Podcast - Episode 59: Captain America: Man Without a Country

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Who likes Captain America? WE DO!

It's the penultimate week of the Living Between Wednesdays book club and we read the Mark Waid/Ron Garney Captain America stories, Operation: Rebirth and Man Without a Country. 

Here is the 1993 interview with Jack Kirby on Prisoners of Gravity that Dave mentioned:

Here is that really nice Marco Checchetto Thunderbolts #7 variant cover:

Enough with the mask, though. Seriously. I'm begging you. This is my Bucky:

Ok, so about this book we read. This is what we're talking about when we say that Steve's costume is in TATTERS:

And here is what we mean when we say Sharon is really cold to Steve:

And here is shirtless Steve sitting on the floor being sad with a cheeseburger:

And here is an example of some bad Photoshop title lettering AND some very romantic Steve/Bucky subtext:

This is an image of Steve's perfect fantasy world. I am not making this up. This is canon. Red Skull is basically writing Stucky fanfic in this book.

And speaking of Stucky, I explain a lot about Captain America fanfic to Dave this week. I legitimately love most fic in that fandom. Hit me up for recs!

Now, if anyone needs me, I'll be watching Civil War behind the scenes gifs until the movie is available on Friday (my birthday!!!).

Podcast - Episode 57: Cosmic Odyssey

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DCAF is over and Dave and I had a nice time! We recorded via Skype this week because I have somehow injured my neck and cannot drive. I think I'm really getting the hang of this Skype recording stuff, though. Sounds good!

It's week 7 of our summer book club and we read the 1988 DC space adventure, Cosmic Odyssey, by Jim Starlin and Mike Mignola. It really is great. We poke fun at it a lot in this episode, but we sincerely both love it.

Here is that article in the Washington Post I was talking about that talks about fan entitlement and the importance of submitting to the vision of the artist.

Here's the birthday tweet Chris Evans posted for Sebastian Stan that made news headlines (for some reason):

Here is the sketch that Michael Cho did for me of Captain America (dreaming about Bucky):

And here's the Plastic Man sketch he did for Mitchell:

Both totally excellent. We're very happy.

Speaking of happy, I was very excited to receive a package in the mail this week from our pal J.Bone! It included this ADORABLE little sketch of The Summer Soldier:

@originaljbone gives me the best presents. 💕 #wintersoldier

A photo posted by Living Between Wednesdays (@livingbetweenwednesdays) on

The Stucky fanzine by Jess Fink and Yuko Ota is, I believe, no longer available. But you can check out their awesome Tumblr sites, which will lead you to other great stuff you can read or buy: Jess Fink and Yuko Ota

Anyway, it's full of cute stuff like this:

I did buy a Winter Soldier dinky car, because obviously. On the Instagram post, Dave asked Steve Epting if he knew about this thing. He replied! He owns one himself. I like to think he means a full-size version. Like, that car is Steve Epting's ride.

JUST LIKE IN THE COMICS!!!! #wintersoldier

A photo posted by Living Between Wednesdays (@livingbetweenwednesdays) on

What a weird thing.

And, of course, I also got a hot Wal-Mart exclusive Winter Soldier figure.

Got a new boyfriend. Wal-Mart exclusive. #wintersoldier

A photo posted by Living Between Wednesdays (@livingbetweenwednesdays) on

And I am totally not putting him in weird, somewhat sexy scenes with my Captain America figure. 

Valium is a really good drug.

Here's the panel from Cosmic Odyssey that really cracks me up:

"What? Oh, I don't care about that anymore. Look at this computer thing I did..."

Next week we're reading and discussing Batgirl: Year One/Robin: Year One! 

Podcast - Episode 56: Suicide Squad and Copra

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Dave and I saw Suicide Squad and it was not painless!

Quite the opposite.

We laughed a lot, though. Not at the jokes. At other parts. And we fell in love with Slipknot, the lovable scamp who can climb ANYTHING! With a grappling gun. Um...and he actually can't even do that.

To wash the taste of that movie out of our mouths (tastes like one of the weird extreme Mountain Dew flavours), we read Michel Fiffe's Copra: Round One for the latest instalment of our summer book club. It was a much better "Suicide Squad" story.

I have been looking but I could not verify what Diablo spells with fire, so Dave and I will have to agree to disagree until we get a gif. Or until we forget all about it.

So, to recap, here is the line-up that I think the Suicide Squad movie should have had:

Deadshot
Captain Boomerang
Harley Quinn (but NO JOKER. POST JOKER!)
Poison Ivy
Clayface
Dr. Light

Better, right? And much smaller, which is important.

Also, I forgot to mention this, but the whole point of the Suicide Squad is to do jobs that super heroes can't/won't do. This particular "mission" was something that normal super heroes totally could have done. A Suicide Squad movie should be like Ocean's 11 with comic book villains. It should have been a heist, like having to break into the Batcave to steal something for Waller. Or something. This movie made no goddamn sense.

And it needed way more Slipknot. WAY MORE.

We hardly knew ye, rope guy.

Some photos have hit the internet since we recorded of Sebastian Stan filming his mystery movie in Ireland. Still nothing on his IMDB page, but the working title at least seems to be We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Which is clearly code for 1960s-era Star Wars Sequel:

Nah. It's actually a thriller based on a Shirley Jackson story. I hope it's not too scary for meeeeeee!!!!

This is my favourite image from the set so far:

What's he going to do with that hammer?! What's in that bag?! A head??!! A GHOST??!! Eeeeeek!!!!

Here's that Super Hero Beat Down: Nightwing vs Winter Soldier video. It's...something else.

If you want to read my live tweeting of the Captain America gay porn parody, you can read them here. Nothing too explicit, I promise:

And if you're in the Halifax/Dartmouth area this weekend, definitely come check out DCAF! It's going to be awesome! Check it out:

Podcast - Episode 49: Fandom, Fanfic and Friends!

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Dave is away this week so I have invited a couple of Twitter friends to join me on this episode. I talk to Rebecca in England and Jacqui in Philadelphia, two super hero fans who I have only talked to via Twitter up to this point. It was fun talking to them! We talk about all sorts of things: fandom, fan fiction, inclusion in comics and film casting, Sebastian Stan, Bucky, The Winter Soldier...

Hey, Dave might actually listen to this week's episode (and last week's) because he's not on them! He hates listening to his own voice! Unlike me! I ONLY want to listen to my own voice!

Speaking of self-indulgence, I use my old band's music for the transitions throughout this episode. But honestly that's more because I don't understand how copyright laws work for music in podcast episodes, and I am reasonably sure my former bandmates/current best friends won't sue me.

It was really nice talking to both Rebecca and Jacqui this week. It's nice to be reminded that you can meet really nice people on social media, not just loud jerks. 

Jacqui has a podcast too! It's called Digging Diversely and you can check it out here!

Oh, and she mentions a recent incident where some girls approached a random stranger in NYC to get help with their scavenger hunt, and it turned out to be Sebastian Stan. You can see the details/photo of that here:

Jacqui did not mention how CRAZY HOT Sebastian looked in the photo. I guess it kinda goes without saying.

I just want to say a few more words about fanfic here, because I didn't really get into my own reasons for liking it too much. 

Here are some reasons I like fanfic in general:

  1. It can be a useful way to add in "deleted scenes" to canon stories that you already love;
  2. It gives writers a place to practice their craft and gives them a supportive audience;
  3. It allows fans to explore characters beyond what you see on the screen/page;
  4. It brings all sorts of new ideas about characters and story details to the table;
  5. It adds inclusive characters to films/shows/books where there may not have been any before.

Here are some reasons I like "slash" fic in particular:

  1. It's hot;
  2. The fan community is a safe space where you are almost definitely not going to find a straight dude ruining everything;
  3. I am boy crazy and why have one hot man in your erotica when you can have two?;
  4. It's erotic entertainment created largely by women that you can consume anywhere, and you don't have to worry about real people being exploited or hurt for your enjoyment;
  5. Sometimes (often) it just makes more sense than the hetero romance the studios/publishers are trying to sell us.

So, yeah. There it is. I love it. If you see me at a coffee shop reading something on my iPad, DON'T bother me.

Thanks again to my guests. Next week Dave will be back for our 50th episode!!!!

Important Information I Have Gathered From Reading Avengers Fan Fiction

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I have been reading a lot of Avengers (movieverse) fan fiction lately (shut up, I don't care).

Here is what is important to the Avengers, according to the thousands of fan fiction stories out there:

  • Coffee;
  • Movie night;
  • Disney movies;
  • Take out food in general, Thai food specifically;
  • Pranks;
  • Pancakes;
  • Having sex with each other.

Here is what is important to Tony Stark specifically:

  • Everybody else's love lives;
  • Pepper Potts;
  • Bruce Banner;
  • Spicy food;
  • Classic rock;
  • Making and consuming green smoothies;
  • Gifting team members with Avengers merchandise to annoy them;
  • Bothering Steve Rogers;
  • Helping Steve Rogers;
  • Sometimes having sex with Steve Rogers;
  • Improving Bucky's bionic arm;
  • Friends.

Here is what is important to Bruce Banner specifically:

  • Yoga;
  • Meditation;
  • Tea;
  • Healthy eating (usually vegetarian);
  • Tony Stark;
  • Listening to people talk in a therapist kind of way;
  • Protecting everyone from himself;
  • Not pranking people.

Here is what is important to Natasha Romanoff specifically:

  • Clint Barton;
  • Nothing;
  • Guns;
  • The Little Mermaid;
  • Vodka;
  • Steve's love life;
  • Trying different hair styles.

Here is what is important to Clint Barton specifically:

  • Being annoying;
  • Hiding in high places;
  • Sleeping in high places;
  • Natasha Romanoff;
  • Sometimes having sex with Agent Coulson;
  • Video games;
  • Obnoxious movies.

Here is what is important to Thor specifically:

  • Jane Foster;
  • Having a great time;
  • Not really being around all that often;
  • Loki;
  • Sometimes having sex with Loki;
  • Being generally agreeable about everything;
  • Introducing everyone to Asgardian things like hardcore alcohol and hardcore aphrodisiacs.

Here is what is important to Steve Rogers specifically:

  • Bucky Barnes;
  • Pretty much just Bucky Barnes;
  • Sometimes Tony Stark;
  • Sometimes Natasha Romanoff;
  • Brooklyn;
  • Losing his virginity;
  • Drawing;
  • Jazz;
  • Hot dogs;
  • Jogging.

Also note that:

  • Sam Wilson is everyone's free therapist, and is generally the nicest guy;
  • Darcy is a Mary-Sue for authors and sleeps with everyone;
  • Everyone lives together in Avengers Tower and it is like a college dorm;
  • Pepper Potts takes care of all problems;
  • Bucky is sarcastic and sexy, or he is broken and sad;
  • Bucky likes orange juice;
  • The Avengers and/or S.H.I.E.L.D. have a lot of missions that require agents to pose as a couple;
  • All of the Avengers listen to more Fall-Out Boy and One Direction than I would have guessed.

This is the important information I have gathered so far. I love fan fiction guys. Hit me up with/for recs! I'll see you on the beach with my iPad out!