#Hyper Mystery Comics

[chernobog13]

Hyper Mystery Comics #1 (May, 1940).

“It’s new!  It’s different!” claims the cover.  That’s for sure, but one thing it’s not is good.

Our main guy, Hyper the Phenomenal (real name Don-Vin) is as goofy as that cover image.  Just dig that funky helmet!  He spends half the story - which is long, drawn out, and continued the next issue - with his magnetic hands stuck to a metal door! 

Actually, all the stories in this comic are long, drawn out, and continued in the next issue.  If any of them were compelling, or even half decent, that might’ve been motivation to buy the second issue.

As bad as this issue was, the blurb on the inside front cover was what actually compelled me to search out the second issue:

Kind of wild for a comic in 1940 to be advertising a “female impersonator” as one of its characters (and would cause riots in many places across the USA today).  I need to read this issue, if only to see if this feature is as bad as I think it’ll be.

[imastoryteller]

The Paradoxical Character: 19 Unique Trait Pairings

Here’s a list of 19 wildly unusual, highly contrasting trait pairs that blend quirky or fantastical attributes. These could make for delightfully strange, otherworldly, or surreal characters:

Immensely Patient & Chronically Forgetful Character Idea: They can wait for years without complaint but never remember why they started waiting in the first place. Their endless patience is undercut by the confusion of purpose, creating an aura of timeless mystery.

Unbearably Charming & Involuntarily Invisible Character Idea: This character has charisma in spades but is cursed to flicker out of sight randomly. Their allure is magnetic, but people constantly forget they were even there, adding to their mystique and frustration.

Perpetually Cheerful & Pathologically Suspicious Character Idea: They radiate sunshine and kindness yet believe everyone is secretly plotting against them. Their optimism is baffling, considering they’re convinced of hidden dangers everywhere.

Mind-Reading Empath & Emotionally Oblivious Character Idea: Able to feel others’ emotions intensely, yet baffled by their own, this character has no clue how they themselves feel. They’re highly attuned to everyone else but entirely alienated from their own heart.

Limitless Curiosity & Existentially Terrified Character Idea: Endlessly fascinated by every detail of the universe, yet they’re constantly haunted by the fear of the universe itself. Every new discovery brings wonder and intense dread, creating a fascinating internal tug-of-war.

Brilliant Strategist & Hopelessly Absent-Minded Character Idea: A tactical genius who can plan a perfect heist, yet constantly forgets their own plan halfway through. They’re sought after for their brilliance but just as likely to wander off mid-operation.

Supernaturally Persuasive & Pathologically Indecisive Character Idea: They could talk anyone into anything—if only they could decide what they wanted to say. Their powers of persuasion are legendary, but they take forever to make a single choice.

Ancient Wisdom & Childlike Innocence Character Idea: Despite being impossibly old and wise, they approach every situation with the wonder of a child. They’re both sage and novice, baffling people who come seeking advice but receive only wonder-filled observations.

Obscure Knowledge Hoarder & Shameless Gossip Character Idea: They know every forgotten fact of history yet can’t keep a secret to save their life. This character’s deep knowledge clashes hilariously with their loose tongue, turning historical mysteries into idle chatter.

Zen-like Tranquility & Quick to Panic Character Idea: Usually the calmest person in any room, until anything unusual happens, at which point they’re the first to run. People turn to them for peace until their sudden freakouts reveal a hidden, hilarious irony.

Hyper-Logical Thinker & Ridiculously Superstitious Character Idea: Obsessed with logical consistency yet terrified of stepping on cracks or upsetting minor spirits. Their rationality makes them a master problem-solver, but they’re comically fearful of common superstitions.

Effortlessly Graceful & Magically Clumsy Character Idea: They’re naturally elegant in all they do, but objects randomly fly out of their hands or shatter in their presence. They’re revered for poise but cursed by chaos, creating an aura of unpredictable charm.

Telepathically Intuitive & Immensely Gullible Character Idea: Able to sense the unspoken thoughts of others, but easily duped by the most obvious lies. They sense everyone’s hidden motives but constantly believe in harmless nonsense.

Exceptionally Knowledgeable & Epically Lazy Character Idea: They’ve accumulated endless knowledge from books but refuse to do anything with it. They could save the world but prefer napping and observing others fumble around in ignorance.

Magnet for Coincidences & Cynically Skeptical Character Idea: The most absurd things constantly happen around them, yet they refuse to believe in coincidences. This character is a walking contradiction of fate and disbelief, surrounded by odd events they disdain.

Hyper-Attentive Listener & Mute Character Idea: They pick up every nuance of conversation and are incredibly insightful, but they can’t respond out loud. People find comfort in their presence but struggle to understand their silence and deep gaze.

Radiantly Optimistic & Obsessed with Disaster Preparedness Character Idea: Always smiling and convinced things will work out, yet constantly building bunkers and storing supplies. Their sunny outlook is shadowed by an apocalyptic readiness that baffles everyone.

Unbreakable Memory & Instantly Distracted Character Idea: They remember every moment of their life in perfect detail but are so easily distracted that they rarely finish sentences. They’re a walking history book if only they’d stay focused long enough to share it.

Boundless Energy & Always Asleep Character Idea: They have an endless zest for life and could do anything—if they could just stay awake. People are drawn to their energy, but they frequently fall asleep mid-sentence, leaving everyone in suspense.

[vintagegeekculture]

Because she was an intentionally mysterious woman initially only seen in a single episode, and before she got an on-air backstory in the recent streaming series, Star Trek supplementary material developed contradictory information on who - or what - Number One, the female first executive officer of the Enterprise, was. To my count, she has four different, completely incompatible backstories in the comics and novels, and this is absolutely unique in Star Trek, which usually keeps it consistent.

Peter David, in his New Frontier novels, identified Number One as a long lived immortal human mutant (like Flint from the original series) named “Morgan Primus” who was an early genius in cybernetics and artificial intelligence, which is why the Enterprise computer has her voice. One of the names Morgan Primus assumed to hide her immortality was Morgan Lefler, and one of her daughters was Robin Lefler, Wesley Crusher’s love interest from the Next Generation Series played by Ashley Judd. Robin Lefler did not inherit her mutant ability to heal all injuries.

Alternatively, the DC Star Trek Comics of the early 1980s said that Number One was from an obscure planet of peaceful, open, friendly telepaths who resemble humans exactly, and that she was present at first contact with Starfleet. They explained that her blunt, direct, undiplomatic manner is due to her being from a telepathic culture that values total honesty. This would make her the first telepath on the Enterprise, with Spock and Arex coming later. Her planet was created before the Next Generation, but her species being a peaceful, open, telepathic race resembling Mediterranean humans who are not well known or commonly encountered in the original series era….well, that certainly sounds an awful lot like Betazoids to me. If this backstory is true, she may have been the first Betazoid seen on screen, in much the same way fans generally believe Trelane was either Q or a member of the Q Continuum.

D.C. Fontana’s only Star Trek novel, “Vulcan’s Glory,” was one of the earliest attempts to give the character a backstory, and was the most consequential long term. The first novel set in the era of the first Star Trek pilot with Captain Pike and a young Spock, "Vulcan's Glory" identified Number One as being an Illyrian, a race of human-like beings who specialize in species wide breeding programs and genetic improvement. This genetic superiority is why she was cool, intellectual, aloof, and a bit arrogant. Her nickname “Number One” came from the fact she was the supreme product of the hyper-competitive Illyrian system, and won at everything from academics to athletics. According to DC Fontana, her actual Illyrian name is impossible to pronounce, so when dealing with humans, she assumed the human name “Una Chin-Riley.” Una of course, being “Number One” in Greek.

As DC Fontana is such an important figure in Star Trek history and only actually wrote one Star Trek novel in her life, many future materials used the backstory established in “Vulcan’s Glory,” like the David Stern Pike-era novels of the 2010s....but more importantly, the Discovery and Strange New Worlds series, which canonized the “Una Chin-Reilly” name by using it on screen (I remember gasping when Pike called her Una in a Discovery episode, meaning they were going with the Fontana backstory, a detail that may not have been significant to the casual viewer). Since DC Fontana wrote “Vulcan’s Glory” in the 80s, a lot more information was learned about the role of genetic engineering in the Federation, however, and interesting things were done in that series to bring her in line with everything we’ve learned since in Deep Space 9 and Enterprise about augmentation and the society wide prejudice against it. For example, they established that the fact Number One was Illyrian was not public knowledge, but that she pretended to be human her entire life.

The one person who didn’t see fit to give her a backstory or even a real name was John "Johnny Redbeard" Byrne in his comic series about the Cage era Enterprise, who thought the mystery of the character was the most interesting thing about her, and he was deliberately cagey about any details. To Johnny Redbeard, she was just “Number One.” There was a running joke that every time someone says her actual name, or when we see her personnel file, it was blurred out, or somebody’s thumb was over it, and so on. It was rather like the running joke where Mr. Burns never remembers Homer Simpson's name. Johnny Redbeard loves mystery men and women who don't talk about their past, since that was the characterization he famously gave to Wolverine in his X-Men comics.

The one detail of Number One's past that is clear is that Number One in Byrne's comics is competent, mysterious, and has mystique, certainly, but she is completely human, without any powers. Byrne always got exasperated that his X-Men co-creator Chris Claremont added fantastical and far out details to the background of X-Men characters (like how Nightcrawler's girlfriend Amanda turned out to be a sorceress) because he felt "some people should just be allowed to be normal." Byrne always said his original idea for Wolverine's "true" backstory was that he was a Vietnam veteran in intelligence who volunteered for bionic experiments that wiped his memory, and disliked the idea he was immortal, and vetoed the very, very early Dave Cockrum idea Wolverine was an actual mutated wolverine who achieved sentience and a human shape (which early X-Men comics hint at). Byrne was reportedly enraged that they gave Moira MacTaggart a mutant power, as he saw her as just being a scrappy Scottish housekeeper.

Johnny Redbeard didn’t give Number One a past (other than to show she was on the Enterprise's shakedown cruise with Robert April as a rookie officer), but he did give her a future, as he showed an older Number One as a starship commander in the Kirk era (aging gracefully with a white tuft like Tongolele), and later, a flag officer in the Motion Picture era.

To what extent are these backstories compatible? Well, with what we currently know about Number One, that she hid her true species and status to avoid prejudice, it could be that some of the other versions were tall tales she spread to obscure her true origins. The John Byrne idea she served as an Ensign with Robert April in the Enterprise's very first mission hasn't been confirmed, but hasn't been denied, either. The Peter David "Morgan Primus" backstory is completely incompatible, but perhaps there are some elements to it that are true, like the idea that the early part of her career involved working as a computer engineer in artificial intelligence, which is why the computer has her voice.

[nekropsii]

ALPHA TROLLS RANKED BY HOW WRONG THE FANDOM AT LARGE IS ABOUT THEM:

This is a personal challenge, based entirely on my own experience and perspective, and also ranked from Most to Least Correct. I was bored, and thought this might be fun.

Putting this under a cut, because it's long as hell.

MEULIN LEIJON

People get her mostly correct, from what I’ve seen… Most of the time, fan content of Meulin is absolutely recognizable as Meulin, but her pride in her deafness + joy of learning new ways to interact with the world through/due to her disability is always removed, and I do not often see people tackle the Toxic Positivity aspect of her character. That seems less like character assassination, though, and more like a combination of people not actually playing through the Openbounds, people not being able to fathom disabled people (especially those who gained a disability later in life rather than being born disabled) being happy, and general fandom distaste for the idea of touching anything uncomfortable, especially when that uncomfortable topic is highly mundane, normalized, and potentially applicable to them or their loved ones. Meulin’s toxic positivity was, of course, commentary on Tumblr’s ecosystem at the time, so… It was much harder to touch back then.

ARANEA SERKET

People tend to get her general, broad strokes personality right, but unfortunately she gets treated pretty roughly for the crime of Being A Serket. People refuse to understand her motivations, and she often gets demonized for what she was doing around/during [S] Game Over, even though that was something she’d gotten pushed to and also was cool as fuck to watch. God forbid a woman do anything.

DAMARA MEGIDO

People are right about the racism, 100%. It is completely despicable, hard to look at, and extremely blatant. She does, however, have character outside of that. No, it isn’t “whore”, it’s more like “angry, dysfunctional abuse victim”, and she’s genuinely a very interesting and tragic character. But, again, people are right about the racism, so she gets to be placed way up here.

MEENAH PEIXES

She is such a chaotic little bastard. I love her. I really do. Please understand that she genuinely does not understand the concept of consequences. This girl didn’t have a Lusus, she didn’t have parents, it was functionally illegal to tell her “No, you can’t do that.” That would fuck up literally anyone’s moral compass. That’s not me hand waving away all the fucked up and bad shit she’s done, we all know what she did, but people tend to forget this aspect of her character and it pains me deeply, because it is a very genuinely interesting concept that I want to see more of. She’s capable of regret, we’ve seen her feel it, I just don’t think foresight is her forte. No one raised her to consider consequences, or help her experience them in a healthy way, because nobody raised her period.

Also, her ass is not butch, she is the girliest girl in the entire comic. She is about hot pink and glitter and kiss marks and unicorns and cute little puns and you will respect that. She is not masculine. Her ass is not masculine nor is she butch. Let her be her hyper-feminine self.

LATULA PYROPE

Please for the love of god there is more to her character than “Gamer Girl” and “Mituna’s Girlfriend”. You are falling for her fucking ruse. Please. Please. Please recognize that her entire character is about internalized misogyny, and being forced to overcompensate for misogyny in gaming circles as a gamer who happens to be a woman. Please. I’m begging.

KURLOZ MAKARA

His character is not that deep, it’s mostly just a string of events he is mysteriously, inexplicably involved with. The Makaras are extremely Function Over Form- their characters practically do not exist, they're mostly just plot devices that exist to push the story along. I'm sorry to Makara fans. You just invented a guy in your mind and decided he was real. He is also not that soft, though, and his relationships with both Meulin AND Mituna are not healthy. Hard to stop people from ascribing cutesy squishy lovey dynamics to random men who happened to have looked at each other once, though. Some people truly haven't graduated from 2012.

HORUSS ZAHHAK

I am begging people to consider that maybe the biggest issue here is not that he is “Bad Otherkin/Therian Representation” and is in fact maybe the fact that Hussie was actually making fun of Systems when he was writing Horuss. Because Horuss is canonically a system. He uses the word system. He uses the word switching. He uses the word host. He literally talks about his Plurality at length in extremely upfront, plain terms. I don’t know how him being “Bad Otherkin Representation” was and still is the main discourse about him. It makes me insane. That is a commentary that truly writes itself. Talk about having your priorities out of wack, honestly...

PORRIM MARYAM

No, she is not a MRA, she’s just a regular feminist who happens to live on a different planet with different politics and social hierarchies from Our Real World Earth’s USA. Whatever argument you’re about to pull out of your ass to say that she sucks is bad. She already explained what she meant by that, in more detail, very clearly, and she was right. Half the time she’s literally just giving you factual information about what Beforus was like, and literal plot synopses. She isn’t saying anything insane. She’s literally normal. I don’t know why people cannot handle or process this. Porrim has not ever said anything controversial. If you disagree with this you’re either misconstruing her on purpose or you fell for Kankri’s bait, and that’s just fucking sad at that point.

Also, she’s more than a sex object, and her tits are not huge. Honestly, half the shit she was saying was just “I am more than my sex life”, and so many people took that and made her main character trait her sex life. Just pathetic.

RUFIOH NITRAM

This man is a fucking war criminal and I will stop at nothing until he is behind bars for his crimes against Damara. Raging misogynist. Total fucking cunt. Just the worst. If I talk any more about this, this part will be 1,000 paragraphs long. But also, I’m begging people to recognize his relationship with disability, too. He was similar to Meulin in the sense that he didn’t mind his disability, and his biggest gripe with it was the way that Horuss tried to “fix” it… Which is an interesting way to expand upon how Beforus’s culling system is not only very explicitly ableist, but mimicking real world systemic ableism. I also want people to recognize that Hussie is actively having a conversation about the reclamation of slurs with Rufioh’s character, and how not letting people reclaim such language is doing nothing but giving the word power against them while stripping away their own personal agency. Rufioh’s a complicated guy, and he’s interesting and also the worst, and I am really tired of how he gets watered down to nothing but “Pretty Boy Victim Of His Inexplicably Psycho Ex”.

MITUNA CAPTOR

Holy Fucking Shit, You Guys Are Ableist.

KANKRI VANTAS

To this day I see people saying he was just Hussie making fun of SJWs. To this day. To this day people think Hussie was trying to make Every Tumblr Leftist look bad, and that he hates them Because They Are Leftists. When will people recognize him as a bootlicker to the oppressive class and the violently bigoted. When will people recognize that. When will people recognize that this is more of a commentary on the legitimate real flaws of Tumblr’s politics at the time. When. When.

When will people stop portraying him as a lovey-dovey Catholic Whore. I’m going to stab my fucking eyes out and then kill everyone in this building. Me when it's based and cool to ship an aroace character with a sexual predator. I GUESS.

CRONUS AMPORA

I say this with every ounce of sincerity I can possibly muster as a person: What the literal actual fuck.

[nuggetofthesea]

We're excited to see so many friends using Hyper City in their comics. Ashe created it to justify crossovers where it wpuldn't make sense otherwise, and explain why a lab would be under an art studio, and I found the concept interesting and got to work with it and expand on it.

So for any who also want to know how it works, here is what we have established so far:

Hyper City is always there if you are looking for it. It exists outside of reality and once you leave the town you are in, it is always a 20 minute drive away off a road tou've never seen. No matter where in the world or what world or reality you are in.

Once inside the City it operates on its own laws. Magic users require a license, shapeshifters have to be registered, etc. If unsure, it has a mayor. Mayor is not a fan of us in canon. Eirher way, they have protocol for various realities.

The city exit will always send you where you came from. So it is still hard to visit others without direct travel. But easy to set up a spot in the city to meet up.

The city is huge, and has its own set of other mysteries, rumors, and stories. The reality hub aspect us just the tip of the iceberg.

If you are ever in need of a location and can't think of where something exists, Hyper City is there for all our friends to use. It's a strange city. Go ahead and add to it if you want. ^-^

[zinderant]

Mystery Skulls Animated review rave

I rewatched Mystery Skulls Animated together with my girlfriend and holy shit I forgot just how incredibly good it is. The Scooby-Doo pastiche is the most obvious first impression it makes but right from the first episode you get some subtle and not-so-subtle hints that there's more going on than that, and on top of that you have the moments where the song lyrics match up with what's happening (I live for that) and from the second episode onward they show you so much with so little about the relationships between these characters just by how they (wordlessly!) react to each other moment-to-moment, which is incredible for an animated video the length of a single song. And it's not like this means a slow-burn plot! The first two episodes each have a storyline akin to a typical 20 minute cartoon hyper-condensed into a quarter of that, and then the setup from those two collided like a nuclear payload setting off the events of episodes 3 and 4, which have yet to be concluded in episode 5.

Yeah, that's the thing. We're coming up on the 10th anniversary of the first episode and there are four that have been made. It's slim pickings, but man, what is there is so worth your time. I seem to recall there are also comics but I haven't put too much effort into seeking them out, I'm also happy having the videos be the whole of it.

Anyway, here's the playlist, and here is episode 1, check it out:

[odditiesnoctobermidnightroad]

It’s Halloween-time at last. Besides the ebook of “ Mouse”, which we’ve of course read because as you know- we’re BIG fans of “Mouse the Witching Cat”, the author is having a special sale of the book! 

No, not just the 2023 ebook of Mouse, which will come with your purchase, but the ENTIRE CURSED PHYSICAL HARDCOVER EDITION FROM 2019!!! Yep, HARDCOVER! The scariest of covers!

And scratchily signed and jagged-with OMINOUS black sharpie marker! Each book is individually signed and it looks to be as though there’s some kind of cursed extra-coloring page included! What could it mean? What DOES it mean??!!?

And in addition to BOTH copies of the book and coloring page you’ll also get an extra hyper-realistic bowtie-clips and SUPER SPECIAL SECRET scary mystery surprise item. WHAT WILL IT BE?

And then if you wait FIVE seconds (email @ frankilew96@gmail.com) after purchasing, you’ll also get all the special “How Mouse met Crooner” prequel comic in an OMINOUS ZIP. file! So scary! 

Only five of this special bundle are available to five lucky real hyperrealistic victims people throughout the world. Will YOU take the risk? Will YOU dare to support the curse and carry on it the name of Mouse and all her -not!- cutesy witchy goodness?

Ô̵̧͙̭͉̼̫̝̦̯͙̞̝̼͔̖̩̅͋̈́̓͛̓̈́̒͗̈͋̒͝͝͝n̴͎͎̳̜̺̩̤͖͍̹̠͈̘̥̥̮̖͛́̇͆̿̄͆͂̉͑͛̕l̷̙̻̙̭̩̭̭̹͇͆̉̈̈́̊̑̑͜͠y̶̢̧̨̨̤͇̜̯̝̜̰͖̬͉̰͆̃̈͆̉̋̆̀̉͛̇́̋̄̉͠ͅ ̵̹̱͔͍̼̤̼͔͎̫̲̯̒̈̆̄̈͗̊̈̂͘͘͘͜͜͝͠o̷͓̩̰͖͆n̵̻͔̟̓̏͒̀̀̒̂͑̒̌̏̈́̆̓̒̌͠e̵̡̨̧͔̩̝̟̟͚͇̪͑̌ ̵̥̣̐͂͋͑̽͒̇̍͋̀͛̉͝͝w̵̧̩͈̣̞̪͚̻̜̭̹͕̮͕̫̆̊́̄͐̎͌̔̃́̃͗̐͝͠ạ̸̧͖͎͍̳̞̠̩̙̌̋͗͊̆̿̄̏̑̑̏̏̚̕̚͜͝ẙ̴̳̝̦͙̟̑́͑͊́͠ͅ ̶̢̬̙̯̲͙͎̰̘̒̈́͑̍̑̏̀̇͆͘͠ẗ̴̛̰͓͇̪̓͐̚͝ọ̷̥̘̱̣͈̰̗̣̪̠͍̏̿͜͠ͅ ̶̢̥̪̬͈̺͇͈̳̥͍̱̞̣̜̳̂́̅̀̃̂̆̑ͅḟ̷̲̦͚̠͙͈̻̦̣͇̩̺̩̼̊͝ͅi̷̪͙͋͗͑͌̆͋̕n̴̨͖͉̭̦̳̱̹͇͍͙̦͇͓̼̎͂͋͊̀̽͊̄͛͗̐͆̏̅͌̓͘ͅḍ̸̪̖̲̳̎̓ ̵̨͎͕̞̥͇̗̭̮̲̩̻̽́̐͑̂͝͠ͅō̸̧̼u̵̢͔̹͉̦̪̳̫͔̟̺͔̰͐̉t̴͙̰͓͘ͅ…̸̛̳̟̣̤̩̣̘̲̅̆̐̀͗̌̄̈́̒̿

The curse is only purchasable directly off our site and our Etsy store. Purchase there, or email us at franklew96@gmail.com for more information.

Sales starts 11 pm pst on Sept 30th. Only $31 usd from now until November 1st 2024.

[archivalofsins]

I think if I said who my favorite characters in media were, it wouldn't surprise anyone here. Instead it'd be like that explains so fucking much while saying nothing. So fuck it.

A list of favorite characters from every hyper fixation I've ever had.

YuYu Hakusho (I would recommend both the manga and anime bpth are very good times.)

Yusuke Urameshi Keiko Yukimura Kazuma Kuwabara (I love Kuwabara he's great- He's amazing good guy.).

Since we're on Yoshiro Togashi's work anyway-

Hunter x Hunter

Killua Zoldyck Leorio Paladiknight Knuckle Bine

Detective Conan

Shinichi Kudo (I too am irresponsible and full of hubris I would have followed that criminal too at his age.) Ran Mori Heiji Hattori

Shaman King

Yoh Hao Asakura

It's equal but I lean more favorably towards Yoh. Favorite Yu-gi-oh series and protagonist

Yu-Gi-Oh GX

Judai Yuki (I don't think this says anything. I'm just correct, actually.)

Bleach

Orihime Inoue (Always forever sweet lady amazing girl.) Captain Unohana Oldman Yamamoto Toshiro Hitsugaya Kenpachi and Ichigo (I like them both to about the same degree.)

Naruto

Naruto Hinata Neji Shikamaru Sakura Ino Tamari

Oh, wait Akamaru. Yep that's every- oh and Shino! Wait and Choji. Probably Tamari's entire team, too, and can't forget Neji. In fact there we go he's up where he belongs. Naruto has a huge fucking cast. Most of them are interesting chaaracters. Bleach has a fucking huge cast as well.

Code Geass

Lelouch Euphemia Suzaku Akito from Akito the exiled (this is also correct).

Boruto

I'm committed to what I like-

Boruto Shikadai Chocho (this is just correct too actually I don't look in this fandom so fuck it I make this rule now) Himawari Inojin.

One Punch Man

Garo (I said he could beat Saitama in the manga and my nephews made fun of me because he's never won anywhere else. But that shit was a fight in the manga instead of a one hit out.) Metal Bat (I have a character type leave me alone. Yes, I recognize having Kuwabara, Knuckle Brine, and then him here sets a pattern. But I'd argue it's a good one.)

Chainsaw Man

Denji Makima Nayuta Kobeni Asa

Pandora Hearts

Oswald Gilbert Oz Elliot Marie Ada Sharron Lily

Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning (Spiral Suri no Kizuna)(read this in middle school sooo this is going off memory.)

Ayumu Narumi Hizumi Mizushiro

Nabari No Ou (read this in middle school sooo this is going off memory.)

Tobari Kazuhiko Miharu Yoite Kouichi

Kagerou Days

Shintaro Ayano Seto Konoha Hibiya

Kingdom Hearts

Terra Roxas Axel (Lea) Xion Vanitas Ventus Xemnas (Look my first game was days and he was a decent boss). Larxene Sora

Oshi No Ko

Aqua Hoshino Akane Kurokawa Taiki Himekawa Kana Arima Frill Shiranui Shun Yoshizumi

Batman comics and animated series

Harley Quinn (since batman the animated series) Damian Wayne (since Son of Batman movie) Bruce Wayne (Yes, Bruce is below his son. I'm not sorry.) Poison Ivy (since Batman the animated series.).

Spider-man

Peter Parker Mile's Morales (from the films).

Calvin and Hobbes

It was the first thing I enjoyed reading. I don't think I have to explain this but I liked everyone that appeared frequently in this.

Deadpool (mostly due to the Spider-man team up comics and the movies.)

W.I.T.C.H

Irma Hay Lin Will Taranee Cornelia Elyon

Totally Spies

Alex Clover Sam

Martin Mystery (A show nobody knows)

Martin

Invader Zim

Dib Gaz Tak

Gravity Falls

Dipper Pines Pacifica Mabel Stanley

I was typing this up during that whole other thing people may have seen. I don't know what this list can tell anyone about me. It is funny to go over for me personally because a lot of the characterization stuff I like from Milgram can be found in most of these series. Which is proably why I have trouble actually picking favorites in regards to Milgram since all of the characters have traits I enjoy.

But yeah that's a little bit about me I guess. I do enjoy a lot of the characterization I see in Milgram. This is much more casual and generally being written up to give some idea of my likes. Though most of these are good watches, reads, or plays. Most are pretty well known but I would recommend Spiral since it's not that talked about in general.

Well, that's it.

[fipindustries]

What makes Worm a better story than its' sequels?

oh boy, time to shit on ward, my favourite thing to do!

in many ways i feel worm is simpler. This might sound weird coming from such a famously big and ambitious story but when you get down to it its incredibly simple. Is the basic underdog anti hero story set in a fairly standard superhero world. A bullied girl tries to be a hero but the world is dark and complicated and heroes are flawed and corrupt so she gets pushed into being a supervillain and yet she is sort of a robin hood type where she does "villanous things" in order to help people.

She gets more and more powerful and eventually she saves the world by beating god who was actually evil all along.

Like this is all standard classic underdog subvertion where dark is not necesarily evil and light is not necesarily good. Megamind does this, despicable me does this. Taylor is an incredibly compelling, hyper pragmatical, utilitarian genius strategist and she is also a nerdy shy socially anxious girl who gets bullied. She meets and befriends a bunch of cool, rebellious edgy teenage friends. It explores classic superheroe tropes by grounding them in reality and showing the dark logical implications of the classic innocent superhero world of comics. Like watchmen did, like the boys did, like top ten did, like astro city did. The list goes on. It has a shitton of fascinating, cool, complex characters, all who slot very easily into some comic book archetype. It has some of the most intricate and well thought out worldbuilding, and a series of really clear and compelling mysteries to solve.

Ward by contrast is... messy. The world was broken and pushed forward into a post apocaliptic setting so it cant be classic superhero fare anymore. But also it never fully commits to really explore the post apocaliptic side of it either so is just kind of a muddled mess. The powers get esoteric and harder to really grasp. The tone and the narration becomes incredibly dour and morose and depressing to wade through. The characters are generally less likeable. It focuses a lot on trauma and recovery and the boring, no fun, tedious work of improving your mental health. The fight scenes get boring and confusing. The pacibg gets really slow, the plot feels aimless at times. Suddenly the tone gets a lot more judgy, when in the past the story seemed to be a lot more interested in exploring and empathizing with its villains in here the bad guys tend to just be evil assholes and that is kind of it. The protagonist is a boring angry humorless self righteous depressed stick in the mud who cant help but think of the world in terms of simple good and evil. Its a trudging tedious plodding crawl to a messy ending that is honestly a retread of the ending of the first book where the guy tries to escalate the stakes to upstage the ending of worm but makes everything feel meaningless and pointless.

Is just not fun to read, it feels like homework. It feels like doing taxes. It feels like its trying to be so adult and mature and dramatic and serious that it lost all entertainment value or joy of experiencing fiction.

[thequiver]

you got any indie comics recommendations?

OH BOY DO I

So some of these are educational graphic novels bc of who I am as a person but they're SUPER GOOD and you should still read them - but here's my list of recommendations in no particular order

Marie Curie: A Quest for Light (a graphic novel bio of the famous scientist that highlights her politics!)

Folklords (only 5 issues, does some really cool stuff with subverted fantasy tropes, Ansel is a cutie, 8/10)

The Magicians (this is based on the book series by Lev Grossman, and if you're familiar with the FX show you already know the premise, but it's VERY FUN and I like it so it's on here)

The Good Neighbors (this is more of a YA vibe and as the title suggests deals with fae nonsense, very fun)

Something is Killing the Children (some other comics go along with this one like House of Slaughter, all are in the horror genre, and it's a GREAT TIME if you're into that sort of thing)

Shubeik Lubeik (THIS IS A REALLY COOL BOOK ABOUT WISHES AND HOW THOSE WOULD LOOK IN A MORE REALISTIC CAIRO AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH)

Pixies of the Sixties (this is a period piece that deals with things like xenophobia and racism while also playing up the aesthetics of 1960s London and fairies)

Now Let Me Fly: A Portrait of Eugene Bullard (a graphic novel bio of the first African-American fighter pilot)

Little Monsters (a horror story about children vampires in a post apocalyptic setting)

Judas (yes, Iscariot, it's a really fascinating look at the Biblical figure)

Heavy Vinyl (wlw, late 90s record store, teen girl vigilante fight club- good times)

Grimm (based on the NBC show of the same name, there are other titles set in this world too, I'm very fond of this extremely trashy fairtytale-cop show mashup and how poorly it represents cops)

Godshaper (there's a god for every person, except one and he teams up with a god who doesn't have a person and together they travel around looking for a warm welcome and a paying rock gig)

Evita, the Life and Work of Eva Perón (a biography of the former Argentinian first lady)

Eat the Rich (a little bit like Knives Out)

Carmilla: The First Vampire (queer feminist murder mystery inspired by the gothic novel, Carmilla, and pulling from Chinese folklore)

Bone Parish (a necromantic horror story about the rich peddling drugs made with the ashes of the deceased)

Blue Book (true tales of ordinary people encountering the strange and impossible - ex. alien abductions)

Art Brut (equal parts police procedural, hyper-fantasy, and psychological thriller set on a backdrop of a trip through art history)

Aristotle (biography of the philosopher dealing with more than just his ideas)

Alienated (a story about having the power to change the world but not being ready to wield that power- more YA vibes but a good read for any age imo)

Abbott (and Abbott: 1973- a tabloid reporter investigates grisly crimes she knows the police have ignored and that she knows are occult in origin)

[chernobog13]

Pursues him with his what now?

[jimmyogames]

Katana ZERO and The Beauty of Stupid Premises

If you want to support me and my endeavors, please consider donating or subscribing to my Ko-fi! https://ko-fi.com/jcjimmy

*****

<Spoilers for Katana ZERO>

Katana ZERO is a game about a Vietnam War veteran former child soldier hopped up on MK Ultra time juice going around and cutting assholes down with a katana while wearing a bathrobe and sandals.

That sounds stupid, right? That is a stupid ass premise for anything, let alone a video game. Everything about that premise should reasonably clash against itself so hard that it collapses into a black hole.

And yet, Katana ZERO is one of my favorite games of all time. Didn't I just call it stupid, though? Yes, and I don't think it isn't stupid; but stupid does not mean dumb. Something can be stupid while still being clever, intelligent, and downright fucking gripping.

Because a premise is just that: a base idea upon which you build upward. You can make anything sound stupid when you strip it back to its foundation. Super Mario Bros. is a game about a fat, Italian plumber taking mushrooms to save a princess from a shitty Godzilla turtle. Disco Elysium is about an amnesiac cop who bumbles his way about a ghetto trying to piece together a murder mystery and not die of a heart attack in the process. Bloodborne is about some pinhead getting crunk off blood and, picking up a hacksaw, and going to war with a bunch of racist Londoners who turn into werewolves who turn into space aliens.

When you put things in such a manner, anything can seem utterly absurd — even the most grounded of fiction. As we all know, though, the reality is that these games are beloved. These games, which are built upon downright ridiculous concepts, are lauded as some of the most brilliant pieces of media ever conceived; and they work so well not in spite of their premises, but because of them.

No matter what idea you start with, it can always be made exceptional if it is well-thought out and carefully executed — which brings us back to Katana ZERO. Consider the premise I stated at the beginning of this post and ponder its individual elements. "Vietnam War veteran former child soldier hopped up on MK Ultra time juice"? How could anyone take that seriously? Well, the answer is that the game handles its characters and narrative in a way that presents them earnestly, without trying to lampshade or sidestep its innate absurdity. The main protagonist's past goes from appearing comedic on paper to being tragic when all the details actually unfold in the story. No part of "Vietnam War veteran former child soldier" is superfluous; they are each aspects of both the protagonist and the larger themes at play and are treated as if this was a retelling of an actual person's experiences.

The same is true for the rest of the premise. "MK Ultra time juice" is both a relevant story beat and one of the cruxes of the gameplay in Katana ZERO. As silly as it is to think about how the government shooting you up with hyper heroin can make your character slow down time, the way the game presents the issue turns it from nonsense to a striking commentary on drug use — and it does so while also weaving it into the gameplay without missing a beat!

This brings us to the last point in the premise: the fact that all of the aforementioned is true of a character who wields a katana instead of something more realistic, like a gun. Katanas have become a bit infamous over the years as the weapon of choice of people a little too invested in Japanese culture. It's to the point where when a lot of people hear mention of katanas, their minds go straight to scenes of sweaty neckbeards slicing up plastic bottles in their backyards. Thus, a game which revolves around a katana-user and his prolific master of dicing bodyguards like vegetables likely puts people off at first! Butchering hordes of enemies ninja-style is not only more fantastical than something akin to Call of Duty, but it's more comical too — at least in the eyes of many a modern person. How could something like this ever amount to more than Apple Store shovelware, let alone a masterpiece of narrative-gameplay marriage?

The answer, again, is sincerity — and confidence. Katana ZERO works not because it takes itself extremely seriously or attempts to play off the zaniness of its premise, but rather because it puts its foot forward without hesitation and without embarrassment. Katana ZERO dares to say "Yeah, you play as a junkie shinobi who uses time powers to turn bald dudes into confetti. You either accept that fact or fuck off." And it's because of that sincerity that it can wrap back around from being stupid to being captivating. When everyone stops trying to take games apart and boil them down to their ludicrous concepts, that's when you can become truly immersed in an experience — and Katana ZERO knows this. It knows this and invites you to leave your pretenses at the door. "Come on in," it says. "Let's cut some motherfuckers, shall we?"

Everything I've said applies universally, not just to Katana ZERO. Stupid premises stand out in the sea of realistic mediocrity that bubbles up from the dark depths of big business, whether it be in the movies industry, games industry, or what have you. The simple fact of the matter is that when you get stupid, you get creative. You leave behind the shackles of established norms and allow yourself to make something truly unfiltered. Something memorable. Something that, though it can be called ridiculous or absurd or whatever else, can hit you in the heart.

That's what makes Katana ZERO so good, and I invite all my fellow creatives to get stupid in turn.

[vintagegeekculture]

Murphy Anderson cover featuring the Spectre dueling his opposite number, Shathan the Eternal. It is one of the few DC Comics to visually depict the Prophet Muhammad, which Islam generally views as being in bad taste.

The Spectre, a vengeful force created by Superman creator Jerry Siegel after he was mugged one night, was one of the last of the 1940s heroes to be revived in the 1960s, mainly because as a ghost of a murdered police officer who rose from the grave for revenge, he was at odds with the hyper-rational, atomic age pulp scifi informed DC Comics created by former scifi fandom members. Even here, Shathan the Eternal is less a traditional devil and more similar to a quantum physics and other dimensional take on demons, reminiscent of John Carpenter's approach in Prince of Darkness which mingled Satanism with particle physics.

Pulp fans will recognize two different references to pulp scifi, as per the course in 60s DC Comics, created by former fandom members:

The title "Beyond the Sinister Barrier" is a reference to the 1930s pulp novel "Sinister Barrier," by Eric Frank Russell. Because it was horror/fantasy as opposed to the typical hard science demanded of his audience, John W. Campbell created the pulp magazine Unknown specifically to publish it, possibly the best fantasy magazine of its decade.

Shathan the Eternal is a reference to the Shaver Mystery (one of the most bizarre incidents in scifi fandom history and a very recent and strange controversy at the time of this publication), which featured a villainous giant devil by that name.

[kstarlitchaotics]

Happy 54th birthday, Alex Ross 🦇🎂

Born in 1970, ever since he was three years old Alex Ross began to draw exactly what he saw in the real world. Characters such as Spider-Man and Superman, with their bright colors and heroic deeds, spoke to him as something he would want to portray on paper. He believes "superheroes are a mixture of every form of fiction – myth , science-fiction, mystery and magic – all in one giant pot. The best characters embody virtues we may try to find in ourselves." Due to this philosophy, the art of Alex Ross is rejoiced throughout the comic book world for its realistic style; That hyper realistic quality that inspirations such as Salvador Dali and Norman Rockwell possessed always wanted to permeate through Ross' comic book medium art, starting with his groundbreaking miniseries "Marvels" from 1994. Alex Ross has heavily contributed to the Batman and DC Universe In works such as Mark Waid’s Elseworlds “Kingdom Come”, “Batman: War on Crime”, Paul Dini’s tale “Case Study” (Batman: Black and White #2) and the cover series in Grant Morrison’s “Batman R.I.P”., becoming a memorable part of the visual evolution of the Caped Crusader in the character’s 85 year mythology.

Part of Alex Ross’ cover art to 2008-2009’s Batman #676-686 published by DC.

[thatgirlonstage]

Okay I think I need to cast a wider net here

Media Rec Request!!

Hi friends, I am putting a silly fic writing challenge to myself that involves writing fic for a fandom starting with every letter of the alphabet + every numeral. But I am missing some numbers and coming up short on potential things I could check out to fill for them (yes I am reading and watching new things JUST so I can complete this challenge 😅)

So! If you have something to recommend that starts with the numeral 4, 6, or 8, please let me know!

(I have a potential fill for 8 but I haven’t watched it yet so I’m looking for backups in case I don’t like it/it doesn’t work out for the fic writing.)

Requirements:

—It can be just about any type of media!! Movies, books, short stories, tv shows of any stripe (anime, cartoon, western live action, c/k/j-drama, etc etc), fiction podcasts/radio plays, graphic novels, webcomics, multimedia, possibly video games. The only limitations are

I’ve got to be able to experience it without significant expenditure (so if your video game rec comes with a quality let’s play, awesome! Otherwise it’s got to be affordable and playable on iPhone, MacBook, or PS4, bc that’s what I’ve got. Similarly any live performance would need an accessible recording or a script I can read)

I don’t write RPF, so any nonfiction/bandom/celebrity fic/similar is out. Historical fiction is possible, but the farther back and more fictionalized the better

—The title must start with the NUMERAL 4, 6, or 8, as it gets listed on Ao3. If it doesn’t have an Ao3 tag yet, the title must be consistently stylized as the numeral, not the WORD four, six, or eight. For example, The Sixth Sense is not a viable option, but I’m using 10th Kingdom for 1 and 9-1-1 for 9 (91 Days was also an option). Because I’m going by Ao3 tags it also can’t be like, a specific comic issue title where the actual fandom tag would be “Batman”.

That’s it!! I know that was a lot of details, so thank you for reading through the whole post if you did and thank you in advance for any recs! I know it’s very specific haha but ONE of you must have some hyper niche anime or webcomic you are constantly dying to recommend that answers to this description.

On the off chance you have more than one recommendation, I’ll put some additional pros/cons beneath the cut

—obviously it will help if I don’t have to commit to a 15 book fantasy epic or 100+ episodes of a series, but if I can get a sense for the world and characters in the first book/season/whatever I’ll give it a shot

—Fantasy/sci-fi are the genres I tend to be most interested in, and also work well for what I’m trying to do with the fic challenge side. I love a good mystery as well.

—I am a hard sell on any sitcom/slice of life/romcom type stuff. That’s not a flat no on those genres, but you’re gonna need a good pitch for why I’ll like this one

[cyberpunkonline]

Urban Magic in Video Games: Merging Grit with Wonder

In an era where hyper-realistic graphics and in-depth storytelling captivate the gaming audience, developers have concocted the perfect blend of two seemingly opposing worlds: the gritty urban landscapes and the ethereal touch of magic. From neon-soaked alleys to clandestine spells cast beneath city skyscrapers, this blend promises gamers a one-of-a-kind experience. Dive into the world of urban magic with these iconic video games.

Deus Ex Series Despite being fundamentally a cyberpunk saga, the Deus Ex series has always maintained an underlying tone of mysticism. The world of augmented humans, shady governments, and dark alleys is also a place where ancient cults and arcane rituals dictate the flow of power. The game is a testament to how tech and magic can blend seamlessly.

The Wolf Among Us Telltale's episodic interactive fantasy mystery is an adaption of Bill Willingham's Fables comic book series. It showcases characters from folktales and fairy tales living incognito in the heart of New York City. Protagonist Bigby Wolf, the erstwhile Big Bad Wolf, navigates the city's grime and glamour, ensuring that the magical community's secrets stay hidden from human eyes.

Shadowrun Series Set in a future where cyber enhancements and ancient magic coexist, Shadowrun offers a distinctive blend of tech and mysticism. As you navigate through the game's cyberpunk version of Seattle, magic is as commonplace as hacking, and mythical creatures like dragons play a pivotal role in corporate politics.

Shenmue Series The vast majority of Shenmue is rooted in realism, with its meticulously detailed environments and life simulation mechanics. However, as players near the climax, especially in the latter part of Shenmue III, they are met with a startling twist of mysticism. The final sequence pulls away from the game's realistic confines, introducing a world where magic becomes a reality. It's a startling departure from the game's overarching tone, emphasizing the unpredictability and wonder of urban magic.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines Los Angeles might seem like an odd place to find vampires, but this RPG plunges players deep into its underworld, where blood-sucking creatures lurk in the shadows of the City of Angels. With powerful disciplines (vampiric powers) at your disposal, the game is a stellar example of urban fantasy where supernatural entities navigate the complexities of modern city life.

Dishonored Series The steampunk city of Dunwall is plagued by corruption and plague. Amidst its grimy streets and dark waters, the protagonist, Corvo, is armed with otherworldly powers granted by a mysterious figure known as the Outsider. From teleportation to summoning swarms of rats, the blend of magic and industrial-age tech makes Dishonored a noteworthy mention in the realm of urban magical games.

The appeal of these games lies in their ability to juxtapose the roughness of city life with the enchantment of magical elements. It's a testament to the boundless realms of creativity, where developers envision worlds that, despite their stark contrasts, blend together in harmony, creating adventures that remain etched in players' memories.

- Raz