#Captain Victory Vol. 1

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

THE SCI-FI/FANTASY WORLD OF THE KIRBYVERSE EXPLODES IN GLORIOUS GOUACHE STYLE

PIC(S) INFO: Mega spotlight on cover art to "Kirby: Genesis -- Captain Victory" Vol. 1 #1. October, 2011. Dynamite Entertainment. Artwork by Alex Ross.

PIC #2: 983x1520 -- a published eBay copy, and one of my favorite Alex Ross covers of all time.

Sources: www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/viewProduct.html?PRO=C725130179654 & eBay.

[stealthisplanet]

New Mutants vol. 4 #18 – Homecoming

The imperative of a mutant community

Vita Ayala (Writer), Rod Reis (Artist), Travis Lanham (Letterer)

Let’s begin with first principles.

The two foundational, definitional characteristics of the New Mutants are the closeness of their bonds, lines between platonic and romantic almost permanently blurred, and their trauma, both individual and shared. The New Mutants’ mission on Krakoa, explored so beautifully in this issue, is to foster a community strong enough that it can guide and support each of its individuals to unburden themselves of the trauma of the past and flourish in the future.

The New Mutants begin their utopian journey in this fashion by creating a support system for younger mutants, no longer constrained by human frameworks and ideologies. This is symbolised by their new home the Sextant, which is itself a metaphor for charting a new course towards a future with limitless possibilities. When Vita Ayala takes over writing responsibilities from Jonathan Hickman from issue 13, they more closely interrogate how this idealism plays out in practice. As the shadow of the past begins to encroach on the Akademos Habitat in the form of Amahl Farouk, the young students are attracted to the allure of easy solutions to their problems. The teachers also perceive Krakoa as an opportunity to release the trauma they’ve held onto for many years but know that this victory must be hard fought. Enter Dani Moonstar aka Mirage to guide them through.

After Magik becomes a War Captain and de facto combat leader of the team, Dani remains the team’s spiritual and emotional leader, as well as the lead educator for the Lost Club, the island’s youngest mutants. While Mirage doesn’t have a story dedicated to her throughout the run, she remains active rather than passive, supporting the team through the period of introspection and reflection that the safety of Krakoa has afforded them.

Ayala uses Mirage to great effect throughout their run, using her innate skill of empathy to de-emphasis the distinction between individual and shared trauma. Ayala’s approach to this feels so realistic, as Dani does not always get this right, avoiding a trap that writers fall into with the character being so morally upstanding that her judgement is beyond reproach. While issue #18 is a wonderful testament to Dani’s strength as a leader and the nature of her bond with Karma, there’s only so much that a community leader can do for her people without wider structural support.  Wolfsbane and Cosmar are examples of attentions become spread too thinly, which is a catalyst for calamity and guilt that later issues must resolve. All of Dani’s attention is on Karma’s battle to reclaim her identity by separating her from her ‘evil’ brother Tran, who she has stored in her soul for almost her entire life to protect the world around her. In a society that promises amnesty and support for its former villains, New Mutants #18 examines the precarious moral balance of self-actualisation and community protection through one of the Krakoa era’s most controversial plot devices: the Crucible.

The healing rock

The issue begins with Karma and Mirage sat on a rock by a waterfall, hands held in meditation as Dani facilitates a conversation between Xuân and Tran on the astral plane. This is the same rock that Karma finds Wolfsbane sat on in the opening scene to issue 1 and offers her guidance about capitalising on the potential of her rebirth and finding new purpose. It is a space that symbolises the spiritual connections between the team, and the importance of quiet introspection as a way of resolving problems and challenges. It’s representative of Ayala’s approach to the series, which is to buck the superhero comic trend and resolve issues through philosophical debate rather than physical conflict. That’s not to say that action isn’t core to this issue because it is, but the resolution to the problem is arrived at here on this rock which then plays out in the crucible itself.

Rod Reis’ use of pastel tones and inking to differentiate between the corporal and astral figures and between past and present tense is both economical and visually stunning. The washed out tone clearly demarcates the past tense, while the flare ups of Karma’s pink power signature emphasises Karma’s intense frustration and despair at the lack of success of previous attempts to separate her from her brother. Floating ink lines resembling restraints circle Tran’s body loosely throughout the scene, suggesting Xuân’s reluctance to incarcerate him. At the scene’s conclusion, the inks have become thinner, symbolising the loosening of the bonds and his imminent freedom.

“Tôi đã có bạn - I’ve Got You”

So why is the ritual of the Crucible so crucial to Karma’s story? First of all, it demands conviction. It demands that Xuân reckon with the conundrum of whether her full spiritual independence is worth the risk her brother poses to the community around her. And yes, it demands brutality because the foundational principle of the Crucible is rooted in violence, the premise that paradise should never come easily, even to those who deserve it, because it is simply worth so much.

In the Crucible scenes, Ayala and Reis combine to great effect to simultaneously create a violent intensity and gentle intimacy to the fight. The pacing ebbs and flows as Xuân’s creeping doubts are answered with Dani’s violence before the scene breaks away for Karma to “waver here, in this moment between breathes” as her memories of Tran as an innocent child and as a damaged man as the narrative caption boxes pose the question “who is Tran?”. The fluid, sketched panelling gives way to thick bordering on the bottom panel of the page as the reader sees Karma, sword in hand, resolved in her decision: ultimately, it is not for her to choose. Tran must be given the grace to find his own path.

The scene then ramps up to a frenetic yet almost silent crescendo as Dani stabs her with an arrow. Throughout this scene, when the narrative is from the two central figures’ perspectives, the background is dark pink, symbolising Karma’s internality, while everyone else is faded out. It’s just the two of them together, dancing to a song of violence written with pure love. The issue’s closing scene is a moving testament to the love between them, with Karma flirting with Dani as they stare into each other’s eyes in a way that brings us back to first principles: friendship and romance are fluid among the New Mutants, but what is clear is their deep affection for one another.

Other than the potential romantic elements, Ayala’s decision to have Dani be Xuân’s partner is a smart one in that Dani is probably the most self-actualised of the New Mutants. In the original New Mutants series, she was the first to lose her powers, the first to succumb to her trauma in the form of the Demon Bear and therefore the first to be saved by the found family around her. The passing on of care from one community to member to another is contrasted in later issues where the New Mutants talk to the Shadow King about breaking the cycle of trauma and replacing it with something more productive. By separating herself from the pain of her past, symbolised by the influence of her brother, she finally has complete autonomy: freedom to be who she wants but also to pay the kindness forward to others, which she is able to do with Cosmar in a later issue.

So when Karma is resurrected with her prosthetic leg still in place, accompanied by the narrative caption box of “Welcome Home”, the message is loud and clear: mutant paradise is being the version of yourself that you most love and identify with, and the Crucible is the hard road to travel to get there.

The Lost  Club

What is striking on a re-read is how much of this issue is dedicated to the Lost Club and the debate between Gabby Kinney and Cosmar about the efficacy of the Shadow King’s promise to restore the mutants to their idealised self. The scenes are very dialogue heavy, which weigh down the issue slightly, but they are important and completely on theme.

The Lost Club, and Cosmar in particular, present an alternative viewpoint on the theme of self-acceptance. If Karma’s decision to resurrect herself with her prosthesis still in place is a strong message of rejecting disability as something to be fixed, Cosmar’s experience is perhaps an allegory for body dysmorphia or more specifically gender dysphoria. The pop philosophy of self-acceptance generally argues that a person should accept themselves for who they are, which implies a rigidity of identity shaped by a patriarchal view of gender. The point that the children with visible mutations like Cosmar, Anole and Rain Boy make to Gabby is that what if what you see in the mirror prevents you from expressing who you are? How can one accept a version of oneself that is false?

Ayala is challenging a generally held belief in X-Men continuity, perpetuated by the Krakoa era, that possessing a mutant power is necessarily a gift. In the past this notion has generally been challenged by mutants whose powers are destructive, like Rogue or an even more extreme case like Glow Worm, but this comic explicitly is not interested in that. This is about the person behind the powers, and not just whether or not they look “different” from others. This comic is interrogating ways in which people look different from how they perceive themselves, and in that way is an interesting examination of body dysmorphia at the very least.

So while the Crucible scene is a beautiful example of how a community can support the individual, the Lost Club plot is about what happens when a community fails its citizens. The Shadow King, although characterised fairly sympathetically in this run, represents the systems that exploit those left vulnerable by lack of community care. Without spoiling what happens in future issues the seeds of this plot’s central argument are laid here: while they don’t always get it right, the New Mutants have their fellow citizens best interests at heart, and are a positive example of an inclusive and accepting community.

However, the point made by Magik in her letter to the Quiet Council gets to the root of the issue: local communities need the support of central government to best serve its citizens. In an economic and political climate in which vital funding and protective legislation for communities and their vulnerable citizens are being gutted to fund genocide and war, the idealism of Krakoa was always fated to be just another utopia.

[themattress]

A look at Dragon Ball Z's sagas and the incarnation I prefer them in: manga, anime, or Kai.

The Vegeta Saga

Manga: 48 Chapters (Vol. 1 - 5) Anime: 35 Episodes (Season 1) Kai: 16 Episodes (Season 1)

This one is really difficult. The arc is a good one in all incarnations, of course, but I especially love both animated renditions. The original anime has strengths like filler episodes that flesh out the year between the major Saiyan battles quite well and provide more development to characters like Gohan and Piccolo, and even spotlight characters that were underutilized in the manga (in Launch's case, not utilized at all!), but weaknesses like filler episodes that are particularly bad and contradictory to canon material, plus the battle with Nappa and Vegeta having more padding stuffed in than is necessary. Kai loses those weaknesses, but it also loses those strengths. On the plus side, it feels perfectly paced, with 8 episodes before Nappa and Vegeta arrive followed by 8 after their arrival. So, which version gets the victory?

Well, the winner is....

The good filler in the original anime is very good, but the bad filler is literally story-breaking levels of bad (ex: the space pod Goku came to Earth in gets blown up, and then when it's canonically needed for the story no reference is made to the fact that it was ever destroyed), and more importantly than that, Kai has the only consistently good English dub of the saga.

The Freeza Saga

Manga: 87 Chapters (Vol. 5 - 12) Anime: 72 Episodes (Seasons 1 - 3) Kai: 38 Episodes (Seasons 1 - 3)

Let's rule out the anime right away, because its filler and padding was more often than not atrocious and dragged the whole thing down in spite of the arc's soaring highs. Kai retains those highs and trims the fat, with almost half the amount of episodes. However, a few things it couldn't quite work around such as Captain Ginyu's pointless return in Bulma's body and the fight between Goku and Freeza getting interrupted by a fight between Gohan and Freeza still ended up remaining. The pacing is still slightly better than the manga's and seeing the battles and transformations all fully animated is always a plus, but as a minus Toriyama's writing is more consistent as Toei's aforementioned retained additions are just that obvious.

So, when weighing them carefully, I've got to give the nod to....

The original manga arc was immediately iconic for a reason. Also, it's the only version where Vegeta says that Zarbon spilled Freeza's secret of being able to transform...and Zarbon actually did so! Yeah, in both anime versions they totally forget to have Zarbon say that to Vegeta, so it comes out of nowhere when Vegeta says the line to Freeza! When you make such a monumental narrative blunder, you just can't be the definitive version of the story.

The Cell Saga

Manga: 91 Chapters (Vol. 12 - 19) Anime: 77 Episodes (Seasons 4 - 6) Kai: 44 Episodes (Seasons 3 - 4)

It's a nigh-perfectly paced and utterly riveting story arc in all three versions, so each version's weaknesses being minor compared to their strengths. So this one is practically a coin toss!

But the coin lands on...

It's the best of both worlds. Truer to the manga with a lot of filler excised, while maintaining great animation and voice-acting that the anime made possible, plus keeping some of the better changes such as how the final epic beam struggle between Gohan and Cell plays out. Also, I much prefer the arrangement of the Kikuchi score here compared to the original.

The Buu Saga

Manga: 99 Chapters (Vol. 20 - 26) Anime: 92 Episodes (Seasons 7 - 9) Kai: 69 Episodes (The Final Chapters)

This arc was never gotten right in any version. The manga's goes further and further off the rails and gets rushed to a flat, underwhelming conclusion; the anime's drags on too long and the many battles against different incarnations of Buu grow tiresome; and Kai bafflingly keeps in a lot of the anime's worst additions which feels totally against the original point of Kai.

But the lesser of three evils is....

At the very least, when this arc starts to get really bad in the manga, it goes by fast. It's mostly in the last two volumes and you can read through it easily. That's way better than spending 22 minutes after 22 minutes after 22 minutes putting up with the decline in quality.

But that leads me to my big Hot Take: Dragon Ball Z is a legendary anime, important to and cherished by many, myself included. But nowadays there's....really not much of a good reason to watch it. Kai is far more in line with the original manga and actually goes at a reasonable pace. 167 episodes is still lengthy; longer than Dragon Ball's 153 and Dragon Ball Super's 131, but it still falls under that reasonable umbrella, whereas 291 episodes just feels way too daunting, especially when not being broadcast on a weekday-by-weekday basis.

So aside from checking out episodes here and there as a curiosity, I wouldn't recommend the original Dragon Ball Z to anyone anymore. Maybe I'm going to HFIL for that, but it's true!

[kudosmyhero]

The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #60: O, Bitter Victory!

Read Date: January 16, 2023 Cover Date: May 1968 ● Writer: Stan Lee ● Penciler: John Romita ◦ Don Heck ● Inker: Mike Esposito ● Colorist: {uncredited} ● Letterer: Sam Rosen ● Editor: Stan Lee ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● Kingpin time! ● Spidey knocks down Kingpin the same way my cats take me down--by twining between his feet! He doesn't stay down long, though ● the scene on the cover is already happening on page 3 ● (pg 4) Kingpin accidentally hurls Spidey into the power source for the brain-washing mechanism ● Spider-Man uses the smoke to escape out the window, leaving Capt. Stacy behind ● (pg 5) Gwen is getting worried by her dad and now Peter's extended absences ● brain-washed, Captain Stacy rejoins everyone back in the club ● MJ reported the fight from last issue, but the Captain convinces her it was nothing, perhaps a rehearsed scene ● (pg 6) Peter can't go back yet because he's still feeling the effects of the electrical shock he got ● he's seeing double ● (pg 7) he's not even going to tell his friends that he's leaving. But since he has made a habit of running off, they don't seem all that bothered ● (pg 9) Peter realizes he's in love with Gwen ● he's going to go out and try to find Capt. Stacy. His vision is still blurry but it's better than it was ● he hops on his bike and goes to Gwen's house, where he asks for her father ● (pg 11) Capt. Stacy is acting very strange and raises his cane to strike Peter ● (pg 12) Peter raises his arm to defend himself and accidentally knocks Capt. Stacy down, which is of course when Gwen comes back into the room ● she tells Peter to get out and never come back ● (pg 13) Stacy calls Kingpin to warn him that "a teenager is suspicious" of them. Kingpin demands his name ● (pg 14) armed with Peter's name and address, Kingpin sends some of his goons there to take care of him ● but Peter's not home. He stops by the visit his Aunt May, who is still recovering ● (pg 15) the goons go to the apartment and shove Harry aside ● love this panel:

● Peter tries to convince Harry to go stay with his dad for a while, but Harry says that he's not chickening out when Peter might need him ● that decides Peter to go out as Spider-Man, even if his vision is a little blurry ● finds Stacy and follows him with a couple of goons to police HQ, where he takes them to a vital records storage vault ● (pg 18) Spidey sets up his camera, then busts in on them ● Stacy hits Spidey with his cane, then they all make their escape ● he develops the pictures, but doesn't know what to do with them because he can't trust who might be under Kingpin's influence ● he decides to give them to Jameson ● it makes the front page of a special edition of the Bugle, which Gwen sees ● 👏👏👏

Synopsis: While trying to stop Doctor Winkler from brainwashing Captain Stacy, Spider-Man is suddenly ambushed by Winkler's employer: The Kingpin. The fight is a short one when Spidey is thrown into one of the machines. The resulting jolt blurs his vision enough to make him ineffective in a fight, and so he flees. With Spider-Man gone, the Kingpin completes brainwashing Stacy and lets him go. Stacy meets up with Gwen and Harry who are being told by Mary Jane about Spider-Man's appearance at the club; George alleviates any concern they have about what happened. Meanwhile, Spider-Man struggles to get around the city due to his double vision. Realising web-slinging is too dangerous in this condition, he resigns to change back into his civilian guise so he can get home safely.

That night, Peter has troubled dreams about what the Kingpin had done to Captain Stacy and decides to do something about it in the morning. When he wakes up, he finds his vision has improved, but it is still blurry. He then goes to the Stacy home where he asks to speak to Gwen's father. When Peter tries to confront George over what happened at the night club, Stacy attacks him, forcing Peter to defend himself. Gwen walks in on the situation, and her father accuses Peter of going mad and attacking him. When Peter tries to explain himself, Gwen is too upset to listen to him and tells him to leave and never see her again. Finally alone, George calls the Kingpin to advise him that Parker knows the truth. The Kingpin sends some men after Peter, though when they arrive only Harry is at home, so they instead wreck Peter and Harry's apartment.

However, when the Kingpin's goons force their way into the apartment Peter shares with Harry Osborn, they only find Harry. This is because Peter is visiting his Aunt May in the hospital. When he finally returns home, he is shocked to see that these men trashed their apartment. After learning what has happened, Peter decides to trail Stacy as Spider-Man and learn what the Kingpin has ordered him to do. Spider-Man photographs Stacy going into police headquarters stealing protected documents. Setting up his camera, Spider-Man jumps through the window and tries to stop Stacy. While struggling with some of the Kingpin's men, the wall-crawler is unprepared when George strikes him over the head with his cane. With Spider-Man knocked out, Stacy and the goons flee, deciding to steal the files some other time. When Spider-Man recovers, he takes his camera and flees the scene.

Examining his photos, Peter realises that he has evidence that will ruin any alibis that George Stacy might make, but debates what he should do with the photos. After much debate, Peter decides that giving the photos to the Daily Bugle to publish is the only way to stop the Kingpin and hopefully free Captain Stacy from his control. Jameson is excited to see the photos and orders a special edition to be published immediately. Some time later, Gwen collects the newspaper from her doorstep and is shocked to see the front page story about her father. She is in an even greater shock when she sees that the photos were taken by Peter Parker!

(https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_1_60)

Fan Art: KINGPIN by Peskykid

Accompanying Podcast: ● Swinging Through Spider-Man - episode 60

● Let's Read Spider-Man - episode 38

[celtfather]

Celtic Top 20 of 2024 #691

It’s time to listen to the Top 20 Best Songs and Tunes of 2024. This is the Celtic Top 20 on the Irish & Celtic Podcast #691. Subscribe now!

Marc Gunn, The Gothard Sisters, RUNA, We Banjo 3, Altan, Poitín, Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer, The Drowsy Lads, Cherish The Ladies , Hanneke Cassel, Sorcha, Mànran, Arise & Go, The Byrne Brothers, Natalie Padilla, Screaming Orphans, Ian Fontova, Fialla, Matt & Shannon Heaton, The Friel Sisters, Dancing With Hobbits, The Elders 

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VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20 FOR 2025

This is our way of finding the best songs and artists each year. You can vote for as many songs and tunes that inspire you in each episode. Your vote helps me create this year's Best Celtic music of 2025 episode. You have just three weeks to vote this year. Vote Now!

You can follow our playlist on Spotify 2024 to listen to those top voted tracks as they are added every 2 - 3 weeks.

THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC

0:13 - The Gothard Sisters "Alaska Set” from Dragonfly

3:46 - WELCOME

6:12 - RUNA "The Fox” from When The Light Gets In

11:31 - We Banjo 3 "The First Second Gentleman” from Open The Road

16:00 - Altan "Liostáil mé le Sáirsint (Song)” from Donegal

19:05 - Poitín "Aquarius Rhapsody” from One For The Road

24:29 - Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer "Folk Club Song” from Twelve Months & A Day

29:38 - FEEDBACK

34:23 - The Drowsy Lads "Derry Reel Hooley (feat. Cathal Ó Curráin, David Howley, Fergal Scahill, Conor Mallon, Shane Hayes, Fiachra Hayes, Aodán Coyne, Katie Grennan)_The Drowsy Lads_Time Flies” from Time Flies

40:50 - Cherish The Ladies "The Cameronian Set: Tha M'Intinn Raoir/Duke of Gordon/The Cameronian/Lady of The House” from One And All, The Best of Cherish the Ladies

46:12 - Hanneke Cassel "Katrina McCoy's Jig / Sierra Fiddle Circle's Compliments to the Girls of Mudzini Kwetu” from Dot the Dragon's Eyes

50:00 - Marc Gunn "Come Adventure With Me” from Come Adventure With Me

54:27 - Sorcha "Waterman's / Luke Skywalker Walks on Sunshine” from Stomp the Floor

58:38 - THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST

1:01:16 - Mànran "Briogais” from Ùrar

1:04:05 - Arise & Go "Strathspeys & Reels: Lennox's Love To Blantyre / Captain Campbell / The

Iron Man / Elizabeth's Big Coat / The Bird's Nest” from Meeting Place

1:08:26 - The Byrne Brothers "Raggle Taggle Gypsy” from The Boys of Doorin

1:13:31 - Natalie Padilla "Larkspur” from Montana Wildflower

1:16:52 - Screaming Orphans "The Limerick Rake” from Paper Daisies

1:20:12 - CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS

1:21:14 - Ian Fontova "Woods of Anam” from Tales of Olden, Vol. 2

1:23:16 - Fialla "North Sea Holes” from Home & Away

1:26:25 - Matt & Shannon Heaton "In Tune with Reality/Aileen Dillane/Brown Weasel (reels)” from Whirring Wings

1:31:02 - The Friel Sisters "The Star of Crolly Town” from new album

1:35:17 - Dancing With Hobbits "Old Took's Victory Dance” from Dancing With Hobbits

1:38:26 - CLOSING

1:41:37 - The Elders "Down at the Pub” from Well Alright Then

1:45:46 - CREDITS

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn, The Celtfather and our Patrons on Patreon. The show was edited by Mitchell Petersen with Graphics by Miranda Nelson Designs. Visit our website to follow the show. You’ll find links to all of the artists played in this episode.

Todd Wiley is the editor of the Celtic Music Magazine. Subscribe to get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free. Plus, you’ll get 7 weekly news items about what’s happening with Celtic music and culture online. Best of all, you will connect with your Celtic heritage.

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Promote Celtic culture through music at http://celticmusicpodcast.com/.

WELCOME THE IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST

* Helping you celebrate Celtic culture through music. I am Marc Gunn. I’m a Celtic musician and host of the newly renamed Folk Songs & Stories. This podcast is for fans of Celtic music.

It is here to build a diverse Celtic community and help the incredible artists who so generously share their music with you. If you hear music you love, please email artists to let them know you heard them on the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast.

Musicians depend on your generosity to release new music. So please find a way to support them. Buy a CD, Album Pin, Shirt, Digital Download, or join their community on Patreon.

You can find a link to all of the artists in the shownotes, along with show times, when you visit our website at celticmusicpodcast.com.

Email follow@bestcelticmusic to learn how to subscribe to the podcast and get a free music - only episode.

If you are a Celtic musician and want your music featured on the show, I would love to play your music. Please submit your band to be played on the podcast. You don’t have to send in music or an EPK. You will get a free eBook called Celtic Musicians Guide to Digital Music and learn how to follow the podcast. It’s 100% free. Just email follow@bestcelticmusic

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Every year since 2006, the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast compiles the Celtic Top 20. This is a list of the most - popular Celtic songs and tunes of the year, as voted on by listeners. This year, we are creating a limited - edition compilation CD to celebrate these incredible songs. Only 100 copies of the physical CD will be printed!

In addition to the CD, we are also releasing an Album Pin and T - Shirt featuring a "Celtic Cat and Moon" design by Christopher Patrick.

We're celebrating Celtic culture through music and we want your help to #Make100 Limited - Edition, Celtic Compilation CDs.

Sign up to our Pre - Launch Page on Kickstarter to be the first to support the campaign!

THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST!

We released 48 episodes of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast this year. This is all thanks to the generosity of Celtic music fans just like you.

I produce these episodes because you pledge a wee bit o’money each and every month. Not everyone can afford to pledge a few bucks every month to support the show, but I hope you will all raise a glass to the over 300 amazing and generous people who do. Thank you!

Your kindness pays for our engineer, graphic designer, Celtic Music Magazine editor, and promotion of the podcast. It allows me to buy the music I play here. It also pays for my time creating the show each and every week.

As a patron, you get ad - free episodes before regular listeners. You get music - only episodes. You can vote in the Celtic Top 20. You get free music downloads and sheet music. And you get a private feed to listen to the show or you can listen through the Patreon app.  All that for as little as $3 per episode.

A special thanks to our Celtic Legends: Bruce, Daniel Ide, Brian McReynolds, Marti Meyers, Alan Schindler, Margreta Silverstone, Emma Bartholomew, Dan mcDade, Gerald F Boyle, Miranda Nelson, Nancie Barnett, Kevin Long, Gary R Hook, Lynda MacNeil, John Sharkey White, II, Kelly Garrod, Mike Schock, Annie Lorkowski, Shawn Cali

HERE IS YOUR THREE STEP PLAN TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST

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TRAVEL WITH CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS

Every year, I take a small group of Celtic music fans on the relaxing adventure of a lifetime. We don't see everything. Instead, we stay in one area. We get to know the region through its culture, history, and legends. You can join us with an auditory and visual adventure through podcasts and videos.

In June 2025, we are going on a Celtic Invasion of Wexford, Ireland as we explore Ireland’s southeast corner. We’ll visit a whiskey distillery. We’ll see castles and a windmill. We’ll see ocean life on a ferry, visit a heritage center and see the beauty of the Wicklow mountains. This is a trip you will remember.

In 2026, we’re going to the Celtic nation of Galicia in Spain. We’re gonna learn about the history and legends behind the Celts there and experience some amazing Galician Celtic music.

Learn more about the invasion at http://celticinvasion.com/

#celticmusic #irishmusic #celticmusicpodcast

I WANT YOUR FEEDBACK

What are you doing today while listening to the podcast? I’d love to see a  picture of what you're doing while listening. Is there a new Celtic CD or Celtic band that you heard of or saw? Send a picture.

Email me at follow@bestcelticmusic.

Patricia Mullen emailed a photo: "Walking with Quincy, poodle listening in San Rafael California redwoods."

Jordan Reeder emailed a photo: "Hi Marc! It’s been so great hearing all of the independent artists you feature on the podcast. Thank you for what you all do and maybe one of these days I’ll submit some of my music for your enjoyment as well.

I’m blessed to have a job I love -  as a luthier at a music store in Kenosha WI. While I was working on this auto harp (just a cleaning and restringing as well as putting new support springs under some of the bars) I thought I should take a couple of pictures and send them your way. I thought you might appreciate it."

Donald W White emailed a photo from Oregon: "I'm painting  -  -  as usual.

I've appreciated Celtic music for a long time (loved Fiona Ritchie's former show on NPR  -  "Thistle & Shamrock"), but I just became a fan while sailing from Quebec to Boston. On a cruise ship of "old people," some amazing Canadian musicians (including Nova Scotia vilionist Hayley Ryerson) performed some raucous Celtic tunes from Cape Breton Island. I'm now hooked! Count me in.

Don White, A new fan from Oregon "

Wolbert van Wageningen emailed: "Hi Marc,

My name is Wolbert van Wageningen. I live in the North of the Netherlands. Several years ago I started listening to your Irish and Celtic Music Podcast. I liked it a lot because of all the independent music. But sometimes it was a bit too independent according to my taste. I forgot to listen regularly and it got out of sight and mind.

In the meantime I started working (volunteering) at a small regional broadcasting company in my hometown of Winsum. I got the possibility to make my own programmes and one of them I titled " Highlands and Islands" a reference to Scotland of course, but also a reference to the region where I live (het Hogeland  -  Highland) and the Waddensea with small islands.

Due to illness I was not able to make the show in our radiostudio, but my homestudio was good enough to make broadcastings. I started broadcasting at Mixcloud and posted my recordings there.

Looking for music I discovered your Irish and Celtic Music Podcast at Mixcloud. Nice surprise! Started listening again. Thought it would be nice to reach out to you. Want to make my compliments for your shows and your perseverance in making them. Way back you were in the 100 - 200 range; now almost 700!!

I promoted your show to my small group of listeners (Celtic Folk is not that big in the Netherlands) and will do so in the future.

Keep up the good work! Kind regards,"

  Check out this episode!

[satanzayoru25341]

I know I made the Marvel version of Band Geeks, but what if there are some scenes featured?

Rules:

Draw the Marvel characters only, including my OC (Ashley Magma)

You can include other characters, like Cosmo the SpaceDog, She-Hulk [Jen Walters], Falcon [Sam Wilson], Michelle Jones [MJ], Ned Leeds, Monica Rambeau, Kamala Khan, Pietro Maximoff, Deadpool, Wolverine, the other X-Men members (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Morph, Rogue, the Beast, Gambit, Jubilee, Bishop, and Nightcrawler), the Fantastic Four (Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm), War Machine [Rhodey Rhodes], Doctor Stephen Strange, Shuri, Okoye, and other Marvel characters

Two entries max

No NSFW, fetish, or stuck in the mud

No Gacha, dolls, bases, collages, aesthetic, edited pictures, AI generated art or images, or collabs

No whining or complaining, if you don't win (if you do, then you will be disqualified from all my future art contests)

Alternate and different versions of styles are allowed because they do count (for example(s): Lego figures, funko pops, animated cartoons (like Guardians of the Galaxy (2015 TV Series), comic versions, videogames, etc.)

Any art program is allowed (for example(s): MS Paint, IbisPaintX, MediBang Paint, paint.net, etc.)

You must include references to all 7 parts and a deleted scene in "Marvel Band Geeks" and the Spongebob episode "Band Geeks"

You can draw some scenes or a comic from all 7 parts and a deleted scene in "Marvel Band Geeks"

For Parts 6 (only when Yondu enters the Night Bowl), 7, and a Deleted Scene, all the heroes (including Loki Laufeyson and the others that Captain Marvel [Carol Danvers] welcomed) should be in yellow clothes, except for Ronan the Accuser

Like I've said before, the others who are not shown in my Band Geeks meme will appear in the Marvel version of Band Geeks

In Part 7 of the Marvel version of Band Geeks, instead of playing "Sweet Victory," Yondu's band and the vocalists perform "Voltes V no Uta (The Song of Voltes V) (Julie Anne San Jose version)" (due to the fact that "Koinu no Carnival (Puppy Carnival) (From Minute Waltz)" was played in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3")

Yondu's main alto vocalists are Star-Lord [Peter Quill], Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Gamora, and Drax

For Part 7, you can choose either the Japanese or English lyrics

Any art styles (traditional or digital) are allowed

If you have any questions, let me know

Like this post, only if you're joining

No rushing, just take your time (unless if you are busy with other stuff, like school, homework, quizzes, exams, etc.)

If you read all the rules, reblog this post and say "Excelsior! This marvelous band must go on!" and put the hashtag #MarvelBandGeeks

Deadline is January 29, 2025

Entry Participants:

And here are the references:

Part 1: https://www.deviantart.com/sastarward25341/art/Marvel-Band-Geeks-Part-1-Rewritten-1136201932

Part 2: https://www.deviantart.com/sastarward25341/art/Marvel-Band-Geeks-Part-2-Rewritten-1136476082

Part 3: https://www.deviantart.com/sastarward25341/art/Marvel-Band-Geeks-Part-3-Rewritten-1136541208

Part 4: https://www.deviantart.com/sastarward25341/art/Marvel-Band-Geeks-Part-4-Rewritten-1136578751

Part 5: https://www.deviantart.com/sastarward25341/art/Marvel-Band-Geeks-Part-5-Rewritten-1136593260

Part 6: https://www.deviantart.com/sastarward25341/art/Marvel-Band-Geeks-Part-6-Rewritten-1136605674

Part 7:

Japanese Lyrics: https://www.deviantart.com/sastarward25341/art/Marvel-Band-Geeks-Part-7-Final-Part-Rewritten-1136610838

English Lyrics: https://www.deviantart.com/sastarward25341/art/Marvel-Band-Geeks-Part-7-Final-Part-ENG-Lyrics-1136918970

Full Version:

Japanese Lyrics: https://www.deviantart.com/sastarward25341/art/Marvel-Band-Geeks-Rewritten-1136855028

English Lyrics: https://www.deviantart.com/sastarward25341/art/Marvel-Band-Geeks-English-Lyrics-1136924812

Ashley's Hair Color:

When you post some art scenes, make sure to put the hashtag #MarvelBandGeeks

[parkerbombshell]

Cobwebs And Strange Radio Show #368

Cobwebs And Strange Radio Show  Mondays 12 noon EST , 5pm BST , 9am PDT COBWEBS AND STRANGE #368 - Boy George - Funtime (Cheapness And Beauty, 1995) - Stereolab - Captain Easychord (Sound-Dust, 2001) - Pixies - Chicken (The Night the Zombies Came, 2024)* - Messer Chups - Intox-Tika (Night Stripper EP, 2023) - SUPER 8 - Tell It Like It Is (Retro Metro, 2024)* trip8.bandcamp.com - Bananarama - Cheers Then (Deep Sea Skiving, 1983) - The March Violets - Bite The Hand (Crocodile Promises, 2024)* marchvioletsband.bandcamp.com - Elastica - Mad Dog (The Menace, 2000) - Monsune - Outta My Mind (Tradition, 2019) - Dayglow - Can I Call You Tonight? (Fuzzybrain, 2018) - Stargazer Lilies - We Are The Dreamers (We Are The Dreamers, 2013) - The Crushing Violets - Hollywood (Filaments Of Creation, 2024)* thecrushingviolets.bandcamp.com - Kraftwerk - Neon Lights (2017) (3-D: The Catalogue, 2017) - BMX Bandits - E102 (The Rise & Fall Of BMX Bandits, 2009) - J-Kwon - Tipsy (Club Mix) (Hood Hop, 2004) - Truth Hurts - Addictive (Truthfully Speaking, 2002) - Eddie Murphy - Party All The Time (How Could It Be, 1985) - Carin Leon - It Was Always You (Siempre Fuiste Tú) (Boca Chueca, Vol. 1, 2024)* - The Raveonettes - Leader Of The Pack (The Raveonettes Sing…, 2024)* - The Limiñanas - Primitivism (Un Autre Monde Dans Notre Monde, 2024)* - Cocteau Twins - Ivo (Treasure, 1984) - Robin Guthrie - Without A Word (Atlas EP, 2024)* robinguthrie.bandcamp.com - The Raft - Far Away From Here (Look At The Patterns, 2024)* shorediverecords.bandcamp.com - The Suncharms - Saddest Sound (Beautiful Noise, 2024)* sundayrecords.bandcamp.com - sparkle*jets u.k. - Princess Needy (Box of Letters, 2024)* bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com - Sassyhiya - Kristen Stewart (Take You Somewhere, 2024)* sassyhiya.bandcamp.com - Mannequin Pussy - Nothing Like (I Got Heaven, 2024)* mannequinpussy.bandcamp.com - Perry Blake - Nobody’s Child (Death Of A Society Girl, 2024)* moochinaboutltd.bandcamp.com - American Spring - Sweet Mountain (Spring, 1972) - Michael Kiwanuka - Floating Parade (single, 2024)* - YUQI - Red Rover (YUQ1, 2024)* - æspa - Salty & Sweet (MY WORLD: The 3rd Mini Album, 2024)* - Billie Joe Armstrong - Black Haired Girl (Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jessie Malin, 2024)* - Jesse Malin - Do You Remember Rock ’n’ Roll Radio (On Your Sleeve, 2008) - The Linda Lindas - I'm So Happy To Be Little (Yo Gabba GabbaLand!, 2024)* - The Speed Of Sound - Underground (A Cornucopia: Victory, 2024)* thespeedofsound.bandcamp.com - Susan James - Aquamarine (Time Is Now, 2024)* susanjames.bandcamp.com - Shop Assistants - Ace Of Spades (John Peel session 11/11/86) (Will Anything Happen: Deluxe Edition, 2024)* - David Christian - (I’m A) Shop Assistant (Oh Wow! Here Comes The Now!, 2024)* comet-gain.bandcamp.com - John Howard - Diamond Meadows (Songs For Mr Feld EP, 2024)* - David Bowie - Lady Stardust (The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, 1972) - John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers - Key To Love (Blues Breakers, 1966) - The Four Tops - Reach Out I’ll Be There ((Reach Out, 1967) - Living With Lions - Second Narrows (Island, 2018) - Evelyn Thomas - High Energy (High Energy, 1984) - Moby Grape - Can’t Be So Bad (Wow, 1968) - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds- Long Dark Night (Wild God, 2024)* Read the full article

[ragingphantom666]

Marvel Worlds project plan: Silver Sable (Vol. 1)

This series is not an assured project. It is a concept that can still be changed or scrapped.

Synopsis

Symkaria is at war with Latveria. Silver Sable returns to find her homeland in disarray. Doom has come to conquer their country. With a list of contacts, Sable faces off against Doom's greatest allies.

Characters

Silvija Sablinova/Silver Sable - An international mercenary and head of Sable International. She loves her country more than anyone.

Paolo/Paladin - An American mercenary who knew Silver Sable's father.

Foxtrot - An Italian mercenary working for Sable International.

Tango - An American mercenary working for Sable International.

Zora Vukovic/Victorious - The head of the Latverian army. She loves him and is incredibly loyal to him

Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom - The ruler of Latveria and a well-known super villain.

Richard Byrne/Codename: Bravo - An international mercenary hired by Victorious. He is an enemy of Nick Fury and Captain America.

Brock Rumlow/Crossbones - A mercenary hired by Victorious. He is an enemy of Captain America.

Christoph Pfeiffer/Iron Monger - A Latverian engineer who was tasked by Victorious to repair Obadiah Stane's Iron Monger armor for combat. He pilots the armor in the war.

[gosoccerdawgs]

Bulldogs Tame Bobcats

Thursday, March 23, 2023 6:30pm

First year senior Hayden Tate had two goals, junior midfielder Jack Raulston had a goal and an assist, and senior Harrison Schwall had two assists to lead Bearden in a 7-1 victory over Central in the Bulldog’s home opener.

All told, ten Bulldogs made the score sheet as they methodically wore down the Bobcat’s bunkered down defense, eventually building a 7-0 margin with fourteen minutes remaining in the contest.

Sophomores Logan Nelson and Jackson Wolverton each played a half in goal for the win. Bearden plays again tonight as they host Christ Presbyterian Academy of Nashville. The Varsity game begins at 6:00pm in an early kickoff.

Goals:

HAYDEN TATE (5’ assist-Jack Raulston); HAMID DJOUADI (18’ Shepard McMurray); JACK RAULSTON (24’ Daniel Kinney); OMAR HAWEZI (34’ unassisted); HAYDEN TATE (56’ Harrison Schwall); LUCAS NORDIN (64’ Tate Willock); JACK TIRGRATH (66’ Harrison Schwall); CHS-Cameron Weaver (76’ direct kick).

Shots/Shots-on-goal: BHS 25/12, Central 7/3. Corner Kicks: BHS 7 CHS 1. Yellow Cards: CHS (25’), BHS (61’). Records: BHS 2-0-1 CHS 0-1-1.

Outside the box...this season’s Captains are Cole Hutchison, Lucas Nordin, and Harrison Schwall...Thursday’s kickoff was moved up to 6:30 to accommodate the Vols basketball game...Woof!

[ijustreallylikecaptainamericaok]

Captain Carter #1

[city-of-ladies]

(The women of Eger, by Bertalan Székely)

The women of Eger - Victory or death

In June 1552, the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent began a military campaign against the Habsurgs. In the path of the Ottoman troops was Eger Castle, Hungary. Its garrison, consisting of some 1,920 men, faced a vastly superior force of 27,000 troops. Captain Istvan Dobo was determined to fight to the death and a huge black coffin was placed on Eger’s ramparts to signal this commitment. 

Among the garrison were around 90 women, 40 of whom were ladies of nobility. The women refused to escape while it was still possible. They, too, wanted to fight. 

The Turks first bombarded the walls, but ran out of ammunition on September 29. Close combat ensued as they tried to breach the walls. In addition to nursing the wounded, the women actively repelled the assailants. They poured boiling water onto them and threw burning faggots soaked with tar. The ladies also fought the Turks in hand-to-hand combat. 

Tradition has highlighted some of their names: Margit Hommonay, Eufrozina Gyulafy and Mrs. Job Pasky. Katica Dobo, captain Istvan Dobo’s daughter, led the women on the ramparts “her long brown hair streaming from under her helmet”. 

The besieged thus repulsed attack after attack and the Turks had to give up. They lifted the siege on October 13, 1552.

The women of Eger were thus remembered across the centuries as an example of determination and resistance.

If you want to support me, here’s the link to my Ko-Fi.

Bibliography:

Hacker Barton, Vining Margaret (ed.), A Companion to Women’s Military History

Leisen Antal, “Eger, women in siege of”, in: Higham Robin, Pennington Reina (ed.), Amazons to fighter pilots, biographical dictionary of military women, vol.1

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

FACING DOWN AN EXECUTIONER'S WALL OF DEATH -- THE SIEGE OF GALACTIC COMMAND!

PIC(S) INFO: Resolution at 1879×2048 -- Spotlight on cropped textless cover art to "Kirby: Genesis -- Captain Victory" Vol. 1 #7. April, 2012. Artwork by Alex Ross. Dynamite Entertainment.

PIC #2: Resolution at 1348×2048 -- Full size textless cover art to "Captain Victory" #7 (April 2012). Dynamite Comics.

PIC #3: 600×900 -- Published cover art with text.

Sources: https://x.com/thealexrossart/status/1743680098803355745 (X 2x).

[wariofranchisefanblog]

Wario, as both a character and a series, has been around for nearly 30 years. During that time-span, there are obviously gonna be some ups and downs and with Wario, I actually find the different eras he went through, to be quite well defined:

1992-1993: Promising Beginnings

Wario entered the scene in 1992, as the main villain of Super Mario Land 2. Being the (then) newest title in gaming’s biggest franchise, Wario naturally got a lot of exposure and instantly proved to be popular.

Only a year later Mario & Wario would be released, featuring Wario as the main antagonist once more and showing that, unlike a lot of other characters of the time; Wario was here to stay.

M&W even got a notable amount of merchandise, despite being a spin-off, relying on the SNES Mouse. The heavy focus Wario got in all of this really showed that there was a lot of confidence that Wario was indeed, a rising star.

1994-2002: The Golden Age Part 1

Early 1994 was very busy for Wario. You got two versions of Wario’s Woods, which are very different games, you got Wario Blast and then you have the big one: Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land.

Wario Land marked the biggest and most important point in Wario’s history. This is where Wario got fully formed and broke out into being his own thing. His greed, strength, a new nemesis in Captain Syrup, it was all there.

With Wario’s enduring popularity and the success of Wario Land, Wario truly became his own series, with two Satellaview releases of Woods and 4 more Land titles during the span of this era. Dr. Mario 64 is also very much a Wario spin-off in all but name and there was also Picross NP Vol. 7, with it’s series of Wario Land 2 theme puzzles.

That’s not all though, with Mario spin-offs being slowly shaped into how we know them now, Wario and content from his series. quickly found a place in them, from Picross. To Kart, to Party, to the sports games. This was also when Waluigi was introduced.

Between Super Picross, Game & Watch Gallery 2-4 and Dr. Mario 64, this was also the only era in which characters from Wario’s titles found themselves in Mario titles.

Wario also continued to be heavily merchandised, with a lot of comics, manga and children’s books to his name as well. Nintendo very much did everything to treat Wario like the big name he is. The ‘’Wario apparition’’ and the E3 Wario Animatronic may be memes now, but more importantly, they are among the many, many examples of Nintendo keeping Wario on the frontlines, as one of their main mascots.

2003-2009: The Golden Age Part 2

This era made another crucial development in Wario’s history: the creation of WarioWare.

This second, major branch of the franchise exploded onto the scene, with a whooping 8 games (I do count both DIY games separately) and DSi standalone versions of Paper Plane and Pyoro being released during this era.

The platformers also still continued on alongside them, even if R&D1’s days were numbered. World, Master of Disguise and Shake It kept the platformers around. Making for yet another very packed era for Wario.

If that wasn’t enough, Wario also got make a guest appearance in Densetsu no Stafy 3, was an unlockable character in Super Mario 64 DS and showed up as Baby Wario in Yoshi’s Island DS. This was likely a coincidence, but we ended up even getting an era of Wario crossing over with other Nintendo platformers.

In addition, after waiting since the first game, Wario made it into Smash via Brawl. Now, how Smash handles Wario is not ideal and it started the trend of Wario being associated with farts (no, Strikers Charged came out two years after Brawl entered development and a year after the Waft was revealed) that many, including me, despise. That said, it was great to see Wario’s inclusion be treated like a big deal and to see him get a decent amount of content, including both his main outfits, Kat & Ana as an Assist Trophy and a Wario Land remix as his victory theme.

The spin-offs suddenly stopped using Wario’s cast at all, but we did start seeing Wario series content of other kinds very regularly. The WarioWare inspired Wario Factory in Power Tennis, The Wario World inspired Wario Palace from Superstar Baseball, his car, bike and Diamond City racetracks in Mario Kart, a Wario World remix in DDR Mario Mix and the list just goes on and on.

Power Tennis and Toadstool Tour also deserve a special mention for really pushing Wario and Waluigi into the spotlight as the real main characters of Camelot’s Mario offerings.

This is additionally where Rhythm Heaven made it’s debut, with the Alien Bunnies showing up in it’s first two outings, marking the start of a beautiful shared universe.

Wario also continued to see plenty cool exposure, like the Wario Press Conference skit and even his own manga spin-offs in the Wario Land based Ore Dayo! Wario Dayo! and Go! Ketsu Wario! and the WarioWare based WaiWai Wario and BomBom Comics WarioWare one-shots. This is on top of Dr. Mario-kun, which featured a Wario Master of Disguise based story (featuring Waluigi!) and a Wii promo story with a quick Penny appearance!

So yeah, overall, another amazing era for Wario.

 2010-2013: A Slow Transition

For three years, we would not see another Wario game, but despite that, it was not a quiet time for Wario.

A big game to mention here is Rhythm Heaven Fever, which not only had the Alien Bunnies once more, but also Young Cricket, as a playable character in the multiplayer endless game Kung-Fu Ball.

Wario himself trucked on in the Mario spin-offs, still getting lots of exposure in marketing, particularly with Mario Party 9. This was also a time full of especially cool Wario content.

You got the Wario Land based Wario’s Shipyard, the Wario Dunes in Tennis Open with it’s Land 3 remixes, Wario getting the Shoulder Charge, Ground Pound and WarioWare Bomb as moves in Sports Mix, Wario using the Earthquake Punch from Shake It In Mario & Sonic 2012 3DS and Wario mentioning the Black Jewel, Rudy and WarioWare Inc. in Fortune Street quotes and that’s not even everything.

Despite a lack of new Wario games, Wario content was still plentiful.

We did eventually get a new Wario game in Game & Wario. I personally enjoy the game, but there is no denying that reception to it was mixed and sales were poor and I can’t act like I don’t get why.

Between this, Ore Dayo! Wario Dayo! and Go! Ketsu Wario! concluding and a lack of news on the platformer front, things suddenly got oddly quiet for Wario. Something that was, sadly, a sign of things to come.

2014-2017: The Dark Age

This era marks the longest time without a new release. Neither Land nor Ware were anywhere to be seen. What we did get during this time wasn’t particularly encouraging either.

To get Smash out of the way: it was awful to Wario. The Shoulder Charge was removed & farting got pushed even more, flat 2D trophies made of recycled assets, Wario himself was made unlockable and thus absent in any promotional material. Dope Gamer stage aside, it just wasn’t good to him.

This era marked a massive change of attitude at Nintendo it seemed. Wario himself was routinely left out of stuff like say, New 3DS promo stuff, a lot of official art, Miitopia gears or the Mario vs Donkey Kong amiibo game, where Wario was even the only Marioverse character at the time with an amiibo, to be excluded. What did we get instead?

Lots and lots of Ashley.

Ashley makes up the majority of Wario content in Smash 4, with an AT, Mii costume, her theme being the only returning vocal song and her theme also getting a new remix, the only new post-Brawl Wario remix in Smash. She was in Super Mario Maker, got a music video and remix of her theme in Band Brothers P, was in a promo for Art Academy, got merch, multiple 3DS themes, with Wario getting not even one, a Nintendo Dream article, web comics and was essentially a mascot for the Badge Arcade, getting new badges all the time and even a fake April Fools announcement of her own game, Crazy Galaxy.

Not saying Ashley shouldn’t get content, far from it, with how things are now, I’d even be open to Crazy Galaxy, despite not being all that attached to Ashley, it’s just that between Wario’s dimishing and worsening treatment, Land and Ware being nowhere to be seen and the rest of the Ware cast getting so little by comparison, it really felt like Wario was done for, aside from him living on as spin-off roster fodder.

There were a few nice things still. The Gamer stage was great, Rhythm Heaven Megamix had the WarioWare challenge sets, featuring the whole main cast, Wario’s amiibo Party board in MP10 Is a love letter to his franchise, NES Remix 2 featured Wario’s Woods, Bwario and Bwaluigi are a gift and even the Badge Arcade at least had one normal WarioWare badge set and a Majora’s Mask crossover set, that used Wario, Jimmy and Penny along with Ashley and Red.

Overall, though? Easily Wario’s low point and not an era I look back on fondly.

2018-Present: The Renaissance

The thing that really felt like it turned things around is WarioWare Gold. Finally a new Wario game and an excellent one too, that celebrated WarioWare as a whole and also paid homage to Land quite a bit.

What was surprising though was the push Nintendo gave it. Wario took over Nintendo’s twitter and the 3DS eShop pre-release and even post-release, we got the character trailers, special Christmas art for Mona and Ashley, WarioWare and even a Wanda sticker in Nintendo Dream, the in-character Nintendo Dream interview featuring the cast and a Band Brothers P x WarioWare remix contest.

Smash also made some steps into a nicer direction for Wario. Losing Kat & Ana as an AT blew and new content was still minimal, but there are nicer things to say here. Wario got plenty moveset and animation tweaks to make him more in-line with how he should be, including a returning Shoulder Charge and finally getting some acknowledgement of Wario’s non-are cast, due to Wanda, Captain Syrup, Shokora, Shake King and Cannoli showing up as Spirits. Shokora being a highlighted one on the original website and Wario’s cast being frequently featured on Spirit Event promos are also very nice, little gestures.

Starting with 2020, we all of the sudden saw a noticeable spike in Wario activity. Wario and Waluigi are among the unlockable Mario game pieces in Clubhouse Games, Baby Wario made his return in Dr. Mario World, Jump Rope Challenge added a Wario costume, Captain Syrup got a mention in Animal Crossing New Horizons and Wario eventually got a costume in the same game.

Heck, Nintendo even finally considers the Super Mario Land games to be part of the Mario main series, so Wario got some small anniversary acknowledgement through that.

While the Mario spin-offs have been on a bit of a meh track currently, Tennis Aces and Super Rush pushed Wario and Waluigi back into the spotlight as prominent stars of Camelot’s Mario work. This is especially true for Super Rush, where the two get a more extensive story mode part than anyone else.

Nintendo has also become more happy to flaunt Wario again, Super Rush being once again being the biggest example, with Wario and Waluigi getting a lion’s share of the marketing attention, especially on Twitter and even beforehand Tennis Aces’s marketing brought us new Wario and Waluigi mascot suits.

And then there is WarioWare Get It Together. An incredible looking game that is really looking to at minimum, match Gold, bring in a real evolution to the WarioWare formula and do really, really well.

It helps that Nintendo seem very confident in it, a demo, a new Twitter takeover (with a lot of Wario Land mentions no less), lots of promo tweets and even a decent amount of Youtube coverage.

The biggest take-away I have gotten since 2018 is that Nintendo are regaining a lot of their confidence in Wario and that has promise for a lot of very, very good things.

Things aren’t ideal yet, Wario Land still needs a comeback and Nintendo is still weird with Wario sometimes, like the lack of a Switch user icon for him or his absence from Super Nintendo World.

Still, things are looking optimistic for Wario and I am looking forward to see what the future holds for him.

[nientedenada]

Reaping the Whirlwind: A New Theory of the Psijics vs. the Maormer

Originally posted on r/teslore

For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. - Hosea 8:7

In 3E 110, the Maormer invaded Summerset. Every version agrees that they ultimately failed because of a freak storm, which is usually attributed to the Psijics. The baldest statement of the facts from Brief History of the Empire: Vol 1:

The War of the Isle in 3E110, twelve years after Antiochus assumed the throne, nearly took the province of Summurset Isle away from Tamriel. The united alliance of the kings of Summurset and Antiochus only managed to defeat King Orghum of the island-kingdom of Pyandonea due to a freak storm. Legend credits the Psijic Order of the Isle of Artaeum with the sorcery behind the tempest.

In The Wolf Queen, Waughin Jarth expands on this story with a tale of skullduggery in which Potema manipulates the Psijics into accepting her brother’s payment to destroy the Maormer, while overcharging her brotherto fund her own cause. The Psijics in this story work for cash – the only important thing is the amount of cash. And while a money-grubbing turn of the Psijic Order is amusing to contemplate, the novels’ details are likely fictional license on Jarth’s part. In his defence, it’s mentioned in Father of the Niben that

Waughin Jarth, I have been told, in writing his well-regarded series on the Wolf Queen of Solitude used over a hundred contemporary narratives.

and in Ted Peterson’s Interview with Three Writers, Jarth mentions interviewing survivors of the War of the Isle. But it does not seem that the Psijics gave him their version, so he was working with an incomplete story. Most famously, he has Iachesis of the Psijics alive some centuries after his death.

However, there’s one detail from The Wolf Queen: Volume 4 worth quoting for building up the picture of what happened.

Three months later, Potema heard that the fleet of the Pyandoneans had been utterly destroyed by a storm that had appeared suddenly off the Isle of Artaeum. The home port of the Psijic Order. King Orgnum and all of his ships had been utterly annihilated.

I think we can trust Jarth for the location of the storm. It’d be attested in lots of other sources, not a state or Psijic Secret.

At this point, I have to give some credit to /u/www-Jason-com, whose post: The Wolf Queen v4 is a hidden GOLD MINE for Maormer theories I read at the time but didn’t think further on. He wrote

But we also learn during ESO that the Maormer have powerful storm magics, and assuming from the Maormer's title as the greatest ship captains in Tamriel we can assume that they'd know how to handle a bad storm. So they could have just sunk their ships for whatever reason, but that would be a pretty dumb thing to do. But who knows

ANYWAYS that's it

Sorry I got kinda lazy with the last one. The more I thought about it the more it seemed dumb so I didn't try very hard (maybe you guys have some more to add to it though?),

I’d completely forgotten your post, but it may have been at the back of my mind when I came up with this idea. Found it again looking for previous discussion on the topic. So yes, I have something to add to it.

The coincidence of the Maormer, the pre-eminent storm magicians, being destroyed in an epic freak storm absolutely needs attention. In ESO, we see that the Maormer whip up sudden storms like this not only to sink the Dominion navy (the Dominion’s opening quest is about this), but to assault the coastline. Battlereeve Alduril says of one of your opponents:

That was Stormreeve Neidir. If the Maormer wanted to hurl a tidal wave at the Malabal Tor mainland, it would have taken power like hers to do it.

My theory is that it was not the Psijics who brewed the freak storm. It was the Maormer, as part of their usual attack pattern. But I still think it was the Psijics’ victory. I’m proposing the Psijics did the magical equivalent of stepping back and using your enemies' force against them.

I think that would fit the way the Psijics work, by understanding the forces of the universe, much better than a brutal solution like whipping up a storm.

Making a few little elegant tweaks in the right places, so to speak, to turn the fury of their own assaulting storm on the Maormer navy, I think that would be immensely satisfying.

[ccaptain]

“i guess there’s no way of knowing with you.” words lilt along the cold cut of his breath. the inch kaeya has gained on him means nothing; no-one can look down on others like an aristocrat scorned by- blood. sort of. might as well be. there's 3 feet of lacquered wood between them & the tight cross of diluc's arms. he can't leave; this is his tavern & he's on the clock. ( he doesn't want kaeya to leave. ) he doesn't want kaeya to see the warm wet pump of need in his chest. | wayyy before showing up feverish. diluc just got back to mondt,,, bitey, bitchy, defensive, hateful. probably after the manga. I'M SORRY FOR THIS.

LULLABY HOTLINE, VOL. 1

prompts from the album the lullaby hotline vol. 1 by adam melchor.

After almost an hour of talking ( basically by himself, from the littlest of inches Diluc has given him - ), this, this one thing, is what shuts Kaeya up.

It brings his words to an halt, and inwardly, he's happy that somebody finally told him that. Because since that night, his throat feels empty, and he must fill it with words to mantain the façade, to let people know that nothing is wrong.

There isn't, but Kaeya finds it pointless to spread the cape of dread settling over his back like wings. It's not like it would matter here -- he isn't the hurt party.

( If he focus a bit too much, even after years of not seeing him, he can still feel the cold bite of the rain soak him, and the fire, the incandescent flames coming near his face -- )

The drink swirls in its glass, and the captain falls quiet. He isn't foolish enough to hope that this little verbal victory avenges him, even just a little -- but he wishes it could. He'd do anything to try and apologize for what he did, he'd grasp at the strings of time to drag it back to before --

Yet, he can't. He's no Archon, no god of time. All he can do is blink blearily, the taste of alcohol burning his throat, and it's just a quarter of how much more intense the burn of his shame is.

This time, he just has no strenght left to muster up a smile to go along with it.

He has done enough. It'd be unjust. Diluc is right to be angry, and closed off and defensive -- but it doesn't hurt less, nor soothed the mouthful of bitter pouring in his throat like bile.

Diluc has all the rights to be angry. Kaeya, the sinner, the disgusting traitor -- the sole responsible of their father's death, cannot feel bitter about that. But he does, and the drink is spoiled, and he's a fool to hope that after his pilgrimage 'luc may have forgiven him.

There's no forgiveness for sinners, nor should there ever be.

' Right, ' it's the quiet, souless comment he makes. Push, he tells himself. Push this away so I can never harm him ever again. I cannot harm what I can't connect with.

Light blue affixes itself on Diluc's face, no other attempts at trying to humor him.

Now, Kaeya just looks tired and strung out like an old rug, the mask falls to the ground and breaks to pieces. ' No, ' he confirms with a nod, teeth clacking on the edge of the glass. ' You may never know with me. And I can't make sure of that, Diluc. '

I can never make sure again that I won't hurt you.

This should be the final phrase, his exit. He should gather his winged cape, his dignity and sorrow and leave Diluc alone, for he has done far too much to the person he loves like family. Leave him a tip. Apologize. Do something, anything to bring things back to normal.

But Kaeya is a coward and a traitor. And, true to his nature, the wooden desk seems much more appropriate to his scrunity than the face of the person he has betrayed.

A sly, untrustful snake until the end.

[northoftheroad]

Dick Grayson timeline

Also known as the list I started trying to get the pictures in my 80-year anniversary video in the right order. I have skipped a lot of video games, and a number of Elseworld comics and I have not included for instance every Teen Titans/Titans title Dick has ever been in. And, of course, it does not include every story arc, retelling of Dick’s history or single issue he’s been in. (This video and timeline are reposted for technical reasons...)

1940. Dick Grayson / Robin debuts in Detective Comics # 38. (April issue, but it was released earlier. I have seen both March 5 and 6 named as release date and I’ve also read that this is an approximation. Evidently, the delivery date varied greatly back in the days.)

1943. Movie serial The Batman with Douglas Croft as Robin.

1943. October 25. Publication start of the daily comic strip Batman and Robin. Ends in 1946.

1945. (March.) Batman and Robin’s first appearance in the radio show The Adventures of Superman, with Ronald Liss as Robin.

1947. (February.) The first Robin solo series starts in Star Spangled Comics # 65. Robin - The Boy Wonder (sometimes with the addition of Batman) would continue in SSC until the title ended in July 1952, # 130.

1949. Movie serial The New Adventures of Batman and Robin, with Johnny Duncan as Robin.

1950. Robin’s first outing as Batman (with a Robin symbol instead of a Bat) in DC # 165.

1952. Superman # 76. The first time Batman and Superman meet in comics (it ends with Robin taking Lois Lane to dinner.)

1954. Batman, Robin and Superman team up for the first time in World’s Finest Comics # 71.

1964. First appearance of what would become the Teen Titans, in The Brave and the Bold #54.

1966. Batman: The Movie and the tv show. Burt Ward as Robin.

1966. May 29. Publication start of the daily comic strip Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder. It ends in 1969.

1966. A manga adaptation of Batman is published in Japan, with Jiro Kuwata as main artist. The manga is published 1966-1967 and adapts Silver age Batman stories.

1966. Teen Titans vol 1.

1967. First appearance of Robin of Earth-Two, in Justice League of America #55. (He was considered to be the Dick Grayson from the ”Golden age” stories. As an adult, he was a member of the Justice Society of America, a lawyer, ambassador, and attorney. He went out as Batman once in his career.)

1969. (December.) Dick moves from Gotham to Hudson university in ”One bullet too many!”, Batman # 217. Bruce and Alfred leaves Wayne Manor. Robin will have sporadic solo stories in the Bat titles until the early 1980s.

1972. Batman and Robin in The New Scooby-Doo movies with Casey Kasem voicing Robin.

1973. The Super Friends, animated television series with Batman and Robin and other superheroes. Produced by Hanna-Barbera. Casey Kasem is voice actor for Robin.

1976 (to 1981). The comic book Super Friends adapted the adventures from the television animated series.

1977. The New Adventures of Batman, animated, with Burt Ward as Robin.

1978. Teen Titans vol 1 ends.

1980. (October.) Dick leaves Hudson university, resigned to the fact that he can’t continue as Robin and keep up with college. In ”The Gotham Connection”, in Detective Comics #495.

1980. The New Teen Titans. (# 1 in November.)

1980. (December.) Dick comes to Gotham in Batman # 330. Bruce is disappointed he has left college.

1982. Bruce, Alfred and Dick moves back to Wayne Manor and the Batcave, in Batman # 348.

1984. Dick decides to stop calling himself Robin in Tales of the Teen Titans # 39 (February).

1984. Dick gives Jason Todd his old Robin suit in Batman # 368 (February).

1984. Dick becomes Nightwing in Tales of the Teen Titans #44 (July).

1985-1986. Crisis on Infinite Earths. Earth-Two is erased from continuity. However, that world’s Dick Grayson (still using the name Robin) and Helena Wayne (Huntress), did not perish with their world since they were in the battle against the Anti-Monitor. They were killed and buried at Valhalla Cemetery on the remaining Earth.

1987. The Crisis catch up with Batman with a new version of how Dick left Robin, and a new origin story for Jason Todd, in Batman # 408 (June).

1989. Batman Year Three. Storyline in Batman # 436-439.

1989. In the story arc A Lonely place of Dying, Dick becomes the new co-owner of Haly circus and low-key supports Tim Drake as a new Robin.

1990. The Batman Murders, a novel written by Craig Shaw Gardner with Dick/Nightwing as a prominent character. It takes place in a timeline similar to the comics at the time, after Jason’s death but before Tim.

1992. There were plans for writer/artist Art Thibert to write a miniseries together with Pamela Winesette that would start around New Titans # 93 and end with Dick and Starfire getting married (in New Titans # 100). An editorial shift in DC resulted in the plans being scrapped.

1992. Batman The Animated Series. Loren Lester as Robin.

1992. The Batman Adventures. Tie-in comic to BTAS. Ends in 1995.

1994. KnightsEnd Prodigal. Dick’s first longer stint as Batman, with Tim as Robin.

1995. TAS game.

1995. Nightwing Alfred’s return.

1995. Batman & Robin Adventures, tie-in to BTAS. Ends in 1997.

1995. Batman Forever, with Chris O’Donnell as Dick.

1995. Nightwing vol 1, a 4 issue mini series.

1996. Dick Grayson is Moonwing, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Bruce Wayne, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Moonwing is an amalgamation of Marvel’s Moon Knight and DC’s Nightwing in the Amalgam Universe.

1996. Shadow of the Bat Annual # 4, a medieval fantasy AU where Bruce is the king hiding in his castle while Dick fights in his place as Batman (and is killed).

1996. Nightwing vol 2. Dick moves to Blüdhaven in # 1.

1996. Kingdom Come. Dick is Red Robin and has a daughter, Mar’i, with Starfire.

1997. Batman & Robin. Chris O’Donnell as Dick.

1997. Batman and Captain America. (Earth-3839)

1997. Nightwing Annual # 1. Dick pretends to marry a woman to investigate if she has murdered previous husbands.

1997. The Batman Chronicles: The Gauntlet.

1997. Thrillkiller. Elseworld story.

1998. Batman & Mr Freeze: SubZero. Loren Lester as the voice of Dick/Robin.

1998. The Batman Adventures. The Lost Years. 5 issue mini-series, BTAS Dick leaves Gotham, at odds with Batman, and Robin. He travels the world to learn. When he finally returns, he has transformed to Nightwing.

1998. Batman: Gotham Adventures. Continuing BTAS comic, with Dick as Nightwing and Tim as Robin. Ends in 2003.

1998-1999. Batman: Dark Knight of the round table. Elseworld story.

1999. Dick joins the Blüdhaven Police Academy in Nightwing # 32, planning to fight the corruption from the inside.

1999. Dark Victory.

1999. The Kingdom. Sequel/prequel to Kingdom Come.

1999 (-2004). Superman and Batman: Generations. (Earth-3839 again)

2000. Dick gets a job as a cop in Blüdhaven, in Nightwing # 48.

2001. Dick is Batman (and is killed ) in Superman and Batman: Generations # 2.

2001. Robin Year One.

2001. Dick is adopted in the main continuity, in Batman: Gotham Knights # 21.

2001. JLA: Riddle of the Beast. Elsworld story (a fantasy story where Batman keeps Nightwing’s dead body sitting beside him on the throne).

2001–2002. Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, by Frank Miller and more. Dick Grayson, who used to be Robin but was abused and sacked by Batman, has become a Joker-like character, an insane criminal with a healing factor and shape-shifting abilities. In the end, he is killed by Batman.

2002. Batman: Nine lives. Elseworld story. (Set in Gotham in the 1940s, Dick Grayson is a private detective.)

2002. Nightwing becomes the leader of a new line-up of the JLA in the storyline The Obsidian Age (JLA # 69). The former members have disappeared but Batman had a contingency plan: a new team lead by Nightwing.

2003. Teen Titans (tv). Scott Menville as Robin.

2003. Donna Troy is (seemingly) killed in Titans/Young Justice: Graduation day. Nightwing declares that ”The Titans are finished”.

2003. Dick becomes leader of the Outsiders in Outsiders vol 3 # 1. He’s been persuaded by Roy Harper/Arsenal, who claims this team will not be a family, only co-workers.

2003. Dick is fired from the police force in Nightwing # 83, when Police Captain Amy Rohrbach, Dick’s former partner, realizes he is Nightwing.

2003. Batman Adventures vol 2. New tie-in comic to BTAS, where Dick/Nightwing makes the occasional appearance. Ends in 2004.

2004. DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke.

2004. The Batman Strikes. Tie-in comics to the animated tv show The Batman, where Dick will turn up in 2006 (and in # 29, 2007). Ends in 2008.

2005. First issue of Frank Miller’s All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder.

2005. Year One: Batman/Scarecrow.

2005. Nightwing Year One. Storyline in Nightwing # 101-106.

2006. Infinite Crisis. Blüdhaven is destroyed by a gang of supervillains who drop the radioactive Chemo over the city, as vengeance against Nightwing. There were plans to kill Dick in Infinite Crisis, but DC changed their minds and he was badly hurt instead.

2006. Nightwing starts operating in New York in Nightwing # 118.

2006. Batman/The Spirit.

2006. "Inheritance", a novel by former Nightwing and Batman-writer Devin Grayson. It revolves around three superheroes and their former sidekicks – Batman and Nightwing, Green Arrow and Arsenal and Aquaman and Tempest. (I haven’t read this myself, but from what I’ve seen her take on Dick �� and Bruce’s and Dick’s relationship – is pretty controversial among fans.)

2006. Dick makes his debut in the animated The Batman (2004). Robin is voiced by Evan Sabara. In the episode ”Artifacts”, an older Dick as Nightwing is voiced by Jerry O’Connell.

2007. Dick steps down as leader of the Outsiders. Batman takes over and tells him ”Go back to the good fight, Dick. Leave the bad fight to us.”

2008. Tiny Titans.

2008. Justice League: The New Frontier. Animated movie adaptation of Darwyn Cooke’s limited series.

2008. Dick becomes curator of The Cloisters in New York, in Nightwing # 141.

2008. Dick Grayson of Earth-43. (Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Red Rain # 1.)

2009. NightLantern/Hal Grayson, an amalgam of Dick and Hal Jordan in a dream world created by Doctor Destiny. Superman/Batman # 60-61.

2009. Nightwing vol 2 ends. Dick moves back to Gotham after Bruce’s ”death”.

2009. Batman: Battle for the Cowl. 3 issues. Jason wants to take over as a more violent Batman, he shoots Damian and leaves Tim for dead before Dick, who is reluctant to put on the cowl, defeats him.

2009. Batman: The Widening Gyre. 6 issue series that was supposed to have a continuation. Dick is Robin (and younger Nightwing) in flashbacks and Nightwing in the present. An elseworld where Bruce is set to marry Silver StCloud, but the flashbacks borrow a lot from canon stories.

2009. Li’l Gotham.

2009. Dick makes his debut as Batman in Batman #687.

2009. Batman & Robin vol 1, with Dick as Batman and Damian as Robin.

2009. Dick/Robin appears in the episode ”The Color of Revenge” of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Dick is voiced by Crawford Wilson.

2010. Young Justice (tv). Robin is voiced by Jesse McCartney.

2010. Batman: Under the Red Hood. Dick/Nightwing is voiced by Neil Patrick Harris.

2010. Dick appears in the episode ”Sidekicks Assemble” of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Young Robin is voiced by Jeremy Shada, older Robin/Nightwing by Crawford Wilson.

2010. Dick appears in Batman Beyond (with an eye patch), vol 3, Hush Beyond. This Hush turns out to be a clone of Dick, made by Amanda Waller to have someone to replace Bruce as Batman if needed.

2011. Flashpoint.

2011. Flashpoint: Deadman and the Flying Graysons. A mini-series with an alternate university where Dick ends up as the new Doctor Fate.

2011. Nightwing vol. 3. (New 52)  When the series start, Dick has moved to his own place in Gotham after having filled in as Batman for ”almost a year”. (Before Flashpoint, he was Batman for more than a year.)

2011. In Batman Beyond vol 4, Dick has a small part in issue 4. There he goes public with that he was Nightwing and claims he was a paid employee and never saw Batman without a mask. (He is not on speaking terms with Bruce.)

2011. Batman Live, stage show with Kamran Darabi-Ford and Michael Pickering as Dick.

2011. Batman: Arkham City. Dick/Nightwing makes no-speaking appearance in the game.

2011. The Court of Owls, storyline i Batman vol 2 about a secret organization that will later be revealed to have ties to Dick’s family.

2012. Young Justice season 2, Dick has become Nightwing, voiced by Jesse McCartney.

2012. Holy Musical B@man. (March 22-25, at Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.) Nick Lang as Robin.

2012. ”The Gray Son” in Nightwing vol 3 # 9. The Grayson family gets a new origin story with the Court of Owls.

2013. Batman Beyond 2.0, where Dick works with Terry McGinnis/Batman.

2013. Dick moves to Chicago in Nightwing vol 3 # 19, following the trail of Tony Zucco, the man who killed his parents.

2013. Batman ’66, comic book continuation of the tv show from 1966.

2013. Arkham Origins (game). Josh Keaton is voice actor for Dick/Robin.

2013. Injustice: Gods Among Us, a video game, Troy Baker as voice actor. 

2013. Nightwing is killed in the game tie-in comic Injustice: Gods Among Us #16.

2013. Teen Titans Go. Scott Menville is voice actor for Robin.

2014. In Batman Beyond 2.0 # 17-24, we get a glimpse of an alternate Dick, in the Justice Lord’s timeline, married to Barbara and where they have a son, John.

2014. Nightwing vol 3 ends.

2014. Forever Evil, where Lex Luthor kills Dick to stop a bomb, wired to his heart, to explode. But revives him (possibly only because Batman attacks him).  

2014. Grayson. Batman has (pretty much forced)  Dick to pretend to remain dead and infiltrate the organisation Spyral.

2014. Son of Batman (DC AMU). Sean Maher is the voice of Dick/Nightwing.

2014. Earth 2: World’s end. On this earth, Dick and Barbara are married and have a son, John. The world is destroyed and Barbara is killed. Dick, who was a reporter, lets John go so the boy can be saved on a spaceship but Dick eventually ends up with Batman, Thomas Wayne, and gets away from the doomed planet.

2014. Nightwing: The Series, a fan-made live action webb-series produced by Ismahawk, with Danny Shepherd as Dick/Nightwing. 

2015. Titans Hunt.

2015. Batman vs. Robin (DC AMU). Sean Maher is the voice of Dick/Nightwing.

2015. Arkham Knight (game). Scott Porter is the voice actor for Dick/Nightwing.

2015. Batman: Arkham Knight. Limited series, a prequel to the game. Dick makes a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance.

2015. Batman & Robin Eternal.

2015. Batman Unlimited, a series of direct-to-video animated films (Animal Instincts (May 2015), Monster Mayhem (August 2015) and Mechs vs. Mutants (September 2016) ) and online-shorts inspired by the action figure line produced by Mattel. Dick is Nightwing.

2015. Convergence. DC event featuring characters from earlier continuities. It consist of a main miniseries as well as a number of 2 issue miniseries. In the main story, Dick from Earth 2 teams up with Batman/Thomas Wayne. When they visit the Batcave of pre-Flashpoint Batman Alfred offers Dick a cup of Earl Grey. After Thomas Wayne hs been killed, Dick decides to continue in his footsteps. This story continues in Earth 2: Society.

2015. Convergence: Nightwing/Oracle. 2 Pre-Flashpoint characters, the story ends with Dick and Barbara marrying.

2015. Convergence: The New Teen Titans. NTT from the time of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Dick is married to Koriand’r/Starfire.

2015. Convergence: Detective Comics. Dick Grayson/Robin and Helena Wayne/Huntress of the old Earth-Two are forced to fight Superman Red Son. The story ends with Dick putting on Batman’s suit. (This Dick and Helena were earlier killed in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 in 1986.)

2015. Dick is the Batman in Earth 2: Society, a continuation of Earth 2: World’s End.

2016. Batman: Bad Blood (DC AMU)  Dick/Nightwing is voiced by Sean Maher.

2016. Batman Beyond 2.0 ends. Dick and Bruce seem to reconcile.

2016. Grayson ends.

2016. Nightwing vol 4 (Rebirth).

2016. Return of the Caped Crusaders. Burt Ward as the voice of Dick/Robin.

2016. Superman American Alien # 4, where a young Dick makes an appearance.

2016. Dick moves to Blüdhaven in (Rebirth) Nightwing # 10.

2016. Batman /TMNT Adventures.

2016. Titans (Rebirth comics, discontinued 2019).

2017. Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (DC AMU). Dick/Nightwing is voiced by Sean Maher.

2017. The Lego Batman movie. Michael Cera is the voice of Dick/Robin.

2017. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II.

2017. Batman: White Knight.

2017. Batman vs. Two-Face. Burt Ward is the voice of Dick/Robin.

2017. Batman and Harley Quinn. Loren Lester is the voice of Dick/Nightwing.

2017. Batman and Harley Quinn. 7 issue comic.

2017. Nightwing: The New Order. Dick and Starfire have a son, Jake, in a future where Dick as Nightwing had used a device to nullify superpowers, believing it was the best way to save humanity.

2018. Teen Titans Go. To the Movies. Scott Menville is Dick/Robin.

2018. Dick appears in Batman Beyond (2016) vol 6 # 25. This is another version than in earlier Batman Beyond, he has both his eyes, a beard and a daughter, Elainna. Dick is the mayor of Blüdhaven.

2018. Batman # 55 (September). Dick is shot in the head and the amnesiac Ric storyline begins. He supposedly tries to build a new life in Blüdhaven, away from the Wayne’s and superheroing, while the name Nightwing is used by three cops and a firefighter; however, Dick is soon out fighting crime again.

2018. Titans (tv). Brenton Thwaites is Dick Grayson/Robin.

2018. Batman Ninja. Daisuke Ono is the voice actor for Nightwing.

2018. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II.

2018. Batman: Gotham by Gaslight. Lincoln Melcher is the voice actor for Dickie.

2019. Young Justice: Outsiders. Dick/Nightwing is voiced by Jesse McCartney.

2019. Richard "Dick" Grayson / Robin, the leader of the Tween Titans and adopted son of Bruce Wayne in the animated show DC Super Hero Girls. Debuted in From Bat to Worse (July, 2019) Voice actor Keith Ferguson.

2019. Batman: Hush. (DC AMU). Sean Maher is the voice actor for Dick.

2019. Batman: Last Knight on Earth (where Dick for a time goes by Talon, because the bats were defeated, and he and Barbara have a daughter, Bryce).

2019. DCeased, where Dick is one of the first to succumb to the virus.

2019. Batman: Curse of the White Knight.

2019. Lego DC Batman: Family matters. Will Friedle is the voice actor for Dick/Nightwing.

2019. Tales from the Dark Multiverse. Teen Titans The Judas Contract. Dick and all the other Titans, heroes and most of humanity (I think) are killed by Terra.

2019. Teen Titans Go! vs Teen Titans. Scott Menville is the voice of both Robins.

2019. Nightwing has a small part in the novel “The Court of Owls” by Greg Cox (Titan book).

2019. The Court of Owls have given Dick false memories after he was shot in the head, and he is dressed up as a Talon for a while in the Nightwing comic.

2019. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.

2019. Batman: Curse of the White Knight. Sequel to Batman: White Knight 

2019. Dick (Brenton Thwaites) becomes Nightwing in the last episode of season 2 of Titans.

2020. In the regular Nightwing title, Dick starts to regain his true memories. However, when this is being written, Coronavirus and DC events make it unsure when we’ll get the real Dick back.

2020, March 18. Robin 80th Anniversary special.

2020. Batman: The Adventures Continue. (The continued adventures of BTAS in comic books.)

2020: Dick appears in Titans: Titans Together, as well as Batman: Gotham Nights. Digital comics that seem to take place outside the main continuity. 

2020. Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (DC AMU). (Nightwing is killed, Damian tries to revive him in a Lazarus pit but his mind never heals.)

2020. Dick regains his memories in Nightwing vol 4 # 74 (September 8), 720 days after he lost them in Batman vol 3 # 55. He gets back into his Nightwing suit in Batman vol 3 # 99. 

2021. In the DC possible future-event Future State (January-February 2021), Dick is in two books: Nightwing and Teen Titans.

2021. Dick gets himself a thre-legged puppy in Nightwing vol 4 # 78. Fans in the USA could vote and she got the name Haley (alias Bitewing). 

2021. After the relaunch Infinite Frontier, parts of Dick’s pre-Flashpoint history in Blüdhaven has been restored. He has for instance been a cop, and lives in the apartment building he bought during Nightwing vol 2. 

2021. In the title Teen Titans Academy, which seems to be a prequel to Future State: Teen Titans, Dick is one of the mentors for a new generation of Titans. Dick also makes appearances in for instance Future State: Gotham, The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries and has a story in Batman: Black & White (2020) # 5.

2021. Dick is Police Commissioner of Gotham in Batman/Catwoman, a 12 issue Black Label miniseries written by Tom King. 

2021. Season 3 of Titans.

2021. Dick is an adorable Robin from an alternate universe in Batman/Robin (2019) # 16–21 plus Annual # 1, written by Gene Luen Yang.

2021, September. Batman: Wayne Family Adventures, comic at Webtoon. A fanon-friendly take where Wayne Manor is filled to the brim with (more or less) adopted junior vigilantes.

2021. Injustice: Gods Among Us animated movie, Dick is in there to die and become the new Deadman, I guess. Voice actor Derek Phillips. 

2021. Yoshi Sudarso was supposed to be Nightwing/Dick Grayson in a live-action mini-series adaptation of the fanon-friendly webtoon Batman: Wayne Family Adventures by Ismahawk. But after the news broke, it seemed to be stuck in limbo.

2021. Young Justice: Phantoms. Season 4 of the animated show on HBO Max in October. 

2021, November. Robin and Batman, a three issue miniseries written about Dick’s first time as Robin. Writer Jeff Lemire, art Dustin Nguyen.

2021. Batman vs Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham. A Batman/Fables crossover limited series where (as far as I understand) everyone stays as a Robin, including Dick.

2021. DC vs Vampires. A 12 issue limited series. In #6 (2022), Nightwing is showed to be the Vampire king and kills several of his family on panel.

2021, September. Batman: The Audio Adventures. Melissa Villase˜njor is voice actor for Robin. 

2021, November. Robins, six issue miniseries written by Tim Seeley, the winner of DC’s Round Robin contest.

2021, November. Dark Knights of Steel, Fantasy AU written by Tom Taylor, art by Yasmine Putri. Nightwing/Dick is one of “Batman’s” Robins in this the world.

2021. Nightwing is annoounced as a playable character in the Gotham Knights game, together with Red Hood, Robin (Tim) and Batgirl (Barbara). Voice actor Christopher Sean. The game was published in 2022.

2022. Dick is Robin in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, stories from the past that are tied to the current continuity via Batman vs. Robin and Lazarus Planet. 

2022.  Batman: Beyond the White Knight. Sequel to Batman: White Knight and Curse of the White Knight. It is revealed (unless it was in an earlier book) that Jason Todd was the first Robin and Dick was the second. 

2022. In the comic book Future State Gotham, Dick used the enhancing drug Brane to gain an edge in the fight against the Magistrate and assorted villains. It enhanced his intelligence and gave him some precognition. He also started to use a Batman-like suit. In the end (#18), Dick sacrifices himself to destroy the ghost of Joe Chill, who had possessed Damian. (🤷‍♀️ Yeah, I know, I wouldn’t pay to read that...)

2022. Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths # 1-7. The Justice League is presumed dead (Nightwing seems to be sure they will come back) and super criminals attack en masse. Along the way, “the Great Darkness” tries to take Nightwing as its new host but he fights it off. At the end of the event, the Justice League disband.

2022. Nightwing is a character in the third season of the animated Harley Quinn on HBO Max, with Harvey Guillen as voice actor.

2022. Batman: Gotham Knights – Gilded city. A tie-in prequel to the video game Gotham Knights.

2022. Titans United: Bloodpact. Limited series, set in its own universe as far as I can see. 

2023. Batman: Justice Buster. A 32 chapter manga by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi (started publishing in English 2023).

2023. Batman: The Doom that came to Gotham. Animated movie adaptation of Elseworld comic book from 2000, that takes place in the 1920s. Jason Marsden is voice actor for Dick Grayson. 

2023. World’s Finest: Teen Titans. A spin-off from Batman/Superman: World’s Finest. 

2023. Titans, a new comic book about the Titan’s residing in Blüdhaven and functioning as the prime superhero team. 

2024. Nightwing and his bike Nightbike makes in appearance in the animated tv show Batwheels (2.1), voiced by Zachary Gordon.

2024. Batman: Dark Ages. Alternative universe limited series. Over the course of the series, we see Dick as Robin and Nightwing and eventually dying, still quite young. 

2024. Boy Wonder. A limited series about Damian and his Robin-brothers, Dick is Nightwing.

2024. Batman: Caped Crusader, episode Nocturne. Four kids with Robin-names are seen in the orphanage in the animated tv show. Dickie, voiced by Carter Rockwood, Jace, Stephanie and Carrie. 

2024. DC Vault – Death in the Family – Robin Lives. In the end, Jason becomes the Joker and Dick Batman. 

2024. Batman The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween. A continuation of Dark Victory, with Dick as Robin.