Pixel Scroll 2/14/18 Do Not Scroll, Bend, Fold, or Pixelate

(1) DIANE DUANE’S GOOD NEWS. An appeal signal-boosted here yielded enough book sales to save the Duane/Morwood home. As she wrote in a comment

Hi folks! Diane Duane here.

I noted this morning that visitors have been arriving at the Ebooks Direct store from here. I just wanted to let everyone know that the astonishing generosity of customers and donors has meant that our problem has been completely solved in A SINGLE DAY. To say that Peter and I are gobsmacked — not to mention amazed and overwhelmed and unutterably relieved by the sudden removal of a difficulty that’s been hanging albatross-like around our creative lives for what seems like forever — would be putting if mildly. If you were involved in assisting with this… THANK YOU! (And meanwhile we’re leaving the sale running, because what the heck, everybody likes a sale…) Best! D.

(2) A DIFFERENT TONGUE. CNET’s Bonnie Burton advises: “This Valentine’s Day, woo your crush like a Wookiee or Klingon”.

Who needs boring English? Once you discover how to flirt in sci-fi speak, you’ll be making out to the Star Wars or Star Trek theme song in no time. Well, that’s the idea….

My love of speaking sci-fi goes way back. As a kid, I thought I could talk droid like R2-D2 and began to randomly beep at my classmates in elementary school — until a confused teacher pulled me aside to ask if I was OK. Later, when I worked as a senior editor for the Lucasfilm site StarWars.com, part of my job was to become familiar with phrases spoken by characters like Chewbacca, Jabba the Hutt, Greedo, Wicket the Ewok and Jawas.

While I did end up marrying R2-D2, it’s not as easy to master a sci-fi language as it looks. It took awhile just to decipher the difference between the high-pitched sounds of Jawas and Ewoks and the deeper, guttural utterances of Jabba the Hutt and Chewbacca. But with patience, and the help of repeat Star Wars film viewings and books like the “Star Wars Galactic Phrase Book & Travel Guide,” I got there.

(3) HAVE SCARF, WILL TRAVEL. James Bacon is visiting this side of the pond. He snapped a selfie on the plane:

I’m on my way to Boston.

Tomorrow I fly to Chicago for Capricon

Then early on Sunday back to Boskone.

(4) DOWN THESE MEAN TWEETS. Bleeding Cool’s Rich Johnston released an internal DC Comics memo in his post “‘Mean Spirited’ Tweets Against Company Policy – DC Comics’ Social Media and Press Guidelines to Comic Creators”.

…While I understand that this kind of thing has been an increasing concern in recent years, I understand that this is happening right now as a result of the actions and internal company employee reactions and concerns reported by Bleeding Cool over artist Ethan Van Sciver‘s social media activity. Concern has been expressed from the top, from President Diane Nelson, down to fellow freelance creators….

DC’s memo begins:

Dear DC Talent Community –

The comic book industry is a very special creative community dedicated to telling epic and legendary stories of action, heroism and intrigue with a rich and diverse portfolio of characters. Both DC’s employees, as well as its extended family of freelance talent, contribute to our success and are direct reflections of our company, characters and comics.

As such, DC expects that its employees and freelance talent community maintain a high level of professionalism as well as reasonable and respectful behavior when engaging in online activities. Comments that may be considered defamatory, libelous, discriminatory, harassing, hateful, or that incite violence are unacceptable and may result in civil or criminal action.

In addition, comments that may be considered insulting, cruel, rude, crass and mean spirited are against company policy and guidelines. We ask, and expect, that you will help to create an online environment that is inclusive, supportive and safe.

Below you will find the most current version of the company’s social media guidelines. If you have any questions, please contact DC Talent Relations department so that we can be of assistance.

The full text of the guidelines can be read at the Bleeding Cool link.

(5) TOP GRAPHIC NOVELS FOR TEENS: The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA),  announced its list of 2018 Great Graphic Novels for Teens, with 115 titles. The list is presented annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. The books, recommended for those ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens. The cumulative list can be viewed at www.ala.org/yalsa/great-graphic-novels.

In addition to the full 2018 list, the committee chose the following titles as its top ten:

  • The Backstagers. By James Tynion IV. Illus. by Rian Sygh. 2017. BOOM! Studios. (9781608869930).
  • Black Hammer, Volume 1: Secret Origins. By Jeff Lemire. Illus. by Dean Ormston. 2017. Dark Horse. (9781616557867).
  • Brave. By Svetlana Chmakova. Illus. by the author. 2017. Yen Press. (9780316363189).
  • I Am Alfonso Jones. By Tony Medina. Illus. by Stacey Robison and John Jennings. 2017. Tu Books. (9781620142639).
  • Jonesy. By Sam Humprhies. Illus. by Caitlin Rose Boyle.
    • v.1. 2016. BOOM! Studios. (9781608868834).
    • v.2. BOOM! Studios. (9781608869992).
    • v.3. BOOM! Studios. (9781684150168).
  • Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation. By Damian Duffy and Octavia E. Butler. Illus. by John Jennings. 2017. Abrams ComicArts. (9781419709470).
  • Lighter than My Shadow. By Katie Green. Illus. by the author. 2017. Lion Forge. (9781941302415).
  • My Brother’s Husband. By Gengoroh Tagame. Illus. by Gengoroh Tagame. 2017. Pantheon Books. (9781101871515).
  • Pashmina. By Nidhi Chanani. Illus. by Nidhi Chanani. 2017. First Second. (9781626720879).
  • Spill Zone. By Scott Westerfeld. Illus. by Alex Puvilland. 2017. First Second. (9781596439368).

(6) THEY WANT A LITTLE LIST. Graphic novels are a theme of the day – The Daily Dot reports: “Comics creators want the New York Times to bring back the graphic novel bestseller list”.

The New York Times killed its graphic novel bestseller list last year, and comics creators want it back. Over the past few days, hundreds have signed an open letter asking for the list to be reinstated, claiming the Times is causing damage to their industry.

When the Times canceled the bestseller list in January 2017, the decision was met with immediate criticism. Comics and graphic novels are more culturally relevant than ever, but the industry still relies on mainstream media outlets like the Times to find new readers. And as Polygon pointed out, the paper continued to publish much more specific lists like “Children’s Young Adult Hardcover Chapter Books” and “Advice Miscellaneous.”

In the words of the open letter, creators and publishers have “watched their readership decline” since the list was removed.

(7) CONGRATULATIONS. Heather Rose Jones announced she has an Alpennia story in Deborah J. Ross’ newly-released anthology Lace and Blade 4.

The important contents, of course, is my new Alpennia story “Gifts Tell Truth”, but here’s the full table of contents:

Lace and Blade is an anthology series featuring stories with a particular look-and-feel — a flavor of romantic, elegant, swashbuckling sword and sorcery, across a wide array of eras and cultures. (Alpennia is a perfect setting for this sort of tale.) If you want an collection of stories that’s perfect for Valentine’s day (or any day of the year, for that matter), check it out!

(8) CYBILS AWARDS. SF Site News reports the 2017 Cybils Award winners of genre interest

The winners for the 2017 Cybils Literary Award for Elementary and Middle Grade Speculative Fiction have been announced. The awards recognize the children’s and young adult authors and illustrators whose books combine the highest literary merit and popular appeal. Categories with winners of genre interest are listed below.

  • Elementary/Middle Grade Graphic Novels: Where’s Halmoni?, by Julie Kim
  • Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction: The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart, by Stephanie Burgis
  • Young Adult Graphic Novels: Spill Zone, by Scott Westerfeld
  • Young Adult Speculative Fiction: Scythe, by Neal Shusterman

(9) VICTOR MILAN. George R.R. Martin posted a tribute to his late friend and colleague – Another Ace Falls.

Our writing community here in New Mexico, and the world of SF and fantasy in general, took a blow this afternoon when our friend Victor Milan died after two months of suffering and struggle in a series of Albuquerque hospitals.

I first met Vic not long after I moved to Santa Fe in 1979. Outgoing, funny, friendly, and incredibly bright, he was one of the cornerstones of the New Mexico SF crowd for decades, a regular at Bubonicon in Albuquerque, the perennial masquerade host at Archon in St. Louis, a fan, a lover of ferrets and collector of guns, a gamer (I can’t tell you how many times we stayed up till dawn playing Superworld, Call of Cthulhu, and other RPGs with Vic, and laughing at the outrageous antics of the characters he created). But above all, he was a writer.

(10) TODAY IN HISTORY

  • February 14, 1959Journey to the Center of the Earth premiered.
  • February 14, 1976The Bionic Woman aired its first episode on TV.

(11) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY BOY

  • Born February 14, 1919 – David A. Kyle

(12) FRANK HERBERT HONORED. The late author of Dune has been commemorated by the town where he spent his childhood: “Metro Parks Tacoma board honors author Frank Herbert and Judge Jack Tanner”.

Dune Peninsula

The process of naming a new public gathering space carved from the remnants of the former ASARCO smelting operation has sparked the parallel recognition of a pioneering African-American jurist, the late U.S. District Court Judge Jack Tanner.

On Monday, Feb. 12, the Metro Parks Tacoma Board of Commissioners concluded a lengthy public process by naming the 11-acre waterfront site on the breakwater peninsula in honor of science fiction writer Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel “Dune” and its five sequels.

The board approved the name Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park for the highly anticipated space that’s still under construction around the Tacoma Yacht Club boat basin. In addition, a winding, paved pedestrian loop also being built on the site has been named Frank Herbert Trail. Both are tentatively scheduled to open to the public later this year.

… The chosen names for the breakwater peninsula area were recommended by a Metro Parks committee of staff members who reviewed more than 500 recommendations submitted by the public last summer. Of those, about 300 were related to Herbert or “Dune.” Tanner’s name also was highly rated among the publicly submitted recommendations.

(13) SHORT FICTION REVIEWS. Charles Payseur is back with “Quick Sips – GigaNotoSaurus February 2018”

Perhaps appropriate for the month, GigaNotoSaurus brings a rather romantic piece for its February release. Or, at least, a story very interested in love and trust, hope and freedom. It’s a story that features two very different characters finding a common language, a common purpose, and staying true to each other in order to do something they couldn’t do alone. It’s a touching and beautiful piece, for all that it’s dominated by the weight of captivity and the desire for release. But before I spoil everything, let’s get to the review!

(14) MEET ANOTHER SHARKE. Another new Shadow Clarke juror meets the publilc: “Introducing Foz Meadows”.

My Shattersnipe blog turns ten years old in May this year, which is a genuinely startling milestone to contemplate. The idea of my one day being invited to participate in something like the Shadow Clarke jury wouldn’t have occurred to me a decade ago. Though my first novel was years from being accepted and published when I started Shattersnipe, my aim was still to become a fantasy author, which is why I opted to blog under my own name. Even so, I had no sense that I might end up being paid or known for my essays there: it was just an extension of what I’d always done, a way to keep myself occupied. I’ve changed a lot since I started it, as has my writing; as, for that matter, have my opinions about writing. My taste in things has never been static, and while there’s something to be said for consistency, it’s my belief that critical practice, like any other discipline, should always be a sort of Theseus’s ship, willing and able to improve or change while still remaining coherent and functional.

At base, my approach to criticism is that total objectivity is impossible. Everyone has a bias, which is another way of saying that everyone has their own tastes, opinions, and context, and that rather than trying to feign objectivity by generalising those biases into an inherently limited concept of what is Normal or Traditional and therefore Good, the more honest, productive approach is to acknowledge them openly. In this way, I believe, our literary yardsticks become both more varied in terms of scope and more individually useful to the audience. Knowing that a critic dislikes steampunk, for example, gives their potential enthusiasm for a steampunk novel far more positive weight than if that dislike had hitherto been presented, not as an individual preference, but as a blanket, universalised declaration that steampunk is fundamentally Bad. In the latter case, such a critic’s praise of a book that their readership would reasonably have expected them to shun reads as a total alteration of judgement and worldview, like a political flip-flop, and is therefore made somewhat suspect. In the former case, it becomes a genuinely intriguing recommendation, that such a story was good enough to overcome their usual inclinations.

The new juror received an immediate endorsement from a Becky Chambers fan –

(15) IT’S THE RIGHT TIME. At SciFiNow, “Guillermo del Toro talks The Shape Of Water, Sally Hawkins and making an adult fairytale”.

Was the 1962 setting always a key element?

I knew I wanted to make it about now, not about then, but most of the time the fairytale needs “Once Upon A Time”. So, I thought, “What is the most cherished time in American history, recent American History?” I thought of 1962 because it’s when everybody is talking about the future, the space race is on and you have beautiful jet fin cars, suburban life, a TV in every house, Kennedy in the White House and Vietnam is starting to escalate, and then Kennedy’s shot, Vietnam escalates and everything kind of dies and scepticism is born. But when people say “Let’s make America great again” they’re thinking of ’62, I think. But this is if you were a WASP. If you were a minority the problems were horrible.

(16) CALL AND RESPONSE. Liz Bourke devoted her latest Sleeps With Monsters column to asking “Where Are the SFF Stories About Pregnancy and Child-rearing?” It begins:

The literature of the fantastic is a fruitful place in which to examine gendered questions of power. People have been using it to talk about women’s place in society (and the place of gender in society) pretty much for as long as science fiction has been a recognisable genre. Joanna Russ and Ursula Le Guin are only two of the most instantly recognisable names whose work directly engaged these themes. But for all that, science fiction and fantasy—especially the pulpishly fun kind—is strangely reluctant to acknowledge a challenge to participation in demanding public life (or a physically ass-kicking one) faced primarily (though not only) by women.

Pretty sure you’ve already guessed what it is. But just to be sure—

Pregnancy. And the frequent result, parenting small children.

Judith Tarr felt the title was not a rhetorical question and answered it this way —

(17) HARASSMENT SURVEY. Here are the responses to Anne Ursu’s survey about “Sexual Harassment in the Children’s Book Industry”.

We work in children’s books, and we like to think we are different, somehow. We value “kindness.” The ranks of publishers are populated with women. And everyone is so nice, right?

But we aren’t different, and before we can do anything about sexual harassment, we need to face that reality. And the reality is that a culture of “kindness” can silence people who have been harassed, that women can be complicit in a culture of sexual harassment and gender discrimination, and that the people who we work alongside, whose books we care about, who we like, can be sexual harassers.

Facing this reality is going to be ugly. But it is far uglier to pretend these problems aren’t here.

In December, I opened a survey about sexual harassment in children’s publishing, inspired by Kelly Jensen’s work on sexual harassment in libraries. I received almost 90 responses, as well as emails and DMs from people who didn’t want to fill out the survey because they felt too ashamed, or were still frightened of reprisal.

This is not intended to be some kind of lurid exposé of children’s publishing. The point of it isn’t to say that our industry is somehow special; the point is simply that we do have problems, that these problems affect people’s careers and mental health, and that we can and should take steps to solve these problems so more people do not get hurt.

(18) SHE BELONGS IN PICTURES. The Thirteenth Doctor heralds a new era for Titan Comics’ Doctor Who.

BBC Worldwide Americas and Titan Comics are excited to announce that, alongside premiering in the Doctor Who season, the Thirteenth Doctor will be debuting in comics this fall!

This brand-new ongoing comic series, written by Eisner-nominated writer Jody Houser (Orphan Black, Star Wars: Rogue One, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Faith, Supergirl, Mother Panic) with art by fan-favorite artist Rachael Stott (The Twelfth Doctor, Motherlands) joined by colorist Enrica Angolini (Warhammer 40,000), features the Thirteenth Doctor, as played by Jodie Whittaker. The new Doctor made her first appearance on 2017’s Doctor Who Christmas Special, “Twice Upon A Time,” regenerating from Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor.

(19) A ROLL CALL OF STINKERS. 24/7 Wall St. believes these are the “30 Worst Superhero Movies”. For instance —

  1. “The Phantom” (1996) > Director: Simon Wincer > Starring: Billy Zane, Kristy Swanson, Treat Williams > Domestic box office: $17.30 million > Superpower: Extreme athleticism

(20) SFF FILM FOR VALENTINE’S DAY. “Orbit Ever After” by Jamie Magnus Stone (2013) featuring Love, Actually’s Thomas Brodie-Sangster as a smitten suitor in space.

[Thanks to JJ, John King Tarpinian, Martin Morse Wooster, Chip Hitchcock, Cat Eldridge, DMS, Mark Hepworth, Carl Slaughter, and Martin Morse Wooster for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day jayn.]

50 thoughts on “Pixel Scroll 2/14/18 Do Not Scroll, Bend, Fold, or Pixelate

  1. (14) MEET ANOTHER SHARKE

    I have to say that adding Meadows to the jury was the thing that immediately made me interested in this year’s project.
    Her attitude that being open with your biases helps others judge how useful your review is to them is spot on.

    ETA: sacrificial fourth!

  2. 1) It’s good that we, here, can do a little good in the world 🙂

    12) A a Dune fan, I can only approve of this.

    14) Having Foz on the Shadow Jury increases my interest in it.

    16) A number of people apparently took it as non rhetorical since I later saw a tweet from Liz asking people to stop sending her names of titles…

  3. The Pat Boone starring role in JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH is notable for the end scene when Boone has his clothing blown off, and when he confronts people, he preserves chis modesty by grabbing a sheep and places it in front of him.

    I saw it in the theater, and the wooly joke only dawned on me many years later. I was eight.

  4. (19) Ugh. That horrid picture for #2, Catwoman, says it all.

    re: Myke Cole

    That’s how you do an apology. Good for him.

  5. UK Filers:

    Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Dogs of War is £1.89 on Amazon.

    He’s been on a great run of form recently so I’m keen to check this one out.

  6. (19) I cannot recommend Punisher: War Zone, for some reason number 30 on that list, highly enough if you are at all a Garth Ennis fan.

  7. The link for the del Toro story points to a story about “Ready Player One”; the correct link is https://www.scifinow.co.uk/interviews/guillermo-del-toro-talks-the-shape-of-water-sally-hawkins-and-making-an-adult-fairytale/. I haven’t made it clickable because Kaspersky complains that it is “infected by HEUR:Trojan.Script.Iframer”; I don’t know whether that shows a real issue or just somebody who gave their code a stupid name. Does anyone have access to a clean copy?

  8. @Bonnie: (the Catwoman pic)

    I’ve seen promo shots like that one, and I watched the movie (once), but there’s one thing I can’t quite suss out. Is the costume decorated with stripes that approximate Berry’s skin tone, or is the material cut/torn to expose flesh? I mean, neither one’s a great look, but the latter is a positively horrible idea in-universe. It practically invites wardrobe malfunctions of all kinds, and for what benefit?

    As for the movie itself, in case anyone’s curious – I have a high tolerance for such things, maybe even too high, but I found the plot absolutely insulting to both the characters and the audience.

    “Who can we come up with as a villain to oppose a superheroine?”
    “How about a cosmetics mogul? Women like makeup, right? We can build the story around that!”
    “Brilliant!”

    I mean, yes, technically the Joker used malicious makeup in the first Tim Burton Batman movie, but he tinkered with other common personal-care items as well. The women/makeup focus of Catwoman just struck me as a condescendingly clueless throwback to the old “Supergirl’s too busy fixing her makeup to fight the bad guys” era of comics.

  9. Chip Hitchcock: The link for the del Toro story points to a story about “Ready Player One”

    That’s what I hate about SciFiNow.uk, a person will send me the link and it will cue up the right post — even though the link itself shows it’s to a different post on the same page. Then I will test the link again when I am ready to post the Scroll and it goes to the right post again. And after the Scroll is online somebody will click on it, go to the wrong article (the one that is named in the URL) and announce “Mike, you’ve got the wrong link!”

  10. (16) You see this Every Single Time anyone mentions an underutilized trope of any kind in SF (we saw it here mere days ago regarding the anthology wanting to explore masculinity). As if the existence of one or two such extant explorations, or even 50 such, immediately invalidates the notion that it is underutilized. Compare to say, the number of stories of women in their 20s fighting the undead and caught in love triangles, or similar.

    Thing is, mentioning extant titles that do that thing can be awesome as a place to start (We all know the field is too big to have seen everything), but it is too often accompanied by a kind of condescension that the person didn’t already know about them, or that, as above, it renders their whole essay moot. When it doesn’t, necessarily.

  11. When I think of pregnancy in SFF, the first thing that comes to mind for me is The Color of Neanderthal Eyes.

  12. 19) I find it hard to believe that the 1990 Captain America movie isn’t worse than at least some, if not most, of these.

  13. My sympathies Lis.

    The adrenaline response is all well & good if you have to fight or flee, but not so great other times. That lizard brain isn’t very good at listening to rational reasoning either. What helped me get over my anxiety attacks was cognitive behaviour therapy (ETA: Not saying that you should try this, just that it was what worked for me). It took a while but eventually my lizard brain learned not to trigger a fight/flight response in inappropriate situations. Sending you a fervent wish to an end to your panic attacks.

  14. @19
    I liked The Shadow because it took the period and the hero relatively seriously, the costumes were astounding and Tim Curry was wonderful. And I liked Catwoman (except for the really stupid bits) because Halle Berry and the movie took SJW credentials seriously.
    @Lis Carey
    I’ve tried it and I would say yes. People tend to adopt coping mechanisms that they outgrow as they change. When the fit goes bad, the mechanism loses usefulness. YMMV of course. Thought of you when I saw saw shots from Westminster Dog Show that included a Chinese Crested.

  15. 19) seems pretty lazy to me. There’s not a scrap of analysis in there, just a list. Could just as well be a list of “Superhero movies with left-handed cinematographers”, for all I know. I mean, is it too hard to scrape together a sentence or two saying why, say, “Catwoman” was a bad movie?

  16. @Soon Lee & Msb–

    Thanks. I will confess I had suspected this myself..

    @ Msb– This year I didn’t get to watch Westminster, due to my generally acceptable DirecTV package doesn’t include the stations carrying it. Did they actually show the Chinese Crested being examined by the judge? They don’t always, because among the certainties of the universe is that the Chinese Crested breed winner will be a Hairless, not a Powderpuff, and the winner of the toy group may be a Pekingese, a poodle, a Pomeranian–but not a Chinese Crested.

    I don’t really want a Crested to win Best in Show at Westminster, lest they somehow become fashionable, but I’d really like one to win the group at Westminster, just once.

    Currently reading The Bleak and Empty Sea, by Jay Ruud. Merlin investigating the strange deaths of Tristan and Isolde.

  17. 24/7 Wall St. is dead wrong about the Phantom movie of 1996. That movie delivered all of the good humored nature of the Phantom himself and the the thrill of old time adventure in the strip. Its best feature was leaving out all of the angst that ruins many modern day attempts to recreate the strip. Billy Zane was perfectly cast.

  18. Two Amazon UK sales:

    Infinity Wars, edited by Jonathan Strahan
    The Long Past & Other Stories, by Ginn Hale

    And a request – do any of you have any experience with wearing bracers or vambraces similar to the ones this guy sells? I think they might be helpful for me – one of the annoying problems with wheelchairing is the ends of long sleeves (including jackets) tend to pick up dirt from the wheels. I’d like something easyish to wipe down to wear over them (that doesn’t look awful), and I thought they might add a touch of extra stability, but I’m not sure how easy they’d be to get on or off (or whether they’d interfere with getting the ‘chair gloves on and off – those typically have a thin wrist fastening, often velcro) and I’m not sure whether they’d be uncomfortable. Also, how easy they’d be to care for. And which side of the wrist the laces have to be on or whether that’s adjustable.

    I plan to contact the seller at some point but I prefer to ask around and do some reading first so I have a better idea of what questions to ask.

  19. Meredith, I’m getting an Etsy page not found notice on that link.

    Heather Rose Jones, how exciting! (Scurries to online store.)

  20. Wow, Amazon has a couple of very comprehensive reviews of that book.

    P J Evans, thanks, that worked! Unfortunately I have no experience with this item and can’t advise.

  21. Naah, The Phantom was really horrible. I remember seeing it with my brother and the collective scream from the cinema when Billy Zane took of his mask. Everyone knew that he who sees the phantom without his mask is doomed to a horrible death.

  22. Hampus Eckerman: Naah, The Phantom was really horrible.

    As someone who enjoys action movies but has never read comics, I found it damn near unwatchable. I rented it from the video store, and I rarely DNF movies, but I think I threw in the towel on that one before the 40-minute mark. (For comparison, I enjoyed Daredevil and Electra enough that DNFing them was never even a possibility. I also watched all of Catwoman and enjoyed it, despite the incredibly lame plot.)

  23. In re The Phantom movie…

    As someone who grew up reading the comic (Sweden, ’nuff said), I am of the firm conviction that any new attempt at making a The Phantom movie should have a script written by people from Team Fantomen (the predominantly Swedish group of comic writers who’ve been providing a growing share of the comics since the late 80s). My recollection of the film was that it seemed like the writer(s) had heard of The Phantom, but didn’t actually understand the character or world.

    And possibly more blue, and less purple (even if the purple is original, the blue just looks better). And no mask-off. And more Jungle Idioms. And Devil the Wolf. Unless it’s an origin story, but that would by necessity need to be set in the deep past.

  24. I mean, LOOK at Red Beard and Crusher. They look totally great, would be perfect for an old time pirate movie.

  25. @Meredith

    It might be worth looking at shops specialising in archery.

    Laces go on the outside arm – otherwise they would foul up the bowstring. Although some bracers/armguards have other fixings – buckles or even plastic clips. Some are even slip-on. Some definitely look more functional than stylish though.

    eaglearchery.co.uk do a custom decorated bracer (so I guess that’s a dragon decoration) for what looks to be a reasonable price.

  26. “Your dog is a wolf?”
    “I know”

    “Xander Drax”
    “What?”
    “X a n d e r D r a x. Begins and ends with the letter X”

    The dialogue in The Phantom…yeah.

  27. @Lis Carey
    No just a nice photo of a Chinese Crested looking at something (I think, nothing showed from the cloud of snowy hair on his? Head). It was on The Guardian website.

  28. (4) DOWN THESE MEAN TWEETS. The first part is simply stating facts that bear repeating, while the second part is quite good to see.

    (5) TOP GRAPHIC NOVELS FOR TEENS: 115 is a lot of recs! My Brother’s Husband was very good; I’m very much looking forward to volume 2.

    – – – – –

    @Camestros Felapton: Thanks for linking to Myke Cole’s post. 🙁

    @Meredith: I was a little worried you’d call it a “Meredith Moment,” but, whew, nope. 😉 In other news, the braces or vambraces would look cool, so . . . okay, that’s not helpful, but they totally would! Anyway, good luck figuring out a solution that works for you (whether it looks cool or not, of course; that’s not the point, I know).

  29. @andyl

    Thanks! You prompted me to think of a localish* leatherworker whose work I like and I thought might do archery-related stuff, and it turns out they do and some of it has dragons on. I think this will be a very promising avenue of investigation.

    *Local is relative in the middle of nowhere. It’s like the opposite of London, where something might be quite close but if there isn’t a good public transport link it might as well be on the moon. In the middle of nowhere, so long as it’s within two counties: Totally local.

    @Kendall

    I tried out calling it a Meredith Moment once, but it just felt, well, weird when I’m me. Even though people now get confused when I just call them sales. I love seeing other people use that term, though!

    As far as cool goes, I have a pretty strict requirement that if at all possible it shouldn’t look “medical” and it should look like something I would reasonably wear as an accessory anyway. I won’t sacrifice necessary function for it, but life’s too short to look like your style is hospital chic. So it is a little bit of the point, at least for me. 🙂

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