December 2021 Update

Welp. Goodbye 2021.

As well as a Best and Worst Books list, I was going to do a favourite Christmas movie list. But I realised that I didn't have a lot to include, and also the term "Christmas movie" could apply to any film that's set in winter, or if it happens to have ice or snow in it. Marketing and fanbase influence may have a hand in that. Some movies are considered "Christmassy" because they're classic family musicals that are traditionally broadcasted on TV every year in the holiday season. So I chose not to embarrass myself. I chose not to showcase what an ignorant newb I am when it comes to the movies and the pop culture scene. I am no guru. I'm just another person on the internet with a blog.

Speaking of, there really isn't much to update on in my pop culture consuming life this month, excepting the dozen or so graphic novel reviews I wrote (wow that was a surprise). I watched the second season of Centaurworld, and I highly recommend the two new Christmas products, Single All the Way and Robin Robin - and now I have cancelled my Netflix subscription. As I have cancelled every one of my streaming subscriptions. I haven't seen much good on them, including Netflix, for a long while, apart from the latter two abovementioned stuff, and I want to cut down on the excess media I exhaust myself in keeping up to date with. I especially won't watch any more new TV series', at least for a long time, as I find that, in my humble opinion, most shows are in fact rubbish, overly long, overly indulgent, and don't age well. I am completely immune to the sunk cost fallacy. I'm not interested in any new and upcoming films at the moment, either. 

I'm burned out. I'm jaded. I'm done. I wash my hands, hair and entire body of it all. It's not satisfying to me, and it's not making me happy, nor mentally and emotionally sound. I want to save my money for other things in my life.

Disney can continue to go screw itself, too.

I won't be making any more monthly updates on this blog. Not for 2022; the sparing year where I, now in my thirties, will try not to use the internet, nor social media, so much, and I will not watch too much telly, thank you very much. I will only add what I want, when I want to, if I feel it's interesting enough. Healthy living!

Happy New Year, whatever the hell that even means anymore in these times.

But in all seriousness, Happy New Year to you all. Happy New Year, for a new beginning, for a new life. For new hope. For we must keep going, keep caring, keep being aware of what's happening in the world, keep being active, and keep hoping. For things to get better.

See my Best and Worst Books of 2021 here.

Happy New Year.

And fuck capitalism.

Love to you all,

From witchy feminist, Artemis Crescent 🌙☽☾

The Best and Worst Books of 2021

I've read 180 books this year.

I have decided to close it out by concocting a list of which books are my personal, opinionated best. And worst.

The worst comes first!

(For fairness and freshness, I won't be listing any of my rereads.)

Worst Books I read in 2021

16. Patience & Esther: An Edwardian Romance (Graphic novel) by Sarah Winifred Searle

15. Patience & Sarah by Isabel Miller

14. Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale (Graphic novel) by Lauren Myracle (Writer), Isaac Goodhart (Artist)

13. The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis

12. The Last Shadow Warrior by Sam Subity

11. This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron - read review here.

10. Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit by Lilliam Rivera - read review here.

9. The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels #2) by F.C. Yee (Writer), Michael Dante DiMartino

8. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (Dash & Lily #1) by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

7. She-Hulk, Volume 1: Law and Disorder (Graphic novel) by Charles Soule (Writer), Javier Pulido (Artist), Ron Wimberly (Artist)

6. Diana and the Island of No Return (Wonder Woman Adventures #1) by Aisha Saeed

5. Batgirl, Volume 3: The Lesson (Graphic novel) by Bryan Q. Miller (Writer), Dustin Nguyen (Artist), Derek Fridolfs (Artist), Pere Pérez (Artist)

4. Black Widow by Waid & Samnee: The Complete Collection (Graphic novel) by Mark Waid (Writer), Chris Samnee (Artist)

3. Black Widow & The Marvel Girls (Graphic novel) by Paul Tobin, Jacopo Camagni, Salvador Espin, Takeshi Miyazawa, Stan Lee, John Romita Jr.

2. Edie in Between by Laura Sibson

1. Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim - read review here.

Best Books I read in 2021

38. The Queen's Nose by Dick King-Smith - read review here.

37. Dekoboko Sugar Days (Manga) by Atsuko Yusen - read review here.

36. Wain: LGBT reimaginings of Scottish folktales (Poetry) by Rachel Plummer, Helene Boppert (Illustrator) - read review here.

35. Zatanna & the House of Secrets (Graphic novel) by Matthew Cody (Writer), Yoshi Yoshitani (Artist) - read review here.

34. Amethyst (Graphic novel) by Amy Reeder - read review here.

33. She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen - read review here.

32. Black Widow: The Name of the Rose (Graphic novel) by Marjorie M. Liu (Writer), Daniel Acuña (Artist) - read review here.

31. Tarot of the Divine: A Deck and Guidebook Inspired by Deities, Folklore, and Fairy Tales from Around the World (Tarot cards) by Yoshi Yoshitani - read review here.

30. Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms (Graphic novel) by Crystal Frasier (Writer), Val Wise (Artist) - read review here.

29. Valkyrie: Jane Foster, Vol. 2: At the End of All Things (Graphic novel) by Jason Aaron (Writer), Al Ewing (Writer), Pere Pérez (Artist) - read review here.

28. Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare, Vol. 1 (Manga) by Yuhki Kamatani - read review here.

27. Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld (2021) (Graphic novel) by Shannon Hale (Writer), Dean Hale (Writer), Asiah Fulmore (Artist) - read review here.

26. Lucia the Luchadora (Picture book) by Cynthia Leonor Garza (Writer), Alyssa Bermudez (Illustrator) - read review here.

25. The Magic Fish (Graphic novel) by Trung Le Nguyen - read review here.

24. Suki, Alone (Avatar: The Last Airbender) (Graphic novel) by Faith Erin Hicks (Writer), Peter Wartman (Artist), Adele Matera (Artist) - read review here.

23. Working on a Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown (Nonfiction) by Anaïs Mitchell - read review here.

22. When Marnie Was There by Joan G. Robinson - read review here.

21. Invisible Woman: Partners in Crime (Graphic novel) by Mark Waid (Writer), Mattia de Iulis (Artist) - read review here.

20. Harley Quinn Vol. 1: No Good Deed (Graphic novel) by Stephanie Nicole Phillips (Writer), Riley Rossmo (Artist), Gene Ha (Artist) - read review here.

19. The Tea Dragon Tapestry (Graphic novel) by Kay O'Neill - read review here.

18. The Sprite and the Gardener (Graphic novel) by Rii Abrego, Joe Whitt - read review here.

17. Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao - read review here.

16. Poison Ivy: Thorns (Graphic novel) by Kody Keplinger (Writer), Sara Kipin (Artist) - read review here.

15. The Rise of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels #1) by F.C. Yee (Writer), Michael Dante DiMartino - read review here.

14. Modern Witch Tarot Deck (Tarot cards) by Lisa Sterle - read review here.

13. Valkyrie: Jane Foster, Vol. 1: The Sacred And The Profane (Graphic novel) by Jason Aaron (Writer), Al Ewing (Writer), Cafu (Artist) - read review here.

12. Dear NOMAN, Vol. 1 (Manga) by neji - read review here.

11. Beauty and the Beast Girl (Manga) by neji - read review here.

10. Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Vol. 1 (Manga) by Dr. Pepperco - read review here.

9. Carole & Tuesday, Vol. 1 (Manga) by Morito Yamataka (Artist), Shinichirō Watanabe (Original Creator), BONES (Original Creator) - read review here.

8. The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow (The Okay Witch #2) (Graphic novel) by Emma Steinkellner - read review here.

7. Zara Hossain Is Here by Sabina Khan - read review here.

6. The Girl from the Sea (Graphic novel) by Molly Knox Ostertag - read review here.

5. Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon, Vol. 1 (Manga) by Shio Usui - read review here.

4. Nubia: Real One (Graphic novel) by L.L. McKinney (Writer), Robyn Smith (Artist) - read review here.

3. Heartstopper: Volume Four (Graphic novel) by Alice Oseman - read review here.

2. Wonderful Women of the World (Graphic novel/nonfiction) by Laurie Halse Anderson (Editor), Various - read review here.

1. The Girl and the Goddess: Stories and Poems of Divine Wisdom (Poetry) by Nikita Gill - read review here.

I'm surprised by how many books I liked this year, in comparison to how many I hated. I was sure it would be the other way round. Tellingly I've read a lot of books of the graphic novel variety, as well.

This list feels special, because I won't be doing much reading next year. I have no plans to keep on reading anything, except two upcoming novels (one is a sequel), plus two graphic novels (also sequels). I'm fine now with just relaxing with barely any plans, except on how to improve both my social life and my work life. I won't be updating much on this blog, either, I don't think.

2021 has been a wakeup call in some ways. I really need to pull myself together.

 Happy Christmas everyone ❄⛄❅🎄🤶🤟🎁 xxxxxxx

Graphic Novel Review - 'The Amazing Spider-Girl, Volume 1: Whatever Happened to the Daughter of Spider-Man' by Tom DeFalco (Writer), Ron Frenz (Artist)

These 'Spider-Girl' comics really seem to be a guilty pleasure for me. It's just good old fashioned Bronze-Age-and-beyond superhero action and angst, but with a female hero at the celestial center.

May "Mayday" Parker - while there isn't anything particularly special or unique about her, at least compared to today's expectations of more nuanced and interesting characterisation, she still grew on me. She's smart, sporty, altruistic, contemplative, and tries to remain optimistic. She is all about responsibility and set priorities - that is, until her impulsiveness kicks in, and she has to save people from danger, when she'd committed to retiring as a superhero for a few months now. Great power, greater responsibility to use it for others when you can. Like father, like daughter indeed.

May is thoughtful towards her family and friends, and she's a women's shelter volunteer and a student council president candidate. Mostly she's a typical teenager from the early-to-mid 2000s. But there is nothing wrong with a young superheroine having flaws; like foolishness birthed from naivety and a too-trusting nature, and deriving the use of violence and aggression as a quick and easy solution to fighting crime.

'The Amazing Spider-Girl, Volume 1: Whatever Happened to the Daughter of Spider-Man' takes place after Tom DeFalco's original 'Spider-Girl' run, and there are a lot of things I missed - like May having a baby brother! - but I could get into it. There's a diary/scrapbook-like dossier at the end of the volume to keep readers up to date with everything that's happened with May as Spider-Girl, so that helps, too! Apropos of the comic, I could enjoy her new struggles and issues. Though I suspect they're not new at all - the 'Spider-Girl' comics might be continuously treading old ground over and over again. There are many, many characters with their own personal baggage to keep track of.

I will praise this comic for an improvement over the earliest 'Spider-Girl' volumes: May's schoolfriends have a much more prolonged and solid presence. They have definite, individual personalities, and May's relationships with them are clearer and more believable. I especially like Davida, Courtney, and Felicity Hardy (Felicia Hardy and Flash Thompson's daughter). Davida is a fantastic character, and a loyal best friend to May, who does consider telling her - and Courtney - that she's Spider-Girl (Felicity already knows - long story). Our Spider-Girl has several positive female bonds, and not just at school.

As smart and perceptive as May is, she is still a teenager who makes mistakes, and can't see that her jock boyfriend Gene (Felicia Hardy and Flash Thompson's son) is a gigantic prick (her Spidey-Sense can't make that out, sadly). She doesn't care that much about him, anyway, and they're bound to break up soon. Stereotypical mean girl Simone is trying to steal Gene away from May - which I actually support, since Simone and Gene deserve each other.

Mary Jane is a great, loving and funny mum, too. The mother-and-daughter relationship is shown to be just as if not more important than the father-and-daughter relationship (there's merely angst, overprotectiveness and secrecy on that end).

As good as May's female bonding is, however, I can't in good conscience label 'The Amazing Spider-Girl, Volume 1' as a feminist comic. There is a women's shelter, which is integral to the plot of the earlier issues, but then it disappears. The details surrounding it, and whether it's effective, are imprecise and very vague. May also has a strange way with female adversaries, and even other female crimefighters. Like, for some reason she won't hear of them being mentioned to her by male baddies - she makes a point of not liking that they're female. Is it a grudge? Territorialism? Or stereotypical girl-on-girl cattiness? She'll easily be goaded into "punching the lights out of" (her words) a villainous female metahuman - Bitter Frost - who is also an abuse victim. Spider-Girl's tunnel vision is unmovable, no matter how many times she's told by a women's help professional not to hurt Frost. Granted, this could be attributed to her bad temperament in general, and Bitter Frost is a murderer, and dangerous. But the female metahuman is nonetheless a victim; she's traumatised, and has lost all hope and is desperate for recompense. She's only taken care of at the end by losing her powers (temporarily? She's never seen again, so...) from being too close to fire (it's THAT simple!?), and she is carted off to hospital. Nobody had to do much - though at least Spider-Girl saves everyone involved from the burning building.

Our heroine is also too lenient when it comes to male antagonists and antiheroes. Comically so.

Regardless of its flaws - and there are plenty; don't get me started on the repetitions and few inconsistencies from issue to issue - 'The Amazing Spider-Girl, Volume 1' (I'm really not going to type out its long subtitle again) is a fun and geeky time to be had with a superhero comic. There are touching and introspective moments to go with the action and all-encompassing silliness. It's funny, in addition to everything else. 'Spider-Girl' is a classic, underappreciated and sadly forgotten series of Marvel's.

With that said, I won't be reading anymore. Because I know for a fact that this series will only get sillier, and bulldoze right into big fat "WTF, NO!" territory, as these comics unfortunately always do.

Woo! That's the end of my reading so many Marvel comics in barely a month. I'm surprised by how many I ended up liking.

This review marks my last for this year. Well, I tried. Sorry there's not much else I could add. I'm very tired. 2021's been...quite a year.

Final Score: 3.5/5

P.S. I like the comic's art better than its previous series run's, as well. For one, May actually looks like a teenager! For two, the action panels look cool. Spider-Girl looks amazing, or should I say sensational, nay, spectacular, as she fights bad guys.

Manga Review - 'ROADQUEEN: Eternal Roadtrip to Love' by Mira Ong Chua

Welcome to Manga-Lesbian-and-School-and-Motorbikes-and-Roommates-and-Fake-dating-after-graduation-Hijinks City!

'ROADQUEEN: Eternal Roadtrip to Love' is a comedy, through and through. It's not a fantasy or sci-fi sorta-manga; there isn't even anything in it to categorise it as "action". It's more slice-of-life. But the comedy rides and drives up the wall and around back again. If you've seen any comedy anime, especially if it's OTT, then you have an idea of what 'ROADQUEEN' is all about.

It's of the slice-of-life comedy genre. Where the main character casually sends a horde of fellow bike riding schoolgirls hurtling off a cliff, where they explode on impact, and everything is hunky-dory. It's the only moment in the "manga" that could be construed as an action/physical fighting scene.

The plot, simply put: Leo is a self-proclaimed lone wolf biker lesbian who attends Princess Andromeda Academy, an all girls school where nearly every student is queer. The "cool" and "distant" Leo is quite full of herself in her reputation of turning down every girl who likes her, or just wants to help her. She may change her tune if any of them can beat her in a bike race to school, which they can't. As far as Leo's concerned, her one true love is her motorbike, Bethany.

Until the new girl Vega shows up, and tricks Leo into opening herself up to her, and into giving away Bethany to her. Vega rides off, her mission complete, and the other girls are more smitten with the now vulnerable Leo than ever. She still closes herself off, humiliated and insecure.

Then after graduation, Leo is alone in her apartment, telling herself how happy she is despite losing her beloved bike (and her "friends", Boots and Cassiopeia). Until Vega, on Bethany, suddenly crashes through her window, and has the gall to be angry at Leo for not being a "decent lesbian" and actually dating anyone (the sneaky princess type is a stalker, too).

Vega proposes a deal: she and Leo will fake date each other, and live together, for a week. If Leo "passes" on being a "decent lesbian" and not a cocky lone wolf or a "gay fuckboy", then she will get Bethany back.

Riding Bethany on an indefinitely long roadtrip of her dreams, that's all Leo cares about.

At first.

And so a journey towards a most unlikely romance begins.

It is very wild and silly. The whole point is to laugh, towards this manga-esque, yuri-esque biker chick romantic comedy. With sexual overtones and sexcapades. But surprisingly, there are touching and human moments. Nothing is revealed about the family backgrounds of either Leo or Vega - we'll see details of Vega's past the most, but even her flashback is rather vague - but through hints in dialogue, and facial expressions, you get an idea of why they are the way they are. It's cute, and for a "yuri manga" with sex talk and swearing, it can be wholesome at times.

A big negative criticism I can give 'ROADQUEEN' is: A detail about Vega and her motivations in the first (and only colour) chapter may have been lost or forgotten about along the way. I'm talking about her wristwatch, which projects a holographic screen displaying nondescript profile pictures, which Vega swipes through. Annoyed at a pic of an equally nondescript schoolgirl, she says, "Two private school girls in a row...", and then she rides off, declaring, "Well...Let's do this, Bethany.". Uh, what? What is she talking about? The scene implies she's been screwing with private school girls, as well as other girls, and Leo was just her latest victim. But when Vega's backstory is revealed later on, this is never brought up. Her motivation has always been about Leo; everything connects to Leo, and no other girl. She's been with other girls on a quest to find a girlfriend, but nothing is mentioned about private school girls. Princess Andromeda Academy is apparently the only private school she's ever been to.

The cherry on top: Vega's high tech sci-fi watch is never seen again after that ending chapter scene. In fact, that is the only time we ever see her wearing a watch.

I just...WHAT?!

Another thing: Boots and Cassiopeia, who are a lesbian couple too, are the worst friends ever to Leo. She deserves better. Though thankfully the manga seems to agree with me, and they don't appear much anyway.

Wait a minute...for something that has the word "road" in its title twice - and specifically has the word "roadtrip" in it - there is actually nothing of the kind in the story. Unless it's purely metaphorical? In a literal sense, it's an end goal at best; a vague, ambiguous destination to close the story. There's nothing about roads, roadtrips or even bikes in the bonus chapter, either.

So that's 'ROADQUEEN: Eternal Roadtrip to Love'. Fun and funny and sweet stuff, and kind of nostalgic for old school anime and manga fans (if old school applies to the mid-to-late 2000s as well - wow, you feel old, yet?). It's not a high school drama - that part is over and done with very quickly at the beginning. The plot features a forest, clothes shopping, arcade games, an amusement park, a ring tossing game, a Ferris wheel, and an anime mascot.

Nothing explicit is shown; only the coarse language, plus slight nudity and stripping. Quite refreshing for a "yuri manga" to show restraint like that, where the relationship development is the focus. In some ways it's subversive.

It is sweet, luscious and candy-coated. Dark, tall and "masculine" Leo + shorter and "feminine" Vega = complicated yet fluffy and adorable.

A ride to love indeed.

Final Score: 3.5/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Black Widow: The Name of the Rose' by Marjorie M. Liu (Writer), Daniel Acuña (Artist)

It seems to be a thing for me when reading a 'Black Widow' comic: with a few exceptions, I will read the comic not being sure how I feel about it, but towards the end I will be blown away by it, and yep, I decide that I like it a lot. That's the way of good spy mystery thrillers, in a sense. Black Widow achieves her role vitally well.

It's amazing to think that I've only been reading her comics for under a month, and she's already been ranked extremely high on my list of fictional characters who have consistently suffered the worst shit imaginable for as long as they have existed. I mean, wow. The excruciating and overwhelming physical and emotional pain, those she has loved and lost over the decades, and the countless times her body and mind have been violated and fucked with. How many times have her memories been altered? Plus, now many times has she been through a torture scene where she's restrained to a chair naked, or half naked? It goes to show how strong she is that she still functions at all - still gives the appearance, at least, that she's stable, calm, sane and sure of herself - after everything she's been through her whole life. Or maybe that's just bad and careless writing.

But it's not like Natasha Romanova is an emotionless "strong female character", who might as well be a robot. Deep down, she is vulnerable, and the world's greatest spy shows her true emotions when alone. Or when things go horribly wrong and it's far, far too much for a single human being to handle.

This is demonstrated in comics such as 'The Name of the Rose'.

Published in 2010-11 (one of Widow's earliest status quo, canon characterisations, then), it is another dark thriller with an emotional core at the center of its mystery, which goes back several decades. And it is very dark, with horror-esque injury and surgery detail. All I'll say about the plot is that there is a black rose, a black ribbon, secret spy/superhero information stored in a pill in an intestinal area, paralysing poisons, androids, and downloading memories from brains in jars. It is about Natasha; she is at the heart of everything, and she is as active, clever, resourceful, cunning and ruthless throughout as she is secretive. She's not anyone's victim.

The comic's other heroes/antiheroes/villains are (no spoilers) Captain America (James "Bucky" Barnes), Iron Man, Hawkeye, Wolverine, Elektra, and Lady Bullseye. I love Wolverine here (such a smart, gruff and funny hunk), but the other heroes, the Avengers, are great, too. They remain loyal, and almost never falter in their trust in Natasha, whom they still consider their friend, in light of the secrets she's keeping from them. Well, she's had a long, hard, terrible, complicated, and distraught life, and every hero has secrets. It's a shame that she's barely seen to have any female friends in 'The Name of the Rose', however.

Natasha is a woman full of pain, tortured by so much memory, and everything she's built and worked agonisingly towards is crashing down around her. But as always, she will not let anything beat her. She also keeps a snarky, witty sense of humour, in spite of the mountainous grief and misery that is her existence.

'Black Widow: The Name of the Rose' is a very good comic. It took me a while to seriously get into it and believe in what it's doing, but I'm glad I stayed absorbed and finished it. There is heartbreak, bittersweetness, but also hope, catharsis and closure at the end, like every well written 'Black Widow' story, I think. An introspective, poignant, moving, bloody spy thriller superhero action comic. The art is excellent, and some of the best and most fitting to its story I've ever seen, as well.

Includes a separate issue at the beginning, written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, where Natasha saves a teenage version of herself at an opera house - well, it's the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow, where ballet is performed.

The best 'Black Widow' comics I've read have been penned by women. How enlightening. Wait, no: the correct word is obvious. Keep it up, and keep treating women and minorities - in your industry and staff as well as in your comics - with the respect they deserve, Marvel and DC.

Final Score: 4/5

Book Review - 'W.I.T.C.H. Annual 2007'

2024 EDIT: I now own this, and have read it again and again. A pure nostalgic, magical girl power hidden gem. I love the art and creativity. And I love W.I.T.C.H.

Final Score: 4/5





Original Review [written in 2014]:



Not really a book or a story, and I have never reviewed an annual before and most likely never will again. But no one else has written a review of this yet, and I had it when I was younger, so why not talk a bit about it?

Ahh 2006; when I obsessed over astrology and star signs and yet still somehow managed to spell Cancer with an S. A nostalgic gem of an annual, featuring: quizzes, comic strips, and great art and colouring. Above all it felt like it coincided with the W.I.T.C.H. universe as the original Italian comics intended. Overtly feminine and sappy, yes. But friendship, compassion, understanding and helpfulness are important growing-up aspects for children of all genders and backgrounds to learn. None of it felt shallow, because, like in the comics, the girls' bond seemed genuine. Their friendship and teamwork dynamics, despite differences in personalities, felt real - and which had nothing to do with magical powers. Girl power cartoon stuff might offer good life lessons after all, and deserve some recognition and respect.

Final Score: 4/5

Book Review - 'Harley Quinn Talking Figure and Illustrated Book (Harley Quinn: The Clown Princess of Crime)' by Steve Kort�

I don't care whether the bust figure talks or not - it's Harley Quinn, and that's what's important to me. I've grown to really like her modern look and outfit. She's colourful, and white, blonde, red, black, blue and pink make for a darkly zany colour mix. Included is a good, if truncated, informative little book, too - what qualifies this as a "book product" to begin with - containing cool art of Harley throughout her career.

A nice, fun and cute collector's item.

Final Score: 4/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Harley Quinn Vol. 1: No Good Deed' by Stephanie Nicole Phillips (Writer), Riley Rossmo (Artist), Gene Ha (Artist)

'Harley Quinn Vol. 1: No Good Deed' - another DC surprise from my local comic book shop. I can almost never resist a 'Harley Quinn' product, and thank goodness, it turned out to be money well spent.

It is the most recent 'Harley' comic I've read, and it is from the current DC comics canon. The story is set after The Joker War, a DC event I'm not that familiar with, and Harley is back in Gotham City, after some incident with Poison Ivy which, again, I'm ignorant of (and the comic won't elaborate on it). Now she wants to move towards the heroine part of her antiheroine reputation, becoming one of Gotham's protectors, much to Batman's wariness and annoyance.

Specifically, she wants to help the clowns - the former henchmen and henchwomen of the Joker during the war, now remorseful and reformed - who are targeted by Gotham's angry citizens. And by Hugo Strange, who has morphed into broken and destroyed Gotham's political darling, and who is pushing to clean up the city of clowns; to "help" and "rehabilitate" them. Personally I don't see how Gotham is any worse than it has ever been before - I mean, hello, it's always been a lawless, toxic shithole - something that Harley points out through a raining-and-growing-with-care metaphor - but anyway: Harley genuinely wants to help these people who, like her, were in a bad and vulnerable place in life when they were taken in by the Joker and his words; they were also manipulated, taken advantage of, driven to do crime. Equally victims as well as criminals, they deserve a second chance, and Harley wishes to befriend them - notably the sad and sweet Kevin, a new bestie - and set them up for a healthy and happy path, such as through a support therapy group.

She is a psychiatrist, after all. She is technically qualified. And it is as much for her benefit, her steps towards redemption, as well.

But Hugo Strange and his goons won't have any of that. They will sabotage her efforts, and torture and obliterate her, Gotham's Clown Queen, at any cost.

Other characters featured include Killer Croc, Solomon Grundy, and Catwoman, in the final, awesome issue where she and Harley team up, similar to the Gotham City Siren days. Good times.

It seems that with 'No Good Deed', with a new writing team, DC has Harley Quinn on a serious, story-driven direction, with actual character development. No more of that tasteless and disgusting "shock humour" nonsense from Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti that desperately tried to emulate Deadpool. Harley deserves better treatment than that. We've seen from brilliant modern comics such as Stjepan Šejić's 'Harleen' the potential, the sheer scope, of what can be taken with her character; in stories that are love letters to her creation, which take her seriously - as an academic-turned-victim-and-villain-turned-tragic-figure - and take her to new, unexplored, clever, dark places. She deserves an arc, and growth that is grounded in reality, alongside funny and witty comments. She's smart, she makes jokes, but she herself isn't the punchline - not the unironic, un-self-aware, battered punchline, the way the Joker would have her be.

FYI: Joker does not appear once in this comic. Harley truly has moved on, as her own independent identity. Her mark on pop culture is cemented: she's a risen star, and has been for years and years.

There is no more queerbaiting, either. Harley and Ivy are a couple, at last. No teasing, no double entendres, no ambiguous interpretations, no retrograde backtracking - in a flashback, they go on a romantic date and rampage, they are sweet with each other and confess their love for one another. They share everything. Ivy gives Harley a young plant to take care of - a symbol of Harley herself and her blossoming relationship with her Pammy. Her Red.

They kiss.

It's official.

I think they're still together, and they will reunite in later books. I hope they do; they are just perfect together. Ivy is what Harley needs, and vice versa.

The art is a little sketchy and cartoony, but it isn't over the top about it. It's fun and colourful. It's appealing even in the serious scenes, of which there are many. It suits Harley and what she's about in the comic. What a beautiful, tragic, sad clown of a gal.

I love Harley Quinn. I've been a fan ever since I began seeing her in her very first appearance, in 'Batman: The Animated Series', some six years ago now. In only under thirty years she's grown staggeringly, outrageously popular in the world of superhero pop culture and mainstream entertainment. There is no medium, no age group, that she hasn't been exposed to, and appealed to greatly. Wherever she goes, she conquers. And she is everywhere. Heck, my four-year-old niece cosplayed as her this Halloween!

It's not really surprising - she's awfully complex, exciting and captivating. She can be interpreted in a whole slew of different ways. The colourful, loud, proud, outspoken, versatile, thrilling, unstoppable, emotionally vulnerable yet available Harley Quinn, a clown lady and former abuse victim who does whatever she wants and says whatever she wants, is who women want to be, and who men want to be with; and who women want to be with, and who men want to be. A queer icon indeed! She is an empowering influence to many differing sorts of people. She is sympathetic and inspiring.

She is so beloved, so adored, that she has joined the rank of the DC Holy Trinity and other superheroes (and villains) in worldwide popularity and historical, cultural significance. This praise is heaped on a female character, too. All things considered - the horrifying reality where, let's face it, most human societies on earth hate women with a deep, primeval, feral and deadly passion - this is meaningful and powerful. A miracle.

Harley Quinn is a miracle, and a gift to the world of pervasive misogyny and general malignance.

I know I'm rambling too much here, but I wish to express how much I love her character.

Harleen Frances Quinzel - A doctor, a psychiatrist, a therapist, a clown princess - and queen - of crime, a villain, a sidekick, a girlfriend, a mallet-nut, a baseball bat-nut, a psychopath, a victim, an antiheroine, a Suicide Squad member, a Gotham City Siren, a Bird of Prey, a girlfriend again - to another woman, a complex LBGTQ idol, a comedienne, a superstar, a leader, a gang leader, a singer, a roller derby champ, a lover of hyenas and other animals, a daughter, a sister, and an Amazon sister. She has been it all.

'Harley Quinn Vol. 1: No Good Deed' is the start of an ongoing storyline, so not everything is developed properly, and it is a rather short volume. It doesn't fill the reader in on what happened in previous interconnected DC events, not really. But it is a vastly enjoyable 'Harley' comic, which I recommend to any fan. Go ahead and read it, as well as other contemporary titles with profound versions of the character like 'Harleen' and 'Breaking Glass'.

It's sweet stuff.

Extra note: Harley obtains - well, steals - a Grundy plushie! From Hugo Strange!

Speaking of plushies, Harley very briefly owns a stuffed unicorn toy in one scene. An intended allusion to Deadpool? I'm not sure how I feel, concerning that.

Final note: I love that the trade title references one of my favourite songs from one of my favourite musicals. It suits Harley and the comic in a lot of ways.

Final Score: 4/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Elvira: Mistress of the Dark Vol. 1: Timescream' by David Avallone (Writer), Dave Acosta (Artist, Contributor)

'Elvira: Mistress of the Dark: Timescream' is wholly entertaining and funny. And understanding and respectful of Elvira. It was made for her. It suits her character - her legacy - very exquisitely.

The tit*ular Mistress of the Dark, who hasn't changed a bit since the eighties, is suddenly sent back in time via a coffin in her movie studio, and in subsequent time jumps she meets famous horror literature and movie icons; from Mary Shelley in her ghost story castle, to Edgar Allan Poe, to Bram Stoker, and to Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester (though the actors are given different yet similar names due to copyright laws and them not being public domain yet, something that Elvira calls out on). Exacerbating the madness is [redacted due to spoilers]. Yes, the [redacted due to spoilers], who is chasing Elvira across time, and is also caught in this time travel "game" of someone's nefarious doing. Or they're just bored and killing time. Heh.

The jokes keep coming, and they mostly land. There are puns, fourth wall breaks--no, obliterations, sexual innuendoes, pop culture references made into actual punchlines, historical jokes, classic horror jokes, self-deprecating comic creators and publishers, easy jokes, childish jokes, subtle adult jokes - it's all a riotous party and everyone is invited.

I'm surprised - nay, amazed - that Elvira never crossed over with MST3K. Or did she? I'm not that familiar with her and everything she's done.

It's very recently that I started to look into Cassandra Peterson, aka Elvira. I'd heard of her before, but extremely rarely, as a blip on the radar of my life - the life of a nineties British girl. Even then I may've gotten her confused with Barbarella. Or Booberella. But I wanted to know a little about this famous, universally beloved female icon and personality - the absolute Queen of Halloween - who is most associated with B-movie shlock horror and fantasy. And comedy and riffing. Her appeal should be niche, yet she has managed to achieve such popularity; talked about even decades later. She is a dream for every geek of every gender and taste. The Mistress of the Dark's got colour to her.

How the hell has the archaic, BS consensus, "women aren't funny", persisted (it still rears its grotesque, tiny penis-sized head every now and then to this day), when Elvira and women like her have been around for nearly forty years? She's not really barbaric, in her humour and affectations - those "wah! women aren't funny I'm so fragile and insecure!" men are.

I saw YouTube clips of Elvira, and her two films, 'Elvira: Mistress of the Dark' and 'Elvira's Haunted Hills'. I now own 'Mistress of the Dark' on DVD. I may not know much about the shows she's done, but I know about her and her style and outrageous sense of humour. She holds nothing back, and she's genuinely funny and witty a lot of the time. Never mind her cleavage, that's part of the joke, too. Ever since her grand debut onto the world, she's been open about her sexual deviancy and is utterly unabashed and unashamed. Elvira is in control; her looks, her clothing, her writing, her humour, her body, her prop knife - it is all about her and her agency.

Elvira is her creation. She's the star, and let's no one forget it.

Her campiness, drag queen style, and proud, eccentric outsider disposition have earned her masses of LBGTQ fans, and she has always supported gay rights, which is another reason to greatly admire her. Cassandra Peterson was also revealed to be queer herself in her later years.

(Elvira is canonically a witch, too, or is plain witchy, which is the chocolate shavings on top of the cake and the crepe as far as I'm concerned.)

So she's awesome. And her comic is awesome.

However, it does end abruptly on a cliffhanger for the second volume (how cheap), and since humour is subjective not everyone is going to find it particularly funny, and not every gag is going to work; maybe not on any level. Moreover, in general I don't much care for pronounced sex appeal and fanservice on main female characters, and not when it's done in a *nudge nudge wink wink* we-will-sell-it-as-a-joke-and-we-will-shame-and-ridicule-the-straight-male-gaze-but-will-still-encourage-them-to-buy-the-comic-because-of-boobs-and-no-other-reason kind of way. I'd argue that's worse. At least Elvira is never drawn in any ridiculous, pornographic poses, I guess.

But the comic is damn funny. And empowering. The art is fantastic, to boot. It should be read for every reason but the cleavage. It is an unapologetically silly, self-aware, clever, and campy horror comedy romp.

Final Score: 3.5/5

*I just realised I could have made an obvious, immature and boorish pun at awesome Elvira's expense there. Oh. Wait. I just did. Just by mentioning it. Crap.

Rosalina Stardust Milkshake

My local comic book shop - the quaint, quirky little backwater outlet it is - does milkshakes based on the idiosyncrasies of Super Mario characters - their flavour, if you will.

Here is the milkshake I got today based on my favourite Mario character, and one of my favourite Nintendo girls - Rosalina!

Behold the Rosalina Stardust!

Blue, white and pink - is there a sweeter colour mix? Candy!

Rosalina Stardust is very...bubblegummy.

It tastes like...childhood. All the good, the bad, and the middling.

I love geek culture and its limitless novelties. Its creativity.

Graphic Novel Review - 'The Amazing Mary Jane, Vol. 1: Down In Flames, Up In Smoke' by Leah Williams (Writer), Carlos Gómez (Artist), Lucas Werneck (Artist), Carlos Lopez (Colours)

I wanted to read this title mainly because of Mary Jane Watson, and 'The Amazing Mary Jane, Vol 1: Down In Flames, Up In Smoke' gloriously, gleefully highlights what a confident, funny, sassy, smart, self-aware, sexually-aware and comfortable, opportunistic and optimistic lady she has always had the potential to be. She is an actress doing so many parts for a blockbuster superhero/supervillain movie, and make no mistake, she is the star.

Nothing will get in her way. Absolutely nothing.

This Mary Jane solo comic is bizarre, goofy and nonsensical. Basically, the plot is that Mary Jane is starring as the love interest in a movie which aims to be high art for a supervillain/antihero redemption piece. It's a biopic for Mysterio - which she discovers is directed by Mysterio himself!

It's his take on his own life story - it's the "'Breaking Bad' of super hero movies", as MJ puts it - made for the express goal of making people sympathise with him, and see him as an auteur. A real artist. No illusions, no tricks, no schemes (though it is funded through fraud, and D-list villains are involved in its production), no hidden agendas. Everything in the film, with its troubled and often destructive and bankrupt production, must be as authentic as possible, according to Mysterio.

Of course MJ agrees to help him realise his dream, under certain conditions; like giving her character actual development not related to the male lead.

(Maybe it's because I'd barely heard of Mysterio beforehand that I'm okay with him having a redemption arc of sorts to begin with.)

Then there is the Savage Six, a group of villains who are not happy with how they are being portrayed in Mysterio's movie, and they will sabotage it in every way they can. Destruction of sets and locations, parasitic paparazzi, and threatening actors, are up their nefarious sleeves...

Not every plot element and character, with or without an arc, is followed up on in 'The Amazing Mary Jane, Vol. 1', and some elements and themes are forgotten about entirely by the end of the volume. Said ending is also a little rushed and feels incomplete, but maybe it's setting up for the sequel.

The comic isn't as meta as it could have been. It might be commenting on the Hollywood film industry, such as how the MCU movies are made, as we know it today. But it doesn't go any deeper than how sexist the female leads are portrayed. It's surface level criticism; much like how toxic work conditions in filming being alluded to doesn't go beyond surface level titbits. #MeToo allusions might as well not exist for the zero impact they serve; it's half-arsed lip service at best. There is social commentary on how sexist and misogynistic the media is in how it treats famous women who are rumoured to be "difficult" and a nightmare to work with; thus they are immediately blacklisted, whilst their male counterparts never receive nearly as much backlash and punishment for doing far, far worse. But this is only present in a few panels. Many themes and issues are included but go nowhere; another example is the misogynistic "women sleeping their way to the top" mentality, which in this context serves Mysterio's development, not MJ's, because he is a "genius" who isn't "deceived by womanly wiles". WTF? Talk about taking it in the entirely wrong direction! 'The Amazing Mary Jane' is also very vague on who or what it might be parodying, as if Marvel comics is afraid of getting sued by somebody.

We go through the whole comic barely knowing anything that happens in Mysterio's movie, which is a missed opportunity. Behind-the-scenes action takes precedence.

Where the hell is the visible LBGTQ rep? It's Hollywood, for crying out loud!

And yet... 'The Amazing Mary Jane, Vol. 1: Down In Flames, Up In Smoke' is infectious in its optimism. Mary Jane herself is infectious; all smiles and wits and taking everything in stride and taking crap from no one. She and by extension the comic don't take themselves seriously, and just have fun with what they've got. A deeper look into Hollywood's scummy-ness and its toxic working environments reflecting real life cases might have been too jarring a tonal shift.

MJ shares sweet, funny and sexy phone calls with Peter Parker, as a civilian, a scientist, and as Spider-Man (they are a couple and not married here). MJ is friends with production crewmember Mallorie, who is a POC, and is in charge of pretty much everything in the filmmaking process, like set managing, scheduling, and financing.

Oh and did I mention? Mary Jane Watson puts on a Spider-Man outfit later on in her movie, for last minute stunts. Then she, an ordinary person without powers or any real hero training, manages to take on the Savage Six all by herself! Well, almost - the badass production crew help out, too!

How can you not love this woman after that?!

Nothing would get done for Mysterio's movie - nothing would happen in this comic - without Mary Jane and her determination, spirit, and humour. She's given a producer credit by Mysterio, too, so her efforts are not unappreciated. Years spent as a superhero's girlfriend has made her fearless and daring, able to hold her own and take care of herself. She's worthy of respect as her own person and not an extension of Spider-Man's character. She's clearly confident in her sexuality, as well!

Looks are not everything for this actress, and her personality and talent are no illusions.

'The Amazing Mary Jane' - star-studded, silly, wacky fun!

Final Score: 3.5/5