#Barbara Randall Kesel

[haveyoureadthiscomic-poll]

#elseworld's finest: supergirl & batgirl #elseworld's finest #supergirl #batgirl #barbara randall kesel #dc #dcu #dc comics #poll

[rantelisaliveandwell]

Sigil #1

(July 2000)

Written by Barbara Randall Kesel

Pencils by Ben Lai

Inks by Ray Lai

Colours by Wil Quintana

Letters by Dave Lanphear

(Note: the writer of this comic was born Barbara Randall, and after her marriage to Karl Kesel used the professional name Barbara Kesel, which is how she is credited in this comic and, I believe, everything published by CrossGen. However, she has since gotten divorced, and last I saw was using Barbara Randall Kesel as her professional name, so that is what I will be calling her.)

So here we are at the launch of CrossGen's second series, Sigil. I'm not sure why they decided to call it that, as Sigils are a major part of all of their books, not just this one. Oh well.

This one is intriguing right off the bat, as it takes place in a sci-fi corner of the universe, with interstellar travel and multiple races and such. (I'm curious to see whether future issues explain how this relates to the non-spacefaring planets of the CrossGen universe. Do they have some kind of Prime Directive that keeps them from contacting them? Or are they just geographically isolated in their own section of space or something?)

So it appears that there is a union of human worlds, and a rival faction of reptiloids known as Saurians. We are informed early on that the two powers are on the brink of war. This issue is set on Tanipal, a waystation frequented by members of both species, which seems to give off a vibe of Mos Eisley: The Planet.

Our protagonists are Samandahl Rey ("Sam") and Roiya, two... freighters? Mercenaries? Honestly, it's not super clear WHAT they do, other than that they are "between jobs" at the moment.

Sam makes some money by playing Pseudosaurs, wherein people take psychic control of lower-order dino-things and make them gruesomely fight to the death. Pro tip: if you want the audience to like your protagonist, don't have them participating in bloodsports literally one page after their introduction. I get that they're trying to present him as rogueish, rough-around-the-edges type, but this is a bit much. Not really the kind of thing I can see, like, Han Solo doing.

While Sam does that, Roiya flirts with a dude and makes a dinner date with him.

Scene then shifts to the palace of Sultan Rotolo, ruler of Talipan.

He once had some sort of exclusive trade deal with the human planets, which has since lapsed, and they've sent a rep to convince him to renew it. The Sultan is reluctant, as he enjoys the freedom of being able to trade with both sides. However, this negotiation is cut short when the Sultan notices that one of his harem has gone missing.

Coincidentally, just at that moment Sam has bumped into a mysterious, beautiful woman who appears to be in disguise.

Before he can say more than a few words to her, the authorities bust in, announcing that Zanniati, one of the Sultan's wives, has been kidnapped, and the spaceport is now on high alert.

And THEN, if that's not enough, a group of Saurians burst upon the scene and declare their intent to kill Sam, saying they have been sent by someone named Tchlusarud, who Sam has history with. Presumably we will learn this story in future issues. (Roiya complains about Sam getting "all the credit," insisting she is just as deserving of Tchlusarud's wrath.)

A buncha things happen very quickly: Zanniati gets her hands on a big fuckin gun and joins the fight, Sam is pulled aside by a mysterious figure who imprints him with the titular Sigil (right across his chest!), and Roiya is impaled by one the Saurians, who is promptly blown away by Zanniati.

Roiya is alive, but gravely injured. Sam needs to get her back to their ship's medical facilities in order to have any hope of saving her life. The guy she was supposed to have a date with (who still hasn't been named, unless I'm missing something) reappears seemingly out of nowhere, revealing himself to be a local security officer ("Although I'm in the process of executing my sudden resignation.") who uses his security ID to bypass all the lockdowns and get them back to the ship.

After that... it's not super clear what happens? Roiya appears to die on the operating table, Sam's new Sigil-powers cause some sort of an explosion... and then the issue just kind of ends.

I get that it's supposed to be a cliffhanger, but I feel like it would be more effective if the audience had a clearer idea of what was happening. And I feel like that sums up a lot of what I think is wrong with this comic.

Pros always tell aspiring comic artists: focus on drawing SEQUENCES, not just pin-ups. Because being able to draw good is only half the battle in comics. You've also got to be able to clearly convey story and action from panel to panel. And I feel like the storytelling in this comic is just not up to snuff. Lai's compositions are often overly crowded, his panel-to-panel continuity of frequently unclear, and Quintana's muted coloring doesn't help matters. And maybe this is just a nitpick, but Sam and Roiya's nameless (?) date look way too similar to each other. In short, there several points in this comic where I had a bit of trouble following what was going on.

I didn't talk much about the art in Mystic in my last post, but you can really see the difference. Brandon Peterson had been drawing comics professionally for years, and his storytelling is miles clearer than that of the Lai brothers, who were promising newbies that CrossGen snapped up. Their heavily anime-influence style may be pretty to look at, but their storytelling needs practice. I'll be interested to see if I notice improvement over the course of this series (although I'm actually not sure how long they stick around for.)

It's a shame, because I think the writing is better on this one than it was on Mystic. We get several shorter sequences rather than just the two longish ones, more characters are introduced, there is more action throughout. Like Mystic, we don't really KNOW any of the characters particularly well yet, but it's only been twenty-odd pages. I'm interested to learn more (and find out what the hell is going on!)

#crossgen comics #crossgen #barbara kesel #barbara randall kesel #ben lai #ray lai #sigil #comic review

[graphicpolicy]

Won't Back Down brings together dozens of comic creators to champion an individual's right to choose

Won't Back Down brings together dozens of comic creators to champion an individual's right to choose #comics #comicbooks #graphicnovel #ncbd

In 1973, the Supreme Court gave women the right to make decisions over the care of their own bodies. A mere fifty years later, a rogue Supreme Court has taken that right away. Today, over 32 states have banned or severely restricted abortion. We’re fighting back as best we can, with pens and brushes, paper and ink, and have produced a pro-choice anthology: Won’t Back Down, featuring the work of…

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#alison sampson #amy chase #barbara randall kesel #bridgit connell #carrie tupper #christopher golden #dani coleman #dave mccaig #Deanna Soukiasian #dee cunniffe #Dominike "Domo" Stanton #Emily Bowen Cohen #Eve Furchgott #featured #gene ha #Grace Desmarais #Grace Gordon #graphic novel #graphic novels #Isabelle Struble #janice chiang #jennifer camper #jessica balboni #Joelle Barreto #Kate Charlesworth #ken steacy #last gasp #Lee Marrs #Leeann Hamilton #Lisa Sharkey

[zahri-melitor]

Besides Batgirl: Year One, are there any other Batgirl!Babs comics you recommend for pre-TKJ Babsgirl?

I have made an EXTENSIVE SURVEY of the post-Crisis stuff - pre-Crisis I’m still working on.

I think the best of the rest is probably the two Kelley Puckett Batgirl stories.

They’re both called Batman: Batgirl. One came out in 1997 and the other is part of Girlfrenzy and came out in 1998.

Batman: Batgirl (1997) is a Barbara faces the Joker story set VERY soon after her Killer Moth origin.

Batman: Batgirl (1998) is a story about Barbara hunting down Zsasz, and it’s really the only piece that’s not reacting to what we know will happen in her future.

The Brave and the Bold #33 (2007) is another one I’d recommend highly. Ladies’ Night is the story of Diana and Zatanna taking Barbara clubbing while she was still Batgirl.

Secret Origins #20 “Flawed Gems” and The Batgirl Special (1988) are both Barbara Randall Kesel stories and they’re a balance between pre-Crisis and post-TKR Barbara characterisation. I like them both and they’re important for a few reasons (they have a different origin and motivation to Babs becoming Batgirl than Year One, they have the first appearances of Babs’s Batgirl plushie).

DC First: Batgirl/Joker (2002) contains another retelling of the first encounter between Barbara and the Joker. I’d recommend reading Puckett’s version first if you’re looking for pre-TKJ content, but this one goes over the same points again while also being more focused on Cass’s first encounter with the Joker on her own.

Finally there’s Birds of Prey: Batgirl/Catwoman (and its sequel, Catwoman/Oracle) which is about Babs and Selina tracking down a killer murdering sex workers together.

There’s a handful of other flashback appearances here and there through the stories (plus things like Birds of Prey: Batgirl which is actually an extended dream sequence), but what I’ve listed would be my best recommendations.

#barbara gordon

[muppet-facts]

Muppet Fact #619

TOKYOPOP has published two Jim Henson film manga adaptations. The first being the Return to Labyrinth series that began in 2006, and the Legends of the Dark Crystal series that began in 2007. Return to Labyrinth ended it's run in 2010 with a total of four volumes. Legends of the Dark Crystal also ended its serialization in 2010, but only had two volumes.

Sources:

Return to Labyrinth. Jake T. Forbes, Chris Lie, and Kouyu Shurei. 2006-2010.

Legends of the Dark Crystal. Barbara Randall Kesel, Hedi Arnhold, Max Kim, and Jae-Hwan Kim. 2007-2010.

#muppet facts oc #jim henson #the muppets #muppets #muppet facts #fun facts #TOKYOPOP #Return to Labyrinth #Legends of the Dark Crystal

[fancyfade]

Inpsired by @upswings polls,

Gardner Fox - writer on her first apeparance and many of her early 'tec appearances, like 'tec 363, 'tec 369, 'tec 371, and Batman 197

Frank Robbins: Writer of many of her next 'tec appearances, like '388-89, some in the 390s, the early 400s through like 420-ish.

Barbara Randall/Kesel - writer of Secret Origins #20, Batgirl Special (where she retired from being Batgirl), and co-writer of the Hawk and Dove comics she appeared in as Oracle

Ostrander and Yale - Ostrander wrote Suicide Squad, Yale wrote some of Suicide Squad and Batman Chronicles #5 (Oracle: Year One: Born of Hope). I grouped them together b/c they co-wrote some of the Suicide Squad comics, though Yale's name appeared on the credits later, not right away. Yale was also the only writer listed on Batman Chronicles #5.

Dixon - birds of prey (the earlier stuff, before issue 45 or so), Batgirl: Year One

Simone - Birds of Prey 55-100 something, the start of Batgirl (2011).

Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher - according to google, these are the Batgirl of Burnside writer.

I tried to get everyone relevant, apologies if I've forgotten someone. I did not include out-of-continuity stuff like Oracle Code.

#there is not a 100 percent correct answer but there ARE wrong answers #idk #dc comics #barbara gordon #oracle #batgirl #tumblr poll

[comicsart3]

Another appearance by the wonderful Batgirl in this blog, this panel also features an intriguing villainess, crazed rich girl Lani Gilbert as the evil Velvet Tiger. In this panel, Batgirl is having to rescue Lani’s brother, Ward, who is determined to stop Lani’s criminal career as she is in the middle of perpetrating a major computer fraud. In a nice depiction of female competence by a woman writer, Ward proves completely ineffective in his quest, allowing the female villain to get away while the super heroine, despite effectively taking out Velvet Tiger’s goons, is diverted into saving the hapless male.

The story is entitled When The Velvet Paws Caress The Ground! and appeared in Detective Comics #519 (October 1982). It was wriitten by Barbara Randall Kesel and illustrated by Trevor Avon Eeden and Robin Rodriguez.

This one is dedicated to Batgirlspain on Tumblr

#women in comics #batgirl captures the bad guys #velvet tiger #villainess #dc comics #detective comics #batgirl #man handcuffed by woman

[marvelsthunderbolts]

"Volume #2 in the Thunderbolts Epic Collections

Written by KURT BUSIEK, KARL KESEL & BARBARA RANDALL KESEL

Penciled by MARK BAGLEY & GEORGE PÉREZ

Cover by MARK BAGLEY

Lightning strikes twice! Baron Zemo’s plan has failed, and the Thunderbolts have been exposed as villains in disguise. Worse, they’ve been kidnapped to the realm of Kosmos. How far will Moonstone go to get them home? Back on Earth, the T-Bolts are pursued by S.H.I.E.L.D. – as well as by Zemo, who’s out for blood! Have the Thunderbolts truly reformed? And who will give them a chance to prove it? One surprising figure from the Avengers’ ranks just might: Hawkeye the Marksman! But his offer of redemption comes with a high price. Plus: Captain America faces the new Citizen V! Hercules targets Atlas for vengeance! The T-Bolts battle alongside the Avengers! And can the team triumph over the Crimson Cowl’s massive new Masters of Evil? Collecting THUNDERBOLTS (1997) #13-25 and #0, CAPTAIN AMERICA & CITIZEN V ANNUAL 1998, and AVENGERS (1998) #12.

432 PGS./Rated T …$44.99

ISBN: 978-1-302-95646-2

Trim size: 6-5/8 x 10-3/16"

It may have taken over 25 years, but Marvel is finally releasing Thunderbolts collections broken down in the way I've always wanted them.

If you haven't picked up the first T-bolts Epic Collection, it is pretty much perfect (other than not being hardcover).

#thunderbolts

[kudosmyhero]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Micro-Series #7 April

Read Date: January 07, 2023 Cover Date: August 2012 ● Writer: Barbara Randall Kesel ● Art: Marley Zarcone ● Colorist: Heather Breckel ● Letterer: Shawn Lee ● Editor: Bobby Curnow ●

Synopsis: April wakes from a strange dream where she herself was a mutant turtle, fleeing from multiple Foot Ninja. She vows not to eat pizza before bed anymore.

April is driving her van, which is full of teenage mutant ninja turtles, thinking about how bizarre her life has become. Donatello is telling everyone that they are too exposed living in April's parents' old antique shop; Baxter Stockman could use another turtle tracker and hunt them down easily. Raphael and Michelangelo tell him not to worry. April drops the Turtles off and heads to StockGen for her internship.

At work, April thinks about the idea of science and how it applies to the Turtles' situation. Sadly, April no longer believes in the purity of science. She's seen that it can be used for evil purposes. April knows there are more shady things going on at StockGen but she wonders how she can find proof; she's no ninja nor a fighter, but she could be a spy. She steals a coworker's ID badge as she leaves the lunchroom. She sees Chet Allen talking to a coworker about the turtle tracker; as soon as he notices her he tries to change the subject. Aiming to cause a distraction, April trips on purpose, bumping into Chet and knocking a cup of coffee onto a bundle of wires. As the electricity shorts out, three containment tubes malfunction. With Chet distracted by the commotion, April pockets the turtle tracker and slips away. Back at the antique shop, April tells the Turtles she was able to hide the turtle tracker at work, and she'll be going back later that night to get it. Leonardo tells her she shouldn't take risks on their behalf, but she tells him they aren't the only ones who get to take risks.

April approaches StockGen that night disguised as a jogger, and then changes into her work clothes and slips inside using the stolen ID badge. She wonders what she's going to discover when she sees one of Krang's stone soldiers berating Chet. As April grabs the turtle tracker from where she stashed it, the stone soldier recognizes her as someone who isn't supposed to be there and demands she identify herself. April quickly leaves the room and tries to lose him, entering a laboratory with genetic experiments going on. April notices a containment tube has been broken, meaning the specimen inside has escaped. She grabs a vial of green ooze to study later but is then apprehended by the stone soldier. Thinking quickly, April grabs an exhaust tube and blows steam into the stone soldier's face, allowing her to escape. The stone soldier is hot on April's trail when he pauses, realizing that one of the genetic experiments has escaped. He tries to raise an alarm but the specimen punches him in the face, knocking him out. The specimen enters the lab with the turtles' old tank and grabs the little plastic palm tree. With all the guards distracted looking for the escaped specimen, April is able to get out of the building. The escaped specimen, Slash, is close behind her.

(https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/April_(IDW_issue))

Fan Art: April O'Neil by Kuvshinov-Ilya

#idw #idw comics #my idw read #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #comics #comic books #fan art #april #fanart

[haveyoureadthiscomic-poll]

#hawk and dove #hawk & dove #dcu #dc comics #poll

[rantelisaliveandwell]

Mystic #1

(July 2000)

Written by Ron Marz

Pencils by Brandon Peterson

Inks by John Dell

Colours by Andrew Crossley

Letters by Dave Lanphear

The first comic that CrossGen published was actually CrossGen Chronicles #1, written by head writers Ron Marz and Barbara Randall Kesel and illustrated by Claudio Castellini, which served as an introduction to the four monthly series they launched with. But I don't own CrossGen Chronicles #1, so we'll be skipping that and instead going right to the first issues of each series, which work just fine as introductions themselves.

So here we are at Mystic #1.

The creative team on this one were mostly relative veterans: Marz had had lengthy runs on Silver Surfer for Marvel and Green Lantern for DC, Peterson had worked on X-Men and various Image titles before being recruited as CrossGen's art director, and Dell had been the main inker on Grant Morrison and Howard Porter's blockbuster JLA run. Crossley was the only relative newby of the group.

This issue begins, as each of the first issues does, with a conversation between mysterious celestial beings (this is possibly explained more in the Chronicles that I don't have) as they lament the state of the universe, and plan to introduce an element of chaos into the order of things by granting powerful "sigils" to select individuals across the various worlds, but offering no guidance to those chosen few as to what has happened to them or what they should do.

(Note: I don't have a scanner or anything, so apart from covers, which are readily available online, any art that I post is just gonna be photos that I take on my phone.)

This particular story takes us to the world of Ciress, a place rife with magic and mysticism and governed by seven mages' guilds. Each guild is headed by a master, and when a master dies, their spirit is transferred into their successor, giving them the accumulated knowledge and experience of all the past masters (though the new one retains their own identity and personality; it's basically like the Avatar.)

Our protagonist is Giselle Villard, an upper-class party girl, whose studious older sister Genevieve is set to be invested as a guild master the following day (a rare achievement for one so young.)

Giselle is attending a society party, where she expresses her contempt for magic and those who practice it. Of course, her sister turns out to be standing right behind her as she says this. Genevieve drags Giselle outside, castigates her for her irresponsible ways and unserious attitude, and coldly reminds her of the importance of the next day's ceremony. No longer in a party mood, Giselle goes home for the night, on the way spontaneously adopting a stray squit (apparently this world's equivalent to dogs) who will almost certainly later turn out to be more than he seems.

Interestingly, despite the ubiquity of magic, our glimpse of the city street here seems remarkably like that of contemporary America, with brownstones, fire hydrants, and taxi cabs. I'll be interested to see how this aesthetic develops going forward.

The next day, Giselle meets with Genevieve at the guild cathedral, and the two sisters patch things up ahead of Genevieve's investiture ceremony. However, during the ceremony (attended by the heads of all seven guilds), things go awry. Giselle, seated in the audience, encounters a mysterious man who shakes her hand before disappearing, imprinting her palm with a mysterious mark. Sensing that things are amiss, Giselle attempts to flee the Cathedral... but the spiritual transfer ceremony is interrupted, and the spirits of ALL SEVEN guild heads abandon their hosts and enter Giselle instead!

She collapses into a fountain, and the final panel shows her palm, now marked with the glowing Sigil (the yin-yang-like design that serves as the company logo.)

And there we have it! Sort of a mixed bag, as first issues go. A lot of the dialogue is infodumps, and the structure isn't particularly elegant - the whole issue is essentially just two scenes, the party and then the ceremony, with not much in the way of action until things go sideways in the last few pages. But the art is a lot of fun, and the world they've set up certainly is intriguing. None of the characters have really had any opportunity to establish themselves as anything more than broad archetypes yet ("sensible sister and irresponsible sister!") Still, I had a pretty good time with it. We'll see if things pick up next issue. But first: Sigil #1!

#crossgen #crossgen comics #mystic #ron marz #brandon peterson

[zahri-melitor]

Okay I'm joining in as we haven't had this yet: Post-Crisis Barbara Gordon Writers! Given there is not a shortage of options for 1987-2011 we are going with post-Crisis, pre-Flashpoint only

If someone has another favourite they want to rep, let me know, but I think I hit everyone who wrote significant Barbara content. (If you want to come and tell me Barbara Randall Kesel is your fave and I overlooked her, I respect you)

References for the list: Ostrander & Yale: Oracle Year One, Suicide Squad #23-65 Alan Moore: the Killing Joke Chuck Dixon: Birds of Prey #1-46, BoP singles & Manhunt, Nightwing #1-70, Batgirl Year One Gail Simone: Birds of Prey #56-108, vol 2 #1-13 Tony Bedard: Birds of Prey #109-112, #118-127 Kelley Puckett: Batgirl vol 1 #1-37, Batman: Batgirl, Batgirl Girlfrenzy Bryan Q. Miller: Batgirl vol 3 #1-24 Grant Morrison: JLA #23-41 John Francis Moore: Batman: Family, BoP Batgirl/Catwoman, BoP Catwoman/Oracle Devin Grayson: Gotham Knights #1-11, 14-32, Nightwing #71-100

#barbara gordon #It's either Simone or Yale for me #but I truly enjoy most of this list so I'm interested in what other people think (other than certain obvious bait I added) #is John Francis Moore on this list to simply point out his content exists? maybe

[smashpages]

Marvels Snapshots: Avengers arrives in comic shops today. See what else arrived in comic shops this week.

#marvels snapshots #avengers #iron man #alex ross #kurt busiek #barbara randall kesel #staz johnson #can't wait for comics #new comics wednesday #new comic book day #marvel #comic books

[evilhorse]

Somehow it does all balance out in the end.

#dc comics presents #Superman #clark kent #kal el #puppy #it all works out #in the end #cute #crossover #team up #Barbara Randall #Barbara kesel #Tom mandrake #don heck #dc comics #comics #80s comics #bob greenberger

[cryptocollectibles]

CrossGen Chronicles #1 Signed by Ron Marz and Andrew Crossley (June 2000) by CrossGen Comics

The First, god-like characters whose superiority is suddenly threatened by the appearance of mortals graced with mysterious symbols of power.  Written by Barbara Randall Kesel and Ron Marz, drawn by Claudio Castellini, Andrew Crossley, and Caesar Rodriguez.

- Buy this comic book with Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies at the Crypto Collectibles store on OpenBazaar -

#CrossGen Chronicles #Ron Marz #Andrew Crossley #Autograph #Signed #Collectibles #Ceasar Rodriguez #Claduio Castellini #Barbara Randall Kesel #Comic Books #Comics #CrossGen Comics #Signed Comics