68. Hero
It wasn't something Gus had planned or anything. It wasn't like it was a date. But when Juliet had mentioned that she was ordering all her comics online because she hadn't had time to find a local shop that wasn't run by someone who creeped her out, Gus had offered to show her his. His comic book shop, that is. Well, not his, because he didn't own it, but his in the sense that he was there at least once a week.
Jasper's Comics was a Santa Barbara institution. It seemed like nobody could remember a time when it hadn't been there. Jasper Baker, the owner, was a petite, well put together old man who was always behind the counter, called every woman 'young lady', never forgot a name, and looked like he'd belong more as a curator at a stuffy old museum than sitting in a comic book store. He was the sort of man who at first glance didn't look like he'd ever seen a book that wasn't leather bound with gold engraved letters, and if he had he would definitely Not Approve.
Jules immediately adored him and it seemed that the feeling was mutual. Within ten minutes, they'd already made plans to meet the next day over tea-"Can you believe it, Gus? He actually has tea. Not the drink, the meal! That's so cute!"-to continue their conversation about Francis Tiller's negative portrayal of women in his comics.
After fifteen minutes of intelligently rebuking all of his arguments and one flash of her tiny, wounded kitten expression, she had Kyle Lench agreeing that Seaman was horribly underrated by ignorant people who didn't actually research his full powers. The same Kyle who religiously updated his blog entitled 'Keep Our Comics Free Of Seaman' every Tuesday and Thursday.
Thirty minutes later she was laughing with Janine, who was in charge of inventory and stocking the shelves. They exchanged convention horror stories, outdoing each other on everything from costume malfunctions to panelist breakdowns. Juliet's Red Phantom/Green Spirit case won hands down and the subject shifted to their favorite Z-Men characters. Juliet liked Duskwalker, but Janine preferred Seraph.
She flitted easily around Gus' shop, looking comfortable and at home, examining everything and talking to everyone, but after the first half hour or so, Gus wasn't really listening to the actual words anymore. He just leaned back against the counter by Jasper, tried to calm the weird fluttering that was going on low in his stomach, told himself that he really needed to put the vintage Yellow Torch comic he was looking at back in its sleeve before his hands got it all sweaty, and watched her fit so effortlessly into this part of his life. When Jasper called Juliet 'a remarkable young lady', all Gus could do was smile and offer a soft 'You know that's right.' in agreement.
As they were heading out the door, because Jules had just made Lenny cry by casually pointing out that he was wrong-Jane Green was originally called Miracle Girl, not Ms. Miracle like Lenny had loudly and vehemently asserted, because everyone knew that Ms. Miracle was Cheryl Donner-and you really can't stay somewhere after an incident like that, he offered to carry her shopping bag and held out his arm for her. When she took it, he felt a thrill run up his spine and couldn't stop himself from grinning down at her while she raved about the store.
As soon as he could convince her that it was a good idea, he was going to marry this woman.
Kristin: Gus and Jules make me smile in a way that Shawn and Jules probably never will. Their love is so geeky and adorable. And yes, I am a huge nerd. Thanks for noticing. :D Since we know that in Psychworld the comics aren't the same as ours, I took the liberty of doing a few parodies. And the Seaman thing? Yeah, apparently I sometimes channel a twelve year old boy. *snickers* Seaman…
A lot of this is based off of conversations that I've had in real life. Aquaman is given a bum rap. Yes, he talks to guppies, but he's also invulnerable to machine gun fire. And I am very much not a Frank Miller fan. I have Opinions about him, most of which spawn from the fact that he treats women like over simplified plot devices with breasts, not actual people. That's not on, Mr. Miller. For another female perspective on Miller and blatant sexism in comics, try the blog Girls Read Comics(and they're pissed).
It's all great, but here's the first post- http:/girl-wonder[dot]org/girlsreadcomics/?p=9
And a personal favorite of mine-http:/girl-wonder[dot]org/girlsreadcomics/?p=14
For a comic that shows how female superheros should be treated, check out-http:/www[dot]uniquescomic[dot]com/
Because that? That is freaking amazing. Nice, three dimensional characters with realistic personalities, motivations, and costumes/bodies. It isn't about fanservice, it's about telling a solid story with believable leads. I have so much love for Comfort Love and Adam Withers(the creators)that it isn't even funny.
/Geeky!Feminist!Kristin
27/100