'T need, but that can't be helped now. Bart already strapped his goggles over his eyes and ran to make sure he wasn't going to miss something cool going on. At this point, if anyone saw a blur of him running by he didn't care as he went up the side of the warehouse building to join this other group of kids. “Hey Cassie– oh, don't tell me I'm the last one here.” Bart said as he counted just how many other heroes had showed up. “This isn't crash.” He sighed with a frown, but shrugging it off as he was more curious as to what was even going on. You can have super speed, but still end up being the slowest at the same time.

CONNOR HAWKE: Connor watched the girl descend next to him, an eyebrow raising as he saw the burrito in her hand. “I believe there are some mobsters down there who are doing something or the other that’s quite unsavory,” he said, jumping slightly as another person immediately appeared next to her. “Oh, jeez,” he said. “I didn’t expect another person to suddenly show up, too.” He looked back over at the two on the other side of the street, nodding at the suggestion to go through the roof, getting an arrow ready and nocking it. “I think those two are also going to be joining us,” he said evenly, looking down at the windows. “If one of you could open those windows, it would be quite helpful,” he added, looking down at the arrow tipped with a tranquilizer. “I can subdue at least some of them from up here before they go in.”

DAMIAN WAYNE: Somehow this really became a convention, Damian used to pride himself on working alone, but now he just forced himself to get used to the fact he had to work with other people. It wasn't like any of them would go away any time soon. He reached for his grappling gun, aiming it to the top of the warehouse. He hoped that speedster would be able to stay quiet enough not to give them all away. Jon was already on the roof so he pulled himself up on top where his friend was waiting for him. “Did you invite them?” He asked, gaze turning to the other boy's face before putting his grappling gun back on his belt until he would need it again later no doubt. There was a feeling … that this would get ugly really fast. For now though, Damian walked slowly, keeping quiet not to alert the mobsters inside the building that he was above them, looking to see if there was any ways of entry.

JON KENT:  there had been so many times jon had told his friend that whatever he planed was a bad idea. when younger he used to be the one to get jon into trouble, it used to seem like it was his only mission in life. now a few years later the son of superman was more then capable of getting himself into trouble without help from the other; yet he would most of the time blame him if his father asked. he stood waiting for his friend he knew would come after him not too far behind. « why would i do that?» asked him shaking his head. okay it would be a jon kent thing to do because he liked people. new friends and old friends. however, with things like this he was just used to working with damian or his father. sometimes superman had take him along to the justice league, yet it was much different. as the two of them both was on the roof now, jon looked at the girl that seemed rather relaxed about this whole thing just like one should be at a situation like this. jon tilted his head to the side as he said with a small giggle « you hungry or something?» the others might not be able to hear it but he could hear the speedster coming closer and closer. somehow he bet his cape on that this would be the last of the little group that seemed to be forming that would come. ironic wasn’t it? with his head vision he could get the locks open if that was the sort of plan the other boy wanted.

CASSIE SANDSMARK:  "Well this is turning into a party." she mused as she smiled at her friend, she was happy that she new someone there it made her more comfortable to have someone she can trust around her. Cassie was happy she decided to take her food to go and kick some bad guy butt, and apparently make new friends which was always a plus especially if one of them could help her with her trig homework. The blonde watched as the other two figures got closer and joined the little group. Hearing the boy comment caused her to take another bite before rolling her eyes."Oh my god you must be the wisest man in the world to figure that out." she said in a honeyed tone as she gave him a genuine smile. If she used her strength to open anything it might cause some noise and that would lose the group the element of surprise and she knew they didn't want that." If you guys got a quieter way I say go for it." she said simply finishing her burrito and realizing she was the only girl there.

BART ALLEN: Why didn't Bart get something to eat too while he was at home changing? He totally missed the boat because he could be eating those leftovers while he scanned their surroundings. Oh well, too much to do now to go back for it! He ran off to open one of the windows for the mystery archer, returning back to his spot a moment later. “Window's ready to go, can see straight in like a fish bowl.” He said with a grin as he looked around. Even if some of the mobsters get taken down by a tranquilizer, there would still be too many of them to go through the front. “There's another window over there that's broken, we could go through that and get the sneak on 'em!” He suggested, glancing at the group of people to see what they thought about it, never really seeing himself as the leader type to these sort of things. He either did what he wanted to do (which could end up being good or bad) or followed someone else's orders. He was used to listening to Tim, but he hardly saw this Robin to be wise as his best friend.

CONNOR HAWKE: Connor nodded, squinting slightly as he looked into the window, rapidly firing off six arrows, watching six of the men fall to the ground effortlessly. As more people ran over, he fired off more tranquilizing arrows, quickly running out. “Now, I think, would be a good time to go in,” he said, as he ran out of the tranquilizers. He pulled out a grappling hook arrow, letting himself tumble off the roof before shooting it onto the roof of the warehouse, swinging across the street and through the window to kick one of the mobsters in the chest as he came running towards the commotion. Connor didn’t like hand to hand, he found there was too much room for serious injury, but he’d do it if he had to, and so he found himself carefully taking out people as they came at him. He expected Robin, or perhaps that super kid—Superboy? he couldn’t remember the name—to take charge, and Connor was more than willing to sit back and let them come up with their next move.

DAMIAN WAYNE: Damian would have preferred a better plan, but he didn't need to be told twice. This was happening now, and he took out his grappling gun and aiming it so he could lower himself into the warehouse. He put it away, lurking in the shadows for a second before he stepped into the light, taking out one of the mobsters quietly. However, shortly after more of them started coming not just at him, but the rest of this team that was here. Were they a team? He didn't feel like asking right now, but for the moment they would have to be. It was the only way any of this was going to work and he hated having to admit that. He thought about using the batarangs in his belt, but he didn't want to risk wasting it right now. Damian  enjoyed hand-to-hand combat, his small frame making it easy to move around what he deemed as .worthless scum'. The city would be a better place without them. “While we hold these guys off, someone needs to actually go look around.” He shouted, hitting the last guy coming at him against a table face first, knocking him, but NOT killing him. More people were coming, he knew that, could hear them in the distance.

JON KENT:  it was meant as a joke but maybe she wasn’t much of a joker? anyways jon found it best to not comment more on the matter for now, since he didn’t need or want anything to become a conflict in this weird group thing that was happening. « seems like we have become a study group» he joked as he looked over at damian. at the moment he was the only one he truly knew so jon felt it best to stick with him right now. besides after working together from a younger age he had learned to know when to stick together and form a plan, and when it might be best to split up. « hey robin do you think we should ––– » jon did not get the time to finish his question because the speedster had already opened the window and the other boy started to shoot arrows all over the place. sure he hit them all and didn’t seem to have much problem, yet jon would not lie when he sort of wanted to gather some information or any kind of plan before they decided to blow up this place. « guys this is a Cheaper by the Dozen movie» in those movies everything all when to shit when they tried something without a plan. he flew off to get a better view of the situation and at the same time he used his heat vision to take down new guys that came running. « I’II do it» he said flying off more deeper into the place and taking down many of the bad guys as he did so.

CASSIE SANDSMARK:  " As study group?" Cassie repeated." Seriously do any of you know trig? I need help with my homework when we're done here." she didn't care if they just knew each other if they were going to risk their lives together then they could help her study when it was all over. Maybe they could wait to think of a better plan but before she could say something Bart was opening a window and the boys were gone." Boys..always so impatient." she said as she dropped her book bag and flew in the warehouse landing in the middle of a bunch of thugs. Their attention was on the boys, so they were suprised to see her. She watched as they glanced her over, they didn't look scared anymore and that pissed Cassandra off to the fullest. Just because she was a girl with a face of an angel didn't mean she couldn't hang with the big boy." Aww you boys wouldn't hurt a girl would you?" A pout formed on her full lips causing them to let down their guard, the look on their faces changed showing that their  intentions were'nt the best. As they moved closer to her she hovered just a bit so they were face to face, she gave them a sweet smile before kicking the first two into a nearby wall." oopsie." she giggled. Picking up one of them and flying up to a beam and hanging it up on it." Now don't fall." she said flying back down and kicking the last one in the nuts." Ouch she said before flying off and looking for some more fun.

BART ALLEN: Bart was used to working on a team, and he loved working with others. He met his best friends through working on a team. He was a friendly guy too, despite how annoying he can be to some people, but he was enjoying all of this. He wanted to cheer on Cassie because she was just such a badass, but while he was too focused on what the rest of them were up to he almost got punched – that's not good! He quickly ducked as if it was a game of limbo, a smirk across his face. “I'm too quick for you!” Bart said as he stood there, letting the guy get closer before he sped off behind him. “Missed me.” The mobster tried again, but Bart moved quickly again. “Really, you missed again? I'm bored.” He said, tripping the guy and leaving him there because the fall surely knocked him out. “How many more of these guys are there?” He asked as he sped around, taking out some more of the bad guys that were coming their way.

CONNOR HAWKE: Connor nodded at Robin’s words, easily disarming and knocking out one of the henchmen before moving deeper into the warehouse, using his bow to fight off any would-be attackers easily. He shot off another grappling hook arrow, this time up to the catwalk about half way up the wall, climbing up easily and perching on the railing to overlook the scene. “They’re packing drugs,” he called out, seeing a plastic tent, barely able to make out frightened workers behind it, knowing that there wasn’t much use for a plastic tent in a place like this other than to package powders. “There has to be at least—50 kilos of something. Probably cocaine.” He pulled out one of his real arrows, nocking it before firing them in rapid succession, pinning various mobsters to the wall as they tried to sneak up on the other heroes who had managed to stumble across the same bust.

DAMIAN WAYNE: Damian was finding this easy, these men weren't the best fighters – it was like a warm-up before the real threat would come in. They could easily take on some random civilian that stumbled upon the scene, but not him. He was training his entire life for this moment right here. “Drugs? I should have known.” He shouted in return, not showing any mercy as he used one of the tables to jump off of and kick one of the henchmen in their face, then leaping off of him to punch another guy, but not enough to knock him out just yet. He wanted to question him while there was no one else trying to kill him. “What are you planning to do with all of this cocaine? Who hired you?” He asked, preparing his fist to punch the guy again if he didn't get an answer out of him.

JON KENT:  flying around trying to collect as much information as possible wasn’t the hardest thing in the world really;; and this was only the start of it. jon kent might be a sweet and loving boy but when he was out on the fighting ground there normally was only one thing running in his mind, catching the bad guys. he had long ago learned the difference from hurting and killing. not that killing had truly ever been on the table, but since he at first did not know how to control his powers it had been something superman had to talk to him about. not to use his strength to kill, or any of his others lethal powers. as jon scanned the place with his vision he said « so looks like they have all the drugs here already»  he shouted from further into the building. what on earth they wanted with it all was beyond his knowledge but maybe robin would have better luck getting an answer out of one of those thugs. he used to be good at that if jon didn’t recall wrong. getting back to the group as he took down more people, this time using his super-breath to known over so many that is almost seemed like he was bowling. this was a power he had been working on. «strike!» he commented before adding to the rest of the group « i don’t know who is behind this but i didn’t see or hear anyone that seemed to have IQ enough for it in this building besides us»

CASSIE SANDSMARK: This had to be the most fun the blonde had in awhile, not that she should like the violence or enjoy beating anyone up but life as a high-school senior could get pretty boring when you're used to more exciting things. "Cocaine? now didn't someone tell you boys to just say no to drugs?" she mused as she took out her lasso and hit them with it. From their piercing screams you could tell that the pain was beyond intense." That's what I  call that a lightning  charge." she clasped her hands together in enjoyment and began laughing, she flew pass the boy who was interrogating one of men." I would do as he says, he's what nightmares have nightmares about." Cassie gave him a look to let the thug know she was serious. The guy gave her a look then Damian look which turned into fear." Have fun." she said as she zoomed to help look around and beat up more bad guys. Coming across a small room she flung open the door and was met by a thug that was as big as Bane and a gun to match. It took her no time at all to snatch the gun from him and bend it before tossing it someplace else. Quickly she grabbed him by the back of the had and kneed him in his face. Picking him up she threw him over the bannister."Merry Christmas." she shouted to whoever was close to the injured bad guy." Hey guys come check this out, they have tons a guns in here and a shitload of ecstasy." she knew what those pills were they had flooded her school with them, everyone wanted the pill."What were you guys going to have a bad guy rave." she said as she kissed her teeth. Man she hated drug dealers. 

BART ALLEN: It was so easy to fool these guys! Bart was having too much fun with it, but he tricked two of them into knocking each other out just as he heard Cassie calling them over. What did she find? He sped off, getting there before she could blink again. “That is one party I would not want to go to.” He thought out loud as he looked over the stash they had found. It was easier back before the ban when they could actually call something like this in themselves, but now – they'd end up arrested too for just being here in costume. It would have to be an anonymous tip wouldn't it? Bart was glad he wasn't in charge of all that. “I'm going to do a quick search, see if I can find anything we may have missed.” He said, being serious for a moment before he was gone again, searching every inch of he warehouse. Ultimatly he found nothing, the younger superboy was right. Their boss wasn't here, which was unfortunate. Hopefully Robin was getting something out of that guy. Bart ran back to where some of the team was, dropping a duffel bag. “Not sure what's inside, but it's heavy. Money maybe?”

CONNOR HAWKE: Connor fired off a few more arrows, pinning the last few mobsters before finding that they had either disappeared, running out the back or jumping out of windows, or that they were here in various states of disarray. He crouched on the catwalk for a moment before jumping down, using the cable from the grappling hook arrow that he had used to get up to slow his descent before landing lightly. He put the arrow that had been nocked back in his quiver, and he walked over to the duffel bag, carefully pulling open to find stacks and stacks of crisp hundred-dollar bills, all strapped tightly together and filling the bag to the brim. “Yeah, it’s money. A lot of money.” He looked up. “It’s probably enough to pay for everything in here,” he added, pressing his lips together. The man in Robin’s grasp seemed to be shaking, and Connor looked up. “Breathe, Robin,” he said quietly. “He is too scared to say anything to you.”

DAMIAN WAYNE: Damian was trying to get this guy to say something, ANYTHING, but he wouldn't budge. “TT, he should be scared of me.” He muttered to himself, rolling his eyes a little, but he meant well. He let the guy go, but made sure he wouldn't run off. “Does anyone have something to tie him up with? Or are we letting him go? I'd like to know who's behind this. We need a name.” He said as he looked at the group around him. He also wondered if there was a possibility that they didn't know who they were working for, which would be idiotic on their part, but they were making good money. So it had to be stopped, especially before it gets into the hands of more kids and other civilians. He took a deep breath, trying to be nice. He looked at the thug again, trying to be softer. “I'll try one more time, tell us who you're working for.”

JON KENT:  to be completely honest jon didn’t really find this too hard to deal with. –– even damian and himself would be able to do it alone. yet this group thing seemed rather amusing to him. they all might they had teamed up with, right now however it did not seem to matter. all of them did work together and they had gotten down them all. might not the man behind it al but it was a stark. his father always told jon and team work was a good thing so maybe after a while with only two, the son of batman and the son of superman might extend their team. “ i can fix that robin” with a quick flying trip deeper into the warehouse jon came back with a long thick chain of steal. it was too heavy  for normal humans but since jon wasn’t; it was perfect to use since the man wold not be able to even move in them. jon took a few spin around the man, being careful about how tight he took them. “there perfect”

CASSIE SANDSMARK: Boys will be boys. Cassie thought as she jumped down to the see the bag,she wanted to say she was surprised but she wasn't every drug bust always included a shit load of money somewhere. It was like how to be a supplier one on one. "He's going to pull the if I tell you they'll kill me watch." she leaned on the nearby beam. Cassie would leave the interrogation to the boys she would just enjoy the show. Shit they didn't have popcorn, oh well. Running her hand through her hair she wondered if this was a one time thing, well probably not with Bart because she knew him but what about the other guys? And does this make her the first lady? Matching uniforms yay!!

BART ALLEN: Bart stood there watching as they were interrogating this thug. He leaned against one of the tables, crossing his arms over his chest. He felt good about being a part of a team again, it was nice having FRIENDS to support you out there, bringing everyone's strengths together to a common goal. Would they work together again after this? He hoped so anyway, it's all he could think about as he waited for this to pan out. “Man, I wish I had something to eat right now.” He thought out loud, looking around. “You think they have a refrigerator in here with snacks?” He asked the group, shrugging his shoulders. “Then again, might not be smart to eat drug dealer food.” Bart commented as he stepped away from the table.

CONNOR HAWKE: As the man held up by Robin gasped out a name, he tilted his head, making sure to commit it to memory. He pressed his lips together before reaching into his pocket to touch his phone, though he didn’t take it out. “Someone should call the police,” he said, pausing for a moment. “You know. Anonymously.” Another pause. He didn’t want to have to tell them that he had no idea how to work his phone, considering that it was embarrassing, so he just hoped that they would pick it up. “Then we should get out of here.”

DAMIAN WAYNE: Damian was finally satisfied to have received a name, “Now was that so hard?” He asked, another 'tt' noise slipping from his lips. He stepped away from the man and went over to Connor. “Smart thinking, I'll do it.” He muttered, searching through his pockets for his phone. He really should have TWO, one for personal use, and another for this side of his life, but he didn't feel like it. It was bad enough he had to replace this piece of junk so often due to how easily the screens cracked. He pulled his glove off of his hand, dialing the number for the police station on private. Damian would have been embarrassed otherwise, but he didn't care right now about how ridiculous he would sound just now. He altered the sound of his voice and made himself sound as if he was in disarray from what he had witnessed – telling them what they needed to know on a need to know basis.

JON KENT: maybe his father wanted him to be a leader and maybe he would be good at it, jon didn't know. however, it had never been a real wish of his to become the leader of anything.  robin was a lot better at it then he was, he always had been so after a bit of a stuggle at first they had come to a way of working together that worked perfectly well for both of them. the young son of batman did not have powers like he did, and therefor not somethng he needed to control as well. jon knew that the boy had his own things to deal with but his own powers sometimes would gt in the way of what might be best. whenever he got mad he sometimes did not truly have control as the man of steal had. "nope" he shock his head looking at the speedster " don't think i would eat anything from here" the place was filled with rats as well; and not only the human once.

CASSIE SANDSMARK:   Cassie stretched as she looked over at the boys the police were probably on their way, she was hungry, Bart was hungry, what did they do now?" I hate to be that person but hi i'm going to ask what we're all thinking." she sai even if they weren't thinking it so what they could pretend."Is this going to be a one time thing?  or are we going to be something more than that? A girl needs to know." It sounded very dramatic but it was just the way she was, A team would be perfect, it gave her something to do and make friends,plus it would something they could look forward to. If it was a no go then this be a little secret that they would all share, a secret that sometimes you have to break the law to keep intact. "Also we should get some food when we're done, how about pizza? 

BART ALLEN: Bart looked over at Cassie and e was suddenly hungry again at the mention of pizza. “Oh! I would totally love to be a part of a team again. I think we work together well. Don't you?” He said as he looked at everyone else while he said it – hoping he wasn't the only one that was thinking that. “I'm also down for a pizza, count me in.” He said, patting his stomach, he would have to run and change out of his suit first then, but he was happy to be surrounded by a team again. He was always good at making friends, but when you're a part of a team that's different. It's like how he met his other two best friends too.

CONNOR HAWKE: Connor watched as Damian called the authorities before nodding. "Food does sound good," he replied, looking around at them. "And, I mean—we can' t leave this job half-finished, right? We still haven't gotten who these guys are working for," he added evenly. It didn't take long for all of them to leave, still in costume, together. He looked aroudn at everyone with a light smile on his features, a slight tilt to his head as he regarded the others. A pause. "I think we could be a good team."

[raynareveur]

Rayna’s Recent Reads February 2017

Welcome, welcome, to another edition of Rayna’s Recent Reads! This one is also late, but hey, it’s only by one two days! I’m getting better. At this rate, I’ll actually be able to get the March edition posted in March.

These are the books I read in February:

Jingo by Terry Pratchett

This was an interesting book, and certainly timely. This is probably the most political of Terry Pratchett’s books that I’ve read, and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about that. But political or no, this is still a Pratchett book, which means I of course enjoyed it immensely.

And, I mean, come on. A secret agent Vetinari? (Even if he got less screen time than I wanted.) This was me when I first read the description, along with every time he came on.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

I finished my most anticipated read of 2017 in just two days. And it does live up to the hype. The writing is beautiful, the setting is wonderous and magical, and it has tons of gorgeous illustrations inside as well. Some scenes are chilling (looking at you, chapter 2), some are beautiful and heartwarming, and all of them are wonderful. Caraval reminds me of one of my favorites, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, with the same gorgeous writing and mesmerizing circus setting. But Caraval definitely has a faster-moving plot (not that The Night Circus wasn’t interesting, it just had a slower buildup and a more literary feel) which definitely grabbed my interest immediately and held on to it till the end.

One small quibble: I wasn’t too fond of the ending. Anyone else feel this way? Leave your thoughts down in the comments!

Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

I actually read this book for research purposes, as opposed to pleasure reading. (Not that this wasn’t an interesting read.) I’m writing a dark YA retelling of Pinocchio and Peter Pan with a creepy island and murderous fey that live there. Think Caraval meets A Court of Thorns and Roses, but less magical and more creepy.

Pinocchio was quite short, with chapters only a few pages long, which really helped me speed through this. One thing that really surprised me was how dark this is; I haven’t watched the Disney version, but I'd be surprised if all of it made it into the movie. Within a span of 262 pages, we have:

- Breaking and entering that results in murder

- Pinocchio accidentally burning his feet off while sleeping (he didn’t feel anything, but still, that’s some nightmare fuel right there.)

- Pinocchio almost being burned alive as firewood, ending up having his plea for mercy granted and almost getting his friend burned alive in his place (This is horrible but I’m so using this in my retelling)

- Pinocchio getting attacked, beat up, and hung to a tree

- The Land of Toys/donkey transformation

- Lampwick’s death (this made me unusually sad because I was imagining Thomas Brodie-Sangster as his role in this movie)

And did you know that in the book, Jiminy Cricket (called the talking cricket) is the ghost of the anthropomorphic cricket Pinocchio murdered? I’m going to have a field day with this one.

The morality messages were a bit too on the nose, but then again, this was from a time when that was the norm. All in all, it was an interesting read, and more importantly, gave me tons of story fodder. Keep your eyes peeled for more updates about my project, and be sure to subscribe to either my Tumblr (right here), Twitter, or newsletter to get the news first!

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

I read this for the same reason as I read Pinocchio, and while the level of darkness was about the same, Peter Pan had better writing (in my opinion) and an older, more nostalgic feel. 

Let’s talk about the writing first. If I was to use one word to describe the writing of the two book, Pinocchio would be functional and Peter Pan would be lyrical. What do I mean? Well, the writing of Pinocchio feels to me like merely a vessel for the story. Which, I mean, is what writing at its heart should be. It gets the story across clearly and concisely, while the simple, no-frills writing fades into the background. It’s not bad, but there’s nothing special either. It’s just there, and supposed to fade into the background while the story shines through. There is nothing in that book that I can quote on demand. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, just different than what I’m used to.

Peter Pan, on the other hand, has beautiful writing that shines on its own. It has beautiful phrases that would look great on a poster (and there are plenty out there), and other quotes that people love to quote or embroider or draw or tattoo onto themselves. I read the free Kindle edition, and one of the neat features of Kindle is that it shows you quotes that a lot of people highlighted. There are a ton in Peter Pan, and tons on Goodreads as well. For example:

“All children, except one, grow up.”

“To die will be an awfully big adventure.”

“Stars are beautiful, but they may not take part in anything, they must just look on forever.”

"I'm youth, I'm joy," Peter answered at a venture, "I'm a little bird that has broken out of the egg.” 

“Just always be waiting for me.” 

These are all beautiful and deep, and worth repeating and pondering for a long time. 

Towards the end of Peter Pan, there’s a sort of haunting, nostalgic sadness hanging about the book. There’s something about growing up, changing your view of the world, and having to let some things go forever. To move on, to forget, to know that you’ve moved beyond certain things, and the only way you can experience them again is through memory, which you are also slowly losing. Like looking at a faded old photograph decades later, being a little scared at how faded it is, and a little sad at how you can’t ever make the colors bright again, no matter how hard you try. But also a little proud that you’ve come this far, and happy that you at least have these little gems of your memories to stay with you, albeit in their wistful, faded state, forever. 

This feeling soaked the last chapter, and that was the only part that made me genuinely sad. Because I hate the thought of losing something, of letting go. 

And that’s what growing up is, really; letting go.

And, I’ll admit, I’m a little bit afraid of that.

I think a lot of people are. That’s why this book speaks so strongly to so many people.

And that’s exactly the feeling I want my book to capture, the nostalgia, the wistfulness, the fear and grief and joy all melted into one confusing mess. And the feeling of faded, shifting memories, which can’t always be trusted. In short, I want it to feel like growing up, and then being yanked straight back into childhood, with your mind stuck somewhere between those two places.

Also, on a less wistful note, does anyone else think Peter’s a delusional psychopath? I present my evidence:

“’There's a pirate asleep in the pampas just beneath us,' Peter told him. 'If you like, we'll go down and kill him.’”

“And when [the Lost Boys] seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out.”’

“The difference between him and the other boys at such a time was that they knew it was make-believe, while to him make-believe and true were exactly the same thing. This sometimes troubled them, as when they had to make-believe that they had had their dinners.If they broke down in their make-believe he rapped them on the knuckles.”

“But you never exactly knew whether there would be a real meal or just a make-believe, it all depended upon Peter's whim.”

“I forget them after I kill them,' he replied carelessly.”

Oh, and I don’t have a quote for this since it’s a whole scene, but let’s not forgot the massacre on the pirate ship. Yes, they were pirates, yes they kidnapped the Darlings and the Lost Boys, no, that shouldn’t justify a killing spree. And he doesn’t even feel a modicum of remorse or empathy afterward.

So in conclusion, Peter Pan is a haunting, beautiful, and slightly sad piece of literature, while Peter Pan is a remorseless, unstable, delusional, kind of abusive, and violent murderer who sees everything--especially killing--as a game and in many instances literally can’t empathize with his victims.

Cross that with an immortal, amoral fairy and you get a whole lot of fun. For me, at least. Not for my characters.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling

This one was actually an unexpected read for me, since, unlike 90% of the book lovers on the internet, I actually am not a huge fan of Harry Potter. (*Gasp!*) Don’t get me wrong, I liked the books and they were an enjoyable read, but as far my all-time favorite books, or childhood defining ones go, Harry Potter isn’t on the list. (In case you’re curious, my all-time favorite is Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, and the books that defined by childhood were Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.)

However, when my parents dragged me with them to Sam’s Club, I made a beeline for the books section (mainly ‘cause there was no food, my other great love) and found this gem. I had heard a lot about it, and it seemed interesting enough, so I figured, hey, why not? and picked it up.

I was really surprised at how much I liked it. 

This story, as other reviewers have pointed out, is less magical than the original series, instead more character and relationship driven. There are still spells and magical creatures and trinkets and all sorts of cool stuff, of course, but those don’t take center stage. The characters, especially Albus and Scorpius, do. And I loved them. Especially Scorpius, who is an adorable innocent ray of sunshine that I want to hug. 

^ How I imagine the two main characters.

The Cursed Child also dealt a few surprise kicks in the feels as well. J.K. Rowling really knows how to pull at your heartstrings, and I think a main reason for this is that the stakes and problems are smaller in scope (say, hurt feelings instead of dying) and more emotional. And I genuinely care about the characters, especially Scorpius, the aforementioned innocent ray of sunshine. Basically any time Scorpius was sad, my heart crushed a little bit. 

A lot of people have said that they don’t like the play script writing style, but I feel the complete opposite. I absolutely adored it. I think one of the reasons I loved it so much because it was such a quick! I finished it in a few hours. Which I guess makes sense, since in the play, everything is happening/being spoken in real time, and you can’t exactly keep people in a theatre for twelve hours. (Well, Rowling probably can...she could probably keep people on the Titanic for twelve hours if she did a book signing or talk or something.)

I wasn’t bothered at all by the lack of detailed descriptions, and in fact I think that enhanced the reading experience for me. Something most people don’t know about me is that I have a weird habit of reading the summaries/synopses of a lot of books and movies before I read or watch them. I mean, there are so many great books and movies and I won’t have time to read them all, so it makes sense to maximize my reading time by only reading the books that are interesting enough to be worth reading. For everything else, I get some enjoyment out of the summary and get to find out all the big reveals and see everything resolved, on a fraction of the time it would take to read the whole book. And how does this apply to The Cursed Child, you ask? Well, reading The Cursed Child felt like reading a (really well-written) summary. The plot isn’t bogged down by a ton of writing, the few descriptions (for stage directions and setting) were short, and the whole plot happens in the form of dialogue, which was a breeze to read. It’s like getting all the juicy plot in half the time because you cut out all the unnecessary trimmings, like writing.

(Yes, I’m a writer and I just said that.)

All in all, The Cursed Child is a quick, fun, but also surprisingly emotional and deep read.

Well, that’s the end of the February edition of Rayna’s Recent Reads. Be sure to follow me here or on Twitter to get updates, and check back at the end of this month for the March edition!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think about them? Any other thoughts about books, writing, or anything else? Let me know in the comments!

<3,

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1145

Monday, January 2, 2017

 I'm a day late and a dollar short but Happy New Year everybody. I am hoping and wishing for the best to one and all. So far so good. We started off the year with friends and some lovely surprises that made the evening special. No big resolutions except to try to be a better person than I was last year. Do more things that I'm proud of rather than the opposite.

 Archie #15 - Mark Waid (writer) Joe Eisma (art) Andre Szymanowicz (colours) Jack Morelli (letters). I have one question: where did they get the money to pay for all the stuff for Archie's parents' anniversary party? The feud in Switzerland between Veronica and Cheryl will now move to Riverdale. There's a lot more nastiness in these new Archie comics then there used to be.

 Briggs Land #5 - Brian Wood (writer) Mack Chater (art) Lee Loughridge (colours) Nate Piekos (letters). One look at this issue's cover and you can see that this book doesn't shy away from controversy. Yes those are skinhead brown shirts with Nazi armbands. The menace and violence is not explicitly shown but it's palpable. It's sad to see that some readers have dropped this title, because I think it's a very gripping story.

 Doctor Strange #15 - Jason Aaron (writer) Chris Bachalo & Jorge Fornes (pencils) John Livesay, Tim Townsend, Al Vey, Victor Olazaba & Jorge Fornes (inks) Antonio Fabela (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Chapter 4 of "Blood in the Aether" finds Stephen being driven around in a cab by the Orb. It's really quite a trip. This all boils down to a bunch of super villains wanting to kill Doctor Strange. I hope Wong and Zelma can come to the rescue in time. I thought that the changing art styles between Chris and Jorge's pages would be annoying but they meshed very well.

 Avengers #2.1 - Mark Waid (writer) Barry Kitson (pencils) Mark Farmer (inks) Jordan Boyd (colours) Ferran Delgado (letters). One of the oddest super villains from the old days appears this issue.  I never really got what the Stranger wanted way back when but he sure was powerful. Having this foursome of Captain America, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch making up the Avengers is quite humbling. I loved the scene on public transit.

 Amazing Spider-Man #22 - Dan Slott & Christos Gage (writer) Giuseppe Camuncoli (pencils) Cam Smith (inks) Jason Keith (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Now that the identity of the person behind the jackal mask has been revealed it's time to lay out that person's plans for all us fans. Will Peter succumb for his loved ones? The answer may be in Dead No More #4.

 Invincible Iron Man #2 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Stefano Caselli (art) Marte Gracia (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Half of this issue is Riri fighting a bunch of Iron Mans while AI Tony tries to train her and the other half are flashbacks to expand on her past so we get a better understanding of why she wants to be a super hero. This is the reason Bendis books do it for me. He takes time to show us the human side of super humans.

 Thanos #2 - Jeff Lemire (writer) Mike Deodato (art) Frank Martin (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Thanos's son Thane is assembling a team to kill his dad, who has a terminal disease. The Titan is dying anyways and according to his father the scientist, Thanos doesn't have long to live. There is no cure. Thanos even destroyed another whole civilisation to find one. I love Jeff's writing and Mike's art but here's what I see happening. Thanos will be cured by fighting Thane. Villains like Doc Ock, Victor Von Doom, Wilson Fisk and Thanos will never die.

 Occupy Avengers #2 - David F. Walker (writer) Carlos Pacheco (pencils) Rafael Fonteriz (inks) Sonia Oback (colours) Travis Lanham (letters). The two do gooders, Hawkeye and Red Wolf, team up to do some good. I think this book is going to be light reading even though they may tackle lofty ideals like trying to save a fresh water supply from greedy corporations. Remember the old Hulk TV show that had Bill Bixby wandering around the country as Bruce Banner and then Lou Ferrigno helping people as the Hulk? This might be just like that but with Clint Barton making things right as Hawkeye. I do like Hawkeye and David may not be Matt Fraction but his writing is acceptable so I will check out subsequent issues to see if I might read them.

 Moonshine #3 - Brian Azzarello (writer) Eduardo Risso (art) Eduardo Risso & Cristian Rossi (colours) Jared H. Fletcher (letters). This was a bloody fine issue from the cover to the last page. This story has more fluids flowing than just the homebrew hooch.

 Action Comics #970 - Dan Jurgens (writer) Patrick Zircher (art) Ulises Arreola (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). It's the Trial of Lex Luthor. Yes it's for crimes he's yet to commit and the only one defending him is Superman. The verdict is no surprise to anyone. Now we see if the sentence will be administered.

 Saga #41 - Brian K. Vaughn (writer) Fiona Staples (art) Fonografiks (letters). Many lives are on the line and someone does die. You have to read this issue to find out who.

 Hulk #1 - Mariko Tamaki (writer) Nico Leon (art) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). They dropped the She prefix so I wouldn't blame She-Hulk fans for passing this by. Please don't do that because this is a really good reintroduction of Jennifer Walters to the rack. Jen may have recovered physically from her near death while fighting Thanos in Civil War II but she is still suffering psychological damage. Doc Samson hasn't shown up yet but somebody needs to help the lady lawyer cope with what happened to her. I like the way Nico draws Jen but there were some panels where she looked part Asian. That's a whole different take on the character than previously depicted. Jen doesn't Hulk out this issue but she is on the verge. I will be interested to see how much control Mariko gives Jen when she's green.

 Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #11 - Robert Venditti (writer) Rafa Sandoval (pencils) Jordi Tarragona (inks) Tomeu Morey (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). Larfleeze is my least favourite character in this whole colour scheme. He's just a hoarder and the colour is a mix of red and yellow. He's not even a good villain because his avarice makes him stupid. I find the orange corps to be a bore.

 Mighty Thor #14 - Jason Aaron (writer) Steve Epting (art) Frank Martin (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Yumpin yimminy that was another great issue. The League of Realms fights bravely against overwhelming odds as Malekith continues his campaign against the Ten Realms. He's just laid waste to Niffleheim so which one is next? If you like Steve's art in this book you should check out Velvet.

 Batgirl #6 - Hope Larson (writer) Rafael Albuquerque (art) Dave McCaig (colours) Deron Bennett (letters). Batgirl flies home after her Asian adventures and meets up with a surprise passenger. The guy being picked up at the airport was a surprise to me too. I'm sure he's going to make life interesting for Barbara Gordon.

 Uncanny Avengers #18 - Gerry Duggan (writer) Kevin Libranda (art) David Curiel (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Avengers Mansion is now a Marvel super hero theme hotel? Get outta town. Well, aside from that bit of hoohaw I really liked this issue even though Gerry stonged me with a Rick Astley song brought on by the title to this issue. The Red Skull with Charles Xavier's powers is playing a lot of head games and I am looking forward to seeing how the good guys beat him. Kevin Libranda is a fine fill in for Pepe Larraz.

 Detective Comics #947 - James Tynion IV (writer) Alvaro Martinez (pencils) Raul Fernandez (inks) Brad Anderson (colours) Marilyn Patrizio (letters). The finale to the Victim Syndicate story ends with a back stabbing betrayal by one of the good guys. They couldn't be more obvious with one of the covers. It's understandable given the grief that character was going through. Speaking of Red Robin, who's the hooded guy in the last panel? This Batfan wants to know.

 Spider-Man/Deadpool #12 - Nick Giovannetti & Paul Scheer (writers) Todd Nauck (art) Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). This would be a great way for kids to learn how Christmas evolved from the ancient Roman celebration of Saturnalia honouring the god Saturn but it's got way too much adult content for them to be casting their beady little eyes on. For us more mature readers it was a fun time.

 Wonder Woman #13 - Greg Rucka (writer) Renato Guedes (art) Romulo Fajardo Jr. (colours) Jodi Wynne (letters). This issue spotlights Steve Trevor, looking a lot like Oliver Queen, as he tries to keep a mind altered Diana from being captured by bad guys. I'm not a fan of Steve calling Diana Angel. It's too saccharine. Whatever happened to make Diana mentally handicapped still needs to be determined and a way to get her back to normal still needs to be found. Those mysteries will keep me reading.

 Civil War II #8 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) David Marquez (art) Justin Ponsor (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). It's over at last but not really. This story is merely a launching pad for changes in the Marvel U. Some have already hit the racks like the new Incredible Iron Man starring Riri Williams. Many are poised to start off 2017 with a plethora of new exciting (we hope) stories. There are a bunch of full page possible futures featured and I got to play my favourite game of "who's drew that?". Well, these folks did: Adam Kubert, Leinil Francis Yu, Daniel Acuna, Alan Davis & Mark Farmer, Marco Rudy, Mark Bagley & John Dell, and Esad Ribic. It was fun guessing.

 Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #2 - Joshua Williamson (writer) Tony S. Daniel (pencils) Sandu Florea (inks) Alex Sinclair (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). This answers the question of which team would win in a fight. The answer will surprise you. Meanwhile, the third team is about to embark on a mission in preparation for taking over the world. Once this super villain team is discovered I'm sure the Justice League and the Suicide Squad will team up to stop them.

 Black Widow #9 - Chris Samnee & Mark Waid (writers) Chris Samnee (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Natasha teams up with Bucky to fight her mysterious stalker. I finally saw Captain America: Winter Soldier recently. That was a pretty good movie. Meanwhile back on the racks, we have the Weeping Lion plotting something nasty against the Black Widow to look forward to.

 Infamous Iron Man #3 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Alex Maleev (art) Matt Hollingsworth (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). I know this book isn't going to last but I am thoroughly enjoying it while it's on the stands. This issue explains what changed Victor Von Doom from being the super villain Doctor Doom to the super hero Iron Man. It's tied into Secret Wars where Doctor Doom was the god of all those universes smooshed together. I figger Victor will suffer another disfiguring accident and he'll revert to being a bad guy again. In the meantime, meet Mrs. Von Doom.

 Spider-Woman #14 - Dennis Hopeless (writer) Veronica Fish (art) Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). My favourite thing about this book are the friendships that Jessica has. She is going to need a lot of help to get through this grieving period after the death of the Porcupine. But wait, who's this in the back of the book?

 Spider-Man #11 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Sara Pichelli (art) Gaetano Carlucci (ink assist) Marte Gracia (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). This issue is all about Jefferson Davis, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. I don't mind that Miles is barely in this because it's so well written and I get to see Sara draw the Black Cat, even though I hate chunky soles on pumps. Just ignore the impractical footwear folks. The cover shows Spider-Man disintegrating but that just means that he's not going to be the major focus of this new story, his dad is.

 Star Wars #26 - Jason Aaron (writer) Salvador Larroca (art) Edgar Delgado (colours) Chris Eliopoulos (letters). He's Penny's favourite Star Wars hero. Luke may be prominently featured on the cover but the real star of this issue is Master Yoda. Still can't stand his inverted speech pattern though.

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