#I haven't read every single comic of both of these characters but felt the need to share my thotz

[jesncin]

I happen to be currently fixated on both of these characters and care about them deeply so this is an exciting discussion for me! Both are niche, in some way "punk", and through time and constant adaptation- popular perception of both have sandpapered their more political origins. However! In terms of a narrative fall from grace, John Constantine suffered a bigger downgrade. And here's why! (just my opinion pls be chill) Let's talk about punk aesthetics vs politics, and the legacy of these characters. More context in the ALT text of the following panels.

A lot of people's attachment to classic Conner Superboy is his aesthetic and personality. He's not actually punk or queer coded. His design was a 90s stereotype of what the artists thought was "cool" at the time. Conner's origin and solo series are exhaustively straight. His character is the embodiment of child celebrity and the capitalism machine that churns out his tourism as he gentrifies Hawai'i so he can stay with his adult woman girlfriend. Classic Conner is the definition of All Style and No Substance- None of his narrative upholds punk ideals of being anti-consumerist, anti-corporatism, anti-authority anti-imperialism, anti-gentrification, anti-racism, gender equality, anti-selling out, etc. DC did not invest in him as a Superman legacy character, and it would be something future writers end up struggling with when it comes to revitalizing his character.

Sure people hate his black shirt era because the superficially punk swag is gone, and Conner's personality is a lot less fun, but narratively? Him being the son of Lex and Clark is far more thematically rich and objectively an improvement compared to "constantly being hit on and assaulted by adult women and gentrifying Hawai'i for tourism" era. His Young Justice animated take, while popular for its time and out of character, did very little to affect his comic version (his black shirt design preceded the tv show) aside from Supermartian appearing in one recent comic. During his black shirt/Smallville era in the comics, Conner doesn't share the same angsty-angry characterization of the tv show. I think people just see the black shirt and assume its 1 to 1 with YJa. Conner, as of writing, has his punk swag back. And yet he's struggling as a legacy character because his foundation came from the 90s Anything Goes Era. He's fundamentally flawed from the get go, but as for a fall from grace- boring is better than the constant pedophilia jumpscare that was his 90s run.

John Constantine on the other hand, is an actual politically punk character. Sure, he isn't wearing a punk outfit (after his youth), but his opinions and history are inherently counter-culture. This is a canonically queer character existing during the height of the AIDS epidemic, surrounding and allying himself with the queer community, has been brutalized by cops and hate groups, explicitly believes ACAB, hates the rich and royalty, and so forth. John is an actual queer coded character (both narratively and with the gay earring that has been tragically removed), even before his very early queer canonization. The old Vertigo comics were far from perfect and have definitely showed their age in many ways, but for its time it did not shy away from getting political.

Constantine's popularity came to such a point that he's eventually adapted into DC- and while this is established to be a younger, different Constantine, you can't help but mourn the Vertigo Constantine that once was. Constantine is a staple example of mainstream capitalism sandpapering off an inherently counter culture character. John's non-conformity is chiseled away, his once political bi identity is now absorbed into the respectable rainbow capitalism machine that is the DC Pride Anthologies or he's the butt of bi and shark boyfriend jokes, he has several series and adaptations where he works with and even hits on Batman (the rich Prince of Gotham that, depending on the version, works with cops,,,oy), he's re-imagined as a ken-doll pretty boy punk in his YA graphic novel, the list goes on.

Much like Superboy getting his punk look back, Constantine has a pretty good run currently (Spurrier's Hellblazer & Dead In America run) that feels in many ways like a return to form (granted Constantine is a character with much stronger foundations compared to Conner, so a good run was only a matter of time). However, the perception of Constantine's character in general suffered a larger fall from narrative grace because Constantine started off as such a politically radical character. Tragically, even in ways some of the current run doesn't quite match up with.

This is 2024, please don't be out-classed by something written in the 90s.

[I'll hold back from being too critical of Spurrier's run since, as of writing, the series is ongoing. But the portrayal of disability, and treatment of Noah Ikumelo's Blackness in the run leaves a lot to be desired.]

To conclude, Conner's downgrade is largely visual and aesthetic. Meanwhile John Constantine's downgrade is emblematic of a radically punk character thrown into the bigger DC capitalism machine, coming out the other end a shadow of his former self.

CONNER KENT vs JOHN CONSTANTINE

DC Downgrade Bracket Round 2 - Match 7

🤢Conner Kent/Kon-El (Superboy)🤢

From Young Justice to Teen Titans. They took his jacket, his gay earring, his vaguely queer swag - what does he have left??? Geoff Johns if I catch you I swear

🤢John Constantine🤢

Why is he a playboy. Why is he a government employee. Why does he look like that. They took his earring and they took his vibe and now he looks like that.

*Worse meaning more devastating of a downgrade

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: Under the Mistletoe Collection

4/5. Releeases 11/12/24.

The Vibes:

—Christmas anthology

—Holiday romcom

—Everything from brother's best friend to "dressed like Santa"

Heat Index: 7/10

The Basics:

A set of five romantic Christmas stories!

The Review:

All by My Elf by Olivia Dade is the tale of two coworkers who end up in stuck in a snowed-in traffic situation, in a food truck sort of deal—oh, and she has a massive crush on him and believes he's hooking up with her best friend. Is he? I mean....

I'm 90% sure this "the roads have stopped because snow" deal was in part inspired by the travails of Virginia senator Tim Kaine, and if so, I am SO happy about that. I will tell everyone about how Tim Kaine survived on an orange and optimism in his car anytime. But in this case, it's two people versus one Tim Kaine, and also, the hero has sexy glasses. It's breezy and light and honestly may be my favorite Olivia Dade thing I've read, with a sexy game of "never have I ever" and a hero who made me go "Oh, WOULD". Also, there's a lot of cuddling with "is that....? In his pocket...?" content.

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey tells the tale of a thrift store employee/single mom who decides, after farmer rips a pair of jeans because he's Too Big, to make him jeans herself! Also, there is Christmas.

Um... I'm not sure how I feel about this one. It was funny. It was kind of sexy at points. I... wish he hadn't been a farmer. I feel like him ripping his jeans would've been 90% funnier had he been more "angry embarrassed" versus "shy aw shucks" embarrassed. Luke seemed nice, but I wasn't sure about where he was on January 6. I did appreciate him liking her "sturdy hips" though. This just may have "Boy is Too Big"ed too close to the sun for me.

Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood puts a somewhat depressed doctor at crosshairs with her best friend's brother—who was also her close friend, until.... the Incident. With the power off, the two decide to play Truth or Drink, which brings up some uncomfortable memories (and new confrontations).

This is the strongest of the bunch, and it really got me. Hazelwood manages to inject just the right amount of angst into a short story. It's not over the top, it feels super realistic, and if you're a fan of long-term pining... This is it. I also really loved that this is a best friend's brother story with a twist—not a huge one, but I don't think I've read any other stories with a heroine who's older than the hero. It added to the sweetness of it all.

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur focuses on an accident-prone woman who keeps getting the same firefighter at her beck and call whenever she's in trouble. She's not in town forever; he wants to make the most of the time they have. What's a girl to do when she doesn't do hookups?

This was fine; although I really liked The Fiancee Farce, I haven't found anything else by Bellefleur that super works for me. But I get why she works for other people. This is pure sugar. There isn't much conflict, really, aside from "I don't do casual". It's all very straightforward. The sex is hot. I honestly didn't know how Everleigh like... survived, though. So many hijinks!

Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria has a comic book illustrator who's, yes, a bit of a shut-in recovering from loss, decide to seize the day at a Santa-themed holiday party by hooking up with the neighbor she's long had a crush on. And yes, they are both dressed like Santa.

So much fun! So hot! So Santa! I love Alexis Daria's voice, and she manages to take a pretty low-stakes story and punch it up with character and heart. And again. It's really hot. I loved the chemistry between our leads here, and you totally felt the vibe that they'd been longing for each other for quite a while. It's to the point, and it did what it needed to do.

The Sex:

Varies! Every story has explicit sex, however. The highest heat story is probably Bailey's Merry Ever After, though Bellefleur's Merriment and Mayhem comes (haha) in second and Only Santas in the Building is quite steamy. But to me, the heat level for each story suited the tone of the story itself, if that makes sense.

While there were standouts and "could've been better"s, this is ultimately a really fun, enjoyable Christmas anthology. And honestly, few things say "Christmas" to me like Christmas anthologies.

Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[blue-eyes-tattoos]

Here are my favourite fics written in 2020! ✨

(Obviously there’s tons of great 2020 fics I haven’t read yet)

Pt. I = everything over 20k words

Sorted by word count. Hope you enjoy!

📔 Mine Would Be You by crinkle-eyed-boo | @crinkle-eyed-boo 115k

(E, Larry, Exes to Lovers, Artist!Harry, Writer!Louis)

Louis returns to New York City five years after he left it – and the love of his life – behind. He didn't intend to see Harry again, but fate has a funny way of pulling them together, whether they like it or not. After making a begrudging truce, they both start to wonder: Would it be so bad if history repeated itself?

📔 Have Love, Will Travel by kingsofeverything | @kingsofeverything 97k

(E, Larry, Friends to Lovers, Road Trip)

Rather than spend the summer working at their desks, Louis and Harry are given the opportunity to crisscross the country together in a tiny camper, filming their adventures for a YouTube series. It soon becomes obvious to their viewers that there’s something more than friendship between them. Eventually, they figure it out.

📔 You’ve Got My Devotion (Hate You Sometimes) by lucythegoosey | @harryrainbows 95k

(E, Larry, Canon Compliant, Exes/Enemies to Lovers, Fake Relationship)

Harry and Louis are forced to fake-date after an old video from when they were dating emerges.

📔 The Murmur of Yearning by MediaWhore | @mediawhorefics 93k

(M, Larry, Historical AU, Slow Burn)

Four years ago, Harry Styles was forced into a marriage of convenience to enrich and ally both his and his promised's families. The sudden, and slightly suspicious, death of the Marquess of Haxshire, however, brings great disturbance to Crescentfield Hall and, as his late's husband's closest male relative, Harry unexpectedly finds himself the head of a family he never felt he belonged to.

📔 Nothing But You On My Mind by nonsensedarling | @absoloutenonsense 84k

(E, Larry, Enemies to Lovers, (modern) Royalty AU)

Louis Tomlinson is a PR manager hired to improve the image of royal bad-boy Prince Harry Styles. Unfortunately for him, that means being faced with the Prince's constant innuendos, incessant dirty jokes, and relentless flirting. Louis just wants to make it to Princess Gemma's coronation; once she's crowned Queen, his contract is up and he never has to see the Prince again.

📔 Untamed Hearts by Layne Faire | @laynefaire 69k

(E, Ziam, side Larry, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining)

It could have been the heat of the summer sun; it might have been the silvered sheen of an early harvest moon. If he dug deep enough, Liam could find every reason ever needed to explain away what happened. In the end, though, it all came down to two meddling friends, a touch of Prince, a bit of Keats, and the moon over the ocean. Its a recipe for disaster. Or love. Probably love.

📔 Live a Thousand Lifetimes by Layne Faire | @laynefaire 58k

(E, Ziam, very minor side Larry, Canon Compliant, Future Fic, Exes to Lovers, Farm)

It’s 2025. After secretly writing and producing their first album in ten years, One Direction is weeks away from releasing their first new single and announcing a world tour. With the whirlwind about to begin again, Liam re-evaluates the last ten years - the fame, the money, the people who changed his life forever - and the person who walked away.

📔 The Recklessness in Water by LarryOn 51k

(E, Larry, Enemies to Lovers, lifeguard!Harry, unemployed!Louis)

Louis Tomlinson is miserable. He's stuck on a family vacation at a lake cabin in New Hampshire when all he wants to do is bemoan his sorry existence and wallow in his sweatpants. As if the humidity and mosquitos weren't bad enough, he becomes the singular target of an obnoxious lifeguard named Harry.

📔 Need So Much Of You by lululawrence | @lululawrence 47k

(Not Rated, Larry, Canon Compliant, Fake Relationship, Friends to Lovers)

The would-have-been canon compliant, fake relationship, friends with benefits, friends to lovers fic where Louis wonders if this thing going on with Harry is going to break him or change everything for the better.

📔 We Can Take The Long Road Home by pinkcords | @pinkcords 46k

(E, Larry, Strangers to Lovers, Road Trip)

Harry and Louis fall in love down the coast of California.

📔 Caves End by jacaranda_bloom | @jacaranda-bloom 40k

(E, Larry, famous/non-famous, Farm)

The one where Harry has lost his future, Louis has lost his past, but maybe together, they can find a way through the dark.

📔 Say It Back by wordsnnotes | @quelsentiment 40k

(T, Larry, side Ziam, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, College/Uni AU, Asexual Character)

Harry doesn't know what he wants; Louis is too caught up in his problems to care about what he wants; Niall knows perfectly well what he wants, and that's to be everybody's best friend and comic relief; Zayn thought he knew what he wanted until he's reminded of the past; and Liam has come to terms with the fact that it's okay not to know what you want sometimes.

📔 Until by allwaswell16 | @allwaswell16 38k

(E, Larry, side Shiall, famous/non-famous, Enemies to Lovers, Farm)

Rural Eagle County, Colorado wasn’t the type of place to find a famous musician or actor. At least not until songwriter Louis Tomlinson showed up with pop star Niall Horan to visit his uncle’s horse ranch, and they just happened to find themselves next door to a reclusive former movie star.

📔 Love Moves Like The Sea by flamboyo | @chrysopon 33k

(M, Larry, Friends to Lovers, Pining, Sharing a Bed)

Spending two weeks in his uncle's old house by Lee Bay beach is not Louis' ideal holiday, but sadly is the only one he can afford this summer. Spending those alone with Harry, his best friend who he has spent the last five years in love with, may make everything a little better, though. Away from everyday reality, alone somewhere that makes you forget your past and gloss over your future, maybe it's time for two friends to finally explore what they haven't said (but felt) for years.

📔 If Love Was Easy, They’d Call It Hockey by drowninshallowwater | @drowninshallowwater 28k

(Not Rated - there is smut though, Larry, Hockey AU, Friends to Lovers, hockey player!Louis, doctor!Harry, feat one of my favourite bands in a supporting role)

The one where it takes a broken collarbone for Louis to get back what he lost, even if it is seven years down the road.

📔 Sunflower: Vol. 1 by ourownstrings | @ourownstrings 27k

(M, Larry, side Ziam, farmer!Louis, florist!Harry, Misunderstandings, Grief/Mourning, Depression)

“Real farmers love mornings.” Louis hated that sentiment. But then he wasn’t a real farmer. He just got stuck in the family business and drags himself to the farmers market where he put on his best sunny sales pitch. That is until he meets the new flower vendor. The flower boy who is even wearing floral-patterned clothes as he sells bouquets. Suddenly, Saturday mornings are the highlight of his week.

📔 Walls Are Just Walls (You Are My Home) by logogram | @et-y-etc 26k

(E, Larry, famous/non-famous, Friends to Lovers)

After being injured in a hiking accident, musician Harry and his bodyguard are stuck on the trail with no cell service, no supplies, and with nightfall coming. Louis, who’s a wilderness first responder, comes across them, gives first aid, and calls for a rescue.

📔 A Road To Something Better by taggiecb | @taggiecb 25k

(E, Larry, writer!Louis, mayor!Harry, Friends to Lovers)

Louis Tomlinson, famous romance novelist, has just had the rug pulled out from under his feet when his boyfriend leaves him without notice. What's the most appropriate response to this? Move a thousand miles away and seclude himself in a tiny lake town, of course. But nothing is as he expects it to be in the very best way, especially not the handsome mayor of McAll, Idaho.

📔 You Burn so Bright You can Blind Somebody by heartmeetsbreakx | @heartmeetsbreakx 20k

(GA, Ziam, minor side Larry, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, YouTuber!Liam)

Liam is a popular YouTube vlogger and sometimes Zayn is his cameraman. Liam's subscribers start analyzing their relationship and it changes everything.

[momsopposed2theoccult]

I don't know and I'm sorry if you have answered this before, but what do you think about toph being a cop, there's so much hate on it but I personally don't find it that wrong, I'm not sure tho I haven't seen korra yet. thank you:）

I'm going to be honest with you and say that I'm still pretty on the fence about this myself. I've spent a lot of time pondering it, but I'm still not sure where I stand, because I feel like there's an argument to be made both for and against it. Not sure if I'll be able to provide you with a straight answer, but I'm happy to provide some thoughts on both sides of the argument as well as on how and why I think she got into the field, my issues with the way the police force was run in LoK (under the assumption that it was built from the ground up by Toph herself), and what I would have done differently (or rather what I think Toph would have done differently that would have made it feel more in-character, if that makes sense).

The main argument as to why it's out of character for Toph to go into law enforcement is that in the original show she's portrayed as somebody who is anti-authoritarian and has no qualms about breaking the law. Kid Toph is very much a "fuck the rules" kind of person and dislikes being told what to do, so the idea that enforcing rules and regulations would become her future career is definitely confusing. Although I was also extremely confused at first, over time it's grown on me in a way and I can make sense of it. However, I agree that it's still not the most in-character and I can understand why a lot of people don't like it.

Although it's still up for debate as to whether or not she has the philosophy for the job, she absolutely has the skill set for it. I can see her enjoying getting to exercise her metalbending skills on a daily basis. Toph is in extremely good physical shape and is an athletic person who enjoys exercise, and having a physically-oriented job would definitely be good for her. She probably made an excellent detective as well, what with her lie-detecting abilities, seismic sense, and general fine-tuned observational skills. Oh and can you imagine being interrogated by Toph? Scary shit. There's also something to be said about how although Toph hates being told what to do, she absolutely loves being in charge and telling other people what to do. Like they say, "When you get sick of breaking the rules, you make the rules," which is sort of how I view Toph in this scenario. Toph is largely unhappy with a lot of the rules and regulations in society, so I think that if she were offered a position where instead of having to follow other people's rules, she would be able to create her own rules in a way she saw fit, I don't think it would be entirely out of character for her to take it. My headcanon is that she created the police force as a favour to Aang and Zuko because they asked her to and she wanted to feel like she was playing an important role in the founding of Republic City. Toph has many virtues, but humble she is not. I really do think she would enjoy the glory she received in such a high-profile position as the Chief of Police. Would she be passionate about the law, per se? Well no, but I think she would enjoy being able to exercise her unique skill set on a daily basis and would likely get a thrill out of bringing people like Yakone to justice. She would enjoy feeling important. Toph isn't someone I view as really wanting a long-term career, so I imagine her getting into the position was less "I want to be a cop!" and more "Welp, I need to get a stable career eventually, and Zuko and Aang really want me to do this for them, and hey I guess I'll get to metalbend everyday and oh I'll have lots of people to yell at and being in charge would be fun and you know what I don't trust anybody but myself to make the rules in this goddamn city so what the hell, I'll take it." I do think that people forget that Toph wasn't just a beat cop, she wasn't even just a detective. She was the Chief. And it wasn't as if she inherited the system from somebody else, it was quite literally a system of her own creation. She wasn't upholding somebody else's law either, she was creating her own laws. Toph was the law in Republic City, and there are few things that girl loves more than being in charge and telling other people what to do.

Now, as to how the Republic City Police Department was portrayed in LoK, it really didn't feel like a system of Toph's own creation like we're supposed to believe it was. Apparently it was largely inspired by the Dai Li, and the idea that Toph would create a system modelled after the Dai Li is preposterous. Toph hated the Dai Li and Ba Sing Se in general. The RCPD is largely "arrest now, ask questions later" and very focused on security, security, security, which just isn't Toph's style. I've seen people throw around the idea of an alternative system loosely inspired by the Kyoshi Warriors, which is something I do like, and I think Toph would as well. I don't think that Toph would really bother with petty day to day stuff like robberies. The main function of the police force under Toph's control would be to bring "real" criminals like Yakone who legitimately endanger the lives and safety of other people to justice. In fact, I can see Toph wanting to rehabilitate and give a second chance to "petty" criminals, especially youth (this is especially true when you take into consideration that she is somebody with a criminal past herself). As we see throughout the show and the comics, Toph is a forgiving person who gives second chances and will hear you out even when you don't feel as though you really "deserve" it. Hell, even if you are a "real" criminal, Toph would probably still hear you out and give you a chance to properly explain yourself. She's 100% the kind of person who would demand fair trial for every single criminal who comes into her custody, even the guiltiest of the guilty, because that's the kind of person that Toph is. In general I think she would likely be a controversial figure in Republic City who would routinely question every single law the council tried to pass. Toph would flat out refuse to uphold any and all laws she felt were unjust or unnecessary, which is part of the reason why having someone like her in the position would in some ways be beneficial.

To be completely honest as somebody who's read a ton of Toph-centric canon complicit post-ATLA-pre-LOK fanfiction, I've kind of just gotten used to the idea. In some ways it makes sense, in some ways it doesn't, and in my opinion it's far from the worst thing that LOK did to Toph's character. But that's just my two cents.

[technofantasia]

post your scrimblo bimblos and so forth for homestuck.

:'0 ASKS FOR AN ASK GAME.......... THANK U also @rystonlentil bc you also asked for homestuck so i shall DELIVER in my TYPICAL WORDY FASHION

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): John. Definitely. I love John Egbert so much anybody who says he's boring is WRONG because he's NOT BORING he's just nice and generally likable and represses everything all the time so his problems don't seem as interesting but they ACTUALLY ARE INTERESTING. I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL JUSTICE FOR MY EGG SON

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): .........Karkat. Yes he's an asshole but he's also so sensitive and a raging tsundere and he needs affection in the cold cruel world he lives and he's so good and I want to hug him So Bad

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): Excluding John from this category bc he's already my blorbo... mmmm probably Sollux! I love Sollux like a lot and people just don't talk about him much. He's really funny and what we get of his character in canon is extremely appealing to me! And people do wonders with him in fanfiction, too. He's like a more assholish version of Dave, ilhsm. Definitely got the short end of the canon stick

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): The Signless!! Really I just love all the ancestors an odd amount but The Signless specifically. Yeah sure he never actually got a single line of dialogue (unless you count a heavily implied "fuck") but his place in the story is just so interesting and you can assume so many interesting things about what he must have been like from context, his association with Karkat, and his association with Kankri, that I just adore reading things about him. Signless-era Alternia is such a great setting and The Signless himself, written any number of ways, is just so gooood

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): Like ok I could be obvious here and say that I actually really like Vriska, but I feel like that'd be boring. Everyone has a strong opinion on Vriska. Everyone knows why people like her, everyone knows why people hate her. Nonono, I'll double up on the fun and say I actually really like Caliborn. I haven't seen anybody who likes him!! But yeah I think he's absolutely hilarious, is entertaining every second he's onscreen, and has a surprising amount of pathos for a character that's meant to be unapologetically evil and just all around a horrible person. Near the end of Homestuck I was highkey hoping for a Caliborn heel-face turn actually (and had, like, theories and stuff to back it up, too)! Really feel like the ending stiffed him of his potential. But I'm probably literally the only person who thinks that lol

...Or.... actually I'm totally cheating by technically putting 3 characters here but also, Eridan would totally fit in this spot for me, too. I really like Eridan and felt he had a lot of potential if he'd just been given an opportunity to grow up a bit more and recognize the fucked up thought processes his upbringing instilled in him.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): This is just any of my favorite characters in other categories. I love putting my favorite characters in immense pain!! That's what fandom is about babey

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): Gamzee goes to superhell for the crime of having his entire character ruined beyond recognition halfway through the comic. I really love Gamzee pre-murderstuck and both his character and everything it could have stood for got mutilated afterwards, making him By Far the worst character in the comic (in terms of, he wasn't entertaining and I didn't like when he was onscreen). It's tragic and worthy of an eeby-deebying imho

THANK YOU FOR ASKING!!! :D

[gerryconway]

Stan the Man

Since the news of Stan Lee's death I've wanted to write something meaningful about my own feelings for him, what he represented to me as a creator and as a human being, and what kind of impact his life had on my life. For many reasons (I was dislocated by the Woolsley Fire and haven't fully settled down since our return) I haven't had a chance to give such an in-depth appraisal much thought. Honestly, I doubt I could do a full appraisal of Stan's importance in my life even under the best of circumstances. His work and presence as an icon and as a human being helped form who I am today. To write a full appreciation of Stan I'd have to write my autobiography.

Among my most vivid childhood memories is my discovery of the Fantastic Four with issue 4, the first appearance of the Sub-Mariner. I was nine years old, and I'd been a comic book reader for years at that point. I knew about Superman, I knew about Batman, I'd read the early issues of Justice League. I was a compulsive reader, voracious (still am)-- devoting hours a day to books and stories and comics and even my parents' newspapers. (Both my parents were avid readers. My dad read science fiction, my mom loved mysteries.) I vividly recall the astonished joy I felt when my mom took me to our local library and got me my first library card. I was six, I think, and the reality of a roomful of books just for kids seemed like a gift from heaven. I won all the reading awards at school-- any competition for reading the most books in a year was over as far as I was concerned the first week. By nine, I'd already graduated from "age appropriate" books for pre-teens to Heinlein's juveniles, Asimov's robot stories, and the collected Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan Doyle. I was a total reading nerd.

And then came Fantastic Four.

I've never been hit by lightning but I have to imagine the shock might be similar to what I experienced reading that early adventure of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, her kid brother Johnny, and Ben Grimm. If you weren't a comic book reader at that time you cannot imagine the impact those stories had. There's nothing comparable in the modern reader's experience of comics-- nothing remotely as transformative. (To be fair, I suppose both "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Watchmen" come close, but both remarkable works built on prior tradition and were perhaps a fulfillment of potential and creative expectations. The Fantastic Four was _sui generis_.) Over a series of perhaps five issues, a single year, Stan and Jack Kirby transformed superhero comics in an act of creative alchemy similar to transmuting lead into gold, and just as unlikely.

They also changed my life. Because Stan credited himself as writer and Jack as artist, he opened my nine year old eyes to a possibility I'd never really considered before: I could be something called a comic book "writer" or "artist."

Think about that, for a moment. Before Stan regularly began giving credits to writers and artists, comics (with a few exceptions) were produced anonymously. Who wrote and drew Superman? Who wrote and drew Donald Duck? Who wrote and drew Archie? Who knew? (Serious older fans knew, of course, but as far as the average reader or disinterested bystander knew, most comics popped into existence spontaneously, like flowers, or in some eyes, weeds.)

Stan did more than create a fictional universe, more than create an approach to superhero storytelling and mythology-- he created the concept of comic book story creation itself. Through his promotion of the Marvel Bullpen, with his identification of the creative personalities who wrote and drew Marvel's books, he sparked the idea that writing and drawing comics was something ordinary people did every day. (Yes, yes, to a degree Bill Gaines had done something similar with EC Comic's in-house fan pages, but let's be honest, EC never had the overwhelming impact on a mass audience that Marvel had later.) He made the creation of comic book stories something anyone could aspire to do _as a potential career_.

That's huge. It gave rise to a generation of creative talent whose ambition was to create comics. Prior to the 1960s, writing and drawing comic books wasn't something any writer or artist generally aspired to (obviously there were exceptions). Almost every professional comic book artist was an aspiring newspaper syndicated strip artist or an aspiring magazine illustrator. (Again, there were exceptions.) Almost every professional comic book writer was also a writer for pulp magazines or paperback thrillers. (Edmond Hamilton, Otto Binder, Gardner Fox, so many others-- all wrote for the pulps and paperbacks.) Comic book careers weren't something you aimed to achieve; they were where you ended up when you failed to reach your goal.

Even Stan, prior to the Fantastic Four, felt this way. It's an essential part of his legend: he wanted to quit comics because he felt it was stifling his creative potential, but his wife, Joan, suggested an alternative. Write the way you want to write. Write what you want to write. Write your own truth.

He did, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.

When I picked up that issue of Fantastic Four, I was a nine year old boy with typical nine year old boy fantasies about what my life would be. Some were literal fantasies: I'd suggested to my dad a year or so earlier that we could turn the family car into the Batmobile and he could be Batman and I could be Robin and we could fight crime. After he passed on that idea I decided we could be like the Hardy family-- he could be a detective and I could be his amateur detective son, either Frank or Joe. Later I became more realistic and figured I could become an actor who played Frank or Joe Hardy in a Hardy Boy movie. In fact, by nine, my most realistic career fantasies involved either becoming an actor or an astronaut, and of the two, astronaut seemed like the more practical choice.

Stan and Marvel Comics gradually showed me a different path, a different possible career. By making comic books cool, by making them creatively enticing, and by making the people who created comics _real_ to readers-- Stan created the idea of a career creating comics.

Stan alone did this. We can argue over other aspects of his legacy-- debate whether he or his several collaborators were more important in the creation of this character or that piece of mythology-- but we can't argue about this. Without Stan's promotion of his fellow creatives at Marvel there would have been no lionizing of individual writers and artists in the 1960s. Without that promotion there would have been no visible role models for younger, future creators to emulate. Yes, some of us would still have wanted to create comics-- but I'd argue that the massive explosion of talent in the 1970s and later decades had its origin in Stan's innovative promotion of individual talents during the 1960s.

Nobody aspires to play in a rock band if they've never heard of a rock band. The Marvel Bullpen of the 1960s was comicdom's first rock band.

That was because of Stan.

For me, Stan's presence in the world gave direction and purpose to my creative life, and my creative life has given meaning and purpose to my personal life. I am the man I am today, and I've lived the life I've lived, because of him. From the age of nine on, I've followed the path I'm on because of Stan Lee. (So much of my personal life is entangled in choices I've made as a result of my career it's impossible for me to separate personal from professional.)

My personal relationship with Stan, which began when I was seventeen years old, is more complex and less enlightening. It's a truism your heroes always disappoint you, and I was often disappointed by Stan. Yet I never stopped admiring him for his best qualities, his innate goodness, his creative ambition and unparalleled instincts. People often asked me, "What's Stan really like?" For a long time I had a cynical answer, but in recent years I realized I was wrong. The Stan you saw in the media was, in fact, the real Stan: a sweet, earnest, basically decent man who wanted to do the right thing, who was as astounded by his success as anyone, and who was just modest enough to mock himself to let us know he was in on the joke. I imagine Stan was grateful for the luck of being the right man at the right place at the right time-- but it's true he _was_ the right man. No one else could have done what he did. The qualities of ego and self-interest that I sometimes decried in him were the same qualities needed for him to fulfill the role he played. In typical comic book story telling, his weaknesses were his strengths. And his strengths made him a legend and a leader for all who came after him-- particularly me.

This has been a rambling appreciation, I know. Scattered and disjointed. Like I said, trying to describe the impact Stan had on my life would require an autobiography.

When I started thinking about Stan in light of his death I realized, for the first time (and isn't this psychologically interesting?) that Stan was born just a year after my father. When I met him, as a teenager struggling with my own father as almost all teenage boys do, Stan probably affected me as a surrogate father figure. Unlike my own father, Stan was a symbol of the possibilities of a creative life. He was a role model for creative success, like other older men in my life at the time. But unlike them, he'd been a part of my life since I was nine years old. A surrogate father in fantasy before he partly became one in reality.

Now he's gone. Part of me goes with him, but the greater part of me, the life I've led and built under his influence, remains.

Like so much of the pop culture world we live in, I'm partly Stan's creation.

'Nuff said.

[fyumbrellaacademy]

Okay, I haven't read the comics but I have watched the show. I loved the premise, felt the execution left a little to be desired. Don't get me wrong the acting/cinematography/music was great but some of the writing I felt lacked a little something. Okay so anyway my questions are essentially, 1) is vanya less annoying in the comics. And 2) Most importantly: Is there more Ben in the comics...I need me some more Ben Hargreeves!?!? Thank you :)

Vanya in both mediums is a nuanced character with a lot of deep-seated issues that manifest differently in different victims of different kinds of child abuse, in Vanya’s case, neglect. Personally I think Ellen portrayed Vanya’s insecurity, abandonment issues, and over-defensiveness really well, it felt extremely realistic to me. Have a little sympathy! ;) Therefore, I cannot answer the question of if she’s more “annoying” in either version or not, since I find neither versions annoying.

That said, us Ben-stanning mods here at fyua have been LOSING OUR SHIT at the fact that Ben was in EVERY! SINGLE! EPISODE!!! of the TV show. It was UNPRECEDENTED. Unprecedented because, in the comics, Ben appears ONCE every six to seven issues in a flashback, and sometimes we see his statue in the background. He’s mentioned once in the dialogue in the very beginning in present day, and that’s literally it. He’s not brought up again until the next flashback in the next arc. Klaus doesn’t talk about or to him. Zilch. Nada. I have every line of his memorized bc that’s how little he talks. Ben ‘The Horror; Hargreeves is in the show literally 10x more than in the comics, and it’s a blessing.

(THAT SAID, his presence in the show and some developments in the latest issue of Hotel Oblivion, the current comics arc, makes me think that Ben might be relevant in the comics soon. I won’t spoil what’s been happening in the comics right now, but for someone who’s been ACHING to see comics Ben again for years, it’s potentially very exciting!)