Author Archives: Bizarre Brunette

The Night Agent (2023)

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches by
Image is a poster for the TV series "The Night Agent" It shows a man holding a gun with The White House in the background

My mom kept telling me about this new show she started watching. She mentioned she was a few episodes into The Night Agent and how she thought I would like it. I grew up watching 24, so any show that features politics, action, and some conspiracy being highlighted will probably be a show that I like. After starting The Night Watch, I finished all ten episodes in less than two days, and it was well worth the time spent. The Night Watch was action-packed, entertaining, and full of surprises.

Peter Sutherland (played by Gabriel Basso) is an FBI agent who’s in the shadow of his father. Peter’s father was accused of selling US secrets to foreign agents and, once discovered, was killed in a car accident. Peter is constantly trying to fight off the stigma that he’s like his father. Peter takes a job as a man who answers the Night Call phone in which agents can call in if they are in danger. Peter receives a call from Rose Larkin (played by Luciane Buchanan), who’s trying to escape an assassin who killed her aunt and uncle. Peter helps save Rose and reunites with her a few hours later. They’re forced to go on the run when they figure out that Rose’s aunt and uncle were secret agents who discovered a mole within the White House who is planning an assassination attempt on a foreign leader. Without knowing who to trust, Peter and Rose can only rely on each other to stop this attack.

The cast of The Night Watch is stellar. It’s easy to focus on both Peter and Rose. Their chemistry together was believable, and they had a good partnership together. Besides Peter and Rose, there’s Chelsea Arrington (played by Fola Evans-Akingbola), who is a Secret Service Agent guarding the Vice President’s Daughter, Maddie Redfield (played by Sarah Desjardins). Chelsea develops a personal bond with Maddie, and when Maddie is kidnapped, Chelsea ends up bumping into Peter and Rose. They figure out their missions are aligned and they team up together. Chelsea plays a big role in stopping the attack in the last episode. Another standout is Chief of Staff Diane Farr (played by Hong Chau), who is Peter’s ally and who originally recruited him. Diane is navigating all the political turmoil with several key players in the President’s cabinet. The Night Watch has so many different side stories and plots that all end up coming together in the end. It’s interesting to watch.

I think what makes The Night Watch a standout is the reveals throughout the show as to who is responsible. Without including spoilers, there’s one episode in particular that had me in awe at who was revealed to be involved. When Peter realizes this, you can see in his facial features how shocked he is. In any show with this type of concept, if the show doesn’t have twists, it can be underwhelming, to say the least.

The last episode of The Night Watch was jam-packed. All the characters who have different motives are at Camp David when this attack is supposed to occur. The episode is incredibly fast-paced as these characters know different pieces of information about the attack, but aren’t able to coordinate with each other. It was satisfying to see the conclusion of how everything plays out.

The Night Watch was so good! I almost want to start the season over and rewatch it. I’m curious to see if The Night Watch will get a second season. I would hope that if the show did get a second season, I hope it’s as good as season #1.

C2E2 2023 Recap

Posted in Life Lately by

A few weeks ago, I drove to Chicago to visit one of my good friends while attending C2E2. Attending C2E2 is always a highlight of my year. It’s one of my favorite out-of-state conventions that I go to. I always go on Friday, so I can spend Saturday with my friend and her husband before driving home on Sunday. I wanted to share a convention/weekend recap, as this was definitely a highlight of my year.

Image shows a sign that says C2E2. A woman in a red dress, wearing a blond wig with her hand on her hip is posing in front of it
Image taken by someone else on my phone.

On Friday, I woke up fairly early to work and get ready for the day. For Planet Comic Con, I cosplayed as Harley Quinn. For C2E2, I rented a cosplay. The cosplay that I picked to rent and ultimately wear was Princess Buttercup from The Princess Bride. The cosplay was straightforward: a red long dress, a brown belt, and a blonde wig. This wig was much more comfortable to wear than the Harley Quinn wig I wore a few weeks ago. The cosplay was easy to put on and was comfortable to wear all day.

Image is in front of the entrance of a building. Hanging from the ceiling is a big sign that says "Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo C2E2"
Photo taken by me.

Since C2E2 is located in downtown Chicago, I never drive. I always take the Blue Line to get there. It takes an hour and a half to get there, but it’s so worth it. It makes for a stress-free commute as I typically bring a book with me to read while on the train. As I walked into the convention center, I felt at ease. There’s a certain familiarity that C2E2 has for me. There’s a huge C2E2 banner that’s right at the entrance, which feels welcoming. Towards the entrance to the show floor, there’s a DJ playing songs with nerdy soundtracks mixed in. It’s so high energy, and I love it. It makes me excited to be there.

Image is a selfie of a woman standing near a sign
Photo taken by me.

Another fun part about C2E2 is the photo opportunities. It’s a tradition for me to take a picture in front of the big C2E2 sign. I make a point to do it every year, and it’s usually the first thing I do when I get there. There are also various other signs, movie props, etc., that make for great photos. After wandering the show floor, going to a panel, and buying some comics, I was ready to head back home.

On Saturday, I had my cups of coffee to start the day. My friend and I ended up spending hours talking, which was honestly needed. I don’t get to see her that often, meaning there’s so much to catch up on. Traveling for these weekend trips can be exhausting with all the driving, so it’s nice to have some time to relax. We ended up getting dinner and having a few drinks before heading back to her house.

I’m happy to be back home after a fun weekend away. C2E2 is always a fun convention to attend, and I’m already looking forward to C2E2 in 2024.

Tenet (2020)

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches by
Image is a movie poster of Tenet. It features John David Washington on the top right and an inverted image of him at the bottom left

Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite directors. His films are interesting to watch and often so complex that they require multiple rewatches. If I had to pick, I think Memento would be my favorite. I loved the concept of how the events of the film unfolded. I heard about Tenet, but Tenet was released before people felt comfortable going back to the theater in person. With Tenet being available to watch on HBO Max, I figured it was time to sit down and watch it. I thought Tenet was an interesting film, but I don’t think I fully followed everything that happened.

Tenet opens with a siege on an Opera House. The “Protagonist” (played by John David Washington) leads this mission, and while the mission is a success, he’s captured and tortured. The Protagonist takes a suicide pill, which was fake. The Protagonist is recruited by an organization called Tenet. Part of his training is to learn about introverted bullets or bullets moving backward in time. The fear is that if this is something that can be done with bullets, can other, more dangerous weapons be manipulated in this way? The Protagonist investigates where these bullets came from and learns about arms dealer Andrei Sator (played by Kenneth Branagh), who is linked to creating these bullets. To help get closer to him, The Protagonist meets his estranged wife, Kat Barton (played by Elizabeth Debicki). The Protagonist, Kat, and Neil (played by Robert Pattinson) team up to take down Andrei and ensure he isn’t able to keep up with this level of technology.

Christopher Nolan’s films have an ensemble cast that helps bring the story to life. John David Washington should be cast in all things. I think he truly leads this film, and it’s clearly his story. The action scenes he films are realistic and extremely detailed, especially because there are moments where he’s inverted and fighting himself. Robert Pattinson was great in this. It’s nice to see him getting more recognition. Kenneth Branagh always plays a good villain. The cast is certainly a highlight of the film.

I think the thing that I struggled with the most with Tenet is keeping up with the story. There are certain moments where both The Protagonist and Neil are inverted in time. I don’t think I can explain how The Protagonist and Neil saved the day because I still didn’t quite follow who was at what time. There was a lot that was happening, and I found it difficult to follow. While most of Christopher Nolan’s films have that quality, I found it tougher in Tenet to understand than in his other films.

I liked Tenet, and I’m glad I watched it. I don’t know if I would watch Tenet again. With that being said, I’m looking forward to Christopher Nolan’s next film, Oppenheimer, which is a biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the physicists on the Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer is scheduled to be released on July 21st, 2023.

Pushing Stones – My First Time Curling

Posted in Life Lately by

Living in Minnesota, it’s beneficial to participate in a winter sport. I’m a figure skater primarily, and my friend’s husband has recently taken up cross-country skiing. Winters in Minnesota can be brutal, so finding a way to enjoy them certainly helps. Occasionally, my team at work schedules team outings to help create a collaborative environment amongst our bigger team. The most recent outing was a trip to the Saint Paul Curling Club. I can’t say that I have been curling before, so I was intrigued as to how this was going to go. I was horrible at curling, and I can confirm this isn’t a secret talent I have. Although I would try curling again in the future, as it was a fun way to pass the time.

Image is a ring on ice. There's a red outer ring, a white inner ring, and a black circle. In the red ring, there's a gray stone with a yellow handle on it
Photo taken by me.

While I have seen curling at the Olympics, I barely knew much about the sport. In curling, there are four roles on a team. The first role is the lead. The lead is the one who sends the stone across the ice, hoping the stone will land in the ring. There are two sweepers. Once the stone is released, the sweepers will sweep in front of the stone. Sweeping will warm the ice and extend the path of the stone. Finally, there’s a person at the end of the ice near the ring. This person will try to sweep when the stone extends near a certain line. This can help keep the stone moving, so it moves out of the ring. Each team wants to score points by having its stone in the ring.

When we arrived, we had a twenty-minute instruction on how to curl. There was a video combined with an on-ice demonstration. With curling, there are things added to the ice to aid in traction. It wasn’t like walking on a figure skating rink, which is what I was afraid of, as I didn’t want to fall. I was nervous, to begin with. While we were taught what to do, it’s a whole different story to have your body perform the motions for the first time. I think the toughest part for me was doing the curling portion. There are certain blocks that your feet align with, and then you lunge into a position on the ice to release the stone. I think it took me five different false starts to finally figure it out.

Curling, in a lot of ways, reminded me of putting in golf. It’s a delicate balance of releasing the stone with enough force, so it glides into the ring, but not too much because then it will slide too quickly and pass the ring altogether. I’m a terrible putter in golf because I always misjudge the distance to the hole, and curling was no different. It was nice because most of my work team had never curled before either, so we could all learn together. I didn’t feel intimidated that I was the only one who sucked at the sport.

I was a little shocked at how much curling felt like exercise. There’s the lunging into position to slide the stone, along with the actual sweeping portion. My Fitbit recognized that I was exercising, but wasn’t quite sure what to log the exercise as. I found myself running after the stone on the ice, which led me to breathe a little harder. It looks so easy watching curling compared to trying to replicate the movements in person.

In the end, I didn’t score at all for my team. My team did win, but not because I helped at all. I would consider curling again, especially if it gives me something to do in winter.

Creating a Wildlife Sanctuary in Wingspan

Posted in Gaming by

One of my best friends told me about this board game that she liked. She played it at a friend’s party and raved about it. I love playing new board games and find it easy to play the same board games repeatedly. The game my friend was describing is called Wingspan. She loved it so much that she bought a copy and brought it over for a board game night. Wingspan was a fun game to learn, and I would definitely be interested in playing the game again in the future.

Image shows a game board for Wing Span. There are three rows. Beginning of the three rows, there's an action. The first row it says "Gain Food" The second row it says "Lay eggs" The third row is a little cut off but it says "Draw Bird Cards"
Photo taken by me.

The objective of Wingspan is to create a wildlife sanctuary and to score the most points in a series of rounds. Each player has their own board where various bird cards are played. Additionally, players have their objective cards. Their objective cards help score points at the end of the game. For example, my objective was to have birds and predators of a particular nest type. Therefore, as I was playing bird cards, I played cards with the nest type chosen in the objective. For each turn, there are a few actions. Playing a bird card, gathering food, laying eggs, and drawing bird cards. Bird cards are a must because that’s how the sanctuary is built. To play bird cards, there are certain food costs to do so. That’s why gathering food is essential. Laying eggs helps to earn points toward the end of the game. Finally, if a player doesn’t have any bird cards in their hand, they may need to draw a bird card from either three displayed cards or a random card from the deck.

As Wingspan was being explained to me, I felt myself catching on pretty quickly. I liked the various bird cards, and on each bird card, there was a fact about that species. Another component that I liked was the birdhouse. There’s a birdhouse model where the food dice are rolled into. I thought that was a nice touch to the feel of the game. Certain birds allowed players to re-roll food dice, so I found myself rolling the dice fairly often.

Another thing that I liked about Wingspan was how it wasn’t aimed at being cutthroat. Playing a game like Settlers of Catan, there are multiple opportunities to try and screw over other players by cutting off a road or food supply. In Wingspan, it’s more driven by independent goals, so players aren’t trying to cut off each other, but instead, focus on their individual sanctuaries. I don’t mind playing Settlers of Catan every now and then, but I have to be in the mood for it. Wingspan feels more independently driven, which I found that I appreciated.

In the end, I ended up in second place, which wasn’t too bad. I was only three points away from winning the game. It’s interesting because it can be tough to tell who is leading in the game. I didn’t have as many birds in play as everyone else, but I ended up laying a lot of eggs, which added up in points. I think it helps keep interest in the game because anyone can come back and win, even if their board is drastically different from another player’s.

Wingspan is a great game to introduce to friends or family who may not play a lot of board games. It isn’t complicated, and the game doesn’t take forever to complete. Now that I know how to play, I think it would take less time to play through if I did play Wingspan again. Wingspan was fun, and I hope my friend brings the game again to our future board game nights.

Greek Gods & Manga – Library TBR

Posted in Reading/Books by

For most of March, I have been struggling with a reading slump. I tried reading a few books, but didn’t get past the first few chapters. On top of that, I have had a few stressful weeks, so I found myself falling asleep earlier instead of reading before I went to bed. After getting coffee with a friend, I was reminded how I haven’t applied for a library card since moving to our house last year. I visited my local library, received my library card, and strolled around the shelves looking for something new to read. I found two books and two manga that I’m planning on reading throughout March and April. I feel invigorated! I am so excited to read the books I borrowed. I wanted to share what’s on my TBR.

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Lore takes place in New York City and focuses on Lore. She’s a young woman who has ties to the Greek Gods. Every seven years, the gods are brought back to Earth, stripped of their powers, and need to stay alive. This hunt is called the Agon. During the Agon, hunters will step up to the plate to try to kill the gods and take their powers. Lore’s bloodline is linked to one of the gods, so even if she has no interest in this hunt, she is still a target. Lore is approached by Athena during the Agon as Athena is severely wounded. Lore has to decide if it’s worth putting her life on the line to help Athena and potentially stop a horrible person from becoming a god.

Lore reminds me of The Hunger Games if The Hunger Games involved the Greek Gods. I’m only on chapter two now, but I’m looking forward to how this book plays out.

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

Ciara and Oliver start dating right before the COVID-19 pandemic begins. Oliver suggests to Ciara that she could move in with him to quarantine together. 35 days later, a body is found by the police in Oliver’s apartment. Is Oliver dead, or is he a killer? Did Ciara have something to do with his death? Or was it self-defense?

Thrillers are some of my favorite books to read, and I liked how 56 Days takes place before COVID. I’m curious to see how this plays out, considering that Ciara and Oliver just met and now they are living together. That doesn’t seem like the most logical thing to do. I’m curious about what the twist will be and how everything will be revealed.

Scott Pilgrim Volume #1 by Bryan Lee O’Malley

I have never read the original Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, nor have I watched the film adaptation. Scott Pilgrim is one of the most well-known graphic novels out there, and I figured now is as good a time as any to start reading the series.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part #1 by Hirohiko Araki

In this manga series, each part of the series stars a family member from the Joestar family. Each Joestar family member has this power that they can harness, which they can use to defeat evil and prevent corruption. In this first volume, Jonathan Joestar meets his adopted brother, Dio Brando, who hates him right away. Dio turns himself into a vampire and comes for Jonathan’s legacy, which prompts Jonathan to take down Dio once and for all.

I have heard good things about Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. I’m still in the process of finding out the type of manga that I like to read, so I’m trying to read the first volumes in a bunch of different series to see what I’m most interested in.

I’m looking forward to going to my local library more often! The librarian who helped me with my library card insisted that I download the library app. In the app, you can select books to keep on hold. How cool is that?? I clearly haven’t been to a library in a long time because I didn’t realize that libraries have their own apps. I’m glad to be back on a regular reading schedule and have something new to read.

Planet Comicon – First Convention of 2023

Posted in Life Lately by

I’m fortunate to have friends and family all across the United States. It allows me to travel cheaply and safely. Last weekend, I drove to Kansas City to attend Planet Comicon. I have been to Planet Comicon three times, including this trip. Every time I go, I stay with my cousin, who is gracious enough to put up with me for a few days. I always go to the convention on Friday only, so then I can explore Kansas City with him on Saturday before driving home. I wanted to summarize Planet Comicon, along with sharing pictures of my weekend in Kansas City.

Image is a woman taking a selfie with a kissing lips pose. She's wearing a blonde wig that has two braids. One braid has black hair and one braid has red hair. She's wearing a red poofy dress
Photo taken by me

For Planet Comicon, I cosplayed as Harley Quinn. I shared a little bit of my process a few weeks ago, but now I’ve got to try it out! For Harley, I did a makeup trial a week before the convention. This allowed me to try out different types of makeup styles. Additionally, Harley’s makeup has more eyeliner, and I typically don’t wear eyeliner all that much. I felt like I had to re-teach myself how to put on makeup. Doing the makeup trial was well worth my time. I felt that on the day of the convention, I was able to put on my makeup faster, so I didn’t take as long to get ready. The only thing I would do differently is the wig. I felt that the wig I ordered was uncomfortable to wear throughout the day. In between conventions, I will probably order a new wig if I cosplay this version of Harley again.

Image features two people. The first is cosplaying as Chainsaw Man. He has a red helmet with a bloodied foam chainsaw on his head. He has two chainsaws on his arms that are bloodied as well. A second person is on his right. This person is wearing foam body armor.
Photo taken by me.

Normally, I attend Planet Comicon by myself. This year was a little different. My cousin moved in with his partner, and her daughter also attends Planet Comicon. It was fun to roam around the convention with someone else and have someone to talk to. She’s a huge anime fan, so I got to hear about her interests, and she would explain cosplays to me if I didn’t understand the reference. There was one cosplay from a manga called Chainsaw Man, which I had never heard of before. The cosplay was awesome! There was a foam chainsaw on his head and bloodied foam chainsaws on his arms. I was impressed.

Image is a BBQ pork sandwich with two pickles and a bowl of cheddar mac and cheese.
Photo taken by me.

Besides the convention, my cousin and I did some exploration around Kansas City. Every time I visit, I end up doing something different. We went out for lunch at a new BBQ place that I haven’t tried. Tin Kitchen is a BBQ place located in an old historic building. I ordered a beer, along with a pulled pork sandwich and mac and cheese. It was delicious! After that, we drove to the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library to check out the museum. It was fascinating since Truman took over when FDR passed away. There was a lot that happened during Truman’s presidency, including the atomic bombs, the Korean War, and the Red Scare, to name a few events. Once we finished at the Truman Presidential Library, we drove to one of my favorite breweries, Boulevard Brewing Company. Like Minneapolis, Kansas City has its share of breweries. Boulevard is one of my favorites, their tap room is huge! I had their Space Camper IPA, which was featured at Planet Comicon. After Boulevard, we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant before unwinding for the rest of the day.

Image is the front of the Harry. S. Truman Presidential Library. There's a statue of a man smiling with glasses. He's tipping his top hat towards the picture
Photo taken by me.

Planet Comicon was so fun! I always have a great time visiting Kansas City, as it’s one of my favorite US cities to visit. I can’t wait for my next trip.

The Umbrella Academy (2019)

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches by
Image is a TV poster for the show The Umbrella Academy. It features the cast sitting on a hotel baggage cart.

Superhero fatigue has been talked about a lot recently. There seems to be no shortage of superhero TV shows, movies, etc. With that being said, some shows or movies take on the superhero genre in a new way. I had The Umbrella Academy on my radar for a while. The recent announcement of Nick Offerman and Megan Mullaly joining the cast in season #4, it piqued my interest in watching The Umbrella Academy from the beginning. The Umbrella Academy is addictive, eccentric, and offers a fresh take on the superhero genre.

The Umbrella Academy begins on October 1st, 1989, when forty-three women around the world give birth despite never showing any signs of being pregnant. Rich and egotistical Sir Reginald Hargreeves adopts seven of these children, who start displaying extraordinary powers. Reginald trains these children to be superheroes and announces them to the world as The Umbrella Academy. Flash forward to the present day, Reginald has passed away, and the heroes feel that something bad must have happened to him.

Each child within the Umbrella Academy has a number assigned to them besides their first name. Starting in chronological order, there’s Luther Hargreeves, aka. Number One (played by Tom Hopper), who shows signs of extraordinary strength. Diego Hargreeves aka. Number Two (played by David Castañeda), who can telekinetically move projectile objects to a specific target. Allison Hargreeves aka. Number Three (played by Emmy Raver-Lampman), who can control minds by saying “I heard a rumor”. Klaus Hargreeves aka. Number Four (played by Robert Sheehan), who can see and communicate with the dead. Five Hargreeves (played by Aiden Gallagher), who can transport through time. Ben Hargreeves (played by Justin H. Min), who can summon horrors from his body. Ben is deceased, and only Klaus can see him when season #1 begins. Finally, there’s Viktor Hargreeves (played by Elliot Page), who has been told his whole life that he’s ordinary and has no powers. When season #1 begins, Five transports back to The Umbrella Academy from the future and lets everyone know that in a few days, an apocalypse is going to happen, which will kill everyone on Earth. The members of the Umbrella Academy initially don’t believe what Five is telling them. However, they do eventually believe Five and agree to help figure out what causes the apocalypse.

One thing that I enjoy about The Umbrella Academy is how realistic it is. Each of the members of the Academy struggles with their powers and the negative connotations that come with them. Klaus is a drug addict who numbs himself, so he doesn’t have to see the dead. I think of how traumatizing that must be for him as he finds solace in being high to escape what he’s capable of. Ben tries to bring out the good in Klaus, which helps aid in Klaus’s character development. Luther sees himself as the leader, but doesn’t garner respect from the other Academy members. Allison uses her power on her daughter to try to prevent a toddler meltdown, but is discovered by her husband. Her husband is granted sole custody of her daughter. Five is trapped in a young body despite having knowledge of the future. Finally, Viktor was told he wasn’t good enough and constantly feels overshadowed by the others. It shows that each of these characters are good person, but is contemplating how their powers have shaped their lives.

For ensemble shows like these, these characters must have chemistry with each other. I think that’s what makes the first season so fun to watch. Each member of the Academy has a unique partnership with each other. For example, Diego and Klaus butt heads a lot because of their differing personalities. By the end of season #1, Diego starts to admire Klaus and sticks up for Klaus during a group meeting when he’s being interrupted by someone else. Luther and Allison have this “will they” or “won’t they” romance because of the crush they had when they were kids. Viktor is easily seen as the outsider, yet Allison tries her best to be the sister that he needs. In only ten episodes, I feel invested in these characters and what might happen to them.

I watched half of season #1 in one day because I felt compelled to watch each episode back-to-back. I’m on season #2 now, which transports the Umbrella Academy to the 1960’s before JFK’s assassination. I like the combination of the sci-fi elements of the show with the real-world history unfolding in season #2.

The Umbrella Academy is one of my new favorite shows. It feels different from other superhero content out there and is entertaining throughout. The first three seasons of The Umbrella Academy can be streamed on Netflix.

Small Business Shopping – Purchases!

Posted in Life Lately by

Two weeks ago, I visited a close friend of mine who lives a few hours away. She lives in a smaller town outside of the Twin Cities. As we were planning what to do for the weekend, she let me know that there was a small business event where small businesses in the area were offering discounts throughout the day. I thought that could be fun as I like window shopping. I ended up with a small haul of sorts, so I figured I’d share everything that I found.

The Call of Cthulhu Purse

Image features a purse. It's meant to be a book cover of sorts. The purse is titled "A Novel by H.P Lovecraft. The Call of Cthulhu. There's a huge Octopus, Dragon like creature perching on a stone.

This is probably my favorite purchase of the day. We were at a bookstore, and my friend spotted these purses based on the book covers. This purse shows the cover of one of H.P. Lovecraft’s infamous stories, The Call of Cthulhu. This purse is cross-body, which is an absolute must for me. It’s also surprisingly bigger than I expected and can fit my phone, wallet, keys, and Chapstick comfortably. I always like showing off elements of geekdom in the things I wear, so this purse fits well into my closet.

Titans Hunt Issues #1-8

Image is a comic book cover. It says Titans Hunt. It shows 7 characters towards the top. They are hovering over a grave stone with four individuals on each side. They are bowing their heads in mourning

After purchasing the Call of Cthulhu purse, we went to the second bookstore of the day. This bookstore has more of a vintage feel to it. There are records and CDs for sale, along with comics, towards the back of the store. There are these white long boxes, but instead of having single-issue comics, there are comic bundles with a complete story. I found this Teen Titans series for relatively cheap. I can’t wait to start reading the series.

The Secret History of Wonder Woman

Image is a book cover. It says "The Secret History of Wonder Woman" featuring a comic drawing of Wonder Woman above her

It should come as no surprise that Wonder Woman is one of my favorite comic book heroes. I have cosplayed as her several times, with various differences between each cosplay. I found this book, and it was a must-buy for me. It’s a non-fiction book explaining Wonder Woman’s history throughout the years. I plan on reading this book this month, in between all the events I have in March.

I’m happy with my purchases! I have a new purse to carry around and new things to read. This was a successful shopping trip!

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League – Thoughts

Posted in Gaming by

The Batman Rocksteady Studios games are some of my favorite video games of all time. Rocksteady made playing Batman fun, and I loved being able to run around and solve the riddles scattered throughout the game. When it was announced that Rocksteady would be releasing a new game titled Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, I was all in. There is no video game studio more equipped to make a Suicide Squad game than Rocksteady. That is, until a few weeks ago, when gameplay for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was released, and it doesn’t look very good. I wanted to talk about the gameplay and my first impression of the game.

My first initial thought when watching the gameplay was how this feels more like Fortnite than Batman: Arkham Asylum to me. I don’t mind Fortnite as a game, but it’s not what I was anticipating Suicide Squad to be like. Another thing I found odd was that the characters all seemed to have jetpacks to fly around the map. I will say it seems like Harley is using a grapple gun versus a jet pack, but still, it doesn’t feel true to her character. This could easily be explained in the story as they could have received that type of tech from Amanda Waller, although it still doesn’t feel true to their comic book characters.

On a positive note, I like that I could change between each character at any time. When I played through Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, I could only play as Peter Quill, so I like being able to switch between each character within the Suicide Squad. I know for a fact that I will be playing as Harley and King Shark the most.

The negative reaction was quick. In rewatching the gameplay video, I scrolled through comments, and overwhelmingly, gamers are disappointed. It was recently announced that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was getting delayed due to the opinions of gamers online. I feel for Rocksteady. They set the bar so high that anything else they release will be heavily watched and critiqued. Gamers are an opinionated group that only wants to see the Suicide Squad get the same love that Batman did in his games.

No matter what, I will be purchasing and playing Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. This game has been something that I have been looking forward to for a while. I’m trying to keep reasonable expectations, as it’s clear that this will be a different direction than the previous games. I hope that this delay will only improve the game and make it better than it is today.