Longest and Shortest Books – June TBR

Posted in Reading/Books by Bizarre Brunette

For my June TBR, I knew one book I immediately wanted to read. It has 624 pages. To compensate for reading a longer book, I picked two other books with page counts of less than 300 pages each. Each book in this month’s TBR is vastly different, so I think it will keep things interesting throughout the month. If I really commit, I can read all three books, but I have to focus. I will share what I read in May and which books I have picked out to read in June.

In May, I read seven books. They are as follows:

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Asha Bandele, and a Foreward written by Angela Y. Davis. 5/5 stars
Snotgirl Volume #3 Is This Real Life? by Bryan Lee O’Malley and Leslie Hung. 3/5 stars
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Unrated.
Home is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose. 5/5 stars
Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski Unrated.
The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent. 4.5/5 stars
Funny Story by Emily Henry. 4/5 stars

Okay, so I sort of cheated. I started Come as You Are and The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King in April, but didn’t complete them in May. Both When They Call You a Terrorist and Just Mercy were the two hardest books I read this month. They both tackle similar topics, but in different ways. When They Call You a Terrorist focuses on the Black Lives Matter movement, while Just Mercy focuses on Bryan Stevenson’s role as a lawyer in Alabama. If you haven’t read either book, you need to. There wasn’t a book I read this month that I didn’t enjoy. I’m working on writing more detailed reviews for both Home is Where the Bodies Are and Funny Story, so I hope to have those up later this month.

Now onto the books I want to read this month:

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

I read A Court of Thorns and Roses, the first book in the series, back in 2023. I’ll be honest, I didn’t get the hype. I’ve heard many things about this series, one of which is that the first book is the weakest. I was gifted a box set of this series, which led me to read A Court of Mist and Fury this month. If I’m honest, I probably wouldn’t have read the rest of the series had I not received the set of books.

For those who are unfamiliar with this series, it centers on our protagonist, Feyre, as she deals with the aftermath of the first book. She’s brought back to life by the high fae from the various courts, which has consequences. Feyre feels trapped in her relationship with Tamlin as her wedding is expedited. Before the wedding happens, Feyre is sent to Rhysand in the Night Court per the deal she made with Rhysand in the last book.

I’m 150 pages into A Court of Mist and Fury, and I’m shocked. I’m enjoying this way more than A Court of Thorns and Roses. There are things that I’m reading that are cringy, like how Sarah J. Maas uses the words females and males. There’s one moment where Lucien talks about losing his sister, and the sentence is, “I was forced to watch as my father butchered the female I love”. Ew no, I hate it. Why not say “the lady, I love”? Same impact, but doesn’t make me grimace when I read it.

Roll for Love by M.K. England

Roll for Love is a book about Harper, who moves back to the small town where her grandparents live. She’s reunited with Ollie, a childhood friend she hasn’t seen in years. Ollie invites Harper to their Dungeons & Dragons game, where sparks between them fly. This is not the first TTRPG-themed romance I have read, and I can’t say it will be the last.

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

The final book I want to read this month is A Dowry of Blood. A Dowry of Blood focuses on the story of Constanta, one of the brides of Dracula. I know nothing else about this book, but I’m looking forward to reading it. Dracula is one of my favorite books in classic literature, so curious to see how the story develops.

This is a bit ambitious for a TBR, but I have a set plan about how I will finish all three of these books by the end of the month. I love how each of these books is from a different genre. I think it will keep me invested throughout the month.

7Jun2025

When in Rome

Posted in Life Lately by Bizarre Brunette

The first post in my three-part Italy series will focus on Rome, which is where we spent the most time on our trip. When planning our trip, we attempted to find a direct flight from Minneapolis to Italy. This proved unsuccessful, so we decided to fly out of O’Hare in Chicago instead. This was the best decision because this way we could fly directly to Italy rather than a layover somewhere else. From there, we took trains all over Italy. Looking back, this made our trip so much more relaxing. Rome was a highlight of our trip and one of my favorite places I have ever visited.

Our first day in Rome was all about navigating the city. We took the Leonardo Da Vinci Express from the airport to Rome Termini, which is the main train station in the heart of the city. My husband and I were committed to walking everywhere, which we did. Rome’s streets are older and all cobblestone, so we dragged our suitcases from the train station to our Airbnb. Maneuvering through Rome with our suitcases was a challenge. The streets and sidewalks are often very narrow, and with everything being mostly cobblestone, I’m surprised that our suitcases didn’t pop a wheel. While exhausting, I feel accomplished that I was physically able to do all that walking with my backpack and a suitcase to lug around. Our first day was mostly getting acquainted with the time zone and the city.

Image is a close up view of the Colosseum. The sky is blue with white clouds on the left of the photo. It shows three layers to the colosseum with the third layer collapsing. In the second row, there are figures that can be seen through the slots of the colosseum. There are people outside the colosseum looking at it.

Image is a phot of me sitting on a bar with the colosseum in the background. I'm smiling at the camera wearing sunglasses.

Our second day was spent seeing the Colosseum. The Colosseum was one of my favorite moments from the trip. When we walked to the Colosseum, we passed by all these beautiful marble buildings. On either side of us, there were historic pillars from buildings that were built so long ago. Rome is a historic city, and there’s so much to see while walking. Our Colosseum tickets were for a self-guided tour, and we had 75 minutes to explore. We walked around the Colosseum and to the outer ring of the arena. If you look down into the arena, there are these flaps that would lift up. This represents when animals would enter the arena, they would come out of these flaps to attack the gladiators. My husband looked this up, and it’s estimated that 1 million animals were killed during this time. While we toured the Colosseum, the weather was gorgeous! It was so sunny. We spent almost the full time walking around the Colosseum and taking a ton of pictures.

Photo is of the Spanish Steps. There are steps farther away in this photo with a fountain off to the left. There's a white cathedral type building with two pillars / domes at the top. To the left and right of the spanish steps are two Italian buildings with beige, white, and brown stone to them.

On the same day we did the Colosseum, we went to the Spanish Steps. The Spanish Steps are a monument in Rome, and it’s actually illegal to sit on them. Walking to the Spanish Steps, there are a ton of designer clothing stores on either side of the street. Gucci, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, and more had storefronts in this area. I am not into designer clothing, but it’s impressive to see all the fashion designers in Italy. As we approached the steps, there was a big fountain in the middle of the cobblestone courtyard. Climbing the steps, we were treated to a lovely view of Rome. It was worth all the uphill climbing to get there.

Image is a photo of the Vatican. There are three big buildings with the Vatican at the center. The Vatican has 10 big pillars at the front with a beautiful dome and point at the top. In front of the Vatican is a huge square. Off to the right is a big column statue.

The day before we flew home, we toured the Vatican. As a fun fact, the Vatican is located in its own city-state called Vatican City. My husband wanted to tour the Vatican as he wanted to see the Sistine Chapel, which has the paintings Michaelanglo did, specifically the painting in which God is touching his finger to Adam, giving him life. When touring the Vatican, there is a strict policy on what you wear. Shoulders cannot be showing, and any pants, skirts, or dresses have to be below the knee. Anything low-cut is strictly forbidden. Outside the Vatican, there are vendors selling shawls to those who need additional coverage. We originally signed up for an Italian tour because the English tours were all sold out. As we arrived for our tour time, the woman who checked us in gave us a look and asked if we spoke Italian. We responded honestly that we don’t, but we were really looking forward to the tour, and we knew what we had signed up for. She was able to pull some strings and move us into the English-speaking tour. It was lucky, but to reiterate, we knew what we signed up for, and we weren’t expecting anyone to bend anything for us.

While touring the Vatican, there were so many different marble statues and artifacts to see. There was a statue of the goddess Athena. Our tour guide explained that Athena’s eyes were black (as opposed to having regular marble eyes) to make Athena seem more intimidating. There are also several marble statues of lions, including Hercules holding the lion’s head. Our tour was a solid two hours, and once the tour ended, we proceeded to make our way to the Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel was much smaller than I anticipated it would be. It’s strictly forbidden to take photos of the Sistine Chapel. There are several security guards stationed throughout who were yelling at people who had their phones out. The reasoning behind this is that flash photography can ruin or damage the paintings. I think this is neat because it forces people to live in the moment and take it all in, versus taking a photo to remember for later. My husband felt this was one of his favorite parts of our trip.

Photo is an image of a black kitty lounging on a rock. There's a gate that protects the kitty from visitors.

Photo is the grounds of the Cat Sanctuary. It shows brown brick barriers that look slightly damaged. There are pillars that were standing from a building that is no longer there. There are plants growing within the remains as well.

Oh, and I can’t forget about the cat sanctuary! The Torres Argentina Cat Sanctuary was the site of Julius Caesar’s assassination. In 1929, this area was excavated, and cats would hang out in the area. In 1993, two women started working on getting the cats spayed and neutered. The cat sanctuary was born ever since then! When we walked up to the sanctuary, there were kitties everywhere! They were napping in the plants, walking around the site, and if you go down this set of stairs, there’s a door that leads to the front desk. As a cat lover, I was thrilled. The Torres Argentina Cat Sanctuary is fun to see, and it’s free, so why not go see the cats?

There’s so much more that I can write about, but those were the major highlights from Rome. I’m glad that we spent the majority of our time in Rome, as there’s a lot to take in. For my next post, I will be talking about Florence, including the cooking class we took.

4Jun2025

World of Darkness – White Wolf Announcement

Posted in Gaming by Bizarre Brunette

During Darkness Emergent Los Angeles, it was announced that World of Darkness is being rebranded to White Wolf and will be the official publisher for World of Darkness properties. This includes: Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and Hunter: The Reckoning. For those new to World of Darkness, the original role-playing books were published under White Wolf Publishing, which is now defunct and has been merged with a gaming company, subsequently acquired by another gaming company. If that sounds messy, it’s because it is. This announcement comes full circle, meaning World of Darkness products are going back to the White Wolf name. Is this purely a corporate stunt? Or will this improve upon the World of Darkness brand?

Let’s start at the very beginning. White Wolf and Vampire: The Masquerade were created in the 90s by Mark Rein-Hagen. After Vampire’s release, there were Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension, Wraith: The Oblivion, and Changeling: The Dreaming. In the 1990s, numerous editions and revisions were made to the games to enhance their quality. With the business downturn and Mark Rein-Hagen leaving, White Wolf was acquired by CCP Games in 2006. In 2015, Paradox Interactive acquired White Wolf Publishing from CCP Games. World of Darkness partnered with Renegade Game Studios to sell World of Darkness licensed products. I’m skimming over quite a bit of history, but to simplify this as much as possible, that’s where we are.

It took me more time than I care to admit to research and cite all this information. Going back to the announcement, what does this actually mean? In the announcement, it says, “As White Wolf enters its next chapter, it brings World of Darkness’ IP closer to fans and empowers a new generation of storytellers to explore and expand its rich universe.” My thought is that White Wolf and World of Darkness would move away from Paradox and Renegade and own everything. I don’t see this as a bad thing. This history is convoluted, and when you introduce new players to the brand, it would be easier if White Wolf owned everything. Given White Wolf’s history, I think there is skepticism with the announcement. I’m curious to see how this plays out in the next six months to a year from now.

My first thought when I heard this announcement was, are we getting a current Wraith: The Oblivion book? I came into World of Darkness later, so I’d be curious if some of these older games will get a rebrand. Wraith: The Oblivion is on Drivethru RPG, and reading the description of this game, this is absolutely something I’d love to play. Based on the description, players play as ghosts who recently died and are now trying to survive in this gothic underworld. How cool is that? There’s a lot of opportunity with this rebrand; it depends on how White Wolf approaches it.

It’s too early to say more than this, but I’m hoping for an update on some of the other World of Darkness properties. The World of Darkness property has so much potential, and I’d love to see these games become more popular in the TTRPG space. The last thing I will say, I’m not an expert in World of Darkness; I’m simply a fan who loves the game. If I mis-summarized anything or if something needs to be updated, let me know in the comments below.

1Jun2025

The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

Posted in Reading/Books by Bizarre Brunette

Spoilers for both The Serpent & The Wings of Night and The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King

While in Italy, I finished a few books that I had been reading before the trip. With the two 9 1/2 hour flights and multiple trains that we took, I had plenty of time to read. One of the books I read was The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent. This is the second book in the Crown of Nyaxia series starring Oraya and Raihn. I loved the first book when I read it last year and received the sequel as a gift, so I knew I wanted to continue the series. I loved The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King and can’t wait to read more books in Obitraes.

After the violent end to the Kejari, Oraya is a prisoner, and Raihn becomes the King of the House of Night. Raihn faces challenges as his background as a former slave doesn’t bode well with those who feel he doesn’t deserve nobility. Raihn offers Oraya a deal: help him deal with his betrayers, and he will let her walk, even if Oraya chooses to kill Raihn to avenge her father. Oraya is confronted with her past and faces her destiny as the chosen heir to the House of Night.

I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I love Obitraes and the world these books take place in. I like reading about the vampire houses and their history. In this book, we learn more about the House of Shadow, and this impacts Mische and her story. I like how the gods shape the world. In my first review of the book, I said it reminds me of the gods from Dungeons & Dragons, and how Nyaxia reminds me of The Raven Queen. I still find that to be the case in this book. Writing this review is going to be heavily biased. The story could have sucked and I’d still rate this book highly because I love this world so much.

This book truly feels like Oraya’s story. Raihn has a point of view in some of the chapters, but this story centers on Oraya. I liked reading about Oraya’s past (how she’s half-vampire, her abilities, and who her mother is!) Oraya’s mother has a strong bond to one of the other gods, and I thought that was interesting. I read other reviews for this book, and some readers were unhappy with the story and how Oraya united with Raihn, even though he killed her father. I can see why readers would feel that way, but I disagree. Oraya’s father, Vincent, is not a good person. It’s strongly emphasized that he sexually assaulted the previous queen of the House of Night and killed the king. He lied to Oraya about her past and about killing her mom. I don’t want this book to be a revenge story because Vincent’s past caught up to him. Instead, I liked how this book portrays Oraya’s relationship to power and what kind of queen she wants to be. Sure, Raihn is still in the picture, but I fully believe Oraya has the power to kill Raihn if he steps out of line.

The one grievance I have with this book is that the story felt rushed. Oraya learning about her past was told in 100 pages, and I think this could have been elongated into multiple books. I understand that this is a duology for Oraya and Raihn specifically, but I would have loved another book to dive into this more.

I was contemplating what to rate The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King. I ended up rating this four stars, but leaning towards 4.5 or five stars depending on the day. The next book in this series will focus on Mische, and I’m excited to read more about her! She was a standout character in this series, so the fact that she’s getting her own books, I couldn’t be more thrilled about it.

29May2025

Traveling to Italy!

Posted in Life Lately by Bizarre Brunette

For the past ten days, my husband and I were in Italy! This trip has been a long time in the making. Ever since our trip to Europe, I have wanted to plan another international trip. We talked about planning this trip last year, but ended up pushing it to this year. When we were deciding where to go, my husband originally suggested France, specifically Paris. I suggested Italy. The more we looked into it, we solidified Italy as our next country to visit.

Image is a photo of me and my husband smiling at the camera. We are sitting in our airline seats waiting for our flight to take off.

Learning from our honeymoon, we didn’t commit to any other countries to visit. We solely focused on Italy, and that was absolutely the best choice. We went to Rome, Florence, Milan, and Lake Como. While we didn’t see every single city in Italy, I felt we still saw a lot in the time we were there. I’d rather fully explore one country than try to see three or four countries and bounce between cities. Paris was dropped from our trip, but I hope to visit Paris someday.

I’m looking forward to getting back to my routine. I’m dedicating one post per city that we visited, and of course, I will share the pictures we took. Our trip to Italy was amazing, and I’m happy that we were able to make an international trip work this year.

26May2025

Thunderbolts* (2025)

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches by Bizarre Brunette

Image is a movie poster for Thunderbolts* It shows Yelena on the cover, thinking. To the right is Taskmaster. Bucky and Red Guardian are behind Yelena. John Walker and Ghost are fighting / grappling Red Guardian.

Major spoilers for Thunderbolts* Below

Thunderbolts* was a Marvel movie that I was looking forward to. I read some of the Thunderbolts comics as single issues last year to help prepare for the movie. Another thing that I was looking forward to was seeing both Bucky and Yelena in one movie. If that wasn’t enough, I like how this is a less intense version of DC’s Suicide Squad. Thunderbolts* held up to the hype and adds a lot of good themes and commentary about a variety of topics.

Thunderbolts* focuses on Yelena Belova (played by Florence Pugh) as she struggles to find purpose in her life. She has been doing paid work for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), but the jobs only give her the money she needs to survive and nothing else. Yelena wants out, so Valentina says if she does one last job, she will be free to walk. Yelena is tasked with finding a thief who’s attempting to break into one of Valentina’s storage facilities. When she gets there, she meets John Walker (played by Wyatt Russell), Ghost (played by Hannah John-Kamen), and Taskmaster (played by Olga Kurylenko). They were all sent to capture a thief and quickly realized that Valentina had set them up to kill each other. After fighting each other, they realize they have to escape with help from a new friend, Bob (played by Lewis Pullman). Bob has powers, which means he has use to Valentina. The group, naming themselves Thunderbolts, has to stop Valentina and expose her illegal activities.

Okay, but can we stop bringing characters back only to kill them? Taskmaster was brought back, which was cool, only to be shot in the head by Ghost. Why bother? I’m fine with Marvel tying up loose characters from all of these films, but not if they are going to be killed. Both my husband and I thought this was a waste of the character. Olga deserved much more than this.

Going into this film, I thought Bucky would be the star of the show, but this is clearly Yelena’s movie. I’m perfectly fine with that. Yelena fills the void left by Natasha’s death. I like her as a character and how her grief is explored. Yelena confronts Hawkeye in Hawkeye, but it doesn’t give her the closure she needs. Yelena feels alone in the world, and while Red Guardian (played by David Harbour) shows up later, he could have shown up earlier. There’s good dialogue between Yelena and Red Guardian where he apologizes for not being there for her, but wants to be there for her now, and it’s really sweet.

While this is Yelena’s movie, Bucky does show up with a grand entrance. In his position within the government, he’s also investigating Valentina’s activities, which coincides with Bucky aligning with the team. He attacks several convoys, and it was the entrance that Bucky deserved in the movie. I think it’s clear that Bucky wants to make a difference as a politician, but maybe that’s not the place he needs to be.

Thunderbolts* has excellent commentary on mental illness, grief, and how heavy loneliness can feel. Bob’s powers are unlocked thanks to Valentina manipulating him. After beating the Thunderbolts, Bob is betrayed by Valentina. This darkness washes over him, and he starts to cloak New York in shadow. Yelena is the first to help by entering the darkness to find Bob. Bob is a victim as he agreed to undergo medical testing to rise above his addiction and his trauma. There’s a moment where Yelena runs to Bob and tells him she’s here for him, which empowers Bob to put away the darkness. Thinking of all the characters within Thunderbolts, they have had tragic back stories in which they are stronger together. This movie didn’t have an epic hand-to-hand combat finale; instead, this movie had a softer approach in the latter half, which I thought fit the characters within this team.

Thunderbolts* was worth the hype. I’m looking forward to seeing these characters pop up in future Marvel projects.

23May2025

Holding Conventions Accountable

Posted in Uncategorized by Bizarre Brunette

My friend sent me a TikTok about a book convention that happened in Baltimore, MD, called A Million Lives Book Festival. According to this website, the book convention had a vendor hall, cosplay, and a ball. This ball was titled the Lavender Romance Ball. Tickets for being able to attend the ball were $250 (as listed on the website). In the TikTok I watched, people dressed lavishly showed up to the ball. The ball was hosted in the convention center, more likely in the basement. The event space was not only not decorated, but it was clearly a convention center still. Fans were disappointed, wanting refunds, and authors lost their credibility in recommending the event to attend. We must hold conventions accountable for providing what was paid for and respecting the attendees.

I want to make one thing clear. I could never be an events planner. I think back to when I was planning our wedding several years ago. I was stressed, and felt a wash of relief when our wedding was over. I couldn’t imagine planning a convention. When discussing this, there needs to be decorum in this conversation. Fans have a right to be upset, but also, I wouldn’t wish ill will to the person who put on the A Million Lives Book Festival.

I feel empathetic to all convention goers for what they paid for, but also for authors specifically. There is a cost to table at a convention. Authors and creators rely on conventions being organized, so they can make back what they spent on a table. Authors advertised going to this convention, so, relating to something I said earlier, authors felt duped. If the convention tries to put on a second event, now there’s a trust issue where people may not attend because they don’t trust the event staff to put on a successful event. I hope that something was learned from this experience, and that when you advertise a Fantasy Ball, it shouldn’t be a non-decorated warehouse room.

Besides this event, there was another convention in the Twin Cities that came under hot water. This was a gaming convention that happened in April. While I won’t name the event, if you do some investigating, I’m sure you can figure out which event I’m referring to. After the convention, someone had posted on Facebook about their negative experience with the convention runner. I read through their post, and immediately, I was revolted. This person was misgendered, didn’t have a table they paid for, and struggled to get an immediate refund because they didn’t have said table. Instead of addressing this head-on, the convention runner tried to get their post pulled from Facebook. GROSS. It’s not your place to censor what someone says about your event. The public has every right to know how a convention is run. I have no empathy for this person because if you treat people disrespectfully, it will come out. I will not be attending or supporting this event because of the above.

Conventions are my happy place. I love being around geeks like myself and meeting new people. With that said, conventions need to be held accountable. For the book convention, I hope Baltimore gets the event that it deserves. For the gaming convention I referenced, it might be best if the convention doesn’t get renewed. There are so many conventions in the Twin Cities and while it sucks that this one wasn’t great, there are so many others to support.

20May2025

The Amateur (2025)

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches by Bizarre Brunette

Image is a poster for The Amateur. It shows two actors on either side of each other: Rami Malek on one side and Lawrence Fishburne on the other. It's clear from the background that they are in a European city.

When I think about my love for movies, I can’t help but think about my mom. Growing up, I was exposed to a lot of different movies. I grew up on Harrison Ford action films, the Bond films, and dramas. I wouldn’t be the moviegoer I am today without my mom. When I think about my favorite genre, it would have to be action films. My mom had wanted to see The Amateur, an action film that came out in April of this year. The Amateur was a solid and entertaining movie.

The Amateur focuses on Charles “Charlie” Heller (played by Rami Malek) as he gets ready to go to work. He kisses his wife, Sara (played by Rachel Brosnahan), as she is leaving overseas for a work trip. Charlie works for the CIA as a cryptographer. Charlie is called into his director’s office as he is told that Sara was killed in London during a terrorist attack. Charlie is heartbroken and angry and researches who killed Sara. When he brings this information to his director, he’s told that they will handle it, but they clearly have their own agenda versus bringing in his wife’s killers. Charlie can push back and get specialized training from Robert Henderson (played by Lawrence Fishburne). Charlie is forced to go on the run as everything he’s doing isn’t sanctioned by the government. He plans on taking out his wife’s killers once and for all.

The draw for this movie is that Charlie isn’t built to be a killer. His area of expertise is computers, tech, and putting together explosives. The government dismisses Charlie and doesn’t think he’s capable of doing what he does. In one scene, Charlie kills a man by causing the glass pool to break, sending the man crashing down several stories. There’s an element of creativity to what Charlie does because he doesn’t have the experience of killing anyone. I wouldn’t say that this makes the film unique, but I think it makes the viewer want to root for Charlie.

The cast in this movie is great. I have been a fan of Rami Malek for some time. I think he’s great in anything he’s in. This can be said about Lawrence Fishburne and Rachel Brosnahan, although Rachel is barely in the film. In these action films, the cast is important. Casting actors who have a big following will bring interest in wanting to see this film in theaters.

The Amateur was a solid action film. It was entertaining from start to finish.

17May2025

Snotgirl Volume #3 – Review

Posted in Reading/Books by Bizarre Brunette

Image is a cover for the third volume of Snotgirl. It shows two men on either side of a woman. The woman is in the middle and has bright green hair.

When I was in Chicago, I stopped by a comic book store. I found several volumes of various comic series that I needed. I’m working my way through them now, and one of those volumes is Snotgirl Volume #3, written by Bryan Lee O’Malley with art by Leslie Hung. When I first started reading comics, I read the first issue of Snotgirl and did not like it. I returned to this series several years later, and I’m glad I did. Snotgirl has an interesting premise, but it’s the art that keeps me reading through the series.

Snotgirl follows fashion influencer Lottie Person as she lives her life in California. In the first volume, Lottie meets a mysterious woman named Caroline. Caroline becomes fast friends with Lottie and gets very quickly integrated into her life. There’s always been something about Caroline that seems off. In the third volume, secrets are revealed that Caroline hasn’t been aging since the 90s. Who is Caroline, and why did she seek out Lottie?

My biggest gripe with this series is how the story keeps getting dragged out. Each volume shows a shadier side of Caroline, but who is she? Is she a Vampire? a Demon? Did she sell her soul to a devil to remain ageless? Each volume seems to blend together with all the shady things Caroline has done without revealing what her goal is. I hope the next volume provides some much-needed answers.

Snotgirl is one of the few comic series I read solely for the art. Leslie Hung does an excellent job of bringing the world of Snotgirl to life. Lottie’s hair is this bright lime green, and that color is featured throughout the panels. Each page is an explosion of bright neon hues, and each of Lottie’s friends has their own distinct style. It makes the series memorable. Leslie can illustrate all the comics, and I’d buy every single one of them.

Snotgirl is a series that I enjoy reading. It’s not my favorite series, but I find it a page-turner nonetheless. I want to know what Caroline’s deal is and hopefully that’s answered in the next volume.

14May2025

Underwater Horror in Thresher

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches by Bizarre Brunette

While I was at the Critical Role live show in Chicago, they had recently announced a two-part horror series titled Thesher. Thresher uses the rules of Candela Obscura with a completely different setting. The world of Thresher was developed by Matt Linton and Jacqueline Emerson. If any of those names ring a bell, Jacqueline Emerson played Foxface in The Hunger Games. The game features a cast of talented actors, including Noshir Dalal (whom I have talked about extensively on the blog), Jacqueline Emerson, Jane Douglas, Mark / Mara Hulmes, and Abubakar Salim. Jasper William Cartwright was the GM for this series and I have been a big fan of his podcast, Three Black Halflings. I watched Thresher as soon as both episodes were released and this series was fabulous.

In the first episode, it sets the stage for the story. The five characters are sent to investigate a distress signal sent by Admiral Anders. Each character has their own reason for being there. For example, Betty (played by Mark / Mara Hulmes), is looking for her long lost brother. The other character’s motives are murky as horror tabletop tends to be. When the characters arrive to the station, they learn that only one person survived, a mysterious Dr. Blackwell. After encountering mysterious fish like entities, they realize how truly in danger they are and question how they plan on making it out.

I loved every bit of this. I liked how each episode wasn’t too long. I find that, even when I watch Critical Role, my attention span starts to wane. Having episodes at two and a half hours or less, I can pay attention to what’s going on. I like how Candela Obscura is used in a completely different setting. If someone wanted to play Candela, but didn’t like the already pre-created world, this proves that you can take the system and modify it into your setting. I liked how the characters had to make rolls to determine if they would panic and lose oxygen. It added to the high stakes of the adventure and it made it realistic. If I were diving deep underwater and there was darkness all around me, I’d panic too.

As horror tabletop often does, shit hits the fan in the second episode. Without providing spoilers, there is one character that’s working against the group and the reveal of that was epic. My jaw dropped as I’m listening to the episode because I assumed that everyone would be working together without ill intent. This was not true. There were other reveals made about another character potentially lying about their identity and that reveal was also well-done. Thresher pulled me in and that is fully due to the cast of the show.

Immediately after finishing Thresher, I watched the cooldown to both episodes. The cooldown is exclusive to Beacon members and it lets the cast talk about what happened and how things went down. It was interesting listening to the cast because there were little nuggets of information that would foreshadow what happened at the end. I missed these, but I’d love to rewatch Thresher knowing what I know now.

Thresher is a perfect example of why I love horror tabletop. It’s setting the stakes high from the get-go and allowing the cast to get creative as to how they are going to try and escape. If I ever become a GM or a gamemaster, horror would be my jam. I’m not sure if I will ever have the time to learn a game system and write my story, but Thresher has inspired me to do so.