Movie Review: Man of Steel (SPOILERS!!!)

Let me tell you a story.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am a really big Batman fan.  Like, a really, REALLY big fan.  I went to the midnight release of Dark Knight Rises and enjoyed every minute of it.  I thought it was amazing.  Then I got home, turned on the news, and learned about the theater shootings, and for awhile, I forgot the actual movie.  To me, the two were inextricably linked, and whenever I thought about the movie, I ended up thinking about the tragedy instead.  Then, over time, the shock faded, and when I began to think about it, I realized the Dark Knight Rises was a pretty horrible movie, and an atrocious end to such a good series.  I realized that the reason I enjoyed it so much in the theater was because I was conditioned to love all things Batman, and had come to expect great things from the Christopher Nolan series (Because Dark Knight is AMAZING).  I wanted a great Batman movie, and so my mind interpreted DKR as a great movie, when it was in fact, a pile of crap.  It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that I believe this will also be the case with Man of Steel.

Graphic Novels for the Teenage Girl's Soul

Over this weekend, I read three graphic novels, all starring teenage girls: Drama by Raina Telgemeier, Will & Whit by Laura Lee Gulledge, and Peanut by Ayun Halliday.  Raina Telgemeier is already a star in the arena of great graphic novels for young girls.  Her debut comic, Smile won multiple awards and is a staple in tween comics.  I was also already familiar with the work of Laura Lee Gulledge, whose Page by Paige I reviewed last year.  And so far as Peanut goes, I didn't even know what the book was about when I picked it up; I was just intrigued by the cover!  So, if you've got a young lady in your life, or even if you're just nostalgic for the days when you were a young  girl, read on!  And even if neither of those categories apply to you, boys are definitely allowed.

Review: My Friend Dahmer

Serial killers quickly become mythic figures in history; all evidence of what little humanity they may have once possessed is rapidly washed away by the sensationalism surrounding the murders themselves.  But everybody has to come from somewhere.  This is the story of where Jeffery Dahmer, famed for the abduction, rape, and murder of 17 young men, came from, who his friends were, and possibly, a little of why he turned out the way he did.  It is written by Derf Backderf, pseudonym of John Backderf, underground comix veteran and high school friend to Dahmer.  Or, as close to a friend as Dahmer ever got.