The Blog to Nowhere

- Without any new Doctor Who, I haven't been very chatty here. I did see that they are announcing the new Doctor tomorrow. I really wish they had a set time beyond "after the tennis is over". Very helpful, BBC. I guess I'll keep an eye on the Internet in the afternoon. As I have no preference for any particular actor to take over the role, I'm not too anxious. Mostly I'm just bummed because this truly means that Capaldi's time is over. All we have left is one last episode at Christmas.

- As I have more free time now, I decided to start knitting socks. Or, at least, learn how to knit socks. I always thought sock knitting was kind of daunting, since there are some odd things you have to do that aren't really common in other knitting projects, but really, it's not that hard. I knit up a heavy pair last week; they're basically kid sized slippers or booties. The socks aren't the greatest, but I got to learn how to do some of the techniques, like short rows for the heel turn. I eventually want to work my way down to fingering weight yarn, which is the proper yarn weight for knitting socks, and make a pair for adult sized feet (my feet naturally).

- Since I'm knitting more, I needed something to listen to while I knitted, so I was very happy to discover that my library has a ton of Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories through the hoopla app. Over 100 stories! The selection is varied, so there are some stories from the main line, some Companion Chronicles, some Fourth Doctor stories, and so on, but I'm still pretty stoked. The only downside to the hoopla app is how many titles you can download in a month. My library set the limit at three downloads a month. Three!!! That's not enough, especially since I also borrow comic books through the app, too. I have managed a sneaky way around the limit, but it's still a pain.

- Speaking of comic books, I read the first two volumes of Wonder Woman in DC's Rebirth line. Retcon? Eh, who can keep it straight these days. Anyway, I really liked them, but it's kind of weird how they have the two volumes. Volume 1 is one storyline set in the present while Volume 2 is Diana's origin story. Only, when they were first publishing the issues, the storylines went back and forth, so the odd numbered issues are the present day and the even numbered issues are the origin story. I really wish they had the origin story as Volume 1 and the present day story as Volume 2. There's stuff that happens in the origin story that are later referenced in the present day. I mean, it still makes sense if you read them as they are collected, but I would have preferred to read Volume 2 first.

I'm quite enjoying the Rebirth line. I haven't read too much yet (because of the stupid monthly limit), but I have read the first volume of Supergirl's comic and I'm making my way through the first volume of The New Super-Man. The second one I borrowed because it's the story of a Chinese teenager who becomes China's version of Superman and the author is the same guy who did American Born Chinese, a graphic novel about living as an Asian in North America. Also, Chinese superheroes! It's good fun so far and I hope the library gets the following volumes.

- I saw this on io9.com the other day. They introduced a female Captain America in the Spider-Gwen universe and her origins were laid out in the latest issue. What really caught my eye, though, was the fact that on Earth-65, there's a eye patch wearing Peggy Carter that's basically a stand in for Nick Fury. I totally love this idea. This makes Peggy even more bad ass. I really want to read the Spider-Gwen series now, if only to see more of Eye Patch!Peggy. Ooh, maybe this female Cap will get her own series.

- I'm 95% finished on my first ever Jayne hat. It knitted up pretty quick thanks to the fact that it uses bulky yarn. I love bulky yarn. It's not too thick, but it's thick enough that you can knock out projects in a couple of days. I think I have enough yarn left over to make another hat and I would love to make one for myself. The one that was gifted to me is a bit tight; apparently I have a large noggin. We'll see. I'm knitting a few things for Christmas this year and I don't have a lot of time. A Jayne hat for me will probably have to wait until after the holidays.

- I finished reading Armada, the second book by Ernest Cline. He wrote Ready Player One, which I loved, so I thought Armada would be just as good. Sadly, I was disappointed. Armada is okay, but it doesn't have the same spark as Ready Player One. All of the geek references in Ready Player One made sense within the context of the world. In Armada, all of the geek references seemed tacked on, like it was in Cline's contract that he had to have geeky references so he just threw them in wherever. And he actually explains some of the geeky references! Wha? You shouldn't have to do that. Just reference it and the reader can Google is later if it doesn't make sense.

- The big crossover for The Flash and Arrow is at the end of the month. I think I saw a thing saying that Mark Hamill is back as the Trickster for the crossover. That would rock. Mark Hamill and set up for Legends of Tomorrow? Yes please. :-D I'm so excited for Legends of Tomorrow. Both shows have been busy setting everything up. All of the players are in place. Now we just need to meet Rip Hunter. I still can't help but think of him as a time displaced Rory who was recruited to sort out the timelines. Hmm, maybe there's a fic idea in there...

- Today was Free Comic Book Day. It was also five degrees (Celsius) and there was a line to get into the comic book store. It took me an hour to get into the store. So yeah, it was a little chilly waiting in line. I was totally not expecting a line, but I guess people love their free comics. I was only mildly interested in the free comics, but I did pick up the free Doctor Who comic that was there. Three short stories for the price of, well, nothing, so you can't beat that. :-)

- Actually, today would have been a great day to test out my Tenth Doctor coat. There was a constant breeze today, making it seem colder than five degrees. Oh well, another time. Heck, it's been known to snow in May around here so another chance will probably present itself sooner than I expect.

- There's an provincial election going on and I did the advance poll today. When I got up to the table to pick up my ballot the lady asked me if this was my first time voting. So, apparently I look like an eighteen year old. Yay?

- It was also Yarn Store Day today. I was told it's a UK thing. It's definitely the first time I've heard of it. As such, one of the local yarn stores was offering 10% off your entire purchase and free cookies. I was more excited for the 10% off; yarn and knitting needles are more expensive than you think. I also totally geeked out on one of the clerks when I saw that she was wearing a Doctor Who t-shirt. It was actually the first thing I did after she said hello to me. Hopefully I didn't weird her out with my enthusiastic love for her Rose t-shirt.

- This left me with a desire to watch some old Ninth Doctor episodes, so I just re-watched "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" while I did some knitting. Oh man, I have forgotten how fun Nine was. The exchange between Jack and Nine about their respective sonic devices is still one of my favourite pieces of dialogue from the show. And maybe it's because I've been re-watching Agent Carter, but does anyone else think that Billie Piper could play Hayley Atwell's sister in something? Doesn't Peggy have a sister in the comics? She must have if Cap ends up with Peggy's niece after he's unfrozen. Anyway, just a random thought.

- The awesome brown pinstripe skirt I bought off of eBay for my femme!Ten cosplay arrived yesterday. I love the aqua blue pinstripes, but the skirt is more grey-ish brown. Regardless, it's a cute skirt and I will totally wear it to work even if the cosplay doesn't work out. See, this is why I like clothes based cosplay. You can reuse the pieces for every day wear. :-)

I saw this on io9.com and thought it was pretty awesome:


So much Superman history in just two minutes. I adore Bruce Timm. His animated Batman series was a huge part of my childhood. Also, deep down, I'm a DC girl. I grew up reading my mom's Silver Age comics that she collected and read when she was a kid. Somewhere in my grandmother's house are boxes and boxes full of cheesy Lois Lane comics, among other DC series. Entertainment Weekly has a short, but cool, article about the short.

Also, there is no greater Superman theme than John Williams' version. I think Bruce Timm said this in one of the commentaries for the animated Superman series and he's totally right: a great Superman theme has "Superman" built into the music. Just listen to the theme to Bruce Timm's animated Superman series. Later on in the short it cuts to the Man of Steel theme and it's just not the same. It just lacks, I don't know, presence. It's just not dynamic enough for me.

And further on the DC front: Arrow!

( Mild spoilers for Arrow 2x01 )

On the Marvel side, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was better this week than last week. I'm getting distracted by the settings, though. Obviously they're not travelling all over the world, so they're using back lots. I swear the one they used this week was the same one MacGyver used 25 years ago. :-)

Oh man. Much Music just started showing reruns of Buffy. Be still my geeky heart when I saw five episodes were on today. Considering March 10, Buffy's anniversary date, was just a few days ago, this just seemed right. I haven't watched my DVDs in a long time, so it was fun, seeing episodes I hadn't seen in a long time. It's funny how much you can remember. Lines just started coming back to me and I was grinning like an idiot.

But I noticed something while watching "Welcome to the Hellmouth" that might have been a hint about something in season eight. The identity of a certain someone...

( Heavy spoilers for Buffy #33 )

Crazy notions aside, I really want to start watching my Buffy DVDs again. Reading the comics just isn't the same as watching the show.

I finally found all the issues for Doctor Who: The Forgotten. I had pretty much given up on the IDW Doctor Who comic book series, but I just couldn't resist a multiple Doctor story. And really, the only way we would get a ten Doctors story is in print. Unless some miracle happens for the 50th anniversary; we can all dream, right? ;-)

Anyway, one reason I gave up on the Doctor Who comics was the art. It was slightly cartoonish, which was fine, but it just didn't work sometimes. In one comic, the Doctor was wearing a grey suit and a sweater vest and Martha was in a skirt. Um, did anyone bother to watch this show? The Doctor wears brown and blue and we have never seen Martha in a frilly skirt. So The Forgotten made me slightly more hopefully when I saw it was being drawn by Pia Guerra, the same artist who drew Y: The Last Man. Her stuff isn't too wild, more understated I think, but she thankfully doesn't go off into crazy frames and body parts that are out of proportion to the rest of the body. I have no clue who Tony Lee is, never read any of his stuff, but it's obvious he's a fan, just what you need when writing mutliple Doctors.

( Spoilers for Doctor Who: The Forgotten )

I had high hopes for this story. Multiple Doctors? Awesome. The Villain? Not so much. Still, it's a good read and a nice nostalgia trip for the Who fans. I read somewhere Tony Lee will be writing another Doctor Who comic, with an original Companion, that will lead into the introduction of Eleven. It might actually be enough for me to check out the comics again.

Man, I'm behind on my Buffy comic thoughts. Not that anyone actually cares. ;-) But a little blabbing about issues #18, 19, and 20.

( Spoilers for Buffy #18 and 19 )

Issue #20 makes me wish even more that the Buffy cartoon got made. Funny how the plot is basically the cartoon pilot that showed up on the Internet, but expanded. I can't help but think that maybe the clip was leaked on purpose, to sort of lead the way for this issue.

I thought #20 would just be a straight one shot, separate from the season eight arc but done in animation style. The issue is  book ended with contemporary events, and they could easily be pulled out, but I guess you want to set up the contrast. Innocent Buffy in season one to General Buffy in season eight. It was cute seeing everyone in cartoon form, plus you get to see how the pilot cartoon clip ends. Buffy beats Morgan Freeman the dragon, of course. :-) Seems to be a big deal that Jeph Loeb wrote this issue, but having never read his stuff, it was just another comic. I hope this comics stirs up more interest for Buffy the Animated Series. Just a DVD movie or something would be a fine start.

Apparently a few more arcs and then season eight is done. So by a few arcs that probably means another ten or twelve issues, or another year or so. Sigh. Can't Dark Horse release these things any faster?

I just love crossovers. I think that's fairly obvious by now. When a franchise takes advantage of its larger fictional universe, I'm in heaven (even if most TV crossovers are just a ploy to get ratings and viewers). But how many shows or movies can have a crossover with a comic aspect of their universe? Right now, I think the answer is just one: Buffy.


And Fray wears Chucks. :-D You can clearly see them in the last panel of issue #8 of her miniseries. Clearly all the cool heroes wear them.

Reading Drew Goddard's arc has made me realize just how much I miss watching Buffy. His snappy dialogue just brings it all back. But one advantage the comics have over the show: you can go anywhere you want and bring back any character you want (without having to pay the actor).

Geek Resurrection Month continues! Like I said previously, this month, and for the next two months, all three Joss Whedon shows are back and in the comics. Whoo!

I've gotten behind on my comic book thoughts. Buffy #12 is up first mainly because it's been a year since the series was turned into a comic and I totally didn't realize it. You'd think that after spending $3.50 a month I would be keeping a better track of these things. A year. It doesn't feel like it. I can't even remember what I was doing a year ago. Well, besides going to university. I take it as a good sign that I didn't recall it's been a year. After complaining that these stories can't come fast enough it seems I've become used to seeing a story a month.


And hurray for more new Firefly! It's not the same as having the show back or a new movie, but it works just as well.

I'm just slightly confused on when this comic is set. It's clearly before the movie and before "Those Left Behind". But it's not clear how far after the show "Better Days" is set. The crew has the new mule but Inara and Book are still on board. I assume either Inara hasn't told the crew yet she's leaving or this is just part of the long run around Mal did before dropping Inara off at the Training House.


Next issue looks exciting. And I've said it before, but I'm loving the covers. First, I only have to buy one, and second, it makes a pretty picture of the crew together.