Or specifically a recap of good things from 2018:

Author Events: Holly Black, Chris Riddell, and Marcus Zusak - not many this year, but all excellent.

Shows/Theatre: The Band, Hamilton (!!!), Happy Days, The Play That Goes Wrong, Queens of the Coal Age, Cirque du Soleil: Ovo, Othello, King Lear (with Ian McKellen!), and Matilda.

Concerts/Gigs: Amanda Palmer, Postmodern Jukebox, and Hozier (ridiculously good live).

Trips: Budapest (!!!) with alphaflyer and franztastisch in January, which was freezing and fantastic, and the Netherlands with the family to visit family friends. Conventions were YALC at LFCC and Thought Bubble in Leeds, which are my two favourite cons and I’m hoping/planning to do both again in 2019. I had a few day trips, including to a Terracotta Warriors exhibition and Bletchley Park. I also went on a weekend writing course, where I met some good people, and on a reunion day for a previous writing course, where I got to re-meet some good people. (How productive and useful I find writing courses, groups, group exercises, and so on varies - the weekend one was actually really good - but I love going to them regardless. I find spending time writing with other people, and chatting about writing and books with other people, to be a really good self care type break.)

Films seen at the cinema: Greatest Showman (is it a good film, I have no idea but I enjoy the hell out of it), Black Panther (SO GOOD), The Shape of Water, Coco, Tomb Raider, Infinity War (ARGH), a Deaf Shorts cinema event that was really interesting, Ant Man and the Wasp, Into The Spiderverse (which I didn’t have any expectations about; it was good fun and I love what they did with the art), and Mary Poppins Returns (on December 31st, squeezing that in there *grins*).

Some Comics Enjoyed in 2018: Runaways, The Wicked and The Divine, West Coast Avengers, Giant Days, Skyward...

Books in 2018: Goodreads tells me I managed to read 108 books. A lot of it was poetry - 22 books - which is unusual for me, but I was doing some exploring and I discovered while there’s a lot out there people say is good that just isn’t my cup of tea, there’s also a bunch that I really do like and it was fun finding out. (Some favourites: You Took The Last Bus Home by Brian Bilston, Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith, Running Upon The Wires by Kate Tempest, and Poems To Live Your Life By chosen and illustrated by Chris Riddell). I read a bunch of fiction about musicians or featuring the music industry (of which my favourites were: Greatest Hits by Laura Barnett, Five Flavours Of Dumb by Antony John, and I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman), because I was in that mood (and there may be a fanfic idea percolating). Others I loved this year: record of a spaceborn few by Becky Chambers, Bygone Badass Broads by Mckenzi Lee, and Giant Days by Non Pratt.

Fics Posted in 2018:

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way Back From The Hospital which is Hawkeye and Deadpool. This one owes a lot to the fun Hawkeye vs Deadpool comics run.

In Deed is Bucky having a bad day, and Clint, Natasha, Lucky, and Liho making it better, for meatball42.

i carry your heart and Welcome To The Neighbourhood were for prompts left by franztastisch and gsparkle in the be_compromised Valentine’s mini-promptathon, both Clint/Natasha.

State Your Emergency was my post-post credit Clint Barton scene for Infinity War (because Infinity War, argh).

The Strike Team Delta Method of Brainwashing Recovery is Clint, Natasha, and Bucky for a franztastisch prompt. (I didn’t have time to write anything for the be_compromised summer promptathon, but then I had a hellish travel day where I was stuck on trains for over 8 hours. I’ve managed to squeeze in a fair bit of writing on transport with the help of google docs.)

Not super productive, but I did manage to post more finished words than in 2017 and I’ll aim to top that again in 2019!

( And to finish, a couple of photos... )

What good things did everyone else get up to in 2018? Any recs of books/films/comics you discovered?

A few lists of 2017 things, included book recs and fics:

Author Events: Robin Hobb, M R Carey, Patrick Ness, and Natalie Haynes (all at events put on by Waterstones bookshops in the two cities nearest to me)

Plays seen: Gabriel, Lost Soul, Jayne Eyre, That Play That Goes Wrong (hilarious), Twelfth Night (at the Globe in London!), and A Comedy About A Bank Robbery

Concerts/gigs: Postmodern Jukebox, Hayley Reinhart, and Amanda Palmer (the first time I’ve been to a gig in London, a gig on my own, and to a drag show; I made friends with some strangers and had a wonderful time *grins*)

Trips: Edinburgh, Thought Bubble con in Leeds, and London & Salisbury

Favourite Films seen at the cinema: Hidden Figures, Logan, Gifted, and Thor Ragnarok

Favourite comics of 2017: Saga, The Wicked + The Divine, Runaways, Hawkeye, and Giant Days

Favourite Graphic Novels read in 2017: Porcelain: Ivory Tower, The Secret Loves of Geek Girls, and The Vision (vol2): Little Better Than A Beast

Favourite Books read in 2017:
Instead of listing all the books I’ve read this year, which is what I usually do, I’m going to link you to my goodreads account and then share my favourite books of 2017. Picking favourites is HARD, but I tried -
( Favourite fiction book recs )

Non-fiction: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly, A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Wolf, and Hope In The Dark by Rebecca Solnit, which I read at the start of the year and gave me a much needed boost of optimism in the face of politics

Poetry: Plum by Hollie McNish and Undying by Michael Faber, which is beautiful written and gives voice to so many emotions, and yes it made me cry

Fics posted in 2017: I posted five fics last year, all of which were gifts for other people. Good job I had that as an incentive I think. All Marvel fandom; two Clint/Nat and three Clint/Nat/Bucky.

( 2017 fics )

Life Things in 2017:
( life things in 2017 )

That counts for online friends too – thank you for the fandom chats with me, talking with me about your ideas, prompts, and WIPs, posting new things for me to enjoy, commenting on any of my creative works, and in general being your lovely selves. Sometimes those little things help a big deal *hugs*.

And now it’s 2018! Lots of things to look forward to – starting with a trip to Budapest next week with franztastisch and alphaflyer! What were your 2017 highlights and favourites? Things that you’re looking forward to in 2018?

GoodReads updated for February. This was a good month; I'd recommend any of these books! Cut for book chatter, no spoilers:

Hope In The Dark by Rebecca Solnit was one of those 'right book, right time' reads. A short book packed with ideas. Solnit looks at the history of progressive political action, how hope lies in action, how victories should be celebrated - and what victories there have been - without being dismissive because the utopian end goal has not yet been achieved, how political action should be a daily experience rather than reactionary, and how it's always too soon to leave or to measure sucesses and failures. The original focus/context, with the book being written in 2003-2004 during the Bush administration, was the protest against the Iraq War. My edition was updated with a 2015 essay and Afterword, plus additional essays from 2009 and 2014, spotlights new challenges, particularly climate change. That said, in the context of now I still found it all very relevant. There was a lot to digest, but it did leave me feeling hopeful, with a view to what I can do, and it was a moment where I read the right book just when I needed to.

Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of the African American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly is a history of NACA's (later NASA) road to space travel that puts the Civil Rights movement and women's rights back into the narrative. It challenges the assumed/prevalent history in the best of ways and paints a picture of the many women, and men, who supported each other, worked with each other, raised each other up, and built on what came before. Eye-opening, inspiring, and important.

If you come to this after watching the film, the book focusses a little less on the individual lives of particular women but rather uses their stories as a focus to explore untold history. Possibily a little dry for some, but interesting and it does go past the story of the film to tell you what happened next in their lives. Then if you go back and watch the film again, you have a whole new appreciation.

In A Darkness Absolute Kelley Armstrong showcases her skills in pacing and building tension in this cracking thriller of a sequel that follows on from the excellent City of the Lost. Not quite as good as the first book, but only by a little, this is edge of your seat storytelling, with mystery, interesting characters and relationships, and a driven plot. Absorbing.

Tales From A Midwife by Jennifer Worth is a collected edition of three books about midwifery and district nursing in the 1950s: Call The Midwife, In the Shadow of the Workhouse, and Farewell to the East End. Educational and a slice of history, but Worth's ability to convey emotion elevates her stories to another level. The reader really feels for the people she talks about, she's excellent at capturing the moment and empathy, and in the stranger than fiction tales she delivers the human and the real. As someone who came to this after seeing episodes from the TV show, it was also interesting to find out what happened the main ladies in the end. Interesting, heart-warming, arm yourself with a box of tissues.

The first book/section was well structured, but the latter two sometimes seemed to be stories and essays strung together, a little haphazard. This may be because this is an abridged version, according to GoodReads, which I was unaware of.

And I managed to squeeze a graphic novel in there with Descender, Volume Three: Singularities. I continue to love the gorgeous, water-colour style art and the clever storytelling in this series. For volume three we get backstories for our main cast, including the robots.

I've started this month off with some short World Book Day books and I'm hoping to dig into some fantasy...

It's that time of year again - here's the books (and grahic novels) I read in 2016, organised by how much I enjoyed them and how highly I'd recommend them (rather than just dumping them on you).

( The Big Book List 2016 Edition )

My most anticipated book release in 2016 was a closed and common orbit by Becky Chambers, which follows on from a long way to a small angry planet. They’re stories about found family and diversity set in space, perfect for anyone who loves things like Firefly. They are hugs in books and I highly recommend them! Frances Hardinge also landed on my list of favourite authors last year with A Face Like Glass and cemented her place there with this year’s read The Lie Tree - I love that woman’s creative use of language.

Other favourites were: The City of the Lost, one of Kelley Armstrong’s best books in my eyes; the clever The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew, set in Nazi England in 2014; The Panoptican by Jenni Fagan, full of harsh realities and beautiful language; and Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt – I read Dicey’s Song years ago and finally got around to starting the series from the beginning. I also finally got around to reading The Complete Maus, which is as excellent and heartbreaking as everyone says it is. There are a fair few graphic novels in my favourites for 2016, for incredible stories and beautiful art.

M biggest disappointment was The Ables, which started out full of promise and descended into a sexist, ablest mess. Most confusingly popular book was Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children which has a good gimmick, sure, but as stories go certainly isn’t worth the hype. And ‘the worst book someone recommended to me’ goes to Nod, which was seriously not my cup of tea.

Of the single issue comics I’ve been reading this year – too many! - I especially love Bitch Planet, Saga, Giant Days, The Wicked & The Divine, Pretty Deadly, The Beauty, and The Hunt - lots of Image comics basically. I continue to read all the Serenity comics that come out, because reasons. And on the Marvel front I cut down a lot, but Doctor Strange has been amusing, fun, and features a great librarian, Civil War grabbed my interest with its Phil Noto variant covers and turned out to be an interesting story, and I’m enjoying the new Hawkeye.

At the moment for 2017 I’m looking forward to Sunstone volume 5, because 4 ended on a cliffhanger damn it; Unconventional by Maggie Harcourt, because I read a sampler and HELLO; Kelley Armstrong’s final Cainsville novel and A Darkness Absolute, the next City of the Lost book; Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology; and there’s a lot of hype around Caraval by Stephanie Garber and I’m always up for a carnival/circus plot.

What's everyone else keeping their eyes out for this year? And what were your best books of 2016?

kaydeefalls has an excellent Natasha post-Winter Soldier vid: We Will Dance. This is the vid I hoped we'd get after the film! (They've also done Steve and Bucky vids. Aww hell, just watch all their vids. You won't regret it.)

David Aja tweeted that Hawkeye #19 will be out on July 30th! And I am going to need this Phil Noto Black Widow cover in my life.

There's a masterlist for the Clint/Natasha Remix Exchange on be_compromised. Just in case anyone on my f-list doesn't already know *grins*. I'm working my way through.

JK Rowling has written a post-epilogue Harry Potter article from the pen of Rita Skeeter. You can read it HERE if, like me, you long ago gave up on Pottermore. It doesn't tell us much we didn't already know.

Doctor Who series 8 scripts have been leaked (no spoilers in article). *sigh* These things give me this reaction: Please don't spoil people. And by 'people' I mean me. And by 'me' I mean I will be angry faced.

Oooh, by the by, I have watched all of Agents of SHIELD and now can no longer be spoiled! Diving into the fics and vids and extras and wonderful, but obviously the fervor has died down now, so if anyone has recs or links to things they loved please do share :)

At least in the UK you can now pre-order the Art of Level 7 Agents of SHIELD variants! For anyone who doesn't know what this is, a group of great artists did art that was expensive but is now on the covers of comics at much more affordable prices. For example on disposable heroes for £3.79 each. Variants available. (You have to search on disposable heroes for each issue.) The only one that I'm not in love with is the pinky maze.

This. Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer by BriTANicKdotcom on YouTube. Warning: meta.

> Free Comic Book Day on Saturday! We went to the travelling comic fayre and I got some bargains - the first GN of Y: The Last Man, the next two Walking Dead GNs, and a bunch of Image comics to try. (I am now collecting Revival; I blame @TricksyLiesmith.) We went to Travelling Man and watched window art happening. We went to Forbidden Planet, we went for food, and we went to watch Amazing Spider Man 2. When it opened with the gears inside the watch and the decisive tick me and @TricksyLiesmith gasped in realisation. This time we spotted all the time and clock references. Well done film! And it still hurts.

> scribble_myname has made a fantastic fanmix here on AO3 for my fic Failsafe! Clint/Natasha wonderfulness!

> I've been doing a bit of beta reading and ideas storming with people this week, and folks? You have really good fic in your future. I'm excited about these :D

> I installed a new internet router yesterday. Our internet has now miraculously improved.

> In about an hour I will be watching Tracks! Trailer here. (I have watched so many films this year, and more multiple times than before. Mutual enablement with @TricksyLiesmith is going to be the bankruptcy of us both lol.) Shout out to the Australians - this one is set where you are.

> I put aside the many, many *whimpers* unfinished fics that I've been working on to start my remix fic today. First draft is now completed, at 1460 words. HA! It's only a first draft, but I actually finished something! I also jotted down some notes for an Avengers fusion with the Lazarus comics, because, y'know, I needed more unfinished fic ideas *shakes head at self*.

> I read The Maze Runner by Jame Dashner, because we caught a trailier of the film at our last cinema trip and it looked good. Alas, I was sadly disappointed. The plot is mediocre and I thought there would be more of a twist with the maze puzzle. I wasn't made to care about the characters. And there's only one girl. Who's in a coma for most of the book. And there's no plot point reason for this. The fact that a girl shows up is apparently a big, end of days, everything will now change sign. Um, no, that is not what the introduction of a female character should be just because she's female without any plot reason at all. If any girls at all are part of these war games, then why is there only one? And what's with the solving everything surprise telepathy? Okay, I own the remaining two books in the trilogy as I got them as a set in The Works, so I'll see if they get better. On a day when I feel like wasting my time with them.

> Comics this week: Lazarus 8 (if you're a fan of dystopian stories and detailed worldbuilding and you're not reading this comic then you're seriously missing out), What If? Age of Ultron 4 (vaguely interesting thoughts on a superhero as a concept instead of an individual), Original Sin 0 (I haven't read Nova yet and I've never read much about the Watcher and I still found this raised a few feels), Guardians of the Galaxy 14 (YAY Captain Marvel to the rescue! Yay Groot! Uh, okay, future story), and Elektra 1 (the art in this is a thing of beauty, gorgeous colours and really dynamic. Just, I don't think this story is for me. This is the opposite problem to my not liking the art of She-Hulk *head desk*. I may try the next issue, for the gorgeous, gorgeous art).

> Recs: I haven't been able to get this MCU vid, Hey Ho, by thuviaptarth out of my head. How to describe...it takes the legacy of heroes and war and provides a new perspective, with spot on musical to image timing, great choices of moments to showcase, and is really thought provoking.

On the fic front hurrah for card games by recessional (PG, no Winter Soldier spoilers) is Maria, Steve, Clint, and Natasha playing poker, which goes about as hilariously as you'd expect. Next New Message by fabrega (Teen and Up, definitely Winter Solider spoilers) is one of the most amusing where-was-Clint stories to happen post Cap 2. And in Breakfast for Dinner by thingswithings Teen and Up, nothing to do with Winter Soldier) Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel) joins the MCU Avengers in a ridiculous, amusing, wonderful story (which makes me wish once again for more ladies in everything) - today's title from this!

> And in case you didn't already know, Joss Whedon released his latest film, In Your Eyes, worldwide on vimeo. You can see the tralier and rent it HERE. I also managed to watch the first three minutes somewhere on vimeo following a trailer link, but I can't find that one again, bah. If the internet likes me I'm going to try and watch this tonight :)

> Geek Trip to the roving comics fayre on Saturday, but apparently there was something else going on the same day because a lot of the regular folks weren't there. Including the main graphic novel guy, so no cheap graphic novels for me, meh. I did find a load of Astonishing X Men comics though - Phil Noto cover art and stores written by Marjorie Liu? Yes please *grabby hands*. Later we flipped a coin between The Lego Movie and The Grand Budapest Hotel, as we fancied something amusing, and The Lego Movie won. It was indeed amusing. With a theme tune that I still can't shake out of my head, and that's where this week's title is from *grins*. Since it was also a geek trip following my birthday I got spoilt with geeky things, including Hawkeye and Black Widow style wrapped presents, one of which was a Skottie Young Black Widow t-shirt (!!!), and three gorgeous arty birthday cards. Also Avengers badges and I'm going to see Ed Sheeran in October! I am a lucky, lucky person :D

( arty awesome birthday cards )

> On the box: I have watched this week's The Walking Dead and am now one and a half episodes away from the end of season three of Buffy. Yeah, I'm bad at tv.

> Books read: I started the week off by reading The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer and then I didn't pick up another book for the rest of this week because I needed to digest that one, and to get over the ouch. It's a very well written story about grief and mental illness. It also contains a character with Downs Syndrome, which is always great to see, but feels a little like the story has been overloaded with this character and two characters with mental illness being in the same family. Which can and does happen, but also smells a little like the author is throwing as much difference as possible at the reader. And then that character is the one who we know from the start is dead, so, yeah, not great awareness raising there. Those are the only two things I find a bit problematic. Other than that, it's very good. Not one for when you're feeling down though - it made me cry.

> This weeks comics: Agent of Asgard #2 (alas, no Avengers, but the God of Lies has met a character who only hears the truth, so that could be interesting), Jupiter's Legacy #3 (woah, time jump! But interesting), and Magneto #1 (yes, I got the Skottie Young cover ;) This feels a but like 'what Magneto does when he's not being a super villan' in the style of Hawkeye and Black Widow, and I'm not sure this interests me).

> Recs: I love Sherlock fics where Molly is a strong character, where she grows into her own, but fics like the breath that passed from you to me by rsadelle (Sherlock, Molly/Sherlock, Mature, 14,843 words) remind me that a Molly who can be an idiot when it comes to Sherlock isn't necessarily idiotic or less strong than any other type of Molly.
I also read a bunch of Hunger Games fics this week. Have three (bring tissues):
Out of the Night: An Interview with a Mockingjay by athousandwinds (Katniss/Peeta, Teen and Up, 2440 words) After twenty-five years, Katniss Everdeen breaks her long silence to speak to our star reporter.
To the Victor, The Spoil by Annakovsky (Katniss/Haymitch, Explicit, Underage, 13,360 words) No berries, no mockingjay, no rebellion. Katniss killed Peeta in the arena, and now she has to live with herself like every other victor.
Valor, Valeria by aimmyarrowshigh (various pairings, Explicit, 8643 words) Gale sells and Finnick is sold, and there is no honor in Panem. aka two boys grow up in two different Districts and life is easy for no one.

> On the box: I am behind with very many tv shows at the moment, oops. I am, however, up to date with The Walking Dead ('nooo, go the other way!' is becoming a thing I say often this season, for goodness sake characters) and I am three episodes from the end of season three in the big Watch Buffy The Vampire Slayer In Order challenge. No films this week.

> Books Read: The Girl With All The Gifts (excellent dystopian future novel, the changes in viewpoints never distract from the story, and interesting thoughts on choices at the end of humanity as well know it), The Poison Eaters and Other Stories by Holly Black (an absorbing short story collection full of fairytales with sharp edges, including the short story that came before the novel The Coldest Girl in Coldtown so it was fun to see how the novel grew from that, and two stories set in the Tithe 'verse), and Fables Volume 1: Legends In Exile (this was okay, but not as good as all the hype made it out to be. I appreciate that it's the first volume at the start of a long ongoing series, so does it get better? Should I stick with it?)

> This weeks comics: Hawkeye 15 (from which today's post title comes from; so many 'caught with your pants down' jokes, so, so many. Also, people having fun with spotting names and words in the crossword cover? There is a lot of 'BRO', ha), Secret Avengers 16 (I'm not entirely sure I got the point here. Has Bobbi, along with Daisy and Bucky, escaped the wierdness of SHIELD's memory games whilst the others haven't, is that the point?, Serenity: Leaves On The Wind 2 (when is the more?!), Origin II 3 (it's okay), Guardians of the Galaxy 12: The Trial of Jean Grey Part 4/6 (these tie-ins make me want to read the earlier Gaurdians comics, I should do this).

>Recs: things that are especially wonderful that I found this week are we might fall (steve rogers character study vid) by turquoisetumult in which Steve always gets back up and that, that's a superpower, and one he had right from the start. And Introduction To Western Literature by igrockspock (Avengers, Clint/Natasha, Teen and Up, 2645 words) in which in the beginning books and reading are the only things that Natasha has in common with the rest of SHIELD. This one is booklovers story, definitely, and that last line, YES.

I'm going to aim to do some kind of fandomish update much more often, because I do things like read books and comics...and then forget to mention them. Which is a travesty, because I could be chatting more about things like books and comics! So...

> Today's title quote is from Only Lovers Left Alive, a group cinema trip today instigated by our Tom Hiddleston fan @TricksyLiesmith. It's an arthouse film about living for music, reading, and writing, about being fascinated with the world and disappointed with it, about love and immortality, despondancy and connections, ...oh, and vampires. Slow paced and atmospheric rather than plot driven, as arthouse films often are, and I rather enjoyed it.

> I caved and bought The Girl With All The Gifts. My other half bought s. by J J Abrams which we all covet. And there was, of course, comic shopping.

> This weeks comics for me: Amazing X-Men #4 (this amuses me), X Men #11 (I'm still enjoying this, but it's been better), Morning Glories #37 (gorgeous cover, but then aren't they always), and Alex + Ada #4 (we get more details, things get more intriguing). I picked up a previews freebee - i'm not liking the cover art or the internal art for the upcoming run/restart of Secret Avengers *sigh* but I still like the humour, the art for Elektra looks interesting (and I've been buying at least the first issue of every female-led comic, because support! She-Hulk #1 I'm sorry to say I didn't really like, but Ms Marvel #1 is good) and yay for more Captain Marvel!

> Books read: Casanova Volume One: Luxuria (because it was written by Fraction, but I can't help feeling it tries a bit too hard to be clever, the art is not my cup of tea, and the story was too zany; no more of this for me thank you), Slow Storm by Danica Novgorodoff (lovely watercolour clouds and weather in this graphic novel, story a little hit and miss), and The Gospel Of Loki by Joanne Harris (a retelling of the Norse myths from Loki's viewpoint as a prequel to the author's Runemark books, but it works as a standalone; nicely done retelling, amusing, and stories about stories and storytelling always interest me).

As ever I've listed the books I've read this year in an order of how much I enjoyed them rather than just dumping them on you. I've split graphic novels and comics into their own seperate list this year though on account of how this is the year I got my comics geek on *grins* so I read almost as many of those as I did books.


( So books. Let's talk about books! )

I went to the Thought Bubble con in Leeds yesterday cosplaying as Fraction’s Natasha (black dress, gold belt with circles, trench coat, red wig, ace of spades) with franztastisch cosplaying as a genderswitched Hawkeye (H hat, target patches on green coat, fantastic arrow sewing on the back of a black jacket, target t-shirt, purple converse, bandages and plasters) and Laura cosplaying as Lady Loki (amazing fur (fake) cloak, tunic dress, horns, evil boots). There were far less cosplayers than at the Manchester MCM, but notables were a couple cosplaying as The Will and Lying Cat (very wow), a Captain Jack (who swayed around in character), a Red Skull (incredible make up), a Bilbo (hobbit feet!), and a Peggy Carter (eating noodles, heh).

We mostly spent the day queuing up to meet and chat with amazing people. Fiona Staples seems surprised-bemused at the attention, aww. David Aja’s queue didn’t. move. for. ages. Then we realised this was because he was cheerful drawing lots of things for lots of people, and even doodling on things he was just supposed to be signing. Also, he asked for a large, black coffee as if wondering why ‘what type of coffee’ was even a question from one of the organisers lol. It was the first time he’d met Matt Fraction and the pair of them kept laughing at each other’s doodles. Matt Fraction is crazy and lovely, climbing across a table to have a photo with me and franztastisch! He saw us and complimented us on our cosplay when we were coming in and was signing at us across the hall when we were queuing! Kelly Sue DeConnick was chatting away to everyone without a break and is the sweetest person, seriously. I will now never stop admiring and fangirling this woman. My kind of crazy. Unfortunately we didn’t get to speak to Emma Rios, but the prints of the upcoming Pretty Deadly comics look incredible. Amusingly Kieron Gillen’s face is only serious when having his photo taken. He loved Laura’s costume, and she went to a Young Avengers panel with him and all the YA artists in the afternoon. We also spoke to Annie Wu who was sketching away and the lovely creative team of Porcelain.

Lots of shiny things, but I didn’t really buy much. Fiona Staples art, which was a must, some Avengers postcards, and a graphic novel. Me and Laura enabled franztastisch in buying comics though. We are shamelessly evil that way, heehee.

We talked over a picnic lunch in a relaxing room that was set up, and after the event finished at 5pm staked out a coffee shop at the train station for another two hours of chatting. There was the kinda nervous meeting online people offline thing – first time I’ve ever done that – but no one was an axe murderer *grins* and if meeting online people offline is always that fun, wow, let’s do it again!

I’m paying for it today, post-op achey and the cold I caught on top plus chatting yesterday means I’ve pretty much lost my voice, but worth it. So very much worth it.

Pictures up soon!

It was a geeky comics fayre day today. Breakfast and geeky chatter, comics buying and geeky chatter (comics! and I got the first two Walking Dead graphic novels dirt cheap), pizza and geeky chatter, books and geeky chatter, and sleepy geeky chatter on the way home. And tomorrow I'm going to see the new Thor film as a sister day :D

Because I have friends who're huge Loki and Sif fans (on top of the fact that the rest of our geeky group love all things Marvel) I have seen the new Thor film on the Wednesday it came out and last Saturday and I'm seeing it again tomorrow. Avengers is still my favourite, but Thor: The Dark World is up there with Iron Man 3. Lots of fun, very quotable, and other things that I love that I will mention in a more spoilerish (and cut!) post another time. But yes, recommended!

If you haven't seen the Skottie Young variant for the new Black Widow comic coming in January it is here and I like it muchly (and I am going to have to icon it):

( is it time yet??? )

Marvel is teaming up with Netflix for Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, followed by Defenders. Alas, this will require a good internet connection. But still, shiny! I also hear that a future Agents of SHIELD episode coming soon is going to tie-in with Thor: The Dark World. The verdict from our chat today: (SPOILER FOR THOR THE DARK WORLD SO WHITED OUT, HIGHLIHT TO READ)*we really, really, really want Thor's hammer to go flying past! At least once. Pretty please!*

I've finished reading Dust by Hugh Howey and Allegiant by Veronica Roth this week. Dust is a thrilling, fast-paced finish to a brilliant trilogy. Things I saw coming, things I didn't see coming, and I nearly missed my bus stop because I found it so difficult to put down! Allegiant is a solid ending to the trilogy, some good messages, and Roth makes some brave writing choices. It doesn't quite reach the best of the best category for me, but definitely very good.

The John Lewis Christmas advert (thank you anuna_81 for pointing me at it) this is year is made of win - made me awww and laugh:

( i'm beginning to get the Christmas feeling )

Lots of stuff to do, but time for a family tea. And then maybe some comics reading!

A lot of the Marvel comics come with free digital codes that I don't use, so rather than let them go to waste the plan is to post a bunch of them here every so often. That way people who'd like them can have them :) First come, first served, because each code can only be used once (it would be nice if you'd sound off in the comments with which ones you take so others know). To use: go to marvel.com/redeem and follow the intructions there. Compatible with Apple iOS and Android. Previous batch here.

( DIGITAL COMICS CODES BEHIND CUT )

be_compromised was one year old on Tuesday, which I can hardly believe O.O I've met so many wonderful people through that comm, had so many great experiences, done so many new things, and, wow, really, all of it happened in a year?! In case you missed it, there's a friending meme and a party post where fun is happening :D

coldqueen5 on tumblr made this gorgeous graphic for my fic The Nature Of Dust! (First time someone has arted me!)

There is a Clint Barton and Kate Bishop Hawkeye Trailer by puffabilly on Youtube, with Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence.

texts from the avengers continues to crack me up.

This is a story of girls and comics that made me smile.

Thoughts and speculation on Jane in Thor 2 which made me more excited for this film. 'Forget Asgard,' I was saying, 'I want to see more Team Science!' But what about Team Science in Asgard.

Mark Ruffalo learns about Science Bros. Be afraid and amused.

On the art front here are some things of wow: sweet Tony and Dummy, sad Tony and Dummy, Tony with an armour variation, Cap and his own art, Clint and Kate in an Avengers UK style, I found the avenging angels again, sleepy avengers, Clint and Natasha, and more Clint and Natasha.

Spoilery Iron Man 3 things that made me go OH and AWWW and HOW DID I NOT SEE THAT?! in no particular order: here, here, here, here, and the track from the credits (which I've downloaded and added to my avengers playlist, BECAUSE).

And in comic stills bullshit is Clint Barton's not so secret power, Natasha only paralysed Clint for a week, some many funnies in all new x men, and one of my favourite (astonishing) x men moments.

happy Thursday :)

So a lot of the Marvel Now comics come with free digital copies (not Hawkeye or Young Avengers), but when I have a hard copy of a comic I have no interest in the digital version, which means I have a pile of codes if people would like them. First come, first served. Please comment with your claims so people can keep track and not try redeeming codes that have already been used (they can only be used once). And when I next go geek shopping I'll try to upload them as and when, instead of waiting until I have this many, heh.

To use: go to marvel.com/redeem and follow the intructions there.
Compatible with Apple iOS and Android.

( codes behind cut: Avengers Assemble, Avengers, Age of Ultron and some tie-ins, Secret Avengers, Iron Man, A+X, Uncanny X Men, All New X Men, Wolverine, Guardians of the Galaxy )

I went to see Iron Man 3 today! It's hilarious, exciting, twisty, full of fun dialogue and banter, and all round superb. And for the love of all things, stay until the very end of the credits because the extra scene is a gem.

Fun times and hilarity with friends and geeky shopping also happened:

I need to chat about comics sometime (and the friends that I've been corrupting *grins*) because I've been diving into those. We all picked up more today, heh. Also I keep having bizare conversations with strangers in comic book shops. Not that I don't have bizare conversations with strangers anyway, but today one was about death by hamsters with two people who worked there and a bunch of people queuing up to pay.

One of my friends brought a belated birthday gift for me - an 'Barton's School of Archery' t-shirt from Redbubble, an exploding Vincent Van Gogh TARDIS travel pass case, and a key ring with The Key from The Hobbit on it!!!

I used my Waterstones points (finally lol) to get the novel Shift, which is the sequel to Wool by Hugh Howey, because I read Wool all in one sitting on Thursday. It's imaginative, rich in details, has compelling characters, twists where you don't expect it, plays with you expectations, and is un-put-downable. No, really, I couldn't put it down.

And tonight is also new Doctor Who, so I'm gonna go watch that now.

Hello today and the people in it, thank you for existing :D

(Well, it is in the UK. I know we have it earlier than some countries so it doesn't clash with the kids' Easter holiday.) When we were in school we used to get vouchers today for money off books and a book fair might be set up in the school hall, or the school library when we got to high school, and it was a wonderful time. Alas, I can’t send you a voucher or a book fair, but I can point you at free books :D

FreakAngels by Warren Ellis (writer) and Paul Duffield (artist)
I was waiting until my birthday to buy this, but then I discovered that this series of six graphic novels that was originally a weekly web comic is still available on its original archive online. So I’ve just finished reading it. The ideas were interesting, I liked most of the art, and the amusing parts were amusing. I will point out that when it says that it’s mature, it is (PM me if you want to know why).

The concept plays with what would John Wyndham’s Midwitch Cuckoos be like if they grew up and the fear of a flooded London – it is all round very British – so we have twelve young people with strange powers in a dystopian future where Britain has been messed up trying to maintain a survivors community in Whitechapel. Don’t expect lots of answers to the big mysteries, although I was satisfied with what we did get. Do expect wonderfully complex character interactions.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
If you know of Cory Doctorow you’ll know he has thoughts on technology and the internet. This YA novel is available free online because he put it there. I read this one last year and it’s a good’un.

The blurb is this: Big Brother is watching you. Who’s watching back? Marcus is only seventeen years old, but he figures he already knows how the system works – and how to work the system. Smart, fast and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his high school’s intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems. But his whole world changes when he and his friends find themselves caught in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret prison, where they’re mercilessly interrogated for days. When the DHS finally releases them, Marcus discovers that his city has become a police state, where every citizen is treated like a potential terrorist. He knows no one will believe his story, which leaves him only one option: to take down the DHS himself.

Blackberry Keep Moving Project with Neil Gaiman
This is a fascinating thing where Gaiman has written 12 stories, which you can find as a pdf here (new words from Gaiman; run don’t walk), for the months of the year based on prompts people tweeted and everyone everywhere has been invited to create art to go with them. The tweets and artwork as work a look just as much as the stories.

Also Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere is now a radio thing
It starts March 16th on BBC Radio 4 and it’ll be on international iPlayer and as a podcast. I can’t believe the cast they’ve gotten for this. No, really. Christopher Lee, James McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anthony Head, Bernard Cribbens, Natalie Dormer, Sophie Okenado, David Harewood, Romola Garai, and David Schofield. Performing a thing by Neil Gaiman. It’s Christmas.

Project Gutenberg free ebooks
And here’s a great resource of over 42,000 books. Don’t be put off by the fact that their copyright has expired (in the US). Try browsing by popularity and you’ll find piles of classics and old favourites.

Happy reading! :D

The second thing I’ve reviewed is my f-list, communities, and feeds, and my fandoms. I’ve stopped following people that haven’t posted in a long time without any reason that I know of or can think of, and communities that are inactive or I no longer spend much time on. I know some of you post sporadically, have busy lives offline, or spend more time on communities than your own journals. (And some of you I just don’t want to stop stalking in case you show up again! I live in hope.) If I’ve stopped following anyone who is actually still around, let me know and I’ll follow you again!

If you’re following me, and if you want to know if it’s a good idea to keep following me *grins*, here’s an idea of what fandoms I see myself being involved in this year and what I hope to get up to in them:

( Where I stand in fandoms at the moment, and what I hope to do in them )

And I think that’s everything! But you might also want to know: a surprise!fandom may appear; I’m always open to book chatter and icon requests; I sometimes drop icons in comments to people, but I fail at gifs; I often have long comment conversations; I have more ideas than I write and love to enable other people who have ideas; there may also be posts about random things that catch my attention, like crazy weather (but I tend to f-lock those).

I'm feeling the comics love today. My Hawkeye #5 has been dispatched and my other half got me Avengers #1 (Marvel Now!) - interesting start, bold artwork, and he got me the one with the baby Avengers varient cover :D


( baby Avengers cover behind the cut, plus a great Clint and Natasha panel )

I wanted to share that cover and panel, because they make me smile a lot, and I thought that whilst I was doing some comics scanning I'd make a few icons too. So here's 17 icons from Hawkeye #1-#3 and Avengers #1.

Examples:


( icons behind the cut: cookies! )