Kelly Thompson
3 Chicks Review Comics – Episode 043
Hey! It’s our 43rd episode!
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN, DOWNLOAD, AND/OR SUBSCRIBE TO ITUNES NOW.
Inside this episode! We have an advance review of Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth’s Stumptown #1 and Matt Fraction and David Aja’s Hawkeye #2. We then have an awesome interview with Greg Rucka talking about Stumptown, Lazarus, Punisher, his time at DC – including the scoop on what actually caused him to leave DC, the new Wonder Woman pilot, and everything else we can think of! Chick of The Week this week is a long overlooked lady who is having a hard time in recent months at DC – Lois Lane!
Here are the breaks:
Stumptown #1 – 01:00
Hawkeye #2 – 08:43
Greg Rucka Interview – 24:15
Chick of The Week (plus Wonder Woman talk and a few other goodies) – 108:48
3 Chicks Review Comics is a podcast featuring female comics lovers and bloggers Sue from DC Women Kicking Ass and Kelly Thompson from She Has No Head! Tune in to CSBG every other Monday at noon as we review comics and discuss hot topics of the week. In addition to the blogs above, you can also follow us all on twitter as well: Kelly and Sue. Special thanks to Nik Furious for our awesome 3 Chicks theme song.
*As always beware of spoilers if you haven’t read the books in question!
She Has No Head! – This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
So a couple weeks ago I posted a round up of my favorite news from SDCC 2012. It’s now only fair that I talk about what I found to be the most disappointing news to come out of SDCC 2012. And I’m only going to talk about one thing, because the continued weirdness when it comes to characters like Stephanie Brown and Cass Cain though depressing as all get out, is both expected, and perhaps in a way, tied to what I’m going to talk about anyway.
Batwoman by SelkieSiun
3 Chicks Review Comics – Episode 042
Hey! It’s our 42nd episode!
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN, DOWNLOAD, AND/OR SUBSCRIBE TO ITUNES NOW.
Inside this episode! We review Kelly Sue DeConnick and Dexter Soy’s Captain Marvel #1 and Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ Saga #5. We then have an awesome interview with Becky Cloonan so we can talk about her upcoming work on Batman #12! We talk about all of her books, her process, and what you can look for next from here. In lieu of Chick of The Week this week we talk a bit about SDCC 2012 – what we like and dislike, and what we’re excited about. Sue also gives a mini (non-spoiler) review of The Dark Knight Rises and very graciously “forces” me to talk about the last hours of my Kickstarter campaign – it ends Wednesday!
Here are the breaks:
Captain Marvel #1 – 01:00
Saga #5 – 13:24
Becky Cloonan Interview – 26:12
SDCC & The Dark Knight Rises talk! – 91:18
3 Chicks Review Comics is a podcast featuring female comics lovers and bloggers Sue from DC Women Kicking Ass and Kelly Thompson from She Has No Head! Tune in to CSBG every other Monday at noon as we review comics and discuss hot topics of the week. In addition to the blogs above, you can also follow us all on twitter as well: Kelly and Sue. Special thanks to Nik Furious for our awesome 3 Chicks theme song.
*As always beware of spoilers if you haven’t read the books in question!
The Girl Who Would Be King Chapters 17 – 20
Bonnie Braverman by Stephanie Hans
When I wake up in the abandoned building it’s late afternoon judging by the sun and I feel new, like I have been slumbering in a cocoon and am now emerging strong; like being reborn. My clothes look the opposite of new however, stiff and caked in dark blood. I unzip my bag and pull out some of the few items of clothing I own and change into them, testing my muscles as I stretch, my mind swimming about what I should do next.
I’ve had doubts about finding Jasper ever since he didn’t come for me six years ago, and they’ve only been compounded since things have gone so horribly awry for me since leaving the home. But when you hold onto something so tightly for twelve years it’s hard to let it go. Maybe impossible. He’s still all I want in this whole world. If he doesn’t want me around, he’ll have to tell me himself.
***
If you’re intrigued click here for The Girl Who Would Be King Chapters 17 – 20 or follow this link to my blog to read it online in full, or to download the first 20 Chapters in full (they’re on the short side!)
And if you like what you read, don’t forget to visit the Kickstarter and pledge – only 6 days left to get the limited edition hardcover (and more!)
This is the last week that pages will be going up on CSBG, but there will still be another week of pages on 1979 Semifinalist. Thanks for indulging me everyone – and for all of the support!
She Has No Head! – My Favorite SDCC 2012 News!
Wonder Pony by Andy Price
I’m someone that continues to not be able (or willing?) to go to the craziness that is SDCC these days – my one and only SDCC visit was when I was 16 – it’s a WHOLE NEW THING SINCE THEN, or so I hear.
So like many of you I must get my “breaking news” from all the comic sites out there providing crazy good coverage. A particular tip of the hat to The Beat which did fantastic daily summaries of all their stories, making it easy for me to catch up on everything. And for today I decided to do a little roundup of my favorite news items from the con. Prepare yourself now, there’s lots of exciting all caps talk.
OH! And to kick us off I’ll just leave this here, okay?
She Has No Head! – The Girl Who Would Be King 13 – 16
The Girl Who Would Be King promotional art by Meredith McClaren
Turning a corner deep in thought I don’t notice anything until I see a shadow fall across my path and I almost smack right into her.
Sharon.
Apparently she hasn’t forgotten what I’d done to her and has been paying attention to when I would be released. She looks rough. Like the months since she left the home have been hard on her. I notice her hand that I crushed is still damaged. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that an orphan’s hand wasn’t properly repaired. My guilt doubles. Triples. She hides the hand underneath crossed arms when she sees me looking at it. I look up into her face and open my mouth to say I’m sorry but I can see it will mean nothing to her and turn away, determined not to get into another physical altercation with her.
***
If you’re intrigued click The Girl Who Would Be King Chapters 13 – 16 or follow this link to my blog to read it online in full, or to download the first 16 Chapters in full.
And if you like what you read, don’t forget to visit the Kickstarter and pledge – only 13 days left to get the limited edition hardcover.
ALSO! If you’re headed to SDCC this weekend keep a look out for Meredith McClaren – who in addition to generally being awesome and having cool stuff for you to buy will have free THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING postcards (like the above) to give away on Friday and Saturday.
She Has No Head! – Is It Worth It?
Image for Anita Sarkeesian's "Tropes vs Women Video Games" Kickstarter
I’d like to open today’s column up a bit to your thoughts as I ask the question “Is it worth it?”
And when I say “it” I mean, is speaking out online and trying to move the needle on issues that are sometimes unpopular worth it in the end? We’ve had an excellent (and rather extreme) example lately in the case of Anita Sarkeesian’s Tropes vs. Women in Video Games Kickstarter, which I visited relatively early on and was weighing whether or not to fund (I was leaning toward yes when her Kickstarter went viral). But Sarkeesian’s project went viral and earned an unprecedented $158k+ (against her original $6k goal) primarily because the haters, misogynists, creeps, “ole boys club”, and trolls came out in force against her to a staggering (and frankly, horribly alarming) degree. Thus Sarkeesian’s project became a big news item, earned a lot more coverage, and a whole lotta people (nearly 7k) cried foul in the form of support – and cold hard cash.
She Has No Head! – The Girl Who Would Be King Chapters 9 – 12
Bonnie vs Lola, Illustration by Stephanie Hans
Sharon is becoming a legitimate problem for me.
Until recently she’s been a thorn in just about everyone’s side, but she’s provided an interesting opportunity for me to do good. Returning thrown necklaces and other bits of stolen property, stopping fights before they begin, stupid little stuff. Little stuff that makes people happy and lets me see my mother in my dreams. The dreams, even if they are filled with confusion and violence and strange warnings that I don’t understand, are still time with my mother. Until Sharon I’ve been used to people somehow intrinsically understanding to leave me
***
If you’re intrigued click The Girl Who Would Be King Chapters 9 – 12, or follow this link to my blog to read it online in full, or to download the first 12 Chapters in full.
And if you like what you read, don’t forget to visit the Kickstarter!
She Has No Head! – Alison Bechdel’s Are You My Mother?
Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama. Alison Bechdel (writer/artist). Houghton Mifflin 
Harcourt. Hardcover. 304 Pages. $22.00.
Though on the surface I prefer Fun Home after one reading of Are You My Mother?, I suspect Are You My Mother? is a book I will return to many times over the years and always glean something new from, both as daughter, wannabe academic, writer, and depending on how my life turns out, possibly as mother, because Bechdel’s book is complicated and layered in a way that few graphic novels are and it affected me powerfully both in what I understood and what I know that I cannot yet understand. I feel that though I read the book carefully, and adored it, at the age of 35 I can only process some parts of it.
Perhaps I am not ready for the rest.
At 45 I suspect I will see it in a whole new light. And at 55 it may become something else entirely.. It feels like the kind of work that will stay with me my whole life, revealing new layers as I am equipped to understand them.
She Has No Head! – The Girl Who Would Be King Chapters 1 – 8
Cover art by Stephanie Hans
Berks County, Pennsylvania
The car hits the tree going at least forty miles an hour and I go through the windshield like I’ve been tossed gently by a hurricane. I land thirty yards away from the car on some bright green grass, barely missing the tree directly in my path.
Everything is black for a while.
When I open my eyes again all I see are these vivid green leaves floating casually above me, and I wonder for just a moment about their casual ways, trying to understand why certain parts of life just don’t care about the other parts.
And then the smell hits me.
It isn’t gentle like the leaves, but assaulting and violent. It fills my nostrils with the same metallic flavor that fills your mouth when you suck on your thumb after cutting it way too deep, when the blood is dark and black, not pinkish like a party. My head rolls back under me as my chest heaves up, toward the green leaves above me, and I turn my head to the side to throw up. Spitting into the grass and leaning up on my elbow I squeeze my eyes closed as tightly as I can, afraid of what I’m going to see when I finally have to open them. Tears leak out the sides of my eyes, hot and wet on my cheeks. The smell of my parents’ blood makes me throw up again and again until there’s nothing left and I’m just coughing and breathing hard, my small ribcage ready to break with the pressure.
***
If you’re intrigued click here to download The Girl Who Would Be King Chapters 1 – 8, or follow this link to my blog to read it online in full.
And if you like what you read, don’t forget to visit the Kickstarter!
She Has No Head! – 12 Birthday Wishes (Round 2!)
THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING, cover by Stephanie Hans
Tw0 years ago my birthday fell on a Monday and so I decided to make 12 Birthday Wishes…and now every year Sue asks me if I’m doing it again. This year, especially since I REALLY want some things I decided to do it again even though my birthday isn’t until Thursday.
I thought it might be fun first however (and since I’ve become an obsessive fan of Mark Oshiro’s Mark Watches) to look at what came true from last time (newsflash – not a lot).
2010 LIST:
1. Cliff Chiang drawing Gail Simone’s Birds of Prey.
Well, obviously I didn’t even get close here because of the new DC52. HOWEVER, I did get Cliff Chiang drawing Wonder Woman, which is awesome and similar to what I wished. So I’m giving myself 1/4 point.
2. Monthly ongoing Heralds (or similar with an all female cast from Marvel).
Nope. Not even close. But we did get Duane Swieszernski’s Birds of Prey, so that was nice. Still, 0 points.
3. Moratorium on the un-zipped superheroine suit.
No, not even close, but I will say that 2011-2012 were WAY better than 2010, especially when it came to comic covers. 1/4 point.
4. Batwoman #1 to rock my goddamn socks off.
I’m giving this partial credit. The second arc of the series has not wildly impressed me with the writing, but the first issue came pretty close to rocking my socks off. 1/2 point.
5. I wanted my Stumptown #4.
3 Chicks Review Comics – Episode 041
Hey! It’s our 41st episode!
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN, DOWNLOAD, AND/OR SUBSCRIBE TO ITUNES NOW.
Inside this episode! We review Damon Lindelof and Jeff Lemire’s digital release Legends of The Dark Knight #1 and Brian Wood and James Harren’s Conan The Barbarian #5. We then have an awesome interview with Brian Wood – who had a crazy four title debut last week (The Massive #1, Conan The Barbarian #5, X-Men #30, and Ultimate X-Men #13). We talk about all of his books and lots of other great stuff. For Chick of the Week this week Sue chose fantastic cover artist Jenny Frison and I take the opportunity to make everything about Buffy The Vampire Slayer. We also talk about a special project I’ve got coming up which I know you’ll ALL want to hear about. 
Apologies for the sound inconsistencies toward the end. There were some problems with my audio and I had to edit in post…but it’s not so wonderful.
Links! Mara Mini-Series, Ryan Kelly, Becky Cloonan, Fiona Staples, Rebekah Isaacs, Ming Doyle, James Harren, Ghost #0 Cover Art Process, The Girl Who Would Be King!
Here are the breaks:
Legends of The Dark Knight #1 – 00:45
Conan The Barbarian #5 – 13:22
Brian Wood Interview – 22:40
Chick of the Week (and more!) – 100:00
3 Chicks Review Comics is a podcast featuring female comics lovers and bloggers Sue from DC Women Kicking Ass and Kelly Thompson from She Has No Head! Tune in to CSBG every other Monday at noon as we review comics and discuss hot topics of the week. In addition to the blogs above, you can also follow us all on twitter as well: Kelly and Sue. Special thanks to Nik Furious for our awesome 3 Chicks theme song.
*As always beware of spoilers if you haven’t read the books in question!
She Has No Head! – Black Widow: Required Reading
I mentioned a couple weeks ago, before I felt compelled to go on a massive rant, that I was working on a Black Widow “Required Reading” post…and as promised here we are!
I’ve been reading a bunch of Black Widow stuff in preparation for this, along with the material that I’ve already read and so these are the books that rose to the top for me. I’m sure I’ve missed some things (and I’m sure you’ll tell me) but I’ll just let you know right now I did NOT miss Black Widow: Deadly Origins, Black Widow & The Marvel Girls, and the current Black Widow Strikes mini-series, all of which I found to be quite terrible. Feel free to disagree in the comments, but please don’t assume I didn’t consider them. I did consider them and I found them disturbingly lacking. If you want something really great that Natasha is guest starring in that’s more current than the list below, I’d recommend the very good Winter Soldier ongoing by Ed Brubaker. It’s a great book with a really well written (and drawn) Natasha.
I read in the Marvel Solicits for August that apparently “Hawkeye is the breakout star of The Avengers” which I guess means he gets a shot at an ongoing title while Black Widow is relegated to that truly abysmal mini-series that’s almost over now. So Hawkeye gets Matt Fraction and the brilliant David Aja and Black Widow still gets the equivalent of bupkis. Now, I don’t know what movie the people responsible for these things saw but I have no idea how anyone would walk away with “Hawkeyes as breakout star” from the movie I saw. I like Renner very much as an actor and I have no problems with Hawkeye as a character, but there is just no damn way he outshined Natasha/Scarlett Johansson.
3 Chicks Review Comics – Episode 040
Hey! It’s our 40th episode!
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN, DOWNLOAD, AND/OR SUBSCRIBE TO ITUNES NOW.
Inside this episode! We review Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Amanda Conner’s digital release Ame-Comi Wonder Woman #1 with wonderful colors by Paul Mounts; Jeff Lemire and Mikel Janin’s Justice League Dark #9. We then have an oversized installment talking with writer Kelly Sue DeConnick about her upcoming project Captain Marvel as well as her reboot of Ghost for Dark Horse with Phil Noto, and an upcoming creator owned project with Emma Rios! We also geek out about The Avengers movie, speculate on The Dark Knight Rises, and talk about writing for different artists! For Chick of the Week this week I choose the uber-talented (and delightful) Stephanie Hans, who I’ve now had the pleasure of working with twice and can’t even express how wonderful it has been. I get all tongue-tied even. We also chat about the Alan Scott reveal and Hunger Games and how closet (and not so closet) racism and homophobia still depress the crap out of us.
Links! Ame-Comi Wonder Woman #1, Justice League Dark #9 CBR Review, Stephanie Hans Shop, The Girl Who Would Be King, Womanthology, Called It!,
Here are the breaks:
Ame-Comi Wonder Woman #1 – 00:33
Justice League: Dark #9 – 16:20
Kelly Sue DeConnick Interview – 29:00
Chick of the Week (and more!) – 136:00
3 Chicks Review Comics is a podcast featuring female comics lovers and bloggers Sue from DC Women Kicking Ass and Kelly Thompson from She Has No Head! Tune in to CSBG every other Monday at noon as we review comics and discuss hot topics of the week. In addition to the blogs above, you can also follow us all on twitter as well: Kelly and Sue. Special thanks to Nik Furious for our awesome 3 Chicks theme song.
*As always beware of spoilers if you haven’t read the books in question!
She Has No Head! – Dear Marvel: Please Stop Ruining Everything
Instead of wooing Johansson with everything they have, Marvel's Chief Creative Officer says that there are no actresses available to carry a tentpole film, and no Marvel female characters either. Good to know!
Though some of my columns from 2012 have apparently been a bit controversial it’s been a long time since I engaged in a full on rant. Are you ready for it? Good.
RANT ENGAGED…
Still high from my Avengers viewing a couple weeks ago I was working on a post for today called “Black Widow: Required Reading” when I happened to check out Sue’s DC Women Kicking Ass site and stumbled across this gem from Joe Quesada via Ain’t It Cool News:
In a chat afterwards, Joe told me that he’d love to make a tentpole [sic] movie with a female lead, but that he really doesn’t think there is an actress right now who could carry it, or a character that would work either. I’m thinking I might agree with him on this one actually.
As Sue said, this sentiment from Quesada manages to both insult all of Marvel’s female characters and all actresses everywhere in one fell swoop. But even more impressive is the fact that less than two weeks ago a movie debuted that is destroying box office records everywhere AND getting huge critical and fan acclaim. A movie with a large ensemble cast, that stars, in part, one of Marvel’s greatest female superheroes, and one of Hollywood’s hottest young actresses, and this character and performance are also getting huge kudos. I speak of course of The Avengers, and Black Widow, and Scarlett Johansson.
