Being Geek Chic is a blog for stylish geeks, sophisticated nerds and people who enjoy the musings of a complete dork. Join us as we dream of driving the TARDIS, cuddle with our eBooks and test out an iPad sleeve. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi and a team of brilliant lady nerds. Meet the team.
About a month ago, I told you why you should start reading comics. Perhaps that was just what you needed to get started and to jump into the fold. But maybe you’re still feeling a bit hesitant, and you could use some additional direction. Or better yet, a list of recommendations.
If that’s you, here are a handful of comics that you should start reading today, conveniently organized based on some things that you might be digging these days:
This series is made up of a couple of critically acclaimed, self-published short stories, The Mire and Wolves. They won’t take you long to read, but they’re definitely worth checking out. The backdrop is fantasy-inspired, but the real draw of these stories is the human journey at their core.
Many recent animated films have tested or expanded the conventions of the typical prince and princess relationship – Tangled, Brave, and more. Princeless feels just like one of those great animated films in comic form, but goes even further to break the old convention of the princess as a helpless damsel to be saved and won. The early issues do a great job building the world and setting a tone that matches those timeless adventures we’ve all seen on the screen so many times.
Superman Adventures, Issues #1, #21 and #41
There are many classic Superman stories you’d be well served to check out prior to Clark Kent’s next film outing, including many that I’m still working through myself. Might I recommend starting with a trio of issues from the Superman Adventures series, which is grounded in the universe and stylings of the Superman Animated Series of the late ‘90s? The issues above offer colorful and fun introductions to Superman, Supergirl, their home planets Krypton and Argo, and many iconic baddies too.
Atomic Robo stars a butt-kicking robot (built by Nikola Tesla) whose adventures take place in numerous different time periods and feature Nazis, monsters, dinosaurs and more. Can you see the parallels to your favorite Time Lord already? In any case, each Atomic Robo story arc tells a standalone story within a handful of issues, so it’s a great place to dive in for some swashbuckling sci-fi action.
Invincible Iron Man Annual #1.1, #1.2 and #1.3
So why not check out a couple original comics stories that laid the groundwork for Tony Stark’s latest silver screen antics? Iron Man: Extremis is the Iron Man story with the most direct relationship to the latest film. Along with that, we’ve got a three-issue Iron Man arc that doesn’t actually feature Iron Man at all, instead putting the spotlight on the Mandarin. While diehard comics fans have been split on the portrayal of Mandarin in Iron Man 3, this story strikes a nice balance between the two versions of the character, presenting a man who not only masters great power, but manipulation, subterfuge and theatrics too.
Got additional recommendations of your own? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!
Guest post by Adam Giorgi, who also happens to be my brother. He’s a writer, gamer, reader and Potter head. He also makes cool comics from time to time. Check out his blog: Geek-Attack. Follow him on twitter: @adamgiorgi
I have really come to love and adore the 11th. The 11th Doctor, that is.
While I know the Tennant fan girls outnumber me online and elsewhere, I feel like I’ve seen Matt Smith evolve from a great actor to an extraordinary one during his tenure as the most famous intergalactic time traveler in all the universe. So I decided to suspend regularly scheduled posts for the day to write a quick thank you note to the Doctor who made me fall back in love with bow ties.
Dear Matt Smith,
I think it’s when you said this…
“I am being extremely clever up here and there’s no one to stand around looking impressed! What’s the point in having you all?”
I laughed. And then I smiled. And then later on I smiled again to myself when no one was watching. I maybe even chuckled a little. Because you, in your very own goofy way, are charming.
The way you spun on your heels was charming. The way you pulled on the ends of your bow tie. The way you swished your hair - always to the left. The way you looked at River. The way you patted Rory on the back. The way you hugged Amy. The way you studied Clara. You have a knack for connecting people - making them feel special. And that goes beyond the characters. That goes down deep through digital film to nanotubes and into our television screens all the way to the eyeballs of your eager audience.
Please know that then you leave the show, you also leave me and many others with incredible memories and friendships. These are side effects of a cultural phenomenon that is bigger than any one actor or Steven Moffat or the BBC or even the big blue box - but you, specifically, made a mark on this world. You took a tradition and you made it your own. That’s no easy task. And now every time I put on a bow tie and slip my arms through a tweed blazer I will think of you. And I will be cool.
With love and admiration,
Liz
Tell me friends: what will you miss most about the 11th?
This is your Spoiler Alert. Don’t read if you haven’t seen the season finale of Series 7 of Doctor Who.
50 years. Series 7. 11 Doctors. Clara. All these things have come and gone. So what is left to explore? We learn in this finale where the show will go next and it’s not about new lands or future times, instead it’s about the past. A very specific origin. The Doctor’s origin. There is probably no better place to go in the TARDIS than the start.
For this finale, we didn’t get the name of the Doctor as many of us believed we would, but we did get a look at the face that started it all. When Steven Moffat said we would never see the Doctor again after the credits rolled on The Name of the Doctor - he wasn’t kidding.
The episode started with Clara’s identity finally being revealed. She’s the Doctor’s protector. But she doesn’t know why, so we have to let the story take us there.
I would like to make a new Who rule. Neil Gaiman must write an episode for every season of Doctor Who from now until his fingers can no longer form a proper fist around a pencil.
The fact is he’s a genius. But this week, he really proved it.
From this point on, it’s all spoilers.
He revived the Cybermen, both for the sake of the story and the sake of the series.
He gave Matt Smith the most incredible scenario to play out - bringing out all of Smith’s best qualities as an actor and truly giving him the kind of opportunity to play in a way he often doesn’t get to when he has to serve as the “explainer” like most episodes.
He let someone else save the day. And that someone is totally awesome in real-life and on screen. So let’s talk about how that happened.
The Crimson Horror isn’t your average time travel adventure. Why? Because it’s adventure with my favorite Victorian trio: Strax, Jenny and Vastra. I’m so glad they’re back.
We find the crime frighting team at Sweetland, a residence that takes in the sick, sad and apparently naive. It’s a borderline religious cult, borderline utopian country club. Their goal? To build a better world. Yeah, sounds like a great place to invest in a time share.
This is your spoiler alert. Do not keep reading if you don’t want to be spoiled.
If you asked me how the Doctor solved the TARDIS’s engine explosion at the end of Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS - I’m not sure I could give you a succinct answer. Normally, this would drive me mad. But dammit if I absolutely don’t care this week.
Journey takes us to a place we really have never been before, but we all love so dearly. Inside the TARDIS. We have been teased time and time again. Most notably when the defensive features forced Rory to see himself aging over and over again in his quest to get back to Amy. But this was different. This was about the engineering and construction and personality of the TARDIS and it was truly exhilarating. And I must admit that it was all the better because we got to meet her last year thanks to Nail Gaiman.
This is the point where I tell you to stop reading because of spoilers. You’ve been warned.
