My Trip to the Comic Shop (or, How I Started My Journey Back to Comic Books)
(Note: I am still open to comic/graphic novel suggestions. Feel free to leave them here.) Yesterday, I went to the comic book shop. It has been close to a decade since I last went into one, and longer since went shopping for comic books (or graphic novels — manga excluded). And so, I took the bus out to MEGA Gaming and Comics in Gainesville, FL expecting to find a few interesting things in that tiny shop by the gas station. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. MGC is not so tiny after all. Unlike the place in Placerville, CA, where I would sometimes buy Magic: the Gathering cards and what not, MGC seemed enormous in comparison. The fellow running the place was also quite helpful. The greatest fear I have as a new comics reader (or renewed, if you will) is jumping into the middle of a series and getting hopelessly lost (DC and Marvel in particular). While I think some of my selections will require some backwards reading, the staff member (whose name I didn’t catch) was kind enough to point me in the direction of a number of renewed properties that would be less alarming to a new reader. Apparently DC and Marvel have recently tried to reboot some of their characters/series (the New 52 for DC and Marvel Now! for, well, Marvel), and I wouldn’t have known that if MGC’s staff hadn’t told me. As the list below will indicate, I didn’t get that many things that were suggested by you readers. Part of this was because the store simply didn’t have some of them or were missing book #1. The other part was that I forgot to write some of the titles down on my way out, and subsequently forgot the titles. I’ve since added them to my Amazon Wishlist. Since I have already read two of the books I purchased (yeah, that fast), I expect I’ll buy a lot more stuff in the future, which means that my Amazon Wishlist is going to fill up with comics and graphic novels. In any case, I won’t hold off telling you what I got anymore. Here goes (large pictures ahead): And there you go!
Source Help: Books on Race in the Spanish Empire (and Mexico)
The other day, I stuck my foot really far into my mouth. While recording an episode of The Skiffy and Fanty Show, we managed to get into a discussion about race in the various colonial empires (a discussion that is not part of the actual episode — beyond off topic, really). I managed to say something that, moments later, I realized was phenomenally stupid. Why was it stupid? Because I simply did not have enough information to make any reasonable assertion whatsoever. If it’s not already obvious, the topic was race in the Spanish Empire (Mexico in particular — pre- and post-independence). I caught myself fairly quickly (which is nice, considering the last time I said some stupid stuff on the show), but I still feel pretty damn bad about it. Julia Rios has already suggested one book related to the subject of race in the Spanish Empire or Mexico (pre-/post-independence), but I was hoping some of you folks might have some good suggestions. Basically, I’m looking for books that explore the relationship between the Spanish and the native populations at any point from the start of colonization to at least its end (if not later). I have a preference for academic books (stuff printed by actual academic presses, rather than one of the big six), but even a really good popular text will give me a lot of gateways into exploring the topic in depth. Any help here would be greatly appreciated! Education is wonderful, and since the Spanish Empire and Mexico are not my strong points, I’d like to do some educating…