In Which I Try to Geek

Anomaly: “irregularity—something that deviates from the norm or from expectations, 
peculiarity—something strange and difficult to identify or classify”. (Encarta Dictionary)

I am…a little different. I wear my hair long…er than most. I wear skirts…more often than most. Others might classify me as “holiness,” “conservative,” “Pentecostal”.

And yet, I am a bit of a geek. I like comic books. I like superheroes. *whispers* I feel like an anomaly.

So, because I know only a few other people in my circles who share my slightly nerdy interests, herein is a post in which I will share my newfound love for things Marvel and DC.

It all started with that creative masterpiece known as The Avengers. 

ALL HAIL JOSS WHEDON. 

I think that movie convinced the whole world of the awesomeness of superheroes, but, eh, I could be wrong. I first watched The Avengers in November 2012. My best friend said, “Hey, you should watch this movie. It’s cool.” 

And the Academy Award for Understatement of the Year goes to Kelly F.

I loved the movie. It had action, character development, a little bit of romance, and plot twists. I loved how the story explored each character’s strengths and weaknesses, and their interesting little quirks. What really drew my attention, though, were the superheroes’ back stories. I am a literature buff who gets lost in a book quicker than Tony Stark’s attention span. My brothers had read a few comics, so I exhausted their knowledge. When they got bored of my questions, I went to Wikipedia, and got a broad idea of each character’s background. I made sure I knew all the important points of their stories, and then I headed to my local library, and was promptly sorely disappointed. 

THEY ONLY HAD LIKE 6 COMIC BOOKS. 

But, hey, any comics were better than none, so I read them. This is when I learned that OHMYGOODNESS Spiderman is cocky and witty and HILARIOUS; hey, Thor uses a MUCH more complicated vocabulary than in the movies and this is a very good thing; and WOW the Grey Gargoyle is kinda creepy and maybe he needs a movie.

Somewhere about this time, we started watching the solo movies: Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Captain America: First Avenger, and Thor. (I know The Amazing Spiderman was somewhere in there, too.) Thor—well, I watched it twice in one weekend and quickly found my favorite Avenger. Here is where I will step onto my soapbox:

FANGIRLS  LADIES. THERE IS MORE TO THE FICTIONAL GOD OF THUNDER THAN BICEPS.

I will admit: Chris Hemsworth’s good looks drew me in at first, but the more I watched and read about Thor, the more I realized how much more I liked his back-story. For personal reasons in my own life that are too complicated for this post, I like Thor’s back-story. And it’s SO frustrating seeing these bimbos on Pinterest reduce a great character to nothing but a piece of meat, frankly. *stepping down from soapbox*

ANYWAYS. This was basically my introduction to the world of classic superhero comics. I’ve only had a basic introduction to DC comics, aside from the stupendous Dark Knight trilogy, the visually-spectacular Man of Steel, and a few random free Kindle comics. I’ve heard Arrow is pretty good, but I haven’t had an opportunity to see for myself. For now, I stick with Marvel. 

These days, I do my “geeking out” on the Pinterest geek boards and the news collections on IMDb. Iron Man 3 was awesome (as usual), Thor: The Dark World was funny but had less action than I hoped for, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier—HOLYCOW—totally blew my mind. And, now, I patiently await Avengers: Age of Ultron.
 

Care for a little show and tell?

My camera isn't the best, obviously, but LOOK. Look at my comics. *squee* I am so proud of these little things, even though they're obscure titles from the 80s and 90s.

I have an X-Men poster, and no wall to hang it on. #FirstWorldProblems

My declaration of fandom, which I paid too much for, and don't really care.

Saving the best for last...

What I dubbed my "Thor" shoes and a ring that you can barely see:

Lame, I know.

Why, yes, yes, I do wear this in public.

And, finally, my pride and joy. My friend had a superhero birthday party last year, and I needed a Thor shirt. Wal-mart apparently only caters to Iron Man, Flash, Batman, and Superman fans, and left me hanging high and dry. I almost gave up, and then got a bright idea the night before the party. I took an old white shirt, a printout of Mjolnir, Sharpies, a red Crayola marker, and silver spray paint...3 hours later, I get this:

I love this shirt. Unfortunately, the shirt is crud, and the red marker bled through the back. Also, the color of Sharpie I used for the leather strap has turned a baffling shade of greenish blue. Therefore, I can no long wear it, but cannot bear to throw it out.

Oh, and then there's my Polyvore. I discovered the absolute joy of designing superhero inspired outfits. Check 'em out:

 (Okay, so Loki isn't a hero, but my best friend loves the character, and I had to make her an outfit.)

Am I obsessed? Well, maybe. But, you know, when I was a kid, I thought comic books were a stupid waste of time for boys to emulate and drool over. Fast-forward about 10 years, and I have learned that, contrary to some beliefs, comic books involve stories with complicated plots, characters with multifaceted development, and real life moral applications. No one can disdain that.

Somebody please just point me to the nearest Comic Con.

*static* We now return you to your regularly scheduled hobbies and interests of a proper, feminine young woman.