Non-Fiction Book Review - 'The Secret Loves of Geeks' by Hope Nicholson (Editor), Various

A worthy sequel to 'The Secret Loves of Geek Girls'.

A geeky anthology, collected and published in 2018, 'The Secret Loves of Geeks' gives voice to geek women/fangirls and queer geek guys, and nonbinary and gender-nonconforming geeks (a lot of the geek creators are LBGTQA+, as well as POC - good).

These nonfiction stories, whether told in prose or comics, are so important. I didn't like all of them, of course, and some even left me seriously concerned, but they are raw, honest, personal and universal truths that need to be let out there, without anyone's permission but their own.

The writers of 'The Secret Loves of Geeks', the marginalised "minorities", definitely need an outlet; they need to be heard, now. Their very existence is constantly in danger of being erased - silenced, forced back into the shadows and into the closet - by bigoted, hateful and fearful political systems. The cishet-normative, white supremacist patriarchy is and always has been about looking out only for themselves - ensuring the wealth, privilege and pardoned crimes of the 1% - for their own benefit, comfort and entitlement. They are legitimately, knowingly evil people, and we cannot keep letting them get away with it. We have to keep resisting, and fighting back.

Never lose hope.

I love the foreword of 'The Secret Loves of Geeks' by Chris Roberson - everybody needs to read that - and Patrick Rothfuss's 'The Multifarious Monolith of Love'. My other favourites are 'The Horror, the Horror' by Margaret Atwood, 'Smudged' by Letty Wilson, 'Women Love Jerks' by Cara Ellison, 'The Walter Mercado Effect' by Ivan Salazar, 'Deceptively Normal' by Dana Simpson, 'Wife' by H-P Lehkonen, 'Our Story' by Shauna J. Grant, 'Them Struggles' by Christina "Peaches" Cortes, 'So Say We All' by Levi Hastings', 'Bear With' by Terry Blas, 'Josei' by Priya Huq, 'Trolling For Lesbos' by Gabby Rivera, 'Tell Me About Your Trans Headcanons' by Sfé R. Monster, and 'What Girls Want' by Speranza.

So while I didn't love 'The Secret Loves of Geeks' as much as 'The Secret Loves of Geek Girls', I still recommend it, despite some dated content that has not aged well, in terms of pop culture and politics.

Wonderful, vital, needed stuff.

No one is truly weird. You are never alone. There is nothing wrong or broken about you. You are fine. You are wonderful. You are beautiful. There is a community for you out there, waiting. There are people you can honestly open up to, and connect to, emotionally, not just romantically or sexually. These human connections can last a lifetime.

Heart and brains win out every time.

I would love another sequel, with modern geeks' stories that reflect our current times. Or would that be too depressing? And hopeless?

My review (or multiple rereviews, more like) of 'The Secret Loves of Geek Girls' can be read here.

Final Score: 3.5/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Supergirl's Family Vacation' by Brandon T. Snider (Writer), Sarah Leuver (Artist), Becca Carey (Letterer)

I found this completely by chance in my local comic book shop, visited on a whim.

'Supergirl's Family Vacation' turned out to be a happy capricious purchase, for it is a cute, colourful, creative, bright, fresh, fun, funny, emotional, and poignant all-ages superhero comic, that's also cosmic (and plenty manga-esque).

It's about young Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, and her cousin Kal-El, aka Clark Kent, aka Superman, his wife Lois Lane, their young son Jon, and Kara's best friend Natasha Irons (soon to be the next Steel!), as they space-travel to their holiday spot - Argo City, which Kara has set her heart on - and get diverted by superhero duties along the way, much to Kara's chagrin.

The story contains themes of identity, legacy, living in a more famous family member's shadow, disappointment, grief, colonisation, imperialism, tyranny, dictatorship, fascism, with-great-power-comes-great-responsibility, and overall, family. And life with said family, blood related or founded.

Kara/Supergirl is very flawed in 'Supergirl's Family Vacation'. She is often shallow, moody, hotheaded, obstinate, selfish, thoughtless, reckless, and irresponsible. But, she is a preteen in this DC universe/

continuity, Bizarro-ly. To her, it wasn't that long ago that her home planet was destroyed, and her parents and people died, and she arrived on earth after Supes had not only already established himself, but had married and had a kid, too. These make her flaws understandable.

This "lighthearted" kids' comic does not erase or downplay Kara's tragic past. It is an important part of her character development, her coming-of-age journey.

Extra great and fun details include: Lois Lane as a badass, kickass investigative journalist, whether she's on holiday or not; Lois and Clark being an adorable, loving, supportive couple; Natasha, a Black girl, dressing and acting exactly like a Ghostbuster; Kara's shirts displaying anime and Magical GirlTM references, such as 'Sailor Moon'! (and "Space Girls", which looks like "Spice Girls", as in, one of their albums); the character Rori Dag, who uses they/them pronouns (though they are an alien - pop culture media, please have more human characters be nonbinary as well, please); space dolphins (very briefly); and, if you can believe it, magical girl transformations! (It is like a manga!) Plus homages to other 'Superman' and 'Supergirl' comics and media - if you are well read and familiar with them, you can spot them.

Cameos include Krypto the Superdog (why couldn't he come along on the super-vacation? Isn't he super-important to Kara?), Batman, Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, Lobo, Hawkman, Hawkgirl (sadly no Galaxy/

Taylor Barzelay, who would have fit perfectly in this story), and the Green Lantern Corp.

'Supergirl's Family Vacation' (subtitled 'A Supergirl Graphic Novel') - a delightful super-surprise. So good, and so fashionable!

I really can't wait for the new 'Supergirl' movie now.

In the meantime, here are my other 'Supergirl' comic reviews:


'Supergirl: Being Super'

'Supergirl Vol. 1: Misadventures in Midvale'

'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow'


Final Score (for 'Supergirl's Family Vacation'): 4/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Marvel-Verse: America Chavez' by Various

'Marvel-Verse: America Chavez'

Yes, the comics chosen for this supposed character-introductory collection are messy and haphazard, and dying for context clues, but you know what? They're still entertaining, fun, thrilling, and colourful, and surprisingly heavy and complex. They're mini, compact action-packed superhero stories, and at times they're cosmically beautiful. Each issue contains bold, gorgeous artwork.

And oh yeah, they're about America Chavez, the queer, POC superheroine from the stars and beyond, who is one of the most powerful people in the Marvel Universe.

'Marvel-Verse: America Chavez' packs a punch, quite literally!

America Chavez is very much a punchy heroine - her punches are so powerful they can create portals to alternate universes! - and she is the aggressive, temperamental, brawn-over-anything-else, even reckless and irresponsible sort. But I find I've fallen in love with her character anyway, for how brazen, robust, snarky, and 100% herself she is, with an often-no-effs-given attitude and disposition.

She is a young queer woman of colour who is bold, daring and defiant - she lets nothing and no one get in her way, or tell her what to do and how to live her life; whilst respecting her family, friends, and places/

planes/planets of origin. Now that is admirable and revolutionary.

She's out of this world - out of this universe. A transcendent, transdimensional, time-and-space travelling woman, a drifter, who can be grounded when she needs to be. She belongs nowhere in the multiverse, nor to any fixed superhero team. Nothing can keep her for long.

For all her flaws, America still manages to be interesting, endearing, and human (despite coming from another universe and planet(s) - a singular dimension, the Utopian Parallel, plus the Planeta Fuertona, where she is a Starling (whatever that is) - the tragic Utopian Parallel was her original home, where she was raised by her tragic, sacrificing two mums).

(Everything in the above is what is severely lacking in the comics collected for 'Marvel-Verse: Moon Girl', which I hated.)

America is a lost rebel and vagrant who is unapologetically herself, never doing things by halves. She is 

big. She is a literal star. Throughout her travels across the multiverse, she is trying to find her true home, where she belongs, and to find herself, destroying all limits and boundaries in order to reach her potential, which is in fact as endless as the cosmos.

America Chavez - again a queer woman of colour, and an immigrant and alien in every sense, who is not to be messed with - is a powerful being to be admired, not someone to be made into an object of fear, distrust and suspicion (by the white supremacist patriarchy, for example).

Before, I had only heard of this superheroine in bits and pieces all across the Marvel medium (other dimensions, hey!). I have seen all of her movie appearances (both animated and live action), but not so much in the comics. Now I have, and I am glad I finally gave her a chance there. This bold, brash, brass, mighty, "woke"-as-f*ck fighter deserves further mainstream recognition.

'Marvel-Verse: America Chavez' contains comics that are cosmic, creative, colourful and complex, if a little confusing (how much of the alliteration can I keep up?!). They are also diverse and inclusive as hell. So powerfully inspirational. America is surrounded by friends who are as cool, multidimensional, and diverse in rep as she is.

Also included are Loki (*sigh* of course, not like he's overused or anything), Scarlet Witch's kid Billy Kaplan, aka Wiccan, his boyfriend Hulkling, aka Teddy Altman, Monica Rambeau (called Spectrum here), Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers, Black Panther, Blue Marvel, aka Adam Bernard Brashear, Storm, Captain America/Steve Rogers (the latter four are very brief cameos), Hawkeye/Kate Bishop, Prodigy, aka David Alleyne, Peggy Carter, Moon Girl, aka Lunella Lafayette (who is as much an arrogant, self-important, self-obsessed, obnoxious, rude, disrespectful, unpleasant brat as she is in 'Marvel-Verse: Moon Girl', sadly, and yet we're still expected to adore her, with how much the other characters shill her!), Devil Dinosaur, and Lisa Halloran (America's ex, and a paramedic and doctor, who I have also seen as a friend of Jane Foster in other Marvel comics).

Not sold yet?

America punches Hitler in this.

Hopefully I don't need to sell you on anything else.

I've recently been collecting the 'Marvel-Verse' comics that showcase Marvel's superheroines, and so far 'Captain Marvel', 'Ms. Marvel', 'She-Hulk', 'Jane Foster, The Mighty Thor', and now 'America Chavez' are my favourites.

America Chavez - what an awesome, awestriking star!

Final Score: 3.5/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Marvel-Verse: Jane Foster, The Mighty Thor' by Various

A great, fun collection of comics about the versatile, unstoppable and irrepressible Jane Foster as the Mighty Thor, and later Valkyrie! Except for that last classic issue, 'Journey Into Mystery #100', which just has her as Thor's oblivious and stupid love interest, and a damsel in distress (I cringed when she is referred to as a nurse, and Donald Blake as a doctor. Jane becomes one of the best doctors and scientific minds in the Marvel Universe! And '#100' was made specifically to showcase why she is not worthy of Thor, Odinson, or Asgard! It's from 1952 (!), but any superhero comic from before the 2010s was not good and kind to female characters, and Stan Lee was not always a good writer). Why was that embarrassment included?! Are there really not any better classic Marvel stories that feature Jane Foster?

As well as the Mighty Thor, aka the Goddess of Thunder, and Odinson and Loki, there are frozen Avengers, Frost Giants, Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan, Spider-Man/Miles Morales, Captain America/Sam Wilson, Iron Man, Vision, Nova, Cyclone, and female Loki.

'Thor Annual #1' and 'Thor & Loki: Double Trouble #3-4', issues written by ND Stevenson and Mariko Tamaki respectively, are here, too, and they are marvellous.

'Marvel-Verse: Jane Foster, The Mighty Thor' - it is small, but like Jane herself, it is more than worthy (minus 'Journey Into Mystery #100', of course, you can skip that one).

Other reviews of comics about Jane Foster, one of Marvel's best heroines:


'Thor, Vol. 1: The Goddess of Thunder'

'Valkyrie: Jane Foster, Vol. 1: The Sacred And The Profane'

'Valkyrie: Jane Foster, Vol. 2: At the End of All Things''

'The Mighty Thor: Goddess of Thunder! (Marvel Thor) (Little Golden Book)'


Final Score (for 'Marvel-Verse: Jane Foster, the Mighty Thor'): 3.5/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Marvel-Verse: Ms. Marvel' by Various

A fun and entertaining collection of comics about Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan, the freaking wonderful and inspiring Muslim Pakistani American superheroine, pre-2022.

'Marvel-Verse: Ms. Marvel' also features Loki, Carol Danvers as Ms. Marvel and a women's lib magazine editor in chief at the Daily Bugle (it's a time travel plot, because of course it is), the alien/Shi'ar villainess Nightscream, Kamala's close friends Bruno, Nakia and Zoe (they are so precious, and Kamala is lucky to have them), and Miles Morales as Spider-Man.

One special highlight is 'Generations: Ms. Marvel & Ms. Marvel'. It's about Carol Danvers as, again, a women's lib magazine editor in chief, and Kamala, having time travelled to that past (unheard of by me until now; has editor in chief ever been one of Carol's jobs?), gets roped in by J. Jonah Jameson as an intern under Carol. The two Ms. Marvels team up for supervillainess battles, and there are these amazing lines from Kamala:


'Some things never change--for Carol, it's protecting the innocent first and foremost.' [...] 'For her, that means peace and order.' [...] 'For me, that means asking who gets the peace and who takes the orders.' [...] 'I've managed okay without Carol for a while now. Done my own thing. In a lot of ways, I've stopped thinking of myself as her successor.' [...] 'But watching her be Ms. Marvel, I think...' [...] 'What if there were a way to fix it [their rift post-'Civil War II']?' [...] 'What if there's a way around the contradictions?' [...] 'A way to unify the mission?'

'People want equal rights, but they also want permission to have fun and be frivolous sometimes.' [...] 'Resisting the status quo 24/7 is exhausting. Sometimes you need to give yourself permission to watch smoky eye tutorials and make DIY face masks from cucumber slices and stuff.' [...] 'Let people have their smoothie recipes and their beauty advice.' [...] 'Make that part of the struggle for women's rights. 'Cause getting your rights isn't about becoming someone else. It's about not having to ask permission to be who you already are.'


Add this to the million other reasons why Kamala Khan is the greatest, and so beloved.

Other 'Ms. Marvel' reviews by me:


'Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal'

'Ms. Marvel, Vol. 5: Super Famous'

'Ms. Marvel Omnibus, Vol. 1'

'Ms. Marvel: Stretched Thin'

'Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant, Vol. 1'

''Marvel Rising''

'Kamala Khan: Ms. Marvel (Little Golden Book) (Marvel)'


Final Score (for 'Marvel-Verse: Ms. Marvel'): 4/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Marvel-Verse: Captain Marvel' by Various

'Marvel-Verse: Captain Marvel' contains comics I had not read before, centering around Captain Marvel/

Carol Danvers, which is a big deal for a superfan like myself.

The stories are fun and entertaining, and also feature Spider-Man, Rocket Racoon, Chewie the Flerken cat, Tic the alien girl, lesbian alien freedom fighters, lady scientists, inventors, cyborgs and androids, and the original Captain Mar-Vell, in a time travel/alien planet story.

These all showcase what a badass, noble, diplomatic, introspective, earth-and-galaxy-wide hero (and pilot!) Carol is.

Thankfully, no comics post-'The Life of Captain Marvel' are included, though it contains another comic by Margaret Stohl, 'Generations: Captain Marvel and Captain Mar-Vell'.

Captain Marvel on the 'Marvel-Verse' cover looks breathtakingly gorgeous and badass, too, as she does in many of the cover art.

Other gushing (and relevant) 'Captain Marvel' reviews (hope you enjoy!):


'Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: In Pursuit of Flight'

'Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More'

'Captain Marvel: Earth's Mightiest Hero, Vol. 1'

'Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: Rise of Alpha Flight'

'Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: Re-Entry'

'Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: The Omen'

'Avengers: The Enemy Within'

'Marvel Action: Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: Cosmic Cat-Tastrophe'

'Captain Marvel (Little Golden Book) (Marvel)'


Final Score (for 'Marvel-Verse: Captain Marvel'): 3.5/5

Non-Fiction Book Review - 'Coat of Many Colors' by Dolly Parton (Writer), Brooke Boynton-Hughes (Illustrator)

Such a lovely picture book, based on the Dolly Parton song, 'Coat of Many Colors', and her early childhood.

'Coat of Many Colors' contains important messages about imagination, stories, memories, poverty, bullying, self-confidence, and loving what you have, and who you have, who love you so much they will do anything for you, regardless of if they have money or not.

Something made with love for you can bring you so much happiness. Take no mind of what other, ignorant people might think of that something.

Take no one and nothing in your life for granted.

Appreciate what you have now.

Happiness and love do not come from a shop. Happiness and love are not measured by how expensive the gifts you give and receive are. Money, commerce and capital have nothing to do with any of it.

'Coat of Many Colors' - comfort, healing and love are real. The illustrations by Brooke Boynton-Hughes are soft, charming and darling, too, and are as colourful as little Dolly's rags-and-patch-made coat.

The book and the song inspire love, care, confidence, charity, creativity, imagination, enlightenment, courage, freedom, hope, and all things good and light in the world. In other words, like all of Dolly's songs, they are just like her.

Dolly Parton truly is one of the best people on earth.

And 'Coat of Many Colors' is part of her Imagination Library, and the United Way and their reading activities. It is the perfect book to read and discuss with children, of all backgrounds and differences and walks of life.



'[...] they didn't understand it,
and I tried to make them see

that one is only poor
only if they choose to be.'


'Now, I know we had no money,
but I was rich as I could be

in my coat of many colors
my mama made for me...

made just for me.'



'It warms my heart to know that for many people, these words have become a lesson to try to stop bullying in school. On that fateful day, I felt the terrible hurt when people made fun of me. It is a pain that takes a long, long time to go away. In fact, it never really went away until I sat down and wrote this song. Writing the song finally allowed my broken heart to heal.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being different. I think those who choose to bully just don't know how to handle somebody different from themselves. I hope this book can plant the seeds of tolerance, understanding, and acceptance in their hearts.
And for those of you who may already have been victims of bullying, please know the hurt can heal. If this book can help but one child find comfort, then I guess all my dreams for this book will have come true.'

- with love always, Dolly Parton.



Final Score: 4/5