A Wandering WeyrCat...

Green Arrow, Vol. 3: The Archer's Quest by Brad Meltzer My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'm reading out of order, as I find them. The art is clean, with a simple feel with nice detail. There's an "art book" section in the back that's pretty cool. Someone tore a page out of this edition, jerks. My favorite panel is on Vol3.16(?), page 26 in the Archer's Quest compendium, with both Green Arrow and Arsenal (4.0, with the orangey arrow/maple leaf thing on the front). Scanned and added below, because it's just too cool. The story is outstanding. The concept is really cool, and I love how the author outlines how they came up with it in the back of the volume. I love how it manages to pull together elements from, seemingly, every aspect of Ollie's life. Learn a couple new things, get to see some really old things, very cool. Vol3, It seems to precede "Photograph (#16)" but may be part of it. Title page for #16 is on page30).

I wanted to wait a couple days before I reviewed it, because I became unbelievably fangirly after seeing Sherlock. Here it is, 2 days later, and no sign of it subsiding. I'm twitterpated. Therefore this is less of a review of the series and more of a squee. I watched the first season in a run, all back to back. I couldn't connect how it became so late in the day, when I was done, and wanted to know why there were only three episodes! It was so riveting that I didn't even NOTICE that the episodes where 90 minutes long. I was posting Twitter like updates on my FB, for no other reason other than I can (and I like to take notes). Pretty sure I was hooked when the cop told John that Holmes was a psychopath. I rolled my eyes and told the screen that he ISN'T a psychopath, just a sociopath. About ten minutes later, when John related it to Holmes, Holmes said the same thing. A high-functioning sociopath. I squeed. And I think they've implied that he's gay. Which m...

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle My rating: 4 of 5 stars It wasn't so surprising when Sherlock makes the nab, and very cool in the way he does it, but then the story suddenly transforms into a completely different storyline. I was reading by audio and I honestly wondered for a moment if I'd somehow got the wrong disc, for a different book, or something. I actually became momentarily frustrated: while not an uninteresting story, it wasn't the story I wanted, I wanted deduction, not cowboys and Mormons. Only realizing the two suitor's names returned me to patience. Then, the purpose of the crime made sense, even if the crux hadn't occurred yet. From frustration to appreciation of the intricateness of the whole thing. It did feel like a little more background information that strictly necessary, to the point of seeming superfluous. When a summary review (this time, the Wiki summary) says "significant flashbacks" MAN they mean it. I honestly...

It wasn't a comedy but it was hilarious. The dialogue was fantastic! I was also edge of my seat the whole time. And almost teared up at the end. Fantastic movie. Awesome suit reveal. I love the suit by the way. Seeing the tights was great, but this is so cool. A little fact-checking on Rogers' Class-A ribbons ... I hate when movies get them wrong, because they're so damned easy to look up! If you don't care about ribbons, skip to the next photo. I mainly became curious because he's wearing a US Army Basic Parachutist badge, but I wouldn't think he'd had time to complete airborne training between not completing actual basic training and becoming a chorus girl... It was designed and approved for use in 1941, so it barely makes the movie's time period to begin with! However, the training course did exist in 1940, so I presume he would have had to complete it. I doubt he did, but putting that badge on someone's chest is pretty sure to get a nod....

By adding this photo of Thor aka Hemsworth's cut body, I doubled the traffic on this post. :P Watching it was like a series of revelations... DUDE! Prince Charming (from once Upon a Time) is the cavalier. Rawr. Aaaaaand of course. They red shirt him. Scratch that, healed. Turns out he's "Fandral". Also turns out he's based on Errol Flynn. I like him already ;) OMG HAWKEYE (I knew it. As soon as the hands didn't choose the sniper rifle.) Lawl. "Is that one of Stark's?" :D Oh, please tell me chucking Volstagg was an homage to LotR's dwarf tossing... Aaaaaad that's why you stay for the goodies after the credits :D Thor was another comic I had zero contact with growing up. I assigned red-shirt status to the gorgeous cavalier because I didn't hear him have a name when Thor was remembering glories in the Hall. Turns out I just missed it. His wiki (because even superheros have wiki's!) says that Stan Lee based his personalit...

Finally saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (HP6). Note: there's a tiny spoiler in the review, but it's not really a review, mainly a canon-snob rant. I really enjoyed the movie, though I don't like what they left out slash added.  I ignore little changes here and there (they make the story shallower, but sometimes it's the only way to make it all fit into a movie script) AND I can understand tossing in small sensational items if you think the theatre crowd hasn't been shocked in a while, BUT THE BURROW???? ARE YOU MAD?? Couldn't toss in Fenrir and Bellatrix and call it a scare tactic, you had to BURN THE BURROW???? ON WHAT PLANET do you think that's ok???? Note: It's not a terrible spoiler as I hear that the burrow doesn't burn down and is shown in the 7th movies, which is a darn good thing since, to the readers, it's kind of important in the last book. I talked about this with a friend of mine and she commented " google said it...

I haven't reviewed a comic or graphic novel here before, because I don't read a lot of them anymore. So, first let me tell you why I love them. Graphic novels, good ones, (and not comics, if to you comics means Sunday funnies) have a unique quality for me. They combine the visual stimulation you get watching a movie: seeing the tiny details that make a space real to your mind, and the emotional connection I get reading a novel: their voices are your voice. They sound, silently yet in my ears, the way I would sound if I was feeling what they're feeling. It's why I love reading: I become the character, I relate to the character, I'm emotionally invested in the characters. I cheer and cry and fear with them. With a graphic novel I combine that emotional investment with the visual scene. I'm use to making up my own scene, but there are still things you don't "see" because your mind is busy with everything else. It's why people can get "los...

Had a lot of free time this past week so I tried to use it to catch up on old hobbies: namely reading and watching movies. I finished rereading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (HP6), 5/5!. When I watched Order of the Phoenix (HP5) I realized I'd forgotten a lot. I read the 2-3 at a very busy time in my life and wanted to reread the last two before I saw the movies. I'm really glad I did. It's been five years since I read it, and I knew how it was going to end, but I couldn't help crying anyway. It really is wonderfully written. I did find myself really tired of listening to Harry though: his obsessions are getting really out of hand, to the point where it seems like Hermione's the only one making any progress. This feeling spawned someone else writing " In Praise of J.K. Rowling's Hermione Granger series " which is really quite funny. I also sat down and read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 4/5, which I'd had on my shelf for a litt...

Trying to catch up on some Avengers movies before I go see the coup de grâce next week. I already wrote my response to Iron Man , as well as I could without leaving drool marks on the screen. I had to decide which Hulk to watch since there have been a few in the last decade or so. I tried to base it off the upcoming Avengers flick. Though there's a new actor playing Hulk the decision came down to the writer: the 2003 screenplay was written by Stan Lee, the 2008 one was not. Bam, easy. Then there was FINDING it. Do you know how hard it is to find the 2003 Hulk on DVD somewhere I could travel to rent it? Strangely enough, very difficult. Anyway, I persevered. I think I'd seen parts of this one before. Bana makes a very cool Hulk, even if they did mangle his origins. Not sure why, maybe what we know now about gamma rays makes the original origin (boy that feels redundant) too easy to point out as flawed and impossible. It's a good flick but feels weirdly incomplete? How ...

I've had some time this summer to catch up on reading, and I find my Goodreads link is pretty much spamming my blog... SO, in an effort to keep things a little more shipshape I'll be posting my reviews omnibus style under the label Library (or BookWyrm , I haven't decided yet). I took a 36 hour Greyhound bus trip (one way) to see my parents this summer, and had a LOT of time to read, especially since I had to go home again too! I finished reading Blood and Gold (Vampire Chronicles 6) *4/5* by Anne Rice. Yes, after all this time, I still haven't finished them. It was exactly what I expected, and love, from the series. I adore that each book is like a little biography that, more and more as the series progresses, tends to draw history in upon itself. I really enjoy it. Historical fiction has always been my favorite, and I love that I get to combine it with the kind of vampire that Anne Rice wrote. I will admit to being slightly guffawed by the viking. Seriously, i...

O_O Finally got to see Iron Man . I know, I know... I think I held my breath through most of it. Fantastic. Absolutely loved it. Maybe a little too much. It wasn't one of the comics I got to read growing up so I have no canon to contend with, and got to simply enjoy: A. Robert Downey Jr (who makes a fantastic Sherlock) portray one hot-diggity-damn Tony Stark. B: JARVIS! I'm sorry, but that's Paul Bettany in there, and I love that guy. Have since he was Dr. Stephen Maturin, Surgeon, Naturalist, in "Master and Commander: Far Side of the World". C: Stan Lee as Hugh Heffner (rock on). D: I have to admit that the original mask Stark fabricates makes me want to watch Rocketeer. :P E: Pepper Potts. She's pretty much a superhero on her own. What do you have to do to be the "administrative assistant" to a guy that brilliant? I want to see her resume and transcripts. I love her character! One problem: Each time Iron Man gets chucked to the ground...