Things I Have Bought Recently:
- suspenders
- The Indomitable Iron Man
- curry ingredients

Things I Have Not Bought Recently:
- breakfast
- lunch
- Siege #2
- The Question Blackest Night tie-in
- my textbooks

Now, friends, I want you to pause whatever you're doing if possible, get your ass down to your nearest comic book store, and pick up Indomitable Iron Man. It's a single issue, with stories by Paul Cornell, Howard Chaykin, Duane Swiercynski, and Alex Irvine, and black and white art by Will Rosado, Howard Chaykin (he wrote and illustrated his), Manuel Garcia, and Nelson DeCastro.

The first story, "Berserker" by Paul Cornell, is a very clever parallel for Tony's personal life, and Cornell writing at his best. (He really does Tony well. Forget Bendis and JRJR, let's get Cornell and Kirk on the Avengers title.) Ostensibly it's a ripping yarn of Tony's chickens (in space) coming home to roost, but there's far more to it than that under the surface.

The second story, "Multitasking!" by Howard Chaykin, seems to branch off from a throwaway line from "Berserker", which might very well just be crazy random happenstance. It starts off as an entertaining story about Tony and Pepper talking on the phone while Tony fights robots (always fun!) with cameos by some of Tony's more notable connections -- but ends with a rather heartwarming twist.

"Brainchild", by Duane Swiercynski (who wrote the second half of Immortal Iron Fist, which I really enjoyed right up until the last issue), is something of a What If tale -- the second panel features a great big sign proclaiming a World Without Tony Stark. So what if Tony Stark stopped being anything but an inventor? It's a tragic tale, a very interesting take on the character, and features a really cool original character. And I absolutely loved the ending.

The final story, "It's Raining Tony" by Alex Irvine, is just pure hilarity. All Tony wanted to do was have a goddamn online question-and-answer session. But the internet is the internet, and things are just not going well for him. I laughed out loud, and you probably will too.

So that's that! Have you gone out and bought it yet? No? Why not?

In other comics-related news, I read Siege #2 and grinned like an idiot. (The Steve and Bucky page! NEVER CHANGE BUCKY NEVER CHANGE. YOU'RE THE BEST AT WHAT YOU DO AND WHAT YOU DO IS PRETTY AWESOME) I am looking forward to MOAR YOUNG AVENGERS. Also, MARIA HILL IS A BAMF. This is Bendis at top form, and it's a thing of beauty.

Also, I fucking love Renee Montoya, and am writing that fic where she and Rictor are drinking buddies post haste.

This geekery was brought to you by the letters A, S, K, D, L, and a semicolon.

ETA: I picked up Red Robin #9, because I love Tim way too much and the preview was intriguing, and. I think I might have yet ANOTHER title to read. FML and all, but on the other hand, HELLO THERE MOMENT OF GREAT GAY. I'd write fic about it, except I really don't know the backstory and it's sort of relevant. That said, if anyone has written Tim-centric fic based on this issue, please do let me know, because DO WANT.

In light of the discussion of erasure that has been taking place in fandom and the internet lately, I thought I'd share something full of win and not fail. Blog veterans may recognise Girlyman from me talking excitedly about concerts or my friend Ary's job as their sound tech. Margaret Cho recently made a music video for their song "Young James Dean", and it's awesome.

Well, that's great, Iambic, but what the hell does this have to do with the discussion about erasure? According to Margaret Cho, almost everyone involved in making this video was trans/queer/butch/femme in some regard -- before the camera and behind it. She explains that "the song is a meditation on butch identity, and so [Cho] wanted to show how beautiful we are as a community, no matter what gender we are or what we choose to be." Trans and genderqueer erasure is way too common in our gender-binary culture; the song itself is about that, and the video is an answer to that. Our identities aren't less than real.

Granted, if you don't want to get mired down in politics and would just prefer to watch a goddamn music video, this is a really pretty one, and it's a great song. Watch the goddamn music video.



( lyrics, if you're so inclined )

Bidding at help_haiti closes tomorrow at 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, so it's fairly unlikely that I'll be awake for that. THUSLY. NOW IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO GET YOUR BIDS IN. My offers are at $15 (art) and $17 (fic), which isn't much compared to some, but still rather exciting. That's $32 to charity that I couldn't otherwise have given.

I am offering any fandom I've ever had experience in, which is quite a fair few (Merlin fen, that's fair game, and the same goes for you, CLAMP fen!), not to mention for fanart any character I can get visuals of and personality summary. This goes for your (or my) original characters, too. I will also draw real people, or write original fiction.

Fic will be 1,000 words at bare minimum and much likelier at least double that; fanart will be lines and basic colours, and I am aiming at silly fanart more than anything else. If bids get up past $20 I'll draw two characters instead of just one, or a four-panel comic of your subject matter of choice.

BID ON MY ART HERE.
BID ON MY FIC HERE.

( cut for I SWEAR THIS WAS SHORTER IN MY HEAD )

FRIENDS, I AM WORRIED THAT I HAVE BECOME SOMETHING OF A HIPSTER. IS THIS TRUE?

(I will demonstrate visibly later, when I have put on real clothes.)

because if I am, it means that all the time I spend making fun of hipsters will be hypocritical and vaguely ironic and then I will have to listen to unpopular bands who play bad music and I am not ready to make that lifestyle choice yet. Also my friend Devlin will never respect me again, and he's managed to respect me despite my involvement with fandom and liking Duran Duran.

So Vienna Teng, on her Twitter account, offered to call and thank anyone who donated money to a Haiti fund. Which I did, in support of ontd_startrek's UNICEF fund. So I sent her my number, and she CALLED ME. We chatted about rollerskating and the way it's hard to have routines while touring and our mutual proclivities to spend all day in front of the computer when we get the chance, and oh my god my face is just about ready to split clean in two, I'm grinning that hard. (Not to mention, she remembered who I was without me identifying myself, oh god I really am such a groupie.) So that's what's going on over here.

Also, congratulations to Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer, who are getting married. Good for them. I've been a fan of both of theirs for a while now, and they seem really happy, and I am all about happiness in real life.

( cut for oh hey this entry exploded, and also Marvel spring release spoilers )

So I'm kind of overexcited about this charity thing? Maybe? But it's for a good cause. :D

I'm now also offering art at help_haiti, because it occurred to me that I can totally use my power of crack for good, right? (Speaking of, I have a sketchdump to post sometime soon.) SO IF YOU ACTUALLY CARE TO PAY FOR MY BRAND OF WTF ART, YOU CAN BID ON IT HERE.

You can also still bid on my writing/beta services HERE.

In other news, I've begun Morris dancing, which is ridiculous amounts of fun, even if I was all but passing out due to sleep deprivation beforehand. The people there are really cool, and apparently I impressed them with my dancing skills. I think Tae Kwon Do helped out here a lot, as well as dance workshops at Camp. But I am so sore this morning --

--and about to do some Wii Fit anyway. After several evenings of being kept up by it, I have succumbed, since at least it'll be a good supplement to exercise. Brianna and I have something of a rivalry, since I beat most of her high scores on my first try, and then I took a shower and she went back and took back her top spots.

Been songwriting again. Another incurably fandom-related song, but it's subtle, at least. Er, to someone not involved in the fandom. Not like I'll ever be a professional musician, though, so I shouldn't really sweat it.

Life not at home rocks, by the way. I just need to learn how to cook meat and I'll be able to live on my own just fine. Well. That and get a job. But I like the lack of stress, I love living with friends, I love being able to walk into civilisation.

In other news, DC comics are going to drive me to bankruptcy. My prospective pull list this spring: Justice League: Generation Lost, Booster Gold, Birds of Prey, X-Factor, whatever Avengers title is being advertised with "AVENGERS REASSEMBLED", whatever Paul Cornell's working on, Marvels Project until it's over, Daredevil. AUGH. NOT TO MENTION THE NATION X STUFF AND THE LEGACY STUFF. AND GENERATION LOST IS BIMONTHLY. I CAN'T AFFORD THIS, GUYS.

help_haiti is a charity fundraiser based in fandom, where people offer services, art, writing, etc to the highest bidder. The bidder will pay the amount specified to a Haiti-disaster-relief-related fund of their choice. My offer is here, and I am offering original fiction, fanfiction, poetry, or beta services. Please come check the community out, and offer your time, your spare cash if you have it to spare, or at least your supposrt. I understand that not everyone can afford to help financially, but even signal-boosting will help. Everything helps.

For those out of the loop, there was a catastrophic earthquake in Haiti last night. Port-au-Prince is devastated, many have lost their homes and their lives, and it's a pretty dire situation there. There's more information at help_haiti.

ETA: holy crap people are actually bidding on my offer. I know this is about charity, but man, I feel so validated as a writer. (2 bids! kgjskg!)

Well, it's 6:15 am and I still can't sleep. I'm not sure why. I've been sick, I could really use the sleep, I haven't been drinking any more caffeine than usual, and I even went out and did stuff today. And yet I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, for way too long before giving up and getting my computer out again.

I don't even know what's up. I guess I'll nap tomorrow. Er. Later today.

By the way, while I'm blogging, I'll signal-boost about the earthquake in Haiti. There are several websites -- yele.org, Oxfam, and Red Cross are the ones I know of -- that are accepting donations, and haitifeed.com has information and updates. My thoughts and hopes are with the residents of Haiti and their families.

and if you want something to cheer you up, check out this Marvel X-verse chromatic casting, because JOHN CHO AS JAMIE MADROX. It ABSOLUTELY NEEDS TO HAPPEN.