Monthly Reads: Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks

One of my goals for 2013 was to read one “fun” book a month. So far, I’ve only managed graphic novels, but I assure you; I have lofty plans of reading a book with no pictures for the month of March. That said, I only had time for one fun book/graphic novel in February, Faith Erin Hicks’ Friends With Boys.

I had really been looking forward to Friends With Boys, so when it went on pre-order on Amazon I snatched it up, and I read it cover to cover the day it arrived. As always, Hicks’ characters are so believable and expressive. Friends with Boys follows the story of Maggie McKay as she enters public school after years of home schooling, and her adventures in contending with issues surrounding family, friends and of course, ghosts. Hicks conveys adolescent angst in a very accessible way, without any unnecessary melodramatic frills. Maggie’s first day of high school felt exactly like MY first day of high school, and the drama between jocks and weirdos feels very real without crossing over into .

If you breeze through this read like I did the first time,  Friends With Boys feels like a coming of age story where no one actually comes of age (other than one ancillary character, who is quite frankly the least likable of the entire cast of protagonists). However, upon closer examination, it’s evident that this coming of age story is addressing how as adults we do not get closure on every issue in our lives. As such, Friends feels less like a complete story and more like a vignette in the characters’ lives, which was a little disappointing. I want more of Maggie, her brothers, as well as Al and Lucy, but I doubt that’s in the cards. Still, I’m looking forward to whatever Hicks has in store for us next.

You R2 Good To Me, Valentine

On the first Valentine’s Day Eric and I shared, he wrote and performed an original rap titled “Love Ho”. It was as wonderful and ridiculous as it sounds. Since then, we’ve kept the holiday a little more modest. There’s usually Chinese food and chocolate involved. Maybe a movie or a small gift or two. This year I wanted to do something special, so I made Eric a valentine!

Eric is an artist. Year after year, he’s whipped up sweet, silly, stupid valentines that have always brought a smile to my face. I’m not much of an artist, but I suspected that if I applied myself I could make something that was at least somewhat charming. Due to a total lack of drawing skills, I decided to do a paper-cut. Armed with some fancy paper from Blick, an X-Acto knife and a reference photo of what I suspect was an R2-D2 trashcan, I set to work. Six hours (over several weeks) later, R2 was complete. The back read “You R2 Good To Me”, and Eric loved it. My favorite bit is his little heart shaped sensor light.


Eric and I exchanged valentines in the morning before he made his way to work. After what turned out to be a long, frustrating day we enjoyed dinner at the restaurant where we had our first date. Dinner was followed by chocolates, snugs and awful TV at home. It was lovely.

A Night at Big Rock & Skywalker Ranch

When one of Eric’s dear friends invited us to join her for a screening at Skywalker Ranch our answer was nothing less than a “HELL YES!” Yesterday afternoon Eric and I piled into tiny car and made our way across the bridge and bay to Big Rock Ranch. We’ve had the pleasure of visiting a few times before, but every time I drive up Lucas Valley Road I start dorking out like it’s nobody’s business. Big Rock Ranch is beautiful. Despite the dry winter we’ve been having, the ranch was verdant landscape of lush green hills and trees. The craftsman style architecture accented with rich wood gracefully bridges the natural and man-made elements of the landscape. And don’t even get me started on the inside of the ranch. Decorated with stained glass, Alphonse Mucha artwork, original movie posters, Star Wars memorabilia and Samurai suits, visiting Big Rock is like dying and going to dork heaven.

It so happened that there was a screening of Oscar nominated short animated films that evening, so we got to sit in on three shorts before heading to Skywalker. Each one was strange and delightful, and followed by a Q&A session with the directors and producers. I’m not particularly into the Oscars, but I’ll be crossing my fingers for The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

After the Q&A wrapped up, we piled back into tiny car and drove to Skywalker Ranch. We pulled right up to the Stag, snagged some seats, and waited for the Secret Life of Arriety to start. Before the film began rolling, director Gary Rydstrom gave a short presentation and introduced some of the other Skywalker Sound employees who worked on the film. Even though the Stag was a little too loud for my old lady ears, the sound was incredible, and the film itself was very sweet. We had a great time; a big thanks to Tu-Anh for inviting us out for an evening at Big Rock and Skywalker Ranch (despite my incessant fan-girling). When I become fabulously wealthy I promise to commission a life-size bronze of Master Yoda for your garden for making my dorky dreams come true.

Monthly Reads: Star Wars Legacy Volume Eleven

One of my resolutions for 2013 was to read one “fun” book a month. Re: ANYTHING other than my course texts. January is over and done with, and though I started several books with the best intentions, I have yet to finish any of them. Unless you count comic books! So without further ado, here’s what I thought of my January Read, Star Wars Legacy: War with story by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, and script by Ostrander.

For almost as long as I can recall, I have loved Star Wars. For almost as long as I have been reading, I have loved comic books. But until a friend turned me on to Legacy, I had never really read any Star Wars comics. It’s just as well, I suppose, since none of them are canon, but canon or not, I have enjoyed Legacy, and was excited for the final issues to be available as a trade paperback. War is the eleventh and final volume of the series and while I’m happy to know how it ended, the ending itself was rather anticlimactic. Everything about War just seemed rushed: the art, the plot, and the ending. This easily could have been stretched into multiple volumes, but at least as a single volume, minimal time was devoted to space battles. Dogfights in space are GREAT on screen, but on the page they fall flat and become confusing all too quickly. Ostrander worked hard to wrap up multiple sub-plots, which resulted in too many mini-endings, Return of the King style.

Despite the anticlimactic nature of the final volume, I enjoyed the Legacy series in its entirety. The story of Cade Skywalker, a conflicted jedi turned pirate, and the struggle for power between the Jedi, Imperials and Sith Empire often had me at the edge of my seat. The artists take the dirty space aesthetic Lucas pioneered to a new level in this dystopian post-Rebellion era future. The writers populated the universe with flawed, gritty anti-heroes, who despite their heavy-handed use of fictitious alien slang, are still endearing to the reader. I would recommend Star Wars Legacy for any one who loves Star Wars, loves comics, and is looking for a fresh read.