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imlovethomassanders · 5 years

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All names the Sides and Thomas have called each other (As of “Flirting with Social Anxiety”)

I rewatched the whole series to make this list (I mean I was going to anyways...)((I might’ve missed some okay but this is definitely most of them))

Logan

Teach (from Patton and Thomas in “The MIND vs. The HEART” and Patton again in “Am I ORIGINAL”)

Teacher Dude (from Thomas in “The MIND vs. The HEART”)

Kiddo (from Patton on multiple occasions)

Mr. Gloomy-Gus Teacher (from Patton in “Growing Up”)

Pocket Protector (from Virgil in “Growing Up”)

Nerd (from Roman in “Making Some Changes” and “Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning” and again in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness) )

Calculator Watch (from Roman in “ACCEPTING ANXIETY, PART 2/2″)

Erlenmeyer Trash (from Roman in “Fitting In”)

My hero (from Patton in “Fitting In”)

Specs (from Roman in “MOVING ON, PART 1/2″)

Sub-astute teacher (from Roman in “MOVING ON, PART 1/2″)

Buddy (from Roman in “MOVING ON, PART 2/2″ and “Can LYING Be Good” and also from Virgil in “12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS”)

Microsoft Nerd (from Roman in “12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS”)

Microsoft Turd (from Roman in “12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS”)

Drama Turd (from Roman in “Can LYING Be Good”)

Pat (from Roman when he mixed the two together in “Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning”)

Mr. Smartypants (from Roman in “Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning”)

Geed Squad/Squadless Geek (from Roman in “Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning”)

Pain in the Nexus Instruments (from Roman in “Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning”)

Dad (from Roman in “Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning”)

Egghead (from Roman in “Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning”)

Daddy (by Patton in “Learning New Things About Ourselves”)

No Funsen Honeydew...Doo (from Roman in “Learning New Things About Ourselves”)

L (from Virgil in “Learning New Things About Ourselves”)

Iron Giant nerd (from Roman in “Learning New Things About Ourselves”)

Stinky poo-poo side (real mature) (from Deceit in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness)

The tardy teacher (from Virgil in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness)

Dork/whale penis (from Remus in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Nerdy Wolverine (from Remus and Roman in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Roman

Prince Dude (from Thomas in “Taking on ANXIETY”)

Princey (from all of them multiple times. It’s basically his name.)

Sir Sing-A-Lot (from Virgil in “Losing My Motivation”)

Sir Sing-A-Long (himself in Losing My Motivation” (he misspoke Virgil’s nickname))

Kiddo (from Patton on multiple occasions)

Prince Underarm Stink (from Virgil in “Am I ORIGINAL”)

Slugger (from Patton in “Am I ORIGINAL”)

Half-wit (from Logan in “Making Some Changes”)

Meta Knight (from Virgil in “Making Some Changes”)

Romano (from Virgil in “MOVING ON, Part 1/2″)

You malodorous scent-urion (from Logan in “12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS”)

Mr. Doodooface McGee (from Thomas to Roman playing Joan/Thomas’s boss in “Can LYING Be Good”)

Little Bratty Baby (from Logan in “Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning”)

Prep (from Logan in “Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning”)

Bud (from Thomas in “Crofters - The MUSICAL” and “Learning New Things About Ourselves”)

Daddy (by Patton in “Learning New Things About Ourselves”)

Dr. Do-The-Most (from Virgil in “Learning New Things About Ourselves”)

Your Honor (in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness)

The One and Lonely (from himself in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness)(bby no)

The first most handsome prince in the world (from Patton in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness”)

Knucklehead (from Patton in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness”)

Brave, Handsome, Unbeatable (from Patton in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

The Prince (from Thomas in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Cain (from Remus in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Roman lettuce (from Remus in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Doofus (from Virgil in “Flirting with Social Anxiety”)

Patton

Dad Guy (from Thomas in “The MIND vs. The HEART”)

Daddy (heh) (From Logan in “Losing My Motivation”)

Newsie-Hipster-Theatre Geek-Mark from Rent (from Roman in “Losing My Motivation”)

Pouty McSpecs (from Roman in “Sanders Sides Q&A”)

Cardigan-Clad-Clod (from Logan in “My NEGATIVE Thinking”

Softest Little Puffball (from Roman in “Fitting In”)

Padre (from Roman in “Fitting In”)

Happy-Pappy-Patton (given to himself in “MOVING ON, PART 2/2″)

Papa (from Thomas in “Can LYING Be Good”)

Buddy (from Thomas to Deceit disguised as Patton in “Can LYING Be Good” and then again this time to actual Patton in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness)

Popstar (from Virgil in “Learning New Things About Ourselves”)

JJ (from Roman in “EMBARRASSING PHASES”)

Dad (from Roman in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness)

Sssssssuck up (from Deceit in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness)

Honey (from Deceit in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness”)

Pleeb (from Roman in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

The Mayor of Much-kin Land (from Roman in “Putting Others First”)

Such a dad (from Roman in “Putting Others First”)

Bud (from Thomas in ”Putting Others First”)

Lilypadton (from when he turns into a frog in “Putting Others First”)

Little guy... or Big Frog (from Janus in “Putting Others First”)

Rosy-Cheeked Ribbeter (from Roman in “Putting Others First”)

Virgil

Emo Nightmare (from Roman in “A New Year of Lying to Myself...”)

Hot Topic (from Roman in “Alone on VALENTINE’S DAY”)

Big Guy (from Patton in “Losing My Motivation”)

Sunshine (from Roman in “Losing My Motivation”)

Kiddo (from Patton on multiple occasions)

My Chemically Imbalanced Romance (from Roman in “Am I ORIGINAL”)

Negative Nancy (from Roman in “Am I ORIGINAL”)

Jason Toddler (from Roman in “Am I ORIGINAL”)

Jerky McJerkface (from Roman in “Am I ORIGINAL”)

Surly Temple (from Roman in “Growing Up”)

JD-lightful (from Roman in “Making Some Change”)

Dr. Gloom (from Roman in “Becoming a CARTOON”)

Marilyn Morose (from Roman in “Becoming a CARTOON”)

Fairest of them all (from Roman in “Becoming a CARTOON”)

Count Woe-laf (from Roman in “ACCEPTING ANXIETY, PART 1/2″)

Gloomy Goober (from Patton in “ACCEPTING ANXIETY, PART 1/2″)

My Dark Strange Son (from Patton in “ACCEPTING ANXIETY, PART 2/2″)

Poor little anxious baby (from Patton in “ACCEPTING ANXIETY, PART 2/2″)

Brad Pitiful (from Roman in “ACCEPTING ANXIETY, PART 2/2″)

Worry wart (from Thomas in “ACCEPTING ANXIETY, PART 2/2″)

Virge (given by himself in “ACCEPTING ANXIETY, PART 2/2″ and repeated by Thomas a few times, and called that by Roman in Flirting with Social Anxiety)

Friendo (from Roman in “ACCEPTING ANXIETY, PART 2/2″)

Panic! At the Everywhere (from Roman in “Fitting In”)

Sweet and Sour misunderstood Shadowling (from Patton in “Fitting In”)

My child (from Patton in “Fitting In” and “Learning New Things About Ourselves”)

Jack Smellington (from Roman in “MOVING ON, Part 1/2″)

My boy (from Patton in “MOVING ON, PART 2/2″)

Incredible Sulk (from Roman in “12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS”)

Charlie Frown (from Roman in “Can LYING Be Good”)

Buddy (from Deceit disguised as Patton in Can LYING Be Good”)

Shadowy but angelic songbird (from Patton in “Learning New Things About Ourselves”)

Vomedy Central (from Roman in “Learning New Things About Ourselves”)

Cute lil’ muffin (from Patton in “Learning New Things About Ourselves”)

Bud (from Thomas in “EMBARRASSING PHASES”)

Bat-winged cherub (from Patton in “EMBARRASSING PHASES”)

Bad boy (from Patton in in “EMBARRASSING PHASES”)

Trifling ass-sailant of my emotions (from Thomas in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness”)

One Angry Man (from Deceit in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness”)

Pleeb (from Roman in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

The Purp Man (from Thomas in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Tickle Me Emo (from Remus in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Tiger (from Roman in “Flirting with Social Anxiety”)

Gerard Gay (from Roman in Flirting with Social Anxiety”)

Captain Blunderpants (this may have been directed at Thomas? not completely sure. from Roman in “Flirting with Social Anxiety”)

Bird Brain (from Roman in “Flirting with Social Anxiety)

Emo (from Roman in “Flirting with Social Anxiety”)

Deceit Janus

Jack the Fibber (from Roman in “Can LYING Be Good”)

Slippery snake (from Thomas in “Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning”)

Slimy boy (from Thomas in “Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning”)

Harvey Dense (from Virgil in “EMBARRASSING PHASES”)

Dr. Trick-le and Mr. Lies (from Roman in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness)

A snake (from Remus in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Scute-bellied Tyrant (from Roman in “Putting Others First”)

Reptilian Rapscallion (from Roman in ‘Putting Others First”)

Reptilian with scallions (from Patton in “Putting Others First”)

Subterfuge Specialist (from himself in “Putting Others First”)

Lord of the Lies (from himself in “Putting Others First”)

The actual snake on the plane (from Roman in “Putting Others First”)

This morality-fighting snake on this metaphorical plane (from Roman in “Putting Others First”)

Faux-gan (from Roman in “Putting Others First”)

Snake (from Roman in “Putting Others First”)

Banana-conda (from Roman in “Putting Others First”)

Evil snake boy (from Thomas in “Putting Others First”)

Just a snake boy >:3 (from himself in “Putting Others First”)

Thomas

Tony (from Patton in “My True Identity”)

Kid (from Virgil in “Taking on ANXIETY”)

Son (from Patton in ‘The MIND vs. The HEART”)

Kiddo (from Patton on multiple occasions)

Our Little Guy (from Patton in “The MIND vs. The HEART”)

Darude Sanderstorm (from Joan in “Growing Up”)

Mr. Sanders (in “Growing Up”)

Mr. T (from Roman in “ACCEPTING ANXIETY, PART 1/2″)

Tom (from Roman in “12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS”)

Thomathy (from Patton in “12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS”)

Tommy Salami (from Roman in “12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS”)

Tomalomadingdong (from Patton in “12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS”)

Thomas the Dank Engine (from Roman in “12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS”)

Thomas Slamders (from Roman/Joan/Thomas’s boss in “Can LYING Be Good”)

Great man baby (from Roman in “Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning”)

Sweetie (from Deceit in “Selfishness vs. Selflessness)

Pleeb (from Roman in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Dude (from Remus in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Prude (from Remus in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

B*tch (from Remus in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Dr. Seuss (from Remus in Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Grandpa (from Roman in “Flirting with Social Anxiety”)

Sanders (from Virgil in “Flirting with Social Anxiety”)

The Duke/Remus

Bro (maybe? I can’t tell if Roman is singing bro or whoa in his bit in the song. From “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Your creativity (from himself in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Potty-mouth (from Patton in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Roman’s twin (from Logan in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

The unloved brother from the Genesis (from himself in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Abel (from himself in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

You bastard (from Virgil in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

Dukey (from Thomas and Roman in “Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS”)

#thomas sanders #sanders sides #virgil sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #deceit sanders #for later #remus sanders #ts spoilers

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mama-ghostie-61542 · 7 years

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The Hamato Chronicles--Ch. 2

Rated M for Mature

If ya recognize it, it ain't mine.

Chapter Two

Leo’s POV

It was about 6a.m. when my nose woke me up. ‘Mikey must be trying to make biscuits again’, I thought.

I stumbled to the bathroom. I did my morning routine and hit the shower. Normally, at this time of day, there was a ton of hot water, but there were spots where it went ice cold.

About the time I turned the water off, there was a big bang on the door.

“Dude! Hurry up, I need to pee!”

“You have external plumbing and we live in a sewer,” I stated.

“Like hell I do, maggot! Move!”

It was then that I realized it was a girl. I seriously thought about beating Raph for bringing a girl here, but I wrapped my towel around my hips and opened the door.

“Marlowe,” I shrieked, reaching for my sister.

“No time, Leo, gotta pee,” she said as she pushed me out of the bathroom and locked the door. A second later I heard her contented sigh, a moment after that came the flush. Then there was the momentary sound of water being turned on, then back off. Next, my sister unlocked the door and opened it.

Smiling, she said, “Ya know, Leo, I about jimmied the lock.”

“But Lowe,” I blushed, thoroughly embarrassed that my sister would have caught me in my birthday suit.

“Oh, come on, Leo; I diapered you boys and I have been married twice. A penis doesn’t scare me. And I have seen some pretty scary stuff in the Corps. Now, finish up. Breakfast should be about ready when you get there. Just keep it quiet.”

I smiled and nodded, then padded down the hall to my old room and started to get clothes on. As I pulled up my boxer briefs a sudden thought hit me. If she diapered all four of us, then she had seen the weird freckle on my ass. That was a mortifying thought. Was she there when we were baptized and Raph pissed on Father Corelli?

I finished dressing and tried to use my ninja skills to surprise my big sister, but just as I stepped into the kitchen, she turned and handed me the silverware.

“Set the table,” she said as she turned to me. “Good try though, KaBong.”

I smiled at a childhood nickname, “Thanks, Lowe.” Then I grabbed her arm as she walked past me and pulled my tiny, little, big sister into a huge hug. I love Marlowe’s hugs. She is the only girl I have ever met who tries to get her arms all the way around my shell but generally settles for gripping on at least one of my coastal scutes.

“I’m glad you are home and safe, Sis,” I whispered against the top of her head. “I missed you.”

She chuckled and buried her face in my chest and said, “I missed you too, little brother.”

About that time, we heard the boys waking up.

Don’s POV

I padded out of my old lab and saw Leo standing in the kitchen. That in itself was terrifying. But, what set me on edge was knowing that he was hugging someone. As I walked closer to them, I caught sight of DCU pants and sock feet; human sock feet. However, the pants are what gave it away. I only knew of one person who would wear those. I jumped into a group hug that pinned my big sister between my older brother and me.

Hugging my sister, I kissed the top of her head and teared up a bit. The day I had prayed for had finally come. My sister was home.

Next, we heard the water come on in the bathroom. Then, Marlowe smiled softly and dislodged us from her person and went back to fixing breakfast. I knew then we were in for a treat. As much as I love Italian food, I LOVE my sister’s cooking.

Raph’s POV

I smelled homemade biscuits. That is what woke me up. I showered quickly, imagining the buttery goodness with what smelled like sausage gravy, eggs, and hash browns. Someone else had to be cooking, Mikey can’t make gravy to save his life. Meeting my baby bro at the bathroom door though, let me know it wasn’t him.

“Dude, do you smell that,” Mikey asked, his eyes wide.

“Yep, can’t be Leo.”

“No, Don banned him from helping. Could it be Donnie?”

“Nah, D would have turned it into research and burned it. So that leaves Dad,” I whispered.

Mikey shook his head, “No, Dad won’t make gravy and hash browns at the same time. Bro, let me pee and we will both go see.”

Mere minutes later, Mikey and I were silently padding through the old place on our way to the kitchen. Mikey stopped me suddenly and placed a finger over his mouth in the sign to hush, then wiggled his fingers by his ear slit.

We heard a woman’s voice, “Java’s ready, Donnie.”

But Don’s reply blew us away.

“Thanks, Lowe.”

Our eyes lit up! Our big sister was home! We were asses and elbows running for the kitchen. I turned the corner and there, in her sock feet and DCU pants with a tan colored A-shirt on, and buzz cut, black hair was Marlowe, my human big sister.

“Marlowe,” I somehow managed to choke out around the lump in my throat and the growing tightness in my chest.

Marlowe’s POV

I had just taken the last of the hash browns out of the grease when something large hit me in the back. I turned to see my baby brother, Angel; a name only I was allowed to call him, hopping from one foot to the other with a look of intense joy on his face. He reminded me of a little boy who thought Christmas had come early.

I swear that kid grows an extra set of arms and legs every single time I come home, even if I’m just on leave. My news is gonna explode this one.

I heard my name, near sobbed from the doorway and saw Raph, fighting to keep his tough guy persona going. Don’t tell anyone, but it is close between him and Donnie as to who is my favorite. I know, I’m not supposed to have a favorite, but I do. In fact, I have two.

As I started toward my hot-headed little brother, his knees gave out.

Raph’s POV

My knees went weak and gave out as my big sister wrapped her arms around me.

I sobbed on her as she kissed my dome and whispered, “I’m home, Squeaks; for good this time.”

I looked up at her from where my arms were locked around her middle and my head was buried in her chest, “Really,” I whispered.

“Really, really,” she smiled as she wiped away the tears leaking out of my bronze eyes.

Suddenly, my brothers and dad all joined us in a ginormous group hug.

Leo POV

When we all separated for breakfast, I asked, “So, when did you get in, Lowe?”

“04:00,” she answered. “I sparred with Pop until about 05:00. Showered; then came down to start breakfast. It is something that my squad loved, but I just couldn’t hack. These are called ‘Heralds’. They are a biscuit, two sausage patties, 2 fried eggs, hash browns, gravy, and cheese,” she said as she made one for Mikey and one for Raph. Don and I were cool without the gravy. Dad had his somewhat like ours, but with ketchup and his biscuit on the side. Lowe just had a biscuit.

After breakfast, we all went to the dojo for training. I admit, I got a little jealous when she used a move I had never seen before to put Dad on his rear. I had never seen my father go down so fast or with such a huge smile on his face. A part of me worried that she would take over my spot as leader. As soon as she smiled at him, with a look of accomplishment on her face, that feeling faded slightly. I got to see a glimpse of the teenaged girl who beamed with accomplishment and pride at any praise. I missed seeing her in my Marine sister.

As we left training, the timer on her watch went off. Marlowe excused herself to go take her meds. We didn’t think anything of it; if we had only known about the storm that was brewing.

A/N--Same version is on ffn

#tmnt leonardo #tmnt raphael #tmnt donatello #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt splinter #tmnt leo #tmnt raph #tmnt donnie #tmnt mikey #tmnt 2016 #tmnt bayverse #tmnt 2k16 #don't kill me #the hamato chronicles

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mtgbracket · 7 years

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Round of 8192 - Batch 5

You can now vote in Batch 5!

Currently open batches:

Batch 5 Batch 4 Batch 3 Batch 2 Batch 1

Feature match: Dredge staple Prized Amalgam takes on ramp all-star Sakura-Tribe Elder

Full list of matchups:

Boompile vs Whirlpool Warrior Bloodstained Mire vs Steam Vines Welkin Tern vs Diabolic Edict Oversold Cemetery vs Haazda Snare Squad Soul of Ravnica vs Mesmeric Fiend Zombie Master vs Descendant of Kiyomaro Collective Effort vs Humble the Brute Reliquary Tower vs Vitalize Coastal Breach vs Serendib Sorcerer Kor Cartographer vs Memory Crystal Hand to Hand vs Scarecrone Violent Eruption vs Talrand's Invocation Cunning Wish vs Kuldotha Phoenix Trophy Hunter vs Saltblast Scute Mob vs Etherium-Horn Sorcerer Stormtide Leviathan vs Life and Limb Doomed Necromancer vs Amoeboid Changeling Vines of Vastwood vs Merfolk Sovereign Wildest Dreams vs Lightning Serpent Mistcutter Hydra vs Flowstone Sculpture Canopy Surge vs Consuming Aberration Sage-Eye Avengers vs Resolute Blademaster Prized Amalgam vs Sakura-Tribe Elder Noxious Field vs Sulfuric Vortex Blizzard Elemental vs Flowstone Surge Nessian Courser vs Might of Alara Temple Garden vs Fretwork Colony Keeper of the Nine Gales vs Even the Odds Dawning Purist vs Counterbore Archfiend of Depravity vs Undying Flames Behemoth Sledge vs Respite Minion of the Wastes vs Bearer of Silence

#mtg #magic the gathering

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danschkade · 7 years

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PAGE x PAGE MINI-ANALYSIS — “FIRST SIGHTING: SUPERBOY” from THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #500 (1993)

PUBLISHED: DC Comics, June 1993

SCRIPT: Karl Kesel

PENCILS: Tom Grummett

INKS: Doug Hazelwood

(After this point, I don’t know for sure who did what — this is just one of many stories in this king-sized issue, with only the script, pencils, and inks credited to this story in particular. However, Grummett and Hazelwood also drew the 40+ page story that makes up the bulk of the issue, and so it wouldn’t be the craziest thing to assume they did the duties on this story as well. Acknowledging that this is an assumption, those credits are:

COLORS: Glenn Whitmore

LETTERS: Albert De Guzman

EDITORIAL: Mike Carlin with Jennifer Frank)

Fun autobiographical fact: my mother bought this comic fresh off the stands, way back in the summer of 1993. A direct followup to THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN, this five and a half dozen page monster ran her $2.95, plus Texas state sales tax. I was all of three years old and didn’t know Superman from Peter Pan, so I wonder: did she run the numbers and figure, yeah, the son of a behavioral economics professor and an information systems management consultant was probably going to be the kind of serial fiction nerd who’d appreciate this comic? Did she take a gamble on the outside shot of it becoming a collectable? Or, Occam’s Razor: after all the media coverage about how DC Comics had killed the Man of Tomorrow, she saw the “BACK FROM THE DEAD?! THE MAN OF STEEL FIGHTS FOR HIS LIFE!” cover blurb and thought it might be worth the three dollars ten to find out how he did.

[Cover by Jerry Ordway]

In today’s mini-analysis, I’ll be looking at just four pages of this issue. I was flipping through it for the first time in years and appreciating it in a new light, owing to my newfound appreciation for the action-packed but emotionally intelligent storytelling of penciller Tom Grummett. The issue ends in four short stories that introduce the four infamous replacement Supermen; Steel, The Eradicator, The Cyborg Superman, and of course, my man Superboy — and it wasn’t until this read-though that I realized the Superboy segment was scripted by Karl Kesel, someone who does the same kind of clean, classical work with the writing that Grummett does with the art. Now, full disclosure: I’ve worked with Karl on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: GODS AND MONSTERS for Dynamite Entertainment, but I’d like to think that instead on biasing me in Karl’s favor, it just gave me a greater understanding of his scripting acumen. I’m sure you agree.

Since Kesel and Grummett are currently reuniting to resurrect their sci-fi adventure series SECTION ZERO on Kickstarter — more on that at the end of the analysis — I thought their four-page introduction to the Metropolis Kid might be worth an in-depth look.

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #500 and all characters contained therein are property of DC Comics, reproduced here solely for educational purposes.

***

Before we start, this is the page that precedes Kesel and Grummett’s story (this preceding story scripted by Roger Stern with art by Jackson Guice and Denis Rodier):

So, this is what’s in our heads as we head into our next story, yeah? Okay. Onward.

PAGE ONE

The opening of this page has a couple hoops to jump through: it’s the start of this new four-page story, and has to introduce us to our characters and setup like any opening panel has to. But it also has to maintain the loose illusion of being a continuation of the main sixty-five page narrative; it can’t indulge in a splashy title page. And lastly, it has to execute a pretty acute tone shift from the darker than dark “Vengeance of Superman” vignette Stern and Guice just served up.

The path that vaults all hoops at once: Environment As Action. The blaring alarm at four in the morning, the scrambling troops (who in this first panel act more as setting than as characters), and a couple simple caption boxes letting us know what’s up. Background? Man, to hell with a background, we only got four pages for this thing — it’s all action, it’s all information, and it’s coming straight for us, right down to our super heroic focal point character making eye contact and shouting orders at us. This is How You Engage a Reader 101.

The rest of the page immediately, but smoothly, gets us up to speed. Who’s the Captain America guy? The Guardian. What’s his deal? He’s in charge of the Cadmus soldiers. Who’s the suit? Westfield. A reminder of the early hour — that’s clearly important, and Kesel doesn’t want us to forget it. What’s Westfield’s relationship to the Guardian and the soldiers? The wet blanket superior officer who commands authority but not respect. Who do we like more? The Guardian, because he’s a better leader and we’ve seen his face, so we connect more with him even though his face is now partially masked. Plus he looks like a cool superhero, while Westfield looks like your friend’s lame dad. And it all ends on a classic page-turn cliffhanger: “No telling who — or WHAT — is on the other side!”

Five panels in, and already we’ve forgotten all about “the Vengeance of Superman…”

PAGE TWO

Ballsy use of such a huge panel in such a short story. The muted, mid-tone coloring of the lab not only makes the Guardian stand out, maintaining him as our focal character for this scene, but also draws our attention to the small scrap of bright red Superman cape hanging on the shattered glass tube. Situating that scrap in the bottom right quadrant of the panel guides our eye clockwise towards the next panel. And just in case you didn’t notice the scrap on its own, Grummet uses Westfield’s eyeline and his outreached hand to draw an invisible line to it. Also of note: Guardian, the honest hero just doing his job, notices the big thing, the shattered tube — Westfield, who knows what’s really going on in that lab, is the one who notices the scrap first.

Guardian is super dominant in the rest of this scene. He picks up the scrap, taking physical charge of the evidence of Cadmus’ sketchy Kryptonian secret. He’s looking directly back at Westfield, who’s turned away from him and is making excuses; signs of weakness. Guardian continues to be the largest/strongest presence in panel three and again in four, where he aligns with our POV as we look up at Packard. Speaking of Packard, he’s rocking another very recognizable lame dad look. So far the two grown-ups we’ve seen who aren’t exciting soldiers or cool superheroes are stuffy, grumpy squares. This is what adults are like in this Superboy story.

Note how the room feels full of soldiers throughout this scene, even though there’s only ever one soldier in each panel. The smoke filling the room goes a long way to achieving this effect, suggesting unseen mass, and Guardian seals it by commanding “McFarlane” to “Have your squad search every inch of this place.” Great way to keep the scene full, but not cluttered.

PAGE THREE

As we change from interior to exterior settings, the page layout changes from the boxy, squarish panels of the previous pages to a series of page-wide horizontal panels. Nearly every panel is a good example of a different way to utilize this type of layout, starting with panel one: it gives us a nice wide establishing shot, clearly showing the geography of the tunnel entrance, the highway, and Metropolis beyond.

In panel two, the powerful left to right movement of Superboy punching the grate off the tunnel entrance is enhanced by how it utilizes all the vertical space, giving the feeling of focused power — like a bullet through a barrel.

In panel three, we see how well a horizontal layout helps us introduce a bunch of characters at once, with lots of non-active space on either side of them for everybody to get in a line of character-establishing dialogue. Kesel even sneaks in a nice little hint at the nature of Superboy’s powers. Notice that the Newsboy in the middle of the pack doesn’t get a line, but that’s fine, because he’s featured heavily in the next panel. No need to cram everyone’s moment into the same panel, which usually feels forced anyhow.

In panels two through five, the limited vertical space is employed to cut our freshly-minted Superboy into segments. By keeping us from seeing all of him at once, we build his mystique and the anticipation of the reader, not to mention helping us get a feel for the individual elements of his complex new costume.

PAGE FOUR

Ladies and gentlemen: a late but strong entry for best superhero costume of the 20th century. After teasing him for pages, we get this legitimately iconic reveal of our new Superboy — no matter what he says he is. We also benefit from how well Kesel and Grummett established the spatial relationship of Metropolis, the tunnel, and the highway, so that we don’t need to show any of the Newsboys to know we’re sharing their POV here. We’re so familiar with the space at this point, we inherently know that’s where we are. This composition is thematically strong, too — he’s throwing this last defiant declaration before turning back around and heading down into Metropolis, into whatever adventures await him there. It’s like a low-grade cliffhanger. It’s a promise of something exciting to come. This is how you introduce a character.

***

You can buy the full 65-page issue of THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #500 for the surprisingly low price of $1.99 off Comixology! It’s absolutely worth the read, containing one of my favorite Pa Kent stories ever.

Now, like I said -- SECTION ZERO!

Kesel and Grummett reunite to bring back the high quality old school team-based adventure comic — one of the few types of fiction that genuinely does work better in the medium of comics than it does anywhere else, and these guys are high in the top list of creators who can pull it off. If the Superboy pages above did anything for you, SECTION ZERO is totally on your frequency. Take a look:

Right?

If you want to read more preview pages and learn more about the project, I highly encourage everybody to check out the SECTION ZERO Kickstarter — it’s entering its last week and I so want to see this book on my shelf.

***

As always, feel free to check me on any mistakes I might have made, add your own commentary, or share similar examples of good comics done well. I’ll be back next week with a different, longer comic to peruse.

Be well!

PREVIOUS PAGE x PAGE ANALYSES:

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #69 (with Aud Koch)

THE SHADOW STRIKES! #13

PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #13

BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #17

#Superboy #Page x Page Analysis #Karl Kesel #Tom Grummett #Section Zero #Superman #DC Comics #Educational Purposes #comics

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