A few years ago a friend came to visit in Portland, Oregon and wanted to see the area. Who do you take on as a sidekick when you go exploring? Spock, of course. In a span of just a few days we explored strange new worlds, sought out new life and civilizations… Or, well, new to him. He was only a few days old!

Drusilla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel (played by Juliet Landau) and Pam from True Blood (played by Kristin Bauer van Straten).

+ They’re both “bad”, meaning neither of them are friendly with the show’s protagonist.
+They’re both some way involved with guys who are having sex with the human hero.
+ They both think that’s really dumb/annoying/unnatural.
+ They’re both side characters, first to one vampire, and then another. For Drusilla, she’s first paired with Spike, and then Darla. Pam is first paired with Eric, and then Tara. They both have such strong personalities that this becomes necessary.
+ They’re both… uh… different. Even for vampires.
+ They’re both ladies with a strong sense of unique style.
+ They’re both a little too much.
+ They’re both played by actresses that are NOTHING like their characters. It’s a surreal experience watching interviews with either of them. They also both love their characters!
+ I think if they had their own show together, the world would be doomed. You know, if they didn’t spend the whole time clawing at each other (violently? sexually? probably both.)

Did you notice other similarities between these two? Do you have another favorite lady who bites? Leave a comment!

My husband came home last week saying he couldn’t remember the origin of the word “Wednesday” and this led to a long nerdy discussion about the origins of all the days of the week, and eventually, to a long discussion about Thor–both the ancient God, and the portrayal of him by the adorable Chris Hemsworth.

A little searching around Tumblr and Pinterest tells me that Thor does not get the love that some of the other Avengers receive, which is understandable enough. He doesn’t have as many fun one liners. So, I went through and read some of his lines. He DOES have a good number of great lines, they’re just quieter and mostly his comments set up bigger jokes from other people, like Tony Stark.

That said! Reading through his lines, I have a growing appreciation of all that Thor is, the way Chris Hemsworth plays him, and a growing fascination with what made Chris Hemsworth read the script for Thor and think he wanted to play this character, given that he wears a funny costume and says some pretty strange things. Take a look at what I mean (lines are from Thor and The Avengers, and spaces mean the line is from a different scene, these are mostly one liners).

Oh, no… this is Earth… isn’t it?

Jane Foster: Describe exactly what happened to you last night.
Thor: Your ancestors called it magic…
[Thor skims through a book on Norse mythology]
Thor: …but you call it science. I come from a land where they are one and the same.

This mortal form has grown weak. I need sustenance!

Thor: [walks into pet shop] I need a horse!
Pet Store Clerk: We don’t have horses. Just dogs, cats, birds…
Thor: Then give me one of those large enough to ride.

We drank, we fought, he made his ancestors proud.

This drink, I like it. Another! (throws down mug smashing it on the floor)

You’re big. I’ve fought bigger.

You people are so petty… and tiny.

Thor: I thought humans were more evolved than this.
Nick Fury: Excuse me, did WE come to YOUR planet and blow stuff up?

You speak of control, yet you court chaos.

 

I’m not sure what gives you the confidence to deliver the line “This mortal form has grown weak. I need sustenance!” and know that people will get it.

Of course, most of my Chris Hemsworth respect comes from the way he so seriously yells, HAMMER! …perfect. Just, perfect.

So, of course, the question now is–Who is your favorite avenger? For some reason, I never get tired of this question, so please leave your avenger love in the comments! I love all of them so much that I have a hard time choosing. Most days, I think it’s Avengers Hulk. I love his sciencey ways, and his constant effort to be a better person despite the monster inside of him. Love!

I’ve already read through The Guild, which was an incredibly fun one shot! I can’t say enough how impressed I’ve been with The Guild comics. They’re written by Felicia Day, so the voice is still there for every character. I’m really looking forward to reading through the other issues later tonight.

In case you are unaware, today was Free Comic Book Day, and that meant that there were individual free comics at shops today. Free Comic Book Day is a great way to get into comics if you’ve never read any before. If you’re looking for first time suggestions, I’d suggest watching and reading The Guild, and if you’re a Whedonite check out Buffy Season 8, Angel Season 6, Dollhouse, and Serenity. They really do have the characters voices down, so you won’t be disappointed! Speaking of Whedon, Fray is fantastic, and you don’t need to have seen any of his shows to love it! I also still really suggest Locke and Key, which is pretty much my favorite comic series, ever. Don’t let the big wide world of comics scare you, there really is something out there for everybody and your local library probably has a bunch of graphic novels if you’d like to get your feet wet.

Did you head out to a comic book store today? What’d you find? What’d you like?

I hate to tell you what these graphic novels are about, because it really takes away from the magic of reading the whole first volume. What I would like to say is that they’re creative, they’re brilliantly done, and if you’re easily disturbed I wouldn’t recommend reading the first one before bed. Whether you read graphic novels often, or this is your first one, this series is a great example of what graphic novels can be and I would definitely recommend giving it a try.

With that said! If you have read the series and are as geeked up about it as I am, you should know that…..

(If you don’t want to be spoiled about these books you shouldn’t read this list, you know.)

1) I cannot wait for the fifth volume and wish I’d started this sooner so that picking up individual comics would have been a bit easier. But still. I’m so excited! Volume four left off in such an amazing place.

2) There is a board game! And I want to beat you at it, and everyone else. I wish it came with keys.

3) There are keys! They’re cool looking and I want to wear the head key on a necklace.

4) Fox made a pilot for the show, but it didn’t get green lit, so it will probably never be. It’s okay though because if Fox had picked it up, they just would have cancelled it anyway, because they cancel everything I love. (Browncoats unite!) Anyhow, there is a trailer for the show that will never be! And I can’t stress how you’ll be spoiled if you watch it and haven’t read the books. I think it would have been a pretty cool show…. and it would have been a much cooler one on Showtime or HBO.

So, have you read Locke & Key? What’d you think? If you haven’t read it, will you check it out now because you trust my brilliant taste? And also, do you read graphic novels in general? It seems like a lot of people I know are interested in checking out graphic novels, but never know where to start.

Instead of telling you all about how awesome this book was, or all about how you should check out the Geek Girls Book Club that inspired me to read it in the first place, I’m going to shove some of my favorite things from the 80s at you in spirit of the book!

The sunglasses. These babies do not get mentioned enough, and is always one of the first things I think of when I think of the 80s. I have a deep appreciation for dorky sunglasses, and the 1980s really helps glorify that. The sunglasses from that time were so over the top I think they deserve a standing ovation. Three cheers for being this awesome! This bold! This in your face! (I also appreciate bad puns).

And we can’t talk about the 80s without talking about the glorious music. This is what singing in the car with your friends is made of, people! I wish it was easier to just post my spotify playlist here to try and force you to listen to it, but instead for the highlight reel I’m going to go with REO Speedwagon – Keep On Loving You, Men Without Hats – The Safety Dance, and Blondie – Heart of Glass. Seriously, if you haven’t sung these songs in the car with other people, you are missing out. Ridiculous sunglasses give you extra fun bonus points.

I don’t know how anyone talks about the 1980s without thinking of John Hughes movies. Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Some Kind of Wonderful, and Uncle Buck. But there are also those unforgettable fantasy flicks of the 80s that are really some of my favorites. We’ve got Labyrinth, The Neverending Story, and Ladyhawke (which holds a special place in Ready Player One), just to name a few.

What pops into your head when you think of the 1980s? And have you read Ready Player One?

* To be clear, this is in no way a ranking list of anything, just the things that first pop into my mind when I think of celebrating the culture of the 80s.

Well, it seemed like a really brilliant idea at the time, I promise you. Climb palm tree. Wait for brains to go by. Jump out. BRAINS! Simple, really. But there was an unknown factor that came to play straight away: palm trees are tricky. From a distance you would never realize, but as you can hopefully see in this picture, they are pokey.

But Pieces persevered and got to the top, and waited. And waited. And then when it finally happened and a brain walked by and he went to make his daring jump for the prize-he was stuck. He was skewered. It took a good ten minutes to get his young body free and by then the brains had long gone by.

Like I said. Palm trees are tricky.

Meet Pieces. It wasn’t that long ago that his life began in the labs at think geek, but since then his adventures have taken him far for such a young zombie. While trying to keep his parts together, he is currently exploring the Sonoran Desert in his unending quest for brains.

Tune in on Fridays for his dangerous exploits with cactus, playgrounds, and the dangers of youth.

It all started when Buffy graduated high school. I’d seen enough sitcoms (Boy Meets World, Saved by the Bell) to know that when they leave high school and head off to college they’re about to ruin my damned show. It really broke my heart to see it happen to Buffy, especially after we’d just had such an amazing ending to Season 3, but alas, I knew it was true. We were going to college. Angel was leaving. A spinoff show? Yeah, ’cause THAT always goes well…. Farewell, sweet show, I loved you so.

And while I know a lot of people rag on Season 4, I really liked it. There are some low points, but there are some amazing ones, too. How can you be mean to a season that has Hush, Something Blue, and my favorite Halloween episode, ever?

And Angel! Oh, Angel! You’re not bad at all. You make me weep like a baby, but I can work with that.

So, okay, Joss. I’m still with you, after all. Oh, Season 5 Buffy is mysteriously getting a little sister? Why do you do this to me. You’re ruining my show!

Oh…okay…this is interesting…..

A MUSICAL?! WHAT THE?! … oh my god, it’s the best thing, ever….

And you’d think I’d have learned, after going through all of that, but I didn’t. And when I was at my weekly Joss meet up group and someone brought up that there was a new Joss show, I got excited—until they said “scifi western”. It filled me with dread. It got canceled after thirteen episodes? Well, of course it did, my god. If it weren’t for the peer pressure of a bunch of geeks wanting to watch it RIGHT THEN, I never would have given it a chance at all.

Oh. My. God. Firefly… Okay, I see the error of my ways now, Lord.

I went home that day with an important lesson that has stayed with me and given me an important motto. In Joss We Trust. We never question the Joss until after we experience the phenomena, to avoid feeling embarrassed about our ridiculous lack of faith later. So now when I hear something like he has a new film coming out in April and someone starts trying to tell me what it’s about I stop them. “No, no, that’s okay, I don’t need to know what it’s about. I have the faith.”

Most evenings I can be found lounging in bed with my husband. We both have a kindle in hand and we’re often accompanied by a few comic books, possibly some fruit, and hot chocolate. The only sounds you hear are the occasional laughs where we then stop, shake the other out of their book, and proceed to tell them all about what just happened. We often end up reading the same books (most recently Ready Player One) but we talk just as much about ones that only one of us has read. We always take our characters lives seriously and get upset when the others favorite character dies as if it were their close friend. These are the days of our lives.

I suppose I just always assumed that for the most part that if you are a reader then your partner was one too. I recently came across a forum post, fifty comments long, full of people talking about how their partners complained about their reading or how they’re mostly left alone while their partner watches television.

After reading through the thread I immediately went to my husband. “Do you know how lucky you are to be married to a geeky girl like me, Mister?” I can’t imagine how frustrated I would be if I couldn’t have all of those long conversations about books with Robert.

So, it has me curious. What about you? Does your partner read? Do they complain about your reading? Do you ever talk about books?