The Pull List: Best of 2014

Now, I told myself that I wasn't going to do one of these because I was moving and wouldn't have the time, but dammit, I wanted to give one last shout-out to a wonderfully dynamic year in comics. I feel like I grew tremendously as a creator because of my exposure to a smorgasbord of talented writers and artists, and I witnessed firsthand a medium that is just a microcosm of the changing tide in our culture: the inclusion of a diverse set of voices, the power of creatives to discuss social issues and bring about an alteration to the ways we see things, etc. It wasn't without its various missteps and downright flops, but, as a whole, I feel like the world of comic book nerddom is coming into its adulthood.

Here we go: in no particular order, these are my Best of 2014:

The Pull List: Butterfly Review

I am pretty sure that I have stated this before, but I have found over the last six months that I prefer limited-run series to many ongoing ones, partially because I know that I'm going to get a complete story and that it probably won't be canceled. Every now and then, a limited series becomes an ongoing, like in the case of Boom! Studios' Lumberjanes, but for the most part, like Babylon Five's five-season run, the creators know that they have a specific theme or themes they want to explore and then be done with it. Archaia's Butterfly is a perfect example of how effective a short story can be in comparison to a novel, especially when it's done as well as this was.

Just as an aside, this was going to be a review of the final issue, but I decided to look at the series as a whole instead. Actually, I think that was my original plan when I first picked up Butterfly, so I'm happy that I enjoyed it as much as I did.

No spoilers below the cut!

The Pull List: They're Not Like Us #1 Review

I think I was overly ambitious this week when I was like, "Oh, sure, I can totally write two reviews the week of Christmas while working full time!" So apologies for being a day late on this. But driving three hours to see my family and then driving three hours back was kind of exhausting. You understand. :)

And nope, no spoilers below!

The Pull List for December 24, 2014

Dear God, after the last two weeks, I am thankful for this little reprieve for the next two. Most of what's on my pull list for this week is stuff that I'm probably not going to purchase, but they're interesting enough to read or at least mention here. However, it looks like January is going to a bitch, based on the sheer number of books about which I am excited. I guess there could be worse things.

Also, I'm going to be taking the next week off since A) nothing is really coming out (at least that I'm wanting to read) and B) I am going to be in the process of moving to South Carolina. Siiiigh, so much to do.

Anyway, here's this week!

The Pull List: Captain Marvel #10 Review

Well, it had to happen at one point. Carol Danvers' 100th solo issue was not the amazingness that it could have been, but really, it is fairly difficult to follow the high action and hilarity of the first arc of this Captain Marvel series.

And as (almost) always, no spoilers below the cut!

On turning 31 ...

Being officially in my thirties is an interesting thing. Even in my twenties, I wasn't dreading reaching the Big Three-Zero, and really, it was other people's response to it that got me thinking about it.

"Only three more years until you can't call yourself a twenty-something!"
"Oh, my God, isn't it weird that you're going to be 30?"
"Do you feel nearly 30?"

And now that I've crested fully into a new decade of age, I've realized that, yep, I kinda like it here. Now, my twenties weren't necessarily this horrible ten-year span of awful - although plenty of pretty awful things happened to me, many of which were of my own making - but there is a certain freedom that comes with leaving them.

The Pull List for December 17, 2014

Oh, last week, I thought you were bad. I'm a little worried how things are going to go when I don't work at a comic store next month.

The Pull List: Copperhead #4 Review

Clara Bronson is a badass. This just goes without saying. She's almost the opposite of Low's Stel, the eternal, incurable optimist. Clara looks at the world realistically, not quite willing to go completely dark. But what both women have in common - in addition to their willingness to break established rules when they don't fit the situation - is that they hold family close to their hearts, ready to go to depths usually avoided in order to protect those they love. However, as complex and intriguing a character Clara is, she definitely shares the spotlight with Boo (aka Budroxifinicus) in this issue. Writer Jay Faerber splits the narrative between the two and manages to keep me interested in both, a feat that's not always accomplished easily (ahem, the Frodo-Sam half of the The Return of the King).

Via Image Comics

(No spoilers below the cut!)

The Pull List: Bitch Planet #1 Review

At the comic shop where I work, I am known as the Kelly Sue DeConnick Cheerleader. It's not an exaggeration, either. Ghost was phenomenal, although I will admit that I stopped reading when KSD left; Pretty Deadly was gloriously weird and poignant; and Captain Marvel portrays feminine power in a way that few comics do these days. DeConnick is a huge inspiration to me not only as a writer, but as a feminist, as well. I mean, who else could say, "I make people uncomfortable so my daughter won't have to," and mean it so wholeheartedly? So when I discovered a few months ago that she was working on a series for Image Comics called Bitch Planet, I knew that I had to pick up the first issue. 

And what an amazing first issue it was. No spoilers below (I promise!)

100 Happy Days Is COMPLETE!

Via Wiffle Gif

After 100 "grueling" days, the #100HappyDays challenge that I was conducting on Facebook is finally complete. I was late on a couple of days, which technically disqualified me from ... whatever prize I was supposed to win, but I wanted to go all the way through to the end, you know?

I'm not sure if the challenge altered my perceptions of what happiness is to me, but it did confirm just how easily I am to please. I am the type of person that squeals in delight over seeing that my husband has come home with a package of pot stickers, that claps her hands when she sees a cute video of squeaky otters. And if such small things make me happy, why worry about the big things?

That's what I'm going to take from the whole experience: happiness is not something that is given to you and it can't be stolen from you. You look at what makes you happy, and guess what. That feeling is yours. I encourage everybody who feels so inclined to take part in the challenge. Even if you miss a day for whatever reason, that's no reason to quit. You can even alter it to fit your lifestyle. Don't want to hashtag everything? Make a Happiness Jar! Three and I have decided that, starting January 1, we are going to do just that. It will be just for us, and at the end of the year, we'll be able to look back and count our blessings.

Okay, enough sappiness. But if you do decide to do 100 Happy Days, feel free to let me know! I'll send happy vibes your way.

The Pull List for December 10, 2014

This week has so many titles that I'm excited about reading: Thor, Rachel Rising, Bitch Planet, Copperhead, Supreme: Blue Rose, Batgirl ... It's looking like it's going to be an expensive week for me.

The Pull List: Men of Wrath #3 Review

I think I'm one of the last people on Earth - at least, among American comic book readers - that didn't know how awesome a creator Jason Aaron is. When I found out that he would be spear-heading the new Thor, I decided to do my research. And by research, I mean read more comics. It's a hard life, I know. His run prior to the Thor change-up was pretty solid, and I even found myself really loving Southern Bastards, which I'll definitely get back to in a minute. A few days ago, a Scalped trade came into the store, and I leafed through it with the full intention of reading it completely on one of my lunch breaks. What seems fairly certain to me is that, no matter how far Jason Aaron may go from his Southern roots, they'll always come back into his work. You write what you know, right?

(And as pretty much always, no spoilers below the cut!)

The Pull List for December 3, 2014

After a lovely Thanksgiving and Black Friday avoidance, I return with the first week of December's Pull List. This month is already looking pretty fucking awesome. 

The Pull List: ODY-C #1 Review

Over the past several months, I have been lucky enough to work in a comic book store, an experience which is, sadly, going to be ending in the next two weeks due to the HusFriend and me moving to another state, and during that time, I've been surrounded by amazing artists and writers that manage to get me excited about a new comic. For instance, Captain Marvel's Kelly Sue Deconnick's Bitch Planet, which is set to come out on December 10th, is one that I literally bounce at the mere mention of it, and any time I find another comic illustrated by Low's Greg Tocchini, I immediately pick it up (my most recent was issue #20 of Ms. Marvel, Volume 2). Ever since I read Sex Criminals - I went straight for the trade based on all the reviews - I've been a big fan of Matt Fraction, enjoying the hell out of Hawkeye (still so sad it's ending), so you can just imagine how excited I was when I heard he was taking on one of the only books I willingly read in high school: Homer's The Odyssey. The art was going to be trippy and vivid! And it was going to be with a feminist bent! Wheeee!

Via Image Comics

Dear Sister Person Book Club: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Dear Sister Person,

You are welcome. Very, very welcome. I figured that I could only add to the torture for so long before we abandoned our venture to read books together, and Gini Koch nearly made me want to kill you, to be honest. (No matter what you say, the Glorious Darcy books were in no way in the same awfulness caliber that Touched by an Alien was.) So reading Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane was definitely a welcome reprieve for me, as well.

The Pull List for November 26, 2014

Again, for this week (and for the rest of this year, probably), I'll continue to produce my pull list like this here. I'll be changing up formats at the first of the year, though, and by then, I'll have my digital comics pull list set up and I'll have found a comic shop where I can get physical copies. Anyway, cool story, bro, here's what's up for this week.

The Pull List: Spider-Woman #1 Review

I'm going to go ahead and reveal to you that this post right here? It is going to be a fucking rant, filled with as many expletives as I can muster, as much fury as I can call down from the heavens. It may not even be coherent, and I could not care a single bit less.

Because really.

WHAT. THE. FUCK. IS. THIS. SHIT.

Spider-Woman #1 Regular Cover
Via Marvel Comics

Also, yes, there are going to be spoilers.

The Pull List: Wonder Woman #36 Review

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

I didn't have high hopes for this one, guys. I saw the cheesecake cover in Previews and discovered that the writer, Meredith Finch, has only written for Zenoscope Entertainment. You know, the publisher of the masterpieces that are the various GFT (Grimm's Fairy Tales) series.

(Oh, and there are no spoilers here, since I didn't get pissed off enough to include any. So feel free to read away!)

Happy Birthday, Sister Person!!

Today is my lovely sister's 28th birthday!

Happy birthday, Stefers! Go on over to her blog and show her some birthday love!

The Pull List for November 19, 2014

So, as you may know, the next few weeks are going to be absolutely ape-shit crazy, so I'm not going to be able to put as much effort into The Pull List as I'd like. I have so much packing and tossing and selling and donating to do that I might just cry, so I'm going to revert to my old way of doing this for the next little bit: blurb for a few and then list the rest. Hopefully, once we get moved, everything will settle down? Please?

The Pull List: Drifter #1 Review

I don't know if it's this way in every comic book shop around the U.S., but in the last few I've frequented - including the current one at which I work - whenever a new Image comic comes out, people take notice. I guess with the success of The Walking Dead and Saga, both of which have issues that are worth well into the multiple hundreds of dollars, customers just want to be ahead of the game, especially if they are big time collectors. We even have one customer who wants every single Image first issue of anything, even if he never picks up the rest of the series. For me, however, I have the privilege of testing the waters prior to purchase, so I don't always have to worry that all of the issues will be gone by the time I am able to make it to the store. When I picked up the first issue of Drifter, though, I had the feeling that I was reading the beginning of something that was going to be very successful.

I Have the Worst Luck with Cars, Part XVIII: The Fourth Is Rubber

This weekend brought with it the celebration of the fourth year of my marriage to Three, a wonderful human being that I am privileged to know and love. And, of course, since it's us, our anniversary also involves a car's minor destruction.

I suppose this requires a bit of back story. Without delving too deeply into specifics, Three has been looking for another job for a few months now ... well, when he can, which is pretty much never, since he was given no vacation or sick time when he took this new job back in April, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that anything came up. Then, an old friend gave texted him, letting him know about a job opportunity in South Carolina. Three, desperate to change his situation, sent his resume over and nailed an interview on November 15. Coincidentally, that date is also our anniversary, so we decided to make a trip of it. After all, the company interviewing him was paying us for our gas and for our hotel room.

So, there we were. His interview had gone well*, we'd just eaten some exceptionally good Indian food, and were headed back to the hotel to watch some sort of movie when BAM. Out of nowhere, a big curb jutted out into what appeared to be a driving lane. The car was knocked around, and when I pulled to a stop - because of COURSE I was driving - Three jumped out to examine the damage.

The Pull List for November 12, 2014

Well, if I thought last week was bad, this week isn't looking too much better, at least in terms of volume. Now, like I said in yesterday's review of The Humans #1, things were a tad bit disappointing in terms of quality, and I'm hopeful that this week will return to the usual greatness.

The Pull List: The Humans #1

It is not very often that I don't at least finish a comic. As a matter of fact, I don't think that there has been a single time - that I can recall, which is, of course, a huge "if" statement - where I have read up to a certain point and thought, "You know what? My life would be better if I just stopped reading this." And then I picked up The Humans.

Pastime Paradise

Siiiiiiiiiigh, I wish I could be at the concert tomorrow. This will have to do. 

Harley is DONE.

Can I say how happy I am with how this turned out? Onto Poison Ivy as Demeter!

Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)

Well, we were supposed to leave today. I actually just stuck out my lower lip and sniffled a bit.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Summer Soft

I don't know why, but it seems fitting that my 300th post would be as Non-Thing-ish as just posting a single Youtube video. 

The Pull List for November 5, 2014

I am so intimidated by this week's pull list. I ... I just may cry. But it all looks so good! I'm going to try and keep summaries and reactions a little bit shorter than usual, but I make no promises on some of the ones that I'm really looking forward to reading.

Boogie On, Reggae Woman

Sir Duke

I Have the Worst Luck with Cars, Part XVII: Siiiiiighhhhh.

Via Monumental Network

So this weekend, I was going to go to Washington, DC, to see none other than Stevie Motherfucking Wonder (that's his real middle name, by the way), and I cannot express to you how excited I was about it. Number one, I'm a huge fan of the man, and I'm pretty sure that I've listened to Songs in the Key of Life about a million times ("Sir Duke" is my favorite song off the album, although "Summer Soft" is a close second), so attending a concert that is all about it? Hell, and may I say, yes. Number two, it has been over two years since Three and I have gone on any kind of vacation, and based on the last year - God, this past year has been awful - we deserve some R&R. It wasn't even going to be extravagant: we were going to be staying in a house (for free) that is owned by a friend's family, and we were splitting the total cost with another couple. The most expensive part of the trip, of course, was the ticket price, but hey, we expected that. It's Stevie Motherfucking Wonder, in case you forgot.

And then, because how else would this end, two of our tires decided that they no longer wanted to be a part of this world. The front left tire went flat, and Three used our spare until that went flat due to an unintended detour into a construction site. After he bought an air compressor and used it to fill the flat tire (that spare was of no use now), he put that back on, but the other tire somehow developed what I kept calling a rubber hemorrhoid (I have no idea what the actual term is). Three said that it was pretty much a sign that the tire could burst at any moment, so yay.

For two weeks, we tried to get replacement tires but every place that Three called didn't have our tire size or they were just ludicrously priced. Things just got down to the wire and we simply had to buy new tires, which ended with us spending nearly $300. On the plus side, our tires are really nice - and green! - but they were the only ones the tire place had in stock, since they'd just that day had a huge sale on all of their stock, leaving only the most expensive tires for us.

Long story short, we no longer have the money to go see Stevie Wonder, so in effort to keep my spirits high, in addition to daily Mass Effect* challenge entries, I'll be posting videos of Stevie Wonder's songs through the end of this week. My friends are still able to go, so we'll be there in spirit, but ... suuuuuuuuuccckkkk.

* If I'm late on these, I'll just do a double or triple post, I think, but I'll try to keep on track. I don't want to have another Buffy issue where it takes me almost two months to do a 30-day challenge. That was ... embarrassing.

To NaNo or Not to Nano ...

I do this literally every year around two or three days before the beginning of National Novel Writing Month, an internal dialgoue that goes something like the following:

Me #1: Self, you really should try doing NaNoWriMo again.
Me #2: Seriously? This shit again? We fail. EVERY. YEAR.
Me #1: But that's because we don't have a game plan! If we came up with an itinerary ...
Me #2: Why do you sound like my mom?
Me #1: Hey, she has good qualities. Time management!
Me #2: We have a thing we call Mom Time. As in, "So is it 15 real minutes, or on Mom Time?"
Me #1: I still think we should do NaNo.
Me #2: Okay, I'm going to reenact our NaNo involvement since 2009 in a three act play. Act One: WHEEE TOTALLY DOING THIS!! Act Two: Ugh, starting to run out of steam. I'll catch up this weekend! Act Three: Fuck, I only have 20,000 words and tomorrow is December 1st. Oh, well, there's always next year!
Me #1: ... That ... is not ... entirely ... inaccurate. [pause] But we should totally do it.
Me #2: Fuck you. But ... maybe. I'll think about it. 

This year, though, I'm firmly in Me #2's Camp o' NaNo Apathy. I'll cheer on as many people as I can, but I'm going to sit 2014 out. Instead, I'll be doing the Mass Effect challenge, finishing up my Halloween paintings (by the way, my costume and the winner will be announced later on today on my Instagram!), completing my sister's birthday present (it's a tattoo design), celebrating Thanksgiving and my anniversary (why, oh, why, are Novembers so jam-packed??), and starting a new project that I'll be updating you guys on soon.

Oh! And before I forget, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Alright, off to work! I hope to amuse as many people as possible on my journey.

The Pull List for October 29, 2014

OMG I FEEL THE NEED TO USE CAPS BECAUSE I ONLY HAVE TEN BOOKS FOR THIS WEEK!

Life with Pets: Dinnertime

As the day approaches evening, THREE and JUJU return to their apartment after work with a few bags from the grocery store. ZOLA eagerly bounces in front of them, excited that a) her humans are home and b) she will be going outside to pee and poop. BITSY sits on the arm of the chair situated right next to the front door; BINA remains in the window (where she has appropriately destroyed yet another part of the blinds); and KITKAT emerges from her slumber on the couch with a wide-mouthed yawn.

THREE: We're home!
ZOLA: ZOMG DADDY MOMMY PEE POOP ZOMG
JUJU: Hang on a second, Zola. Let me help Three with the bags, and then I'll take you out.
BITSY: I was lonely!!
BINA: (does not move but looks in the direction of the half-full - or are they half-empty - food bowls) Hungry?

The Pull List for October 22, 2014

I have absolutely no Marvel titles this week. I'm not sure what this says about me. Like, I used to be so damn sure that I was a bigger fan of Marvel than of DC, but that is quickly proving to not be the case. For instance, Green Lantern: New Guardians is quickly becoming one of my favorite series; Batman and Justice League have intrigued me with their current story lines; Earth 2: World's End doesn't confuse the hell out of me like I thought it would, considering how many different characters there are; and Batgirl is probably one of the most fun things I've read in a while. Plus, they're putting out a lot of new titles - Gotham Academy, the below-mentioned Arkham Manor, and the whole Multiversity series - that are, so far, pretty great. Granted, Marvel, I think, tends to have series that suit me better - Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, Thor, the soon-to-be-released Spider-Woman - and indie publishers like Boom! Studios and Image keep exciting me far more than the Marvel and DC combined, but this may change as I become more interested in the DC universe.

The Pull List: Deadpool's The Art of War #1 Review

You know, I think Deadpool walks around with Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy" playing in the background at all times. That's what I kept hearing as I was reading the first issue of the new Deadpool miniseries, at least. He keeps getting these grand ideas - agreeing to help Dracula with a "package," killing the Marvel universe and then the famous literary heroes that inspired the writers of the Marvel universe, joining up with Brute Force (and a mecha-orca), etc. - and, so far, things haven't always worked out like he thought. But hey, that's what keeps bringing readers back, am I right?

Via Comic Vine

Spoilers ahead, kids, so if you'd rather start reading blind, you can turn back now. Or ... just don't click on the "read more" thingy.

Continued progress on Harley :D

I'm incredibly proud of this piece, you guys. Like, seriously. I may actually sell these where I work.

Harley Quinn as the Greek goddess Eris
Nearly complete!
All Rights Reserved by Jennifer Trela 2014

Also, the contest is coming to a close here in a few days, and while I can't comment (yet) as to whether there is or is not a winner, I will say that I will be doing a few consolation prizes in addition to the grand prize of three (yes, I changed it as of this post) prints of my DC Goddesses. Two runners up will receive one print of their choice, so be sure to check my Instagram and comment your guess as to what my costume is going to be! I'll be posting some more obvious clues there over the next couple of days, and there's always a chance you could be a winner.

Dear Sister Person Book Club: Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch

Dear Sister Person,

What have I ever done to you? Is it because I chose Beth Ciotta twice? Is it because I once refused to go back into Bruegger's Bagels to retrieve your retainer from the trash (because you couldn't do it yourself, for some reason)? Is it because I "ruined" your childhood by telling you Santa Claus wasn't real? I mean, absolutely none of those - combined even - warrants forcing me to read about Katherine "Kitty" Katt and her misadventures with winged "superbeings."

Touched by an Alien by Gina Koch
Via My Not So Vacant Shelf
Also, it does not bode well for this book if the dude on the cover looks like the least favorite of my exes.

Happy Holidays?

So, as many of you know, I'm doing that 100 Happy Days challenge thing over on my Facebook, where I post a picture a day of something that makes me happy. I'm forty-five days in - and I'm actually a little surprised that I've only been late twice - and each day, it's actually getting easier to decide on what I'm going to post. Yesterday, I settled on "the holiday season" as my next picture, and I jump on Google, ready to indulge myself on lots and lots of images of Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice. And feel free to remind me of any others that I'm forgetting.

And yet, what do I see??

The Pull List for October 15, 2014

I'm slowly starting to shave off a few titles from my monthly pull list. Sensational Comics Feat. Wonder Woman, Transformers, and Death Vigil are just a couple that I've decided not to read any longer, which is a huge sigh of relief from my pocketbook. There are a couple on this week's list that might not make it for many more weeks, but for the most part, I think I've established my rhythm for the time being.

The Pull List: Batgirl #35 Review

It's taken me quite a while for me to come to terms with the fact that I am part of the Millennial generation, even if I am at the tail end of it (1983, bitches!). Now, it's kind of one of those things where I begrudgingly look at my life situation and think, "Ugh, YES, I feel what these 20-somethings are feeling." However, this is not to say that I don't find my younger counterparts to be equally baffling and irritating, as evidenced by a recent obsession with VHS tapes. Like, really, Millennials. Do you know nothing about the crappiness of VHS tapes? Half of the ones you're purchasing for ten cents each don't even work, and there's a good chance that - even if you were able to find a VCR that wasn't complete junk - whatever you were hoping to watch has been taped over by someone's mother's soap operas or The Price Is Right.

Ahem. Anyway. Batgirl. Right.

Ello!

Via Ello

I joined Ello about two weeks ago, and I have yet to get the hang of it. It's bare-bones, with no annoying advertising or like buttons, the latter of which I have found to be rather freeing. It promotes interaction, at least as far as networking sites go, but because it's not really that user-friendly, it's not all that easy to talk to other people. I only follow, like, six people, and my feed is getting crazy enough that I actually fear following any more.

Progress on Harley!

Well, I've made pretty big strides on Harley as Eris. This weekend, I'll be finishing the line drawing and then get started on the painting!

Yeah, I messed up on the eyebrow, but I'm going to work it in there somehow.

Obviously, the prize(s) probably won't be finished by Halloween, but I should at least have the line drawings done for all of them by then. That way, whomever wins can make an educated decision. :)

I Have the Worst Luck with Cars, Part XVI: People in Lines Are Dicks

So remember when I said that I had my motorcycle for about a month before I burst into flame because of a faulty heat shield? Well, this story takes place before that lovely incident, but the results of my actions on that day, like my third degree burns on my right calf, still affect my regular life up until this very minute and will likely continue through the end of my life.

I HAVE DECIDED.

If you haven't been following my Instagram for clues as to what my Halloween costume is going to be, head over there now and make your guess! Or you can wait until October 26, 2014, at 11:59:59, but if someone has already guessed, you are SOL. BECAUSE I HAVE DECIDED ON THE PRIZE.

The winner, if there is one, will receive a print of one of the following DC women as Greek goddesses: Harley Quinn as Eris, Poison Ivy as Demeter, Batwoman as Nyx, or Supergirl as Artemis! If you guess correctly by October 18, 2014, you can choose two of them, because I am a generous individual.

As I complete the paintings (I'm working on Harley right now), I'll post them to the main blog and on my artwork page, in addition to my DeviantArt and Facebook pages. 

This is gonna be fun! 

The Pull List for October 8, 2014

This trend of my pull list growing doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon, as you'll see over the next couple of months. These publishers just keep popping out engaging books! Damn them. Luckily, most of the series I am content to simply read while I'm on my lunch break, but a few of them definitely are going to have to become a part of my permanent collection. Marvel seems to be increasing their trade paperback prices, so I may just start buying the individual issues there, but for the most part, TPs tend to be the cheaper route.

Three and I may have to invest in a bigger bookshelf.

The Pull List: POP #2 Review

Back when I first heard about this title, I was thoroughly excited about it: pop stars are manufactured in a factory? One of them escapes? Count me in! And the cover art by Dylan Todd was intriguing, if not somewhat disconcerting, design-wise. It's intentionally skewed, and it definitely has a sort of pulpy, newspaper serial comic look to it.

Via Dark Horse

One of my co-managers kind of wrinkled his nose at the design, but he's kinda finicky and has a huge case of the "I only like comics from before the mid-90s." To be fair, he is more than free to have that preference, as art is a very subjective sort of thing, and anyway, I usually shrug apathetically at any of his suggestions and go leaf through the most recent issue of Low*, which he also can't stand.

It's Three's Birthday!! :D

So Three is one of those people that doesn't like to celebrate his birthday. To be fair, neither do I, but that's because of this curse that I believe I have*, and anyway, the point is that today is Three's birthday. I gave him his birthday present about a month ago**, two volumes of The Tick, both of which he counts as prized possessions.

Yep, and I got a discount, too!

A lot of Three's life has been exceptionally sad, especially when it comes to his birthday. In a particularly Sixteen Candles-esque situation, his parents completely forgot the date of his birth and went about the day like it was no different from any other. 1) There was no wedding going on. 2) He was in the single digits. That's enough to give anyone the idea that they just don't matter, and it took over thirty years for him to fully come to the realization that he is worth so much more than that.

Several weeks ago, I was having a conversation with myself, trying to figure out how to talk to a friend of mine about the relationship problems he was having (in that his girlfriend doesn't really love him and only stays for the purpose of him buying her shit). I imagined that I'd ask him if he could explain why he loved her, knowing that he would have a hard time saying anything but, "Well, she was the girl I wanted when I was younger and now I have her. Oh, and she cooks sometimes, although I am actually an accomplished chef myself." So then I started listing all of the reasons that I love Three, and I ended up tearing up as I whispered them to myself (Three was asleep in the next room and I didn't want to wake him).

• He would be late on rent if it meant that someone didn't go hungry.
• He absolutely loves children and babies. 
• He's already somewhat technologically crotchety and has only recently decided that he wants to learn how to do computer-ish stuff.
• He loves me for who I am and doesn't try to change me at all.
• He enjoys cooking for two reasons: he's very artistically satisfied by pairing flavors together and he likes to serve others. 
• He can go from serious, to goofy, to sappy, to intellectual, to downright playful, and then right back to serious in a matter of seconds. And it all ties together seamlessly.
• He's adorably bad at cleaning. The guy tried to clean up dog vomit with Febreeze for God's sake, and his idea of cleaning the kitchen after cooking is to run a wet rag over everything and let it air dry.
• He's one of the most spiritual people I know. 
• When he tries to do an accent, it always ends up one of two things: a very bad Mexican accent or very bad Russian, even when he's trying to do Scottish. Although he does a Southern accent quite well, but that doesn't count because he's from there.
• He gets such a delight out of watching depressing movies because he can always see a happy side to any situation. 
• He has more hair products than I do and simply has to change into a nice pair of jeans before going to the grocery store. 
• He gets as stupidly excited about tattoos as I do.
• He has silver hairs growing in his thick, curly dark brown mane (what? I've been reading romance novels; cut me some slack), and they are the sexiest thing ever. He was self-conscious about them for a while but is now examining them in the mirror while beaming with pride. "I've earned these."
• He can write a song, lyrics and music alike, in the span of a few minutes, and it's actually good. 
• He hates getting presents but wants to shower everyone else with them.
• He also doesn't like buying things - that aren't necessities - for himself. 
• He engages me intellectually. 
• He reads people so well but refuses to use that to his advantage. 
• He believes in me in a way that no one else ever has. 
• All he really wants is to be loved unconditionally. Nothing more, nothing less.

Shit, I'm tearing up now. I'm one of the luckiest humans in the world. So now, I'm going to spend the day with my favorite person ever and make sure that he knows every single one of these. To be honest, I'll probably come up with more.

Happy Birthday, Three!

* It's something that I academically know as being ridiculous, but in my heart of hearts, I have such a hard time calling attention to my birthday. I wanted to have a party last year, but that kind of didn't happen, and I was secretly glad that it happened that way, even if it did mean that I wasn't going to get a dinosaur cake.
** I have a thing, in which I can't hold onto presents if I buy or make them in advance.

Life with Pets: Sleep - A One-Act Play

At the end of a very busy day, THREE and JUJU are preparing to go to bed: Three is under the covers, reading a book from his obscure collection, and Juju has just returned from taking an excited ZOLA for a final poop-pee session on the grounds of the apartment complex. KITKAT has just disappeared under the bed, and BINA sits atop Juju's pillow, licking her fur contentedly. 

THREE: Everything go okay?
JUJU: Yup. She even got to see Red again.
THREE: Red's owner still got the hots for you?
JUJU: (sighs) He stared at my boobs the whole time.
THREE: I don't blame him.
JUJU: Do you really want me to go on a feminist rant right now?

With much effort, Zola gracelessly jumps up onto the bed and lands squarely on Three's lower legs. 

Dear Sister Person Book Club: This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

Alrighty, readers, the Sister Person and I are trying something different this month, and I think it's going to stick. Basically, any time one of us picks a book, the other writes the first review to be posted either on the first or third Thursday of the month, and then the picker responds the following week. Since SP chose this month's books, I'll be posting my take on it today, and then she'll post hers next Thursday! 

Dear Sister Person,

To be honest, I was really iffy about reading This Is Where I Leave You because, as I said via text message, "white people problems," but I tried to wipe that from my consciousness when I started reading it. I'm happy to report that I was successful in my endeavors, at least in that vein, but you know what? I still really hated this book.

ZOMG HALLOWEEN

Spooooooookyyyyyy! (Not really.)
Via Mohawk Auto Center

You know, every year, I have this idea that I'm going to do something for Halloween: you know, go to a party or bar crawl, terrorize children who dare knock on my door to ask for treats, watch scary movies with the Husfriend and animals until I get bored, decorate my apartment with all sorts of shit like cobwebs, witch silhouettes, and sugar skulls. But I never do. Well, that's not entirely true. I went pretty Halloween crazy during college and for several years after graduation. Over the past few years, though, I've ended up drinking half a glass of wine and falling asleep on the couch in the middle of the first Buffy Halloween episode.

"Oh, well. Maybe next year?" I'll tell myself.

BUT, OH, NO. NOT THIS YEAR, BITCHES. Back in July, I decided on my costume, and as each day has crept closer and closer to October 31, I've been getting more and more excited, because just guess who I'm going to be.

The Pull List: G.I. Joe (2014)

Even when the G.I. Joe cartoon was airing back during my childhood, I wasn't a big fan of the series. I didn't hate the show, but it really wasn't on my single-digit-aged mind. When I got a bit older, I tried watching some of the cartoons, but I found them a little silly. And yes, this does come from an adult woman who loves My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and The Muppet Babies. I suppose I had a much more sophisticated palette then (hahaha who am I kidding? I watched plenty of pretty awful kids' shows).