you can take the nerd out of the boy... no, wait, you can't

[rone]

Eric Neel and Andy Behrens craft a pæan of geeky obsession.

"Can I have this?" asks Ella, curiously examining the severed head of Austin Kearns.

"You really want the head?"

"Yeah!" she chirps.

Days later, I discover it wedged in the mouth of a small plastic triceratops, at the top of a bucket of toy dinosaurs. Gotta remember to teach her about plant-eaters and carnivores.