Woman Warrior Wednesdays #6 by Kate Krimson

Artifacts #1-Image Comics-$3.99

4 out of 5 Stars


Summary:


Detective Sara Pezzini, the current bearer of the Witchblade, and her partner, Gleason, catch a monster killing a priest. Many priests have been killed lately. Pezzini thinks this monster may be the killer. The monster says he is looking for the one, but this priest is not the one. Gleason takes the priest away to safety. The monster is looking for someone who escaped Hell. Pezzini kills the monster with her blade, when he attacks her.


Julie Pezzini, Sara’s sister, calls to tell Sara that she and Sara’s daughter, Hope, will be staying at the park a little longer than she originally planned. Sara says that’s okay since she’s tied up with a case. Unfortunately, it appears that a strange woman is watching Julie and Hope.


Meanwhile, a new monster finds the damned escapee, Tom Judge, who is a former priest, but Tom kills the monster with power given to him by his cross necklace. Tom apparently woke up on train in the city. He’s not sure how he got out of Hell, but he had an address on his mind during the ride. The address was that of a man simply known as The Curator. The Curator tells Tom some very important information, like Tom’s double-stacked cross necklace, The Rapture, has something to do with his miraculous escape from Hell and that The Rapture is one of 13 artifacts that when all put together means doom for Earth. Each of these artifacts is assigned to a person and luckily #13 remains hidden and unknown. Unfortunately, The Curator thinks that Tom made it out of Hell because someone is trying to collect all the artifacts.


Back at the park, the strange woman poses as a balloon saleswoman. When Julie tries to purchase one for Hope, the woman shoots Julie in the head. Her name is Aphrodite IV. She is an android programmed to kill. Aphrodite kills a green monster with a strange light beam that comes from her chest. The monster was trying to save Hope because he works for Hope’s father. After her two kills, Aphrodite walks away with Hope into the night.


Writer (Ron Marz): Marz sucks the reader in automatically, when the monster says he looking for someone who escaped from Hell. A trick that I’m sure most people wish they had. The 13 artifacts for a 13 issue miniseries probably means each will issue will give a detailed tale on the artifact and its owner. #1 gave us two artifact holders: Sara Pezzini (The Witchblade) and Tom Judge (The Rapture). One is sure to want to read the upcoming issues to find out about all the artifacts, especially the mysterious #13.


Illustrator (Michael Broussard): His monsters are scary. His depiction of Aphrodite IV as a goth clown android interesting and yet still fits the character. He gives the reader a glance of the artifacts and their owners that definitely makes the reader want to pick up issue 2.

Woman Warrior Wednesdays #5 by Kate Krimson

Lady Deadpool (“The Revolution will not be Televised”)-Marvel-$3.99


2 out of 5 stars


Summary:


Lady Deadpool/Wanda Wilson makes herself one hell of a greasy sandwich that looks so artery-clogging that even McDonalds wouldn’t serve it, while watching a cooking show that sounds like a parody of Paula Deen. When the cable goes out, Lady Deadpool decides to finally leave the house.


Meanwhile, Shosanna Einhorn, a journalist and heiress, talks with Arnold Prior, a retired admiral and U.S. Senator. Their conversation is a bit hard to follow, but it doesn’t matter because they are interrupted by Tristan Sheen, the founder of Bajillion Squillion Corporation, the current Cybersecurity Czar and the former CEO of Number Corp. He’s really rude to Shosanna and then Captain America shows up out of nowhere to help Tristan with a little project.


When Lady Deadpool enters the streets, it would appear that anarchy has taken over. Lady Deadpool decides not to focus on the chaos, but on Charles Randolph, actor/revolutionary leader, instead. She thinks that he’s so attractive. Randolph is leading a revolution for change. While Randolph gives his speech and kisses babies, Shamus Onus talks to Lady Deadpool. He says that he’s been looking for her for 11 days and wants to hire her as a mercenary. She decides to blow him off. Then, she focuses back on Randolph. He invites Lady Deadpool to a demonstration. She shows up. After that, she basically becomes a Randolph Roadie as his career in political speaking grows. . At one event, a man, who claims his wife left him for Randolph, throws a shoe at him. Lady Deadpool blocks it and the shoe knocks out a few of her teeth. Then, she shoots the guy.


Tristan has both Captain America and Sloane, Randolph’s girlfriend, working with him to take down Randolph. Lady Deadpool breaks into Randolph’s home to kill Sloane, because she wants to be the only woman in Randolph’s life. Captain America shows up and takes Randolph to a terrorist detainee center. Sloane tasers Lady Deadpool. Tristan visits Randolph in his cell. It turns out that Randolph is Tristan’s nephew, who is only good looking thanks to Tristan getting him plastic surgery.


Lady Deadpool gets info from Onus on Randolph’s whereabouts. She saves Randolph and slaughters at least four guards. Captain America shows up and fights her. She stabs him and he falls down. Tristan shows up, but Randolph chops off a piece of his head with nunchucks. Randolph is injured by a bullet leaping from Tristan’s gun. As Randolph starts to die, Lady Deadpool leans in for one last kiss for her dead decaying mouth.


Writer (Mary H.K. Choi): The story seemed a little lacking in details. Why was Tristan out to get Randolph? Why was Captain America willing to help this seemingly-evil guy? What exactly did Shosanna and Arnold have to do with the story? Half the time you won’t even know what’s going on. I’m sure my summary is hard to follow, but so was the comic. Also, I didn’t like how Lady Deadpool is more about falling love with cute guys than kicking ass.


Illustrator (Ken Lashley): The drawing, unlike the writing, was pretty good, especially the close-ups. The first close-up is on her killer sandwich, which oozes of death with greasy cheesiness seeping out the side and with Lady Deadpool’s big knife leaning in to cut it in half. The last close-up, which is fairly mortifying, is of Lady Deadpool getting ready for her big kiss. You don’t realize how wrinkly and warty her mouth is until you reach that close-up and you’ll probably wish you hadn’t.


Cover (Greg Land): Land’s cover for Lady Deadpool seems to capture her perfectly. It captures her soft side by showing her holding a teddy bear, her tough side by showing an arm and a pizza box with knives in them, and her couch potato side with her on the couch watching TV and eating pizza.

Concert Review: Women of Rock Night at Midnight Rodeo by Kate Krimson

Two female fronted bands, Immora and One-Eyed Doll, rocked Midnight Rodeo last night in Abilene, TX.


Immora (San Angelo, TX), formerly known as Siren, was the first band to hit the stage. The audience wanted hard rock and Immora gladly delivered it. All the musicians rocked the house, but the most enjoyable sound traveling on waves through space during Immora’s set was the drum playing of Nic Mendoza. The only part of Immora’s performance that could use some improvement is the vocals of the lead singer, Krista Sandoval, were either covered up by the roar of the guitars and drums or by microphone feedback. When Krista could be heard perfectly, one could tell that she does have a beautiful voice. Erik Ponce, guitar, and Krista did entertain the crowd with a humorous, possibly scripted, spat about the difference between a “couple” and a “few.” Krista said they were going to play a few more songs. Erik said they were going to play only two more songs and that’s a couple not a few. Among the list of songs that Immora played were “Orange Flurry” and “Sincerely, Bryan,” which can be heard on their myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/immoramusic).

Krista Sandoval of Immora

 One-Eyed Doll featured kickass rock n’ roll with a side of adorable thanks to the sweet and loveable Kimberly Freeman, lead singer and guitarist. Freeman, embodies the conflict that most people  have between their sweet side and their dark side. Freeman proves that you can wear black clothes and makeup, rock hard, and still be kind. Kindness is definitely in her blood. She not only signs posters, shirts, and CDs, she gives all autographs a personal touch: a lipstick kiss, a bite mark, and a little drawing. Now that’s how you know you have an authentic Kimberly Freeman autograph. Many of the songs they performed were fantastic, but the ones that stuck out most to me were “Hoochie Mama” and “Cinderblock.” “Hoochie Mama” from the album Hole is a great song that tells jerky guys to fuck off (“If I wanted a caveman, I would search the rock pile. I'm a girl of distinction and you're just not my style.”). “Cinderblock,” which is on their latest album Break, is about a child who gets revenge by dropping a cinderblock on the head of his/her physically abusive alcoholic father.

Kimberly Freeman of One-Eyed Doll

All-in-all the Women of Rock night at Midnight Rodeo was a night filled with great rock and delicious margaritas (Don’t judge. I only had a few).

Woman Warrior Wednesdays #4 by Kate Krimson

Lady Robotika #1-Image Comics-$3.50


3 out of 5 stars


Creators: Jane Wiedlin (guitarist for The Go-Gos) and Bill Morrison.


Summary (Spoiler Alert): E’Death, a clear depiction of a villainess, asks a man named Jasper the location of Lady Robotika’s club house. He refuses to give her the information, so E’Death is going to give him an updated version of waterboarding. Lady Robitka/Jane Wiedlin breaks into E’Death’s place. The Iron Maidens, E’Death’s metal-clad female minions, come after her. She uses her Miracle Whip to fight them off. Then, Jane breaks off into what lead her into the Lady Robotika life.


Lady Robotika’s journey started with a series of weird “dreams.” In her first major dream, she is strapped down on an examining table surrounded by aliens. One alien updated her cell phone with new apps: the ability to create wormholes, the ability to manipulate time and space, and the ability to post twitter updates to Alpha Centauri. Then, she was examined by a Probuloid, a robot with a needle arm.


She “wakes up” backstage at her next show. Her manager, Austin, signed an endorsement deal with a musician supply company. They want her to use a new amp. Jane freaks out on stage because the new amp looks a lot like the Probuloid. Her playing is a little off, because of her fear of the new amp. She’s sees a man in the audience whose appearance makes her feel safer. The mystery man meets her after the show. His name is Jasper.


They decide to go out for a drink, but as soon as they get into Jane’s car a tractor beam from a spaceship starts to pull them up. They wake up on the spaceship and Jasper makes the genius idea that they must be on a weird Syfy channel reality show. The aliens are from Herron IV and their spaceship is called the Millennium Falcon. One alien has Spider Man hands and even captures Jane with one of his hand shot webs. The references to Star Wars and Spider Man are totally on purpose, because the aliens of Herron IV turn out to be total Earthling pop culture junkies. Their emperor, Yecchh, is a big fan of Jane’s music and they kidnapped her, because they want her to play a concert for him. They were going to put Jasper through more experiments and then enslave him, but Jane told them that he was Ace Frehley of Kiss. Jane agrees to do the show, since she doesn’t want to die. Jasper and Jane rest on the spaceship. When Jane wakes up, she has a new robotic arm.


Writers (Jane Wiedlin and Bill Morrison): The storyline is good except for the fact that they end the comic without explaining who E’Death is and why she is out to get Lady Robotika. That’s how they get you to buy more issues. I’m also not a fan of her weapon being named after a mayo, but now that I know the Herronians gave her the robotic arm and that they love pop culture, I’m going to guess that they named it.


Illustrators (Bill Morrison and Tone Rodriguez): The Iron Maidens look like sleek Cybermen, but the aliens look like the green lizard humanoids that have been seen a dozen times before.

Women of Rock Concert at Midnight Rodeo 3 by Athena Allred

This Friday, June 16, at Midnight Rodeo 3 here in Abilene, TX is hosting a concert of three female-fronted rock bands for what promises to be a loud, energetic night.

All three bands are made up of a female lead vocalist and other male members. Immora, formerly known as “Siren” will be performing their set beginning at 8pm. One Eyed Doll will be playing their set at 10pm. Ardor does not have a set time listed, but my guess is that they will play around 9pm, between Immora and One Eyed Doll.

Doors open at 7:30, and tickets are only $5, which is a major bargain to see three bands featuring strong frontwomen. Hope to see you there!

Midnight Rodeo 3
1082 South 2nd St
Abilene, TX 79602
325-677-6336

Smart Girls at the Party by Athena Allred

http://www.smartgirlsattheparty.com/


Smart Girls at the Party is a podcast hosted by Amy Poehler, with musical assistance from Amy Miles and production assistance from Meredith Walker. However, despite the star power backing the show, the real stars are the girls who are highlighted each webisode. The point of this podcast and website is for girls to see other girls being creative and smart, refusing to downplay their talents, and each webisode focuses on a different girl or group of girls who are talented and dedicated and not afraid to be seen as smart. I agree with another blogger, Ami Angelowicz when she states at The Frisky (http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-i-wish-smart-girls-at-the-party-was-around-when-i-was-a-kid/ ) that she wishes SGATP was around when she was a kid. From the show’s theme song, repeating, “Smart girls have more fun,” to the dance party at the end of each webisode, SGATP keeps me interested and makes me proud to be a girl.


The show, now in its second season, is helping to breakdown myths about gender, including the idea perpetuated in much of modern television, teen novels, and movies that the main goal of girls and women is to attract a man. However, men are not absent from the series. Men can be seen in some shots of the co-hosts and in the dance party at the end. Men no doubt work on the show, and the presence of men sends a message that smart girls should be celebrated by everyone, not exclusively other girls and women. Boys and boyfriends are not discussed, being irrelevant to the show’s purpose. The team instead chooses to focus on the individual accomplishments of each girl. This is also a departure from many tween and teen entertainment aimed at girls, which stresses the importance of relational savvy over personal achievement. Even though the Season One episode, Lea and Sarafina, the sisters, has a relational focus, it’s a sister-friend relationship, and not a boyfriend or rivalry between girls, relationships which are all-too-often featured in tween and teen entertainment. The first webisode in season two, Rachel: The Engineer features a twelve-year-old girl who designs and builds robots. This young woman is an amazing example for other girls, who are generally not strongly encouraged to pursue math and science.


SGATP is perfect for the tween and younger teen audience, as the videos are short, varied, and funny. There is no time to lose interest or decide that being smart is boring, as the hosts and guests move at a quick pace and keep things light whenever they can. Another thing that the series does well is to highlight the work of the girls featured and illustrate that the girls are special, while still maintaining a sense of accessibility. The webisodes do not center on celebrities, but rather everyday girls who are doing what they love. This sends a strong message to viewers that they too can build robots, start a band, or become a chef. Smart Girls at the Party is a fun, interesting way to encourage a new generation to, “Change the world by being yourself.”

Woman Warrior Wednesdays #3 by Kate Krimson

Velocity #1-Image Comics-Released June 30th


4 out of 5 stars


Writer (Ron Marz): While the story is a great action-packed adventure, the storyline tends to be a little too hard to follow with too much jumping back and forth.


Illustrators (Kenneth Rocafort and Sunny Gho): This duo brings this ultrafast fiery redhead to life with lightning bolt speed and an outfit to match. They created not only a superb hero, but also a great villain. Dr. Paine’s cyber-nightmarish appearance matches the evil within.


Summary:


Carin Taylor/Velocity was transformed into her superhero self by the Cyberdata Corporation. Super speed was the main gift from this transformation, but she received others as well.


Someone does not like the cyberly gifted and that someone is Dr. Erasmus Paine. Paine used to work for Cyberdata as a scientist working on the cyber humans. He performed a cyber transformation on himself, which didn’t go too well (Not surprising for anyone who has ever watched Doctor Who). Now he is out to get the people who had a good cyber transformation, mainly the crime fighting Cyberforce, which includes Velocity, Ripclaw, Cyblade, Heatwave, and Ballistic (Velocity’s sister).


Paine has his robots capture Velocity while she was watching an old black and white film at a movie theater. In the meantime, he used Velocity-look-alike robots as a means to infect the Cyberforce with a virus. Velocity and the Cyberforce have all been infected. They only have an hour to live. Velocity manages to break free from the Dr.Paine’s trap. She runs to start saving the others and herself, while time starts to tick away.

Concert Review-Joan Jett at QueFest in Rowlett, Texas by Kate Krimson

Last night I saw Joan Jett and the Blackhearts for the third time. Although the set list remains roughly the same, the band still is able to transfer the music’s essence and energy into the bodies and souls of the crowd every time that they play. Even the biggest stiff feels the need to rock at a Joan Jett concert.


They even played some of The Runaways’ catalog, like “Cherry Bomb” and “I Love Playing with Fire.” The crowd was able to follow Joan Jett’s music career from her teens to the present. It is quite clear that she must have been born with a guitar in her hands and rock n’ roll in her DNA.


Fireworks blasted off after the show, but their exploding power could not equal the band’s massive talent that vibrated throughout the crowd. If I ever get the chance to see them for a fourth time, I will.