Lego Vader

Converse Kickin' Conversation: Say What?

Are you feeling lonely?
Are you feeling a lack of friendship in your life? 
Do you feel a shortage of pizazz or razz-a-mi-tazz when you are trying to carry on a conversation with your cat, dog, hamster, or goldfish? 

Well, thankfully DC Comics x Converse Chuck Taylor has come to the rescue putting the KABOOM back into your social game! 

Case in point:
Just the other day I was out and about doing errands, while wearing my Wonder Woman kicks (featured above), and I had been in the store for 1 minute when I was stopped by a young woman.  
She said, "I totally love your shoes, my friends and I are big comic book geeks!" 
Of course I told her that she and her friends were headed down the correct path of life and that they should keep following their heart! We ended up talking about the latest comic books that have come out, comic cons that we have been too, and recommended a few movies to each other. 
A conversation lasting at least 10-15 minutes. (hey- she was an employee we had to cover a lot in little time.)
I walked away feeling like I had met a soul sister and done good in the world! 

My next experience was at another local public establishment. 
I was minding my own business, browsing the long aisles of books and magazines, when a small child came running up to me and was yelling something totally NOT English! I am pretty sure it was Klingon. 
The child was babbling and pointing.  
Finally he/she (still unsure on the gender) just plopped down and pointed to my shoes! It was pretty much the highlight of AWESOME!
The frazzled and embarrassed parent was only 2 steps behind. 
She was spouting apologies, but was explaining that "THE DAD", in a tone that was hilarious, read the baby comics every night!  
I died laughing. 
She did not realize the child, who spoke Klingon, would recognize a comic book character.  We began talking and she was fascinated at how normal I actually was! 
You know with being a comic book geek and a full grown adult and all! 
Once again, I walked away feeling I had done good influencing the world!

And who, or rather what, did I have to thank, well my Chuck Taylors! 

We are all aware of the hype around DC Comic and Converse merging.  It all started in with the first collection released in mid February 2011 to celebrate DC Comics 75th anniversary.  The first collection included Superman, Batman, and Joker in a vintage comic style and was called:
     *DC Heroes Pack Chuck Taylors - 75 Anniversary
After that it becomes a blur....I seriously tried to track down the order in which the shoes came out. I got lost between the 7 different collections and at least 4 exclusives...Including Wonder Woman, Riddler, Killer Crocs, and Batman Dark Knight. Geesh! 

We can all agree that Converse and DC Comics did good!

If you are in the market to get some super fly chucks on your thread barren feet and you are interested in checking out the what Superhero or Villain to choose let me give you a few pointers:

• As I stated before, there have been at least 7 released collections so search under collection names such as:
• DC Comics x Converse Chuck Taylor Collection
• DC Comics x Converse Chuck Taylor All Star HI Collection
• DC Comics x Converse Heroes 
• DC Comics x Converse Spring 2011
• DC Comics x Converse Holiday 2011
• DC Comics x Converse Chuck Taylor Original Artwork Collection
• DC Comics x Converse Spring 2012
• DC Comics x Converse Fall 2012
• Do not just look under the Converse site, check out other shoe sites.
• Use additional key words for search such as:
• All Star
• Sneakers
• Superhero Chucks
• DC Converse exclusive
• DC chucks
• Use the specific shoe style HI and Low
• To convert shoe size from men's to women - just subtract 2. Converse does not work in half size so go up a step. 
• Woman size 8 : Man size 6
• Woman size 9 : Man size 7

If by chance you have been lost to this wonderful world of conversation starters of a new generation and treats for geek feet here are a few pictures to get you going!

                                                                                

however if you are feeling a need to go a different speed:

                              

Favorite Superhero - or Do You Like To Breathe?

When I am asked the question, (innocently), "Who is your favorite Superhero?" 
I panic. I freeze with the fear of a 1000 blazing suns!
My eyes start to twitch and I feel a full system shutdown heading my way.  
I am not one to brag, but I have knowledge.
I know DC characters from Marvel characters.
I can name all the Thundercats, Voltron, Masters of the Universe, Transformers,TMNT and a good portion of GI Joe characters plus villains, not to mention a smattering of other swashbucklers.  So, the task of actually knowing a character and having the data to back it up should be easy. 
Alas, my brain goes to jelly. 

I have come to a couple of conclusions of why this physical comic meltdown seems to occur. Let me make it clear that all my conclusions could fit in a fanny pack and have not aided my dilemma. However, the train wreck in me says keep going...

My first conclusion is this, simply: When the word superhero is typed into google a plethora of hits come up. One exciting tidbit is: The Ultimate List of Superheroes and Villains by Comic Vine. There are literally thousands of superheroes and wonders of the universe listed on this fantastic page. 
Donald Duck is #5.
I do not know if I really need to expand on this much more, expect to say I do admire sassy attitude.

Another conclusion: picking favorites is so overrated.
If I was asked which do you like more, breathing or the use of your brain?  And then told to hurry and pick one! AAAAA...seriously?!?  There is just too much involved. 
There are times I would love to flip the off button for the ole' noggin, but I was never good at holding my breath for very long. 
And if I picked just one does that mean I am judged for still liking the other. 
"Nope sorry - You like breathing so today you have a LOBOTOMY scheduled!"
I guess in comparison, when I finally do come out with an answer and say, "ummm my favorite is well, oh gee, OK - I enjoy Daredevil"
Then I trot off to the comic book store and see said asker, and they see me buying a heaven forbid - Spiderman, Thor, Superman, Wolverine...it is pure confusion, head scratching, stammering - you get the drift. Can't a girl just love the universe? 

Now, getting to the nitty gritty of it all for me, why is it "Who is your favorite Superhero?", not "Who is your favorite Super Villain?" 
Dark Helmet in "Spaceballs" said it best, 

"Evil will always triumph because good is dumb." 

The way I look at it - villains are cool. 
Without our neighborhood villains there would be no need for Superheroes. 
As Vic the Publicist so eloquently states from "Mystery Men":

"VIC THE PUBLICIST:  I think right now we should focus on the positive. Tonight was good.

CAPTAIN AMAZING:  Yeah - you think so? 'Cause I was worried it was, um, I don't know... PATHETIC! "Amazing triumphs at a nursing home"? That's great copy, Vic.

VIC THE PUBLICIST:  Look, I'm a publicist, not a magician. You want big news, you have to have big fights. A superhero needs a super villain. And thanks to you, we've got none left." To sum it up, I have my favorites on certain days. I have the characters that make me laugh - ALWAYS. Then there is the good ole' fashion dose of nostalgia and I will never be able to shake those tried and true characters from my bones. (Note to self - have it written in my will to have He-Man and Lion-O buried with me.) I have my femme-fatal side that rages true and strong and I consider that a class or category of its own! Then I have my all time favorite villains. So I guess the question for ME is not, "Who is your favorite Superhero?" but rather "Who is your favorite comic character TODAY?!?"