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Ah, one of the most compelling and, well, dangerous of literary characters – the femme fatale. Love her or hate her (probably both), she’s a staple in many stories. Here’s your guide to the lady (usually) in black.

The femme fatale is most notably a classic in detective fiction and the noir genre, but her origins go back much farther than that. This archetype is part of the folklore of many cultures and she became a prominent literary character in the 19th century. John Keats wrote about the femme fatale in many poems; the character of Matilda in The Monk is a classic example; and Edgar Allen Poe used the archetype in his work. She is also a central piece to a lot of paintings from this time period (by artists like Edvard Munch and Gustav Klimt).

The femme fatale will do the impossible to get what she wants, including flaunting her “sexy-and-she-knows-it” body to wrap millions of men around her red polished finger. However, the femme fatale isn’t a floozy – she won’t just throw herself at anyone. No, she sets her sights after careful consideration and follows through with a plan – one that never portrays her as a sexual prowess.

A common trick is deception, as the femme fatale fakes weakness in order to accept another character’s “help.” Once one has fallen for the femme fatale, there’s no getting away. She’s got you right where she wants you, baby.

The femme fatale character is everywhere. She exists in every corner of pop culture, although not on the cover of Britney Spear’s most recent album (aside from the name – Femme Fatale – the cover art is a terrible portrayal of the character type). Meet a few of our favorite femme fatales:

FAITH LEHANE
The Text: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Role: A “sometimes rogue, sometimes helpful” vampire slayer.
The Costume: All the cool clothes from the late 1990s + red lipstick.

VIVIAN RUTLEDGE
The Text: The Big Sleep
The Role: A ruthless and spoiled daughter of a very rich man.
The Costume: Classy white dresses + mysterious eyes.

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Maria Vicente is a literary agent intern living in Ottawa, Canada. She likes coffee, books, snail mail, and magic. You can find her on Twitter (@MsMariaVicente) or check out her website (mariavicente.com)

(Image via)

It’s very likely that for most of your young adult life, you are going to have to deal with the character-building experience of living with roommates.

In today’s tough economic times, it’s just not financially practical for most people to live on their own in their twenties. Living with another person can be tough—people never let on about how gross, irresponsible, loud, or lazy they are, so choosing your roommate can be a shot in the dark. So, how do you deal with a bad roommate? The easiest way is probably to be passive aggressive with the roommate instead of direct and to-the-point. I would guess that such an approach would yield better, faster results.

At any rate, it would be FUN!

To get you started, here are some handy tips from The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: College to get you started.

Photo by DJ DB (thanks!)

This past Thursday, Mike Joyce celebrated the release of Swissted at the powerHouse Arena in Brooklyn, NY. 

This venue was PERFECT. A number of posters featured in Swissted were hung up around the venue, and looked so great in the space. Mike gave a talk before signing books (see the fistpump photo below!), and it was just a wonderful event. We can't wait to work with powerHouse again for The Resurrectionist in June! Thanks to the crew at powerHouse, Svedka, and everyone who came out. 

In Brooklyn? Stop by powerHouse. The posters will remain up until April, so you've got time to check them out. And Mike is going to stop by powerHouse this week to sign all the remaining copies in the store. 

Check out a few more snaps below.

And if you were there and took some pictures, send them on over ([email protected])! We'd love to see them. 

Some think that horror comedies are almost impossible to pull off because they elicit two different reactions but when you think about it, they really are one in the same. Fear and amusement may elicit different reactions (screaming and laughter) but someone who’s truly scared may find themselves laughing later or laughing so hard that they scream and even in cases of an extremely funny or scary moment, both can lead to the inevitable wetting of one’s pants.

It almost goes without saying that Julius Caesar has a lot in common with Kanye West. Both are (or were) rulers of sprawling empires, both have royally healthy egos, and both of them sport the same straight-across-the-brow haircut.

But what does go without saying is the sayings they have in common—until now, that is. This Ides of March, see if you can figure out who said it: Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, or one of Kanye’s monster hits.