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The Wednesday Waffle Issue Eleven: Boogaloo with the Bat Witcher!
Hello! We're back with another Wednesday Waffle - sorry it's been so long but we've been stupidly busy and had nothing much to say either. Now we have rather more than we'd like. So. Let's get started with the top story:
DANCING TO THE ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: COVID LOCKDOWN UPDATE
Right. If you're reading this on the morning of publication, today is the last day the shop will be open under the stairs before we lock down until 2nd December*. We're open until 6pm, and then that's it.
Unlike last time though, Diamond will be delivering throughout lockdown, as will our other suppliers. We will be invoicing and then delivering to customers throughout Harrogate and Knaresborough - we have to pay for our deliveries in advance and it really would help us out of you were able to buy your comics weekly as they come in.**
We don't think we're going to reinstate the Daily Waffle, but who knows, we might. Even if we don't, do keep an eye on the website and our social media accounts to stay up to date with what's happening and what comics are coming in.
Bottom line. The first lockdown very nearly did for us - there was a period of about eight days when I was pretty sure we were done. We have no remaining reserves and no room for manoeuvre. Equally, we survived that - this is shorter and we know when it's supposed to end. We didn't get this far by being the kind of company that gives up - and we have no intention of starting that sort of nonsense now.
We're not going to complain about being forced to close either. The virus is clearly on the rise, and if this new lockdown flattens the curve a little, then lives will be saved. We may or may not have opinions about how the pandemic has been tackled by the "Powers that Be" (and if we've spoken in the shop you probably know what they are) but this is neither the time or the place for that.
So we hope to see you today, if we don't we'll look forward to waving at you from a suitable distance as we deliver to your door - and if we don't see you then we'll see you in December.
*At least. Let's be honest, we don't know how the lockdown will end, and if cinemas don't open on the second, then neither do we.
**If you can't, we get it - times is tough for all of us. But if you can, you're making it more likely that we'll still be here come Christmas...
THE NEW TV BATWOMAN LOOKS PRETTY COOL!
Better news now - although I feel the need to be clear on a couple of things. First of all, I have not yet had chance to see season one of Batwoman, so I have no idea whether it was any good or not. All I can say is that Ruby Rose looked damn good in the suit and what I've seen of her on film in the John Wick movies suggests that she has the fighting chops to pull off the role.
I've read reviews that raved about her performance. I've read reviews that thought she was awful. I've read reviews complaining that she was not gay enough to play Kate Kane, that it was outrageous to make the character gay (such complaints presumably coming from people who have never read the comic or who thought they were talking about Batgirl - either way I'm dismissing such critics), I've read reviews saying the show was just poorly written.
Whatever. I'll make up my own mind when I see it and I'll go from there.
I should also acknowledge that I absolutely adore the character of Kate Kane. In the comics she's Bruce Wayne's cousin - a gay, Jewish, ex-special forces soldier forced out of the army as a result of "don't ask, don't tell" (something they're going to need to retcon soon if they don't age her dramatically, but that's a matter for future writers).
Like Batgirl (all three versions) she took up the mantle of the bat without asking permission from Batman, and has always been fiercely independent of the wider "Bat-Family". I've always rather liked that - in many ways her status as a "loner" has made her more like my ideal Batman than Bruce has ever been.
So. They made a TV show featuring Ruby Rose as Kate Kane: Batwoman. And then, at the end of the first season, Rose quit. I don't know whether that's because she wasn't good in the role, or she got offered a better role, or she didn't enjoy working on the show, or whatever. The fact is that for whatever reason, she quit.
That gave the show's producers three options. They could cancel the show. They could recast the role of Kate Kane. Or they could pass the cowl on to another character. They chose the third option.
And so, a new character, who has never appeared in the comics is to take on the mantle of the Batwoman. Javicia Leslie, an actor of colour, will step into the cowl as the character Ryan Wilder. This is how that looks:
Pretty cool, huh?
OK, so this Batwoman is not comics accurate, but so what? The TV show is not a comic - and the AMC shows have already established that they're set in a multi-verse. Besides, they haven't made Kate Kane black, (as I've heard some people complaining on the internet) they've created a new character and put her in the suit. I have no problem with that - so long as the show is good. That of course, remains to be seen...
TOSS A COIN TO YOUR WITCHER
OK, this is genuinely cool. I mean, seriously, genuinely, cool.
There are many great things about living in Harrogate. Easy access to the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors. Great restaurants. A very cool cinema and a vibrant theatre. Excellent bars. A thriving Geek Culture.
We also have Fountains Abbey, an actual UNESCO World Heritage Site on our doorstep. That's cool enough, but it's about to get cooler. Because it's been scouted as a filming location for Season Two of The Witcher. And that's very cool indeed.
More details available HERE.
And that's it for now. Take care of yourselves while we're gone - Lockdown can be hard for a lot of people, so keep an eye on your mates too. If we can help we know where we are.
Stay safe folks. We'll see you when we see you.
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