Goodbye Squirrel Girl, Thank You for Everything

Once upon a time, Mom bought li’l three-year-old me a copy of Web Of Spider-Man #12 at the grocery store.  So began a lifelong love affair with the character Spider-Man, the medium of comic books, and the world of superheroes.  When I turned sixteen my comic budget turned towards gas money.  But then, four years ago, I decided to return to my local comic shop and something magical happened.  I rediscovered an old love and found something I never expected in The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.  This month Ryan North (writer), Derek Charm (artist), Rico Renzi (colorist), Travis Lanham (letter), and Wil Moss (editor) – with a surprise dash of Erica Henderson (artist) – have brought this remarkable title to an end.  That leaves me with a lot on my mind.  How do I say goodbye to something that’s come to mean so much to me?

There will be no significant spoilers for the final issue/arc here, just lots of feelings :).

Squirrel Girl’s Earliest Era

I began reading The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl because I love Ryan North’s Dinosaur Comics.  When I heard he was writing for Marvel, I had to check it out.  I instantly fell in love with the comic and I’ve been so impressed with what I continually find in its pages that I’ve chosen Doreen Green as the subject of the paper I’m writing for this year’s PCA/ACA National Conference on Popular Culture.  As I began my research, I figured I’d read the comics featuring Doreen before she began to kick butts and eat nuts in The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.  I wanted to get a handle on how her character has evolved in the authorial hands of Ryan North and artistic hands of Erica Henderson and now Derek Charm.  I was expecting a one note joke character but I was happily surprised by what I found!

The Greatest Kraven Story Ever Told

Sergei Kravinoff, a.k.a. Kraven the Hunter, was created in 1964 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko for The Amazing Spider-Man #15.  The son of a Russian noble family who fled to America in 1917 in the wake of the February Revolution, Kraven’s self-identity was defined by being a big game hunter.  In an attempt to prove he was the world’s greatest hunter, Kraven became obsessed with defeating Spider-Man.  He hunted the web-head from his creation in ’64 until his death in 1987’s critically acclaimed “Kraven’s Last Hunt” story arc.  As with many comic characters Kraven would ultimately be resurrected, in this case by his family in 2010’s “Grim Hunt” storyline.  In the fifty-four years since his creation, Kraven has featured in some of Spider-Man’s most iconic storylines and stood among the web-slinger’s fiercest foes.  But which is the greatest Kraven story ever told?  To my mind, dear reader, there is only one answer.  (Oh, there will be spoilers, obvs.)

Marvel Rising – A Miniseries Deserving Of An Ongoing Title!

Did you know Marvel has an incredible new miniseries out right now by Devin Greyson, G. Willow Wilson, and Ryan North staring Ms. Marvel AND Squirrel Girl?!?  Did you know I wrote about that very same series in a guest post for Graphic Novelty²?!?  Well, whether you knew or not, you know now!  So you’re welcome.  I’m super excited about this series and about having the chance to talk about it on Nancy and Kathleen’s fantastic site.  So there’s not much else for me to say outside of please click this link and give it a read!  I had a lot of fun with this one and I hope you enjoy it too.

Squirrel Girl’s Subversive Genius

Aaaahh!  This is it!  This is my 100th post on My Comic Relief.  Yay!!!  To mark such an important occasion, I want to take a look at the one comic book that’s become truly indispensible to me.  If, for some reason, I could only read one comic book a month, Ryan North and Erica Henderson’s The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl would be it.  There’s no contest.  No other comic is more enjoyable or more important to me.  I could think of no better way to celebrate hitting 100 posts than by celebrating why I love this brilliant comic so much.

Top Five Wednesday – Additions to My Wish List!

I realized yesterday that I haven’t posted anything since geeking out about the AMAZING new Ghostbusters last Friday nor have I really been on WordPress since the weekend.  It was unplanned but proved to be a nice mind-clearing, resetting sort of mental holiday.  Anyway, it’s Wednesday and you know that that means – it’s Top Five Wednesday time!  This week’s topic, care of the good folks running the Goodreads group, is the top five books you’re dying to add to your collection.  Sounds fun :).  Yay!

Romeo and/or Juliet and/or My Experience

Yesterday, the angelic forces of Amazon Prime delivered Ryan North’s new book Romeo and/or Juliet: A Chooseable-Path Adventure to my door.  I’ve spent most of today lost in the book, trying to pick my own way through one of Shakespeare’s most classic plays.  As the day wore on, I began debating whether or not to write about my experience with this book for my blog too.  Then I had a revelation!  I was facing a CHOICE here.  I had to CHOOSE whether or not I wanted to write about this book.  My revelation seemed to scream what I should do.  So here we are.  But you get to choose too!  You see, you can decide whether or not you want to read this.  If you don’t , please return to your regular life.  Be happy and live peacefully.  OR you can read how my day with Romeo and/or Juliet went and just possibly live happier and more peacefully.  The choice is yours!