#scarlet lantern publishing

[pursuitseternal]

What a fun tag game! Thank you @helenvader !

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway ❤️

I’ve also added the titles or context to some of the stories… they span creation over almost two decades, so some things seem *gulp* outdated😅

It’ll take some digging through the archives to reach 10 fics, but I can do it:

1. A swirl of heat and smoke surrounding her, she waded through the crumbling prison walls and relished the rubble that stuck between the toes of her bare feet. (Scarlet Pimpernel based Original, not published on any website, or for real… yet!)

2. These walls once wreaked of blood and Orc, dripping with stinking darkness and death. (Beautiful Creature)

3. The stench was just as she remembered in her nightmares, that scorched her nose with every haunting (Touch the Darkness)

4. Blossom after blossom colored the trellises, wooden beams heavy laden with vines. (In the Gardens of Eregion)

Now we dig in the graveyard archives of old fandoms… hello digging through Fanfic.net lol

5. “You have been acquitted, you are free to go,” the words washed over her ears like the first rain after a drought. (Les Miz, smutty Javert fic lol)

6. Dust spots danced in the thin beam of lantern light as he made the old, familiar way to his house, his house across the lake. (Phantom of the Opera smutty fic)

Now comes my Robin Hood BBC obsession with Richard Armitage (Thorin!) as Guy of Gisborne

7. Dawn crept over the hills of Locksley, rosy and quiet.

8. The soft, late autumn morning breeze blew in through the open windows of Locksley Manor…

9. “Ah good,” the Sheriff smiled as the doors to the Great Hall creaked open.

10. Torches flamed against the cold stone walls, light shimmering off the jeweled gowns. (My first ever fic!)

Tagging: @mixingpumpkins @rebelrebelwrites @restless-tides @jurassiclexie @myfavouritelunatic @thegreatzombieartisan @mamanmae @liveinfarbe @eowyn7023 @tairona-is-taken

#the rings of power #tag game

[primordyaforever]

The Ghosts of Château Renaître - Cover Reveal

The Ghosts of Château Renaître – Cover Reveal

Hello everyone! ❤ I hope you are all doing as well as you possibly can, because I want you to share in my excitement! Please allow me to reveal the cover of The Ghosts of Château Renaître… Are you ready? Are you? Enjoy! Following a series of tragic events that brought his entire world crashing down, a broken-hearted Gerard traded in the old-world charm and sophistication of his beloved…

View On WordPress

#book cover #cover reveal #gothic #gothic romance #historical romance #preorder #romance #scarlet lantern publishing #spooky

[chloegong]

that semi-AU romajuliette + benmars fic

i need a permanent place to store this after dumping a random google doc on twitter so here it is, the author writing fic for her own book because people gave me headcanons and they were too good not to make use of

__

the one where juliette and marshall go out for a night out on the town and roma and ben have to go along to supervise because one time they accidentally committed arson —headcanon from twitter user @leonidasvaldz

a semi AU where Benedikt and Marshall were hanging out with Roma and Juliette in those happy months R&J had together in 1922 before everything went wrong (aka you can take this as canon because it will fit the timeline but the characters won’t have memory of this in the actual published books)

Disclaimer: i wrote this in one go inside a starbucks please expect ao3 user chloegong and not Author Chloe Gong who does multiple rounds of edits on her books

Second Disclaimer: nobody go putting this on goodreads before someone on my publishing team kicks my ass (rightfully so, i’m on deadline rn and i’m writing fanfic instead of my real contracted manuscript)

Mandatory reminder that Our Violent Ends is available for preorder with all links here :)

__

It wasn’t supposed to happen again. And yet, somehow, Benedikt was watching fire curl around the side of the building, the roof beams giving a loud groan before shuddering and caving in on itself.

He turned a look onto Roma. “Your girlfriend is a maniac.”

~

Five hours earlier...

Juliette climbed in through the window of Roma’s bedroom, careful to hug the burlap bag close to her chest as she landed on his carpet. The howling wind outside drowned out some of the clinking, but the glass bottles were still making a racket no matter how carefully she hugged the bag. She had gone full throttle for tonight; when no one was watching and her relatives were downstairs crowing over a game of cards, she had snuck around and robbed the liquor cabinets at the Scarlet mansion quite generously. Now she dropped the bag onto Roma’s floor with a huff, brushing a curl of hair out of her eyes.

“Where’s Marshall?”

Roma looked up from where he was reading, putting his book down and rising from the bed smoothly.

“Well, hello.” He strode toward her, stopping before her with his arms crossed. “Lovely to see you too. You do know it is my bedroom you just snuck into, right?”

Juliette pretended to jump in surprise, looking around wildly. “Do you jest? Oh, bother. Let me climb back out and go find my real lover. Marshall! Where are—”

With a huff that seemed to double as a laugh, Roma grabbed her wrist before she could turn around and leave through the window again.

“You’re hilarious,” he said dryly.

“I know.” Juliette reached up with her free hand, clasping her cold fingers right onto his neck. Though her palm was freezing from the bitter temperatures outside, Roma hardly flinched, he only shrugged his shoulder up to keep her hand there. He couldn’t fight back the grin. For several seconds, the two of them only stood there, looking like a pair of idiots smiling at each other.

Then his door opened.

“Are we interrupting something?”

Marshall bounded into the room, throwing the door wide open. With a horrified expression, Benedikt hurried in after him and closed the door quickly, listening for movement on the other side.

“Yes, leave the door wide open,” Benedikt said. “While any White Flower strolling the corridor can peer in and see the Scarlet heir standing there in a silly coat.”

Juliette stepped away from Roma, peering down at herself as if she had forgotten what she put on. “I didn’t think it was that silly. It’s my disguise.”

“You do look a little like a housewife,” Marshall said, considering the coat.

“A fifteen-year-old housewife?”

“I suppose that is exactly why you look a little silly.”

Juliette pulled a face, but refrained from arguing further. She was here tonight because Marshall wanted to see the new Scarlet club that opened along Thibet Road, and she had promised she could sneak him in. Unfortunately, Marshall was bad at keeping secrets, and the worst at keeping secrets from Benedikt. The moment that Benedikt heard Marshall was planning on entering Scarlet territory, he had decided that he would come in accompaniment.

Juliette supposed it was only fair. Benedikt didn’t entirely trust her, but he was nice enough. He tolerated her presence and always kept an eye over his shoulder to make sure she wasn’t spotted on their territory if she poked her head in to see Roma. While Juliette didn’t know much about Marshall either, he was far warmer than his best friend, and for the first time last week, they had even enjoyed an outing with just the two of them. Juliette Cai and Marshall Seo—out and about in the border territories on a quaint evening.

That outing had ended with accidental arson though, so it was rather possible that exacerbated Benedikt’s desire to play chaperone. And of course, if Benedikt was coming along, Roma wanted to tag along too.

The arson was hardly their fault, Juliette and Marshall had maintained when the Montagovs asked questions. What kind of person left a stack of hay out beside a bar? And what kind of hay was that easily flammable just from accidentally whacking one of the lanterns on the awning onto the stack?

“All right.” Juliette hauled the bag up again. “Are we ready to sneak onto Scarlet territory?”

“Absolutely not,” Benedikt muttered, strolling past her for Roma’s window. “But is that going to stop either of you?”

Before anyone could answer him, Benedikt had already hopped the small gap between windows, climbing into their neighboring building for their route out unspotted.

“Great!” Juliette said. She passed the bag to Roma so he could do the carrying. What was the point of converting a rival gang enemy into a lover if not to lug around her heavy things? “Glad we’re all so enthusiastic.”

Roma sighed, clambering onto his sill and making the climb too. “The things I do for you, dorogaya.”

Marshall hurried after him. “I would argue you’re actually doing this for me, dearest Roma!”

With a snort, Juliette climbed out last, and pulled the window after her.

~

The Scarlet club had been a bust. Of course, Benedikt had figured that would be the case from the get-go, especially if they were sneaking in at such a late hour to avoid being seen by anyone important in the Scarlet Gang. At least Juliette had provided good alcohol, and now he squinted at the label of the wine bottle under the street lamps while they walked, taking the smaller main roads along the periphery of the city.

Up ahead, Roma and Juliette were whispering to each other, though they didn’t sound like they were talking in full sentences. Those two always communicated in looks and gestures, swapping languages whenever they felt like it and ending up with some incoherent tangle of words that no one else could comprehend.

“Is there anything left in that?”

Benedikt glanced to his side, shaking the bottle to show Marshall. “One last swig. All yours.”

Marshall took the bottle. He put it to his lips and swung up, his head tipped to the sky and the line of his throat bared to the night. Benedikt shivered suddenly, a line of goosebumps rising at the back of his neck. The season had turned cold and the wind that blew onto his face was biting. He wrote off his shudder to the chill, to the temperature dropping with the longer they spent outside at such an hour.

Suddenly, Marshall was squinting into the distance. “Hey.” His call summoned Roma and Juliette’s attention from ahead, who both turned around to see what the matter was.

Marshall pointed to the dark shape off the end of the road. “Isn’t that the abandoned factory we lost to the Scarlets?”

“Is it?” Juliette asked, a sudden glee in her face.

“Why would you say that?” Roma bemoaned. He didn’t bother trying to stop her as Juliette hurried ahead, eager to explore the factory. “Look what you’ve done.”

But Marshall was wearing a similar expression, his eyes scanning the factory as they approached closer and closer. Wordlessly, he handed the bottle back to Benedikt, and though Benedikt’s head was spinning from the drink, he still recognized the exact face that Marshall made before he was going to get himself into trouble.

“Mars—”

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” he insisted, tipping his chin forward. Juliette had disappeared into the factory. “You two be look-out. We wouldn’t want someone finding us here, right?”

Benedikt scarcely had a second to argue back. Marshall was already hurrying off.

~

Inside the factory, Juliette trailed her hands along the dark walls, her eyes wide. The machines looked strange in the moonlight, but stranger while sitting so idle. She was used to seeing rows and rows of workers in the daytime, trailing after her father as he ran inspections on the work of their trade partners. It might have been the wine in her system, but everything seemed to sway: sitting so inactive in movement that her eyes were imagining movement.

“Pst.”

Juliette almost jumped out of her skin.

“Christ,” she muttered, whirling around with a hand on her heart. Marshall slunk out from the shadows, both his hands in his pockets. “You gave me a fright.”

“Me? Frightening?” Marshall picked up a strange object on the table, inspected it for several seconds, then set it back down. “I am the least frightening person on the planet.”

“Yes, well, when it’s so dark, even a cuddly teddy bear would be terrifying.” Juliette felt around her dress. She thought she had tucked her lighter in here somewhere. There were little pockets sewn around the sleeves and armholes that she kept all her weapons, though if anyone asked, she would say she had the ability to materialize them out of thin air.

“Do you scream often at teddy bears?”

“Only when they sneak up on me.”

“I don’t see you screaming at Roma.”

“He gets a special pass. He’s only a teddy bear on the inside.”

Marshall snorted. He leaned down, trying to read the paper taped down to the table. At last, Juliette found her lighter—it was actually in her sock—and she brought it close, thumbing down the sparkwheel for a flame.

“Do not touch—for demolishing,” Marshall read under the new light. “Are the Scarlets going to build something new here?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Juliette replied. “My father doesn’t include me in his business meetings yet.”

“Hmm.” The shadows of the factory danced. Juliette thought she saw someone darting in her periphery, and she whirled around, but it was only Marshall’s shadow. Unfortunately, she had scared Marshall with her movement, and he bumped into her, asking, “What? What is it?”

The lighter flew out of her hands, landing on the paper.

“Nothing, nothing!” Juliette assured. “I was seeing things.”

But Marshall wasn’t convinced. He swiveled around. Peered hard into a corner. “Was it ghosts? I know this city has ghosts. All that death creates so many ghosts.”

Juliette tried to look where he was looking. She couldn’t see anything except the dark.

“There is no such thing as ghosts.”

“Just last week, I felt something walk by me and then there was no one when I looked. I swear to you, if it wasn’t ghosts then I—” Marshall stopped suddenly, turning around to look at the table. “Uh… is that supposed to happen?”

Juliette whirled around too. The whole table was on fire. “Oh, God.”

With a sudden pop, the fire sprung up and licked up to the walls. There had to be something sprayed inside the factory already to prepare for demolition, or else the flames would not be traveling with such intensive speed.

“Marshall,” Juliette said simply.

“Yes?”

She looked at him. “When the Montagovs ask, we blame the factory and say we have no idea what happened. Run!”

~

Benedikt and Roma kept watch in relative silence. Benedikt’s head was spinning, and his cousin looked like his head was doing the same if his swaying was any indication. Roma was humming softly under his breath, toeing the grass that grew around the abandoned factory.

Then, there was a sudden sound from inside, and the first tendrils of flames blew out from the topmost windows.

“Roma,” Benedikt said plainly. “I’m willing to bet my life savings that Juliette Cai just committed arson.”

Roma tilted his head up, his jaw dropping agape. At first, he could only stare at the growing fire, eating up the roof beams. Then, he said: “To be fair, it could have been Marshall.”

Benedikt threw his arms into the air. “Who looks more like the arson type, Juliette or Marshall?”

“Is that a trick question?”

“The answer was Juliette!”

Benedikt pinched the bridge of his nose. He was rapidly growing concerned, but before he could suggest they go in to search for the two, Juliette and Marshall ran out from the factory—laughing. The factory was burning down, and they were laughing, grasping at each other and spinning in circles right in front of the factory. They looked a sight: seconds away from collapsing atop of each other in utter delirium.

Benedikt turned to Roma. “Your girlfriend is a maniac.”

Roma was struggling to hold back his laugh watching her with Marshall. “I think she’s magnificent.”

Marshall stumbled, and Juliette squealed, reaching out to grab his arm before he could trip and land flat on his face. Benedikt almost—almost—let a smile slip. Before Roma could sight it and tease him for enjoying himself after all, he cleared his throat.

“What happened?” he bellowed.

“Faulty factory!” Marshall called back.

Benedikt shook his head, turning on his heel. They needed to get out of here before someone reported the fire.

“Come on!” he called back to the three. “Let’s go before the Municipal Police arrive.”

Upon Benedikt’s summons, Marshall left Juliette’s side and hurried to catch up. He slowed to a stroll once he was beside Benedikt, but Benedikt could feel Marshall watching him.

“What?” Benedikt asked. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure his cousin was following too. Thankfully he was, though it was mostly Juliette hauling him along, their hands clasped together and swinging while Roma kept looking at the fire.

“I think you enjoyed yourself,” Marshall replied smugly. “After all that complaining about sneaking into Scarlet territory.”

Benedikt reached out and rapped his knuckles on Marshall’s skull. With a shriek, Marshall darted ahead.

“You want me to enjoy myself?” Benedikt shouted after him, breaking into a run too. “Come back then! Let me throttle you!”

FIN.

#these violent delights #romajuliette #benediktmarshall #how am i out here using my own book tags this feels weird FKJDHSDKJFH #should i tag my own name too #chloe gong #now i've gone and done it #bookblr #yabooks

[collectorscorner]

CC New Arrivals @ Collectors Corner : Wednesday 9/8/21

Collectors Corner Parkville - HQ : OPEN for IN STORE SHOPPING with Strong Safety Measures in Place (Hand Sanitizing Stations, Masks Encouraged for All) - 1-410-668-3353.

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[multisfabulis]

Abhorrence in the Face of Adoration

Word Count: 4461

TW: Implied abuse, self worth issues

This segment took me a little over 3 weeks to write, due to the many rewrites I had to do and the late nights I pulled while knowing I'd be waking up early, but I did it!

I've been wanting to write the idea of Ferreth realizing his love for Ven for so long and I decided to write this after publishing chapter 6 of TRFBD because, if you think about it, they're related in that you see how far he's willing to go for her in TRFBD so I wanted to show when it began. Writing this has made me realize just how much I can't wait to write more Verreth segments set after MZCR because god, these two love each other and I have so many cute ideas to write for the both of them!

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     Ferreth stared up at the ceiling as he laid in bed, feeling frustratingly tired. His arms flared up in pain and he could only wait and beg for it to stop. It was like someone was chipping away at the embedded stones while they disregarded the agony they were putting him through. This was a hell he hated living in every time the weather turned cold because it meant sleepless nights of incurable pain till spring came around and even that wasn’t guaranteed. The only hope he had was that maybe living here instead of the mountains would make these times a little more bearable.

     A nice, relaxing stroll through town could probably help. Nighttime walks were a good pastime of his whenever autumn descended upon Thornewind and he needed a distraction from the pain. It was a time he’d let his mind wander off and wear him down enough to conk out soon as his head hit the pillow. He sighed, rubbed a hand down his face, and headed out the door into the cool dark.

     Aurora Zenith was different from Thornewind at night. There were hardly any noises, save for the distant waves of the ocean and the wind rustling through the leaves of the trees, and not a soul to be seen for seemingly miles. The only sources of light he could see came from the orange glow of the lanterns in town and the radiance of the full moon high up in the sky. It was a new place, with winter right around the corner, but it still held the feeling of peace he felt up in the mountains.

     He looked around the town as he walked. The end of Noctovka marked his arrival here 3 months ago and he was still getting used to everything. Coming from a place where there were others like him all living in a cold and constant drizzle, this was certainly different for him. He liked the warmth, missed the liveliness of Thornewind, and still had no idea what he wanted to do in life.

     He had a couple ideas in mind but there were already people working those jobs that did them ten times better than he ever could. What good was there in having an amateur come in and screw everything up? At least he was making himself useful, both in training to become Eric’s guard and being the guy to do odd jobs around town. He still had time to figure it out so there wasn’t a need to stress about it.

     He was nearing the docks when he saw her. A gust of wind blew the hood of the black cloak she wore back, letting her long snow white hair out to cascade down her back as she shivered from the chill it brought. The little skin she showed seemed to glow under the moonlight, which made eyes the color of bloomed orchids stand out even more than in the day. She looked like an ethereal fairy almost and he was absolutely entranced. This was Ven, the woman who had him dancing around the palm of her hand and didn’t even know it.

     Things had somehow changed between them now. It’s not that they had gotten into an argument or did something the other didn’t like. He wasn’t sure on where she was but things were definitely different on his side.

     There was no denying that he had been attracted to her since the beginning of their friendship but this was deeper and longer than his average “crush”. She could be so unbelievably cute at times, like the way her eyes seem to sparkle when something catches her attention or when she has the most adorable smile on her face once she gets a whiff of a delicious sweet. He was amazed at how big her heart was for someone so small and at the strength she had, both physically and emotionally.

     There were times he’d find himself thinking about her. There had been days he’d be so consumed by his self-loathing and seeing her, being around her would quiet the voices telling him he was worthless. She saw something in him that he wished he could see in himself, something that could make him believe he had worth. He wanted to be with her, stay by her side, and never let her go.

     It honestly scared him to realize just how deep his feelings for her went. He’s never felt this way towards anyone before and it was scary. The question of her reaction to if and when she discovered these feelings weighed on his mind. Would she still want him to hang around her or would she demand he stay away from her? He wasn’t sure if he could take the latter option.

     He shook his head to stop thinking about that. He was probably just overreacting; this was probably a crush that was overstaying its welcome but would go away at some point. Besides, even if it wasn’t, who’s to say she’ll find out? He was good at deceiving others with his winning smile and charming wit. He’ll just continue on acting the way he’s always been and, eventually, things will go back to normal. He just needed to wait this out a little bit longer…

     Coming back to the present, he figured he may as well talk to her. Odds are, she was out here for the same reason he was. He began walking over to her, his light footsteps echoing in the still night.

     Her shoulders tensed up at the sound before relaxing once she saw where it was coming from. She always did that when she heard footsteps behind her and he had a sneaking suspicion of why that was. The little hints she’s dropped of her past from their earlier conversations gave him some unpleasant imagery he so hoped wasn’t the case. Just focus on the now, Ferreth, he told himself.

     “Oh, Ferret.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear to stop it from blowing in the wind. “What are you doing out here?”

     He had long since given up on correcting her with his name. It became a lost cause once the first month passed and she was still calling him Ferret. It was a better nickname than Ferra, at least, so it was fine.

     “I couldn’t sleep so I figured to take a walk and see if that’d change anything,” he replied. “What about you?”

     “Eh, same,” she said with a small giggle. “I was actually thinking of going to the beach for a little bit and just walk around, clear my mind and stuff. Do you maybe want to join?”

     “Uh, sure, I’ll go.”

     So they walked down the cobblestone steps that led to the beach. He had been there only a handful of times since moving to Aurora Zenith but this would be his first nighttime visit. The pitch black ocean served as a mirror for the moon, its white light reflecting on the water far off in the distance. He could smell the salt the waves wafted as they rolled along the shore and soaked their feet. The winds carried a biting chill that ruffled through their hair and clothes, cooling them. It was already a peaceful place during the day but it was downright serene at night.

     “You know, I think this is my first time seeing you with your hair down,” he said, looking over to her.

     “Yeah, I only really wear it down when I’m going to bed,” she replied.

     “Why don’t you keep it down more often? You look beau---nice when it’s down.”

     “Eh, I doubt it. Besides, it’s more annoying than it’s worth. It gets caught on a lot of things and I can sit on it if I’m not careful. I should probably get it cut but I’m trying out a couple new styles for it and the ponytail’s working so far.”

     “Well, I think you’ll look good either way, long hair or not.”

     A scarlet blush tinted her cheeks and he had to tear his eyes away from her. It was always cute to see her blush from his compliments but this was different. He couldn’t explain why, it was just different. Maybe because if he didn’t, he would’ve said something stupid and embarrassed himself.

     Still, he wanted to say she looked beautiful with her hair down but she might’ve taken that as him flirting with her. He did that at the beginning of their friendship and stopped when he realized she had never been in that situation before. It didn’t feel right to keep going with it after that so he didn’t.

     She was beautiful, though, even without her hair being down. Seeing it as it was now, a waterfall of pure white that stopped just at the small of her back, only added to it. He wondered what it’d be like to feel it, wishing he could run his fingers through the fine tresses, tangling the strands in-between into knots, gently tugging on the ends to draw her head up as he---

     God, he wanted to slap himself right about now. He couldn’t be thinking those kinds of thoughts about her. She was his friend/crush/some other term that could be used to describe their relationship and how he felt towards her. The last thing she needed was him daydreaming about them being a couple like a creepy weirdo. That shit would drive her away quicker than he could blink.

     In an attempt to change the topic, he asked, “So, uh, if you don’t mind, why couldn’t you sleep?”

     “Oh, um…” She paused, seemingly troubled by her answer, “I suffer from nightmares. There’ll be nights where I have trouble going to sleep and, if that doesn’t happen, the nightmares will wake me up. Tonight happened to be one of those nights.”

     …Shit. That was NOT what he expected to hear. He could understand the insomnia part but nightmares? Knowing that little bit of information now only strengthened the suspicions he had of her past. It also gave an answer as to why she had dark shadows under her eyes.

     “That…sucks.” Nice job, dumbass. He wanted to ram his face into a wall for that terrible response.

     “I’ve had them for a while now so I’ve gotten used to them. It’s not like they can show me stuff that I haven’t already seen so…”

     “Well, if you want, you can come talk to me if they start to get worse. We don’t have to talk about them if you don’t want to, we can just hang out till you feel better, you know? Again, that’s if you want to, though.”

     “...I’ll think about it.” She let out a small smile.

     He was taken aback by that. She normally refused his help with anything so her actually taking his offer into consideration was progress. He knew he couldn’t do much, short of going inside her head and removing the bad dreams. If the best he could do was lend an ear, then he’d give it to her, no questions asked.

     “Um… Oh, are you going to the Solstice Ball?” she asked, her eyes filled with curiosity.

     “That’s next month, right? Uh, yeah, I’m gonna go,” he replied. “Are you planning on going?”

     “I-I don’t know. There’s gonna be a lot of people there and…”

     “Come on, it’ll be fun! There’ll be food, dancing, champagne… What’s not to like?”

     “It’ll be my first time going to a formal event like this. It may be fun to go to but I’d have to wear a really nice dress and I’ve never danced before and… I don’t think it’d be good for me.”

     “Look, think of it this way. This’ll be my first dance, too, and I’m gonna be going all out. Just imagine this handsome guy--” he gestured to himself-- “decked out in the best suit while he completely embarrasses himself with his dance moves. I mean, I’m a good dancer but this is a different dance so you get what I’m saying.”

     “Still…I doubt I’d look good in a dress.”

     “Ven, believe me when I say you’ll look stunning, no matter what dress you wear.”

     “Really?”

     “Uh, yeah. I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.”

     He could just imagine it now. Ven arriving at the ballroom, all eyes drawn to her as she walks down the steps, wearing the most beautiful violet dress. Some of their gazes are filled with envy while others beguilement. She may not know it but everyone has become captivated with her. It’s too bad they’ll be brokenhearted to realize she wasn’t there for courtship. She was just there to have fun and if they couldn’t handle the rejection, then tough.

     Wow, she has got him messed up bad. While the stares of those who found her alluring would, of course, rile him up, it was only right they look at her like that. She was a beautiful woman and she should know it. Besides, she’d take care of anyone that overstepped her boundaries.

     “What about the dancing?” she asked. “I’ve never danced before and I’m probably gonna screw it up.”

     “Well, as I said before, I’ve never done a slow dance myself but--” he held out a hand to her-- “we could try together. Just save me the first dance, if you’re going, of course.”

     A few seconds passed before she giggled, put her hand in his, and said, “All right, I’ll go. I know it’ll be fun if you’re there and besides, I’m looking forward to seeing you in a suit, which’ll be nice, too.”

     Her hand felt cold yet soft in his. He was going to be holding it again when they danced and it only just hit him that they would be doing that. His mind began painting a picture of them slowly twirling around, dancing to the music. Their hands entwined, his other on her hip, and her fingers just at the crest of his shoulder. She was so small and delicate compared to him, he’d need to be careful when holding her. The aromatic scent of her perfume would hit his nostrils as he’d let himself get lost in her shimmering amethyst eyes and---

     For the love of god, Ferreth, stop, he begged. These fantasies of his were quickly getting out of hand. Whatever this was had become deeper than a crush and it fucking terrified him. This couldn’t be, shouldn’t be more than an infatuation but when did it grow into…?

     “Um, Ferret?” She stopped walking, still holding his hand. “Can I…tell you something?”

     “Y-yeah, what is it?” he asked, her voice ringing out like crystal amongst the cacophony in his head.

     “You’ve done a lot for me these past few weeks and I just want you to know that I appreciate it. You believe me, right?”

     “Of course. You don’t have to say anything for me to know you’re thankful.”

     “I know but I still wanted to say it. I appreciate all that you’ve done for me and I just wanna say--” she laid her other hand beside his-- “thank you, Ferreth.”

     Surprise and awe couldn’t begin to describe how he felt. That was the first time she ever said his name and it sounded so sweet and full of warmth. Her eyes looked at his in such earnest gratitude and her mouth was curved into the tenderest smile he had ever seen. She seemed to glow like an angel under the moonlight, she only needed wings sprouting from her back to match.

     Oh.

     Oh.

     That was when he understood, realized it. His fervent desire to be with her, his amorous daydreams of her, they had an answer. He was so, so stupid to ever think this was a crush. It may have started out like one but it became so much more than that in such a short time.

     He loved her. He loved her. When did it happen? When did he fall for her? When did he begin to love her? All of these questions swirled around and around as he came to terms with how he felt about her.

     He loved Ven. He was in love with Ven. He loved her.

     Then cold, hard reality crashed down upon him. Worthlessness, self-disdain, and self-loathing he tried to keep hidden away came spewing forth like a geyser. He couldn’t be with her. The moment he fell for her was the moment she flew out of his reach to the other end of the chasm that now separated them. She was extraordinary, special, one of a kind, and what was he? A no-good, worthless dragon that could never be the man everyone wanted him to be.

     Kandorinth’s wretchedly arrogant voice resonated in his head, whispering affirmations of his meaningless existence into his ears. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as biting ice filled his veins. Memories of the ice entering his arms through the open wounds the stones created flashed by his mind’s eye, wicked laughter echoing off the walls. He so desperately wanted the voice to shut up but it only got louder and louder.

     Oh, Ferra… You know you’ll never be better than you are now. You’re just a weak, pathetic worm and that’s what you’ll always be. Why not just accept how inferior you are to the world and die like the trash you really are? That’s the only worth you’ll ever have in your sad, shameful life.

     Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as he choked on the lump in his throat. No, he couldn’t break down here. Ven didn’t need to see him like this, see the worst his ugly, flawed self had to offer. He needed to get out of here, back to his home of solitude, and…fall apart.

     Blinking back the tears, he put on the best smile he could muster and, resisting the urge to close his hand around hers, said, “You’re welcome, Ven.”

     The expression on her face changed and she stepped closer to him. “What’s wrong, Ferret?”

     Oh, this was simply unfair. What did he do that was considered to be so wrong to have her eyes be full of concern for him? She didn’t deserve to worry over the likes of someone such as him. He was nothing; why should she care?

     “It’s nothing!” he replied, fighting to keep his voice steady. “Nothing to worry about.”

     “Are you sure?” she asked. He hated lying to her, especially when she looked at him with such care in her eyes, but it was necessary.

     “I’m sure, Ven. I’m okay.”

     “...Okay.”

     She moved back, her shoulders dropping. There’s no way she bought his lie but she dropped the matter, at least. It was for the best; if she kept trying to pry, he probably would’ve bared his soul out to her. It was too small and insignificant of a thing she needn’t trifle with.

     “Hey, listen, I’m gonna head back and try to get some sleep,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “You coming back with me?”

     “Um, yeah, I’ll go.” She turned around, ready to go back the way they came. “I don’t live very far from the docks. I’d just have to find the split in the road and find my way home from there.”

     He wanted to walk into the ocean and drown as he realized the stupidity of his actions. Why the hell did he ask her that? He knew that the more time he spent with her, the deeper he’d fall into his self-loathing. It wasn’t her fault, that he’d never blame her for, but he couldn’t be around her right now. He didn’t deserve the love he had for her and it only served to show the countless amount of flaws he kept buried underneath his mask on full display.

     Climbing up the steps they walked down earlier, they made their way through the inner parts of Aurora Zenith. It was hard for him to pretend that everything was all right when it was the complete opposite. He wished he could run past her and hightail it back home but it was too risky. If she began suspecting something was wrong or, even worse, discover she was the reason for his pain, she’d become wracked with guilt. That was just the kind of person she was and he refused to let that happen.

     Then they came upon the aforementioned fork in the road. Two paths in both directions, one leading to his house and the other presumably hers. He was so close to finally being alone. He just had to keep the charade going for a little longer and then it’d be safe for him to break down with no one around to hear it.

     “This is where I have to go.” She stopped at the foot of the left path. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

     “Yeah,” he replied, his voice at the cusp of cracking. “Goodnight, Ven.”

     She bid him goodnight, tucked her hair inside her hood, and went home. He held his wrist back to prevent himself from reaching out for her. The pain washed over him once more as he watched her figure shrink the further she got from him. Soon as she was out of his line of sight, he took off running towards home.

     He fumbled with turning the knob to push open his door. He forgot it had trouble opening from the outside as he struggled to get inside. This was the last thing he needed on top of the piling list of fuck-ups. In a fit of frustration, he threw his arm off to the side and caused a torrent of dirt to shoot out, pelting the nearby leafless bushes with upturned soil and grass. A firm enough push was able to unstuck the door and he stumbled in.

     Closing the door, he leaned his back up against it and slid to the floor. He finally allowed the warm tears to roll down his cheeks as he curled into himself. Sobs wracked his body, his voice growing hoarse from the crying. He wished the truth was wrong but he couldn’t deny it.

     He couldn’t be with her. He wasn’t worthy of being with someone as wonderful and special as her. How could he be deserving of love when he was unimportant, a nobody, nothing?

     She deserved to be with someone who wasn’t worthless. Someone who’d treat her like she was the most precious treasure in the world. Someone who’d cherish her, tell her she was loved everyday, make her as happy as she deserved to be. He couldn’t be that person, no matter how much he wanted to be.

     It wasn’t an issue of him never knowing unless he tried. He knew full well she didn’t reciprocate his feelings and she never would. Why would she when he wouldn’t ever be in the same league as her? They were of two different worlds, he’d be out of place in hers and rightfully so. It was a miracle he hadn’t been dropped yet and maybe it was by her grace he was allowed to stay with her.

     What was he going to do now? Avoiding her was out of the question, though he couldn’t tell if it was because he didn’t want her to believe she was the reason for it or his inability to handle being away from her for long. The way he looked at it, he was screwed either way. He couldn’t be with or without her and he wasn’t sure if he could strike a balance between the two.

     Still, he planned on keeping his love for her a secret. He had a few guesses on how she’d react if she ever found out but that was a big if. For now, he just needed to figure out a way he could be content with being her friend while sparing himself the pain. It’d take time and it’d be difficult but…

     He loved her and he’d be okay with never being more than her friend.

#airi's writing #ship tag; Lean on Me #Corona's Shadow #implied abuse

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

Review: All Out: The No-Longer Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages by Saundra Mitchell Rating: 4/5 

“Tomorrow’s all about the life we choose.” - The Sweet Trade by Natalie C Parker

I've wanted to get my hands on this anthology for so long and I was very glad it lived up to my expectations. There's an amazingly broad range of LGBT+ characters - including a few asexual ones - but it would've been cool to have a few more #OwnVoices authors, especially transgender/NB authors. Another awesome LGBT+ YA anthology.

Reviews and ratings of each story below the cut. 

Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore - 2/5 - If not for the author’s note accompanying this one, I wouldn’t have understood what made it queer. But the historical aspect was cool.

The Sweet Trade by Natalie C Parker - 4/5 - Fun! I’m always down for queer pirates.

And They Don’t Kiss At the End by Nilah Magruder - 5/5 - Disco, skating, and an asexual character. Loved it!

Burnt Umber by Mackenzi Lee - 5/5 - I read this one ages ago when the publishers put it on their blog. Absolutely loved it - especially the Amsterdam setting. Need more stories set in the Netherlands.

The Dresser and The Chambermaid by Robin Talley - 5/5 - Such an adorable story featuring a romance between two servants to a princess. Loved the banter among all the staff.

New Year by Malinda Lo - 4/5 - An interesting, intersectional look at San Francisco in the 1950s. I liked Judy and learning that Chinese women helped get us to the moon as well.

Molly’s Lips by Dahlia Adler - 5/5 - Short and bittersweet. Enjoyed it.

The Coven by Kate Scelsa - 4/5 - I am very down for French lesbian witches in the roaring 20s. We should rekindle this tradition next year ;)

Every Shade of Red by Elliot Wake - 4/5 - TRANS ROBIN HOOD IN LOVE WITH A DEAF WILL SCARLET *vibrates* also asexual Friar Tuck. Could’ve done with a more concrete ending though.

Willows by Scott Tracey - DNF

The Girl With the Blue Lantern by Tess Sharpe - 3/5 - A sweet little story about wlw and fairies during the California Gold Rush.

The Secret Life of a Teenage Boy by Alex Sanchez - 2/5 - Cute but a bit too farfetched for my tastes. The banter was the best part.

Walking After Midnight by Kody Keplinger - 5/5 - So sweet! An asexual Hollywood starlet falling for a small-town waitress. Absolutely loved it - I really need to read Kody’s novels soon.

The End of the World As We Know It by Sara Farizan - 5/5 - Adorable!

Three Witches by Tessa Gratton - DNF

The Inferno and the Butterfly by Shaun David Hutchinson - 4/5 - Like The Prestige but gay and actually magical. I need to read Shaun’s books too.

Healing Rosa by Tehlor Kay Mejia - 1/5 - I just didn’t connect with this one. It felt too similar to the first story.

#all out anthology #saundra mitchell #ya anthology #book reviews #lgbt books #trcc original #portraits #reviews #4 star reads

[thecomicsnexus]

TOP 10 WRITERS OF 2019′s REVIEWS

It is very hard to pick the best artists of the year, especially when you know in advance, they will not match anyone else’s list. And I say this because this list is based in all the reviews that scored a perfect 10 during 2019. And these reviews go from 1935 to 2020, so it is definitely not going to match anyone else’s.

There were other writers I would have loved to include in this list but they weren’t as prominent in my reviews as the one here. Those writers that are worth mentioning are: Bub Burden, Carl Potts, Denny O’Neil, Grant Morrison, Harlan Ellison, Jim Lawson, Jim Starlin, John Ostrander, Paul Dini, Peter Laird, Sam Humphries, Stan Sakai, Steve Darnall, Steve Murphy and Tom Taylor. To all of them, thank you for your work!

NUMBER TEN JAMES ROBINSON / JAMES TYNION IV

James Robinson (1963 - present) has been writing for three decades, with an early comics work, "Grendel: The Devil's Whisper", appearing in the 1989 series of the British anthology A1. The series for which he is arguably most renowned is the DC Comics series Starman, where he took the aging Golden Age character of the same name and revitalized both the character and all those who had used the name over the decades, weaving them into an interconnected whole. In 1997, Robinson's work on the title garnered him an Eisner Award for "Best Serialized Story".

He is also known for his The Golden Age limited series, which, despite being an Elseworlds story, established much of the backstory he would later use in Starman. He has written the Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight series, and served as a consultant and co-writer in the first year of JSA and its subsequent spin-off Hawkman. 

James Tynion IV was born December 14, 1987, and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he attended Marquette University High School. While studying creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College, Tynion met and began studying under Scott Snyder, in the nascent years of his comic book writing career. Following school, he became an intern for the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics, working under Editor Shelly Bond, among others.

After a few years working in advertising, Scott Snyder asked Tynion to co-write the back-up features for the New 52 relaunch of Batman, in the midst of the acclaimed "Night of the Owls" comic book storyline, starting with Batman #8. In this comic, he tied the Court of Owls mythology to Alfred Pennyworth's father, Jarvis Pennyworth, working with noted American Vampire artist, Rafael Albuquerque. 

James Tynion IV is openly bisexual.

These two writers are sharing the number ten spot because they have pretty much the same “rank” in the list of the year. Robinson made it in the list because of his work in “Starman”, and Tynion IV made it because of his work with the “Witching Hour” crossover.

NUMBER NINE SEAN MURPHY (1980 - PRESENT)

Sean Gordon Murphy is an American comic book creator known for work on books such as Joe the Barbarian with Grant Morrison, Chrononauts with Mark Millar, American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest and The Wake with Scott Snyder, and Tokyo Ghost with Rick Remender. He has also written and drawn the miniseries Punk Rock Jesus, as well as Batman: White Knight and its sequel Curse of the White Knight.

Sean Gordon Murphy was born in Nashua, New Hampshire in 1980. He showed an interest in comics during grade school. In Salem he apprenticed to local painter and cartoonist, Leslie Swank. He graduated from Pinkerton Academy high school in 1999, and attended Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, and then Savannah College of Art and Design.

Murphy lives in Portland, Maine with his wife Colleen, having moved there from Brooklyn in 2016. Murphy was raised a Catholic, but is now an atheist.

The reason Sean Murphy made it into the list was “Batman: White Knight”, which is an elseworld story loosely based in the Batman Animated Series.

NUMBER EIGHT FRANK MILLER (1957 - PRESENT)

Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer best known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, Sin City, and 300.

He also directed the film version of The Spirit, shared directing duties with Robert Rodriguez on Sin City and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, and produced the film 300. His film Sin City earned a Palme d'Or nomination, and he has received every major comic book industry award. In 2015, Miller was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame.

He created the comic book characters Elektra for Marvel Comics' Daredevil series, and a female version of the Robin character, Carrie Kelley, for DC Comics.

Miller is noted for combining film noir and manga influences in his comic art creations. "I realized when I started Sin City that I found American and English comics be too wordy, too constipated, and Japanese comics to be too empty. So I was attempting to do a hybrid".

Miller was raised in Montpelier, Vermont, the fifth of seven children of a nurse mother and a carpenter/electrician father. His family was Irish Catholic.

Miller was married to colorist Lynn Varley from 1986 to 2005; she colored many of his most acclaimed works (from Ronin in 1984 through 300 in 1998), and the backgrounds to the 2007 movie 300.

Miller has since been romantically linked to New York-based Shakespearean scholar Kimberly Halliburton Cox, who had a cameo in The Spirit (2008).

You can think many different things about Frank Miller, especially on his political views. But his work includes some pieces that really changed the industry. In this case, he made it into the list because of “Ronin” and “The Dark Knight Returns”, both have been influencing comics until our days (with “Ronin” being one of the many influences of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”).

NUMBER SEVEN MIKE W. BARR (1952 - PRESENT)

Mike W. Barr (born May 30, 1952) is an American writer of comic books, mystery novels, and science fiction novels.

Barr's debut as a comics professional came in DC Comics' Detective Comics #444 (Dec. 1974-Jan. 1975), for which he wrote an eight-page back-up mystery feature starring the Elongated Man. Another Elongated Man story followed in Detective Comics #453 (Nov. 1975). He wrote text articles and editorial replies in letter columns for the next few years. By mid-1980 he was writing regularly for both DC and Marvel, including stories for Mystery in Space, Green Lantern, The Brave and the Bold, Marvel Team-Up, and a Spider-Man/Scarlet Witch team-up in Marvel Fanfare #6.

Legion of Super-Heroes #277 (July 1981) saw him take on editorial duties at DC, a position he would hold until 1987. In December 1982, he and artist Brian Bolland began Camelot 3000, a 12 issue limited series that was one of DC Comics' first direct market projects. Barr and artist Trevor Von Eeden produced the first Green Arrow limited series in 1983. When the long running The Brave and the Bold series came to its conclusion with issue #200 (July 1983), it featured a preview of a new Batman series, Batman and the Outsiders by Barr and artist Jim Aparo, which would be described by DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz as being "a team series more fashionable to 1980s audiences." The Masters of Disaster were among the supervillains created by Barr and Aparo for the series. Barr wrote every issue of the original series, and its Baxter paper spinoff, The Outsiders that did not include Batman and introduced Looker. After the series' cancellation in February 1988, it was revived in November 1993 by Barr and artist Paul Pelletier.

He was one of the contributors to the DC Challenge limited series in 1986 and wrote the "Batman: Year Two" storyline in Detective Comics #575-578 (June-Sept. 1987) which followed up on Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One". Barr introduced the Reaper in Detective Comics #575 (June 1987) and returned to the character in the Batman: Full Circle one-shot in 1991. Another project from 1987 was the Batman: Son of the Demon graphic novel which was drawn by Jerry Bingham, proceeds from which reputedly "restored DC Comics to first place in sales after fifteen years." This title, and Barr's work on Batman with artist Alan Davis have been cited by Grant Morrison as key inspirations for his own run on the Batman title. Barr's sequel, Batman: Bride of The Demon, was published in 1991.

Mike W. Barr has been only of the earliest comic-book writers I knew about, and he made it into this list because of his work in “Camelot 3000″ and “Batman and the Outsiders”.

NUMBER SIX CHRIS CLAREMONT, WITH JOHN BYRNE (1950 - PRESENT)

Christopher S. Claremont (born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 1975–1991 stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than that of any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters as well as introducing complex literary themes into superhero narratives, turning the once underachieving comic into one of Marvel's most popular series.

During his tenure at Marvel, Claremont co-created numerous X-Men characters, such as Rogue, Psylocke, Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat, Phoenix, The Brood, Lockheed, Shi'ar, Shi'ar Imperial Guard, Mystique, Destiny, Selene, Reverend William Stryker, Lady Mastermind, Emma Frost, Tessa, Siryn, Jubilee, Rachel Summers, Madelyne Pryor, Moira MacTaggert, Lilandra, Shadow King, Cannonball, Warpath, Mirage, Wolfsbane, Karma, Cypher, Sabretooth, Empath, Sebastian Shaw, Donald Pierce, Avalanche, Pyro, Legion, Nimrod, Gateway, Strong Guy, Proteus, Mister Sinister, Marauders, Purifiers, Captain Britain, Sunspot, Forge and Gambit. Claremont scripted many classic stories, including "The Dark Phoenix Saga" and "Days of Future Past", on which he collaborated with John Byrne. He developed the character of Wolverine into a fan favorite. X-Men #1, the 1991 spinoff series premiere that Claremont co-wrote with Jim Lee, remains the best-selling comic book of all time, according to Guinness World Records. In 2015, Claremont and his X-Men collaborator John Byrne were entered into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame.

Claremont was born in London, England. His father was an internist and his mother was a pilot and caterer. Claremont is Jewish on his mother's side, and lived in a kibbutz in Israel during his youth. His family moved to the United States when he was three, and he was raised primarily on Long Island. Alienated by the sports-oriented suburbs, his grandmother purchased for him a subscription to Eagle when he was a child, and he grew up reading Dan Dare, finding them more exciting than the Batman and Superman comics of the 1950s and early 1960s. He read works by science fiction writers such as Robert Heinlein, as well as writers of other genres such as Rudyard Kipling and C. S. Forester.

In the mid-1970s, Claremont was married to Bonnie Wilford. Following the dissolution of that marriage, he married Beth Fleisher, with whom Claremont co-authored Dragon Moon. Fleisher is the cousin (through marriage) of editor Dan Raspler, who was the editor on JLA during the six-issue "Tenth Circle" story arc Claremont and John Byrne wrote in 2004. Claremont and Fleisher have twin sons.

So why not John Byrne? Well, the reason Claremont made it into this list was mostly the Dark Phoenix Saga, but also the Wolverine mini-series. It is hard to separate them from their work in X-Men, but in the end, it is his dialogue that we read. I still think it is worth mentioning Byrne in this spot, as we wouldn’t have one without the other. Perhaps Wolverine solo mini-series wouldn’t be possible without the work of Byrne with the character, but there is more influence from Miller in that one. I am pretty sure Byrne will be in the top 10 next year anyway ;)

NUMBER FIVE NEIL GAIMAN (1960 - PRESENT)

Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (born Neil Richard Gaiman, 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, nonfiction, audio theatre, and films. His works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. He has won numerous awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards, as well as the Newbery and Carnegie medals. He is the first author to win both the Newbery and the Carnegie medals for the same work, The Graveyard Book (2008). In 2013, The Ocean at the End of the Lane was voted Book of the Year in the British National Book Awards.

Gaiman's family is of Polish Jewish and other Eastern European Jewish origins. His great-grandfather emigrated from Antwerp, Belgium, to the UK before 1914 and his grandfather eventually settled in the south of England in the Hampshire city of Portsmouth and established a chain of grocery stores. Gaiman's grandfather changed his original family name of Chaiman to Gaiman. His father, David Bernard Gaiman, worked in the same chain of stores; his mother, Sheila Gaiman (née Goldman), was a pharmacist. He has two younger sisters, Claire and Lizzy.

After living for a period in the nearby town of Portchester, Hampshire, where Neil was born in 1960, the Gaimans moved in 1965 to the West Sussex town of East Grinstead, where his parents studied Dianetics at the Scientology centre in the town; one of Gaiman's sisters works for the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles. His other sister, Lizzy Calcioli, has said, "Most of our social activities were involved with Scientology or our Jewish family. It would get very confusing when people would ask my religion as a kid. I'd say, 'I'm a Jewish Scientologist.'" Gaiman says that he is not a Scientologist, and that like Judaism, Scientology is his family's religion. About his personal views, Gaiman has stated, "I think we can say that God exists in the DC Universe. I would not stand up and beat the drum for the existence of God in this universe. I don't know, I think there's probably a 50/50 chance. It doesn't really matter to me."

Gaiman was able to read at the age of four. He said, "I was a reader. I loved reading. Reading things gave me pleasure. I was very good at most subjects in school, not because I had any particular aptitude in them, but because normally on the first day of school they'd hand out schoolbooks, and I'd read them—which would mean that I'd know what was coming up, because I'd read it." When he was about ten years old, he read his way through the works of Dennis Wheatley, where especially The Ka of Gifford Hillary and The Haunting of Toby Jugg made an impact on him. One work that made a particular impression on him was J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings from his school library, although it only had the first two volumes of the novel. He consistently took them out and read them. He would later win the school English prize and the school reading prize, enabling him to finally acquire the third volume.

For his seventh birthday, Gaiman received C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series. He later recalled that "I admired his use of parenthetical statements to the reader, where he would just talk to you ... I'd think, 'Oh, my gosh, that is so cool! I want to do that! When I become an author, I want to be able to do things in parentheses.' I liked the power of putting things in brackets." Narnia also introduced him to literary awards, specifically the 1956 Carnegie Medal won by the concluding volume. When Gaiman won the 2010 Medal himself, the press reported him recalling, "it had to be the most important literary award there ever was" and observing, "if you can make yourself aged seven happy, you're really doing well – it's like writing a letter to yourself aged seven."

Gaiman attended Ardingly College in Ardingly, West Sussex Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was another childhood favourite, and "a favourite forever. Alice was default reading to the point where I knew it by heart." He also enjoyed Batman comics as a child.

Gaiman was educated at several Church of England schools, including Fonthill School in East Grinstead, Ardingly College (1970–74), and Whitgift School in Croydon (1974–77). His father's position as a public relations official of the Church of Scientology was the cause of the seven-year-old Gaiman being forced to withdraw from Fonthill School and remain at the school that he had previously been attending. He lived in East Grinstead for many years, from 1965 to 1980 and again from 1984 to 1987. He met his first wife, Mary McGrath, while she was studying Scientology and living in a house in East Grinstead that was owned by his father. The couple were married in 1985 after having their first child, Michael.

As a child and a teenager, Gaiman read the works of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, Mary Shelley, Rudyard Kipling, Edgar Allan Poe, Michael Moorcock, Alan Moore, Steve Ditko, Will Eisner, Ursula K. Le Guin, Harlan Ellison, Lord Dunsany and G. K. Chesterton. A lifetime fan of the Monty Python comedy troupe, as a teenager he owned a copy of Monty Python's Big Red Book. When he was 19–20 years old, he contacted his favourite science fiction writer, R. A. Lafferty, whom he discovered when he was nine, and asked for advice on becoming an author along with a Lafferty pastiche he had written. The writer sent Gaiman an encouraging and informative letter back, along with literary advice.

In the early 1980s, Gaiman pursued journalism, conducting interviews and writing book reviews, as a means to learn about the world and to make connections that he hoped would later assist him in getting published. He wrote and reviewed extensively for the British Fantasy Society. His first professional short story publication was "Featherquest", a fantasy story, in Imagine Magazine in May 1984.

When waiting for a train at London's Victoria Station in 1984, Gaiman noticed a copy of Swamp Thing written by Alan Moore, and carefully read it. Moore's fresh and vigorous approach to comics had such an impact on Gaiman that he would later write "that was the final straw, what was left of my resistance crumbled. I proceeded to make regular and frequent visits to London's Forbidden Planet shop to buy comics".

In 1984, he wrote his first book, a biography of the band Duran Duran, as well as Ghastly Beyond Belief, a book of quotations, with Kim Newman. Even though Gaiman thought he had done a terrible job, the book's first edition sold out very quickly. When he went to relinquish his rights to the book, he discovered the publisher had gone bankrupt. After this, he was offered a job by Penthouse. He refused the offer.

He also wrote interviews and articles for many British magazines, including Knave. During this he sometimes wrote under pseudonyms, including Gerry Musgrave, Richard Grey, and "a couple of house names". Gaiman has said he ended his journalism career in 1987 because British newspapers regularly publish untruths as fact. In the late 1980s, he wrote Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion in what he calls a "classic English humour" style. Following this he wrote the opening of what would become his collaboration with fellow English author Terry Pratchett on the comic novel Good Omens, about the impending apocalypse.

After forming a friendship with comic-book writer Alan Moore, Gaiman started writing comic books, picking up Miracleman after Moore finished his run on the series. Gaiman and artist Mark Buckingham collaborated on several issues of the series before its publisher, Eclipse Comics, collapsed, leaving the series unfinished. His first published comic strips were four short Future Shocks for 2000 AD in 1986–87. He wrote three graphic novels with his favourite collaborator and long-time friend Dave McKean: Violent Cases, Signal to Noise, and The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch. Impressed with his work, DC Comics hired him in February 1987, and he wrote the limited series Black Orchid. Karen Berger, who later became head of DC Comics's Vertigo, read Black Orchid and offered Gaiman a job: to re-write an old character, The Sandman, but to put his own spin on him.

The Sandman tells the tale of the ageless, anthropomorphic personification of Dream that is known by many names, including Morpheus. The series began in January 1989 and concluded in March 1996. In the eighth issue of The Sandman, Gaiman and artist Mike Dringenberg introduced Death, the older sister of Dream, who would become as popular as the series' title character. The limited series Death: The High Cost of Living launched DC's Vertigo line in 1993. The 75 issues of the regular series, along with an illustrated prose text and a special containing seven short stories, have been collected into 12 volumes that remain in print. The series became one of DC's top selling titles, eclipsing even Batman and Superman. Comics historian Les Daniels called Gaiman's work "astonishing" and noted that The Sandman was "a mixture of fantasy, horror, and ironic humor such as comic books had never seen before". DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz observed that "The Sandman became the first extraordinary success as a series of graphic novel collections, reaching out and converting new readers to the medium, particularly young women on college campuses, and making Gaiman himself into an iconic cultural figure."

Gaiman has lived near Menomonie, Wisconsin, since 1992. Gaiman moved there to be close to the family of his then-wife, Mary McGrath, with whom he has three children. As of 2013, Gaiman also resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2014, he took up a five-year appointment as professor in the arts at Bard College, in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.

Gaiman is married to songwriter and performer Amanda Palmer, with whom he has an open marriage. The couple announced that they were dating in June 2009, and announced their engagement on Twitter on 1 January 2010. On 16 November 2010, Palmer hosted a non-legally binding flash mob wedding for Gaiman's birthday in New Orleans. They were legally married on 2 January 2011. The wedding took place in the parlour of writers Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon. On marrying Palmer, he took her middle name, MacKinnon, as one of his names. In September 2015 they had a son.

I am sure Gaiman will make it to next year’s list as well, but in this year in particular, the main reason he made it was “The Sandman”, which had so much quality, almost all the issues I reviewed scored a 10.

NUMBER FOUR MARK MILLAR (1969 - PRESENT)

Mark Millar MBE is a Scottish comic book writer, best known for his work on The Authority, The Ultimates, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Civil War, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Wanted, Chrononauts, Superior and Kick-Ass, the latter seven of which have been, or are planned to be, adapted into feature films.

Millar was born 24 December 1969 in Coatbridge, Scotland. His parents were also born in Coatbridge, and Millar spent the first half of his life in the town's Townhead area, attending St Ambrose High. He has four older brothers, and one older sister, who are 22, 20, 18, 16 and 14 years older than him, respectively. His brother Bobby, who today works at a special needs school, introduced him to comics at age 4 while attending university by taking him to shops and purchasing them for him. Still learning to read, Millar's first comic was the seminal The Amazing Spider-Man #121 (1973), which featured the death of Gwen Stacy. He purchased a Superman comic that day as well. Black and white reprinted comics purchased by his brothers for him would follow, cementing his interest in the medium so much that Millar drew a spider web across his face with indelible marker that his parents were unable to scrub off in time for his First Communion photo a week later. Millar has named Alan Moore and Frank Miller as the two biggest influences on his career, characterizing them as "my Mum and Dad." Other writers he names as influences include Grant Morrison, Peter Milligan, Warren Ellis and Garth Ennis. More recent writers that have impressed him include Jason Aaron and Scott Snyder.

Millar's mother died of a heart attack at age 64, when Millar was 14, and his father died four years later, aged 65. Although Millar enjoyed drawing comics, he was not permitted to go to art school because his family frowned upon such endeavours as a waste of time for the academic Millar, who studied subjects like chemistry, physics and advanced maths. He initially planned to be a doctor, and subsequently decided that becoming an economist would be a viable alternate plan, but later decided that he "couldn't quite hack it" in that occupation. He attended Glasgow University to study politics and economics, but dropped out after his father's death left him without the money to pay his living expenses.

When Millar was 18, he interviewed writer Grant Morrison, who was doing his first major American work on Animal Man, for a fanzine. When he told Morrison that he wanted to be both a writer and an artist, Morrison suggested that he focus on one of those career paths, as it was very hard to be successful at both, which Millar cites as the best advice he has received.

Millar's first job as a comic book writer came when he was still in high school, writing Trident's Saviour with Daniel Vallely providing art. Saviour combined elements of religion, satire and superhero action. During the 1990s, Millar worked on titles such as 2000 AD, Sonic the Comic and Crisis. In 1993, Millar, Grant Morrison and John Smith created a controversial eight-week run on 2000 AD called The Summer Offensive. It was during this run that Millar and Morrison wrote their first major story together, Big Dave.

Millar's British work brought him to the attention of DC Comics, and in 1994 he started working on his first American comic, Swamp Thing. The first four issues of Millar's run were co-written by Grant Morrison, allowing Millar to settle into the title. Although his work brought some critical acclaim to the ailing title, the book's sales were still low enough to warrant cancellation by the publisher. From there, Millar spent time working on various DC titles, often co-writing with or under the patronage of Morrison as in the cases of his work on JLA, The Flash and Aztek: The Ultimate Man, and working on unsuccessful pitches for the publisher.

In 2000, Millar replaced Warren Ellis on The Authority for DC's Wildstorm imprint. Millar announced his resignation from DC in 2001, though his miniseries Superman: Red Son was printed in 2003.

In 2001, Millar launched Ultimate X-Men for Marvel Comics' Ultimate Marvel imprint. The following year he collaborated with illustrator Bryan Hitch on The Ultimates, the Ultimate imprint's equivalent of The Avengers. Millar's work on The Ultimates was later adapted into two Marvel Animated Features and the subsequent 2012 Hollywood box office smash Marvel's The Avengers.

In 2006, Millar, joined by artist Steve McNiven, began writing the Marvel miniseries Civil War a seven-issue limited series revolving around the passing of Superhuman Registration Act as a result of the death and destruction unintentionally caused by superheroes and turned Captain America and Iron Man onto opposing sides, the book formed the basis for the film Captain America: Civil War. In 2009 Millar wrote the dystopian "Old Man Logan" storyline, which appeared in the Wolverine series, and was set in a possible future in which Wolverine, having been traumatized by his murder of the X-Men (an event prompted by Mysterio's illusions), became a recluse, after which the United States government collapsed, and the country fell under the control of various supervillain enclaves. Needing rent money for his family's farm, Wolverine comes out of retirement when called upon by Hawkeye.

Millar supports British withdrawal from the European Union.

While Millar is usually not my cup of tea, mostly because of his toxic depictions of masculinity in his stories (this may or may not be on purpose), he did write a lot of sophisticated comics in the reviews I did this year (”The Ultimates” and “Marvel Knights: Spider-man”).

NUMBER THREE GEOFF JOHNS (1973 - PRESENT)

Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter and film and television producer. He served as the President and Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of DC Entertainment from 2016 to 2018 after his initial appointment as CCO in 2010. Some of his most notable work has used the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman.

In 2018, he stepped down from his executive role at DC Entertainment to open a production company, Mad Ghost Productions, to focus on writing and producing film, television and comic book titles based on DC properties. Some of his work in television includes the series Blade, Smallville, Arrow and The Flash. He was a co-producer on the film Green Lantern (2011) and a producer on Justice League (2017). He co-wrote the story for Aquaman (2018) and the screenplay for Wonder Woman 1984 (2020).

Geoff Johns was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Barbara and Fred Johns. He is of half Lebanese ancestry and grew up in the suburbs of Grosse Pointe and Clarkston. As a child, Johns and his brother first discovered comics through an old box of comics they found in their grandmother's attic, which included copies of The Flash, Superman, Green Lantern, and Batman from the 1960s and 1970s. Johns eventually began to patronize a comics shop in Traverse City, recalling that the first new comics he bought were Crisis on Infinite Earths #3 or 4 and The Flash #348 or 349, as the latter was his favorite character. As Johns continued collecting comics, he gravitated toward DC Comics and later Vertigo, and drew comics. After graduating from Clarkston High School in 1991, he studied media arts, screenwriting, film production and film theory at Michigan State University. He graduated from Michigan State in 1995, and then moved to Los Angeles, California.

In Los Angeles, Johns cold-called the office of director Richard Donner looking for an internship, and while Johns was being transferred to various people, Donner picked up the phone by accident, leading to a conversation and the internship. Johns started off copying scripts, and after about two months, was hired as a production assistant for Donner, whom Johns regards as his mentor.

While working on production of Donner's 1997 film Conspiracy Theory, Johns visited New York City, where he met DC Comics personnel such as Eddie Berganza, reigniting his childhood interest in comics.

Berganza invited Johns to tour the DC Comics offices, and offered Johns the opportunity to suggest ideas, which led to Johns pitching Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E., a series based on the second Star-Spangled Kid and her stepfather, to editor Chuck Kim a year later. Johns expected to write comics "on the side", until he met David Goyer and James Robinson, who were working on JSA. After looking at Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E., Robinson offered Johns co-writing duties on JSA in 2000, and Johns credits both him and Mike Carlin with shepherding him into the comics industry. That same year, Johns became the regular writer on The Flash ongoing series with issue 164. John's work on The Flash represents one example of his modeling of various elements in his stories after aspects of his birth town, explaining, "When I wrote The Flash, I turned Keystone City into Detroit, made it a car town. I make a lot of my characters from Detroit. I think self-made, blue-collar heroes represent Detroit. Wally West's Flash was like that. I took the inspiration of the city and the people there and used it in the books." John's Flash run concluded with #225.

His younger sister, Courtney, was a victim of the TWA Flight 800 crash. The DC Comics character Courtney Whitmore, whom Johns created, is based on her.

In a 2010 interview, Johns named Steve McNiven as an artist he would like to collaborate with, J. Michael Straczynski's run on Thor as his then-favorite ongoing comic book, and The Flash as his favorite of all time, stating that he owns every issue of it. He credits reading James Robinson's The Golden Age as the book responsible for his love of the characters featured in the book, and for his decision to accept writing duties on JSA. He is also a comic book retailer who co-owns Earth-2 Comics in Northridge, California, with Carr D'Angelo and Jud Meyers.

There are plenty of reasons for Geoff Johns to be in this list, this year. But the main ones are his Justice League and Shazam Origin. At the moment of this writing, Doomsday Clock is not included in these reviews, but his writing there is also very, very good.

NUMBER TWO MARV WOLFMAN, WITH GEORGE PEREZ (1946 - PRESENT)

Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's The Tomb of Dracula, for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's The New Teen Titans and the Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series with George Pérez.

Marv Wolfman was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of police officer Abe and housewife Fay. He has a sister, Harriet, 12 years older. When Wolfman was 13, his family moved to Flushing, Queens, in New York City, where he attended junior high school. He went on to New York's High School of Art and Design, in Manhattan, hoping to become a cartoonist. Wolfman is Jewish.

Marvin Wolfman was active in fandom before he began his professional comics career at DC Comics in 1968. Wolfman was one of the first to publish Stephen King, with "In A Half-World of Terror" in Wolfman's horror fanzine Stories of Suspense No. 2 (1965). This was a revised version of King's first published story, "I Was a Teenage Grave Robber", which had been serialized over four issues (three published and one unpublished) of the fanzine Comics Review that same year.

Wolfman's first published work for DC Comics appeared in Blackhawk No. 242 (Aug.–Sept. 1968). He and longtime friend Len Wein created the character Jonny Double in Showcase No. 78 (Nov. 1968) scripted by Wolfman. The two co-wrote "Eye of the Beholder" in Teen Titans No. 18 (Dec. 1968), which would be Wein's first professional comics credit. Neal Adams was called upon to rewrite and redraw a Teen Titans story which had been written by Wein and Wolfman. The story, titled "Titans Fit the Battle of Jericho!", would have introduced DC's first African American superhero, but was rejected by publisher Carmine Infantino. The revised story appeared in Teen Titans No. 20 (March–April 1969). Wolfman and Gil Kane created an origin for Wonder Girl in Teen Titans No. 22 (July–Aug. 1969) which introduced the character's new costume.

Wolfman is married to Noel Watkins. Wolfman was previously married to Michele Wolfman, for many years a colorist in the comics industry. They have a daughter, Jessica Morgan.

There are also many reasons for Wolfman to be in this list. Among them there is: “Man and Superman”, “New Teen Titans”, “Tales of the Teen Titans”, “The Judas Contract”, “Vigilante” and “Crisis on Infinite Earths”. Many of these, were collaborations with George Pérez and that is why he gets a mention in this space (don’t worry, he is in another TOP 10 this year). Not only he destroyed a multiverse and created one of the most stable runs of DC Continuity ever, he also “created” Nightwing and Vigilante and finally published “Man and Superman” this year.

NUMBER ONE ALAN MOORE (1953 - PRESENT)

Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English writer known primarily for his work in comic books including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, The Ballad of Halo Jones, Swamp Thing, Batman: The Killing Joke and From Hell. Regarded by some as the best comics writer in the English language, he is widely recognized among his peers and critics. He has occasionally used such pseudonyms as Curt Vile, Jill de Ray, and Translucia Baboon; also, reprints of some of his work have been credited to The Original Writer when Moore requested that his name be removed.

Moore started writing for British underground and alternative fanzines in the late 1970s before achieving success publishing comic strips in such magazines as 2000 AD and Warrior. He was subsequently picked up by the American DC Comics, and as "the first comics writer living in Britain to do prominent work in America", he worked on major characters such as Batman (Batman: The Killing Joke) and Superman (Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?), substantially developed the character Swamp Thing, and penned original titles such as Watchmen. During that decade, Moore helped to bring about greater social respectability for comics in the United States and United Kingdom. He prefers the term "comic" to "graphic novel". In the late 1980s and early 1990s he left the comic industry mainstream and went independent for a while, working on experimental work such as the epic From Hell and the prose novel Voice of the Fire. He subsequently returned to the mainstream later in the 1990s, working for Image Comics, before developing America's Best Comics, an imprint through which he published works such as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and the occult-based Promethea. In 2016, he published Jerusalem: a 1266-page experimental novel set in his hometown of Northampton, UK.

Moore is an occultist, ceremonial magician, and anarchist, and has featured such themes in works including Promethea, From Hell, and V for Vendetta, as well as performing avant-garde spoken word occult "workings" with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.

Despite his own personal objections, his works have provided the basis for a number of Hollywood films, including From Hell (2001), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), V for Vendetta (2005), and Watchmen (2009). Moore has also been referenced in popular culture, and has been recognized as an influence on a variety of literary and television figures including Neil Gaiman, Joss Whedon, and Damon Lindelof. He has lived a significant portion of his life in Northampton, England, and he has said in various interviews that his stories draw heavily from his experiences living there.

Abandoning his office job, he decided to instead take up both writing and illustrating his own comics. He had already produced a couple of strips for several alternative fanzines and magazines, such as Anon E. Mouse for the local paper Anon, and St. Pancras Panda, a parody of Paddington Bear, for the Oxford-based Back Street Bugle. His first paid work was for a few drawings that were printed in NME, and not long after he succeeded in getting a series about a private detective known as Roscoe Moscow published using the pseudonym of Curt Vile (a pun on the name of composer Kurt Weill) in the weekly music magazine Sounds, earning £35 a week. Alongside this, he and Phyllis, with their newborn daughter Leah, began claiming unemployment benefit to supplement this income. Not long after this, in 1979 he also began publishing a new comic strip known as Maxwell the Magic Cat in the Northants Post, under the pseudonym of Jill de Ray (a pun on the Medieval child murderer Gilles de Rais, something he found to be a "sardonic joke"). Earning a further £10 a week from this, he decided to sign off of social security, and would continue writing Maxwell the Magic Cat until 1986. Moore has stated that he would have been happy to continue Maxwell's adventures almost indefinitely, but ended the strip after the newspaper ran a negative editorial on the place of homosexuals in the community. Meanwhile, Moore decided to focus more fully on writing comics rather than both writing and drawing them, stating that "After I'd been doing [it] for a couple of years, I realised that I would never be able to draw well enough and/or quickly enough to actually make any kind of decent living as an artist."

To learn more about how to write a successful comic-book script, he asked advice from his friend, comic-book writer Steve Moore, whom he had known since he was fourteen. Interested in writing for 2000AD, one of Britain's most prominent comic magazines, Alan Moore then submitted a script for their long running and successful series Judge Dredd. While having no need for another writer on Judge Dredd, which was already being written by John Wagner, 2000AD's editor Alan Grant saw promise in Moore's work – later remarking that "this guy's a really fucking good writer" – and instead asked him to write some short stories for the publication's Future Shocks series. While the first few were rejected, Grant advised Moore on improvements, and eventually accepted the first of many. Meanwhile, Moore had also begun writing minor stories for Doctor Who Weekly, and later commented that "I really, really wanted a regular strip. I didn't want to do short stories ... But that wasn't what was being offered. I was being offered short four or five-page stories where everything had to be done in those five pages. And, looking back, it was the best possible education that I could have had in how to construct a story."

From 1980 through to 1984, Moore maintained his status as a freelance writer, and was offered a spate of work by a variety of comic book companies in Britain, namely Marvel UK, and the publishers of 2000AD and Warrior. He later remarked that "I remember that what was generally happening was that everybody wanted to give me work, for fear that I would just be given other work by their rivals. So everybody was offering me things." It was an era when comic books were increasing in popularity in Britain, and according to Lance Parkin, "the British comics scene was cohering as never before, and it was clear that the audience was sticking with the title as they grew up. Comics were no longer just for very small boys: teenagers – even A-level and university students – were reading them now."

During this three-year period, 2000AD would accept and publish over fifty of Moore's one-off stories for their Future Shocks and Time Twisters science fiction series. The editors at the magazine were impressed by Moore's work and decided to offer him a more permanent strip, starting with a story that they wanted to be vaguely based upon the hit film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The result, Skizz, which was illustrated by Jim Baikie, told the story of the titular alien who crashes to Earth and is cared for by a teenager named Roxy, and Moore later noted that in his opinion, this work "owes far too much to Alan Bleasdale." Another series he produced for 2000AD was D.R. and Quinch, which was illustrated by Alan Davis. The story, which Moore described as "continuing the tradition of Dennis the Menace, but giving him a thermonuclear capacity", revolved around two delinquent aliens, and was a science-fiction take on National Lampoon's characters O.C. and Stiggs. The work widely considered to be the highlight of his 2000AD career, and that he himself described as "the one that worked best for me" was The Ballad of Halo Jones. Co-created with artist Ian Gibson, the series was set in the 50th century. The series was discontinued after three books due to a dispute between Moore and Fleetway, the magazine's publishers, over the intellectual property rights of the characters Moore and Gibson had co-created.

Another comic company to employ Moore was Marvel UK, who had formerly purchased a few of his one-off stories for Doctor Who Weekly and Star Wars Weekly. Aiming to get an older audience than 2000AD, their main rival, they employed Moore to write for the regular strip Captain Britain, "halfway through a storyline that he's neither inaugurated nor completely understood." He replaced the former writer Dave Thorpe, but maintained the original artist, Alan Davis, whom Moore described as "an artist whose love for the medium and whose sheer exultation upon finding himself gainfully employed within it shine from every line, every new costume design, each nuance of expression."

Guy Fawkes serves as physical and philosophical inspiration for the titular protagonist of V for Vendetta. The third comic company that Moore worked for in this period was Quality Communications, publishers of a new monthly magazine called Warrior. The magazine was founded by Dez Skinn, a former editor of both IPC (publishers of 2000 AD) and Marvel UK, and was designed to offer writers a greater degree of freedom over their artistic creations than was allowed by pre-existing companies. It was at Warrior that Moore "would start to reach his potential". Moore was initially given two ongoing strips in Warrior: Marvelman and V for Vendetta, both of which debuted in Warrior's first issue in March 1982. V for Vendetta was a dystopian thriller set in a future 1997 where a fascist government controlled Britain, opposed only by a lone anarchist dressed in a Guy Fawkes costume who turns to terrorism to topple the government. Illustrated by David Lloyd, Moore was influenced by his pessimistic feelings about the Thatcherite Conservative government, which he projected forward as a fascist state in which all ethnic and sexual minorities had been eliminated. It has been regarded as "among Moore's best work" and has maintained a cult following throughout subsequent decades.

Marvelman (later retitled Miracleman for legal reasons) was a series that originally had been published in Britain from 1954 through to 1963, based largely upon the American comic Captain Marvel. Upon resurrecting Marvelman, Moore "took a kitsch children's character and placed him within the real world of 1982". The work was drawn primarily by Garry Leach and Alan Davis. The third series that Moore produced for Warrior was The Bojeffries Saga, a comedy about a working-class English family of vampires and werewolves, drawn by Steve Parkhouse. Warrior closed before these stories were completed, but under new publishers both Miracleman and V for Vendetta were resumed by Moore, who finished both stories by 1989. Moore's biographer Lance Parkin remarked that "reading them through together throws up some interesting contrasts – in one the hero fights a fascist dictatorship based in London, in the other an Aryan superman imposes one."

Although Moore's work numbered amongst the most popular strips to appear in 2000 AD, Moore himself became increasingly concerned at the lack of creator's rights in British comics. In 1985, he talked to fanzine Arkensword, noting that he had stopped working for all British publishers bar IPC, "purely for the reason that IPC so far have avoided lying to me, cheating me or generally treating me like shit." He did join other creators in decrying the wholesale relinquishing of all rights, and in 1986 stopped writing for 2000 AD, leaving mooted future volumes of the Halo Jones story unstarted. Moore's outspoken opinions and principles, particularly on the subject of creator's rights and ownership, would see him burn bridges with a number of other publishers over the course of his career.

Meanwhile, during this same period, he – using the pseudonym of Translucia Baboon – became involved in the music scene, founding his own band, The Sinister Ducks, with David J (of goth band Bauhaus) and Alex Green, and in 1983 released a single, March of the Sinister Ducks, with sleeve art by illustrator Kevin O'Neill. In 1984, Moore and David J released a 12-inch single featuring a recording of "This Vicious Cabaret", a song featured in V for Vendetta, which was released on the Glass Records label. Moore would write the song "Leopardman at C&A" for David J, and it would be set to music by Mick Collins for the album We Have You Surrounded by Collins' group The Dirtbombs.

Moore's work in 2000 AD brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Len Wein, who hired him in 1983 to write The Saga of the Swamp Thing, then a formulaic and poor-selling monster comic. Moore, with artists Stephen R. Bissette, Rick Veitch, and John Totleben, deconstructed and reimagined the character, writing a series of formally experimental stories that addressed environmental and social issues alongside the horror and fantasy, bolstered by research into the culture of Louisiana, where the series was set. For Swamp Thing he revived many of DC's neglected magical and supernatural characters, including the Spectre, the Demon, the Phantom Stranger, Deadman, and others, and introduced John Constantine, an English working-class magician based visually on the British musician Sting; Constantine later became the protagonist of the series Hellblazer, which became Vertigo's longest running series at 300 issues. Moore would continue writing Swamp Thing for almost four years, from issue No. 20 (January 1984) through to issue No. 64 (September 1987) with the exception of issues No. 59 and 62. Moore's run on Swamp Thing was successful both critically and commercially, and inspired DC to recruit British writers such as Grant Morrison, Jamie Delano, Peter Milligan, and Neil Gaiman to write comics in a similar vein, often involving radical revamps of obscure characters. These titles laid the foundation of what became the Vertigo line.

Moore began producing further stories for DC Comics, including a two-part story for Vigilante, which dealt with domestic abuse. He was eventually given the chance to write a story for one of DC's best-known superheroes, Superman, entitled "For the Man Who Has Everything", which was illustrated by Dave Gibbons and published in 1985. In this story, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Robin visit Superman on his birthday, only to find that he has been overcome by an alien organism and is hallucinating about his heart's desire. He followed this with another Superman story, "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?", which was published in 1986. Illustrated by Curt Swan, it was designed as the last Superman story in the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths DC Universe.

The threat of Nuclear war during the Cold War influenced the setting and tone of Watchmen. The limited series Watchmen, begun in 1986 and collected as a trade paperback in 1987, cemented Moore's reputation. Imagining what the world would be like if costumed heroes had really existed since the 1940s, Moore and artist Dave Gibbons created a Cold War mystery in which the shadow of nuclear war threatens the world. The heroes who are caught up in this escalating crisis either work for the US government or are outlawed, and are motivated to heroism by their various psychological hang-ups. Watchmen is non-linear and told from multiple points of view, and includes highly sophisticated self-references, ironies, and formal experiments such as the symmetrical design of issue 5, "Fearful Symmetry", where the last page is a near mirror-image of the first, the second-last of the second, and so on, and in this manner is an early example of Moore's interest in the human perception of time and its implications for free will. It is the only comic to win the Hugo Award, in a one-time category ("Best Other Form"). It is widely seen as Moore's best work, and has been regularly described as the greatest comic book ever written. Alongside roughly contemporary works such as Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Art Spiegelman's Maus, and Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez's Love and Rockets, Watchmen was part of a late 1980s trend in American comics towards more adult sensibilities. Comics historian Les Daniels noted that Watchmen "called into question the basic assumptions on which the super hero genre is formulated". DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz observed in 2010 that "As with The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen set off a chain reaction of rethinking the nature of super heroes and heroism itself, and pushed the genre darker for more than a decade. The series won acclaim ... and would continue to be regarded as one of the most important literary works the field ever produced." Moore briefly became a media celebrity, and the resulting attention led to him withdrawing from fandom and no longer attending comics conventions (at one UKCAC in London he is said to have been followed into the toilet by eager autograph hunters).

Since his teenage years Moore has had long hair, and since early adulthood has also had a beard. He has taken to wearing a number of large rings on his hands, leading him to be described as a "cross between Hagrid and Danny from Withnail and I" who could be easily mistaken for "the village eccentric". Born and raised in Northampton, he continues to live in the town, and used its history as a basis for his novels Voice of the Fire and Jerusalem. His "unassuming terraced" Northampton home was described by an interviewer in 2001 as "something like an occult bookshop under permanent renovation, with records, videos, magical artifacts and comic-book figurines strewn among shelves of mystical tomes and piles of paper. The bathroom, with blue-and-gold décor and a generous sunken tub, is palatial; the rest of the house has possibly never seen a vacuum cleaner. This is clearly a man who spends little time on the material plane." He likes to live in his home town, feeling that it affords him a level of obscurity that he enjoys, remarking that "I never signed up to be a celebrity." He has spoken in praise of the town's former Radical MP, Charles Bradlaugh at the annual commemoration. He is also a vegetarian.

With his first wife Phyllis, whom he married in the early 1970s, he has two daughters, Leah and Amber. The couple also had a mutual lover, Deborah, although the relationship between the three ended in the early 1990s as Phyllis and Deborah left Moore, taking his daughters with them. On 12 May 2007, he married Melinda Gebbie, with whom he has worked on several comics, most notably Lost Girls.

It was pretty clear that Alan Moore was going to end up being in the Top 10 this year. Mostly because I read a lot of his material from DC. The reason he made it into the top 10 is “V for Vendetta” with David Lloyd, “Swamp Thing”, “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”, “Tom Strong”, Batman: The Killing Joke” and “Watchmen”.

Most of these writers have also done something good, not only for the comic-book industry, but also for the world. And this TOP 10 is a way of celebrating them, because their work really inspired most of the pop-culture we consume today.

#writers #comics #reviews #2019 #alan moore #marv wolfman #geoff johns #mark millar #neil gaiman #chris claremont #mike w barr #frank miller #sean murphy #james robinson #james tynion iv

[cassinixii]

Title: MARVEL VS DC GROUP SHOUT OUT! Published: August 2, 2015 | 1:59pm Description: 

Battle group shout out *following text copied from @/hermionelhoranholmes her original set: http://www.polyvore.com/shout_out_again_cause_were/set?id=171660820

Battle of the DC & MARVEL Dream Cast

Group Link: http://www.polyvore.com/battle_dc_marvel_dream_cast/group.show?id=194563 Audition Template: http://www.polyvore.com/battle_group_template/template?id=1074701 Mods: @/oreokk22 and @/radioactive-x

The following characters are already taken: From DC Comics: - The Joker - Poison Ivy - Scarecrow - Catwoman - Oswald Cobblepot - Zatanna - Huntress - Robin - Black canary - Big Bardaa

From Marvel Comics - Loki - Domino - Lady Mastermind aka Regan Wyngarde - Susan Storm aka Invisible Woman - Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic - Jean Grey aka Phoenix - Tommy Shepherd aka Speed - Bucky Barnes (aka the Winter Solider and Captain America) - Kate Bishop aka Hawkeye - Grant Ward - Sinthea Schmidt aka Sin

Actors/Models/Singers already taken: - Heath Ledger - Christina Hendricks - Matthew Gray Bubler - Camren Bicondova - Robin Taylor - Nina Dobrev - Abby Harris - Dylan O'Brien - Christina Aguilera - Tom Hiddleston - Naomi Rapace - Cara Delevingne - Brett Dalton - Regan Windo - Theo James - Famke Janssen - Taron Egerton - Sebastian Stan - Kaya Scodelario - Bonnie Wright - Larissa Hofman

Teams and available spaces: Marvel Heroes: FULL Marvel Villains: 1 Spot DC Heroes: FULL DC Villains: 1 Spot

The Mods have Sarah Hyland as Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff and Holland Roden as Starfire claimed for their example sets, so they are unavailable as well.

Another user has Colin Morgan as Green Lantern on reserve.

More information available in the group page. please join and let's have fun.

Examples of characters that are still available (if anyone needs ideas):

DC: Green Arrow (Hero, aka Oliver Queen), Batman (Hero, aka Bruce Wayne), Superman (Hero, aka Clark Kent), Deadshot (aka - actually, I know nothing about him? both villain and hero, i think? he was cool when i saw him in arrow, stopped watching that already though), The Flash (hero, multiple characters, currently Barry Allen as of the tv show), Reverse-Flash (I forgot what his name is, villain though).

Marvel (all villains): Dr. Doom, Ultron, Johann Schmidt aka Red Skull, The Mandarin, Elecktro, Malekith, Ronan the Acusor, Thanos, Kang the conqueror, Crossbones (aka Brock Rumlow), Bob the Hydra agent (no, that's literally his name, he's Deadpool's best friend), Crossbones, Lady Deathstrike, The Red Guardian, Yelena Belova, etc.

*accurate as of August 2nd 2015

#fashion set #polyvore #cassinixii #group shoutout #BOTDCMDC #2015

[otomeverything]

NIGHTSHADE

Release Date:  December 20, 2018 (North America) Developers:  Red Entertainment / LANTERN ROOMS Publishers: D3Publisher Platforms:  Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam) ESRB Rating: M (Mature) 17+

  Walkthroughs:

Goemon

Chojiro

Hanzo

Kuroyuki

Gekkamaru

Common Route

  PROLOGUE (from Nightshade’s official site) During the Sengoku Period the two main factions of ninja clans, Iga and Kōga, warred against each other for decades. In the year 1593, Nobunaga Oda started the Tenshō Iga war, decimating most of the Iga ninjas in the process. The very few that survived were absorbed into the Kōga clan, despite their past rivalries. After 17 years the Sengoku Period finally came to an end, and Japan was unified.

Enju (Protagonist), daughter of Kandō Ueno, the Head of the Kōga clan, spends her days training diligently in hope of becoming a full-fledged ninja like her peers. At long last, she is assigned to her first mission but finds herself caught in a dark conspiracy.

  ART AND MUSIC One of Nightshade’s prominent features that’ll easily make an impression among otome fans, is its art style. The game credits non-other than the famous illustrator, Teita who’s fairly popular for her other works such as Norn9, the Juuzaengi  Engetsu Sangokuden saga and the recently released visual novel, Charade Maniacs.

I wish I could say the same for the game’s musical score. The OP theme was nice but wasn’t memorable at all. The END theme (Good End) however, “Taezaru Hana”  by MIKOTO was pretty soothing that I ended up purchasing the track in iTunes. Listen to the full song below:

  Voice Acting Nightshade honestly has the best seiyuu lineup. The voice acting was, in fact, one of the major highlights of the game. The VAs really did an amazing job capturing your emotions. I was already expecting this much from their topnotch VA list, but they did more than stellar performances with this game! Every seiyuu involved were magnificent, even the side character, Ieyasu Tokugawa (voiced by Koki Miyata, who’s famous for his role as Ukyo in Amnesia), did an amazing job portraying his cunning personality.

  Hikaru Midorikawa ♥ “Goemon Ishikawa” – Tamahome (Fushigi Yuugi Suzaku Ibun), Zenya (Sweet Pool), Ayato (Diabolik Lovers), Hanate (7’Scarlet), Yutaka Nabari (Nil Admirari)

Wataru Hatano “Gekkemaru” – Asato (Lamento Beyond the Void), Lindo (Dance with the Devils), Kotarou (Hakuoki), Sakiyama Youji (Sweet Pool), Yuuto (Storm Lover)

Hiro Shimono “Kuroyuki“ – Shou Kurusu (Utapri), Senri Ichinose (Norn9), Sou Kiryuu (Harukanaru Toki no Naka De 5), Ricchie (Black Wolves Saga), Ray Blackwell (Ikerev)

Kenjiro Tsuda “Hanzo Hattori” – Chikage Kazama (Hakuoki), Soshi Amazaki (The Charming Empire), Leonardo Da Vinci (Ikevamp), Nathan Seymour (Tiger & Bunny)

Kosuke Toriumi “Chojiro Momochi” – Hajime Saito (Hakuoki), Kagiha (Psychedelica BB), Poyo-Poyo (Period Cube), Hideyoshi (Ikesen), Lawrence (Psychedelica AH), John Watson (Code Realize)

  MAIN CHARACTERS (Spoiler Free)

I must say, I love all of the characters and their routes that it was hard for me to pick a favorite. If you’re concerned with plot spoilers in your first playthrough, my recommendation would be to play the routes in the following order (from least to greatest in spoiler content):  Goemon – Hanzo – Chojiro – Kuroyuki – Gekkamaru. For enjoyability, I’d recommend playing in the same order. Goemon and Hanzo were the lighter routes, Chojiro was angst from start to finish and the brothers (Kuroyuki and Gekkamaru) had more plot revelations than you’ve expected. I would also strongly recommend saving Gekkamaru’s route for last, trust me when I say, this makes your last playthrough more worthwhile. 😉

  GOEMON ISHIKAWA

The Japanese Robin Hood

ladykiller

True to his name in history books, Goemon Ishikawa is the legendary Japanese outlaw who stole gold and other valuables from the rich to give to the poor. He’s very popular among the townspeople due to his ingenious thieving schemes. He is known to send prior notices to his targets before he robs them off their treasures. Goemon is also a highly skilled ninja who has the wit of a brilliant tactician.

Playing Goemon’s route first was a good choice since his story was the lightest among the bachelors in the game, plus I haven’t fallen in love with Midorikawa’s voice in a while, so there’s also that ha! I find Goemon’s story really refreshing due to his carefree personality and charismatic nature. Because of this, it was so easy to like this character from the get-go. Going down his route will let you discover a few revelations regarding Goemon’s past, where he came from and how he ended up as the notorious thief he is now. His route also offers  a couple of plot twists and although it was a little predictable towards the end, it was executed really well where it didn’t feel awkward nor forced. As far as the romance goes, Goemon is a straight up, ladykiller. It was fun to see his relationship with Enju develop all throughout his route. His playful teasing and his easy-going personality will have you falling for him in no time.

  HANZO HATTORI

Mr. stoic ninja

kuudere

Besides, being Lord Ieyasu Tokugawa’s personal guard, Hanzo is also the Tokugawa clan’s shinobi leader. Because of his resounding title as the strongest ninja history has ever known, he is very popular among all the shinobi clans in Japan. He is normally calm and collected but will not hesitate to become ruthless for the success of his mission.

Hanzo is the oldest among the bachelors (and I absolutely love him!) He is, I believe 33 years old, making quite an age gap between him and the heroine Enju, but LOL this is Toyotomi-Tokugawa (Edo 1600’s – 1800’s) period we’re talking about, where huge age gaps among couples are very common… But age aside, let me tell you… Hanzo’s route completely took me by surprise! I have no words! *Breaths heavily* I guess, I was already eyeing this character from the start since Kenjiro Tsuda voiced him. But I wasn’t expecting his arc to be this good that it literally caught me off guard. He ended up becoming my favorite of the entire game!

At first, he started as the very straightforward stoic kind, who’s only doing his master, Lord Tokugawa’s bidding. But after a few encounters where he teams up with the heroine and helps her survive, he begins to slightly soften up, giving us a glimpse of his true adorable fluffy nature. Both Hanzo and Enju go through tremendous character development in this route, especially the heroine. I just love seeing Enju prove herself time and again how much she wanted to make it as a true shinobi while she constantly faces hardships every step of the way (she’s freakin’ cool!) I also love seeing Hanzo unexpectedly supporting her through her struggles. It’s as if, rather than saving her all the time, he wants her to learn to depend on herself instead; and to me, this relationship was truly very refreshing, not to mention absolutely heartwarming. Expect a lot of badass back to back action scenes in this route, where Hanzo and Enju kick some ninja ass!

  CHOJIRO MOMOCHI

Big Brother

Angst! Angst! Angst!

Chojiro is the son of the late leader of Iga, Tanba Momochi . After losing his family and clan in the Tensho Iga War at the age of five, he joined the Koga clan along with the other Iga survivors. Chojiro is also the heroine’s cousin as well as her mentor/trainer. He is a man of a few words and he completely devotes himself to his missions without questions.

I made a mistake playing Chojiro’s route earlier in the game as I wasn’t ready for a sudden whirlwind of angst! At the start, Chojiro’s personality was very closed off, its almost as if he has built a wall before him to keep others away. Because of his tragic past, he doesn’t want to get attached to anyone, afraid he’d lose them at the blink of an eye just like how he lost his parents when he was young. This makes his relationship with Enju a little less intimate from the beginning. As the heroine tries her best to get a closer reach of him, he waves his feelings off because he’s conflicted between succeeding his missions as a shinobi versus his own desire to help Enju and stay by her side.

Chojiro’s route was also the most tragic in the game!😭 Ya’ll better prepare those tissues! Romantic wise, his story was not my favorite. The drama just out-weights the romance on this one. I do love the writing in his route though. It seriously gave me an emotional breakdown I wasn’t prepared for. 😅I suggest playing his route in the middle to get the angst out of the way. This, also kinda gives you more room to recuperate from the heavy drama before jumping into an even more dramatic finish as you do Gekka’s route last.

  KUROYUKI

clever, cunning

soft yand

Kuroyuki is Gekkamaru’s younger brother. Right after he was born, both boys became orphans and were taken in by Enju’s family. He was sent away on an extended mission when he was eight, by the heroine’s father Kando Ueno, who’s also the leader and head chief of the Koga clan. Kuroyuki is also the same age as Enju (16).

Not much is revealed about this character other than he is Gekkamaru’s brother who was sent on a secret mission when he was eight years old. Where did he go? What was he doing for the last eight years he was gone? It was rather questionable how his character (in other routes) always comes and goes sporadically in the plot.

I couldn’t really expound more on Kuroyuki’s arc without entering spoiler territory but going down his route will let you discover one interesting revelation about him and the game’s overarching plot. It was quite satisfying to play Yuki’s route because finally! we get to fill in some plot holes. I fell in love with his story for the same reasons some people are calling it out for. It wasn’t light nor easy-going as Goemon’s or Hanzo’s, it wasn’t tragic as Chojiro’s or Gekkamaru’s. It was dark and I probably wouldn’t have it in any other way. Kudos to Hiro Shimono for breathing extra life to this character!

  GEKKAMARU

best boi

puppy eyes

true route ish?

After losing his family at the age of three, Gekkamaru was adopted by the heroine’s parents along with his younger brother Kuroyuki. Gekkamaru was assigned to be Enju’s trusted bodyguard when they were young and has proven his loyalty and devotion through time by sticking to his role as Enju’s protector. He is wholeheartedly committed to his master (Enju) to a point where he becomes too overprotective of her.

So after going through all kinds of heaps and hooplas of playing and suffering each of the character routes in the game, I was finally on my last one, Gekkamaru. I know you can just play his route whenever but I chose to do his story last for the experience. ohoho!

…and I have no regrets!😭 Gekkamaru’s route started with pure dramatic fluff as expected. It was just so precious and endearing to see how far this man would go for the sake of the heroine. His loyalty and dedication for Enju was such a pure bliss that it even pains me to see him doing too much😭. His route was a combination of action, romance, a side of humor and a whole lot of drama as he and the heroine struggled to survive by each other’s side. I thought to myself, “This story couldn’t get any better or worse, could it?” but then angst hits the fan through plot twists after plot twists (during the last chapters) and this was where the story really picked up. I was at lost for words. I felt really sad, angry and confused. His route put me through a tidal wave of emotions, I had to pause the game for a while, sit in a corner to get my head straight and my breathing in check! lmao! Gekkamaru’s route is like a slow burn, heart-rending gut punch and I absolutely loved it.

  ENJU UENO (Main Heroine)

Enju is a strong heroine and I adore her to bits. Unfortunately, her potentiality to become an even better shinobi was wasted in some routes because of the whole damsel in distress scenarios, with the exception on Hanzo’s and Gekkamaru’s route ~ these were the only story arcs where the heroine was able to hone her skills as a ninja and show us her true strengths.

Enju Ueno was literally, thrown to the wolves when she got caught up into this despicable game of survival, out of the blue. Not only that, but the ordeal she went through of betrayal, loss, and sorrow was absolutely too much to handle for someone her age. Still, despite all the hardships, she chose to live and survive. I was thoroughly impressed by her determination which I believe was one of her strongest points. YES, this is one badass heroine right here folks!

  Side Characters

Ennosuke (Left) – The fastest ninja in the Koga clan. He’s not romanceable, and I don’t think I’d want him as a dateable character either, heh. I ship him with Kyara though. I love the chemistry with both of their characters.

Kyara (Right) – Proud, graceful, responsible, and badass on the battlefield. Her weapon of choice is a “chigirigi” which is similar to the “morning star” in medieval age weaponry. I ship her with Ennosuke. Also, Saori Hayami voices her, so this to me was a plus!

Kasumi (Center) – the cutest, most adorable ninja…ever! She’s the youngest of Chojiro’s disciples. Looks up to Enju and Kyara as her older sisters. I love her so much! *must protecc*

  SYSTEM AND LOCALIZATION I purchased the physical copy of Nightshade (proxy shipped) which lets you choose three language options to start the game with (English, Chinese, Japanese). I can say, that the localization was fairly decent. I didn’t play the PC version, but I asked a few people who owned both PC and Switch copy and as far as their answers go, D3Publisher did not change the English translations for Nightshade on the Switch. They changed the fonts though! D3Publisher is known to deliver decent game localizations. They’re not the best but they’re not disappointing either. I’ve spotted a couple of minor typos in the game, but it’s NOT something that would ruin the whole experience for you.

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The Switch system was very comfortable and very easy to navigate from the jump. They even offer a “rewind” option for you to backtrack scenarios, which to me, was a saving grace. This way, making the correct save files became a piece of cake. The Nintendo Switch version also contains the game’s DLC “Special Content”. These are extra fluff episodes that happened in the middle of a character’s story. They also come with a special CG (one for each story).

  TRAILER

  OVERALL THOUGHTS? (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ It took me a total of 30 hours to finish the game, and none of these 1800 minutes spent were wasted. Yes, I loved every bit of it.

Although the story was set in the Sengoku “Warring” period of Japan. Instead of the usual cliche battleground premise that’s normally used in Sengoku themed animes and VNs. Nightshade’s story focused more on the darker side of politics during the said period. The indirect “battle royale” theme, I admit, was quite bracing and very well paced. It was something I never expected to actually work in an otome game.

Besides the Nightshade’s gorgeous artwork, I wanted to compliment the game’s stunning special effects, such as the leaves falling in the BG, flower petals scattering about  (whenever Enju uses her ninjitsu), and the moving sprites (which played exceptionally well during fight scenes). The voice acting for Nightshade blew me away and I couldn’t have wished for a better seiyuu lineup. I guess my only gripe here was Enju’s inconsistency as the heroine. In some routes, she’s badass while in others, she’s weak and very dependent. Her characteristics as a whole seem to vary depending on who’s the guy she’s with. I still love her as the main protagonist though!

While I’ve enjoyed playing all the routes in Nightshade and their respective stories, the ones that made an impression on me were Hanzo’s, Goemon’s and Gekkamaru’s. Chojiro’s was good but it was too angsty for my taste and while Kuroyuki’s story drove me to the edge of my seat, this is the route where Enju is at her weakest.

Do I recommend this game? YES This is the first ever english otome game in the Switch that I would no doubt recommend to everyone at the drop of a hat. I’m so glad I’ve waited for this port, despite all the STEAM sales that have gone by the previous years 😂 (laughs). To be honest, I was even quite sad when I finished it 😅 and wished there was more content for me to delve into. If you’re having second thoughts whether or not it’s worth shelling out 48 bux to get this game in your Nintendo Switch Library. Here’s my advice: GET IT! This one’s definitely a gem and imo, almost up to par with the big titles (like Code Realize, Hakuoki, CxM). If you want an impressive storyline and characters you can’t ever get enough of, I can’t recommend Nightshade enough!

  CHLO’S RATING: 8/10

Nightshade Review (Nintendo Switch) NIGHTSHADE Release Date:  December 20, 2018 (North America) Developers:  Red Entertainment / LANTERN ROOMS Publishers: D3Publisher…

#Hyakka Hyakurou #Hyakka Hyakurou Review #Nightshade Review #nintendo switch #Otome game review

[douxreviews]

American Gods - ‘The Bone Orchard’ Review

"I love you. Something feels weird."

So, a television series adapted from the extraordinarily beloved novel by Neil Gaiman, as interpreted by Bryan Fuller, who gave us one of the best television shows of all time in Hannibal, and Michael Green, who wrote Green Lantern but is probably still a decent person and nice to babies and small animals.

So... no expectations then...

Starz' American Gods is a curious beast, brilliant and gorgeous and upsetting and strange. Based on a book first published in 2001, which was then substantially updated for its 10th anniversary edition, it still manages to be very much its own thing. With that in mind, it's worth a quick word up front:

I had never read American Gods, when I stumbled across the first episode of the series. I was mostly interested in it because I was a huge fan of both Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic and Bryan Fuller's Hannibal, and wanted to see how the two influences meshed together. For what it's worth, I actually also like Green Lantern, but that's not really relevant as I didn't make the Michael Green connection at the time.

Not having read the book, in my occasionally humble opinion, actually improves season one of the show. I have since read it, or to be more accurate listened to it on Audible, because it really was a very long wait between season one and two. To be honest, I sort of wish I hadn't, because the spiraling 'wtf'-ness – if I might coin a phrase – of encountering all this in a vacuum really heightens the viewing experience. Ah well, that ship has sailed for me now. In any case, this is my long-winded way of saying that we're going to be looking strictly at the show itself here without considering anything from the book. I have no idea what percentage of people watching the show have read the book or haven't, and I don't want to spoil anything for anyone with more self control than I have. So it would mean a great deal to me if we all could be cool about refraining from a lot of spoilers in the comments. Cool? Cool.

The first notable thing about the show is how beautiful it looks. This isn't really a surprise, as making bizarre and disturbing things look unsettlingly beautiful was kind of the entire reason that Hannibal existed, and nobody's better than Fuller at pulling that sort of thing off. The opening 'coming to America' scene with the Vikings is in equal measures incredibly funny, horrifying, and gorier than I would have expected them to get away with. Consider specifically the dismembered arm, still holding its sword, flying through the air and landing in the throat of the other Viking. Slapstick shouldn't work when there's that much viscera on screen, but it does here. And the loving care with which Fuller and co present scarlet and crimson blood as a three dimensional object moving through space is possibly the sign of something severely unhealthy in his emotional makeup. Honestly, it's just gorgeous.

Honestly, the opening sequence with the Vikings sets up the tone of the show absolutely perfectly.

Contrasted with this, the final sequence of Shadow's attempted lynching, and the slaughter of his assailants, whoever they were, by the person saving Shadow, whoever they were, is equally beautiful. If that's not an inappropriate word for the subject matter being shown. The deep midnight blue of the night, contrasted with the rich reds of the blood. Seriously, there are food commercials that haven't put in this much work to make what they're filming looks good.

And on the subject, so many hats off to the show for not shying away from the lynching. The basic setup of the show, as we get very lightly sketched in in the first episode, is that the old gods that were brought to the US by the people who came here and gradually forgotten are gearing up for a war with the new gods that replaced them. The Gods who represented things that modern Americans worship now. Gods like Technology, and television, and money and guns. We see what appears to be the God of Technology here, and he's an obnoxious, vaping jackass of a kid. Seems about right. We don't see anything about television here, but it was well advertised beforehand that Gillian Anderson would be appearing as Media. Money and guns are my own observation about 'things Americans worship.' So, that said, it was a brave decision to embrace the imagery of lynching, in a show focusing on the 'spirit(s) of America', it's brave of them to not shy away from the ugly parts.

The general upshot of the story is that our protagonist, a man by the name of Shadow Moon, is released from prison a few days earlier than he was supposed to be when his wife and his best friend are killed in a car accident together. On his way home to the funeral he encounters a strange man who identifies himself as Mr. Wednesday, who's played by the always-charming Ian McShane, who offers him a job as his driver and man-Friday. Along the way this week Shadow also meets Mad Sweeney, a surprisingly tall leprechaun played by the criminally underrated Pablo Schreiber, previously best known as 'Pornstache' on Orange is the New Black.

This, the opening episode of what is clearly going to be a long and involved multi-season multi-entangled story, presents us with a strong story hook in the form of Shadow, a few interesting mysteries in the form of Mr. Wednesday and Mad Sweeney, and a particularly graphic sex scene featuring a character named Bilquis, in which I saw more of character actor Joel Murray than I ever wanted to see. A very good first mile on what is clearly going to be a very long journey.

Quotes:

Wednesday: "I offer you the worm from my beak and you look at me like I f***ed your mom?"

Wednesday: "What should I call you if I was so inclined?" Shadow: "Shadow Moon." Wednesday: "Oh my boy, that is one outstandingly improbable name."

Wednesday: "Rigged games are the easiest to beat."

Shadow: "So how’d you do it?" Sweeney: "With Panache."

Audrey: "I am trying to get my dignity back here!"

Bits and Pieces:

-- Shadow said that he'd read 813 books in prison. That's also the year the Vikings arrived in the opening sequence. It's also, as Shadow points out, a Fibonacci number. Good on him for enjoying math.

-- Ian McShane does gleeful decadence very well.

-- The concept that faith makes airplanes stay in the air is genuinely terrifying to me. I'm afraid of flying as it is.

-- I didn't get into her in the review, but Audrey is by far my favorite character so far. She's damaged beyond the ability to function, but not so far that she doesn't know she's non-functional. That's an interesting space for a character.

-- Fuller and Green, according to the stories, wanted Shadow to accept the BJ from Audrey on his wife's gravestone, on the theory that after three years in prison he'd be horny. Neil Gaiman responded that if they did that he'd commit suicide and leave a note that he'd killed himself specifically because they had done it. They decided to go a different way with it. Did I mention that the book has a lot of devoted fans?

-- Language as an operating system for religion. Wittgenstein would have loved that.

-- I would totally hang out at that crocodile bar.

A great first episode, with lots of promise for what's to come.

Four out of five flying Viking arms.

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water.

#American Gods #Shadow Moon #Mr. Wednesday #Mad Sweeney #Laura Moon #Neil Gaiman #American Gods Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

[merelliahallewell]

A Steamy Romance Novel.

Merellia writes the steamiest romance story content there is, but can’t seem to actually get a moment to indulge in her writing. 

Originally posted on the ED forums way back when, so this is kind of a longer one. The whole thing is after the jump!

It was a quiet October morning at Light’s Hope Chapel. The wind stirred at the leaves of the trees, sending handfuls cascading slowly to the ground, while the branches of the pines rustled against each other under the chilly breeze. The sun shone brightly overhead, illuminating the grounds of the great encampment around the chapel. Holy men and women of all kinds had gathered there recently, offering aid to the wounded paladins of the Silver Hand. Merellia Hallewell was among the clergy there. She’d kept to herself these days, only leaving her tent when she would check upon her leader, wounded in battle with a death knight. With her superior (and frend) Lady Valorheart incapacitated, Merellia might have even even grown a little bit lonely. She hated it here. It wasn’t as if she enjoyed the company of the self-righteous Argents, anyway, but somebody to talk to would be nice. She opened her small bundle of belongings she’d brought with her, and began to search for her journal- it was time to do some writing. In the months since she’d joined the Scarlet March, Merellia hadn’t gotten much time to write. She’d allowed herself to be consumed by work, keeping little time for herself. “I used to enjoy this,” she muttered, locating the journal and fishing it out of the bundle. “I think it is time to start a new story, though.” She found a fresh quill and ink bottle, and arranged them on the small table she’d been provided. She enjoyed writing romance. It was fulfilling for her, in a way, to get these ideas out onto the page. It wasn’t as if she’d have a romance of her own, after all. Was it a vice, to write such things? Perhaps so. After all, she had taken vows, early on in the Crusade, but writing romance wasn’t like she was breaking them. Merciella let out the last quiet note of her morning hymns, allowing a peaceful silence to return to the small chapel. It was barely past sunrise, the first light of the day just barely peeking past the eastern hills and through the stained glass to fall onto Merciella’s kneeling form. Her arms were still lifted up, as if she was offering her hymn to the Light... Merellia lifted her quill, squinting judgmentally at her own words. Merciella the priestess? Was that truly what she was going with for a name? If somebody found this- it might even be obvious who the writer was... not that Merelllia had any intention of publishing it. No, none at all. This was something purely for her own eyes. Perhaps she’d make Merciella an Argent, just to be sure to throw people off. Up at the top of the page, she scribbled out “A Steamy Romance Novel: Argent Allure.” That worked. ...A slight cough disturbed the silence, and Merciella froze and turned her head towards the source of the noise. Before her was a woman of such incredible beauty that she couldn’t help but inhale sharply. Long, curly hair the radiant color of sunlight itself cascaded down onto her shoulders, her form encased in an armored robe that gave only the slightest hint at curves hidden beneath. Her sword rested at her side as she leaned back against one of the pillars with her arms crossed, eyeing Merciella with a smile and a gaze that sent shivers down the priestess’ spine... Merellia dipped her quill in the ink once again, coughing slightly before she resumed her writing. She could picture it in her mind’s eye, now. ...Their gazes roamed across each other briefly before their eyes met. Her face seemed kind and youthful, and the look in her eyes belied wisdom and grace beyond her years. After a moment’s worth of eye contact, the woman spoke. “That was a beautiful hymn, priestess. Forgive me for intruding, and for my quietness. I didn’t wish to stop you.” The corners of her mouth twitched into a small, encouraging smile, and Merciella couldn’t help but feel a smile form on her own face in response. She’d nod after a few moments, trying to suppress the blush creeping onto her cheeks.. “Thank you, Ma’am. This is... just my daily ritual. I am not used to having an audience, a- and especially not one like you.” 

The priestess flushed fully, now, diverting her gaze from the woman’s face to the cold stone floor. “One so, ah-... um-... never mind. My apologies.” She forgot she’d been kneeling, having been so enraptured by her visitor’s beauty, and stood up, using the altar to get to her feet. “Most of the other clergy here are still in their dormitories, but I would gladly assist you with whatever you may need, Miss...” she quirked a brow, waiting for a name.

The woman let out a laugh. “I am Lady Lightshield, paladin defender of the Church- but you’re more than welcome to address me as Alanra.”

“O- oh, my. Well, Lady Ligh- Alanra, I am more than happy to assist you in any ways you might need. Um- if you wish, I could-”

Alanra? Was that subtle enough? Probably not. Merellia set her quill back to the page when a voice called from outside. It was strong and clear, belonging to Armin Bast of the Scarlet March. “INQUISITOR, GRAND CRUSADER VALORHEART HAS AWOKEN AND HAS REQUESTED YOUR PRESENCE!”

“Oh Light,” she muttered, putting a hand to her chest. She steadied her breathing and looked over to the tent flaps, where the armored man stood rigidly. “You startled me, Armin! Um… tell her I will be there momentarily!” Merellia’s eyes scanned the page for a moment, and she sighed wistfully. She would have to write of Merciella and Alanra when she returned.

She rose and pulled her white cloak about her form, exiting the tent and nearly bumping right into Bast. “GREETINGS, MILADY!”

“Hello, Armin. Take me to Lady Valorheart. I will attend to her. However, I must ask that you keep an eye on my tent-”

“I SHALL KEEP THIS TENT UNDER MY PROTECTION, AND NONE SHALL ENTER IT. I WILL GUARD IT WITH MY VERY LIFE.”

Merellia just gave him a simple nod and a somewhat forced smile. Hopefully he would not be too curious- she might die of embarrassment if anybody were to have read her writing. She sighed wistfully looked back at the tent as they headed over to the Grand Crusader’s tent. She just wanted to get back to her writing.

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

She had put Valorheart back to sleep with an tea and a blessing for healthy sleep, ensuring she’d have her evening quiet and free to write. She’d been going for hours, now, filling page after page with her writings. ...Merciella was in her regular garb today, eschewing the robes she’d been wearing for the past few days. It was warmer, and if her other uniform allowed her to get away without wearing pants, then she saw no reason to torment herself. Her tabard flapped in the light breeze, which was warm against her exposed thighs and arms. Today was a nice day, and the priestess tended to her small herb garden outside the chapel. Her staff leaned against a nearby post. Nearby, though she did not know it, the eyes of Lady Alanra roamed over her form, basking in every inch of it. Perhaps it might have been a sin, how long her eyes lingered over Merellia’s- Merellia immediately crossed through her own name, muttering half of a curse, and then scribbled over it once again to be safe. She’d gotten herself so lost in the story she’d written her own name in place of Merciella. She set her quill down, pushing the stopper back into her ink. Perhaps it was best to- “INQUISITOR! M-MERELLIA.” A shout came from outside her tent, interrupting her thoughts.. It was a familiar voice- the gilnean boy, Loraeus. His voice shook as he yelled for her, and her eyes flicked to the entrance of her tent. Light, this was the worst time. She just wanted to finish the story. The inquisitor rose from her seat, and promptly tripped over the pile of romance novels she’d been reading for reference. “Ow! J- just a moment, Loraeus!” She winced as she slipped on her thin sandals, and hastily turned over the brand-new cover of The Shieldmaiden’s Wife so that it couldn’t be recognized. After a moment, her hands grasped the tent flaps, and she poked her head out. “Now, how can I-...” She stopped halfway through his name, and blinked a few times, taking note of his bloodied garb. Light, not now. Even still, she was bound to help him, and he looked awful. Merellia sighed and pulled the trembling, bloodied boy in by the scruff of his too-big robes. She’d have to write later.

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

Later that night, Merellia spoke her nightly prayers, and began to crawl into her cot. She’d had an exhausting day, from Bast and Valorheart to Loraeus, and her once-quiet evening was virtually nonexistent.

As she laid her head down, staring at the small lantern on her desk, an idea struck her. Immediately, she leapt up from bed and moved to her writing desk, taking a seat. The inquisitor smiled to herself, stretching and dipping her quill in ink once again. It was time to begin the climax of the story.

...Gravel crunched underfoot as Merciellia approached the a small gazebo, hidden away by the woods. Her hand retrieved a folded note she’d received this morning, from a hidden pocket sewn into her garments. In elegant, thin strokes, Sandria had offered them a moment alone.

Priestess, I would very much desire to meet with you this afternoon, and perhaps talk, even. However- I fear that the high abbot may disapprove of it, and I do not wish for you to risk his displeasure. We must meet in secret...

Merellia felt her face grow warm- blushing at her own writing. A secret meeting. How very romantic. Sweet, even. She put a hand to her chest and sighted before she slipped into the story, mentally exchanging Merciella for herself.

We must meet in secret, in the woods. There is a very pretty stone gazebo, by the stream in the western wood. We should not be disturbed there. I hope to gaze upon your beauty there, in the setting sun. -A

The A was perfectly shaped, the lines thin and elegant- proper handwriting befitting of Alanra. Merciella had, of course, read the note immediately, offering a small nod to the knight as she passed her in the corridor. “I will be there, my lady,” she whispered. Before sunset, Merciella had snuck out, taking a walking staff and pulling her cloak’s hood over her head to hide her identity. A short trudge through the woods, and she found herself there.

She leaned against the stone of the structure, and it would not be long before a horse and rider appeared. It was Sandria. Merciella felt butterflies in her stomach.

“We do not have long, priestess. I left under the pretense of taking my steed riding before the cloak of night covers the land. We are alone, I take it?”

Merciella nodded. “We are, Lady Sandria. If I may ask, what is it that you wished me here for?”

“I think you know that answer as well as I, Merciella. I have caught your eyes wandering many times.”

“And I yours, Lady. It-... it is no sin for me to... admire beauty, I think.”

It was Sandria’s turn to blush. Despite it, she stepped closer, her partially-armored form pressing against Merciella for the first time. A shiver ran through the priestess, but she clutched needily at Sandria, as if she was about to be pulled away by a current. The knight’s face descended towards the priestess’ slowly, and their lips met-

Merellia stopped her writing as she blushed furiously, again. At her own writing, no less. She put a hand to her warm cheeks and reread the final few lines. A few moments later, she realized that she heard the clattering of armor, and with a “quiet” whisper, she heard the voice of Armin Bast once again.

“Inquisitor! I have need of you! It is urgent. I require a blessing to ward off evil before I surrender myself to the vulnerability of sleep!"

Merellia let out a sigh and worked to stow her writing away. She’d finish this story one day.

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 26 November 2018

Quick Bits:

Action Comics #1005 gives us a reappearance of The Question and a HERO Dial--possibly counterfeit, possibly just doesn’t work for villains--amidst an advancement of the underground mob arc, a surprising “conclusion” to the arson case, and a revelation of who the Red Cloud is. Although there are many spinning plates, and a decided lack of conclusion to most of the arcs, I actually quite like how Brian Michael Bendis is crafting this story. You could argue that it’s decompressed, but it feels a bit like old school superhero soap opera, and that feel really works for Superman. It’s also aided immensely by the gorgeous artwork from Ryan Sook and Brad Anderson.

| Published by DC Comics

Amazing Spider-Man #10 concludes the “Heist” arc in a fairly impressive manner. Nick Spencer really seems to get Spider-Man, Mary Jane, and their world and is delivering some great character moments here, with great heart and humour. Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, Edgar Delgado, Michele Bandini, and Erick Arciniega also do a wonderful job with the art.

| Published by Marvel

Aquaman/Justice League: Drowned Earth #1 concludes the “Drowned Earth” event in fairly epic fashion from Scott Snyder, Francis Manapul, Howard Porter, Scott Godlewski, Hi-Fi, and Tom Napolitano. While this even is definitely a vehicle to move Aquaman to his new status quo for incoming Kelly Sue DeConnick, it’s also been a great story in its own right. Building on Aquaman and Justice League mythology, while also advancing the Legion of Doom and Totality story for the main Justice League book. Also, Super-Pirate should continue as one of Superman’s looks.

| Published by DC Comics

Archie 1941 #3 explores bits of basic training with Archie getting into the usually kind of hijinks that he would and the problems back on the homefront with those left behind. I really like how this series is coming together, looking at some of the basic personal fallout from the war. Also, Peter Krause and Kelly Fitzpatrick’s art remains a huge boon to this series.

| Published by Archie Comics

Barbarella #12 brings Mike Carey and Kenan Yarar’s run on the series to a close, with a kind of retrospective as one of Barbarella’s early antagonists attempts to exact revenge. Very nice guest piece illustrated by Jorge Fornés and Celeste Woods. This has been a fun and entertaining series, definitely feeling like some of the stranger sci-fi that you see out of Europe. 

| Published by Dynamite

Batgirl #29 has some great art from Paul Pelletier, Norm Rapmund, and Jordie Bellaire for this conclusion to “The Art of the Crime”. Also some very interesting development in the status of the Dark Web and Grotesque.

| Published by DC Comics

Beyonders #4 takes a different approach to the material that the team already has, leading them to a new location wherein they hope to save the world and unravel the mystery. The light humour adds a nice touch to the otherwise dense subject matter.

| Published by AfterShock

Black Panther #6 gives some much needed backstory, focusing on the Emperor, his rise to power, and his connection to the Wakandan pantheon. Very interesting implications to both where the gods went and in the Emperor being a host for a symbiote. Beautiful guest art from Jen Bartel, Paul Reinwand, and Tríona Farrell.

| Published by Marvel

Coda #7 has some pretty big revelations as Hum & Co. confront the Pilot, and his schemes to “fix” his wife look like they’re baring fruit. Si Spurrier and Matías Bergara really are creating something epic here.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Daredevil #612 concludes “The Death of Daredevil” from Charles Soule, Phil Noto, and Clayton Cowles and with it Soule’s run on the title. It’s good, with some nice character bits and twists for this final chapter.

| Published by Marvel

Die!Die!Die! #5 burns Bethany and Theodore as “Paul” turns on them for his side of the battling senators, even as John confronts his side alerting them to something nefarious being afoot. This is still mostly an insane action book, but at least there is something resembling an overarching plot and direction developing. 

| Published by Image / Skybound

Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror #2 gives us an entertaining and somewhat strange adaptation of Poe’s Ligeia from Rachel Pollack, Rick Geary, and Michael Garland. Also a very different take on Jules Verne from Stuart Moore, Ryan Kelly, Rico Renzi, and Rob Steen. This issue is rounded out by a poem, another prose piece, and a wonderful new Black Cat short from Hunt Emerson.

| Published by Ahoy

Faith: Dreamside #3 takes Doctor Mirage and Faith into the deadside where they’re searching for Monica Jim’s soul. Very interesting landscapes and characters from MJ Kim and Jordie Bellaire, capturing the oddity of what’s going on in the story.

| Published by Valiant

The Flash #59 continues the “Force Quest” arc with a cursory investigation of the slaughter of Gorilla City. We don’t really get any answers there, but there is a broader bit of information about the four forces as a means to protect the multiverse. Also we learn just how bloody that Gemini are willing to get. The avatar of the forces motif that Joshua Williamson is bringing in is very reminiscent of the rainbow-coloured Lanterns of Geoff Johns and of the various Parliaments (and the Red and the Rot) in Swamp Thing and Animal Man, but it’s interesting to see where he’s going with this.

| Published by DC Comics

Hellboy and the BPRD: 1956 #1 begins the next chapter in the BPRD’s history, with change definitely coming as they begin operating under the government’s purview and start having more overt bureaucracy and demands on results. You can definitely see that change in the feeling of alienation that Hellboy’s having from his friends and family as he tries to deal with the loss of his dog. Interesting decision to have different plotlines illustrated by different artists, it kind of echoes the previous breakdown of the series’ stories as discrete units, but now under one umbrella much like the changing nature of the Bureau. Great art in each too from Mike Norton, Yishan Li, and Michael Avon Oeming.

| Published by Dark Horse

House Amok #3 starts to break the illusion, with Dylan relating how she became disillusion with the madness that her family is living. Gorgeous artwork from Shawn McManus and Lee Loughridge.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Infinity Wars: Arachknight #2 isn’t a bad conclusion to this origin story for the Spider-Man/Moon Knight mash-up character. Great art from Alé Garza, Victor Olazaba, and Ruth Redmond. Really like the design for Arachknight’s costume.

| Published by Marvel

Infinity Wars: Weapon Hex #2 finishes up one of the more balls-out insane Infinity Warps origin tales, from Bens Acker & Blacker, Gerardo Sandoval, Victor Nava, Israel Silva, and Joe Caramagna. This one has been an entertaining mash-up of X-23 with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver that ports over a lot of the irreverence of an All-New Wolverine or X-23 tale and all the nervous energy of Honey Badger into this story.

| Published by Marvel

Ironheart #1 is off to a pretty good start from Eve L. Ewing, Kevin Libranda, Luciano Vecchio, Geoffo, Matt Milla, and Clayton Cowles, working to give a bit more personality and relatable situations for Riri Williams. There’s still the cold and awkward behaviour from Riri, but Ewing is spotlighting that she’s distancing herself and that may not be great for emotional development. Wonderful artwork from Libranda, Vecchio, Geoffo, and Milla.

| Published by Marvel

Justice League Odyssey #3 sees Philippe Briones and Jeromy Cox take over the art duties from Stjepan Sejic, It’s definitely a different style, but it still looks good.

| Published by DC Comics

KINO #11 continues this fairly dramatic change in tone and status quo for the series from Alex Paknadel, Diego Galindo, Adam Guzowski, and Jim Campbell. It is really damn good, bringing in a fair amount of mystery and intrigue, with two Alistair Meaths running around.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #33 gives us a bit of Ellarien’s history as she navigated this universe tending towards entropy and found herself as its sole Ranger. I really like the new direction and mythology that Marguerite Bennett and Simone Di Meo are building.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Old Lady Harley #2 introduces us to a very frightening extension of the Batman idea with Bruce plugging himself in to the Bat-computer in order to police Gotham through his Bat-robots. It’s interesting, though, how Frank Tieri can go from this grim vision of the future to the more ridiculous hilarity of Arkham Asylum as an old folks home.

| Published by DC Comics

Paradise Court #5 brings the series to a close with the revelation of what’s been going on in the planned community and what its true purpose really is in dramatic fashion. This has been a good little horror thriller from Joe Brusha, Babisu Kourtis, Leonardo Paciarotti, and Taylor Esposito. If you enjoy Bentley Little or Scott Nicholson novels, you’ll probably like this.

| Published by Zenescope

Quincredible #1 is the first Catalyst Prime series to be co-branded with the Roar imprint, Lion Forge’s teen label, (though I suppose at least Superb was also rebranded with it) and it’s a pretty good debut from Rodney Barnes, Selina Espiritu, Kelly Fitzpatrick, and Tom Napolitano. This first issue introduces us to Quin, another teen affected by the Event, who has developed what might be invulnerability. Barnes focuses the story on his community involvement in New Orleans, bringing up class and racial divides, as well as a problem Quin has with bullies, to really make the story feel rich.

| Published by Lion Forge / Roar / Catalyst Prime

Regression #12 continues to be bleak, entertaining the very real idea that the “bad guys” are going to win. I think that’s probably one of the reasons why I like this series, not because the Valgeroti are right or worth cheering for, but because Cullen Bunn has created a compelling horror tale where the wrong thing feels like a satisfying end resolution. Also it comes with some phenomenal, beautiful, and grisly artwork from Danny Luckert and Marie Enger as they work their terror.

| Published by Image

Scarlet #4 is an interesting penultimate chapter to this mini from Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, and Josh Reed. Most of it is discussion of what will happen when Scarlet surrenders and her giving her goodbyes to her friends. Really makes you wonder what’s going to happen in the finale.

| Published by DC Comics

The Silencer #11 begins “Cold Cold Heart” and it feels like the title is working towards an end. I know that many of the other New Age of Heroes titles have been cancelled and are winding down, but I’ve not seen anything in that regard to this one. It could just be working its way through change. In any event, it’s pretty damn good. Seeing all of Leviathan as it exists now is fairly neat and the art from Jack Herbert, Tom Derenick, and Mike Spicer is great.

| Published by DC Comics

Spider-Girls #2 takes a bit of time to trade stories about Normie Osborn before going to him to warn him about the Inheritors on their world and work some magic on the scrolls of the Spider Cult. Nice character development from Jody Houser here.

| Published by Marvel

Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #2 explores an alternate reality where Harry Osborn was Spider-Man and Gwen became the Green Goblin. It’s an interesting emotional ride as we see what happened in this reality, beautifully illustrated by Rosi Kämpe and Ian Herring. One thing that isn’t quite clear, though, is why having our Gwen help their Peter find their Gwen because she’s necessary to help our Gwen is blackmail, though. Maybe I missed something, but it seems like the heroic thing to do.

| Published by Marvel

Stranger Things #3 largely works to create an atmosphere of despair and defeat as Will continually tries to reconnect with his mother, or anyone, back in the real world and fails. The artwork from Stefano Martino, Keith Champagne, and Lauren Affe perfectly convey that feeling.

| Published by Dark Horse

Strangers in Paradise XXV #8 takes a running leap into the strange. Or stranger, as Katchoo returns with the package for Jet. Terry Moore is really taking this tale into a different direction from the initial intrigue thriller plotline. Also, a nice return of Libby and Sam from Motor Girl.

| Published by Abstract Studio

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #88 has quite a few “holy crap” moments as the Mutanimals aid the Turtles in repelling the EPF from Burnow Island. Huge revelations about Bishop’s history and a hero moment from Slash. Dave Wachter and Ronda Pattison deliver some incredible artwork all throughout. 

| Published by IDW

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Macro-Series: Leonardo #3 is one of the most beautiful Turtles books I’ve seen. The art from Sophie Campbell and Brittany Peer is gorgeous, guiding us through a fairly introspective tale of what Leonardo really wants out of life, while still advancing major plot points with the fate of the Foot Clan.

| Published by IDW

These Savage Shores #2 continues this brilliant series from Ram V, Sumit Kumar, Vittorio Astone, and Aditya Bidikar. It is a thoroughly stunning combination of horror tale, tragic romance, and political drama rolled into one absolutely beautiful package. The world is deep and enthralling, brought to life in amazing use of mostly variants on 9-panel grids from Kumar and Astone. The design sense alone makes this series interesting to read just from a technical perspective, but Ram V and Kumar put so much into the story and storytelling that it transcends just style. This is a truly great comic.

| Published by Vault

Titans #30 continues to break the team into pieces. The rebuilding, if they ever make it there, should be interesting.

| Published by DC Comics

Vampirella/Dejah Thoris #3 nicely moves this along, introducing even more of the various peoples of Mars as Vampirella searches for aid for her people. Great art from Ediano Silva and Dinei Ribeiro. 

| Published by Dynamite

The Warning #1 is fairly decompressed, slow, methodical, but there’s still an interesting premise here of genetic manipulation of soldiers and an alien invasion. The art from Edward Laroche and Brad Simpson is very nice. Laroche has a style somewhat akin to Chris Sprouse and Jonathan Luna and it works to give this a bit of distance echoed by the existential narration.

| Published by Image

Wonder Woman #59 continues G. Willow Wilson and Cary Nord’s first arc on the series, with an interesting rebirth and reinterpretation of Ares that’s possibly deadlier than the previous one. Love the artwork from Nord, Mick Gray, and Romulo Fajardo Jr. So far this has felt a lot like Greg Rucka’s original run on the series over a decade ago, a nice mix of modern sociopolitical analogues and DC’s take on Greek mythology.

| Published by DC Comics

X-O Manowar #21 sees Juan José Ryp somehow level up his artwork. The designs, detail, and storytelling this issue are just incredible, made even more beautiful with Andrew Dalhouse’s colours. Matt Kindt, Ryp, Dalhouse, and Dave Sharpe are crafting a very interesting next chapter in what started as the Divinity saga, building upon the recent Eternity mini as Aric and co. confront David Camp in New Eden.

| Published by Valiant

Other Highlights: Atomic Empire, Books of Magic #2, Come Into Me #4, DC Nuclear Winter Special #1, Fantastic Four #4, Hex Wives #2, Invader Zim #37, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Under the Spell #1, Man-Eaters #3, Marvel Action: Spider-Man #1, Marvel Two-In-One #12, This Nightmare Kills Fascists, Oh S#!T It’s Kim & Kim #4, Old Man Hawkeye #11, Pandora’s Legacy, Red Sonja #23, Redneck #17, Rick & Morty #44, Sex Death Revolution #2, Spider-Man/Deadpool #42, Star Wars: Darth Vader #24

Recommended Collections: A Walk Through Hell - Volume 1, Amazing Spider-Man - Volume 1: Back to Basics, Black Hammer Library Edition - Volume 1, The Book of Ballads and Sagas, Eternity Girl, GI Joe: A Real American Hero - Volume 21, Harbinger Wars 2, The Highest House, The Mighty Thor - Volume 5: Death of the Mighty Thor, Quicksilver: No Surrender, The Realm - Volume 2, Spider-Man/Deadpool - Volume 7: My Two Dads, Summit - Volume 2: Price of Power

d. emerson eddy does not know, and has never met, those three people who have never been in his kitchen.

#This Week in Comics

[primordyaforever]

Teaser & Announcement

Teaser & Announcement

Hello, everyone! ❤ I hope you’re all doing well! I come bearing a gift by way of a new teaser for The Ghosts of Château Renaître. Be sure to watch all the way to the end of the video for a surprise! ❤ 🖤🌹🖤🌹🖤 As promised, here is the info for the release party! I hope to see you there!🌹 Date: June 11th, 2021 Time: 8 pm, CST/9 pm, EST Place: The Scarlet Harlots group on FB! That’s it for now.…

View On WordPress

#announcement #author #authortube #book #book teaser #book trailer #books #booktube #facebook #gothic romance #historical romance #launch party #romance author #scarlet harlots #scarlet lantern publishing #writer #youtube

[brevoorthistoryofcomics]

The mailman brought my latest subscription copy of FLASH that contained big news! One of the first decisions made by new incoming publisher Jeanette Kahn was to do away with the 8-times-a-year release model. It’s difficult to believe today, but for thirty years, even titles such as SUPERMAN and BATMAN didn’t come out more than 8 times a year. (The anthologies titles such as ACTION and DETECTIVE did maintain a monthly schedule.) This was due to concerns about overexposure and the need for more time to ensure quality and so forth--but by the mid-1970s, when almost all of the Marvel books were monthly, it didn’t make sense to leave some of your best sellers off the shelf four months out of the year.

Coincidentally, this was also the issue where the Flash got full title to his series back again. Green Lantern had been moved out into his own revived magazine, and now the Scarlet Speedster had a full book in which to shine. There’d still be the occasional back-up tale, especially on those occasions when the overall size of DC’s books was increased in page count. But book-length tales was now the name of the game.

So we open up where the previous chapter left off: in the 64th Century, wherein Flash has been captured and incarcerated by the authorities for his seeming execution of the villainous magician Abra Kadabra. Barry is being held in a special futuristic cell whose walls are able to match his vibrational rate, preventing him from phasing through them. His efforts to escape are all in vain. He’s convinced that Abra’s demise was all a trick, and so the criminal illusionist is on the loose doing who-knows-what--so it’s imperative that he regain his freedom.

Meanwhile, Abra has used the energy of the Flash’s seemingly-fatal punch to propel himself back to the 20th Century. But when he arrives, he’s immediately confused, as the city is in the midst of a ceremony honoring his enemy, the Flash. but this is no Flash that Abra’s ever encountered before. And that’s because, in a fluke similar to that which Wonder Woman experienced in her own comic a short while ago, Abra’s trip tot eh past has crossed dimensional barriers, so he finds himself on Earth-2, confronting that world’s Jay Garrick Flash.

Back in the future, Flash figures a way out of his cell. He throws the one object of furniture in his cell--his chair--at the wall vibrating it at one frequency, then shifts his own frequency to a different wavelength, allowing him to penetrate the wall when it adapts to the speed of the chair. Even with this, Flash is immediately pursued by robot guardsmen, and has to fight his way to freedom.

The comic pauses at this point for the inaugural edition of the Publishorial, a new regular feature written by newly-arrived publisher Jeanette Kahn in which she attempts to commune with the readership in Stan Lee style. It’s an honest and earnest attempt, but like so many others both before and since, Jeanette is no Stan Lee, and lacks his ease of patter and mix of gregariousness and bombast. Meaning that most of these pages are a bit of a snooze (or were to me when i was a kid, anyway.) I did like Neal Adams’ goofy portrait of Jeanette, though.

This issue also announced the advent of a new DC feature, the DC Hot-Line. Essentially, this was a toll-free phone number that played a pre-recorded message made by one or another of the DC editorial and creative staff plugging upcoming story events and releases. It was a number that I dialed a lot throughout the year or so it was in service--it was always impossible to get through on a Monday, which is when the new messages would be posted. I can remember that the recording technology was terrible enough that it often took three or four repeat calls before you could make out the full gist of what was being said. Still, it was a neat idea.

Back on Earth-2, Abra Kadabra has captured jay Garrick, but he’s still confused, thinking that Jay is his old foe in some new costume. By playing dumb, Jay tricks Abra into outlining the events of his escape and Barry’s predicament. Meanwhile, Flash has continued his battle with is pursuers, using one of the robots to re-enact his destruction of Abra and thereafter following Abra’s trail back through time. He arrives in time to snatch Jay out from right under Abra’s nose.

From there, after a short scuffle, the twin Flashes are able to knock Abra back through time to his native 64th Century, where his reappearance proves Barry’s innocence and the magician is once more incarcerated. A fun if inconsequential tale and a decent wrap-up to what was a pretty underwhelming set-up installment last month.

#Flash #Jeanette Kahn #Abra Kadabra #Jay Garrick #Earth-2 #DC Hot-Line #DC

[illbefinealonereads]

Blog tour day! I offer you info and an excerpt from Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles.

Early Praise: "Janella Angeles steals the 2020 show with her fiercely imagined debut starring larger than life characters, a dangerous world alive with magic, and a dizzying dose of grab-a-fainting-couch-and-swoon-away romance!" - Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Gilded Wolves "Where Dreams Descend is a glamorous dark gem of a tale, sparkling with romance, magic, and intrigue. Readers will be captivated by prima donna Kallia as the mystery is slowly unmasked. Bravissima!" - Julie C. Dao, author of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns “Lavish and opulent in a way that feels warmly familiar yet demands your attention. There are secrets upon secrets, a girl who’s boldly ambitious, and truly riveting stage magic. I didn’t want the show to stop.” - Emily A. Duncan, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Saints "Vibrant imagery, jaw-dropping set pieces, sizzling romantic tension, and unstoppable heroine Kallia bring this ambitious debut novel to spectacular life. Fans of Caraval and The Night Circus will be delighted!" - Claire Legrand, New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn   "[A] spellbinding melody of a book, and the true magic is how Angeles puts all the best parts of an enrapturing theatrical performance onto paper and ink. From the gripping twists in the first pages all the way to the final, heartbreaking crescendo, Where Dreams Descend will surge you to your feet in a standing ovation.” – Sara Raasch, New York Times bestselling author of the Snow Like Ashes trilogy

In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.

As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost

The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told

The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide

Where Dreams Descend is the startling and romantic first book in Janella Angeles’ debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology where magic is both celebrated and feared, and no heart is left unscathed.

Buy Link: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/where-dreams-descend/

JANELLA ANGELES is a Filipino-American author who got her start in writing through consuming glorious amounts of fanfiction at a young age—which eventually led to penning a few of her own, and later on, creating original stories from her imagination. A lifelong lover of books, she's lucky enough to be working in the business of publishing them on top of writing them. She currently resides in Massachusetts, where she's most likely to be found listening to musicals on repeat and daydreaming too much for her own good. Where Dreams Descend is her first book. 

Social Links:  Twitter: @Janella_Angeles // Instagram: @Janella_Angeles

Excerpt:

Never come to Hellfire House without wearing a mask.

It was one of the rare rules in a joint without any. The only rule the master of the club did not mind following. He blended in with the sea of suits and white masks that arrived every other night, switching appearances from crowd to crowd. A bartender one moment, a dealer at the card tables the next.

Only his face remained the same, half-masked and haunting. Like a prince who relished the bloody crown on his head, and the ghosts that came with it. A face almost hardened by beauty, though glints of youth ran deep beneath soft black eyes. It always shocked new guests, to see him. The master of the House was rumored to be a dragon of a man. A monster. A magician who had no mercy for fools.

Only those who dared slur the word boy in his face understood how true those rumors were.

To the rest, he played the devil on all shoulders, leading patrons to his bar and game tables, guiding them toward his enchanted smoke lounge to drown in curated memories. The warmth of first love, the heady rush of triumph, the immense joy of dreams come true. The master kept a selection of sensations, and one hit of the pipes delivered magic the people came crawling to his house to taste.

They had no idea the show that was in store for them.

The master of the House sipped his short glass of scarlet whiskey in peace, tapping along the wide black strip over his brass knuckles. He’d long since manipulated his attire, sitting casually at a card table and savoring the mayhem. Raucous cheers erupted from the next table as dice rolled out across the surface. Smiling Hellfire girls in black blazers and masks of lace denied patrons begging for a dance. Loudest of all, the dealer’s crisp shuffling of the black cards with teeth-white numbers before she doled out hands to players at the table.

“No, no more,” one moaned. “I can’t.”

“Sure you can, chap.” A young man in a white thorn-edged mask cheerfully pressed him back in his seat. “We can’t leave. Haven’t even finished your drink, yet.”

His drunken friend’s mouth puckered under another gulp. “Think it’s true, the drink? Magician’s Blood, the menu said.”

“Think you have power, now?” Thorn Mask laughed, leaning back to appraise the club. “Here, you take your magic where you can get it. You wear a mask. You flip a card, smoke a memory. Or you look up . . . at her.”

The master’s fingers tightened around his glass, just as the lights dimmed. Dancers cleared the floor under the hush of music, shifting from smooth, steady beats to a racing rhythm loud as thunderous applause.

Right on cue.

The band’s worth of instruments he’d charmed for the night started up a wild entry tune of drums, the thick trill of trumpets. Chatter ceased and backs straightened as a beam of light speared toward the ceiling. A panel slid open over the dance floor.

And the chandelier descended.

Strings of crystals dangled along tiered rims of rose gold, cutting sharply into a jewel-set swing where a masked showgirl sat. A throne of glittering jewels, casting luminous lace across the walls and the ground and the audience taking her in. Her brown skin glowed against her corset, red as her gem-studded mask. Arms stretched out, she crossed and extended her legs in smooth lines all the way down, until her heels touched the lacquered black dancefloor. With the hint of a smile, she rose from her throne and stalked forward, thrusting a hand up with a snap.

Darkness engulfed the room.

Hoots and hollers rang at the drop of the beat, before a glimmer of her form reappeared in the shadows. The room pulsed at her command, matching the spike of heartbeats the master sensed throughout the club.

The smirk on his lips matched the girl’s as she arched her back to the raw stretch of the melody. She thrived under the attention, like a wildflower under the sun. A star finding the night.

His star.

“I’ll be damned.” The drunk at the card table breathed in awe, as the girl’s palms began brightening with a molten glow. “Nothing like an academy girl.”

“Worth the trip, right?” His friend clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“I didn’t know they could be magicians like . . . this.”

The master smothered a dark scoff under a sip of whiskey. The girl showed off good tricks—improvised and bettered from his basic crowd-pleasers. Treating the ceiling like a sky and showering comets from it, casting an elaborate shadow show of dancing shades over the floor, shifting every candlelight in the room to different colors to the beat of the music.

But always the performer, she preferred to be front and center. Teasing her power just enough to make the audience want more of her magic, more of her.

He wet his lips as flames shot from her hands, arcing over her head and around her body. The fire’s melody bent to her every movement, and she gave everything to it. If she wasn’t careful, she’d overexert herself like she did most nights, never knowing when to stop. How to pull back.

Careful never was her strongest suit.

Sparks fell before her, sizzling on the ground. Unafraid, she sauntered down her stage of flames with slow swaying hips and a firelit smile.

“Magicians like this are best kept a secret,” Thorn Mask went on. “And besides, the work is far too scandalous for a lady. Only clubs will take them.”

“What a shame. Imagine going up against the likes of her at the competition.”

The master paused, drawing his gaze back to his glass.

“Not this again. That flyer was nothing but a joke.” Thorn Mask slapped the table with a groaning laugh. “A prank.”

The drunk sloppily patted around his coat, pulling from his breast pocket a dirty, scrunched ball of paper. “It’s real. They’re all over the academies, in Deque and New Crown and—”

“A prank,” repeated Thorn Mask, unfolding the flyer anyway. “It has to be. No one’s been to that city in ages, it would never open itself to such games.”

“That makes it all the more interesting, don’t you think?” As another roar of cheers erupted around them, the friend sipped his drink smugly. “Imagine if she entered, the city might implode.”

“Right. As if that would ever happen.” Thorn Mask leered. “Competition would eat a creature like her alive.”

“Because she’s . . . ?”

With an impish lift of his brow, the man in the thorny mask flicked the flyer off the table and returned to his forgotten spread of cards. “Let’s get on with the game, shall we?”

Before he could gesture at the dealer, the master suddenly appeared at their table, snatching the young man’s wrist in a biting grip. The man yelped as the force knocked over his drink, and sent a stream of hidden cards spilling out from his sleeves.

“What’s this?” The master bent toward the ground and picked up a couple, entirely too calm. “Cheating in my house?”

The man froze, recognition dawning at the brass knuckles alone. “Where did you—I-I mean,” he sputtered, patting frantically at his sleeve. “That’s impossible. Those aren’t mine, I swear.”

“Then where did they come from?”

Sweat dripped from his temple, his face paler than the white of his mask. “I emptied my pockets at the door. Honest.”

Honest. That was the best he could do? The master almost laughed.

“You want to know the price cheaters pay in my joint?” His question offered no mercy. Only deliverance, served on ice. “Memories.”

“No, please!” The man’s lip trembled. “I didn’t, I-I’ll do whatever you want!”

“This is what I want.” The master rose from the table with the jerk of his wrist. The cheat flew to the ground in a gasp as he gripped at the invisible chain-like weight around his neck. Sharp, staccato breaths followed the master as he dragged his prisoner toward the smoke dens.

The man screamed, but no one heard him. No one saw, no one cared. All eyes fell on the star of the show as she searched for a dance partner to join her. The drunken friend, noticing nothing amiss, raised his half-full glass of Magician’s Blood to his lips before waving his hand high like the others. The man thrashed harder, only to feel his cries smothered and deeper in his throat. His form, invisible at the sweep of the master’s hand.

With a disdainful glance, the master chuckled. “You’re only making this more difficult for yourself. One memory won’t kill you.”

At once, he paused. The lights blinked around them, the air grown still. Dim and hazy, as though locked in a dream.

He thought nothing of it until he caught the movements of the patrons—their arms raised and waving slowly, increment by increment. Their cheers dulled and stretched into low, gravelly roars, as if the sound were wading through heavier air. Against time itself.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

The sound of her voice slithered around him, stopping the master in his tracks. The man quieted. Sweat soaked his pale face, his chest heaving. The showgirl stood in their path, every stare in the room still locked on the spotlit floor where she’d been. As though she’d never left.

Impressive.

Her red corset glinted as she cocked her hip and pointed at the man on the floor. “I choose him.”

She could never let things be easy.

“Kallia,” he growled, warning.

She smiled. “Jack.”

“Pick another. He’s a cheater.”

Her lips pursed into a dubious line. “Then let me teach him a lesson. He’ll no doubt prefer it more.” She swung a leg over the man’s prone form so she stood directly above him. Invitation dripped from the crook of her fingers. “The music calls, darling. Let’s have ourselves a grand time.”

The man’s terror turned swiftly into awe, and he looked at her as if ready to kiss the ground she walked on. As soon as he took her beckoning hand, the room resumed its lively rhythm—a song snapped back in full swing. The cheers and hollers returned to their normal speed, exploding in delight as patrons found their lovely entertainer in their midst, her chosen dance partner in tow.

She bypassed the master, pressing a casual hand on his chest to move him. It lingered, he noticed. Unafraid, unlike most. Their gazes locked for a moment, their masked faces inches apart.

No one ever dared to get this close. To him, to her.

Only each other.

At the next round of cheers and whistles, she pushed him away, smug as a cat. Tugging the man close behind her, she sent fires onto the ground that illuminated her path and warded others from trying to follow them to the stage. Never once looking back at the master, even as he watched on after her.

His fist tightened, full of the cards from his earlier trick. They disappeared into mist, having served their purpose. Along with the flyer he managed to grab.

He didn’t even bother giving it a read. It died in the fire caged by his palm. Tendrils of smoke rose between his brass knuckles, and when he opened his fingers, nothing but ash fell to the ground.

#where dreams descend #janella angeles #excerpt #blog tour