I need a (Super) hero!

So I was at the gym earlier this week, and the song Holding out for a hero by Bonnie Tyler came on my workout playlist. As I puffed along, I suddenly thought YES! my next blog post has found me! My previous graphic novel posts (Graphic novels for Grown Ups: Terry Moore and Graphic novels for Grown ups: Part 2) have been for the most part not very superhero focused. Sure, Powers by Brian Michael Bendis is about cops solving crimes that involve capes, but the focus of the series is more of a crime noir one than that of your traditional superhero book.

But I'm pretty broad in my comic book reading tastes, and love me some superheroes as much as the next fangirl or fanboy. In fact, in the early 90s, it was those cool Fleer Ultra Marvel collectable cards that got me back into comic reading in the first place. My younger brother brought some home from school, and before I knew it, the collector in me took over, and the Card Crazy stores were my favourite place to hang (anyone else remember them?). Those Marvel cards were intriguing, I loved the art, and was fascinated by the characters, and so I got hooked. I'd also always had a soft spot for Batman, so DC was my friend too. There's no DC vs Marvel favouritism here, I love 'em equally, along with Image, Dark Horse and way too many other publishers to name.

This is an exciting time to be a fangirl or boy, with the plethora of movies and TV shows based on all our favourites (and can I tell you HOW MUCH I geeked out about Tyler Hoechlin from Teen Wolf being cast as Superman in Supergirl...YES YES YES...ahem, sorry, sidetracked there). So here are a few of my favourite heroes.

First up is a bit of a newcomer, but I gotta tell you, I adore her! In Ms Marvel, G. Willow Wilson introduces us to Kamala Khan, who takes on the Marvel mantle (as in Captain Marvel) in a spectacular fashion. Kamala is the first Muslim character to headline her own book, which in itself is a wonderful thing. But she is also such a fangirl (she even writes fanfic I would totally read), which makes her in book cameos from characters such as Wolverine, Loki, Carol Danvers and so many others such a joy. This is such a well written book, watching Kamala juggling her new role as a superhero with her role within her family and community and finding her place in both makes for a superb read. I couldn't read this series fast enough, and I can't wait for what's up next for Kamala. (And can I please have my Kamala Pop! figure now Funko, thank you very much).

Talking about Wolverine, he's up next on my list. He has always been the highlight of the X-men books for me. In fact, don't tell anyone, but our youngest son MAY have the middle name Logan for this very reason. He's gruff, slightly antisocial, but is often the best mentor around (just ask Jubilee, Kitty Pryde or even Ms Marvel). For many years, the origin of Wolverine was unknown, even to himself. A mutant with a healing factor, he was a subject of the Weapon X Programme, where Adamantium was fused to his bones turning him into a super soldier.  Wolverine: Weapon X by Barry Windsor-Smith tells this tale, and is considered to be one the best of them all.

And how could I miss Wonder Woman! Oh how I wanted to be Lynda Carter when I was younger, with those cool bracelets and that lasso. I love that Diana more than holds her own in the Justice League (where would those boys be without her!), and yes, I am hanging out for her stand alone movie which can't come soon enough. We have loads of great Wonder Woman titles in our collection, but I'm going to share Wonder Woman: Warkiller mostly because it is written by the brilliant Gail Simone, but also because it features a team up with another favourite of mine, Black Canary.

Next up is Daredevil. I'm proud to say I had read several Daredevil titles before the Netflix series came out, mostly because one of my favourite artists David Mack did some of the art for them (he also did the covers for the Alias books, featuring Jessica Jones). If you are a fan of the Daredevil of Hell's Kitchen, you really want to check out Daredevil: End of days by the sublime Brian M Bendis. This series features the death of Matt Murdock, and has Ben Urich hunting down the meaning of his mysterious last words. A number of Matt's former foes and lovers feature in this compelling story.

And I have to finish with Batman, because I do have a bit of a soft spot for Mr Wayne. It wasn't really the movies (ALL the movies), because none of them really quite get it right for me. I think it may be because he is a self made hero, he isn't from another world, he didn't get bitten by anything radioactive, he just worked at making himself a hero. Sure, a dark broody vigilante orphaned one, but a hero nonetheless. I also think he has such a great gallery of villains to play off against. There are so many fab Batman comic series, but I'm going with Batman: The long Halloween as one of my all time favs. I love the stunning art by Tim Sale, and Jeph Loeb has crafted a must read series about a new serial killer in Gotham called Holiday, who is killing to a monthly schedule. This is a classic Batman, the detective at work title.

So who are your favourites? and do you have a whole new appreciation for the character Aquaman after seeing that latest Justice League trailer?
Jason Mamoa, you are 100% rocking it dude ;)

Graphic novels for Grown ups: Part two

Continuing on from my blog post about my great love for Terry Moore, here are some more of my must read graphic novels for grown ups. There is a little something for everyone here, and it is really interesting to note that one of these series are currently in production as a new upcoming TV series, and another is about to launch season two through the Playstation network - so get in first and read the books so you can be all 'I totally know what's happening next' like all those Walking Dead comic fans ;)

First up on my list is the fabulous Fables by Bill Willingham. This is a series that I WISH was going to be a TV show, but I'll settle for the fact that I can play the spin off game The Wolf Among Us (anything to get my Bigby fix). In this series, all the fairytale and folklore characters we know and love have been forced from their homelands by the big bad 'The Adversary', and they are living in a secret community called Fabletown within our world New York. They call themselves Fables (we're the mundys), and anyone who can't pass themselves off as a mundy ends up at the Farm in upstate New York. The best thing about this series is seeing beloved characters in a whole new light. For example, I'm never going to look at Jack (as in Jack and the beanstalk, Jack be nimble, and Jack Horner....he's pretty much any Jack you can think of) the same way again, he is hilariously a bad bad boy. And that Bigby I mentioned before? That's the big bad wolf in human form, and I adore him like you wouldn't believe. He and Snow White may be my most favourite Ship ever. I've read this series over a long 10 years, patiently waiting for each new volume, and yes, I may have shed tears when the final volume was released not so long ago. You are super lucky though, because now you (lucky reader) can binge the entire series like there is no tomorrow!

And then you can also read the two spin off series Fairest and Jack of fables.

Next up on my must reads list is Ex Machina by Brian K Vaughan. Pretty much anything written by Mr Vaughan is very good squishy indeed, but this series is my ultimate favourite of his. First up, please note this has nothing to do with the movie by the same name (I got a little excited when I read about the movie, but nope, something else). This series focusses on Mitchell Hundred, also known as the superhero The Great Machine. While on the surface this looks like a superhero / sci-fi comic, in reality it is such an interesting statement piece on politics, as in light of Mitchell's superhero actions during the 9/11 tragedy, he is elected the mayor of New York City. The story flips between his current role in office, and flashbacks to his time as The Great Machine (and the mystery surrounding how that came to be). With a rich cast of (often plenty flawed) characters, this is seriously good must read stuff.

Preacher by Garth Ennis is the series that is about to hit our screens (it starts screening in the US in May) and this is the potential next Walking Dead. It has such a dream cast, and I CAN'T WAIT to see what they do with the source material. This series was always a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. I collected every issue, but always felt slightly guilty reading it, because OMG they went there, and with all the bad language imaginable (and I was such a good girl in those days, which was about 15-20 years ago). But it was such compulsive and compelling reading and I always had to know what came next. Jessie Custer is a slightly conflicted small town preacher who ends up with a bit of an unusual ability. As a result of that, he heads out with his ex-girlfriend Tulip (she is soooo kick butt, I love her) and an Irish vampire named Cassidy on a mission to find God. Yep, you read that right, a preacher and a vamp on a quest to find God. They have the craziest adventures on the way, and meet some highly disturbed and disturbing characters, some of whom I have tried my best to forget since finishing this series a long time ago, bahahaha. I think it says something about this series, that when my husband and I first moved in together, we were both collecting and reading this individually, and neither of us was willing to be the one to stop buying it, so we both brought it until the very end, lol.

Last up on my list is Powers by Brian Michael Bendis. Now, Mr Bendis is another writer who you totally can't miss with, I love anything of his that I have read. I started reading his comics way back when with Alias, which was one of the first 'adult' Marvel comics written under the Max imprint. That series featured the now rather well known Jessica Jones, ex super heroine and current private eye (thanks Netflix for bringing her to life). I loved Jessica, but for me Powers was where it was at. It is another superhero comic with a difference - this one focusses on Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, two homicide detectives who work on cases that involve those with 'powers'. The cases are gritty, and the dynamic between the two lead characters is unmissable. This was made into a TV series that played through the Playstation network last year, and season two is due to start in May this year.....bring it baby!