Via Boing Boing, a photoshop contest to produce images of superhero day jobs. I’m glad that Plastic Man was included along with all of the Hulk, Spiderman, and Wolverine variants.

If you are nostalgic for the underoos you might have had as a kid, Target is selling Supergirl pajamas and underwear. Where’s Wonder Woman though?

It had been several weeks since I have been to my friendly neighborhood comic store (thank you IRS) so I had some back issues to pick up. Imagine my surprise when I got there to discover that back issues were half off and trades were 20% off. So this is what I got:

Ruroni Kenshin #4
Basara #6
Clockwork Angels II
Human Target:Final Cut

My Faith in Frankie #2 (only issue I was missing), Conan #1 (by Crom, I have always liked Conan the Barbarian), Too Much Hopeless Savages #3, Blue Monday:Painted Moon #1, X-Statix #22 (I find the idea of Allred adapting the Book of Mormon into comic book form insane, but I guess that will keep him plenty busy with X-Statix stopping), Ultimate Spiderman #57 & 58, Ultimate X-Men #45, Love Fights #8, The Pulse #3, Human Target #8 & 9, Daredevil #59, and Ministry of Space #3.

I was seriously debating about picking up some more manga, like the new edition of Nausicaa. Reprinting it at a larger size really allows you to appreciate the detail of the art but I can probably hold off on this for a little bit. I have plenty to keep me occupied now 🙂

Damnit, Seaguy came out this week, right? In my frenzy, I forgot to pick it up.

Grotesque Anatomy points to a Seaguy preview at Mile High comics. Death is so adorable. I have to buy this!

So I decided to wait for the trade for Love Fights after I accidently missed several issues. The first trade is out now. One subgenre of superhero comics that seems to have become more popular in the last few years is the “ordinary people just trying to live their lives in a world filled with superpeople” genre. You have the people tasked with policing the superheroes (Powers), ex-superheroes turned private investigators (Alias), ordinary people living in a superhero filled city (from what I little I can remember of Astro City).

With Andi Watson taking on this genre, the focus is on the relationships between the characters. How do ordinary people build a relationship when random annoying superheroes keep popping up to entangle you in their dramas?
The comic centers around Jack, a comic book artist struggling to make a living with a series focused on the real life of “The Flamer”, a superhero who is declining in popularity. He keeps running into a girl named Nora who works at a superhero tabloid, looking for the big break that will make her a reporter. After a few missed chances, Jack finally asks Nora out and then their troubles begin…

Jack’s cat Guthrie is an important supporting character, with just the self-centered attitude that you would expect from a cat.

I actually haven’t been to the comic book store in a few weeks (it happens sometimes) so I’ve been catching up with some of my earlier purchases. I recently finished reading Lea Hernandez’s Rumble Girls. I think I might have read one issue when it was coming out as a monthly comic, and I’d previously read the first volume of her Texas Steampunk trilogy Cathedral Child and Killer Princesses.

Rumble Girls is a funny commentary on media and society that just happens to take place in a world where technology has enabled the creation of hardskin battle suits and extreme gender switching. The heroine of the story, Raven, starts out as a picked-on student at the Academie Juliet but quickly gets swept up in the media machine when she starts to battle in her hardskin armor. And did I mention the extreme gender switching? I think this comic has the most extreme gender switching plot line I’ve ever read. If you like manga-style comics about girls, battle armor, gender switching, romance, and evil corporate media overlords, you will enjoy Rumble Girls.

Tyson Smith left a comment on my earlier post about what looks to be a delightful all ages comic book. They now have a preview site up and you can read the first chapter online.

It made for some relaxing reading after a hectic day at work, and seeing more of the comic book makes me think it would be great for young readers as they would learn useful vocabulary words like nebula, cantering, defense department, invasion fleet, cybernetic, and jeeves.

There’s a character preview page too.

If I was doing collection development as a children’s librarian, I would totally get Emily and the Intergalactic Lemonade Stand. The preview looks so cute! (via previewsreview)

Scott from Previewsreview has a blog focusing on comic books for all ages, it might come in handy for YA librarians. So far, he is discussing the new Mary Jane comic and Scholastic dropping Shonen Jump due to objectionable content.

Dave Sim’s Onion Interview (via Fanboy Rampage), the interviewer had previously written about the logistics in getting the interview set-up, with a follow-up here