What I've Been Reading.

So, with everything that has been going on, I haven't really bothered to read too much. Well, novels anyway. Chances are that, if you are following me, you know that I'm a huge comic book fan. (I'll by at NYCC, so if you're going, feel free to say hello - just be patient with me since I'm terribly shy and awkward.)

I figured that, since I don't have any book reviews to post right now, I'd go ahead and spotlight a few comics worth your time.

A quick note: If you're normally not into comics, I still beg of you to give these titles a chance. They are a lot different than what you're used to when you think of a comic book.

1. Ms. Marvel
2. Captain Marvel
3. She-Hulk
4. Black Widow
5. The New Warriors

Yes, those are all Marvel titles... that's mainly because I'm playing catch-up with my Marvel NOW! books. But the great thing about those four titles? Four out of those five are all female led books. (The New Warriors has some fantastic females on their team line-up, too!)

My two absolute favorite Marvel NOW! titles currently are Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. These books have been constantly consistent in offering fantastic storytelling and wonderful characters. If you're looking for more diversity when it comes to comics, you need to give Ms. Marvel a shot. It features a young female of color who is also Muslim. But it doesn't solely focus on that. It's basically a story about a young girl trying to figure out her place in the world and who she is. (Seriously, the storytelling in this one is top-notch. I always end each issue with a smile on my face.)

And then there's Captain Marvel, who we'll hopefully be getting on the big screen at some point. She is honestly one of my favorite comic book characters ever to exist (right after Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel), and DeConnick's wonderful writing only makes me love her more. What I love about this series is that, in one of the more recent issues, they subtly touched on one of the female characters being gay. The fact that she happened to be gay didn't define her character at all, which to me, is important. It's just part of who she happens to be. And I love how DeConnick handled it. Also? All of the female characters in this series are amazing!

Now, onto She-Hulk. I adore She-Hulk. I hate the artwork, but I love Jen and I love the story, so I've been keeping up with it. If you're not reading this book, you should be. Look past the artwork if it bothers you, because the story is definitely worth reading. Jen is one of my favorite Marvel ladies. She's just all sorts of awesome. The only reason why she isn't as high up on my list as Kamala (Ms. Marvel) and Carol (Captain Marvel) is because the series hasn't been as consistent as those two. Still, it's a great read with wonderful female characters.

Moving onto Black Widow. I love, love, love Natasha, so I've been eagerly awaiting each and every issue. Is it as strong as Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel? No. Does it suffer some of the consistency issues that She-Hulk suffers? Yes. But it's still worth picking up. I've seen comments with people stating that Natasha isn't being written correctly here, but I don't agree with that. I actually like how she's being written here. It's a different viewpoint of this character, and I'm enjoying it.

And finally, The New Warriors. This series has officially been cancelled, which kind of bums me out, because I only recently got into this series after I saw multiple people talking about how great it was. There are still a few issues coming out, and I've gone ahead and pre-ordered them to be sure I get them right away, because this is a fun series full of great characters. This book has diversity, it has emotional depth, and it has a ton of action. Also? The cameos are wonderful.

Also worth mentioning: Hawkeye! I didn't list it on here simply because I started reading this series only after the trade paperbacks came out for Volumes 1 & 2, so I"m waiting for Volume 3 to come out later this year to catch up.

I will (hopefully) be able to pick up a novel to read at some point this week, but for now, those are some of my recommendations of books that you should be reading!