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#Comic Reviews
kiddoairaku · 6 months
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So I finished reading A Knight in Bludhaven TPB (Nightwing #1-8) the other day, was lucky enough to find it at a local thrift bookstore. DC comics are so hard to find in my country 😭
As a beginner, I find this to be a nice introduction to the OG fingerstripes Nightwing. I gained a new perspective on his character, through unseen layers of personality. Dick is really on his own this time.
The story is a lot grittier and darker than expected, but the witty dialogue and dark humor makes it enjoyable. I love how Dixon wrote Dick's cheerful despair and tough love towards Gotham's "ugly sister city", and I think he became my favorite Nightwing writer alongside Wolfman.
McDaniel's art style takes a while to get used to, but I really enjoyed lots of Dick bunz his dynamic gesture drawings, you can feel Dick coming to life in the action scenes.
Also love the brief team-up of Dick and lil Timmy..
If I get the chance I would like to grab the rest of the available comics (RIP wallet.. 🥹)
Some of my fav panels:
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Dick when he caught Tim snooping into his apartment.
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Dick and Tim sharing soup in a thermos.
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Dick and Tim just being brothers.
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Dick interrogating lowlifes by hanging them in a goddamn meat cold storage.
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Last but not least, Dick stripping on a rooftop.
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longitudinalwaveme · 6 months
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Flash #1 (or #801) Review
As I promised a few days ago, here's my thoughts on the newly-released Flash #1.
SPOILERS below the cut.
Let's get the smaller things I noticed out of the way first:
-It's nice to see Max Mercury and Impulse as a pair again. I'm particularly glad to see Max getting some focus, since it's been a long time since he's gotten to do much of anything.
-The art looks good for the most part. I think the panel layouts are interesting, most of the people look okay, and the horror stuff looks really creepy (so the art is accomplishing that goal).
-Gorilla Grodd is back! Hurrah! (Like all those Silver Age DC editors clearly believed, everything is better with gorillas.)
-Having lots of text is nice. I read really fast, so I appreciate comic books with a lot of text. Otherwise, I can burn through an entire comic in seven minutes. (One reason I like Silver and Bronze Age comics so much is because they tend to have a lot of text, so I'm glad to be seeing something similar here.)
-Baby Wade is adorable.
-"As always, it is not until the house is perfectly silent...that the pipe begins to play." Is this a reference to Hartley? Please let it be a reference to Hartley. I miss him.
-Why does Irey look like a teenager? She's only like ten, right? So far, she's the one character whose design really stood out to me as not looking right.
-I am disappointed by the lack of Evan in this comic.
-Good to see that we're maintaining the friendship between Irey and Maxine that Jeremey Adams established during his Flash run.
-I have no idea who this Chad guy is, but he sure did suffer a gruesome fate.
-On the last page: Hey, is that a reference to that time that Wally West became the Porcupine Man during William Messner-Loebs' run? It's definitely got the spikes, and that was also the result of the speed force going out of control.
And now for the major plot points:
-The sudden undercurrents of stress in the West household kind of seem to have sprung up out of nowhere. I'm not opposed to the family going through a rough patch, but I feel as though it would have been better to build up to it a bit. As it stands, the conflict kind of seems to have sprung out of thin air.
-Why is the Speed Force suddenly a massive problem? Where did that come from? Why has it only now started to become an issue? Again, this seems like it should have received a bit more build-up, because right now I feel like I've been dropped into a story that's already in progress, rather than being at the beginning of a new story.
-Is Linda supposed to be suffering from post-partum depression? That could potentially be interesting, but only if it's handled properly.
-Wally's shared his super speed with Linda before (notably, during Mark Waid's run), and she didn't seem particularly upset about not having it afterwards. Granted, that was for a few hours rather than several months, but it does seem perhaps a bit out-of-character for her to be so upset about not having super speed. In fact, Linda's characterization was the biggest sticking point for me in this issue. She just seemed off (something that was also a problem in the story Spurrier wrote for issue #800).
-I can't say I'm super thrilled about having yet another story that focuses on the speed force. I feel like most of the stories that can be told about the speed force have been exhausted at this point. It probably doesn't help that the speed force has never been my favorite aspect of the Flash mythos. Some writers handle it well (Mark Waid and Jeremey Adams come to mind), but I'm much more interested about the Flash, his family, his supporting cast, and his villains than I am in the vaguely-defined source of his powers. Oh, well. At least Evan and the Folded Man are supposed to get involved. That should mitigate the problem somewhat.
-Wally's periodic issues with depression have returned with a vengeance. Spurrier seems to have a better grasp on Wally than he does on Linda.
Overall, I'm curious about where this story is going to go, and I am very eager to see how Spurrier uses characters like Evan and the Folded Man, but I'm not confident about how the run as a whole is going to turn out. While there's certainly room for horror in the Flash, I generally prefer a brighter and more cheerful tone for the book than what Spurrier seems to be going for, and I'm worried about how he's going to handle Linda.
Tentative Rating: 6.5/10.
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small-screen-superman · 4 months
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Superman: An Outsider Among the Justice League? (Inspired by Superman vs. Meshi)
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This post is also on my independent blog, Small Screen Superman - go there for an even better experience!
Superman vs. Meshi is an official Superman manga that I greatly enjoy – not just because it’s cute, funny and well-drawn, but also because its depiction of Superman is actually really interesting. Like most of my favored depictions of him, he’s very humanized and very personable. It makes sense to focus on this side of him in this manga considering the book has a very human, small-scale focus: each chapter is a short story about Superman going to lunch in Japan, with lots of descriptions of the food he’s eating. There’s nothing too exciting going on – in fact, it’s implied that Superman has apparently done such a good job in this universe that the whole world is fairly peaceful. But the manga is far from boring, at least to this Super fan. I really enjoy getting to know this version of Superman, and it’s also surprisingly fun to read the detailed descriptions of Japanese food – they always sound quite delicious and bring back good memories of any times I’ve had similar food.
But more to the point, let’s talk about a specific trait of this Superman that is somewhat rare among Superman depictions. In Chapter 3, he meets with the Justice League and does some introspection about his relationship with them. I’ll go ahead and share the relevant pages.
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There’s a lot to talk about in these three short pages, but the main thrust of it is that Superman doesn’t feel like he really belongs in the Justice League. That’s not what people expect from Superman. Superman is supposed to be the friendly and confident guy that everyone gets along with and looks up to, especially his fellow superheroes. He’s one of the first characters, if not the first, anyone thinks of when they think about the Justice League. So naturally, it makes sense that he would fit in with them perfectly – in fact, he should define what it means to be a Justice League member. Right? Well, not necessarily, in my opinion.
Now, let me be clear: I don’t think there’s such a thing as the “right” or “true” or “correct” version of Superman, since he’s a fictional character who has been portrayed in a wide variety of different ways. But an aspect of him that has showed up in many forms over the years is the idea of him being a bit of a self-contradiction in terms of his connection with others. He has many friends and allies, yet somehow has a sense of loneliness to him too. He’s different from others – an alien from a now nonexistent planet and either the last of his kind or one of only a handful of surviving Kryptonians. And the mere fact of being a superhero who has to keep a secret identity disconnects him from the majority of people.
Now, it does seem natural that therefore, perhaps Superman might be able to connect with other superheroes more easily than other people because they know what it’s like to be a superhero. But there are reasons this might not be the case, which makes me think this is a reasonable direction for the character. I’m going to be talking in generalities and across continuities looking for reasons why this can mesh with traits generally given to Superman.
Superman’s Origin
Most superheroes, including those in the Justice League, started as normal humans, and became superheroes because of an unexpected event. You could maybe interpret this as applying to Superman in terms of Krypton’s explosion being the unexpected event that “gave him powers” by leading to him being sent to a planet with a yellow sun, but I think this is a bit of a stretch.
As far as Clark’s life goes, there are many times he’s not depicted as having all his powers from the get-go and instead needing to grow in order to get them. This still feels pretty different from starting as a normal human and getting your powers from something external. In a way, Superman is fundamentally different from the majority of Earth’s population in a way that most superheroes are not, due to not being human and never having been human.
And yet, on a psychological and personal level, it’s perhaps more accurate to say Superman is human…but he might not be perceived as such by people who see him as Superman rather than Clark Kent. This leads me to perhaps a more important divide between Superman and his fellow heroes.
How Superman is Perceived and Revered
Superman is almost always perceived as a really big deal even among superheroes. Is he THE first, most honorable, most successful, most popular, most powerful superhero in every universe? Not necessarily, but his perception is something like that. And I think those expectations might have the potential to make things more difficult for Superman. People probably assume that they can’t relate to Superman before they even try to get to know him. Even accomplished, powerful superheroes don’t necessarily see him as a peer, but as someone above them.
What’s also awkward is that Superman doesn’t see himself this way – he’s generally confident, but humble. And he lives much of his life not reveling in his fame or power, but as a mild-mannered reporter. I see this a lot in those Superman vs. Meshi panels, and it warms my heart. But Superman knows it’s important to inspire others, including his fellow heroes, so while he’d want people to know that he doesn’t see himself as high above them, he might feel reluctant to shatter his myth altogether.
Seeing this awkwardness be overcome, possibly requiring character development from both Superman and the League members, could be a very satisfying story.
This might explain why Superman tends to have closer friendships with his fellow members of the “Trinity”, Batman and Wonder Woman. Since those two are also rather “legendary”, they aren’t as awed by Superman.
Superman is More Used to Working Alone (Well, Sometimes)
OK, this point is a bit dubious because Superman does work with other people and other heroes even outside the Justice League, but he’s at least closer to working alone than many other Justice League members (in most depictions). He may have “Super-Family Members”, but they’re somewhat independent from him – he doesn’t have long-term, “true” sidekicks. So maybe working with a lot of other superheroes doesn’t come naturally to him to the point it might be a bit awkward.
The big problem with this is…the Legion of Super-Heroes. If Superman was part of a superhero team when he was young, before even meeting the Justice League, than naturally it should be more normal to him, right? Of course, the Superman being part of the Legion as a teen is something that keeps coming into and leaving comics continuity, and it rarely makes its way out of the comics, so this isn’t even applicable to many versions of Superman.
Back to Superman vs. Meshi Real Quick
Before I conclude this article, I’m going to circle back to the manga that inspired it. It’s interesting how little relevance most of this article actually has to Superman vs. Meshi in particular. Unlike this article, Superman vs. Meshi didn’t seek to justify why Superman doesn’t fit in with the Justice League with detailed reasons based on the general traits of how he’s portrayed. It just did it rather casually, treating Superman as basically a normal guy. And I like that.
Still, I think it was worthwhile looking at some reasons why I don’t think this depiction of the Man of Steel is at odds with his character in general. I hope I can find more stories which depict Superman’s relationship with the Justice League in an interesting way. If you know of any, please feel free to let me know!
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wildstarpress · 10 months
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WildStar Press is a place for creatives to dream big and we wanted to expand so we could help as many creatives as possible do just that.
We're excited to announce a new corner of the WildStar Press universe: Review Starlight! Now you can learn about new comics through the lens of different writers/reviewers.
Read the review here!
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orangezeppelin · 17 days
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One of my art homies runs a blog focused mostly on zines and related cool art shit, and he just did a piece on me! I had a really fun time reading this, he covers all the comic stuff I've done both on my own time and back when I did a comic strip for a local metal zine.
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libertyreads · 10 months
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Book Review #74 of 2023--
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Fence, Volume 5: Rise by C.S. Pacat. Rating: 4 stars.
Read on June 8th.
I feel like my overall reaction to this volume of Fence is a lot like other reviews I’ve seen: “Is that it?” Not only is it more fencing focused than the previous two volumes, but we don’t get a lot of plot movement on the fencing or personal sides of the story. I like the idea of this fencing camp and I liked seeing them fence and learning from other fencers. I just wanted more. Which is a common refrain around here so maybe take it with a grain of salt. BUT the little moments we did get still really spoke to me. Teens are being teens and being emotional about life and about fencing and about romance. I know some people were saying that this is the “slowest slow burn ever” but it doesn’t feel that way to me. I mean, school just started for these boys. They just started fencing as a team in the previous volume.They haven’t even had their first real match of the season. So, I think it’s still pretty early days for the team and for the romances. Especially given how little focus we get on the relationships outside of fencing for the first couple of volumes. I’m enjoying myself but begrudging the fact that I will probably have to wait at least a year (maybe two?) for another volume.
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redgoldsparks · 1 year
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September Reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe
I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon. Full reviews below the cut.
The Breakaways by Cathy G Johnson
Faith is a quiet fifth grader, prone to daydreaming and doodling. She is not very sporty, but she is talked into joining the middle-school girl's soccer team and falls into a web of friendships, grudges, crushes, and aspiring punk musicians. The book weaves together scenes of most of the team member's various struggles and experiments as they all try to get through life in the tumultuous junior high years. I wished the story had focused on a slightly smaller cast, as I felt like I only only got a little slip of story about each player, but what I did get I liked.
A Lady for Duke by Alexis Hall read by Kay Eluvian
Viola Caroll fought as a soldier in Waterloo; when she was left for dead on a battlefield, but nursed back to health by farmers, she decided to renounce her old life as a viscount and live as her true self, a woman. At the start of the story, only her younger bother and sister-in-law know the story of Viola's past. But a cry for help brings her back in contact with the Duke of Gracewood, her childhood best friend, bosom companion, and fellow Waterloo survivor. Viola had decided the best thing she could do was cut off her old friend and never reveal to him that she lived. But she finds him haunted by fears, addictions, and PTSD; left with a permanent limp and a terrible grief, he is barely surviving. She commits to caring for him temporarily, but when he begins to fall in love with her, Viola feels trapped between her own feelings and her fear of telling him the truth of their past. This historical romance is almost completely free of homophobia and transphobia; what ends up separating the characters for much of the story is not their genders or sexualities but their social class. The cast of the book is rounded out with a delightful set of quirky family members, from Gracewood's dreamy oddball of a teen sister to Viola's Mrs Bennett-like sister-in-law. I read so little romance, I don't even have a virtual shelf for it. I liked this one, but also thought it was at least 50 pages too long, and wished the pace had moved more quickly through some sections. The tone switched from humor to melancholy very abruptly sometimes mid-scene, and the final confrontation with the main villain was a bit ridiculous, but ultimately I did enjoy the book.
Crier's War by Nina Varela
Crier is an Automae, an AI being made by human creators at the order of her father, the Automae king of most of Zulla. She is beautiful, smart, stronger than a human, and close to invulnerable, but she is also very naïve and has seen little of the world. Ayla is a human girl who's whole family was killed by Automae; she is in touch with many rebels in the oppressed human population, but she is more interested in revenge than rebellion. She wants to kill Crier and make her father suffer as Ayla has suffered. But Ayla isn't prepared for the warm sympathy and understanding Crier will offer her- or the spark of attraction between them. This is a very fast read, and if you are looking for a quick, easy queer YA to kick you out of a reading slump this might hit the spot. Don't, however, spend too much time thinking about the plot or the worldbuilding because both are extremely sloppy and full of holes. There are a lot of first-book weaknesses here from flat character introductions to an overuse of flashbacks. But I do still want to know how the story ends and will probably read the second book of the duology to satisfy my curiosity!
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
I think this is my favorite Nghi Vo novel yet, which is saying a lot, because I loved all of the others as well! Set in pre-Code Hollywood, the Chinese-American protagonist falls in love with movies after a single black and white picture at a nickel theater in Hungarian Hill, Los Angeles, where she lives over her family's laundry. She stumbles into a movie set and ends up getting a single-line uncredited role by being in the right place at the right time. This only feeds her desire for stardom- which is literal in this story, where most Hollywood studios feed on magic, deals with devils, equinox sacrifices of innocents, and actors can ascent to the sky if they glow bright enough on the screen. This world is woven thorough with miracles and dangers, some which hunt Hollywood hopefuls with teeth and others with predatory contracts. Our main character looses her name but gains entry to the movie world, were she falls into an affair with another actress in the shadows of greats. I loved how deeply queer and Asian-American this story was; our lead finds solidarity and friendship with the few other closeted queer and POC actors on the studio lots who often have to hid their differences but still manage to find each other and hold each other up.
A Mirror Mended by Alix E Harrow read by Amy Landon
I accidentally read this book before its prequel because I didn't notice in the Libby app that it was part of a series! Oh well, it stood alone well enough. In the first book, the main character, Zinnia, discovered an ability to slip out of our real world (where she has a genetic condition which will probably kill her by her mid-twenties) into the alternate universes of fairytales. She has made a business of rescuing princesses from their own stories and helping them find truer happy endings. But when she is pulled through a mirror not by the needs of a protagonist but under the power of a wicked queen, Zinnia has to face some harsh realities. The evil queen claims she wants to leave her tale and live- which is exactly what Zinnia is doing, and it seems to be weakening the walls between universes. Also, Zinnia has been avoiding calling home for months, unwilling to face a conversation with her best friend and family about her health. Then she lands in the darkest and bloodiest story she's experienced yet- only to find she has allies in unexpected places. Very queer, very meta. I often avoid fairytale retellings but this one brought some nice originality to the genre.
The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson read by Angela Lin
I have never read any Sanderson, but this novella was recommended to me as a good stand-alone. It opens with magical forger, Shai, in prison in the bowels of the imperial palace. She was captured in the act of stealing and replacing several very valuable palace objects with magical replicas. Shai expects to face execution for her acts, but instead is offered a secret, dangerous, challenging task: to magically replicate the soul of the emperor who barely survived an assassination attempt. I liked the clever way magic worked in this world, but wasn't wowed by the prose or the larger political world of this story, so I am unlikely to pick up a full length Sanderson, especially given that they are SO LONG. But if anyone else wants to dip their toes into his world, I think this story is worth a try.
A Spindle Shattered by Alix E Harrow read by Amy Landon
After accidentally listening to the second book in this series, I went back for the first one. The story opens with Zinnia's 21st birthday, which she expects might be her last. She has a very rare chronic condition which has proven fatal to everyone who has it by their early 2os. Zinnia has grown up knowing her life will be shorter than most, and partly because of that fell hard for the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty- a story of a woman who fell into a death-life sleep but woke up to a second chance. When Zinnia's best friend throws her a Sleeping Beauty themed birthday party, Zinnia jokingly pricks her finger on the spindle... only to be sucked directly into a fairytale, in time to stop another young woman from pricking her finger on a spindle as well. Zinnia has no idea what's going on, but luckily she has a degree in folklore and also her cell phone still has service, so she's able to text her best friend at home. This premise could have come off as so hokey and silly, but Harrow gives it an unexpected emotional weight, and a queer happily every after at the end. I can see why it was Hugo nominated! I liked it a lot, and plan to read more from this author.
Thieves by Lucie Bryon
I love Lucie Bryon's art and I've been anticipating this book for years. Set in France, Ella is a high school senior with a snarky no-nonsense best friend and a crush on a somewhat mysterious fellow senior, Madeline. Ella only gets a chance to really talk to her crush at a party, but then she drinks to much and wakes up some how at home surrounded by a pile of stolen possessions. When Madeline shows up to check on Ella, and comments offhand that some of her stuff was stolen last night from her room, Ella realizes that she has accidentally drunkenly burgled the girl she most wants to kiss. What follows is a hilarious kind of re-verse heist in Ella (and also Madeline) attempt to return items to their former owners. Along the way they also have to figure out their feelings for each other, and how to communicate, and forgive each other's inevitable fuckups. A queer coming of age story after my own heart.
Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith
I had the pleasure of buying this book from one of the authors at SPX! A sweet story of the intertwined lives of four Black women, best friends, each navigating life, love, careers, hard conversations with family, and supporting each other through it all. Each chapter is focused around one character on wash day, and the theme of hair weaves through the whole book beautifully.
SpyxFamily vol 1 by Taksuya Endo
I've been hearing a lot about this manga, so I decided to give the series a try! In a fictional Europe, a spy named Twilight is tasked with infiltrating a very high end private elementary school. But to do so, he must acquire a fake wife and child to pose as a family man. The child he ends up adopting from an orphanage is physic, and the woman who ends up agreeing to his fake marriage ruse for her own reasons is an assassin. None of them tell each other their big secrets, but they are all so weird they don't really notice how weird the other two are. The set up is SO SILLY, but I am curious enough to try a few more volumes to see how it plays out. The art is fun!
Witch Hat Atelier vol 9 by Kamome Shirahama
Art-wise, this is one of my favorite manga series of all time. I also adore the main cast of little witch students and their teachers. However, the series has introduced so many side characters at this point that I'm having a hard time remembering who they all are and having any emotional investment in them from volume to volume. I wish the would stick a bit more closely to Coco and her education, because all of the fantasy politics might lose me.
Threshold by Anke Gladnic
This comic, loosely exploring identity, gender, and transition, moves from dreamy meditation to nightmare and back again. Beautifully drawn in soft greys and smoky blacks, it's more of a stream of consciousness than a story per say, but it leaves powerful lingering feelings of self-acceptance despite doubts and struggles.
Faster by Jesse Lonergan
Beautifully drawn, creatively laid out, and impeccably paced. This short comic follows a set of racers in an intense high-speed car race on a dangerous track. There are rivalries and friendships among the racers, some of whom are confident, some of whom just want to make it out of the race alive.
Die Horny by Rebecca Mock
Rebecca Mock described this comic as a love letter to horny 90s anime, and that influence very clearly shows! In a post-monster-based-apocalypse world, one human man, Iggy, and his gigantic monster queen wife, Wortizabella, just want to have a romantic honeymoon in the wastelands. But their trip is interrupted by a call for help from a boy who escaped a mining camp run by another monster. Iggy and Wortizabella investigate to find a human girl with superpowers being held captive for her ability to sense quartz crystals, which monsters consume for energy. To infiltrate the operation, Wortizabella pulls on her history as the more dangerous and violent monster warrior who has ever lived, and Iggy dons a leather bondage hood and begs to be stepped on. The line art is loose and full of lively energy, and the character designs are powerful and silly by turns. It's a delight to see such a talented cartoonist leaning fully into self-indulgence.
Nona The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Oh my gosh, what even to say about this book!! No spoilers, but if you enjoyed Gideon, then struggled with Harrow, I think it's very worth it to read Nona. It's told chronologically (like Gideon, unlike Harrow) and instead of being clouded with the unbearable grief and denial Harrow feels for her own actions and situation, this book is colored by a pure, child's joy at discovering the world for the first time. It's still a terrible world, a dangerous one, war-torn, full of refugees, paranoia, and death, but Nona finds so many small things to delight over. Petting dogs, making friends, being a teacher's assistant, swimming in the ocean, and the friends who look after her and taught her everything she knows in the six months she has been alive. This book didn't confuse me as much as Harrow, though I was left with many big questions about where the series is going at the end, I felt like the reveals were more evenly distributed throughout the story instead of all being stacked into the last 25%. This series is so weird, so convoluted, and mysterious, and I am having such a good time buddy-reading it along with a bunch of friends. I expressed this elsewhere, but I have not been so excited for the release of the middle volume of a series like this since the HP books were coming out. I preordered this book, a hardback, picked it up on release day, and read almost a 1/3 of it the same day it came out! I can't wait to see what's coming in the fourth book. I am so curious how Muir will land this skeleton-encrusted plane.
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dcrankamateur · 6 months
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Power Girl #1 Review
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Power Girl #1’s cover promises an ‘explosive first issue’ and, as least as far as the prospects for Earth-Atlantis relations go, delivers on its claims in a fun, action-packed opening salvo to Dr Paige Stetler aka Power Girl’s foray into eco-science. The issue deals with the complex layers of Paige’s identity and how she is effectively held accountable for elements of her identity she has no control over. The story explores the themes individual liberty, environmental sustainability and begins to play around the edges of the question of whether earth would be better off without the Super Family.
The issue opens with a familiar sight: a bunch of poorly groomed bigots with dreadful chants and an even worse imagination for slogans shouting about aliens. Even a loudspeaker can’t save them because absolutely no one is listening. The four panel layout on this page really sells this transition, with the focus panning out, then away from them before shifting entirely to the merry revellers aboard the charity fundraiser boat, with Becca Carey’s ‘ha’s permeating the panel to emphasise the point.
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That said, the theme of prejudice far from disappears from the issue. Williams instead keeps it lurking in the background, briefly popping up again as an unidentified male trying to head hunt Paige at her own event.
Anyway, the incredibly expensive alien tech being auctioned off is wanted by a particularly scrupulous new villain Amalak. Amalak’s message to the crew of “desperately ignorant” elderly white men on the docks is that prejudice may be a perfectly reasonable hobby for a gentleman without prospects, but it really isn’t a vocation. While his primary objective is larceny, upon discovering the superhero formerly known as Karen Starr is a Kryptonian, reveals that such is the strength of his hatred that he happens to have brought a weapon with him designed to destroy them. Williams and Pansica use a series of three consecutive panels to draw commonalities between the human protestors, who are delighted to have their point proven by an alien right, and Amalak’s more specific, nuance kind of hatred. He claims that Kryptonians are colonialists, interfering with the natural evolution of others and, in his home world’s case the death of the planet. His indirect critique therefore is that by intervening in the affairs of a planet and people’s lives, the Kryptonians have made them weak by solving all of their problems for them. This begs the question as to whether they are free in the ‘positive liberty’ sense. Are they being equipped with the tools they need to thrive?
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The fact that someone out there has created a disease specifically designed to infect and weaken Kryptonians poses an interesting question: do the Supes inadvertently cause the decay of critical thinking and progression?
Paige’s accusation that humanity’s environmental sustainability efforts have been farcical as, to date, a lack of commitment to meaningful change implies that Williams is preparing to argue otherwise. And furthermore, who has a vested interest in ensuring that society does not continue to progress in this way? All, I’m sure, will be revealed.
On a lighter note, the real highlight of this issue for me was Power Girl and Omen’s relationship. Pansica’s art does an excellent job with their body language, emphasising their tender, bordering on romantic, affection. Williams captures their seamless repartee, which is hidden from everyone else in the scene but shared with the reader. Power Girl’s facial expressions are bold and emphatic, which is matched by the dynamic art throughout the fight sequences, with Power Girl finding solutions quickly to the different problems thrown at her.
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Overall, a great first issue.
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thereasonsimbroke · 7 months
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UDON's Showdown: Hsien-Ko, Special Anniversaries, And Street Fighter 6 Evolution
In Ep. 581, Matt Moylan and I cover Hsien-Ko's showdown on October 25th, UDON's 20th-anniversary special on October 18th, and the Street Fighter 6 Evolution Special #1 on November 25th, with updates on UDON projects and the comic book industry! Chapters: 0:00:14 Introducing the Reasons I'm Broke podcast 0:04:34 Darkstalkers One Shot: Building the Plot 0:08:17 The Possibility of Expanding Street Fighter Omega into a Series 0:13:31 Comic collaboration with Capcom for Evo event 0:23:23 Exciting updates on upcoming volumes and series in Japan 0:28:53 Udon's Criteria for Choosing Projects 0:36:32 Collecting Prints: Storage and Format Preferences 0:39:30 Udon's Cover Variations and Pricing Strategy 0:45:21 The impact of adding characters from other mediums to comics 0:48:03 The disconnect between movie fans and comic book readers 0:51:07 The importance of fun and love for characters in storytelling 0:54:19 The Benefits of Self-Curation in the Publishing Industry FOLLOW/SUPPORT MATT MOYLAN AND UDON ENTERTAINMENT: @LilFormers (Matt's X) @mattmoylanlf (Matt's Insta) Matt Moylan's Site @UDONent (Udon's X) Udon's Official Store As always, we appreciate your constructive Feedback, Suggestions, and Questions. You can also leave us an audio question on SpeakPipe. Thank you for the continued love and support! Enjoy the show. Daniel and Kelli Podcast Awards 2019 || Games & Hobbies (Winner) Podcast Awards 2017 - 2018, 2020 - 2022 || Games & Hobbies (Nominated) Official Site SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts / iHeartRadio / TuneIn / Overcast FOLLOW US: - X | @ReasonsImBroke, @PalpaKelli, and @TRIBPod - Instagram - Pinterest - Tumblr - Discord Lounge - YouTube Channel SUPPORT THE POD: Getting $1's worth of entertainment and information each month? Support us on Patreon or visit our TeePublic storefront! SPREAD THE WORD: If you're enjoying the show, please head over to iTunes and leave us a rating and a review! Each one helps new Brokettes discover the podcast. Donate to Hero Initiative to help comic creators in need. CREDITS: Opening/Closing Jingles - Alex Scott Show Logo By - Opanaldiova
The latest episode of The Reasons I'm Broke Podcast!
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samidemonster · 2 years
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HOLLOW from BOOM! BOX Teaser Review: The YA Supernatural Queer Romance We All Need This Halloween Season
After reading the Free Comic Book Day teaser of Hollow, I am completely hooked. Artist Berenice Nelle does a spectacular job creating this fantastic world that is equal parts magical and homey. This queer YA supernatural Halloween-esque graphic novel by power-couple Shannon Watters (Co-Creator of the Eisner Award-winning series Lumberjanes) and debut author Branden Boyer-White will drop in September of 2022.
The story follows Izzy Crane, a high schooler who moves to the famous town of Sleepy Hollow just in time for the Halloween season. In this town, though, Halloween is basically year-round. The Headless Horsemen is painted on ambulances, and the fire trucks are all orange and black. With an affinity for science and books, Izzy has difficulty getting into the supernatural lore surrounding the town as Halloween celebrations commence. When Izzy meets Sleepy Hollow teen royalty Vicky Van Tassel, she instantly has a new crush. They hit it off, but when Vicky learns that Izzy’s last name is Crane, things get… a little awkward. Will Sleepy Hollow’s supernatural lore get in the way of these two?
I look forward to watching the queer romance develop. I am already interested in the chemistry and dynamic between Izzy and Vicky and cannot wait to see what happens next. From the first scene of The Headless Horseman chasing someone down to the last scene of Izzy giving Vicky googly eyes, I was constantly captivated. I can't wait for September to roll around.
For fans of: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Lumberjanes, Scooby-Doo, The Owl House, Gravity Falls
Rating: I loved it!
I loved It!
I liked it!
It’s not bad!
Not for me, but maybe for you!
Thank you, BOOM! Studios, for sending me a copy of Hollow.
Written by Sami DeMonster, Edited by Joseph "Tenjo" Tennenbaum
Talking about Comics on TikTok: Sami DeMonster
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theantoniomabs · 9 months
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MOVIE REVIEW: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3
Here in Puerto Rico our overall electricity infrastructure is not particularly safe or reliable. This means that every so often, maybe 2 or 3 times a month (on a good month) we’ll have complete power outages where I live. This rules out all possibility of getting any work done, yet for some reason places like mini-malls and shopping centers will have full power, so with this perhaps possible…
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teratron · 9 months
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Wonder Woman Reviews: Wonder Woman #800 (Partial)
By Tom King (writer) and Daniel Sampere (artist)
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I'm calling this a partial review as I'm only reviewing the Tom King segment at the very end.
As a prologue to a larger run there's obviously only so much that can be talked about but I thought I'd just post some thoughts given my post from a week or so back talking about what hopes/thoughts were for King's upcoming run.
Overall, I would say I liked what we saw of Trinity a.k.a. "Lizzie"/Elizabeth Martson Prince. King certainly did what I was hoping for that she'd be characterized differently from her mother and that's certainly what I got.
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Yeah, this is about as far removed from just about most characterizations of Diana as you can get. Some of have certainly been more outgoing or boisterous like in the Golden Age but this is a level of open egoism usually reserved to characters like Artemis. I'm not complaining, I do like what I've read so far but I can see why this would turn some people off and she could very easily go into straight unlikable territory if one's writing isn't careful.
From what little we've learned of her so far we do see Lizzie's ego comes from her admiration of her mother as the world's most famous heroine and feels it's her duty to try and live up to that. I find to this to be actually be an interesting take for a child of Diana, actually. It is rather Damien Wayne-ish but given how presumably differently characterized Diana will be under King I think this will lead to more interesting dynamic between mother and daughter than one usually gets from Bruce and son.
Speaking of one half of the Super-Sons, I can't say I'm a fan of them being here. King's already talked about them showing up in future issues (presumably their younger counterparts in present issues) and that really only fills me with dread. Both of them have books to themselves, there's multiple other Superman and Batman books they could appear in, I really don't get why Wonder Woman's one book needs to devote some of it's limited page count to these two. They were written fine in the story itself but what it just reminds me of how DC so often reduces Diana's relationships to just Superman and Batman at the expense of everything else unique about her world.
Overall, I'm still optimistic about King's run when it starts up September but I do note we still don't know how King will actually write Diana as she herself (well unless you count an hallucination) doesn't actually appear in his prologue.
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cosmic-herbal-tea · 1 year
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Justice Society of America (2022) #1 Review: It Just Sucks
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Being that I was anticipating for this title happily despite some of my concerns, I am disappointed to say that honestly, this first issue wasn't really good at all. My belief about first issues is that it SHOULD attract an audience enough to want to be interested in the book and I'm not even sure If the first issue could do that given what happens.
Story recap
So the story here is that years into the future, the daughter of Bruce Wayne/Batman, Helena Wayna aka the Huntress, is a member of the JSA. Due to the JSA's legacies not being fulfilled properly as they retire or whatever, Helena convinces Doctor Fate (one of the two only people on the team with legitamacy in terms of legacies alongside Powergirl) to recruit a whole new team, in which consists of former super-villains, some who are related to previous enemies of the JSA.
Doctor Fate is missing and the team tries to find clues to his whereabouts, with some speculating he was killed by one of the new team members. Doctor Fate's body turns up mummified days later and the team is then ambused by time travelling villain, Per Degaton, who uses his time manipulation powers to kill them all save Helena, who is saved by a aged Catwoman and thrusts her into the past to find Doctor Fate of the 1940s.
Opinions
Helena Wayne's focus
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One of my earliest concerns about this series was the fact that Helena Wayne was going to be a focus in the series. I recall after saying that, I was reminded that her character has, in fact, served as a JSA character, Infinity Inc. member, etc. That's all find and dandy but again, a character related to Batman gets prime focus in a series over the other Justice Society of America.
It's nice that Helena Wayne finally gets to exist but it comes at the cost of icing other characters needlessly. It also continues this trending idea that Batman-related characters are the highest billed characters in these teams (Titans with Robin/Nightwing, Justice League with Batman, The Outlaws with Red Hood, the Birds of Prey with Barbara Gordon/Harley Quinn). It's time for DC to give other character some REAL love.
Doctor Fate is disrespected
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Which gets to my second point: Despite the fact that Helena within the story actually asked Doctor Fate's permission to recruit more team members, implying that HE is the actual leader, you don't see that because he spends the issue being DEAD before you even get another appearance Older Khalid!Doctor Fate. And he is killed by Per Degatron with Falcone thugs doing SOMETHING and then him getting mummified and stuffed into a sarcophagus, found days later because someone unearthed him in a museum and caught an illness that is assocaite with the "Curse of the Pharaohs" myth.
So incase it didn't dawn upon you, DC has Per Degaton, a time-travelling, kill off the ONLY canonical Egyptian Doctor Fate by mummifying him and stuffing him in a sarcophagus in the first issue of a JSA book.
And you know, I find it high-key ironic that even when Khalid is the current Doctor Fate, they're still finding ways to involve Kent Nelson. The previous JSA books didn't tweak their nose nor shy away from telling you the current Doctor Fate (Hector Hall, Kent V. Nelson) is NOT Kent Nelson and they're fine. Khalid is equally capable of fixing the plot like Kent Nelson and yet, Catwoman sends Helena back in time to find KENT NELSON's DOCTOR FATE.
This is an issue that can get fixed down the line but Khalid isn't white so I don't know If it will.
Power Girl is also dispresected.
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Not only is Doctor Fate disrespected but I feel Power Girl's character is too. Her character was once Chairwoman of the JSA. I don't like the fact that like Khalid, she is taking a back seat to letting Helena run the reigns, especially when she has some STRONG disagreements and frankly, she has more legitamancy. If not Doctor Fate, why isn't Power Girl leading this JSA? How is it exactly Helena Wayne was able to convince Doctor Fate of a new interim team?
Maybe these answers MAY get answered some time later but I definitely can say I don't like how it is written that the only thing Power Girl did was "not forgive Helena" for it. This version has been on the team for DECADES. This is not the same Power Girl/Helena Wayne from World's Finest back during the New 52 days. Why didn't she just take command instead?
And then she is killed unceremoniously by Kryptonite poisoning even though Kryptonite from other universes can't affect her but OH WELL. We gotta make Per Degaton look REALLY scary for this one-off storyline.
The series' setup is bland
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Overall, this series' first issue is bland and ridiculous. You introduce a whole new incarnation and then kill them off in the same issue in gruesome ways just to show off your villain (ONCE AGAIN), who hasn't been impressive since his creation Ain't nobody care about some Per Degaton wanting to be Extant.
The series twists it's neck once more to find a way to tell a story that claims is about "legacy" characters but is beginning to look like it's only interested in the same old fucks in the JSA, which begs the question of why not just having the series set in the 1940s-1970s and just going ham on it instead.
This is another story where "legacy characters" only amount to not being up to par and stuggling eternally just to exist. You don't see them fuck shit up; you watch shit fuck them up. How many stories are we having about legacies that actually come FULL CIRCLE and be real badasses? It's 2022 and you'll be hard pressed because they INSIST on not actually moving forward or taking a few steps forward before making giant leaps back.
This first issue did not take the oppurtunity to introduce the prospect of a REAL, new, and interesting team lineup, which also missed the oppurutunity for both new and updated versions of characters. Instead, the first issue beleives a time travelling murder mystery of the JSA with Helena Wayne on the case is more interesting. That may be a contending fact but it makes me think why isn't it called Huntress and the Justice Society instead.
Overall, given that the JSA was spotlighted in the Black Adam movie and it is received fairly well, I find it severely underwhelming DC's first inclination to using the team's mythos is starting off like this. Not to mention how they treat worthwhile characters, ranging from ridiculous to borderline ignorant at the very least.
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rangerzath · 1 year
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My Gargoyles #4 review has been posted! Hope you enjoy! ٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´-
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wildstarpress · 9 months
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🌟Welcome or Welcome back to Review Starlight🌟 We have another installment for you! Today we discuss Cuckoo by Joe Sparrow, published by Shortbox. Find it over at: https://wildstarpress.com/news
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orangezeppelin · 3 months
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Oh, Pickleman! I really hope other people remember this, i-mockery.com as a huge part of my childhood and I'm always so happy when I hear people talk about the site. I'd like to do a Pickleman homage someday but for now we're looking at Pickleman #6, a Christmas issue!
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