Pajiba

Seth...PLEASE tell me you are gonna watch Under One Roof tonight! Flavor Flav...sitcom....I've heard radio ads for it over and over for the last 2 weeks and it sounds attrociously bad in a way only Flavor Flav could provide.

And I think Whedonites is a good name.

I believe the proper terms is "Whedoneers".

That, or "dorks."

Whedonoobles? Whedonores? Virgins?

Whedonistas?

Whedonoobles? Whedonores? Virgins?

lolol mom's basement lolololol comedy gold

This is the "comedy" from the writers of "Will & Grace" about a pair of friends and business partners. And one's gay and one's straight.

Wow, glad to see they're branching out into new areas. Urgh.

Nice to hear the Dawson is going to be on my computer. Not that she isn't already but... um... ergh... I may have said too much.

I vote for Whedonoids.

You know, I'm thinking of just throwing my TV out the window when I get home tonight. Mr. Kolby can get the Mets games on the radio from now on.

Hey! Some of us Whedon kiddies aren't virgins...

We're just really fucking kinky.

Oh my GOd, it's finally happened. They've taken a pair of 30 Rock jokes (the product placement one and the 15 second internet sitcom one), spliced them together, and made them real. Somewhere out there, Tina Fey is standing by her mailbox, waiting for her royalty check.

By the way, I only have sex with guys who drink diet Snapple.

Hey! Some of us Whedon kiddies aren't virgins...

We're just really fucking kinky.

A guy painting a 'damsel in distress' face on his hand while he wears a Cowboy Hat and a Lone Ranger mask, or a woman dressing her vibrator up in a ken-sized barbarian outfit does not mean you're still not a virgin.

I've always thought of myself as a Jossaphile, but I do like the sound of Whedonista. And let me add my support to those calling for "Firefly" to make it on the "Best Seasons..." list. Granted I've only gotten through disc 2, but it's so damn good. (Mal just might get me over my Spike obsession. Captain, o my Captain!)

'whedonians' could also work. It's the closest I can make it to 'Whovian' without somehow adding a 'v' that doesn't really belong there at all...

Meh. It's late, I have a headache and I think I feel a cold coming on...it's the best I can come up with...

So there's going to be a show about Young Zombies for the entire purpose of featuring product placement. What appropriate products will be featured?
The new John Deere line of flame throwers?
TUMS for the indigestion one gets afer eating human flesh?
Visine Z to take the crazed redness from the eyes?

TK: please weigh in, I assume you're technical advisor to the show?

oh Alan, why? I know you need money, but couldn't the awesome semi-roles like in 3:10 to Yuma suffice? a sitcom by the creators of Will & Grace? really? that was the best you could come up with?

you broke my heart
this needs to be fixed

my address is 123 I'm Available Dr, Because You're Wicked Hot, NH
A personal visit (with champagne) would be prefeable, but flowers will do in a pinch

Also, my vote is for "Whedonista"

has a nice ring to it

C.K.'s standup is better than the show (even though I have to hear it every night for two weeks at a time). The best parts were lifted almost directly from his routine. On the show I thought swear-words were overused to make things funny, so the network move will either tighten up the writing or make it bomb even harder.

PaddyDog, I assure you this is being made without my blessing. It is an abomination in the eyes of Godtopus.

Zombies and product placement? The whole thing leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I wash my hands of it. In fact, I plan on dispatching the hordes to scour the internet of this mess.

Add one vote to the "Whedonista" column. It makes us sound savvy! Although I'm currently not too happy with the man about the comic book delay. I want my Piotr Rasputin fix goddamnit.

*ahem*

The emerging Dollhouse news is making me glad (especially the casting of Amy Acker who I absoultely adore), although it's a tentative gladness as I'm willing to bet good money that it only ever sees a full season on DVD.

So harsh, PissBoy, so harsh. And unless I had a series of incredibly regular and realistic dreams over the last six or so years I'm pretty sure I disprove your theory. Although the images you provided are making me giggle.

I like Whedonauts.

Alex, Alex!

Gaze upon the glory that is "http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/04/22/another-look-at-the-manga-style-wolverine-x-men/#more-7927">Totoro Beast!

Work, damn you!

I don't know what the frak is going on with TV. Almost every bit of the past several DTRUs have either bored me to tears (content) or made me want to run screaming. Maybe *they* can just combine the multitude of horrid ideas on one new channel so we can avoid them altogether.

So there's going to be a show about Young Zombies for the entire purpose of featuring product placement. What appropriate products will be featured?

"Preee-senting the revolutionary new Vileda Zomb-Away multi-mop - ideal as both an all-purpose cleaning solution for all your zombie apocalypse related hygiene problems, as well as a last line of defence against the ravenous hordes of the undead!

See how the head of the mop can be swapped for multiple cleaning accessories - use the standard mop to clear up the pools of congealed blood left by your recently wounded and now desperately fleeing family members, then switch to the sturdy broom option to scrape the flecks of bone fragments and clumps of viscera from your shag-pile carpet!

Is your housework being interrupted by a ghoulish walking corpse? No problem! Simply seperate the top and bottom halves of the multi-mop handle to reveal the razor-sharp piano wire connecting the two - ideal for swift removal of zombie heads! Simply loop the wire around your slavering antagonist's neck and yank hard for swift, efficient decapitations!"

There have been so many random mentions of Alias in the round ups lately my head is spinning.

Although my sister and I like to play a game when we watch TV and/or movies and point out people who were in either Alias or the X Files. Trust me, its easier than you might think.

... and if they insist on doing a zombie show, can't we get some sort of limited series of 'World War Z' or something? Man, that would be a cool HBO special.

AtO...you giggled. My work here is done.

Is there any possible way that I can have a Totoro Beast? Like, as a pet or something? I love him. With his cute little pointy teeth and his tie!

I also agree about Cyclops which is amazing in itself. I'm not too sure I'm liking Emma Frost in this run though... we shall see.

I'm on a massive X-men kick at the moment, which I made the mistake of mentioning to my super-geeky tattoo artist. He's all set to draw me up a full sleeve. Oh dear, I don't really want to be disowned by every single one of my friends.

Your life's purpose is to amuse me PissBoy? That's beyond awesome. It's like having my own personal jester. Can you juggle?

and if they insist on doing a zombie show, can't we get some sort of limited series of 'World War Z' or something? Man, that would be a cool HBO special.

Fuckin A, man.

But, age-appropriate or not, I want Mark Hamill back playing Todd.

"Zack don't get scared"

Obviously Jurgen would have to be there too.

Some of that manga X is kinda goofy, but anything's sure better than Quitely. Dammit, Grant, stop being friends with him! Uglifying all your books!! I'd thought the horror visited on The Authority would be all I'd have to withstand.

So ATO:

How did it go with the geek boy last night? Did you save up the drinking rules as planned and plant yourself at the bar or were words exchanged? I can't help it, I'm your Internet mother and if you won't tell me I'll have to sneak into your room and read your diary.

AtO, if you ever decide to publish your diary, my guess is it'll be a bestseller, Anne Frank style

just sayin

bethy, I'll be right over.

Wash, out.

It went well PaddyDog (please don't read my diary, it has some lists in it that would be rather... embarassing were they ever to see the light of day during my life time. Feel free to collect royalties after my death though Bethy), although I'm pretty sure I consumed the required amount despite that. We tentatively said we should see each other more often than once every six months as both of us are lacking movie buddies and we have the same taste. Probability of him remembering that conversation: about 0.13. Which is a shame as I miss my geeky almost-friend and watching Iron Man with him would rock.

I ended up trekking back across London at 2am, taking three separate night busses having left the male friend who is currently staying at my flat in the clutches of three very drunk, very giggly freshmen girls (he made it out alive apparently, although not unscathed).

All in all a rousing success.

Ahhh, I misread that. I thought you were saying he was going to inflict six months of insanity starting now, like he was someone you were going to have to deal with at school, since you'd mentioned that a little earlier (I talk about unrelated things together and yet conflate others' disparate elements into one story).

Now I have no idea what the story is. But hey, that's okay.

I think there's a bit of a notion out there of "drunk girls...heh heh....sloppy and horny awright!". But if you ask around you're likely to have a guy groan in painful remembrance of that time he had to give a bunch of them a ride home. College age is certainly a danger.

Drunk giggly freshmen (is that term now used in Britain?) girls have their role in life. Without them, there would be no-one for those of us who liked to dress in black and sit in corners to feel superior to during our college days.

Well we tend to call them "Freshers" for the first few weeks until they officially become "First Years" but I'm so used to translating into Americanese I apparently do it automatically.

The girls at my old college are an interesting breed, the ratio is 4:1 male to female (and if you take out the Medics you get a ratio of more like 5:1, greater in the hard sciences) and every one is a scientist. It makes for a slightly weird dynamic. This group was definitely in the "oh my god boys everywhere, freedom, unlimited alcohol courtesy of the student loan, giggle giggle" demographic. Which was cute.

It actually makes me more happy about teaching my future A-level classes... 18 year olds really are a different breed.

Sorry for confusing you Jay. He drove me crazy because of some annoying events last summer and him being an anti-social and awkward weirdo at the same time as being utterly awesome but now thankfully the insanity is over (I hope).

score!

just don't tell your wife Wash, she scares the hell outta me

Zoe's fierce man....

(oh, and if you happen to run across Mal on your way.....well, I'm up for it if you are)

It's my one and only goal Alex! :) I wake up every morning thinking, "Hmmm...Alex has been at work now for a bit. Prolly having a crap day. Me fix."

I can juggle, tumble, tell jokes, a bunch of things. I always wanted to be one of those kids that could flip his eyelids inside out or maybe be able blow the little floating spit bubbles, but alas, i am talentless in those departments.

If you have no geeky boy for IronMan viewing Alex...I'm on the next flight over. I'll buy the popcorn. You get the 'Duds.

Wait... Pissboy, is the spambot talking about you? 'Cuz... well... the timing of that was kinda weird.

it seems he is very interested in dating wealthy young guys.

...well at least the spambot is getting more open-minded.

hmmm...really? The spambot could be talking about me????? WOW! I'm honored! I mean...who do I thank. First...let me thank my mom and dad for doing the nasty and bringing me into this world without too much pain on their end. I want to thank by producer Clive Davis for the motivation to get the album cut as quickly as we did. i want to thank Alex for being named Alex, cuz the spambot thinks your a dude. WTF does it know...it's a 'puter. I want to say Hey! to all the people up there in the balcony...and once again Alex...i couldn't have done this without you! And to the Academy, crew, captain, first mate, bludgers, swabs, scallywags, panzies, pussies, poseurs, hosers, losers, lifers, wifers, and everyone else.... Made it Ma!!! Top o' the world!!!

"And lastly, we can all agree that the Emmys are meaningless, right? . . . Well this year, we'll have another new category to bitch about. Actually, strike that last part -- we'll have a new category, . . ."

I accidentally misread that as "new category to bitch about actually is Best Writer During The Strike."

How about Whedonirgins or Whedorks?

Alex...it would appear the spambot thinks we should go see Ironman together. Spambot knows all apparently.

Drunk giggly freshmen (is that term now used in Britain?) girls have their role in life. Without them, there would be no-one for those of us who liked to dress in black and sit in corners to feel superior to during our college days.

Personally? I tended to ignore the giggly girls and went straight for the girls dressed in black. They tended to be smarter, more independently minded, and freakier in bed - due to repressed emotions.

This roundup gave me many mixed feelings this morning. Despite the fact that this Browncoat will watch anything any of the cast of Firefly or Buffy are in..there are times when my fanlove is tested. Regardless, I'm willing to try anything once.

Except midgets.

Well if the spambot says so then who am I to argue? ;) Seriously though an evening of shiny Robert Downy Jr as a superhero awesomeness with large amounts of beer and a fellow Pajiban would be an unbelievably cool way to spend an evening. Damned Atlantic ocean. Ruining all my fun.

I'm actually not convinced there is a spambot after all. I like to think of a little man sitting in a cubicle carefully reading each and every post and then finely crafting his individual spam post as the situation requires. He's like a member of the community. It just wouldn't be the same without him.

Ugh. I need to stop rearranging my sentences. I am incapable of proper syntaz at the moment. I blame the hangover.

syntax. For fuck's sake. I'm going back to bed.

Hey! Some of us Whedon kiddies aren't virgins...

Exactly. I like Whedon's stuff (heck, I have Whedon related professional writings on my CV) and I have a thirteen-year-old who most certainly sprang directly from my loins after many hours of screaming labor. So, if I'm a virgin, then someone's got some serious 'splaining to do, pronto. And once they're done with the Miracle of Virgin Birth, they can move on to what the executives/scheduling monkeys at Fox are clearly smoking...

Mmmmm, it seems the spambot is very interested in dating wealthy young guys or gurls. I saw it on "S e e k i n g R i c h Y u n g C o m p u t e r s . c o m " last week. You can contact it on that site.

Alex, does that mean X-men is worth getting back into? I have been keeping myself sated with my meticulously poly-bagged dork-o-rama collection from the 90s. I had a mini snit fit after the legacy virus and went on a 15 year hiatus. Seeing as though my Buffy-by-mail comic fix is the highlight of getting home from work some days (other days it's my daughter, but it's whedon, yo! She gets trumped there). I wouldn't mind adding my X-friendz back to the mailing list.

this Browncoat will watch anything any of the cast of Firefly or Buffy are in

My sister basically ordered me to watch "Death at a Funeral" (she has no Tudyk connections whatsoever). I'm going to but does anyone here have any thoughts? I was excited at first then let it pass.

Hell, a group movie night could be even better. Mos Def could run in with his shopping cart (trolley) full of beer and peanuts. As long as, you know, there wasn't a bunch of jealousy, resentment and "my crush isn't talking to me at all!", cause that makes the "hey we're all together for the first time!" thing a bit awkward for some.

What? Noooo I've never experienced the "what the hell is going on over there with those two?". Nope. Sure, that happened before the internet, but it makes it that much easier to get a group harboring a bunch of secrets together.

But we're all mature adults anyway. So, yeah, that'd be a good party.

Aha appwitch!....but do you have any Children under the age of 13? See...Whedon did get all geektacular until 96 or so which means the screw that lead to your child (sometime in 95) was so totally and obviously your last lay. My logic is so perfect and infallible sometimes I impress myself! ;)

And AtO....I promise...you'll get a Pajibian movie one day! If not me, then someone will make it happen. I should backpack across the Pajibaverse! Everyone wants to party with PissBoy!

Your promise means a lot PissBoy. There will be trouble if it is not fulfilled. I fully intend to do a tour of the states at some point in the future. Maybe I could take advantage of the hospitality of various Pajibans and just hop from couch to couch.

I dunno lilianna, I've been reading the newer stuff (I'm doing a weird "start an arc/omnibus, read through it, reach the end, skip backwards again" thing at the moment. Which will stop as soon as I get far enough back to satisfy my backstory cravings) recently and I've got to say I'm massively enjoying it. I've only ever read bits and pieces as I could get ahold of them but buying the comics in omnibus form as an adult with a salary and access to eBay is making the process much less painless*. I'm getting frustrated with my "existing in the UK away from all the actual comics" status. So much so that once I'm as caught up as I want to be I may have to sort out some form of mail order subscription. But that would involve me going in to the comic book store and those guys scare me.

*If you dis-count the several hours I spent with a pen and paper trying to figure out the continuities and where to start. Stupid multiple storylines.

I stand firmly by my belief that the SpamBot is a comical robot made outta meat. He needs to be the Twiki to our Buck Rogers. He can assist with bartending duties on the MurderTank while spouting-off about millionaire dating sites and mumbling "bidi-bidi-bidi".

Alex, be careful what you wish for. Watching a movie with PissBoy is like being confronted by a grizzly bear in your backyard. You want to get away, you need to get away, but you have to take small steps and maintain eye contact...lest you wake the sleeping crazy.

Shut your suck Julie! :P You know we had a blast. I'm just lucky I was back within 800 feet of my place by 1am. Otherwise the red n' blue lights would have looked real purdy leavin the pub.

lilianna, Marvel is going through an extended period of both sucking and blowing right now, with enough crossover events that they can maintain a fairly steady-state of total mediocre crap across every book.

Except for Astonishing, which Whedon absconded with over a year ago and hasn't given back yet. More the better for us.

So read Astonishing (2 or 3 trades right now) and you might want to keep with it since Warren Ellis is taking over, but run away from the rest. Far, far away.

Alex said: But that would involve me going in to the comic book store and those guys scare me.

But come on! It's the biggest ego boost EVA. I used to love going to pick up my weekly subscripts (yes, I was into multiple x-titles and was in that shop once a week) and getting the "OMG, there are BREASTIES in this shop!" looks were kinda fun!

ah, twig, I kinda feared that. I am loathe to jump back in without recommendations should the experience sully my old x-love. Hubby and I love to watch the movies and say things like "how can we like a movie we hate so much about?" It's like, you have to pretend it's a whole different universe, then you can enjoy it because the comparison SUUUUUUCKS

Oh well. I'll go back to Psylock seducing thge shit outta Scott and the brood kicking ass and yes, I'll even read through that schlock of a "wedding album" for Jean and Scott. Jubilee, how I miss thee.

If you visit the South, Alex...my couch is available...

So let me see if I got this correct: The protagonists of the zombie show will be the zombies themselves? What kind of shit is that? I don't approve. Nope, nope, nope, nope. It's just plain wrong.

Because of my unending love for Max Brooks and World War z, I will beat off Hollywood ding-dongs with a machete to prevent it from ever coming to a big or small screen. I'm 100 percent positive it will be royally screwed up. I believe it was Brad Pitt's production company that bought the rights. Ugh. I shiver.

Hee! Yeah we did. That night is a blur of beer, Beck, car bombs, dead baby graveyards, Primus, funny straw faces, and late night drunken cupcake ravaging.

Well I've never worked in a comics store, but I'm familiar with the reverse: encountering the comics store girl. And the Code Of Honor says you leave it alone. Oh that can be painful sometimes (like, say, Kim at Oxford way back when, calling me to say my "Invisibles" #6 is in, talking about the Bis show she went to, etc...) but you LEAVE IT ALONE. "But maybe I'm the guy--" LEAVE IT ALONE. Keep it professional. After all, we know there are plenty who do not live under the code. I'm sure some of them even succeed.

Oh it's thankless but it's dignified, and there's some satisfaction in that.

Oh but Pink, you have listened to the audiobook, haven't you? It was unfortunately abridged due to running out of production time, but it's lovely.

Because of my unending love for Max Brooks and World War z

My brother just bought me his Zombie Survival Guidebook:) I really want to read WWZ. (And I hope you are doing well Ms. Pink)

Regardless, I'm willing to try anything once.

Except midgets.

Tsk Tsk Shadows...don't be so closed minded!!

ok Julie, and let it be noted that I hesitate to ask, but dead baby graveyards?

There is a story to this and I wanna hear it

lilianna28, the only X-Men I can honestly recommend is the Ultimate series. That's actually pretty good. I've been enjoying most of the Ultimate universe stuff, actually.

Also, my wife refuses to go into comic book or video game shops with me. I keep telling her that if I walked in with her on my arm, the employees would instantly drop to their knees and worship me as their God, and there has to be some benefit to that, right?

But she won't budge.

As a former videogame store girl on behalf of all others like me I thank you from the bottom of my heart Jay. Getting hit on by customers is weird and horrible, especially when they trap you behind the counter so you can't run away and hide in the storeroom and your co-workers are bent double crying with laughter because your discomfort is so fucking hilarious to them and you just end up stammering something about a phone call and then you have to avoid them every time they come into the store, which is almost daily, because you can't face the awkward.

And yes the Ultimate series are highly enjoyable.

Damn you TK...just when I start swearing vendettas against you...you start expressing your love for the Ultimate series. I picked up the first book two weeks ago...and haven't been able to stop reading them all since. Fantastic series.

Julie...no. Just...no.

Whedonites traditionally refer to themselves as brownshirts.

Whether or not they are aware of the nazi/3rd reich connotations is unknown.

I have to agree with Jay...the videogame/comic book store girl was like public cleavage...great to look at, brightens your day with the interaction, but stay away. Enjoy from a distance. You get burned if you get too close to the fire.

Whedonites traditionally refer to themselves as brownshirts.

Close...we're Browncoats...

Hee...Bethy, my best friend Jay is a vindictive monster whose goal is to embarrass me every chance he gets. He came up with dead baby graveyard as a way to reference my special lady place...because I'm single...so there's no one to impregnate me. Sigh. He cracks himself up every time he repeats this joke. So of course, having never met PissBoy, he decided to tell this to him when we all hung out for my birthday.

Evil. Though I wouldn't have it otherwise.

I'd always thought the video game/comic book store girl was a myth, like El Chupacabra, or gay republicans.

Shadow's... how's the throat?

[menacing smile]

You inter-infect then mock him? Aww, that's just wrong TK.

TK:I keep telling her that if I walked in with her on my arm, the employees would instantly drop to their knees and worship me as their God, and there has to be some benefit to that, right?

But you might serve to give them hope, and then what would? It would be cruel, I am on your wife's side there. She's just tryin' to protect the poor guys.

Video/ gamers stores? That's a different animal, I think. There's something quiet about the comic book store experience with women- a google-eyed reverence for any female gracing the store. Maybe it's something in the virtual interaction of a video game that makes the game-stop guys think that their brand of "flirting" is anything less than creepy. Thought process goes: well, I can force some virtual chica to bounce her boobs across the galactic planes of my tv, maybe I should try my chops on this gamer girl?

So yeah, while I enjoyed the comic book walks I HAAAAATED going in to buy my baby bro some birthday present at his local game shop. yeesh.

ha! I knew there was a story there Julie!

your friend Jay sounds.....special :p

Not brownshirts, Some Guy - browncoats.
An entirely different garment, which comes with 'you can't take the sky from me' connotations, rather than the 'Nazis! I hate those guys!!' type.

Oooohhh...TK...you'll pay, somehow...I'm having trouble thinking up dastardly plans right now over the pain...but just you wait.

Awww...Julie...that just sounds so,,,wrong...in the most awesome way possible...

I think the tide is turning in terms of the video game store girl as opposed to the comic book store girl...I recently walked into Gamestop and found that all the clerks and half the customers were female. Threw me for a loop. I didn't know whether to smile at them or shy away in fear. So I did both. Made for awkward conversations. Especially with the girl who was checking me out. They're aggressive in their element!

Dill -- brilliant!

(...and if you call NOW, we'll send you two for only $19.95!)

Bethy, special is the perfect word to describe him. He's lucky I've kept him around for ten years. :p

My only experience with comics is Archie and that one where Superman died. I have read some graphic novels though...Persepolis, the first of the Sandman series, Ghost World...I need to read more.

"You inter-infect then mock him? Aww, that's just wrong TK."

What, you want some too Julie? Huh? Well?

Didn't think so. Then shut your face hole.

What's the point in becoming an evil master of the undead/harbinger of disease if you can't mock people?

You are cruel TK, and you will get yours.

Julie I have friends like that. I find myself laughing my ass off at their shenanigans most of the time, with the occasional quick apology to the by-standers so we don't get kicked out of the shop/resaurant/movie theater/bar....

on the other hand I just found a dollar bill stamped with a "seeing eye NH lobster" in my wallet and I am wicked excited about it
attempting to track it now, but for some reason my computer does not like the wheresgeorge website

Graphic novels are what people call comic books when they don't want other people to know they read comic books.

Fucking hell. You people, I swear. Does anyone remember when I was going through my "nice and fuzzy" phase a week or so ago? And everyone was all freaked out and Alex had to start bringing up nightmares to snap me out of it?

Ya can't have it both ways. You want a resident zombie master/legbreaker? Then you gotta take what comes with it. And what comes with it is occasionally arbitrarily giving people viral infections, plenty of foul language, and gloating over the suffering of others. And brain-eating, of course.

You want nice, you got the wrong zombie master, missy.

Besides, Dakaron's a big boy. He can take it.

They are the best kind of friends Bethy. Those that mock you to the point of insanity.

And ha! Twig, I thought that there was a distinction...like they're...bigger. :p

My god TK...I don't know what I was thinking. The idea of a proverb-spouting, goody two shoes, candycane-crapping TK should have me convulsing in terror. It must be opposite day in my cubicle.

God help me if Sarina walks in extolling the virtues of pie, PissBoy announces his induction to the priesthood, or god forbid Shadows breaks off our internet engagement. I might go crazy or something something.

Besides, Dakaron's a big boy. He can take it.

True...true...and I agree about the legbreaking/zombie master/disease spreader thing...but making me a target is when you crossed the line. Even as we speak...I've infected one of you zombies. In a matter of weeks...they'll succumb and become plague spreaders. Epidemics will rip across the land. And you'll be blamed.

After the mob gets through with you...I'll be happy to give your zombies a home...

Julie, well for Sandman at least, the graphic novel is just the combined single issues.

The novel formats are arguably hurting the business, as people would rather wait to get the novels (without advertisments, which can really destroy the flow of certain stories) than buy single issues. I like GN's just because I inevitably come into a series just around the time the first issues become rare and hard to find.

If you're looking for new reads, I highly, highly cannot-reccommend-enough 'Fun Home' by Alison Bechdel (which I'm pretty sure I've already recced on Pajiba somewhere before). It's in a class by itself.

Hmm...well my husband and I liked Lucky Louis so I'll probably tune into his new show.

I highly, highly cannot-reccommend-enough 'Fun Home' by Alison Bechdel

That's so funny, I have a hold on that book at my library!

::grumble stupid people who've had it checked out for a thousand years, other people want a turn and are too poor to buy anything but rent and booze grumble::

Yeah, "Persepolis", for example, is definitely a graphic novel. Maus, Arkham Asylum, Blankets... The current popularity and ubiquity of the trade paperbacks has made the term fuzzier since they're just an omnibus of a story arc. It's kinda like not being able to say "hopefully" after reading "Tomcat In Love". I know it's technically wrong and I'm hung up on it so I just call them trades. Then there's the manga which are the size of a novel but often part of a numbered series.

What to do???

In the case of the library everyone calls everything "graphic novels" and I just call everything "comics", sometimes passive aggresively I'll admit, like "where are the graphic novels?" "All our comics are on that aisle over there". But it does chap my ass when the GN term is thrown around because A: they're trying to sound more literary or B: they don't know better and are just using the word given to them, like people who use Starbucks terminology (especially in places other than Starbucks).

In short, according to me, "graphic novel" has a very, very narrow criteria. I might let a planned limited series get in, but that's it. When in doubt, it's ALL comics. As with most things I am shouting into the storm, but life's a bitch.

Ooh, yeah. I folded when it was on one of those 2-for-3 sales with "The Tipping Point" and "Eat, Love, Pray" which surprised me for being a book about someone who got to solve her problems with a world-traveling sabbatical to exotic locales and didn't end with me wanting to feed her her own teeth.

Don't be afraid to stray from the 'look, it's Maus! Maus is safe!' level of comics, either. Good things occasionally happen in the capes and spandex section too.

Yep, it was a momentous day for me when I finally strayed from the "safe" and "literary" fare into the arms of superheroes. I admit the sheer number of artists and authors scared me, issues of continuity still confuse the fuck out of me and I do get a little overwhelmed about the sheer scale of the back catalogue available but I've learned to stop worrying and embrace the capes.

It's been an emotional journey for me but as my collector's edition of Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween proves - so worth it.

My Godtopus I love that thing. It's so... shiny.

On the subject of plague sharing: my cat has had a monster cold for over a week, and now I have it. I sneeze at least once every five minutes, I can't breathe very well, my eyes won't stop watering and it kinda feels like my eyeballs don't fit right in my head. Also, there is constant buzzing in my right ear and I keep tasting mustard even though I haven't eaten any. It's viral awesomeness.

That reminds me, Alex...

Let me warn you all away from Wikipedia if you're trying to catch up on comic continuities. That was a frustrating, lengthy, two-week process...when you always, always have at least a dozen tabs up every single day and every page you read leads you to two more...and you only stop not because you finished and now understand everything, but because you got so goddamned frustrated you closed the browser without saving...now that's a sheer exercise in futile frustration. And I still don't get all of it.

I did this twice, by the way. Once for Marvel, and one for DC. ever again. That's why I picked up the Ultimate series...I love the X-Men...but I can't get them straight anymore.

Pssst....Sarina...it's not your cat...

[glances meaningfully at TK]

I feel your pain, though...my sinuses are raw and bleeding pain and snot

Comic books intimidate me, as do soap operas. I always wonder how anyone could catch up on volumes and years of evil twins, men with adamantium claws, ambiguously gay sidekicks, and baby stealing.

Comic books intimidate me, too. I can't even handle the time commitment required by the average television series, so I have no idea how I'd manage comic books. I'd like to, but I think I'd require a tutor or something. I'm remedial.

Oh believe me Shadows I stay the hell away from Wikipedia. It confuses me. My current tactic is just to begin at the start of an author's run and then read through if I like the arc I'll carry on until I catch up to "now" or if I really like the arc I'll go back to the stories preceeding it. I think I'm reading through three separate threads at the moment in X-men, including Ultimate. It's a system that's working for me so far, although if I start getting confused I just give up and buy another volume of Runaways.

Roll on payday! Alex has some shopping to do!

Back in the olden' days I was lucky enough to catch X-men when they split between Uncanny and just plain old X-men and got me an X-Men 1 with the new team. Very lucky circumstances.

BUT I have found you just pick up a comic, read it, then get the next one, read it, etc. etc. etc. Story arcs can throw you, so if you notice the comic you picked up has an arc, wait a week. But seriously, you just gotta get nekkid, dive in a pop that comic cherry.

I dove into the middle of Transmetropolitan, Preacher, & Sandman the same way and came out unscathed. You can do it! Bring those beautiful boobies to a local store and get crackin'.

Okay, regarding weighty superheroes you don't need much background on:

With DC, Absolute Editions or not (though they all have them)

The Dark Knight Returns
Kingdom Come
DC: The New Frontier

Alex, if by any chance you've not....my GAWD are those good books.

I don't have as much experience with Marvel, but "Daredevil: The Man Without Fear" was a nice sorta flashback origin Frank Miller wrote at the end of his tenure. That's become a common subtitle but there's also a singular story with that name. Might be out of print at the moment. Also a friend gave me the "Dark Phoenix" saga, which was an all in one giant paperback, and that was thrilling, and I knew next to nothing about the X-Men.

OH OH OH OH OH OH!!!

Shit, almost forgot "Marvels", the origin of the Marvel universe by Kurt Busiek and the pretty pretty painting of Alex Ross.

As always, apologies for any converted preaching, but for anyone interested I recommend these to a painful degree.

I keep meaning to check out some "Runaways", but there's still that bag of the last couple of months's issues, but I had to finish "I Was Told There'd Be Cake" first because it was due soon, and....

I don't believe in Wikipedia. If I wanted disorganised misinformation written by yokels I'd take one of those free community education classes taught by alcoholic ex-minsters.

going to work...going to really do some work but.....

PREACHER AND TRANSMETROPOLITAN LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER!!!

shooom!

Jay, you had best be reading Nextwave, son.

Aw, come on. If I should be given slack for anything it's keeping up with Warren! Much as I like getting Bad Signal it hurts my brain to read it seeing as how you can probably spend as much time in Warren as he does.

Okay, okay, you're right, you're right, I know you're right.

Damn. And people think Judd Apatow puts out too much stuff.

Oh and right after I dove into pulling out the expired holds I get yanked into a long meeting.

I tried to be productive!

Every time I signed in __ Bigblackconnect.com __ and there were always many women would talk to me ... It is a funny and interesting place to talk to these thoughtful women.Good luck for you!