Continuing Bond

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I'm a bit of a James Bond fan.

For my 30th birthday party I made it a mandatory theme - everyone had to come dressed as a character from a James Bond film. Villian, Bond Girl, Henchman #7, the sky was the limit! I chose to dress as a member of the Pussy Galore Flying Squad. It was pretty awesome.

The peak of my 007 Fandom was when I was sixteen, and my best friend and I would stay up late laughing at Goldfinger, cheesing out on Live and Let Die, or slogging through the endless underwater scuba sequences of Thunderball. Even though I grew up accustomed to Roger Moore as James Bond, Sean Connery became the only Bond for me. No substitutions accepted. Timothy Dalton was fun, and George Lazenby - well, aww, that poor guy.

When Goldeneye came around I was pretty excited that Pierce Brosnan might become the new 007 Hotness (my mom, for one, had been praying for YEARS that Remington Steele would lead him to Bond). But with each passing Brosnan Bond movie I became less and less impressed. As far as I was concerned, his legacy only provided the world with two worthwhile things: Famke Janssen and Michelle Yeoh. I didn't bother watching most of them. Halle Berry trying to redo Ursula Andress's combat bikini? Oh no they don't.

Modernizing Bond just seemed to be a problem. I mean, he's a cocky a-hole who treats women like Mrs. White treats her husbands. But Brosnan just seemed to look pained and guilty about it all the time and it was kind of a downer. Even though it's not cool that Connery went through like five women in Goldfinger - one ending up being painted to death and one decapitated -  I still wanted the free-wheeling, hard-hitting Connery days back again. Go away, sensitive 90's Brosnan.

So when Casino Royale came out, (and by that, I mean of course when Daniel Craig came out of the water in a mankini), amidst all the OH MY GOD CAN YOU BELIEVE JAMES BOND IS A BLONDE controversy, I think we all knew that Bond was back. And that Daniel Craig was gonna do this shit right. Casino Royale managed to peg Craig both as a brute who could crash through walls AND as a trained killer willing to throw in the towel for love. Which was exactly what we all were waiting for.

The Craig Bond Legacy has also done something else amazing - made the movies connect to one another. Bond movies used to be individual occurrences, each floating through the void. Every now and then they'd throw in a 006 or Felix the CIA agent would reappear, but they were basically all separate. Any attempts to make things sequential in Bond World resulted in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (and we all saw what happened to Lazenby). So the fact that Casino Royale can contain characters that still connect through to Quantum of Solace was amazing. You mean we don't have to wipe our memories for each Bond film? Priceless!

And after seeing Skyfall, it's clear that this generation of Bond is going to continue kicking ass and breaking boundaries (omg Javier Bardem and Judi Dench!), all while remaining true to the Bond Legacy. Really, how hard is it? You take one part suave, muscular man + women in dresses with secrets + martinis + female agents + car crashes = Bond magic.

So here's to Daniel Craig and this era of Blonde Bond. I can't wait to see what else they do before moving on to the inevitable next breakthrough ... Idris Elba Bond!!

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Continuing Bond

/

I'm a bit of a James Bond fan.

For my 30th birthday party I made it a mandatory theme - everyone had to come dressed as a character from a James Bond film. Villian, Bond Girl, Henchman #7, the sky was the limit! I chose to dress as a member of the Pussy Galore Flying Squad. It was pretty awesome.

The peak of my 007 Fandom was when I was sixteen, and my best friend and I would stay up late laughing at Goldfinger, cheesing out on Live and Let Die, or slogging through the endless underwater scuba sequences of Thunderball. Even though I grew up accustomed to Roger Moore as James Bond, Sean Connery became the only Bond for me. No substitutions accepted. Timothy Dalton was fun, and George Lazenby - well, aww, that poor guy.

When Goldeneye came around I was pretty excited that Pierce Brosnan might become the new 007 Hotness (my mom, for one, had been praying for YEARS that Remington Steele would lead him to Bond). But with each passing Brosnan Bond movie I became less and less impressed. As far as I was concerned, his legacy only provided the world with two worthwhile things: Famke Janssen and Michelle Yeoh. I didn't bother watching most of them. Halle Berry trying to redo Ursula Andress's combat bikini? Oh no they don't.

Modernizing Bond just seemed to be a problem. I mean, he's a cocky a-hole who treats women like Mrs. White treats her husbands. But Brosnan just seemed to look pained and guilty about it all the time and it was kind of a downer. Even though it's not cool that Connery went through like five women in Goldfinger - one ending up being painted to death and one decapitated -  I still wanted the free-wheeling, hard-hitting Connery days back again. Go away, sensitive 90's Brosnan.

So when Casino Royale came out, (and by that, I mean of course when Daniel Craig came out of the water in a mankini), amidst all the OH MY GOD CAN YOU BELIEVE JAMES BOND IS A BLONDE controversy, I think we all knew that Bond was back. And that Daniel Craig was gonna do this shit right. Casino Royale managed to peg Craig both as a brute who could crash through walls AND as a trained killer willing to throw in the towel for love. Which was exactly what we all were waiting for.

The Craig Bond Legacy has also done something else amazing - made the movies connect to one another. Bond movies used to be individual occurrences, each floating through the void. Every now and then they'd throw in a 006 or Felix the CIA agent would reappear, but they were basically all separate. Any attempts to make things sequential in Bond World resulted in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (and we all saw what happened to Lazenby). So the fact that Casino Royale can contain characters that still connect through to Quantum of Solace was amazing. You mean we don't have to wipe our memories for each Bond film? Priceless!

And after seeing Skyfall, it's clear that this generation of Bond is going to continue kicking ass and breaking boundaries (omg Javier Bardem and Judi Dench!), all while remaining true to the Bond Legacy. Really, how hard is it? You take one part suave, muscular man + women in dresses with secrets + martinis + female agents + car crashes = Bond magic.

So here's to Daniel Craig and this era of Blonde Bond. I can't wait to see what else they do before moving on to the inevitable next breakthrough ... Idris Elba Bond!!

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Kick-Ass Women: Kima Greggs

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Yes, I am a Baltimorean, and no, I haven't finished watching The Wire yet. I actually started watching mid-season 4, where my boyfriend was, and then backtracked to watch season 1. Kind of unorthodox, I know - way to ruin the surprises, Monica!

Anyhoo, the moment I first saw Kima Greggs I knew she was a badass. She was wearing a suit and heels, driving around the projects in her unmarked police car, and because she thought something was up, she got out of the car and entered a drug dealer's house. Through the back door, gun drawn, by herself. BADASS. I was convinced this would be the last we'd see of her character, or we'd hear something come over the radio during another scene that would alert us to the fact she'd been shot. But no. This is KIMA. Instead, she was back at her desk, casually sitting there, having gone into that drug house without back-up and single handedly arrested the suspects. Yessss.

So now I'm slowly working my way through Season 2, and after Season 1, I know that Kima also happens to be invincible. Can't wait to see what else she gets up to through the course of the show!

And Sonja Sohn, who plays Kima, is pretty impressive herself - she opened up Re-Wired for Change, a non-profit to help kids in troubled circumstances break the cycle of violence/incarceration.

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Small Boob Awards: Bitsie Tulloch

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Last year my boyfriend and I decided to give two fairy tale themed shows a try: Once Upon A Time and Grimm. Although we still begrudgingly tune into to Once now and again, we've long since given up comparing the two. Grimm - with its endless supply of interesting beasts, moody Portland locale, and Monroe - is the clear winner.

And Bitsie Tulloch, gorgeous ginger wife of Nick the Grimm, is the latest addition to the Small Boob Hall of Fame. Yay! You work that amnesia!

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Juggling with Crazy

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Sometimes it gets really frustrating trying to juggle what you want to do. Recently I cut my hours at my day job from 32 to 24 a week - which means 1 whole extra day I can spend at home making progress on comics, evolving my website into more of a business platform, and planning new ideas/projects. Time that would allow me to eventually (in theory) help me evolve out of my day job completely.

So how do I handle the juggling of the day job with the home studio job? I make myself schedules. Crazy Person Schedules that I'll never be able to actually follow.

My Crazy Person Schedule Categories:

  • PRE-WORK - What I expect to get done in the extra hour I wake up before having to get ready for my day job
  • DAY JOB - How much time I spend at my day job and commuting to/from
  • WEBSITE - Maintenance and graaaadually fixing/improving things I want to fix
  • BIZ - All the things I need/want to do to make this freelance thing happen full time
  • WEBCOMICS - Regular planning/drawing/posting for Bonnie N. Collide twice a week (and soon Gods & Undergrads once a week!)
  • BOOKS - Thumbnailing/drawing secret book projects
  • EXERCISE - When and what kind of exercise I plan on doing
  • FREE TIME - When I'm allowed to kick back and won't feel guilty for doing nothing and/or something else besides art work

I have yet to incorporate any of these schedules into my actual life, and I just designed my 4th one. For some reason, it gives me great peace of mind just to create them. Usually there are so many things floating around in my head about what I anxiously want/need to get done that I get frantically unproductive. The schedules help me visually map out what I'm expecting out of myself (and how unreasonable it normally is).

It's a constant struggle when the rest of the 9-to-5 world only understands that weeknights are for TV or going out to dinner and weekends are for going out with friends. I love my friends and I love relaxing with my boyfriend but there's the constant, neverending pressure that I NEED TO BE MAKING PROGRESS. Persistence and regular practice makes perfect. Or in my case, it will take me where I want to go with my life and my art career.

So I'm ready to start this next week planning on following SCHEDULE #4. Wish me luck! How many other fellow jugglers out there are making things work? And are you doing it with or without imaginary schedules?

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Juggling with Crazy

/

Sometimes it gets really frustrating trying to juggle what you want to do. Recently I cut my hours at my day job from 32 to 24 a week - which means 1 whole extra day I can spend at home making progress on comics, evolving my website into more of a business platform, and planning new ideas/projects. Time that would allow me to eventually (in theory) help me evolve out of my day job completely.

So how do I handle the juggling of the day job with the home studio job? I make myself schedules. Crazy Person Schedules that I'll never be able to actually follow.

My Crazy Person Schedule Categories:

  • PRE-WORK - What I expect to get done in the extra hour I wake up before having to get ready for my day job
  • DAY JOB - How much time I spend at my day job and commuting to/from
  • WEBSITE - Maintenance and graaaadually fixing/improving things I want to fix
  • BIZ - All the things I need/want to do to make this freelance thing happen full time
  • WEBCOMICS - Regular planning/drawing/posting for Bonnie N. Collide twice a week (and soon Gods & Undergrads once a week!)
  • BOOKS - Thumbnailing/drawing secret book projects
  • EXERCISE - When and what kind of exercise I plan on doing
  • FREE TIME - When I'm allowed to kick back and won't feel guilty for doing nothing and/or something else besides art work

I have yet to incorporate any of these schedules into my actual life, and I just designed my 4th one. For some reason, it gives me great peace of mind just to create them. Usually there are so many things floating around in my head about what I anxiously want/need to get done that I get frantically unproductive. The schedules help me visually map out what I'm expecting out of myself (and how unreasonable it normally is).

It's a constant struggle when the rest of the 9-to-5 world only understands that weeknights are for TV or going out to dinner and weekends are for going out with friends. I love my friends and I love relaxing with my boyfriend but there's the constant, neverending pressure that I NEED TO BE MAKING PROGRESS. Persistence and regular practice makes perfect. Or in my case, it will take me where I want to go with my life and my art career.

So I'm ready to start this next week planning on following SCHEDULE #4. Wish me luck! How many other fellow jugglers out there are making things work? And are you doing it with or without imaginary schedules?

[otw_is sidebar=otw-sidebar-4]

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Juggling with Crazy

/

Sometimes it gets really frustrating trying to juggle what you want to do. Recently I cut my hours at my day job from 32 to 24 a week - which means 1 whole extra day I can spend at home making progress on comics, evolving my website into more of a business platform, and planning new ideas/projects. Time that would allow me to eventually (in theory) help me evolve out of my day job completely.

So how do I handle the juggling of the day job with the home studio job? I make myself schedules. Crazy Person Schedules that I'll never be able to actually follow.

My Crazy Person Schedule Categories:

  • PRE-WORK - What I expect to get done in the extra hour I wake up before having to get ready for my day job
  • DAY JOB - How much time I spend at my day job and commuting to/from
  • WEBSITE - Maintenance and graaaadually fixing/improving things I want to fix
  • BIZ - All the things I need/want to do to make this freelance thing happen full time
  • WEBCOMICS - Regular planning/drawing/posting for Bonnie N. Collide twice a week (and soon Gods & Undergrads once a week!)
  • BOOKS - Thumbnailing/drawing secret book projects
  • EXERCISE - When and what kind of exercise I plan on doing
  • FREE TIME - When I'm allowed to kick back and won't feel guilty for doing nothing and/or something else besides art work

I have yet to incorporate any of these schedules into my actual life, and I just designed my 4th one. For some reason, it gives me great peace of mind just to create them. Usually there are so many things floating around in my head about what I anxiously want/need to get done that I get frantically unproductive. The schedules help me visually map out what I'm expecting out of myself (and how unreasonable it normally is).

It's a constant struggle when the rest of the 9-to-5 world only understands that weeknights are for TV or going out to dinner and weekends are for going out with friends. I love my friends and I love relaxing with my boyfriend but there's the constant, neverending pressure that I NEED TO BE MAKING PROGRESS. Persistence and regular practice makes perfect. Or in my case, it will take me where I want to go with my life and my art career.

So I'm ready to start this next week planning on following SCHEDULE #4. Wish me luck! How many other fellow jugglers out there are making things work? And are you doing it with or without imaginary schedules?

[otw_is sidebar=otw-sidebar-4]

[otw_is sidebar=otw-sidebar-7]

Juggling with Crazy

/

Sometimes it gets really frustrating trying to juggle what you want to do. Recently I cut my hours at my day job from 32 to 24 a week - which means 1 whole extra day I can spend at home making progress on comics, evolving my website into more of a business platform, and planning new ideas/projects. Time that would allow me to eventually (in theory) help me evolve out of my day job completely.

So how do I handle the juggling of the day job with the home studio job? I make myself schedules. Crazy Person Schedules that I'll never be able to actually follow.

My Crazy Person Schedule Categories:

  • PRE-WORK - What I expect to get done in the extra hour I wake up before having to get ready for my day job
  • DAY JOB - How much time I spend at my day job and commuting to/from
  • WEBSITE - Maintenance and graaaadually fixing/improving things I want to fix
  • BIZ - All the things I need/want to do to make this freelance thing happen full time
  • WEBCOMICS - Regular planning/drawing/posting for Bonnie N. Collide twice a week (and soon Gods & Undergrads once a week!)
  • BOOKS - Thumbnailing/drawing secret book projects
  • EXERCISE - When and what kind of exercise I plan on doing
  • FREE TIME - When I'm allowed to kick back and won't feel guilty for doing nothing and/or something else besides art work

I have yet to incorporate any of these schedules into my actual life, and I just designed my 4th one. For some reason, it gives me great peace of mind just to create them. Usually there are so many things floating around in my head about what I anxiously want/need to get done that I get frantically unproductive. The schedules help me visually map out what I'm expecting out of myself (and how unreasonable it normally is).

It's a constant struggle when the rest of the 9-to-5 world only understands that weeknights are for TV or going out to dinner and weekends are for going out with friends. I love my friends and I love relaxing with my boyfriend but there's the constant, neverending pressure that I NEED TO BE MAKING PROGRESS. Persistence and regular practice makes perfect. Or in my case, it will take me where I want to go with my life and my art career.

So I'm ready to start this next week planning on following SCHEDULE #4. Wish me luck! How many other fellow jugglers out there are making things work? And are you doing it with or without imaginary schedules?

[otw_is sidebar=otw-sidebar-4]

[otw_is sidebar=otw-sidebar-7]

Rock You Like a Tropical Depression

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Sandy is coming!

Also: I watched Evil Dead II last night. One of my absolute favorite horror movies (yes, I consider it horror) to join the ranks of Army of Darkness, Shaun of the Dead, and newly elected Cabin in the Woods (which I plan on writing a review of soon) for funny. Scary include: The Shining, Rosemary's Baby, The Omen, The Grudge, Poltergeist. Such are my preferences for creepy/scary as opposed to gory.

Back to THE HURRICANE. I've read enough blogs telling me what to do that I know I'm supposed to have an emergency preparedness kit. I know the importance of making sure that all of your items/necessities are ready and available in times of crisis (check out what one of my friends is doing to prepare in her blog post). To my detriment, I've lived in Maryland all my life, which is a peculiar area on the outskirts of many common disasters. Sure, we've had hurricanes, earthquakes, blizzards, and tornados. But, much like the way we Marylanders drive in the rain, whenever one comes along we forget that we've ever been through one before. OH MY GOD WHAT IS THIS WET STUFF FALLING WILL I MELT?? is our most reliable reaction to any form of weather outside of the muggyness which we're used to.

So here's what I've casually gathered so far (oh god the power is flickering):

  • Food stuffs (FODMAPs friendly, of course)
  • Wine (important)
  • Water
  • Candles
  • Matches
  • Flashlights
  • Batteries (apparently no matter what we'll be doing, we'll be seeing it)
  • First aid kit
  • Board Games
  • Books

I'm also doing laundry and using my printer, apparently maxing out my usage of power until it's lost. Up until now our little Baltimore home has been a total champ with regards to not flooding or losing power in times of crazyness. Here's hoping it hangs in there!

Also, I'm accepting any and all ghost stories that I can tell in my candle-lit basement tonight. See y'all on the other side! Stay  safe East Coast!

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Gods & Undergrads Returns!

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For those of you who don't know, I started doing comics way back in 2000 with Gods & Undergrads, my first foray into webcomicking. (and for those of you interested in my process, I go into the details on my four part process for creating comics here!)

Gods & Undergrads is the story of Lelaina Pentheus, a college sophomore. At the beginning of the comic, she's applying for residency on campus. And over the course of 2 1/2 books, Lelaina meets friends, falls in and out of love, and discovers that her relatives are Greek gods.

When I first started G&U, I was pretty regular with updating the comic. But, over the years my updates grew more and more sporadic. Many people stopped reading, many people yelled at me, and most people suggested I stop doing this comic already. So while all that was happening, I worked on other comics and even created a NEW webcomic - Bonnie N. Collide, Nine to Five. Buuuuutttt ... well, I never wanted to stop doing good ol' G&U.

I'm just not finished with the story yet. What makes it awkward is how much the story and the art and the style have changed over the years. Even though I look back at the earlier pages (and the later, let's be honest) and I cringe, I'm going to keep plowing ahead until ... well, until the end.

Anyhoo. This is a LONG, drawn out way of saying that where we last left off in the story:

What crazy shenanigans are going to happen to the undergrads of Troy University next? Find out DECEMBER 12TH, when Gods & Undergrads continues!! Wooooo!

In the meantime, here are some links to help you catch up/start the story:

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Gods & Undergrads Returns!

/

For those of you who don't know, I started doing comics way back in 2000 with Gods & Undergrads, my first foray into webcomicking. (and for those of you interested in my process, I go into the details on my four part process for creating comics here!)

Gods & Undergrads is the story of Lelaina Pentheus, a college sophomore. At the beginning of the comic, she's applying for residency on campus. And over the course of 2 1/2 books, Lelaina meets friends, falls in and out of love, and discovers that her relatives are Greek gods.

When I first started G&U, I was pretty regular with updating the comic. But, over the years my updates grew more and more sporadic. Many people stopped reading, many people yelled at me, and most people suggested I stop doing this comic already. So while all that was happening, I worked on other comics and even created a NEW webcomic - Bonnie N. Collide, Nine to Five. Buuuuutttt ... well, I never wanted to stop doing good ol' G&U.

I'm just not finished with the story yet. What makes it awkward is how much the story and the art and the style have changed over the years. Even though I look back at the earlier pages (and the later, let's be honest) and I cringe, I'm going to keep plowing ahead until ... well, until the end.

Anyhoo. This is a LONG, drawn out way of saying that where we last left off in the story:

What crazy shenanigans are going to happen to the undergrads of Troy University next? Find out DECEMBER 12TH, when Gods & Undergrads continues!! Wooooo!

In the meantime, here are some links to help you catch up/start the story:

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[otw_is sidebar=otw-sidebar-7]

Small Boob Awards: Every Woman With Small Breasts Everywhere

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My boyfriend recently sent me a link to this picture on Reddit, and we were both momentarily delighted.

'Till we found out that of course, it was an asshole trap. Luckily, then Huffington Post blogged about it and encouraged women to send them their small boob stories. A.k.a. the Magical Mystery Tour that is a life with small boobs! Check out the stories here, and feel free to add your own! I added my comic Boobage as my contribution. :)

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Feel-Good Movie of the Month: The Shining

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Nothing puts me in a better mood than getting my annual fix of The Shining.

When it comes to movies meant to scare me, I much prefer the creepy, slow burns. The suggested incident one room over. The noise you may or may not have heard on the stairs. Wait - did I just see something in the mirror? These are all infinitely better to me than the IN YOUR FACE AXE MURDERING GORE OBSESSED TORTURE PORN trend of most horror movies these days.

I'm not sure how long ago it was that I stopped being terrified of The Shining and started loving it. For one, I think it was something in the beginning of the movie reminding me of my childhood. No, not the violent dad or the Skeletor mom or the little boy that lived in my mouth - more the bowl cut and Mister Rogers on the television. And I still fantasize about riding my (Strawberry Shortcake) Big Wheel down those big patterned hallways in the Overlook.

I think a lot of it has to do with Kubrick's sense of space and design. The huge, cavernous hotel and its endless maze of hallways IS scary, but it's also kind of ... peaceful. You could spend hours by yourself wandering around in a million different rooms, pretending to be a million different people. So what if there's a woman hogging one of the bathtubs, and a dude and his bear boyfriend in one of the suites? The rest is yours, all yours! And you get to ride your bike and go hiking with your mom in the snow all day.

All you might have to be careful of is those obnoxious little girls who won't get it into their almost-twin heads that you DON'T WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH THEM. Or the elevators being a little bloody. Or your dad going batshit crazy (but honestly, from the very beginning of the movie Jack is already crazy, so it's really nothing new).

The rest of it is pure, relaxing vacation and all the giant cans of ice cream you could ever want to eat. It's almost good enough for me to forget the time when someone wrote "REDRUM" on my car visor mirror and I almost had a heart attack at 16.

And I was just kidding about Wendy Torrance. I love her so hard.

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Londonness - Comic Shops

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One of my favorite things I like to do in a new city is find the local comic book shops. Even way back in my wee younger years, while visiting family at my grandmother's summer cottage in Michigan, when I was wrapped in a blanket of lake swimming and adventuring. Even then, in that summer paradise (and if you read this blog regularly you know I use "summer" and "paradise" in the same sentence never) ... I would drag out the yellow pages and point out two types of places I wanted my dad to drive me.  Thrift shops and comic book stores. Good man that he is, he'd always comply. One year, when I had a dilemma about how to spend the $20 I had on me - on a book of the complete works of William Shakespeare or a lifesize cut-out of Han Solo (Sophie's Choice, am I right??) he graciously told me I was allowed to get both.

Good times!

But anyway, back to London! When I asked for recommendations on comic shops I should visit while I was there, I was given these names:

I did some looking around and drew up this sweet map to help my friend Heather and I on our journey:

What could possibly go wrong as we used this sharp tool to navigate the streets of busy West End? Actually, we IMMEDIATELY found Orbital and spent a good while browsing their rows and rooms. I picked up a couple of lovely things:

Brian K. Vaughan's latest series, Saga, illustrated by the incredible Fiona Staples. (Haven't read it yet, but picked up issues 2 and 3! Sadly they didn't have #1)

Marc Ellerby's Chloe Noonan, Monster Hunter.  I thought this one was fitting, since we were in London and all. I love that she takes the bus and has zero powers, but she's cocky and she gets the job done. Also, she has other priorities like band gigs. And appreciates a good grenade.

Bucko by Jeff Parker and Erika Moen. I had NOOO idea what to expect from this going in, only that I've been a fan of Erika's work for ages. But then I also saw that it was about quirky Portland antics and I was intrigued. I'm also a big fan of Portland, and have been telling everyone for years that I'll be moving there soon. Those overcast skies, those powerful mountains, that dreary weather, that publisher of mine in the 'hood, those hippies with their progressive ways ... they all be callin' to me. But ANYWAY. Bucko ended up being a hilarious, unpredictable ride that kept me laughing/afraid to laugh and eager to turn the page. What started off with a scene reminiscent of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (and who DOESN'T love a Robert Downey Jr. / Val Kilmer flick) and turned into a fun celebration of everything that's right and so wrong about the world. The writer/artist comments on every page are a fun bonus since I never read it online. I think more comics definitely need commentary tracks.

Orbital had a great location, super helpful staff, and decent selection of indies. Even though I was too chicken to give them any of MY work, I was happy to have found it.

Finding Gosh was a little bit more of a challenge (see map above for reasons why). Yeahh when I set out to create little handy maps for us to use, I sometimes neglected to put in all those pesky side streets. Who needs 'em? So Heather and I spent a good while wandering down the streets of Soho, which is not a bad place to be, but still wasn't our primary purpose. Eventually we'd run out of time and had to meet up with my friend Katrina at the most glorious store on the planet - Paperchase!! No, not a comic book store but a glorious store filled with all your pencilling and papering needs. It took a lot of willpower to only walk out of there with a few purchases.

Luckily Katrina knew her way around town better than we did, so she successfully led us to Gosh. It was a cute, well-designed and well-lit store. I loved the central table piled with a selection of books, surrounded by shelves lit with track lighting. It reminded me of a boutique art gallery. Again, the staff was super helpful and I walked away with something I've been meaning to pick up for a long time ...

Faith Erin Hicks's Friends With Boys! I've been a huge fan of hers since way back in her Demonology 101 days. Along with Derek Kirk Kim, Scott McCloud, and Jason Little, she was one of my earliest webcomic inspirations. Faith's style has only gotten more powerful and expressive over the years, and I was blown away by how her work is able to be detailed and meticulous while still appearing sketchy and free-flowing. I tore through half of the story online but had decided to wait for the print version to finish it.  The characters have an ease about them that makes them instantly identifiable - there aren't any forced personality "types". The story is moody, funny, and intriguing, and her large, expansive panels give plenty of room for your imagination to run around in. Selfishly I wanted the story to keep going, but at least I can add this to my collection of books to re-read. Thank goodness Faith is so prolific, so I won't have long to wait for a new book from her!

Thus ends my London Comic Shop Adventure. Sadly, I never made it to Forbidden Planet, but having gone to the one in New York City, I can say I've been, right? Oh well, I'll save it for the return journey. Because there WILL be a return journey to London. Oh yes, there will.

P.S. Can someone invite me to the Leeds Comic Arts Festival at some point??

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Londonness - Comic Shops

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One of my favorite things I like to do in a new city is find the local comic book shops. Even way back in my wee younger years, while visiting family at my grandmother's summer cottage in Michigan, when I was wrapped in a blanket of lake swimming and adventuring. Even then, in that summer paradise (and if you read this blog regularly you know I use "summer" and "paradise" in the same sentence never) ... I would drag out the yellow pages and point out two types of places I wanted my dad to drive me.  Thrift shops and comic book stores. Good man that he is, he'd always comply. One year, when I had a dilemma about how to spend the $20 I had on me - on a book of the complete works of William Shakespeare or a lifesize cut-out of Han Solo (Sophie's Choice, am I right??) he graciously told me I was allowed to get both.

Good times!

But anyway, back to London! When I asked for recommendations on comic shops I should visit while I was there, I was given these names:

I did some looking around and drew up this sweet map to help my friend Heather and I on our journey:

What could possibly go wrong as we used this sharp tool to navigate the streets of busy West End? Actually, we IMMEDIATELY found Orbital and spent a good while browsing their rows and rooms. I picked up a couple of lovely things:

Brian K. Vaughan's latest series, Saga, illustrated by the incredible Fiona Staples. (Haven't read it yet, but picked up issues 2 and 3! Sadly they didn't have #1)

Marc Ellerby's Chloe Noonan, Monster Hunter.  I thought this one was fitting, since we were in London and all. I love that she takes the bus and has zero powers, but she's cocky and she gets the job done. Also, she has other priorities like band gigs. And appreciates a good grenade.

Bucko by Jeff Parker and Erika Moen. I had NOOO idea what to expect from this going in, only that I've been a fan of Erika's work for ages. But then I also saw that it was about quirky Portland antics and I was intrigued. I'm also a big fan of Portland, and have been telling everyone for years that I'll be moving there soon. Those overcast skies, those powerful mountains, that dreary weather, that publisher of mine in the 'hood, those hippies with their progressive ways ... they all be callin' to me. But ANYWAY. Bucko ended up being a hilarious, unpredictable ride that kept me laughing/afraid to laugh and eager to turn the page. What started off with a scene reminiscent of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (and who DOESN'T love a Robert Downey Jr. / Val Kilmer flick) and turned into a fun celebration of everything that's right and so wrong about the world. The writer/artist comments on every page are a fun bonus since I never read it online. I think more comics definitely need commentary tracks.

Orbital had a great location, super helpful staff, and decent selection of indies. Even though I was too chicken to give them any of MY work, I was happy to have found it.

Finding Gosh was a little bit more of a challenge (see map above for reasons why). Yeahh when I set out to create little handy maps for us to use, I sometimes neglected to put in all those pesky side streets. Who needs 'em? So Heather and I spent a good while wandering down the streets of Soho, which is not a bad place to be, but still wasn't our primary purpose. Eventually we'd run out of time and had to meet up with my friend Katrina at the most glorious store on the planet - Paperchase!! No, not a comic book store but a glorious store filled with all your pencilling and papering needs. It took a lot of willpower to only walk out of there with a few purchases.

Luckily Katrina knew her way around town better than we did, so she successfully led us to Gosh. It was a cute, well-designed and well-lit store. I loved the central table piled with a selection of books, surrounded by shelves lit with track lighting. It reminded me of a boutique art gallery. Again, the staff was super helpful and I walked away with something I've been meaning to pick up for a long time ...

Faith Erin Hicks's Friends With Boys! I've been a huge fan of hers since way back in her Demonology 101 days. Along with Derek Kirk Kim, Scott McCloud, and Jason Little, she was one of my earliest webcomic inspirations. Faith's style has only gotten more powerful and expressive over the years, and I was blown away by how her work is able to be detailed and meticulous while still appearing sketchy and free-flowing. I tore through half of the story online but had decided to wait for the print version to finish it.  The characters have an ease about them that makes them instantly identifiable - there aren't any forced personality "types". The story is moody, funny, and intriguing, and her large, expansive panels give plenty of room for your imagination to run around in. Selfishly I wanted the story to keep going, but at least I can add this to my collection of books to re-read. Thank goodness Faith is so prolific, so I won't have long to wait for a new book from her!

Thus ends my London Comic Shop Adventure. Sadly, I never made it to Forbidden Planet, but having gone to the one in New York City, I can say I've been, right? Oh well, I'll save it for the return journey. Because there WILL be a return journey to London. Oh yes, there will.

P.S. Can someone invite me to the Leeds Comic Arts Festival at some point??

[otw_is sidebar=otw-sidebar-4]

[otw_is sidebar=otw-sidebar-7]

Londonness - Comic Shops

/

One of my favorite things I like to do in a new city is find the local comic book shops. Even way back in my wee younger years, while visiting family at my grandmother's summer cottage in Michigan, when I was wrapped in a blanket of lake swimming and adventuring. Even then, in that summer paradise (and if you read this blog regularly you know I use "summer" and "paradise" in the same sentence never) ... I would drag out the yellow pages and point out two types of places I wanted my dad to drive me.  Thrift shops and comic book stores. Good man that he is, he'd always comply. One year, when I had a dilemma about how to spend the $20 I had on me - on a book of the complete works of William Shakespeare or a lifesize cut-out of Han Solo (Sophie's Choice, am I right??) he graciously told me I was allowed to get both.

Good times!

But anyway, back to London! When I asked for recommendations on comic shops I should visit while I was there, I was given these names:

I did some looking around and drew up this sweet map to help my friend Heather and I on our journey:

What could possibly go wrong as we used this sharp tool to navigate the streets of busy West End? Actually, we IMMEDIATELY found Orbital and spent a good while browsing their rows and rooms. I picked up a couple of lovely things:

Brian K. Vaughan's latest series, Saga, illustrated by the incredible Fiona Staples. (Haven't read it yet, but picked up issues 2 and 3! Sadly they didn't have #1)

Marc Ellerby's Chloe Noonan, Monster Hunter.  I thought this one was fitting, since we were in London and all. I love that she takes the bus and has zero powers, but she's cocky and she gets the job done. Also, she has other priorities like band gigs. And appreciates a good grenade.

Bucko by Jeff Parker and Erika Moen. I had NOOO idea what to expect from this going in, only that I've been a fan of Erika's work for ages. But then I also saw that it was about quirky Portland antics and I was intrigued. I'm also a big fan of Portland, and have been telling everyone for years that I'll be moving there soon. Those overcast skies, those powerful mountains, that dreary weather, that publisher of mine in the 'hood, those hippies with their progressive ways ... they all be callin' to me. But ANYWAY. Bucko ended up being a hilarious, unpredictable ride that kept me laughing/afraid to laugh and eager to turn the page. What started off with a scene reminiscent of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (and who DOESN'T love a Robert Downey Jr. / Val Kilmer flick) and turned into a fun celebration of everything that's right and so wrong about the world. The writer/artist comments on every page are a fun bonus since I never read it online. I think more comics definitely need commentary tracks.

Orbital had a great location, super helpful staff, and decent selection of indies. Even though I was too chicken to give them any of MY work, I was happy to have found it.

Finding Gosh was a little bit more of a challenge (see map above for reasons why). Yeahh when I set out to create little handy maps for us to use, I sometimes neglected to put in all those pesky side streets. Who needs 'em? So Heather and I spent a good while wandering down the streets of Soho, which is not a bad place to be, but still wasn't our primary purpose. Eventually we'd run out of time and had to meet up with my friend Katrina at the most glorious store on the planet - Paperchase!! No, not a comic book store but a glorious store filled with all your pencilling and papering needs. It took a lot of willpower to only walk out of there with a few purchases.

Luckily Katrina knew her way around town better than we did, so she successfully led us to Gosh. It was a cute, well-designed and well-lit store. I loved the central table piled with a selection of books, surrounded by shelves lit with track lighting. It reminded me of a boutique art gallery. Again, the staff was super helpful and I walked away with something I've been meaning to pick up for a long time ...

Faith Erin Hicks's Friends With Boys! I've been a huge fan of hers since way back in her Demonology 101 days. Along with Derek Kirk Kim, Scott McCloud, and Jason Little, she was one of my earliest webcomic inspirations. Faith's style has only gotten more powerful and expressive over the years, and I was blown away by how her work is able to be detailed and meticulous while still appearing sketchy and free-flowing. I tore through half of the story online but had decided to wait for the print version to finish it.  The characters have an ease about them that makes them instantly identifiable - there aren't any forced personality "types". The story is moody, funny, and intriguing, and her large, expansive panels give plenty of room for your imagination to run around in. Selfishly I wanted the story to keep going, but at least I can add this to my collection of books to re-read. Thank goodness Faith is so prolific, so I won't have long to wait for a new book from her!

Thus ends my London Comic Shop Adventure. Sadly, I never made it to Forbidden Planet, but having gone to the one in New York City, I can say I've been, right? Oh well, I'll save it for the return journey. Because there WILL be a return journey to London. Oh yes, there will.

P.S. Can someone invite me to the Leeds Comic Arts Festival at some point??

[otw_is sidebar=otw-sidebar-4]

[otw_is sidebar=otw-sidebar-7]

Londonness - Traveling on a Crazy Pants Diet

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Ah yes. The joys of traveling on a restricted diet.

I knew going into my London trip that this would be an issue, despite all the cool U.K. blogs I'd discovered dealing with my particular food issues (aka the FODMAPs way of life). And then, mere days before taking off, I threw caution to the wind and started taking a daily multi vitamin, which INSTANTLY made me sick until the day of the trip itself. Ah yes, to be at such a wonderful point where a vitamin will make me sick! Luckily my nutritionist came to the rescue at the very last minute and enabled me to get my hands on some of these sweet babies:

Ultimate Aloe powder packets. I'd already been hooked on the Aloe Juice, which was insanely amazing at getting rid of heartburn, nausea, the regular cocktail of stomach maladies I was used to dealing with. But thanks to this travel convenient form, I could safely take it along WITH me on my trip, leading to a much better stomach-on-the-go. Whew.

So since I mentioned yesterday some of the amazing restaurants we discovered right in our hometown for the week of Brixton, I was amazed to find out that several of them just happened to also be gluten-free. Woot! Okay, so one was a happy accident, and one I searched for.

Here's my list of some FODMAPs-friendly, gluten-free places we managed to find:

  • WAGfree - featuring breakfast sandwiches, baked goods, and sandwiches. I had a bacon-egg-toast thingie one day, and grabbed a giant loaf of bread with toasted pumpkin seeds on top another. Yum-MY. And even though I went to the one in Brixton, they popped up all over the place during our travels.
  • Brick Box- the first time I typed this as Brick Top...

    Such a wuvable gangster. Brick BOX was where I managed to find some gluten-free crepes that came in all varieties of sweet and savory. Also located in Brixton Village, and the staff was so friendly they let us squish in for seats next to a couple trying to have a private dinner. Ha HA, take that suckers! Romance can't compete with my gluten-free appetite! Looks like they have multiple venues as well.

  • The last place we hit up in Brixton was a vegan cupcake place called Ms. Cupcake. I didn't realize it also had gluten-free offerings until I wandered in and hit the motherload - bars, gummy bears, cookies, and a fine selection of gluten-free cupcakes. SCORE. I loaded up on snacks for the flight back but couldn't help but hork down a GF cupcake while I was at it.
  • While visiting the West End Theatre District, we turned the corner from the Leicester Square Underground Station and stumbled upon TONS of restaurants and eateries. Seeing Italian food, though, I figured to hell with it and surrendered. It wasn't until my traveling companion Heather shouted "GLUTEN FREE PIZZA AND PASTA!" before I realized my good fortune. We'd happened upon Bella Italia, and it was mighty tasty.
  • Also in/around the West End (or maybe not, I was a tourist after all), and further up near Convent Garden on our way to the British Museum, I'd scouted out a little out of the way place called Da Mario (SURPRISE! Also Italian. Which is part of why I love traveling with Heather - the girl will eat pizza with me anywhere.) It was super cute, the servers were really attentive and fast, and it was clearly THE place to go for lunch during the work week. We got a table before a regular patron could - who's in the know?? They also had a dumb waiter that brought food up from the kitchen to the dining room. Fantastic.
  • Last but certainly least was the Ebury Wine Bar, which took only about 2 hours on foot to find. It just so happens in some parts we were wandering through in London that there'd be 12 streets with the same first name of the street but with Avenue, Street, Square, Place, arbitrarily tacked onto the end. So since these were my fabulously detailed directions to the restaurant (the lower portion): So yeah ... me writing down "Ebury" sent us on a wild pub chase for quite some time. BUT! Here's the reason that Heather didn't kill me: on our way to the Ebury Wine Bar we passed many a fine establishment, one of which was called The Orange and full of hoppin' people enjoying great food and drink. So when we finally dragged our feet up to the Wine Bar and the host snubbed us, it wasn't too hard to decide where to go. I made sure to repeatedly remind Heather that if it wasn't for MY directions, we never would've stumbled upon The Orange (okay, and a zillion other places) in the first place. After enough wine she agreed with me. And The Orange, though not particularly gluten-free, was amazing and full of hot, happening people. (I'll dish more about that in the Pub Post!) So ... I'm not saying don't go to the Ebury Wine Bar. But if you do go and they're kind of rude ... there's a kick-ass pub right down the street.

And thus ends my discussion of the gluten-free eats I found that helped me keep to my diet for at least part of the time on my trip. What also helped? CHIPS! The savior of vegans and weirdo dieters alike.

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