I’m not saying it was bad. I plowed through 24 issues in less than a day; it was well written and compelling. I just. Ugh, I hate that story. Ok, I don’t hate it-hate it. I find the rest of the run to be frustrating and infuriating. New X-Men elicited very strong emotional reactions from me as I was reading. It takes strong, solid storytelling to do that. Anyway, the super infuriating, drive-me-bonkers part of the story was Jean’s death. Because I think it was completely and utterly pointless. Here’s why.

Before Morrison’s New X-Men, Scott Summers and Jean Grey were the First Couple of Mutantkind. The superhero equivalent of the star quarterback marrying the homecoming queen, they were a perfect couple, and therefore pretty boring for most readers. My personally feelings on Scott and Jean? Well, this image right here sums up my ideal relationship.

That said, life-long commitments aren’t exactly built for serial dramas – there’s a reason no one stays married on soap operas. Strong marriages are just too stable for media that require high drama month after month. It’s very easy for things to get boring, and not just for the readers.

So I completely understand Morrison breaking up the super-couple. I think, in the timeframe, he did a great job establishing that Scott and Jean were growing apart, and while we saw more of Scott’s frustrations and feelings of inadequecy, I think it’s safe to say that Jean was comfortable with the distance that had grown between them.

Like Scott says, it had been a long time since “that shining, unshakable thing we felt once on the moon.” And while it something he was willing to run out on his wife and kid for when Jean came back from the dead the first time, it wasn’t there anymore. It’s a hard thing to admit. It’s an even harder thing to come to terms with. Which is why Scott does the insanely destructive thing and starts sleeping with Emma. You can argue all you want that it only happens in their heads, but the affair is real enough that it distracts both Emma and Scott from their duties as X-Men.

 Fangirl baggage aside, I’m actually ok with Scott and Emma. When Scott felt like he couldn’t talk to anyone, he was able to talk to Emma. And even though she had ulterior motives, Emma was the one who was there to get Scott through his issues. By the end(ish), I was on board with the new relationship status quo. It’s very adult and very real-life for something like this to happen. Morrison has set things up for something that very rarely happens in comics: Divorce.

But instead, Jean is killed in a fit of roid-rage by Magento. For no real reason other than she embarrassed him in front of a lot of people. It’s completely ridiculous and entirely unfair to Jean’s character. It doesn’t matter how much growth we’ve seen from Scott as a character, apparently he needs to be shackled with guilt again. Scott and Jean can’t just break up, she has to die.

I’m not sure what it is about the D word that makes it so rare in comics. The only cases I can think of are Hank Pym/Ant-Man and Janet Van Dyne/Wasp at Marvel and Ray Palmer/The Atom and Jean Loring/Not a Superhero at DC. Hank and Janet split up because of domestic violence; and Jean was a bit off her rocker and went on to kill Sue Dibney, the Enlongated Man’s wife. Both are pretty extreme circumstances and afterwords, the wife (not the husband) ends up dying.

The statistics are shaky, but approximately 40% of all marriages in the U.S. ended in divorce as of 2009. For something that happens that frequently in real life, I think it’s so bizarre that it happens so infrequently in comics. Couples are more likely to have their relationships magically retconned or rebooted out of existence than be served papers. Yes, divorce is messy and ugly. But it happens, and sometimes it’s better than having a couple squabble and fight for years. And when done well, it makes for some compelling drama. I’m not advocating divorces for everyone, but it sure beats killing off spouses.

Comics!

I love comics. You love comics. We love comics. We should read these comics together!

Avengers versus X-Men by Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman, Matt Fraction. Olivier Coipel, John Romita Jr., and Adam Kubert
There are a lot of names listed up there. And I was not exactly impressed with Avengers: X-Sanction. There’s a lot that could go very wrong with this event. But try as I might to manage me expectations, I am so friggin’ excited about Avengers versus X-Men. I like the concept. I love that the Phoenix Force, and Hope Summers, will be central to the story. And I’m hoping, wishing, and praying that just maybe Jean Grey will come back (and punch Cyclops).

Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples
I know this is on a lot of people’s “looking forward to” lists. Brian K. Vaughn’s return to comics really is something everyone should be excited about. But I have to say, I’m equally if not more excited about Fiona Staples’ art on the new series from Image. I was introduced to her work on 2010’s Mystery Society and have eagerly been waiting to see more from her.

Womanthology by 150+ awesome ladies
The Kickstarter campaign for this book raised its goal of $20,000 in less than 19 hours and passed $100,000 before the campaign ended two weeks later. It’s the most successful comics project in Kickstarter history. Womanthology will showcase the works of female creators of every age and experience level. I think it’s a brilliant celebration of women and comics, and I’m very excited to pick this up at my local shop.

Cow Boy by Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos
I can’t wait for you guys to read this book. I’ve probably over-hyped it a bit, but Cow Boy is truly something special. A 10-year old bounty hunter in the Old West, Boyd Linney will break your heart with his dogged determination and cold righteousness.

Time of the Dapper Men by Jim McCann and Janet K. Lee
I adored Return of the Dapper Men. I can’t wait to get back to the magical, whimsical world Jim McCann and Janet K. Lee created in the first volume. It’s also been wonderful to watch Lee’s storytelling grow over the past couple years. I’m sure we’ll see some breathtaking work from her in Time of the Dapper Men.

Books!

Sometimes I read books that DON’T have pictures in them. And I like them! Crazy, I know. Clearly this is all jennIRL’s fault.

Railsea by China Mieville
Mieville has been churning out epic story after epic story over the last few years. And this May will see the release of his latest. I have (and started) The City and the City, which I’m told is the best gateway drug for his novels, but haven’t actually finished it. I’m hoping 2012 is the year I get hooked by his science fiction goodness.

Sorry Please Thank You: Stories by Charles Yu
I recently finished How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, which is wonderfully sad and poignant. Charlie Yu has this great, unconventional style of storytelling and I’m looking forward to see what his new collection of short stories will look like.

Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway
Have you read The Gone-Away World yet? No? Go read it. Right now. I’ll wait.

….

WASN’T THAT AMAZING?!!!!! But seriously, The Gone-Away World is definitely in my Top 5 Favorite books. An amazingly well-crafted story covering a miriad of genres, Nick Harkaway knocked it out of the park with his debut novel. Early buzz is that Angelmaker is even better.

Curling!

If you don’t already know, I do that wacky sport from the Olympics called Curling. You know, the one with the brooms and the ice that was on CNBC til all hours of the morning during the Winter Games that you couldn’t look away from. Yeah, I do that. And I’m pretty good. I’m planning on doing four bonspiels (or tournaments) this year. Among them are my first women’s bonspiel and hopefully, if the stars align properly, the Ice Cup in Akureyri, Iceland. I’ll also be doing our club’s Scottish-themed Robert Burns “Thrifty” Bonspiel in a couple weeks and the GNCC’s Mixed 5-and-Under Bonspiel, the Kayser.

Conventions!

Con season is just around the corner. So I’m working on balancing my curling schedule with the upcoming comic conventions. As always, I’ll be at my hometown show, New York Comic-Con. I’m planning on attending my first Heroes-Con for their 30th Anniversary, as well as GeekGirlCon once that gets settled. Depending on scheduling and my budget, I’m hoping to squeeze in Emerald City Con last minute and possibly the enigmatic MorrisonCon (provided we get a date and location in the near future). But I am super, extra excited to be headed to Chicago in April for C2E2, which was my favorite show last year. Twitter is all abuzz with chatter and planning. I’ve already booked my room and airfare and lined up my roommates for the weekend. I can’t wait to catch up with everyone. It’s gonna be SO. AWESOME.

Kitten!

It’s not like I have plans for Mighty Minerva the Wonder Cat. But I needed a fifth header and I LOVE KITTENS! I am sure Minnie will continue to be adorably awesome throughout 2012.

10. Daredevil #1

Who is this man and where has he been all my life?!

9. Generation Hope #5

Oh do I love a gag at Emma Frost’s expense. This is basically the comic book version of The Peanuts “Wah wah wah”. It made me chuckle.

8. Wonder Woman #1

You can’t really have a Wonder Woman “origin” without the Bullets and the Bracers. More than anything I think they are the most definitive part of the Wonder Woman mythos. This gorgeous sequence in the first issue of the New-New Wonder Woman gives the classic theme a fresh twist.

7. Wolverine and the X-Men #2 (and 3)

The first day at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning was a bit rough. The Hellfire Kids attacked the school through a living earth mutant-thingy. In the heat of battle, after doing a pretty awesome trick with snowmen, Iceman kisses Kitty Pryde. And then tries to talk to her about it once the dust settles. It’s just an adorable, comedic moment.

6. Uncanny X-Men #544

This issue was such a fantastic end to the first epic volume of Scott Summers and the X-Men’s story. And this perfect little character moment between Scott and Booby was just brilliant.

5. The Flash #3

A plane is going down and it going to crash right into the Gem City Bridge! It’s up to the Flash and his vibratey powers to save everyone on the plane AND the bridge. he opening sequence is a stylized double-page spread is fast, slick and cinematic. To quote the neighbor kid from The Incredibles, “THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED!!”. I read this issue like three times it was so much fun.

4. Uncanny X-Force #12

There are times I think Rick Remender is writing a romance comic. And I am very much OK with that. I’m also not one to normally ‘ship Jean and Logan, but this scene is just so raw and amazing, I want them to make kissy faces ALL THE TIME.

3. Amazing Spider-Man #673

Spider-Man and New York City have a love-hate relationship. Spidey loves New York, and most of the city thinks he’s a MENACE! But after saving Manhattan from being turned into giant icky spiders, Mayor J. Jonah Jameson finally says thank you, in the most New York way possible.

2. Generation Hope #9

This was one of my favorite issues of the year. It was heartbreaking, poignant, and beautifully executed. Hope and the team rush off to college campus in England to find the next Light, only to find out that the young mutant has committed suicide. When Hope learns that peer pressure and bullying were behind it, she’s both angry and devastated. Her simple “We have to be better” just gutted me.

1. Batgirl #24

I love Stephanie Brown to pieces. And her last issue as Batgirl was the perfect send off. I’m woman enough to admit that I cried at the end of this issue. I miss Steph something awful, but like she says, “It’s only the end if you want it to be.” I’ll always have these comics, and I can re-read them whenever I want.

(I probably should get a scanner if I plan on doing this next year.)

This article was originally published on August 27, 2009 on murmur.com.

Everyone loves a geek these days. The success of shows like The Big Bang Theory and Chuck are proof of that. The geeks are the main focus in these shows. They’re the characters you root for and connect with, not the off-to-the-side comic relief. If Glee is everything I hope it is, we’ll get to see even more geeky goodness (FOX is even running a marketing campaign around the term Gleek). Granted, there is ample room for improvement with the depiction of geeks on TV, but we’ve come a long way since Screech and Urkel.

From Oxford English Dictionary
geek /geek/ noun informal, chiefly N. Amer. 1 an unfashionable or socially inept person. 2 an obsessive enthusiast.
- DERIVATIVES geeky adjective.
- ORIGIN from the related English dialect word geck fool.

From Merriam-Webster
geek \’gek\ noun. probably from English dialect geek, geck fool from Low German, geck from Middle Low German
1: a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake 2: a person often of an intellectual bent who is disliked 3: an enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field or activity
- geek·dom noun
- geek·i·ness noun
- geeky adjective

I am a geek.

Like the majority of my fellow geeks, I’m a bit awkward, but not socially inept. I like to believe that people do like me. And I definitely do not bite the heads off of anything (except maybe gummy bears, but usually I just pop the whole thing in my mouth). So, according to the dictionary, that leaves us with “enthusiast/expert”. And that is what I love about being a geek.

We geeks are an intellectual bunch, we do our homework. Geeks have a insatiable thirst for knowledge, they can immerse themselves completely in a topic until they learn everything they possibly can. And then, they stick around to learn more and improve on their knowledge. I know geeks who have charted the descendants of William the Conqueror, geeks who practically speak in Java, geeks who can name all the members of all the Legions of Superheroes, geeks who plan raid strategy in their sleep, geeks who can visualize a program just from the code, geeks who can complete Fallout 3 blindfolded. Geeks know their shit.

Geeks are also passionate people. They genuinely and immensely enjoy something: comic books, physics, games (board games, LARPG, MMORPG, FPS), baseball statistics, writing, computer programming, fonts, TV shows, music, microbews, science fiction. It doesn’t matter what it is, geeks are, well, geeks about something. Ever talk to a geek about the thing they’re into? Their enthusiasm is infectious. You can help but smile, even if you can’t keep up with them.

Geeks revel in their geekdom. They know they’re geeks for something and they embrace it. Their geekiness gives them confidence, and that confidence combined with ardent enthusiasm is very sexy. That’s why I love geeks.

It is so ridiculously awesome and mind-blowing, that I have to resort to interwebz speak and caps lock to describe it’s epicness. Like, for real. I will, however, try to talk about this comic like a rational human being instead of an LOLcat.

I know I’m late to the party with this one. People have been raving about Rick Remender’s tale of the X-Men’s covert assassination team for close to a year now. And with very good reason. Call me a late bloomer, it just took me a bit more time to get where everyone else has been.

I checked out Uncanny X-Force pretty early on. There was a ton of buzz right out of the gate. So I grabbed issue three, thinking I could just jump on. It didn’t quite work for me. I can’t exactly say what exactly it was, but from this one issue, the story just wasn’t resonating with me.

My second attempt was issue five-point-one, part of Marvel’s campaign to get people interested in a title with self-contained single issues. I really dug the one-shot for X-Force, so I decided to pick up the next issue, which was part two of a storyline that (I think) pulled from the previous arc. All I know is that there were zombie-robot thingies, some French dude’s mom died, and there were lots of explosions.

At this point I was thinking, “maybe this book just isn’t for me.” And I was kind of OK with that. I mean, I tend to go for brighter action/adventure stories. Dark and twisty killing squad is not typically in my wheel-house. So I settled on letting this title go.

Another six months of fervent internet buzz and my rapidly increasing X-Men obsession drove me to pick up the first Uncanny X-Force trade at my comic shop a couple weeks ago. And that’s when everything clicked into place.

So last week I grabbed all the issues of the current “Dark Angel Saga” story and just devoured them. I’d finish one issue and audibly squee. I’d finish the next and “AAAH!” Then “GAAAHH!” Until finally “GAAHKJWOERJSGKLJGAK” and I fell out of my chair.

Because this comic is amazeballs.

Maybe it doesn’t lend itself to “just jumping on” but my god this story has such a fantastic build to it that it’s worth the bin-diving to catch up. Remender and artist Jerome Opena (and Mark Brooks) have a pitch-perfect sense of pacing, tension, and character. And Dean White’s colors brilliantly set the tone for the comic. The story and the art move together with clockwork precision, and the fast-paced narrative leaves you needing more. Quite simply, Uncanny X-Force is a perfect package of a comic book.

5. Batgirl

To me, Batgirl will always be Steph Brown fighting her way through Gotham with Barbara Gordan in her ear. It will always be Team Batgirl. The most infamous victim of the DC reboot, Bryan Q. Miller’s comic was a constant bright spot for me each month. Full of quick, snappy dialog, I loved Batgirl because it was as much about Steph fighting crime as it was about her relationships but within and outside of the Bat-verse. Steph was my fictional BFF. Issue #15, her team up with Supergirl to fight dozens of movie Draculas, is probably my favorite single issue of a comic.

4. The Sixth Gun

This is a book I like foisting on people. “Did you like Buffy? Cool. Read this. Read this now.” Pegged as a supernatural Western, even if The Sixth Gun doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, give it a shot… er, no pun intended. Over the past year, this comic has been consistently great, with new weird and creepy adventures in each issue.  Cullen Bunn has a great sense of pacing and narrative that just keeps you hooked. And Brian Hurtt’s artwork is simply gorgeous each and every time. I really can’t say enough good things about it.

3. Wonder Woman

I’ve often compared being a Wonder Woman fan to being a Mets fan. Long-suffering die-hards are fiercely loyal to their team/comic book even though, more often than not, it kinda sucks. Even when they’re on a roll, everyone else is way more interested in the Yankees/Batman anyway. Thanks to Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang, the new, new Wonder Woman is an amazing comic that people are buzzing about. I could not be happier with the book or to be a Wonder Woman fan right now.

2. Daredevil

Mark Waid, Marcos Martin, and Paolo Rivera made me fall in love with Daredevil. I’ve never had any desire to pick up Daredevil at all, and now it’s a book I can’t miss. Waid has taken a guilt-ridden character, stripped him of his brooding nature, and started fresh. The story is chock full of action and adventure and doesn’t bog itself down in the quagmire of continuity. And good lord the artwork is jaw-droppingly beautiful. There simply aren’t enough comics like this coming out.

1. Birds of Prey

Duane Swierczynski’s and Jesus Saiz’s relaunch of the all-girl superhero team is the comic we geek girls have been looking for AND NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT! The Birds are fantastic, fleshed-out, kick-ass female characters. The book is fun and sexy without being sexist. I want to take this comic and shout from the roof tops “THIS! THIS IS HOW YOU DO WOMEN IN COMICS! THIS IS A COMIC WE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT!” Feminist-friendly comics don’t need to be ground breaking, they don’t need to beat you over the head with gender equality, they just need to be respectful of their female characters and tell a good story.

So those’re the comics I’m most thankful for, how about you?

This week’s uproar is around Marvel Comics’ cancellation of X-23 by Majorie Liu. Not counting team books, mini-series, or literary adaptations, the Big Two publishers now have only 9 female characters with on-going solo titles. Marvel only has 2 of those titles: Anita Blake and Mystic. I’d really like to say they’ve got three, but we’ve not seen hide nor hair of Brian Michael Bendis’ and Alex Maleev’s Scarlett in months (man, I forgot how much I missed that book).

The book’s cancellation also brings up the issue of the ratio of female to male comic creators. With Liu out of the rotation (for now anyway), all of the Marvel on-going titles (again, not counting mini-series and literary adaptations) are being written by men. I’m not about to scream “New 52!” in a She-Hulk-like rage just yet. Sara Pichelli, Emma Rios and Emanuela Luppachino are artists with on-going titles. Jen Van Meter and Kelly Sue DeConnick are writing/have written some great mini-series that will, hopefully, turn into gigs writing an on-going. But The Architects? All white dudes.

I’m not saying a book needs a woman’s name on the cover, either in the title or the credits, for me to to pick it up. But it’s downright disheartening to see my gender so under-represented in a medium I truly love (at least by the leaders in the industry). And I think a lot of women who are into comics feel the same way.

That’s why the “Geek Girl” community is so loud. That’s why projects like Womanthology are so important. When you do the math, it looks like woman are a very slim minority. When you add on the persistent over-sexualization of and violence towards female characters in comics, not to mention the serious lack of marketing to anyone outside the current and lapsed reader audiences, it’s no wonder more woman aren’t reading comics.

But these are old arguments. We’ve had them many, many times before. And quite frankly I’m really tired of it. It’s like this blogger says, “I blog about sexism in geek culture not because it’s my passion, but because it gets in the way of my passions.”

So I’ve said my piece. When this argument comes up again in two weeks I can point you all back here. But the important thing–the thing I want everyone to know–is this:

As a woman who reads and loves comics, all I really want is to enjoy my comics and for everyone else to enjoy them too.

Men, women, children, my cat. Everyone. Are they all going to enjoy comics as much as I do? Probably not. But there are so many wonderful comics out there, that I know there’s something for everyone.

Anyway.

I know a lot of people had the criticism that Thor’s arc as a character was rushed and under-developed, particularly when compared to Loki. In one day on Midgard, Thor magically falls in love with Jane, becomes worthy of mew-mew, and saves the day. Roll credits. That’s a wrap.

If that’s what you thought of Thor, I’d recommend going back and rewatching it. Keep an eye out for the scenes in which Thor tries to get mjolnir back from SHIELD, Loki’s little chat with Thor when he’s locked up, and his trip to the bar with Dr. Selvig.

It’s subtle; but that’s where the lessons are learned. Like so many superheroes before him, Thor is motivated by loss. It’s not a real, permanent loss like when Peter loses Uncle Ben (and Gwen). But it’s just as powerful. From Thor’s perspective, he’s banished from his home, his actions have caused his father’s death, and he’s lost the source of all his power. Yes, Loki may have made up or embellished those things. But to Thor, they’re fact. It’s like he tells Selvig in the bar, “For the first time in my life, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.”

Jane’s got little to do with it, which is why she’s not in these scenes. I’m not saying the two aren’t in luuuurve. But the enchanted evening on the roof is not how Thor gets his mojo back. It just shows us he’s getting on the right path.

At heart, Thor is a good man. He always was a good man. He just needed to grow up a little and learn the difference between the arrogance of a warrior and the selflessness a hero.

Of course it’s entirely possible I’ve turned into this kid…

The rest of the evening sounded a bit like this…

“Oh cool! Dave Roman is in here!”

“Yay Kate Beaton!”

“Jaime Hernandez?!?! Ohmygod!! AND Gilbert’s in here too?!”

“Craig Thomspon!! Holy crap!!”

“First Second did this! This is AMAZING!”

At this point I flipped to the front cover and actually read the title of the book I was reading.

Nursery Rhyme Comics, as the title would suggest, is an anthology of two-page comic adaptations of various nursery rhymes. In addition to everyone I just gushed over, editor Chris Duffy assembled the best and brightest talent in indie comics, including Raina Telgemeier (Smile), Gene Yang (American Born Chinese), Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo), George O’Conner (Hera, and other books in his Olympians graphic novel series), Ben Hatke (Zita the Spacegirl), and many more brilliant cartoonists.

There’s such an amazing variety of artistic styles in this book, and the storytelling is refreshingly original and whimsical. Subject matter aside, this is a fantastic collection that holds up against any other comic anthology I’ve seen. If you’re a parent who loves comics, I’d say this is a must-have for your family library.

About a quarter of the way through tonight’s episode of Glee I felt a pang of nostalgia for the good ol’ days when the group of us would huddle in the warm glow of our computer monitors, feverishly reading the recap, madly typing our own reactions in the comments. I miss talking about Glee. And since I’m still on Twitter hiatus, you all will just have to humor me and my recap.

Previously on Glee… (seriously? if you’re reading this you either already know what happened previously or don’t care).

Mr. Schu finds Emma’s stash of trashy magazines and to even the scales shows her his hidden stash of trashy porno magazines. He then wonders why she won’t introduce him to her parents.

Mr. Mike Chang, Sr. (and I’m not even being witty with name) drags his son into Principal Higgins office demanding a drug test because Mike got an A- on his last chemistry test, which is like an Asian F… hmmm, isn’t this episode called “Asian F”?

Coach Beast has a chat with her players about the importance of cleaning their Batcaves and bramble patches. You can tell from Finn’s reaction that this will be as emotionally scarring as when he ran over that mail man. She then tells Puck and two new football players that they’ll be dancing in the musical – it’ll help their future NFL/Dancing with the Stars careers.

After a tough time at Dance Practice Booty Camp, Mercedes finds comfort in her boyfriend New Football Player– wait… Mercedes has a boyfriend?! Who plays football and most likely threw a slushie at her in seasons 1, 1.5, and 3?! I’d be angry but the dude just made references to Wonder Woman, the Cheetah, and an Amazonian smack down. He wins TV.

Locker scenes! Mike tells Tina about his Asian F and how he can’t audition for the musical. Kurt tells Rachel he’s ahead of Brittney in the polls for Class Unicorn President. Brittney and Santana come over to talk some smack. Brittney is running on the platform “Girls Rule, Boys Drool.”

Musical Number Pep Rally!

After the commercial break we get the set up for this episode’s Diva-Off. The Directors pull Rachel and Mercedes in to let them now they’ll be singing “Out Here on My Own” from Fame. Oh, it’s on!

Mike Chang, Sr. busts Mike busting a move in the dance studio. Wait, no. It’s just his imagination. But Tina comes in to give him a pep talk about how much he loves dancing… wait that’s not real either. Chang be trippin’. But he decides to go to his audition anyway – “he’s been working on his singing”.

Mike’s audition makes me remember why I love musical theater.

The commercial break informs be Pete Campell and Justin Timberlake are in a sci-fi movie. WHY DID YOU PEOPLE NOT TELL ME ABOUT THIS!

It’s Dance Practice Booty Camp graduation day, and Mercedes is not getting her routine down. Mr. Schu calls her on it and Mercedes does on unflattering impersonation of Jan Brady – Rachel! Rachel! Rachel!

And then Glee goes and does something wonderful and new.

The cast re-enacts the “It’s All Over” number from Dreamgirls. It’s a scene in which a very proud Effie (or in this case, Mercedes) vents her frustrations with the new direction the Dreamgirls are taking. She deserves better and she’s leaving. I mean, Glee uses songs to move the plot along all the time. But this is the first time I’ve seen them tailor a scene from a musical to fit their plot and I loved it. Also, there were fedoras.

Mike Chang’s mom really does show up while he practicing his dance moves. And in the Moment that Makes Me Cry This Week, she tells him all she wants his for him for reach for his dreams and when he gets the part in the musical they’ll tell his father, together. And then Mike Chang teaches him mom to dance.

It’s time for the Diva-Off! If you’ve seen Glee, you’ve seen the Rachel-Mercedes split scene thing before. After, Rachel is rattled enough to go see Coach Beast. But first–commercial!

Mr. Schu has decided to take the proverbial bull by the horns and invite his most likely soon-to-be in-laws to dinner. Emma freaks out because her mom calls her “Freaky-Deaky” and her dad is Ralph from Happy Days. Her folks are Ginger Supremacists and live in a place called Red Oaks (Dan Faust has already devised a heist to break in and steal a some redheads).

Rachel’s new plan is to run for class president. She’s most likely not getting the lead and in the musical and will need something big for her application to not-Julliard. Kurt is having none of it.

Rachel and Mercedes are called in once again to let the Divas know that they’re double casting the role of Maria. Mercedes is having none of it.

Mr. Schu loves Emma and all her craziness.

Mercedes go to the Dark Side.

Quinn’s evilness goes unseen this week.

And that’s what you missed on Glee!