Wednesday Comics for 25 June 2014

Batman #32: The penultimate Zero Year issue finds Batman being one-upped by the Riddler (again) before finding his hideout...and discovering that the Riddler is STILL one step ahead. There's a lot of tension building up, but considering the fact that Gotham is still standing five years in the future and all the major players are still alive, next month's conclusion seems pretty enevitable. Capullo's art is nothing short of amazing, and I'm impressed he's been able to consistently illustrate this series for so long. There's also a preview for the new Grayson series which seems interesting. 

Chew #42: I continue to love this series and everything about it. Tony is awesome and has really grown into a strong, confident agent. There are some nods to previous plot threads and hints (dire warnings?) about what is still to come. The highlight, however, will always be Rob Guillory's art:

That's a Quacken, but notice anything about the cephalopods around him? There was also a flash forward to issue 60 in one panel featuring gray-haired Tony. I'm relieved that he survives, but even more nervous about Colby's fate (especially given the "doomed weddings" book at his nuptials). Fingers crossed for a happy ending!

Justice League #31: The Forever Evil storyline is over (hooray!), but we're still dealing with the fallout. At least it's interesting! I'm really curious about Luthor's angle re: joining the Justice League, and I like the new "villain," Jessica, an unwilling barer of the Power Ring. Shazam is growing me, too, with his ping pong table obsession. 

Ms. Marvel #5: A perfect ending to this first arc, and the reveal of a villain weird enough to lead us into the next one. Kamala learns to use her powers to her advantage, and even gets a pretty cool costume (which I will be replicating for DragonCon). The family dynamic - especially the father-daughter heart-to-heart - is really touching, and a huge part of what makes this book so special. 

Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #6: The mini-series wraps up (mostly) happily, but still leaves the story open-ended enough for another volume (which, according to my sources, won't be happening any time soon). This issue seemed a bit short, but it could just be that there's so much that happened and it all jumbled a bit. Mal & co. have taken on two new crew members, and now there's a mysterious new person (a clone?) hot on their heels. I've really enjoyed getting back into the Firefly universe and am sad to see it end again, but at least we have new fodder for fanfic and the potential for another comic book series...someday. 

NYC 2014: Day Three

Today Jon and I mostly hung around Brooklyn. We went to a few comic book stores, found some interesting books, and made my traditional pilgrimage to the Way Station. We also went to the City Reliquary, which was full of interesting historical and cultural artifacts:

Brooklyn also has the best street art:

After spending the day in Brooklyn, we went to a live taping of the Comic Book Club podcast at a bar in Chinatown. I hadn't listened before, but I definitely will now! It was a lot of fun, and the guest tonight was Tom King, one of the writers on Grayson:

If you listen to the show, know that I was the only girl in the entire bar, and thus the only person clapping when the guys started asking about Dick Grayson butt shots. :)

I'm a Bill!

Which secondary Harry Potter character are you? Find out here!

NYC 2014: Day Two

Today Jon and I went to Midtown Comics, where we found some sweet variant covers:

I especially love the Katie Cook "Moooooo-n Knight." Most of these are by Scottie Young, so we can get them signed at Heroes Con in a couple weeks. 

For lunch, we went to this Southern fusion place, Vynl, that Jon found. I had the truffle mac & cheese, which was delicious, but my favorite thing was the ladies' bathroom:

That Beyoncé mosaic was right over the toilet! They also played nothing but Beyoncé in there. Jon said the men's room was the same, but with Michael Jackson. 

After lunch we walked to Hell's Kitchen for the event that was the impetus or our trip: The Colbert Report taping! We stood in line for several hours, but it worth it because we sat in the front row. We're going to watch tonight to see if we show up. 

Dinner was at a great ramen/dim sum place owned by a former Chinese child actor. :) Tomorrow: Brooklyn!

NYC 2014: Day One

When I tried to document our trip to NYC last year, I didn't get very far. We'll see if this time goes better. :)

Jon and I woke up early, had some Sweet Hut buns (I seriously cannot wait until their Midtown location opens later this month), and drove to Hartsfield. Security has changed SO MUCH since last year: we were allowed to keep our shoes on, we didn't have to pull out our toiletry bags, and we were allowed to use  our phones (in airplane mode) during takeoff and landing. It's crazy. The flight was great - we flew Southwest, which we weird because they didn't assign seats. You just line up and sit wherever. 

When we arrived in LaGuardia, we took the bus/subway to Times Square and dropped our lone suitcase at the hotel. While we waited for check-in, we wandered around and saw the Puerto Rican Day Parade, the Lego Store, and Nintendo World:

After a nap and dinner (street car falafel, whut-what!), we went to see Heathers: The Musical. 

It was SO GREAT. Campy and hilarious and so so so much fun. The leads were amazing, and I will definitely be buying the soundtrack on June 17.

I'm the 8th Doctor!

Which Doctor are you? Find out here!