The Day of Blond Bombshells

Yesterday was full of blond bombshells.

First of all, in the morning, I had the opportunity to sell some of my comics and see an advanced showing of this summer's first blockbuster Thor at the Tempe Marketplace, thanks to Samurai Comics. The pre-show festivities didn't last long, but I drew several pictures for kids in a short period of time, and enjoyed my fellow geeks engaging in a little cosplay. Events like that always validate why I love being a geek -- because characters like Thor unite people of all ages and inspire creativity in a different light, from sketching to costuming. Stan Lee, did you know what you were starting . . .?

Of course, I was super stoked to see Thor, as the Marvel movies of late have been the best superhero adaptations on film yet. (Smallville is a possible contender for its sheer longevity.) I've often said that I think Iron Man is the best superhero film, period, because it most successfully establishes a global threat while examining its hero's motivations, rather than motivating the hero through personal tragedy -- the best evidence of this is the uber-emo Spider-man 3, which needlessly incorporated Sandman into Spidey's origin, making both villains so tied into Peter Parker's personal history that all ramifications for their actions hardly affected anyone else at all. Heroes are much less selfish than that, and Thor exploits that theme to tell a tale of a god discovering his humanity with two worlds in the balance. No spoiler alerts here: just rest assured that the casting is perfect, the conflicts are poignant, and action is intense. I'll happily see Thor at least one more time in the theater -- and next time I'll pay for it!



That night, I was on the list to perform at Arizona's Encyclopedia Show. The best way to describe the Encyclopedia Show is: it's an episode of SNL with a topic as the guest host. So, acts range from poetry to monologues to skits, with the topic appearing in some way or another every time. Last night's topic was the spectrum of color, and my assignment was "mustard." Colonel Mustard from Clue kept coming to mind, but as a redhead I wondered how I could represent such a blond-hued character effectively. That's when it hit me: in my monologue, Colonel Mustard would reveal his true gingerness, pulling off a blond wig and reading a letter of unashamed introspection to his disapproving father. I've posted the letter at KaraokeFanboy Press, and it's perhaps my most pun-intensive work to date. I was excited to perform something in character, and with theatrical props, to boot. It's nice to know my work can cut the mustard.

Next month: Free Comic Book Day at Samurai Comics, the Kabam poetry slam in Kingman, and Phoenix Comic Con!