Runs on Coffee and Cream

Way back in 2016, there was a blog prompt that I followed and used in my blog content - 5 Fandom Friday (you can read my past posts here). It was my my favourite blog prompt list because not only was it geeky, but it made me actually think about some of my geek interests. I had to dissect some of the shows I loved or books I read. I really enjoyed creating content with the prompts.

Well, it's back and I couldn't be more excited! When The Sartorial Geek announced it today, I clicked on the link right away to check out the prompts. And now I'm pumped to have something to help get my creative juices flowing again. I've been brainstorming about blog content lately and this news couldn't have come at a better time!

Since I started reading The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl comics I've been drawn to Doreen. She's such a great character; kind-hearted, smart, witty, talkative, and just very inspiring. I really enjoyed reading The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl novel recently and it's got me back on a Squirrel Girl kick. I'm behind on a few issues of the Squirrel Girl comics but I don't think that'll be the case for long since I'm itching to read more of Squirrel Girl's adventures.

The Squirrel Girl novel was a great introduction to the character; how she became a superhero and started to use her powers for good. I could picture Doreen running around in her teddy bear hoodie with a pack of squirrels in tow.

I put together an Everyday Cosplay for Squirrel Girl because, let's be honest, I'd love to take a little bit of Squirrel Girl and put that into my everyday life. She's an incredible role model.


After putting this outfit together I am seriously wanting an acorn necklace. I think I might need to add that to my wish list.

Have a good day!
xo Jen

Have you ever come across a comic, manga, or novel that you cannot put down?! I love finding reading material that grabs my attention and won't let go. Even at 2 o'clock in the morning. This leads to the first comic book I'm recommending today.

Snotgirl
"WHO IS LOTTIE PERSON? Is she a gorgeous, fun-loving social media star with a perfect life or a gross, allergy-ridden mess? Enter a world of snot, blood, and tears in this new ongoing series from New York Times Best Seller BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY (Scott Pilgrim) and dazzling newcomer LESLIE HUNG!"


I was introduced to this series from Instagram (thank you social media!) because a good chunk of the ladies I follow were sharing photos of the Snotgirl issues. I headed over to Comixology and saw there were 5 issues to read so I wasn't too far behind. Well, those 5 issues were consumed in one sitting. Well, lying in bed actually, until the wee hours of the morning because I just couldn't stop reading it. 

The art is gorgeous. I just want to re-read it to stare at the images. And the story is fun and real and also mysterious. I'm so incredibly upset that I have to wait for more issues!

Next up to read is Motor Crush!

Over the last few months I've been reading a lot of the same comic book titles which has been enjoyable since there are some really great comics out there right now. Recently I decided to check out a couple of new-to-me comics that I ended up really liking.

Archie
"Change is coming to Riverdale in this all-new reimagining of an American icon! Familiar faces return in new and unexpected ways. As the new school year approaches, you'd think Archie Andrews would be looking forward to classes and fun -- but nothing is as it seems in the little town of Riverdale. But is this a one-off or a sign of bigger changes awaiting for America's favorite teens -- and the entire town?"

Archie is definitely not new to comics. He's easily one of the longest running comic titles. But when they decided to bring out a new fresh look for Archie, I was intrigued. Not until recently did I actually pick up the first trade to read. The updated story and art style is fun and I'm really enjoying it. I plan on sticking with this series and catching up, as well as checking out the new Jughead and Betty and Veronica titles too.

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Spell on Wheels
"Three young witches are robbed of their magical items, and they'll have to hit the road to track down the mysterious thief before he does any damage to, or with, their possessions. Supernatural meets Buffy and The Craft!"

When I heard of this series I knew I had to read it. The fact that it was being compared to Supernatural, Buffy, and The Craft, plus Kate Leth is part of the team behind it, makes it an instant read for me. I've read the first 3 issues and it does not disappoint. The 3 main characters are awesome and I want to be friends with them. I'd love to see this series continue on.

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It's the weekend before Halloween! Time for pumpkins, mini candy bars, and dressing up!

To celebrate this holiday, I put together some of my favourite Halloween things right now:


Clockwise from top left:
1. Spell on Wheels - a new comic book series that just sounds absolutely fantastic. It's described as "Supernatural meets Buffy and The Craft".
2. Dark Night Leggings - I think this pattern from Sweet Legs is gorgeous and would be perfect to wear with a witch costume and then with every dress I own.
3. Haunted Castle Mug - Davids Tea released a great Halloween collection this year and I'm so loving the Haunted Castle mug and travel mug.
4. Current Mood: Halloween Pullover - As usual Look Human has some fun Halloween-inspired designs which are perfect for this time of year. I would definitely wear this sweater throughout October.

What tops your favourite Halloween things now?
xo Jen

I have found myself surrounded by so many amazing comic books recently. Everywhere I turn I see trades on sale, whether second-hand or at conventions, and I can't turn them down! Then there's all the new series that have been released in the last few months that have been getting rave reviews! My to-read pile has grown massive in the last couple of months. You know what that means? I have a Summer of reading ahead of me! There's a couple of comic book series that have stood out recently. 

Goldie Vance
"What's to Love: From Nancy Drew to Veronica Mars, we really dig girl detectives! Hope Larson (A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel) and Brittney Williams (Patsy Walker, A.K.A Hellcat!) present the newest gal sleuth on the block with Goldie Vance, an exciting, whodunnit? adventure that mixes the fun of Eloise with the charm of Lumberjanes. What It Is: In a timeless story, 16-year-old Marigold "Goldie" Vance lives at a Florida resort with her dad, who manages the place. Her mom, who divorced her dad years ago, works as a live mermaid at a club downtown. Goldie has an insatiable curiosity, which explains her dream to one day become the hotel's in-house detective. When Charles, the current detective, encounters a case he can't crack, he agrees to mentor Goldie in exchange for her help solving the mystery utilizing her smarts, random skills, and connections with the hotel staff and various folks in town."

I've only read the first two issues (the third one came out last week) and I know I'm already going to love this series. It's adorable and fun and I really enjoy the setting. It's pretty much the perfect comic to read this Summer since it has a Summer-vibe, taking place at a Florida resort. 

I've always been a Marvel fan over DC Comics. I grew up with X-Men and Spider-man with a bit of Batman thrown in. But ask me about Superman's history? Ha. I know nothing that movies haven't shown me.

The last year has proved to be a year of new things for me however. I started reading Batgirl and Black Canary, both comics that I really love and look forward to. I'm also addicted to the DC Bombshells comics. Then I found some DC Comics New 52 trades for a good price at a second-hand store. So I picked them up.

Catwoman (New 52)
"Meet Catwoman. She's addicted to the night. And addicted to Batman. But most of all, Catwoman is addicted to danger. She can't help herself, and the truth is--she doesn't want to. She's good at being bad, and very bad at being good"

I read the first two volumes - The Game and Dollhouse. I enjoyed them but I didn't love them. Catwoman is a great character. She's an antihero and badass and knows how to get what she wants. I found the comics a little too sexually explicit for my taste however. It wasn't a deal breaker but it was pretty cheesy and silly. I wouldn't mind continuing on with this series but I'd want to pick the trades up for a good price or maybe continue reading them digitally so it's not as much of an investment. 


Birds of Prey (New 52)
"One is wanted for a murder she didn't commit. The other is on the run because she knows too much. They are Dinah Laurel Lance and Ev Crawford--Black Canary and Starling. Together, as Gotham City's covert ops team, they're taking down the villains other heroes can't touch!"

I really enjoyed these comics. I read the first three trades - Trouble in Mind, Your Kiss Might Kill, and A Clash of Daggers. I actually flew through these comics. I really liked Black Canary and Starling. Their friendship was strong and there was a lot of trust between them. And from what I can find, Starling was introduced in this series, and I love her! I want to read more with her. She was so kickass and I loved her look - the tattoos and pin-up style. It was interesting getting to know other female characters too - Poison Ivy, Katana, and Batgirl. I will definitely be looking for the rest of this series to read. 


Apparently DC is winning me over since I recently picked up the first trade of New 52 Wonder Woman and Batwoman. The DC Bombshells comics are making me want to read more about these ladies. 

What comics have you been reading lately?
xo Jen

*All quotes are from comiXology, where all these comics are available in digital format*

I keep adding more titles to my current list of comics I'm reading. I've shared some of the titles I've been reading previously so I thought I'd share a few more titles that I'm really enjoying.

Jem and the Holograms
"SHOWTIME, SYNERGY! Meet JERRICA BENTON--a girl with a secret. She and her sister KIMBER team with two friends to become... JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS! But what does it mean to be JEM today? Fashion, art, action, and style collide in the most outrageous comic of 2015!"
Since I grew up watching Jem and the Holograms I knew I had to read the comic and it's exactly what I hoped for! It's super fun and I adore the art. The writing is great and I'm enjoying the story telling. If you were a fan of Jem growing up, I'd recommend checking out this comic. 



Princess Leia
"When Princess Leia Organa was captured by the Empire as a Rebel spy, she never betrayed her convictions, even in the face of the complete destruction of her home world, Alderaan. When her rescue came, she grabbed a blaster and joined the fight, escaping back to the Rebel Alliance and helping strike the biggest blow against the Empire, the destruction of the Death Star. But in the aftermath of that victory, the question remains; what is a princess without a world?"
I decided to give this series a try since I kept hearing great things about it and so far it has not disappointed. I'm thoroughly enjoying reading about badass Leia.



Giant Days
"Susan, Esther, and Daisy started at university three weeks ago and became fast friends because their dorm rooms were next to each other. Now, away from home for the first time, all three want to reinvent themselves. But in the face of hand-wringing boys, "personal experimentation," influenza, mystery-mold, nu-chauvinism, and the willful, unwanted intrusion of "academia," they may be lucky just to make it to spring alive." "
Picture Lumberjanes grown up a bit and going to university together. This is a miniseries that I'm hoping turns into more!


Have you found any comics you're loving lately?
xo Jen

*All quotes are from comiXology, where all these comics are available in digital format*

Life has been good lately. Spring has been showing itself and being outside and doing errands in the sunshine definitely boosts my mood.

Here are some snapshots of my life lately...





 


We have a lot of fun plans coming up over the next couple of months. I'm excited for so many things right now!

xo Jen

 

Back in November I shared what comic books I read and collected. Now, three months later, and there's a few more titles that I've added to this list. Honestly, more and more comic titles being released are drawing me in and giving me kickass females to admire.

Batgirl
"Barbara Gordon is no stranger to dusting herself off when disaster strikes so when a fire destroys everything she owned, she spots the opportunity for a new lease on life—and seizes it! Following the rest of Gotham's young adults to the hip border district of Burnside, Barbara sets about building an all-new Batgirl and discovers all-new threats preying on her peers! It's a re-invention of Batgirl from the boots up, by the incredible creative team of Cameron Stewart (BATMAN INC.), Brenden Fletcher (WEDNESDAY COMICS), and rising star Babs Tarr!"
Batgirl #35 was the issue I started with since it was the beginning of a new arc, a newly re-invented Batgirl (as stated above). I didn't know all the characters when jumping into this comic but after finding out who Dinah was and that most of the other characters were new, I was pretty much set. And can we discuss how amazing the art is?!? I need to meet Babs Tarr at a comic convention and buy a print or two from her.

Gotham Academy
"WELCOME TO GOTHAM ACADEMY! Gotham City’s most prestigious prep school is a very weird place. It’s got a spooky campus, oddball teachers, and rich benefactors always dropping by...like that weirdo Bruce Wayne. But nothing is as strange as the students!"
I kept hearing people on Twitter talking about this series and I knew it was a new series that I could easily jump into so I gave it a go. I fell in love with the first issue. I love that there's so many questions surrounding Olive Silverlock and you're not sure what happened to her and why things changed for her. Her friend Maps is especially adorable with her passion and curiousness with what's happening around the school. It's a very fun read. 


izombie
"Gwen Dylan is a gravedigger in an eco-friendly cemetery--and a zombie detective. Once a month, she has to eat a human brain, and as a result, Gwen's mind is crowded with the dead person's thoughts. And lately, she feels compelled to fulfill their final requests."
One of my best friends recommended this series to me years ago. I knew I wanted to read it but just never got around to it, so when I found the first two trades at the comic book store, I picked them up without hesitation. I've only read the first trade so far and plan on reading the second soon. It's incredibly interesting learning about Gwen, her 'situation', and her different friends. And I'm a huge fan of the art throughout it. Gwen is just gorgeous, even with a slightly overtired, somewhat frazzled look. I'm very excited to start the second trade since the first one ends with some unanswered questions.


The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
"Wolverine, Deadpool, Doctor Doom, Thanos: There's one hero that's beaten them all, and now she's got her own ongoing series! (Not that she's bragging.) That's right, you asked for it, you got it, it's Squirrel Girl, (she's also starting college this semester!) It's the start of a brand-new series of adventures starring the nuttiest and most upbeat super hero in the world!"
There's only two issues out so far of this series so I'm writing about it very early. But it's just SO cute. The first issues starts with Squirrel Girl aka Doreen Green singing her own theme song while kicking butt. Her personality and positive attitude is especially admirable. Two issues in and I'm a big fan of Squirrel Girl. 

*All quotes are from comiXology, where all these comics are available in digital format*

In the past couple of years I have started reading a lot more. My renewed love for reading came from all the new comic book series that have come out and that I was introduced to (Runaways, Lumberjanes, Ultimate Spider-man, etc.). As well as being introduced to audio books. Because of these things, I read every day.

I came across the Goodreads site through IGGPPC. I didn't use it much at first but it's become one of my favourite sites (and app!) over the last few months. It is the perfect site to search for books, whether by genre, author, most popular, etc. and it's ideal to keep to-read lists. I used to keep a note on my cell phone of books to check out. Now I just add them to my Goodreads account.

Over the last month I've noticed friends on Goodreads making reading challenges for 2015 so I decided to set a goal as well. I set my own reading goal for 25 books. I considered doing the 50 book challenge but because I don't log the individual comics I read, I thought 25 books or comic trades would be attainable. So on top of the books and graphic novels I keep track of on Goodreads, I'll also be reading 5 individual comics on average weekly.

I appreciate all book recommendations and I'm open to a lot of genres, though I've been partial to Young Adult over the last year or so.

These are a few books that I'm looking forward to reading this year:

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

I picked up the first four books in this series at a thrift store this past weekend. My Mom has always talked about this series and how she really enjoyed reading it so I thought I'd give them a go and then pass them on to her to read again.




What book are you enjoying or looking forward to reading?
xo Jen

So I still feel relatively new to the comic book scene. About six years ago my best friend could not stop raving about the comic, Fables. She was in love with the series and offered to lend me her issues. Well, I quickly found out that I loved comic books and I loved Fables and the magical world of Fabletown. About a year later I met my now husband who had a crazy collection of X-Men comics - we're talking X-Factor, Uncanny, New Mutants, X-Force... everything X-Men! Once he saw the Fables comic book on my bedside table he offered me his X-Men collection to read.

Here I am, five years later, obsessed with the X-Men universe and still reading through Adam's never-ending collection (every comic convention we attend adds more X-Men comics to our collection). But during this time, I've been adding some new comic series to my own collection.

I've been asked numerous times about what comics I'd recommend. Fables was the perfect introduction to comics for me. I had a friend to dissect the story lines with and having some knowledge of the actual 'fables' or stories that the characters were from helped me get into it.

Other than Fables and X-Men, I currently read these series and would recommend them:

Morning Glories 
"Morning Glory Academy is one of the most prestigious prep schools in the country, but something sinister and deadly lurks behind its walls. When six gifted but troubled new students arrive, they find themselves trapped and fighting for their lives as the secrets of the academy reveal themselves!"
This is one of the first series I got into and I'm not caught up anymore but the story is SO good. It messes with your mind and the twists and turns are great.


Runaways
"When six friends discover their parents are all secretly super-villains, they run away from home and straight into the adventure of their lives -- vowing to turn the tables on their evil legacy."
Another comic a friend got me into. It takes place in the Marvel universe and there's some cameos of famous superheroes. It's a fun read, especially being a Marvel fan.

Ultimate Spider-man
"High school student Peter Parker finds himself the recipient of strange and amazing powers. Bullied by his classmates and targeted by the deadly Green Goblin, he learns that with great power, there must also come great responsibility."
I wanted to try a Spider-man comic but there's so many options and it was intimidating. I decided on the Ultimate series. I'm about 7 books in and I'm enjoying the story and universe. The art style is great and I enjoy Peter Parker in it.

Lumberjanes 
"Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley are five best pals determined to have an awesome summer together...and they're not gonna let any insane quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! Not only is it the second title launching in our new BOOM! Box imprint but LUMBERJANES is one of those punk rock, love-everything-about-it stories that appeals to fans of basically all excellent things."
How many times will I recommend this series to you?!? The eighth issue just came out so it'd be easy to catch up on! It's a great story about friends and adventures.

Rat Queens
"Who are the Rat Queens? A pack of booze-guzzling, death-dealing battle maidens-for-hire, and they're in the business of killing all gods' creatures for profit. It's also a darkly comedic fantasy series starring Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric and Betty the Hippy Hobbit Thief. This modern spin on an old school genre is a violent monster-killing epic that is like Buffy meets Tank Girl in a Lord of the Rings world on crack!"
The writing is absolutely fantastic! I laugh out loud reading this comic. The attitude and personality of the ladies of Rat Queens are so fierce and strong.



The Wicked + The Divine 
"Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are dead. The team behind critically thermonuclear floor-fillers Young Avengers and PHONOGRAM reunite to start a new ongoing superhero fantasy with a beautiful oversized issue. Welcome to THE WICKED + THE DIVINE, where gods are the ultimate pop stars. But remember: just because you're immortal, doesn't mean you're going to live forever."
So far the story has been really interesting. But it's the art that gets me in this series. It's gorgeous! All the characters are beautiful!


Ms. Marvel
"The all-new MS. MARVEL, the ground breaking heroine that has become an international sensation! Kamala Khan is just an ordinary girl from Jersey City--until she is suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the all-new Ms. Marvel?"
Kamala is a refreshing superhero. I've really been enjoying her story.


*All quotes are from comiXology where all these comics are available in digital format*