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Link: http://carriejotucker.com/

Hello I’m Iz, I’m a bird and I’m a geek - I’ll be popping in to blog every now and then about nerdgirl stuff:

I’ll chuck about some recommendations for ‘noobie’ girls who fancy getting into the big bad world of comic books but don’t know where to start (this section can also be used as a guide for boys trying to drag their partners into their murky world); and I’ll review current stuff that is floating my boat, whether its comic books/ tv / dvd / or podcasts. I’ll also probably scrap both of those ideas and just do lots and lots of random Top 5 lists. I like lists. Especially Top 5 ones. Here’s one now:
My Top 5 Comic Book Writers:
- Gail Simone
- Garth Ennis
- Bill Willingham
- Robert Kirkman
- Mike Carey
Hurray for lists

Anyway, onto the proper bloggy bit:
If you are a wannabe nerd, or know of any bird that isn't a geek but is thinking of joining us in the whole geek/nerd sandpit..or is dating a geek/nerd and doesn't know what the hell their other half is talking about half the time - then ‘I Love Geeks’ by Carrie Tucker is the book you should tell them about.

This is definitely not a book for those already firmly settled and happy in the Geekaverse because the book covers an awful lot of basic Geek/Nerd 101....but it's still a bloody cool read even if you do know your Watchmen's from your Y the Last Man's...and is laid out really nicely - easy to follow/easy to skip sections with sound bites peppered throughout the book.

Carrie Tucker is a self-confessed geek herself and although the book is written with tongue-firmly-in-cheek, it is also written with a scary amount of encyclopaedic level of knowledge. Whether you want to discover more about Video Game Geeks, Comic Book & Graphic Novel Geeks, Manga and Anime Geeks, Film & Television Geeks, Sports Geeks, or Science Fiction & Fantasy Geeks, Carrie has it pretty much covered.

The book is out now in paperback, it’s well worth a look, and can be ordered from all the usual outlets. Pass it on - if I'd had this book handy when I was dipping my toe into the comic-book world I'd have done it all a bit quicker

Another thing, Carrie's website is updated regularly so if you want to see what else she's up to - go clicky the linky.

Link: http://www.passfailstudios.com/

Just because this is how it would really go down and it made me smile. Check out more comic book parodies from passfailstudios.com

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Link: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=21769

I was reading an interview on CBR with one of my favourite writers of the moment Rick Remender and how he's planning to finish up one if his creator owned series The End League. He's also going to be finishing off easily one of the best books out there at the moment Fear Agent; something I couldn't be more gutted about. Why this sudden move to conclude his titles? Well he is now a proud employee of Marvel Comics with an exclusive deal which will keep him pretty busy. As I have enjoyed both of these comics enourmously I'm left with something of a quandry, am I happy Remender will be at Marvel writing some of my most beloved characters? or Am I sad to be losing some new and interesting characters and stories so early on in their development?

For most of my comic reading through the years I've been a capes and tights sort of guy, love the big hero stories especially anything from Marvel and to a lesser extent DC. I followed the X-Family books religously and I'd only venture away from the big 2 publishers to pick up some movie tie-in stories like the Alien books from Dark Horse. I never considered that the writers of these books were writing something else before they 'appeared' at Mavel or DC. Of course I knew they must've come from somewhere but I just didn't care, all that mattered was how good they were at writing 'my comics'; the ones I liked to read.

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So about two years back a mate of mine was giving me some playful grief about the fact I wasn’t, in his eyes, very experimental with regards the comics I was reading. I always kept in my safety zone of superheroes apparently which made me a BAD COMIC NERD! So I decided to pick up three graphic novels I would otherwise have never bothered with and give them all a full read.

Firstly I went for the “Slice of life/relationships/the one people recommend to girls” comic and read the first Strangers in Paradise pocketbook which was 360 pages of people whining about their feelings while looking longingly at that person they loved, but couldn’t tell, and who didn’t fully appreciate the wonderful human being right in front of them and blah blah fucking blah. Why this book is so popular when you can just watch daytime soaps for free I’ll never know.

My second pick was a true life/autobiographical book and I went for the multi award winning Fun Home which was AWFUL. Well, it was well done technically, but the central character was such a pretentious, self centered tosser that you just wanted her to get hit by a car or get shot all the way through. Knowing of course that it wouldn’t happen as otherwise who would have written the book?

My last pick… Manga.
Now my exposure to manga is very limited. I read the first few volumes of Akira and didn’t love it, though I do like the animated version which is of course much reduced. I’d also read and loved some Hideshi Hino horror books which were amazing. But all these were library borrows, never purchases. Also like a lot of people I was very wary of buying Manga as a lot of it has the deserved reputation of being a bit pervy. Way too many schoolgirls who cant blink hard without their skirts flying up around their necks, that kind of thing.

But as I knew a few people who were into and watching the ongoing cartoon and who assured me it was “people looking over your shoulder safe” I picked up the first volume of Death Note and was immediately hooked.

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Looks pretty cool huh? I hope this is fantastic but I'm getting a Chocolate Factory feeling about this one, at least Depp won't be the main focus of the story in this one.

Because of course I went to North Carolina and hit the con big time, or maybe I've just trawled through the net and picked out the bits I found most interesting, believe whatever helps you sleep easier.

Spinning out of New Avengers is a new Brother Voodoo ongoing series Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural as written by Rick Remender. Anyone that listens to the Sidekickcast will know Remender is a particular favourite of ours especially his FEAR Agent, Gigantic and Punisher runs so this new series is definitely one to watch. No news on the artist yet but Remender generally tends to attract fantastic artists.

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Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYntjR4-pY4

We've all heard how Tom Selleck was almost Indiana Jones but what about when Han Solo was gonna be Magnum P.I. What do you mean that never happened?! I think this video would suggest otherwise and any excuse to play that most excellent theme tune again is alright by me. Thank the Crazy Boatman for this one.

Link: http://marvel.com/digitalcomics/titles/CAPTAIN_AMERICA_REBORN_%231_PREVIEW.2009.0

Marvel.com have a digital preview of Captain America: Reborn #1 which chronicles the return of Steve Rogers to the Marvel Universe. If you're interested in learning what it's going to be like before the 1 July release date either click on the image above or CLICK HERE.

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