Comic reviews from Free Comic Book Day, and probably before..

I am soooo behind.

Right, Free Comic Book Day.  I ended up going to 2 shops, one in Norwich, and Orbital in London as I was visiting the big smoke for the day to see a Deafinitely Theatre showcase.  The Theatre was amazing and all I can say is, you hearing folks are missing out.  I don't think think I have ever seen theatre this imaginative or this good.

Anyway comics.  I tend to pick up everything I can.  I got a hardcopy of Off Life which if you like indie street comics is well worth a look.  It's available online as well.
The Walking Dead completely failed to impress me.  I have no idea why this is so popular.
Superman: The Last Son of Krypton was a surprise, as it's a reprint of the first chapter from this trade, but the cover is of new 52 knickerless Supes.  What a bizarre marketing decision.
Action Labs' Molly Danger/Princeless was great fun but I am not convinced I want to buy Molly Danger.  Perhaps if I had a 10 yr old niece or nephew I'd get it for them, but it's not for me.
The Mouseguard sampler was wonderful and I am determined to put it on my pull list.  Every year I get the free copy and every year I enjoy it, yet never get round to ordering it.  For shame on me.

I also got Sesame Street/Strawberry Shortcake, Infinity and Uglydoll Comics.  I just can't work up the enthusiasm to read these.

In other non Free Comic Book Day purchases, I got:
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man 22 - AHHH MILES' MUM DIED!!  *sobs*  This comic is SO GOOD.
Animal Man 20 - this issue was a film plot that Buddy is starring in, about a superhero with family issues.  It echos Buddy's life.  It was unexpected.
Demon Knights 19 - Obviously I really enjoy this series so obviously it's not selling well and is being cancelled.  Damn it. I know DC are out to make money, but really, can't they also make sure they publish quality books too?  This issue has vampires and amazons.  What's not to love?
The Movement 1 - I thought I enjoyed this, then I finished it and thought about the indies I wanted to buy and realised I had no interest in this at all.  The art is nice though.
Princeless book 2; Get Over Yourself issue 2 - As ever this is great.  We get to see more of Adrienne's family and the other Knights, and there's a beard/moustache/dwarf joke.   Great.

Comic reviews from lord knows when

So I have a long list of comics, that I bought months ago, to review and I just don't think I can do it.  So to clear my conscience here is a list of what I have bought with just a few notes:


Smallville 32 to 43.  Ehh, I've really enjoyed all this but I can't recall details.  M'Gann M'orzz being introduced was fun.  I think there is a lot of Crisis stuff going on with alternate Earth Chloe.  Tbh I'm not entirely sure I've read issues 39 onwards.  I should remedy that.

Ame Comi Girls 22/23/24.  This is still brilliant.  This arc introduced Big Barda the space pirate.  Yes it is as fun as it sounds.

Civil War 1-7.  It was on sale at comixology so I bought it, and surprisingly, I quite enjoyed it. I'd heard mixed reviews, but thought it was pretty darn enjoyable

Black Panther Civil War 18-25.  Yeah so T'Challa is still the bees knees. Storm is in this one, she is equally good.  This story made me fall in love with Wakanda and the Wakandians a little bit more, and I hadn't thought that was possible.

Aquaman 17 and 18 and Justice League 17 and 18.  You know what, I have no idea what really happened in these.  I think it was the end of the Throne of Atlantis story and it was dull.  Vulko was the villain, which I think is a shame.  The Captain Marvel backups are still good.

I have a note that I bought Green Arrow 18, but i cannot remember anything about this, so maybe I haven't read it.  Perhaps I shall remedy that, not that I am in anyway excited by this series..

Abortion Support Network May newsletter

As usual, copied and pasted from their email.  Some format changes done by me so it reads better in blogger.
ASN May Newsletter: Spring into abortion access!
• A word from our director
• New ASN trustees
• Fundraising campaigns
• ASN in the news
• Women we’ve helped
• Minding ourselves

A word from our director
In April, ASN heard from 51 women, making April ASN’s busiest month ever. April included one week with contact from 26 women and another week with 21. In April last year we heard from 26 women. In April of 2010, we heard from nine. Those of you who have been reading these newsletters for some time will know that we are continuing to grow exponentially. We believe this is due to a combination of the economic situation in Ireland and Northern Ireland and ASN’s higher profile. We do the best that we can to help these women and families, but with calls per week hitting the 20+ mark, we are struggling to maintain the balance of raising funds, answering calls, and having the ability to provide compassionate, useful client care to women – all while working our day jobs. We thank you as always for your support, and we look forward to this exciting time of growth.

Introducing the new board!
ASN is super excited to introduce our new Board of Trustees! Following are short bios on the three new people who will be helping us as we grow:

Caroline Kelly was born in Dublin, but has lived in England for almost twenty years, Caroline is delighted to be joining ASN as a trustee. She very much hopes to be able to use her skills as a lawyer to contribute to the growing success of ASN over the next few years.

Jennifer Reiter is an American who has worked and volunteered in sexual and reproductive health care for over ten years. She currently works as a Sexual Health Projects Co-ordinator and has previously worked as a Trainer and Project Manager at Education For Choice, a charity dedicated to providing abortion and pregnancy decision-making education for young people and training for professionals. In the U.S., she was a reproductive rights advocate for chapters of Planned Parenthood in Wisconsin and Illinois.

A Dubliner living in England, Caoileann Appleby delighted to be joining the fantastic team at ASN as a Trustee. She hopes to use her skills as a professional nonprofit fundraiser to contribute to growing ASN over the next few years. You can follow her @Qaoileann if you’d like!

These lovely ladies will join Sarah Fisher and Carolyn Phillips, and of course your host, ASN Director Mara Clarke. The team will work with ASN’s volunteers and supporters to steer ASN through this incredible time of growth.

Fundraising activities
Lifesaving
Thanks so much to everyone who donated to our recent fundraising campaign. Our mail out and social media push helped raise just over £800 for the women who continue to call ASN. If you missed the campaign, there’s never a wrong time to donate to ASN.
Run, ASN, Run!
ASN is excited that there are five women running the Flora Mini Marathon to support us. Heather, Noreen, Emma, Nick and Becca will be doing 10k on June 3rd to raise money for and awareness of our work. If you're in Dublin on the 3rd, please come cheer them on! Or sponsor one of the runners here. The team is also seeking someone who can give them a good deal on ASN-branded t-shirts, so if you know one, please contact beardm@tcd.ie.
Are you a crafty one?
Every year ASN takes part in the National Network of Abortion Funds Summit. This year, NNAF is holding a craft auction. Monies raised will go to support NNAF and NNAF member funds, including, of course, ASN! If you are crafty and are interested in donating something for the auction, please email!

ASN in the News
Ireland agrees abortion bill: but only to save mother’s life, Channel 4 News, 1 May 2013. “It is a testament to how truly horrific the situation currently is for Irish women who have an unplanned pregnancy, that this proposed legislation is actually a victory,” said Mara Clarke, founder and director of the Abortion Support Network.

Irish government under pressure over abortion, Deutsche Well, Inside Europe Edition (English Language), 26 April 2013.

Women we’ve helped
In April, ASN heard from 51 women, our busiest month ever. This of course follows several other busiest months. We thank our fantastic phone team for their tireless efforts.

A young woman with health issues that meant she had to be seen in a hospital setting. We were able to help her find her way to this, including a grant and assistance in finding a place to stay near the hospital. "Thank you so much - I'm going to cry... I think you're wonderful".

A 25 year old mother of two whose partner left her three days after she found out she was pregnant.

A young mother of two who feels unable to cope, emotionally and financially, with another child.

A young woman studying for her A-levels who decided to access a safe medical abortion through http://abortionsupport.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=00b5d4952e9446547c947449a&id=0b8954d7f2&e=8d802e235f.

A mother who is an in-patient at a medical institution and is financially bereft. Her travel costs were covered as result of the staff where she is staying taking up a collection and ASN was able to help cover the cost of her procedure as well as arrange a host. "Thank you so much again. Really i could not have gone to uk until much later without your help. Thank you so so much. You have helped me so much and im so very very grateful for it. I will never forget this help."

A single mother with HIV and very limited English. We were able to fund the entire procedure for her.

A woman who has been in and out of refuges due to her unsupportive, abusive partner.

A migrant worker with limited English. We were able to help her afford the cost of the procedure.

A young mother surprised to find herself pregnant again despite using contraception and breastfeeding her young child.

A mother who has had a number of bereavements as well as in financial trouble. “I will be a one woman crusade after this, this country is in the dark ages about this, it is not a decision I am taking lightly, I am making the right decision for my beautiful, healthy, happy child. We have no money, barely have enough to eat.”

We thank these women and men for allowing us to share their stories.

Minding ourselves
In April, ASN director Mara Clarke was quite chuffed to be part of a panel discussion on the Impact of the Catholic Church on the Health of Irish People in London. Held at the House of Lords and organised by the group Mind Yourself (formerly the London Irish Women’s Centre), the event was an excellent opportunity for the panel and those in attendance to discuss a range of views. For more great events like this, follow Mind Yourself on Twitter!

***
Thank you again for all your support. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to provide financial assistance, accommodation and confidential, non-judgemental information to many women who have contacted us for support.

Twitter
Facebook
Website

Call +44 (0) 7897 611 593 or email info@abortionsupport.org.uk

Abortion Support Network (ASN) is an all-volunteer charity that provides accommodation, financial assistance and confidential, non-judgemental information to women forced to travel from Ireland and pay privately for abortions in England. The cost ranges between £400 and £2000 depending on circumstance and stage of pregnancy. While other organisations campaign for law reform, ASN is the only group on record providing women travelling for abortions with the thing they need most immediately: money.

Registered Charity Number 1142120

1 week till my Race for Life!

This is another plea for sponsorship :)

In one week I will be walking the Race for Life, fundraising for Cancer Research UK.  I am really happy to say that I have reached my target of £250 but as they say, every penny counts, so I would be dead chuffed if I could raise a little bit more.

Please, please consider sponsoring me!  I have decided I am going to wear my Flash t-shirt :)  Also, because I have hit my target I'm sure you'll all be pleased to know that I will run the 10k next year! This will make wearing the Flash t-shirt a little more appropriate.

Please please consider sponsoring me. :)

Beltaine/Mayday

Today is the 1st of May and known as Beltaine.  A lot of people will have celebrated yesterday, but I always celebrate on 1st May itself.

Today marks the coming of Summer, and it certainly feels like it's been a long time coming.  Last week I spent a few days abroad, on Monday when I left the UK barely any trees had budded.  When I came back on Friday the trees behind my garden had exploded into green leaf.  It was lovely.  Because everything is so late, I only took my Ostara decorations down last weekend.  Ostara symbolises rebirth, fertility and new growth but we had very little of that on the Spring equinox itself.

Beltaine is a cross-quarter day - the mid point between the Spring equinox and Summer solstice.  Beltaine is also a fertility festival but is also seen as being a big magic - fall asleep under a hawthorn tree on May eve and the fairies will take you ;)  I see it as a time to be lighthearted and have some fun.

It's dedicated to the God and Goddess in their guide as the Green Man and the May Queen.  Colours are green, orange and yellow.  Plants are honeysuckle, hawthorn, daisy, primrose and dandelion.  Animals are bees and butterflies.  Here is a poem about the Green Man I found somewhere:

Your eyes are dark as holly
Of sycamore your horns
Your bones are made of elder branch
Your teeth are made of thorns
Your hat is made of ivy leaf
Of bark your dancing shoes
And evergreen and green and green
Your jacket and shirt and trews

I think it has a nice cadence and great imagery.

Tonight we shall celebrate with, as ever, food.  I think we will have prawns fried in butter and garlic (for the fish eater), a soft boiled egg (for the vegetarian), asparagus with a bit of lemon, radish and butter, salad leaves and cucumber and some new potatoes.  Then I may make more lemon, honey and ginger biscuits.  If I can, I want to get some buttermilk, because I discovered it last week and it is pretty delicious!

Have a great Mayday everybody, and enjoy the new sun and warmth!

Comics reviews for week starting 17th April

Discussion and spoilers ahead for Thor: God of Thunder 7, Hawkeye 9, Danger Club 5, Supergirl 19, Wonder Woman 19 and The Pride Adventures.

Elysia - a new comic about angels

I recently did my first Kickstarter pledge. It’s for a new comic called Elysia, and it’s a sci-fi fantasy story about angels.
I’m blogging it because they’ve got 5 days to go and just £883 left to raise, and I’m desperate to get it funded!
Here’s the link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/serenaobhrai/join-elysia-on-her-journey
There is also a twitter account: https://twitter.com/ElysiaComic

There will be 3 chapters, each of at least 100 pages. The main reason I’m backing it is because Jennie Gyllblad is doing the art. Long time readers will probably know how much I adore Jennie’s work. I’ll pretty much buy anything she does. I realise that my love for her work is probably not enough for most other people, so here’s some links for you to check out:
Website: http://jenniegyllblad.com
Prints for sale: http://jenniegyllblad.com/shop.php
Art: http://jenniegyllblad.com/art.php
Jenspiration, her webcomic: http://www.jenspiration.co.uk/
My review of Clockwork Watch, for which she did the art: http://www.paipicks.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/clockwork-watch-arrival.html

Serena Obhrai is writing the comic, her blog is here: http://serenaobhrai.com/. Outside of chatting on twitter (where we have recently been discussing, with Jennie, the comparative hotness of Thor vs Loki) I don’t know Serena or her writing at all. I’ve had a quick glance through her blog and her prose seems good.

Here’s a synopsis of the story of Elysia:

The story is set in a fictional future where humans and their guardian angels live side-by-side and all angels must abide by the Three Angel Laws (inspired by Isaac Asimov):

• An angel must obey the orders given to it by The Higher Order of angels.

• An angel must serve to guard and protect their designated humans at all times.

• An angel must not engage in an act of fornication with a human at any given time.
The laws are mostly adhered to, however, there are some that choose to break them. Our story is set around the consequence of two such beings - Max and Devi - whose offspring has to suffer the harsh consequences and reality of her human scientist father and angel mother's choice to procreate, causing Elysia's wings to grow upon hitting puberty.
As her wings form, and she becomes an angel, Elysia has to face the fact that she is no longer human and must come to terms with the challenges that lie ahead with accepting her new form. Having been born with a lot more power and responsibility than she can accept, we follow Elysia on this epic coming-of-age journey where everything she knows no longer exists.
All the teenage angst involved with finding your place in life is nothing compared to the trials and tribulations that Elysia is faced with when confronted with the reality that she is the only key to stopping the Fallen Angel attack that is about to take over the world and all its inhabitants.
Each chapter will be printed in full colour, sized 260mm by 170mm and 100+ pages of awesome. The covers will be glossy and the page and print quality will be high to support Jennie's art style. We're pulling out all the stops to make sure this first print run is of the highest quality for you.
So it’s a coming of age story. Yeah so that’s not a new idea. I don’t think that matters, fantasy and sci-fi stories are full of similar tropes, what makes a story is good is the way in which it is executed. I have every faith that this team will be able to produce an excellent, engaging story. I know for sure that the visuals are going to be amazing.
Please consider backing this kickstarter! If they don’t reach their target no money will be taken and the comic will not get made. And that would make me a very sad bobbins indeed. And it would leave the comic industry that much poorer.
Thanks for reading.