Tales of the Geeky Vixen

If you're a fan of Dark Horse (and really, why shouldn't you be?), you're probably aware of Beasts of Burden. Hopefully that means you've picked up a copy. The 2nd issue just came out this past Wednesday, and the series is shaping up to be a fun read.

The story centers around a group of dogs and a cat in a town called Burden. Before you write this off as another typical dog story, you should know that there's more than meets the eye with this town. These dogs are more BPRD than Milo and Otis. In the tradition of books like The Walking Dead, it's best not to get too attached to characters.

The book, penned by Evan Dorkin and beautifully drawn by Jill Thompson (of Scary Godmother fame), isn't the first appearance of these characters. They first appeared in stories in two of the Dark Horse Book of the... series. I know it's in the Dark Horse Book of the Dead, but I'm not sure about the other one.

Pick up the first two issues of this series, if you can find them. It's a great paranormal story in the Dark Horse tradition.

When it rains, it pours on this blog. :)

If you are in the Knoxville area and want to get your geek on, head up to Pigeon Forge to AdventureCon. I'm excited about the prospect of seeing Jason Mewes, John Schneider, and Micky Dolenz in person! (Hopefully it won't be as disturbing as the summer show, where William Katt told this really inappropriate story about a rape scene cut from Carrie. I assume it was from Carrie. Can't imagine that would have been something cut from Greatest American Hero.)

Mostly I'm excited about the prospect of perusing longboxes of back issues and keeping my fingers crossed for that sweet deal on some cool vinyl toys.

Oh! Speaking of vinyl toys--my Medicom Where the Wild Things Are Carol VCD came in yesterday. He is beautiful! Pair that with my Teela and Ray from Matty that came in today, and it's been a good week to be a geek.

Last Saturday was one of the best Saturdays ever, even if it was the last Saturday of my vacation. Before viewing Where the Wild Things Are, and after a lovely meal at Jack's City Grill, Mr. Geeky V and I headed to the Johnson City Family Skate Center for the Little City Roller Girls' meet and greet, Get Down and Derby! It has been a loooooong time since I set foot in a skating rink. We found a seat and waited for the presentation to start. After a brief overview of derby in general, the girls talked about how to join. Then a brief intermission, and a scrimmage featuring girls from Little City, Blue Ridge Rollergirls and Hard Knox Rollergirls started. And then it hit me. I have got to try this! I talked to one of the girls at the t-shirt booth who is herself "Fresh Meat". She gave me a sheet to fill out and graciously answered my questions. I quickly filled it out and handed it back in.

Because I'm a giant nerd, when I'm interested in something, I do ungodly amounts of research. I have read more information about derby than I care to admit, and in doing so, have talked myself into trying it. I also know there's a lot of training I need to do, in addition to attending practices. Time will tell if I'm able to make it past Fresh Meat (I hope! I hope!). At the very least it's motivated me to get off my ass and do something. That's not to say I won't still read comics, play video games, and watch movies like it's my job. I'll still be the Geeky Vixen you know, but I'll have a better ass and a badass alter ego. ;)
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Now playing: The Chordettes - Lollipop (Squeak E. Clean & Desert Eagles Remix)
via FoxyTunes

Last weekend we saw Where the Wild Things Are. I loved it so much. Here are the things I knew I would love going in:

1. Spike Jonze's handmade, organic look and feel. The guy can do everything: music videos, dressing up like an old lady on Jackass, movies, everything. I admire his touch.
2. The monsters. This book and the Muppets made me love monsters at a very young age. As a kid I was the girl who was more afraid of lions than winged monkeys and actually wanted a monster under my bed.
3. Catherine Keener. She is not afraid of weird roles (see Being John Malkovich), and she plays drama as well as comedy (see 40-Year-Old Virgin: "You want me to dress up like Thor? I'll dress up like Thor!")

I had read that the movie was not all wild rumpus and fun. It has its moments, don't get me wrong, but it's pretty heavy. And that's where this movie shines. Jonze and Dave Eggers are not afraid to visit the dark corners of a kid's psyche and the complications of being a family. Being a family isn't always fun, and it's rarely easy, but this film teaches a very good lesson without being preachy. But as one of the songs from the soundtrack by Karen O and the Kids says, "All is Love".

Bottom line? Take someone you love to see this film. You'll laugh, you'll cry (or at least I did), and you'll remember what it's like to be a little kid in a big unfair world.

And promise me this, gentle readers. When you go see the movie, use my favorite quote on someone you love: "I'll eat you up, I love you so."