#good ol’ Calvin and Hobbes

[batrachised]

Buckle up, kids, and settle in, for I'm about to share the tale of what went down in the batrachised household last night. There were battles...bonding...bloodshed (well, not really)...batrachised has been forever changed. Exaggeration? Yes, but let me have this.

My roommates and I live quite contentedly in a Patty's Place-esque arrangement: young women, striking out on their own, cozied up in a little residence we all love quite a bit. It's a darling place, full of nooks, crannies, bookshelves! (of very high importance). It has green spaces; airy rooms; bright kitchens; crocheted frogs; what more could we ask for?

Despite our idyllic situation, there has been one slight mar, only one, on our little hobbithole ideal. Wasps. During the summer, we had to battle wasp nests outside with frequency. To give you a sense of how bad it got, the brave savior deserving of a martyr's crown who normally helped us remove them (roommate's dad) took a look at one giant nest and shook his head with a whistle. We had to hire professional help to get them removed - which, not too bad, just pest control in the end. But still, the wasps were fruitful and multiplying in a biblical fashion.

Enter fall. Enter cold. Most importantly, enter death. Death for wasps, as bugs, to quote calvin and hobbes, died by the bucketful. We were free - or so we thought. Oh, how naive those who have never walked paths of treachery and pain are.

One fine fall day, we found a wasp in the living. Horrible, but manageable. It was dying. I finished the job with glasses, a mask, a jacket, shoes, a broom, and significantly, lots of poison, looking like Don Quixote of the broom closet. Finished. Done deal. I patted myself on the back for being a brave household savior. Really, this was the proof that I was a strong independent woman. Good on you, batrachised, I thought.

Then, a second wasp appeared.

Horrible, and less manageable. One wasp is an accident - a door left open too long, a window with a ripped screen. Two wasps is a pattern. Two wasps means more wasps.

However, this wasp was very dead from the get go. I pondered. What to do? Then as so many other fools have done throughout history, I chose to blind myself to the truth. Two wasps - what a freak incident! A pattern, to be sure. But how could there be more? We never saw any buzzing around. Odd. Horrible, But still manageable.

I'm sure you can guess what happened next. Another one appeared, this one alive and angry. Clifford roommate got home at 1AM and had to fend off an angry wasp with a broom and poison, until it disappeared and she decided to throw up her hands and go to bed as was necessary, right, and just. We could no longer ignore the reality in front of us. I called pest control.

The pest control man arrived. He was a cheerful, gregarious man who smelt strongly of cigarette smoke. I decided he was a man to be trusted, most especially when he chipperly let us know that no, we shouldn't pay pest control at all! What a waste of money! The wasps, you see, are in the chimneys. He could remove them for several hundred dollars and the inability to access our house for several hours, or...we could just start a fire. It would get hot in the chimney, they'd get uncomfortable, and they'd leave. Smoke theory and all that.

Great. Fantastic, even. We save several hundred dollars, and get to have a cozy fire! Win win. Maybe we could even make hot chocolate and put on Christmas music! Perfect for the Christmas season. We decided tonight was the night. A half hour of our time, then done.

We received two warnings though.

First, the gregarious pest control man had let us know to be careful when opening the flue, as wasps can fall. "Just jerk your hand out quickly," was what he sagely said in so many words. I repeat, we decided this made sense. After all, we could close the metal curtains. That would keep those ol' darn wasps away. Still, we approached the flue carefully.

Second, my little sister. She listened to our plan skeptically. She gravely said (paraphrasing), somber as a small child, "But these are southern wasps." I laughed. Why shouldn't I? We had heard from our dear friendly expert. She finished with a (paraphased again) line of "What if the wasps go down instead of up?"

Well, there's a fire, little sister! Surely they wouldn't!

Flashforward to us in front of the fireplace. My roommate reaches and opens the flue. There's a thud. The sound of something falling. But nothing swarms out. We release a breath.

Neither of us have lit a gas fire before, so we don't know how and have to look it up--and then, in the meantime, my roommate notices:

A wasp.

In the (unlit) fireplace. Nestled in the fake logs. Looking cozy as a demon thorn with wings can.

We decide worriedly to tape the metal curtains shut. They would protect us, remember? These curtains of chain metal (you might be familiar with chain metal as the one full of holes). Tape them shut. I run to get tape. My roommate watches the wasp. The curtains are taped shut. Ah, another sigh of relief. We continue our research into gas fireplaces.

When we look back, the wasp is on the outside of the curtains.

Reader, here I will be honest: if you're expecting a giant nest to fall down, and us to have to run for our lives, this does not happen. Or at least, it has not happened yet. But in that moment, that trembling, unsteady moment, we knew that anything was possible. We didn't know that a giant nest wouldn't fall. But we did know that we had committed. We had opened the flue. We had woken the beast.

Fear strings through the air tensely, but we continue. Roommate bravely lights the fire. Half an hour. Half an hour, then we're safe.

My memory of the next few minutes is shaky, but I remember one clear, bright detail gleaming out among the rest:

We saw more wasps.

One flew through the air. Slow, lazy. Unhurried. But assuredly directly headed for us.

Both of us scurried out of the room like we'd seen the girl from the ring.

Reader, the wasps had come down instead of up.

Three wasps, to be specific. Even as I sitting here writing this, it's possible we missed more. There was a fire roaring that would hopefully prevent more. But that did little to assuage our fears. I now understand what it's like to live in a horror movie. Around every corner, danger lurks. Danger lurks behind the curtains. Danger lurks in the lights. Danger lurks in the blankets. Nowhere is safe. Anything can happen at anytime. There are creatures in your house, waiting to attack for no reason. It's not your house at all, in fact: it's theirs. The house is on their side. It hides them, cloaks them, shelters them, and in doing so, destroys you (well my mental stability anyway).

Half an hour, and then we're safe. The problem was, that whole half an hour factoid didn't seem to ring quite true anymore. What I was realizing with a cold, gripping understanding, was that there might not have just been one wasp nest in that chimney - there might have been many. If not a downright giant hive. And we had lit a fire, right under their home.

It was time to discuss backup plans. We came up with an escape route on the off chance it was a big swarm. We grimly got out the wasp spray. And most horribly of all, we waited. Waited sturdily. Waited fearfully. My roommate made soup, then froze. "Did you hear that buzzing?" No, I hadn't. Did she hear a distant buzzing in the chimney?? No, she hadn't.

We scoped out the enemy's territory. There was a scout on the ceiling, still except for the occasional shift. Another lazily flew through the room. We had been invaded.

All throughout, that waiting for the worst, something was edging through the back of my mind, snaking through

We were going to have to turn the fireplace off and close the flue. Or, in other words (1) enter the wasp territory (2) turn off the wasp deterrent, and (3) stick our hand up the wasp-infested chimney. It was very much the moment in the horror movie when they realize the only way out is through. We had our velociraptor in the kitchen, except it was a ton of wasps in the chimney. What's more, we had our chosen weapon of poison, but our chosen weapon couldn't be used because the wasps were coming from the lit fireplace, unless we wanted to start a chemical fire.

Half an hour passes. We decide to wait longer. Better to be safe than sorry.

Finally, after an hour, we glance at each other. We have a somber discussion, akin to tributes from the same district about to enter the hunger games arena. How long to run the fireplace? Would more time matter at this point? Who would close the flue?

I decide if I go down, I'm not going down without a fight. Much like a few weeks earlier, I grab a jacket. I make sure I have my glasses on. I grab a mask to cover my face. I have shoes on my feet. I get an extra shoe to put on my hand. I have a potholder on the other hand to close the flue. Don Quixote (Don Avispa?) has returned.

We march into the enemy territory. The enemy watches from above. Bravely, we steadfastly ignore it. I ask my roommate to watch my back and cover me as I turn towards the side of the room. First step: close the windows. Visions of thousands of wasps hiding behind the curtains dance through my head (at this point you should have realized i have no common sense about wasps and would die immediately in a zombie apocalypse). I ripple the curtain gently. Nothing. One window down. Next window: again, nothing. Another window down.

Now, time for the fireplace.

Wizard Hat roommate insists on sacrificing herself to the flue. She's done before; she has the muscle memory. Both of us are concerned that closing the flue will jostle the wasps and cause more to fall down - wasps that if still living, have to be very angry. I hand her the potholder.

The flue closes without incident.

We wait, holding our breath.

No more wasps.

With not a little relief, although still edgy, we make our way to the other room. We still have wasps in the house, but for now, the risk of having a torrent of wasps come down the chimney seems to have abated. I will never forget, though, that time period of waiting.

We decide to stay up a little longer. Just in case. The fireplace is cooling down now, so in a way there's more risk of wasps.

We go to the other room and sit, making conversation quietly. It's not unlike the ending scene in Jurassic park where they're in the helicopter, bruised, worn, but still alive.

It's then I look up. And heading straight for me, straight and low, is a wasp.

We leap up. I hear its buzzing in the room, and I grab the poison. Enough is enough. This wasp is dying tonight.

It feebly lands on the fireplace, and we see that it seems to already be dying. The Lord is merciful when he wants to be. Unfortunately, its proximity to the fireplace means that I can't spray it safely. We talk, waiting for it to move, but then we lose sight of it. My roommate briskly goes to cover her chicken soup. "I don't want a wasp to fall in it." Wise words, and wiser priorities.

It's when she finishes that she notices it on the floor, still somewhat feebly dying.

I have to admit, I'm not the coolest head under pressure. We could have just waited it out. But I had had enough. Wasps? Wasps in my house?? Wasps that had tried to divebomb me??

I went a little berserk, even trigger happy, and sprayed the ever living bejeesus out of that wasp. The spray said it killed on contact, which did not turn out to be true because that wasp was KICKIN'. On the floor, but still kickin'. I sprayed it again. And again. And again.

Finally, it stilled. RIP, wasp. (Rest in Poison).

However, we then faced the fact that I had created a giant puddle of poison smack in the middle of the floor that we now had to clean up. We got out rubber gloves (I noted them for future use of fighting wasps, more armor), and paper toweled away. Once done, we had to face the issue of where to soak the poison-coated gloves, and decided in a plastic tub on the counter.

And so this tale comes to end (for now). We decided wearily to go to bed. We were done with the day. More wasps may come, but we'd shut the door.

The final cherry on top of the sundae though, was the fact that Clifford Roommate was not home during all of this. This means that she got a series of increasingly frantic texts that looked something like this (I invite you to consider the fact that these wouldn't be out of place in a doctor who episode):

We lit the fire and wasps came out be careful!!

keep the doors shut! we have to keep the wasps out!!

don't turn off the light in the living room...the light distracts them

we've closed the flues. the fire is off.

there's one in the room with us now

we're trying to kill it!!

DO NOT touch the gloves in the kitchen, they're covered in poison

Drums, drums in the deep.

All this to say, if ever you decide to light a fire to chase away wasps, be prepared. They might just come down instead of up.

#i now know what it is to live in jurassic park and i now know i would die immediately #poor wizard roommate had to be the lead #long post #anyway here's hoping more wasps don't come out :)

[conventionalwisdomcomic]

Digimon Ghost Game reactions - episode 33

A Fox Kids version of Ghost Game would have had more stuff cut out than the Kids' WB version of Cardcaptors. Like, seriously.  If they tried to show this episode AT ALL, it'd have the absolute crap edited out of it.  Like, maybe there'd be a minute or so of Kiyo getting knocked out, then the whole rest of the episode runtime would just be a clip show of him "remembering" past events.  The good ol' Shades of Grey method of filling out an episode. Also, Calvin & Hobbes taught me that TV bounce around in the air when they're on.  Do not question this.

Conventional Wisdom / Patreon

#Conventional Wisdom #mine #Digimon #webcomic #Digimon Ghost game

[ryansbedroom]

The Advertiser newspaper was a very different place back in my youth days. But since the late 2010s, News Corp’s decisions have been questionable.

In its golden years... 1. It was in a broadsheet format. 2. It had comic strips (e.g. Fred Bassett, Peanuts, Sesame Street, Phantom, Garfield, Insanity Streak, Ginger Meggs, Calvin & Hobbes, etc). 3. It genuinely cared about almost everything around South Australia including cinema session times and small businesses.

4. The puzzles section was more manageable compared with today.

5. The television guide had great highlights including today’s picks.

Ah, signs of the good ol’ times!

Now for one last time, please stop making any more changes that are only causing more substantial damage than improvement. Make our newspapers great again or you’re fired.

#squidward #spongebob #meme #grave #tombstone #mourning #the advertiser #newspaper #masthead #news corp #death

[iunderstanddotnot]

Rumble: I'm a genius, but I'm a misunderstood genius.

Ziggs: What's misunderstood about you?

Rumble: Nobody thinks I'm a genius.

#source: calvin and hobbes #guess who's reading some good 'ol calvin and hobbes #yordles #rumble #ziggs #chat #calvin is very much like rumble #actually

[mythgirlimagines]

ANON-CORRECT QUOTES

----------------------------------

Fusion II: (facepalming) Janon, why can't you just listen to the Brain Cells for once?

Janon: (scoffing) Oh, please. Those Brain Cells have the collective intelligence of a pineapple.

Curious: (popping out of nowhere) Janon-sama is right!

Fusion II: (incredulous) What do you know? You weren't even paying attention.

Curious: (confidently) I literally was. I just said Janon-sama was right.

Janon: (shrugging) Yeah, but there's like a 90% chance of me being right most of the time, so that's not proof you were listening. That's just a good guess.

Source: The Mortal Instruments

Page Source: (https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/706749-we-shouldn-t-protested-isabelle-the-clave-has-a-plan-the)

----------------------------------

Myth: (trying to get romantic information on Fusion) Sooo, Fusion! Got a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend?

Fusion: (confidently) I don't need a boyfriend or girlfriend! I just want 12 million dollars! .....And a donut!

Source: Twitter

Page Source: (https://twitter.com/search?q=don't%20want%20a%20just%20want%20million%20dollars%20and%20a%20donut&src=typed_query)

----------------------------------

(Context: Purple and Sparkle decided to go out and play a good ol' round of croquet, and decided to invite Wyre for some reason...)

Purple: (relaxing) Ah, croquet! Unerringly the pastime for the bluest of blood!

Sparkle: (nodding her head) YOU'VE SAID IT, LITTLE PURPLE ONE! CROQUET TRULY IS A GENTLEMAN'S GAME!

Wyre: (genuinely confused) Eh, that's hard to believe. 

Wyre: (holding a croquet mallet with less-than-innocent intent) I've played before, and I can tell you that the temptation to misuse these things is awful!

Source: Calvin and Hobbes

Page Source: (https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1987/06/07)

----------------------------------

Wet Sock: (blushing hard, frustrated) GRRR, FINE! I  LOVE MYTH!

Egg: (patting their twin's back, proud of them) Great! You gonna go find her?

Wet Sock: (walking away) No. I'm going to find Cupid.

Wet Sock: (unsheathing their knife) Then I'm gonna beat the crap out of him!

Source: Tsurezure Children

----------------------------------

Dream: (running out the door) See ya, Ritchie! Off to volleyball practice!

Eldritch: (blushing hard) B-BYEeee!

(Later...In Scar's Clinic)

Eldritch: (ranting, to Scar) Grrr! This "l-l-love" m-must be some k-kind of d-d-di-disease! Ever since I m-met D-Dream, I c-caught f-f-fee-feelings for her! I caught f-fee-feelings B-BAD! I e-e-even washed m-my hands, a-after t-t-talking to her! A-And everything!

Scar: (facepalming) For the last time, Eldritch, you don't catch feelings for people. You just have them!

Source: How I Met Your Mother

Video Source: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zfzdaIGpoE)

----------------------------------

Iris: (visibly nervous) U-Uh, Nerd-senpai! I have a bit of a problem!

Nerd: (calmly) Just do what I do when I have problems:

Nerd: (at the top of his lungs) SCREAAAAAAAAAAAM!

Iris: (just standing there with both shattered glasses and shattered eardrums)

Source: Spongebob Squarepants

Video Source: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIhNOw22tU4)

----------------------------------

The Fancy One/Mastermind: (planning out the Anon Killing Game) I love games that turn people against each other!~★

Source: Parks and Recreation

----------------------------------

I hope you like these quotes! I'd love to hear what you think of them!

-Fusion Anon

#submission #anon #fusion anon #incorrect quote #fusion anon ii #purple anon #curious anon #eldritch anon #sparkling anon #dream anon #iris anon #just anon #egg anon #wet sock anon #anon nerd #anon scar #my evil twin #anon kg

[dumb-hat]

All The Nothing You Want

At one point, I had an ambition to write a big ol’ post-mortem on my FFXIV Write 2020 experience. It was my first time partaking in something like that and, fresh off it, I had a lot of thoughts about it. Now we’re a week and a day out from it, and I’m at work, and I’m tired, and man, I just can’t remember things like I used to. 

Also, like... It seems kinda silly to write a post-mortem on a challenge that I didn’t engage all that thoroughly with. I’m certainly proud of the output I did have, don’t get me wrong, but you can definitely tell the point where I lost steam. So, I guess, let’s start there. What happened?

The first week and a half of the challenge were great for me. I struggled with a few of the prompts, but it was a good struggle; the sort that makes you stretch your legs a little and test your boundaries. About 12 days in, some sorta real life stuff cropped up (and largely, not even my stuff) and it seemed like it was time to take a break. Just a day or two, plus I could make it up on Sunday, right?

As much as I had enjoyed having a steady reason to write again—something I hadn’t done in years, since college, really—the allure of taking a break was really, really seductive. I write Evander as having some pretty gnarly executive dysfunction, so it’s probably not a surprise to anyone that I struggle with ADHD. It’s definitely a case of “write what you know,” for me, even if very little of his life beyond that makes sense to me. I don’t think this is uniquely or wholly an ADHD experience, but I bet it’s familiar to a lot of people with ADHD brains: Sometimes, nothing feels better than taking a break. Even when it’s something you’ve been happily plugging away at, something you’ve been looking forward to every day, it just feels so good to let yourself ignore it for a day. And then after that, it’s just two days. And then... I stopped writing around the 12th prompt. I picked it back up on the 17, and stuck it out until the 20th. Then I fell off until the final, 30th prompt, which... I actually really liked that one. I felt like it was a pretty strong finish for me, and it worked out just wonderfully that it tied back perfectly to another piece I had already written. I wish I’d been more diligent, but I can’t say I regret the writing I didn’t do. Even without a great daily habit, I think the challenge helped me stretch my legs, encouraged me to RP more, to collaborate with people and read just an absolute wealth of great material from people I both knew well and not at all. Most importantly, it helped me find some joy in writing regularly again. Maybe if I’m lucky, or can manage to make it a priority, I can even hang onto that until the next writing challenge. We’ll see. In a way, that’s me in a nutshell: I started strong, took a break and then just settled down comfortably in the alluring embrace of comfortable inertia, and in the end, things were fine. Coulda done better, but I don’t mind.

So then the challenge ended, but oddly enough, the break from the challenge didn’t. I wasn’t kidding when I referred to it as “alluring” and “seductive.” My favorite Calvin & Hobbes strip famously reads “There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want.” It’s made it hard to get back into tumblring, into being a tumblrer, one who tumbls, but I’m going to work on that. I’m going to quit taking that break (or maybe just take a break from it, who can say) and tackle the drafts and asks and tags and mentions and inboxes and whatnot that I put aside a little over a month ago.  Then... I dunno. I’ll write some more. That was fun and cathartic, turns out. I guess I forgot that at some point. Maybe I’ll go back and finish the prompts I didn’t for this challenge. Maybe I’ll hunt down prompt lists for the previous years and see if anything looks fun. Maybe I’ll collaborate on some fun stuff with some of my wonderful friends. Maybe I’ll make some new ones. Hey, maybe we should RP.

#ooc #with apologies to watterson and dylan #oops turns out I did write a big ol' post mortem

[cyclone-rachel]

Hi!! Do you have any Danvers Sisters fic recommendations? It's so hard to find ones that aren't necessary tied to sc or km.

yeah! sure!

twohearts has two really good Danvers sisters fics, Steel Roses which is a series of vignettes and Where We Hide which is a cyberpunk AU, I really like the latter especially but both of them are great.

Sensory Overload by JadziaDaxLover (about autistic Kara, featuring Alex being a good sister)

The Sacrifice by sashasul 

(summary: “She shivered and rolled down onto her side, pulling her legs up to her chest. The shackle that encased her ankles and was tethered to the ground rattled as it scraped across the concrete and she glanced over at Alex, lying curled in a restless sleep…”

What happens when there are no heroes left? Who will step up, what sacrifices will be made? A darker Danvers sister story.)

the works of swwf17, aka @stranger-who-writes-fiction! So much good Danvers sisters there, in AUs and canon situations

the works of miraculousagentsofkrypton, who can also be found on Tumblr as @miraculousagentsofkrypton! I especially like Imagine an Alien Sister, which is a sort of Calvin and Hobbes AU with Kara as Alex’s imaginary friend.

Staccato by DoubleDimension, which is an AU featuring Kara as a musician, there’s a lot of characters in this one but no real ships. A very interesting concept, for sure, one of my personal faves.

@wizardofahz definitely has some great Danvers sisters stuff, as does @arendellesfirstwinter I believe

It’s Only Been a Moment, It’s Only Been a Lifetime by EmsyPes, set after the season 3 finale

Agony, Such that Princes Must Weep by @youngbloodbuzz

(summary: aka the Pod Person Alex Extravaganza

aka an alien impersonates alex. it’s a grand ol’ time.)

Little Boy Blue by @ithinkthingsaboutstuff, which features the Danvers sisters meeting a mysterious visitor around the time of the Midvale flashbacks

and of course the two-body problem by @ultranos, aka the Otter Alex fic

also I have more bookmarks for fics involving them here

and I hope you don’t mind, but a couple of my own fics:

When I’m Missing You (She’s my Soul), set after the mind-wipe episode and featuring Kara going to meet with Earth-1 Alex

Flightless Birds, featuring smol Danvers sisters

I hope this helps!

(also I would say go talk to @motorcyclegirlfriends, @thatsjustsupergirl, or @iamdelta-s, they’re big Danvers sisters fans and I’m sure they have some great recommendations too!)

edit: Vv (that’sjustsupergirl) has her own fic, since I’ve been away, that is also worth recommending!

#papa don't look #rachel answers questions #danvers sisters #supergirl #fic recs #anon #alex danvers #kara danvers #kara zor el

[mirrorfalls]

The Joker 80th Anniversary Super Spectacular (2020)

“So Lego,” said nobody ever. “Now that you’re got some decent free time and the spoons to write, what are you gonna do? Get some actual work done on that Detective Conan longfic you’ve been rattling about the last two years? Actually start your long-overdue cert paper, that thing you need to graduate?”

Oooof course not! Instead, let’s dive back into the wonderful world of Cape Comix, featuring Tumblr’s least-wanted villain! Will any of these ten little tales actually manage to find something new - or at least interesting - to say about Laughing Boy? Let’s find out.

“Scars” by Scott Snyder and Jock. A pretty typical Snyder gonzo-horror jaunt, complete with “haha, the Joker really is the godmode manipulator/killer you’ve been denying he was all story! Sucks to be you!” ending. It’s stories like these that make me wonder why the hell Bruce’s rogues gallery even needs Scarecrow anymore, even in concept.

“What Comes at the End of a Joke” by James Tynion IV and Mikel Janin. Ahh, Christ, why didn’t I expect there’d be a Joker War tie-in somewhere in this... Well, there ya have it, the Secret Origin of Punchline. There’s a germ of an interesting idea here, likening the Joker’s “the hell with anything else, I just want to fuck over The Powers That Be” influence on Gotham’s youth to the Alt-Right’s influence in real life, but even then I reckon other writers have already done it better.

“Kill the Batman” by Gary Whitta, Greg Miller, and Dan Mora. The first creative team I had to look up - apparently, one of ‘em used to run IGN, and the other co-wrote Rogue One. This is also the first one built as a comedy, which I approve of in theory; in execution, though, the setup is a bit too mawkish for its own good (not to mention way too eager to quote-mine Chris Nolan) the last-page punchline is exactly the kind of dad humor our “hero” was complaining about halfway through the story. All in all, I’d still recommend “Going Sane” as a better take on the whole premise.

“Introducing the Dove Corps” by Denny O’Neil and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. Guys, whatever differences I’ve had with his work over the years, I really wanted to report that O’Neil went out on a high note. And I will say this one probably has the strongest premise in the whole book, with Joker trying to not only (gasp!) play hero but (horrors!) do it without bloodshed. O’Neil doesn’t quite cheat the premise, but the story is still bogged down with at least one unleapable logic hole (a Special Forces Team doesn’t know who the fucking Joker is?!), a bunch of pointless continuity-mining (See! The origin of TKJ’s tourist getup!), and a predictable-as-hell ending. Whatever faults the other stories may have, none of them end on a line as hacky as “Killing is so much fun.”

“The War Within” by Peter Tomasi and Simone Bianchi. Okay, first thing - it’s not “Batman/Badman” levels of faux-cleverness, but it’s not quite out of that ballpark. There’s no real plot outside the narration (except maybe to set up some future arc in Tomasi’s Detective), just Bianchi doing a Joker-through-the-ages showcase. Said showcase hits most of the obligatory choices - Golden Age, Silver Age, TKJ, TDK, TDKR - but I will say I was pleasantly surprised to see The Batman’s Joker getting a shout-out, dreads and all.

“The Last Smile” by Paul Dini and Riley Rossmo. Huh. Wasn’t expecting to see Dini do a riff on Joker: Devil’s Advocate of all things - and only slightly that it would average out as the best story in here. After his less-than-stellar writing on the Arkham games, it’s heartening to see Dini’s still got some of the old magic, with a genuinely insightful look into what might scare the Joker: the possibility that Batman can have his cake and eat it too, can get rid of his not-so-eternal dance partner without endangering his precious code, because sometimes, the law is good for something after all. Kudos, too, for a more creative use of Harley - and rapport with Ivy - than years and years of Harley-centric media have ever managed.

“Birthday Bugs” by Tom Taylor and Eduardo Risso. A strong competitor to the previous one - you can almost never go wrong with “the Joker tries to do something nice for an innocent” as a premise - with some choice lines that carry the theme smoothly without ever feeling like grandstanding. That said, Risso’s art is a lot more hit-and-miss than Rossmo’s - some panels are absolutely beautiful, but others - especially if Joker’s actually in them - just look hideously tryhard - and the gore in the last couple pages feels more cheap than disturbing.

“No Heroes” by Eduardo Medeiros and Rafael Albuquerque. See previous opening line. The themes discussed here (why be a hero for a soulless Capitalist engine?) are a little triter, not helped by the fact that the story’s not really long enough to let them breathe properly, but the art is on the whole a lot stronger; and in an age where artists are falling over themselves to out-demonic each others’ Jokers, I especially dig the choice to put him in a mask for most of the story, rooting his scariness in unmoving minimalism instead of hyperexaggerating every wrinkle and pore of his face,

“Penance” by Tony Daniel. Ah, yes. The perennial weak-link of the Reborn era and the inventor of that whole skinned-face idiocy back at the start of the New 52, Daniel’s turn here... threatens to be interesting a few times, but never manages to get all its ideas into anything coherent, much less good in execution. Shame, really - apart from “Birthday Bugs” it’s the only one to focus on “normal” crooks, a perennially underrated element in Joker romps.

“Two Fell Into The Hornet’s Nest” by Brian Azzarello & Lee Bermejo. This was the one I was least looking forward to... and it looks like ol’ Brian anticipated that, given the line (”Have you checked the credits on who’s writing this?”) he kicks off page two with. I suppose it, more than any of the other stories, cut to the heart of what the Joker’s stream-of-consciousness should look like - but that doesn’t really stop it from feeling like something Azzarello cranked out on a lunch break. Even random nonsense needs to be handled with care to not feel like waste of the reader’s time - and whatever else this one has going for it (I did smile a little the nurse taunting Joker about being as much an empty corporate symbol as Batman himself), care's not really on the menu. Stick with his Calvin & Hobbes parody from Superman/Batman #75.

So there ya have it - three (possibly four) stories I’d legitimately read again, surrounded by a sea of mediocrity and misfires (and some intermittently interesting pinups - JRJR’s Joker-as-007 piece hit my sweet-spot best). That’s honestly a better record than I would’ve expected for the J-Man in 2020 - better, by all accounts, than the 80th super-spectacular the Robins got.

Would it have been too much to ask the Lego Batman guys to contribute something, though?

#Joker #Lego has too much time

[officiallykizer]

Evil Christopher Robin...... from back in the day How Dr. Robin and Secret Agent Calv know each other: As children, these two had constant feuds after Calvin literally stepped into Christopher's neck of the woods. That's when the Battle began, the test of their imagination. Calvin would talk about his “friend” and his abilities and Christopher would counter and say “but can he...” it went back and forth between the 2 of them. As they grew older they grew in different directions. Calvin met new people and made friends – although his best and imaginary friend "Hobbes" stayed with him all the way into adulthood. Christopher on the other hand became more introverted but made the characters he invented as a kid more apart of his character as he got older. Why he's Calvin's Nemesis: Christopher Robin had to leave for boarding school after being accused of burning down the 100 Acre Woods. Later ol Chrissy boy learned that someone saw a stripped shirt, wearing kid also wandering the woods on that very day. Turns out that Calvin who was fond of playing with matches at the time burned down most of the woods by mistake – Chris got the heat though. That sucks Balls! Dr. Christopher Robins Occupation: Multi-Billionaire inventor/ Psychoanalysis Owns Hundert-Serca tech. Responsible for making tons of things but here are just a few…. Owl: A satellite over the earth that can see everything on it.. but in different modes. thermo, infrared etc, G.O.4: (Generically, Operated) and altered Troopers trained to be sort for the weapon for the government. The really good shit though….he keeps for himself. The many faces of Christopher Robin: 1. Pooh: decision-maker; leader (insight) 2. Tigger: enthusiastic; confident (ego) 3. Piglet: timid (fear) 4. Eeyore: pessimistic, persistence (depression) 5. Rabbit: organizer (responsible) * 6. Owl: thinker[skew] (wisdom) * 7. Kanga: instinct (intuitive) 8. Roo: prodigy (liberal) 9. Gopher: hard-worker (dedication) * #Christopherrobin #Winniethepooh https://www.instagram.com/p/BqVzKQuDNVI/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=14sw49y6z6kki

#christopherrobin #winniethepooh

[woohooligancomics]

Artist Spotlight: Chris Patrick, brevity is the soul of wit

Welcome to the Laugh It Forward Kickstarter Artist Spotlight! Every day you'll meet new cool artists doing amazing things, so check them out!

Today I'd like to introduce you to Christopher Patrick!

Chris is a cartoonist and sometimes illustrator from the North Shore of Massachusetts, and the creator of the comic strip Extra Crispy.

Extra Crispy, (read "extra Chris P."), is a single-panel comic strip that takes those magical influences from childhood, where fairy tales and legends are real, inanimate objects come to life, and animals can speak, and combines them with the real-life experiences of adulthood, where many people are simply annoying jerks or clueless idiots, and sometimes life throws nothing but curve balls.

Sam: I used to make the mistake most artists make when asked about my work, and get into the details like characters, plot and story elements. Those are important in telling stories, but I learned they don't really draw people in. So I'm going to ask you to tell us a short story about the more important question:

why do you create your art?

Chris: My cartoons are kinda like the by-product of the way my brain filters life.

The world and almost everything in it is funny to me. So, I laugh. And, in an attempt to share my snickers and chuckles, (Snickles?), I mock things. But instead of being a total jerk and unwanted member of society, I turn my mockings into jokes. And these jokes I try to turn into cartoons. When I can’t, I edit myself, (I DO have that capability!)

Sometimes the result is a little too topical, or too specific, or too negative. When this is the case, I try to apply the core of the joke to a different situation. Oft-times, my gags end up a mile or two away from the situation that inspired them, (Trust me! That's not always such a bad thing!) In the end, if I can get a laugh out of it, (or get a laugh out of the missus), then BOOM! It’s an Extra Crispy Cartoon.

Sam: Yeah, I know I've done that. Sometimes I'll have an idea for a joke when I'm frustrated and I end up abandoning it because it seems too mean or too sad after I've thought about it. I'd like for most (if not all) of my work to carry a sense of optimism and hope.

Sam: My second question is who or what has most inspired your work? If I compared you to someone, what names would you be most flattered to hear?

Chris: Since my Extra Crispy is a single-panel, gag 'toon, well, it would come as no surprise if I said my biggest influence was Gary Larson's The Far Side. His work managed to jump straight to the gag and treat the cartoon/artwork as just the medium. I love that. Minimal illustration was needed, because it was just a joke in picture format. I strive to capture that focus.

Don’t get me wrong! The works of cartoonists like Bill Watterson's Calvin And Hobbes, Berkely Breathed's Bloom County, or Mike Peters’ Mother Goose and Grimm are amazing, and I aspire to that level of skill, but when it comes to my cartoons, my motto is that of gag first. I think that certain cartoonists, like Hilary Price and Mark Parisi, share this mentality, and some, like Dan Piraro (and now Wayno) with Bizarro comics, have combined this with superior artwork.

Also, I have always loved the work of absurdist comedians like Steven Wright and Mitch Hedberg. Their material always reminded me of spoken cartoons.

Sam: That's a pretty good way of describing Hedberg. I was also pretty flattered when a lot of people were comparing my early work to Gary Larson when I started cartooning in 2006. Now that I rarely make single-panel strips anymore, I rarely hear that comparison, but it was nice.

I was never really able to enjoy Calvin & Hobbs though, and the fact that about 99% of today's cartoonists cite Watterson as one of their favorite inspirations has no effect on my apathy toward it. :P

Sam: Last question. What have you learned from your work, and what's your advice for younger creators?

Chris: What I have learned from my scribblings and would share with newer cartoonists is practice. Corny, I know, but hear me out!

I’ve read many cartoonists' books and am always surprised to see how professional comic strip creators’ styles have changed from their early years to their more current material. If I could pass on any piece of advice to aspiring cartoonists or artists in general, it would be to practice. It is like playing a musical instrument: the more you do it, the easier it gets and the better the results. Like many, I am my own biggest critic, but my early works and style, (of which I consider myself still deeply entrenched in, by the way!) are constantly evolving.

And frankly, I can’t wait to see what I’m gonna draw next!

Sam: Yeah, it's funny, I think the only way that's ever not the case is when you're literally drawing stick figures. I don't see a difference in the art from XKCD or Cyanide and Happiness over the years. But even Kris Straub's Chainsaw Suit, which has supremely simplified illustrations, is markedly different if you compare his earliest and latest works.

Any final thoughts?

Chris: Yay! 'Shameless Plug' time!

A big ol' bunch my cartoons can also be purchased at CartoonStock.com, the biggest purveyor of cartoons on the web! And Extra Crispy greeting cards, gear and apparel can be found at both zazzle.com and RedBubble.com for mere pennies! Pennies! Hundreds of 'em!

Thanks!

Sam: Thanks for taking the time for this interview, Chris, it's been a pleasure.

To see more of Chris's awesome work, check out his website. You can also find him on Facebook, or Twitter, and most importantly, if you enjoy his work, share this interview!

p.s. If you are also an artist and are planning a Kickstarter, you might find my Six Tips to Kickstarter Success helpful, plus links to other helpful resources. Also thanks to Andrea Demonakos who's handling the bulk of our rewards fulfillment to help our Laugh It Forward project go smoothly!

[pkstudiosindia]

Let’s take it a little SLOW – Happytrips

Featured Post in Water Filter India dot com - Water Filter India

If requested what’s that one factor that COVID has taught us, most would say to decelerate and benefit from the easy issues of life, as this lockdown gave us ample time to mirror and take up within the smaller joys of life.

Imagine an itinerary—7 international locations, 15 days. Pause, assume, are you even travelling in actual sense? Calvin had as soon as mentioned to Hobbes “It’s a magical world, Hobbes, ol’ buddy . . . Let’s go exploring!” Exactly, however why haste.

Travel is simply not about seeing of sights, it is a change that goes on, deep and everlasting, within the concepts of residing, so why not soak in that feeling. Slow journey is mainly all about breaking the standard concepts of journey, your dates are versatile, no repair itinerary; additionally, the place you’re a a part of the place not simply a vacationer.

Sumit Damani, Co-founder Vista Rooms helps saying “Unhurried and unstructured, a journey, greater than a vacation spot, Slow journey has been at all times an immersive expertise for a discerning traveller. As millennials are wanting to expertise new locations and cultures, displays within the decisions for journey with locations desired with ample out of doors house, surrounded by greenery, savouring culinary knowledge, their livelihoods, and lots of extra. We are witnessing curiosity amongst our patrons choosing sluggish journey. Soaking within the setting and open to new experiences, they want to keep on farms and be taught natural farming and eat recent produce from the farm. Places like Dudley Manor close to Dehradun, Captain’s Farm in Javagal, and The Hideout in Kurukshetra in non – touristy places have been surprisingly standard in our community of personal estates.”

Leisurely paced journey could be mentioned to be a smarter approach to journey. The second you decelerate one can join with inheritor environment significantly better, identical goes for journey. As you journey slowly, your connection grows stronger with the place. No rush is the phrase. Going by its philosophy, it’s extra vital to get to know one small space nicely.

But as we’re in a race for a higher life, energy, improvement and social media followers, we have now exploited nature, manpower and every little thing that we had accessible. And then, COVID-19 bringing the world to a halt. For the final 5 months, we have been made to take a seat and assume—was it value being in a rat race? Definitely not. Vinod Verma, CEO & Co-founder, HomeStays of India, provides “It’s at all times a good concept to remain in a single place for a week no less than, recognize the native meals, nature round, assembly individuals and studying about their tradition and life-style. It offers immense satisfaction and peace. Homestays are principally situated in offbeat locations, amidst the character and peaceable setting. There is at all times a household to serve you homely meals and take care of different necessities. So you may really feel like residence and keep for much longer than a lodge. Most of the homestays are situated in rural areas the place you may be taught a lot; farming, cooking, native artwork and craft, tradition, neighborhood residing and a new language. There is a lot of open house for yoga and meditation, peace for studying and writing and nature stroll. They are nice locations to expertise the sluggish tempo of life”. As you tempo down you’re your choices flip to be acutely aware and unscripted. It’s about changing “seeing” different sights with “being” there as an alternative. Ain’t that a stunning thought? The wealthy experiences that you just collect turns into your private treasures.

“If you want to soak in the fresh air of the forests, allow the magnanimous mountain view to sink in your eyes, relish the taste of every morsel and experience the purity of organic farm fresh food, go in for a nature friendly slow travel” admits Prerna Prasad, Founder Ecoplore, a platform that’s all about for eco-pleasant lodging.

Escape the stress—let’s go native and let’s go sluggish.

Author: Ms. Ayandrali Dutta

Ayandrali Dutta, a journalist with greater than 10+ years’ expertise who additionally holds a diploma in Psychology has labored with among the prime publication homes like Times of India, Dainik Bhaskar, India right this moment, Exchange4media to call a few together with contributing to many others. She describes herself as a wanderer by ardour,wordsmith by career, and a residence-chef by alternative.

She believes in capturing moments and freezing them via her tales.

Click Here to View or Learn More - Let’s take it a little SLOW – Happytrips .........................For more Details,Please Visit our Water Filter India dot com - Home Page Link - Water Filter India

from WordPress https://waterfilterindia.com/lets-take-it-a-little-slow-happytrips/

#Featured Story #Water System #abc plumbing #atlantic plumbing #australia #australian plumbing #bathr

[codyleroux]

[scottwygmans]

'Paradise Among Travelers' - I redid my last panel for the upcoming Momo release, as I needed it to be a little more subtle as well as physically smaller. this is a tribute pose to Calvin & Hobbes, a giant comic inspiration to me both as a child and now. I have a poem slated to run and still have some illuminated manuscript plants to do for the piece, but indeed am happy with how serene and peaceful this whole endeavor has been. *** how many of my Instagram readers would be interested in a pre-sale with my upcoming Adventures of Momo book ? It seems quite a few people have asked me about it both on social media and my own life, and I am limited by my own funds to produce comics. The pre-sale would guarantee you a copy of the book, as well a pre-sale exclusive print to be shipped out after free comic book day (May 6th, so all orders would ship by the end of next month) all I would ask is $5 per book and that will get you a yet to be designed print just for all pre-sale backers, as well as the actual book. Leave a comment if that interests you at all, and I could set that up for tomorrow. Everyone's continued support and enthusiasm about my work cannot be described in words, and I wish only to get my works into the hands as many people as possible to spread as much good in this world during troubling times (to say the least). Thank you again to all my regular readers new and old - and if a $5 pre-sale is something you'd be into, just drop me a line in the comments and I shall make it happen. The world is drowning in fear and hate, but together, as brothers as sisters as friends and as family, we will endure. Thanks again from the bottom of this ol' wizards heart. HAIL.

[theroguestoryteller]

If I start looking at one book from my childhood, I can’t stop. If you can make it through this entire post, I applaud you. I had to seriously control myself while writing this one because I wanted to include every single book that I still cherish from my childhood. While not all of them made it in here, this is a pretty comprehensive list. I’ve highlighted a handful just because.

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper

Cat, Duck and Squirrel all have their jobs in making pumpkin soup but when the Duck wants to switch things up, there’s a squabble and he leaves their cabin, which leaves the Cat and the Squirrel worrying about him when he doesn’t return. I refuse to read this book again for fear of losing the magic that I associate it with from the last time I read it, which was probably when I was seven or eight years old. Hands down one of the most memorable books of my childhood. I still remember all of the senses and daydreams I had when my mom would read it to me. I’ve held onto it forever and just the thought of it makes me feel warm.

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

Calvin and Hobbes always makes me laugh. I still have the page numbers of my favorite comics memorized. Tigers were my favorite animal when I was little and I loved to daydream of being alongside Calvin and Hobbes for all their adventures.

Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl was a staple of my childhood but this story was one of my favorites. It was probably one of the first books of his that I read and thought, wow. This is for ADULTS! It’s for all ages but younger me didn’t really know that. She just knew that it was more substantial than what she had previously read. I reread Danny the Champion of the World countless times and now that I think about it, I need to read it again.

The Complete Tales by Beatrix Potter

Every single one of these is an absolute masterpiece. I have to say, two of them gave me nightmares and even just the thought of them still scares me a little today. But I love all of these books regardless and they took up a significant chunk of my childhood reading.

The Real Fairy Storybook by Georgie Adams

This book of fairy tales told by fairies themselves is one of my favorite childhood books. I especially liked how the fairies conversed in between telling their stories. The illustrations are absolutely magical and now, even from the very first page I still feel transported into the stories.

The 39 Clues Series by Various Authors

I was the coolest kid in school when I showed up one day with a book with skulls and crossbones all over the cover. Thus began my 39 Clues journey. I read these at a speedy pace and was devastated when it ended, especially because I found the ending unsatisfactory. However, these books are incredible. I think every child can agree that family scavenger hunts spanning centuries, secret passageways and deadly alliances are interesting.

Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene

Good ol’ Nancy Drew should be in every child’s room. I’ve still got all of my Nancy Drew books. There’s sixty four books and I read a good chunk of them, many times over, but I wish I had read more of them.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

I devoured this series and my mom did, too. It’s so creative and well written. It got me thinking and really spoke to my imagination. The second book inspired me to want to learn Morse Code (spoiler alert: I didn’t). Definitely recommend this book for adventure lovers.

May I Bring A Friend? by Beatrice Schenk De Regniers

The premise of the story is that a young boy is invited to spend the day with the King and Queen and they allow him to bring a friend. However, his friend is never who they’re expecting. This is just the cutest book for young readers. I’ve been an animal lover from day one so this book was right up my alley. I don’t know how many times I asked my mom to read this to me as a bedtime story but she was always pretty cool about it.

Rainbow Magic Series by Daisy Meadows

Best friends Rachel and Kirsty stumble upon the world of fairies and in each book, a fairy is either missing, has lost something or was kidnapped by goblins. It’s a similar premise for all the hundreds of books but I still ADORED them. I got started on the Rainbow Fairies first, of course, but from there I was reading Crystal the Snow Fairy, Stella the Star Fairy, Pearl the Cloud Fairy and countless other fairies’ stories. These books are the backbone of my compulsive reading habits. I recently gave my best friend’s little sister the first two books of the original series and hope to indoctrinate her, too.

The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne

I traveled a lot with my parents when I was younger and thoroughly enjoyed going on adventures with them but also with Jack and Annie, who were much closer in age to me. Their adventures around the globe were great and really fed my imagination.

“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss

  Honorary Mentions:

  (Some of) My Favorite Children’s Books If I start looking at one book from my childhood, I can't stop. If you can make it through this entire post, I applaud you.

#39 clues #a.a.milne #beatrix potter #bill watterson #calvin and hobbes #childhood #childrens books #daisy meadows #enid blyton #fablehaven #madeline #nancy drew #olivia #rainbow magic #roald dahl #winnie the pooh

[rdubaton]

Well...I had two other posts planned before this but, life got in the way. In a good way. I started with a tiger and Calvin and I end with a bear and Calvin. Let's see who's smart enough to figure out the special meaning between the first and last post. This is Patches. My sister gave him to me one day when I stayed home sick from Wiley (see previous post) one day. She asked our mom to get me something. I cherished it. To the point where one day, he was my Hobbes. I played adventures with him on long summer days in Bond Park in Cary as it was literally behind my house. You couldn't get a better life than living next to that place. Summer baseball, dip n sticks at the concession, parking lots for street hockey, bike trails. It was an imaginative kid's paradise that I got to share with my family and friends. Still is. One day Patches disappeared. He turned up one day when I saw my little sister with him in her room. Scandalous! Well, he's been back in my possession for over a decade now. Safe and sound. See you later, I pass you off to @cbspencer86 and in the spirit of the baton and as Calvin said to Hobbes in the comic. "It's a magical world, Hobbes ole buddy. Let's go exploring!" Photos by @gray_jeffrey / on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/Bbx8ItIhTd0/