#I just relate to experiences guys specifically from 80s films go through and wish I could experience it with friends of mine

[veryblushyswitch]

What I say: I wish I was born a boy.

~

What I actually mean: I wish I was a boy in an 80s film with a group of friends who all play baseball and love each other dearly. We all love to play fight and wrestle which leads to tickle fights. We make fun of each other, but we also have deep conversations around a campfire or in a treehouse we built ourselves. We look at the stars sitting on each other’s roofs and catch frogs by the pond. We don’t have anywhere to be expect with each other and we don’t have anything to do expect be young and be happy.

[bekolxeram]

I recall shortly before the S8 premiere, someone wished me an enjoyable viewing experience, even though the aviation inaccuracies would probably be painful for me. Well, I'm happy to report, quite the opposite! I was pleasantly surprised by the good balance between visuals, storytelling and accuracy. So here I am, saying my gratitude to the writers and consultants.

Fuck yes! I've never been subtle about my dislike for the Airport film series. I can absolutely overlook the aviation inaccuracies or gravity defying physics, but the most grating sound for me in Airport 1975 is Mr. chief flight instructor calling Nancy the flight attendant "honey", over and over again.

Sure, they're romantically involved, but at one point even the air traffic controller calls her honey. The men in this film also generally treat Nancy like she's dumb and talk to her like a baby, even though she manages to slowly figure out how to rudimentarily keep the plane flying, without any former training. I'm glad 9-1-1 calls out this era specific sexism in its first scene of the season. I want to hug the writers.

You, sir, should stay in the 70s.

I mentioned here that since the 80s, we have systems in place to prevent mid-air collisions. We can see both of them in action here. The air traffic controller has an alert pop up on her radar, she warns the Beechcraft pilot of incoming traffic just as she's trained to, and she instructs the pilot to make an immediate right turn. The Airbus on the other hand also has an independent avoidance system.(Mandatory on all commercial jet airliners with 30+ passenger seats per FAA) When it detects possible conflicting aircraft nearby, it gives the flight crew an audible advice to resolve the conflict. In this case, to climb. Unfortunately, even the most well-designed safety net can't stop a dumbass.

Just like the helicopter pilots in The Swarm (1978), Mr. rich asshole here sees a weird cloud, so he decides to fly straight into it. Those turn out to be angry bees and they're pouring into the plane through an air vent, so what will he do to get himself down on the the group ASAP? Request vectors to the nearest airfield for an emergency landing? Oh no, he takes off his headset, so that the bees can attack his ears too. Then he twists his yoke around like he's driving a go-kart. No wonder the TCAS onboard the Airbus can't predict what the hell this guy is doing.

Oh, this is not related to aviation. I just think Athena looks like a boss here.

Flying from Phoenix to Los Angeles only takes 1.5 hours, so it's usually done with a narrow body, single-aisle aircraft, in spite of the demand. Yet, Athena is definitely on a wide body, twin-aisle plane. (Honestly the wide body set looks so much better on camera than a cramped 737) The writers can simply leave it be, like many shows before them. It's not like a lot of viewers can tell the difference, unless you're a weirdo like me. Surprisingly, the wide body short hop to LAX turns out to be a plot point.

Someone is going after Dennis Jenkins, so Athena has to get themselves onto another flight. They're apparently in such a hurry that the only one available actually goes to Honolulu, with a stopover at LAX, so technically a long haul flight. 10/10 perfection.

Ahh, the cockpit. It's good enough? It's an A320 cockpit set with an A330 cabin, but no one's gonna be able to tell or mind. Yes, an A320 cockpit is smaller and narrower, but it basically has the same control panels and instruments as the A330, maybe with a screen or two fewer. (Also the circuit breakers are located in different places, but who cares lol) The important thing is, it looks gorgeous and modern.

Also, wonderful hole placement. (heh) The flight computers are situated in the avionics compartment underneath the cockpit, so a hole on top is much better than a hole from under. It also looks like it manages to just avoid the overhead panel. Some wires seem to be exposed to the element, but most of the buttons are still lit up, so still connected to the power supply. The Otto Pilot autopilot seems to have survived as well.

Looks good enough to me. The Primary Flight Display and the Navigation Display are flipped, but it's basically unnoticeable to the untrained eye. If you do recognize it, then you'll know it's already pretty good for a TV show.

Let's play a game, what do you think the instrument in the middle is?

[titleleaf]

dear Scents Wizard. i was literally lying in bed dozing off and then suddenly the need to hear the answer to this question for Reasons hit me like a thunderbolt. what perfume would you assign to the characters of primal fear both ic/and like character perfumes line if they differ?

OKAY FIRST OF ALL i love you, i am giving you the finest salutations as I sit here awake

second of all: oooooh shit, okay yeah this is extremely fun but also a challenge for me because both Martin and Janet have a very specific style image to project -- I don't think I'm going to hit that mark without taking a deep-ass dive into contemporary receptions of these perfumes but I wish I knew if the creative team on the film had anything in mind since everything else about how the characters present themselves is so immaculate.

(brief content warning for canon-typical discussion of sexual assault/abuse)

Dior Dune or Guerlain Samsara for Janet, maybe? (Am I associating her with warm, powdery, amber-y 90s scents because she's a chic mean blonde... maybe.) I think she'd enjoy wearing something that gestures at a unisex seriousness but I also think she's somebody who changes up her signature scent every few years or so in line with whatever the current cultural vibe is. Beefy sillage and lots of longevity. She definitely associates that with both femininity and power but in ten years she'll be like "how did I walk into a courtroom like that".

Imaginary indie perfume oil option: black tea, sandalwood, labdanum, vanilla, peony

On the flipside, nothing that Martin Vail wears is subtle either. Chanel Égoïste -- I know this man smells good but I also know he does not smell discreetly. He doesn't seem as likely to really go through signature scents so I kind of want to put him in Chanel Antaeus too, I regret I went through a big 80s men's fragrance scent explosion phase and I can feel myself on the verge of going back to it right now. I have a real hateboner for Chanel on so many levels but ughhhhh Antaeus good.

Imaginary indie perfume option: would get kicked out of the indie perfume oil conclave just for suggesting one tbh

I regret that Aaron's whole sweet-choirboy-from-the-holler vibe (which in some ways is genuine and in some ways is obviously fake as hell, like the best fake identities) probably excludes him from designer fragrance but I think he's got the opposite sillage experience -- you don't smell anything until you're really in close quarters with him and then how nice he smells gets really unsettling because it might just be the smell of his skin. (Clean-sweaty, fresh, aquatic, laundered. Also not less scary when he's cussing you out and knocking your head against the wall.) I 100% headcanon this guy as having a couple strong sensory triggers related to abuse (and definitely related to personal proximity -- absolutely nothing about Rushman's bathroom or bedroom suggest a dude living a life of poverty and humility, let alone chastity) but I can also picture him co-opting the olfactory richness of Catholic liturgy (and regular old wealth) for the same reason he takes Rushman's ring with him -- as an assertion of power and dominance.

On his own, I think he would kill it in like, CK One.

Imaginary indie perfume option: salty musk, lemon, Atlas cedar, liturgical incense, gasoline.

If I were going to assign Aaron a modern perfume, I think it would be funny to put him in Jo Malone. (I wear Jo Malone Lupin & Patchouli and I love it a lot but he might be a Salty Amber/Wood Sage & Sea Salt kind of boy.) If I were going to put Martin and Janet in something modern... I know in my heart they are both the kind of person I hate the most in the world, people with enough money to just buy full-size Tom Ford fragrances willy-nilly and not eke out a thimble sized sample over a decade. They both discovered when they were sleeping together that they wore the same Tom Ford fragrance and after they broke up they were playing exes chicken to see who would give it up and throw the towel in and find a new one.

Tommy wears Acqua Di Gio maybe, and idk what the hot organized crime dude wears but I know he smells good. I know it in my heart.

[kaypeace21]

Analyzing the 5 plays in this drama club poster .From the bts pics of stranger things 4.

So... some of ya’ll know I'm going through the st s4 films given to us by the official st twitter + the films reffed in the show itself or mentioned by the Duffers in interviews .

So I decided to look at the plays mentioned here. Because even if we don't see the monologues in the show directly - the Duffers wouldn't name drop anything unless it inspired them in some way. Similar to films name dropped in the show. Tw : for some dark themes .

This is just a quick little analysis I decided to do since we probably won't get any new st content today (3/22). Nothing too deep. Just mentioning things that caught my interest especially cause these plays have a lot of narrative connections to the st s4 movies I've been watching.

Invitation to a march (Authur laurents)

Reminds me of the stancy/jancy love triangle. "A young woman is having second thoughts about doing the right thing and marrying a respectable , rich, kind, young man with good prospects.By way of a prewedding diversion, this woman becomes interested in the passionate but poor and entirely unsuitable son of a local landlord.Basically, the plot concerns the efforts of Norma Brown to choose between a conventional fiance who "puts her to sleep" but is wealthy (like what her own mother did) or go for this new-poor guy. The play is principally interested in how this youthful love triangle affects the three mothers involved (whether the kids like it or not)

12th night (Shakespeare)

 - viola (el) wrongly assumes a family member (hopper) is dead. She dresses up as a man named 'cesario'. A girl named Olivia falls for 'cesario' (violet dressed as a man). "Finally, when 'Cesario' and Sebastian (violet's twin brother: assumed to have drowned - Will) appear in the presence of Olivia there is more wonder and confusion at their physical similarity. Taking Sebastian for 'Cesario', Olivia asks him to marry her, and they are secretly married in a church. Cough if Olivia is 'straight' cause she fell for Viola (as a doppleganger dressed like her twin brother).Mike being into el who multiple characters in s1 said looked like a boy and specifically like Will is...suspish and a hint he's not straight lol. just like Olivia they're both into guys . plus, this play just has a butt load of love triangles (ugh i hated that aspect). There was also romantically coded letters (which was in the s4 films) . One character is also thrown into an insane asylum and framed as 'insane'.'Pretending that Malvolio is insane, they lock him up in a dark chamber. Feste visits him to mock his insanity'. We all know the psych hospital will be narratively important- talked about it more here.

The seagull (Anton Chekhov-russian)

similar to how I believed s4 will show m*#even already broken up since the months between s3-4 : act 3 (s3) ends with Nina begging for one last chance to be with Trigorin before he leaves/moves away. They kiss and make plans to meet again in Moscow.And in act 4 there's a timeskip where it shows they've been broken up for a long time between acts- and its established they never actually loved eachother. Do i even have to spell out why this parallels the m*#even ending in s3? There is also a play within the play (this is common in a lot of the st films- they have plays- or a story within a story- which illustrate certain themes or emotions of the characters within said film : blackswan, children of paradise, highschool musical, Rushmore, book of Henry, welcome to marwen, never ending story, romancing the stone, wet hot American summer, etc).The play is Konstantin's latest attempt at creating a dense symbolist work. There is also alot of love triangles in the seagull. TW!: for se#ual ab*se/su*cidal thoughts/ inc*st (here and in other play segments). The seagull motif reminds me a lot of Jonathan's rabbit story.Konstantin romantically into Nina shows up to give her a gull that he has shot. Nina is confused and horrified . Trigorin sees the gull that Konstantin has shot and muses to Nina on how he could use it as a subject for a short story: "The plot for the short story: a young girl lives all her life on the shore of a lake. She loves the lake, like a gull, and she's happy and free, like a gull. But a man arrives by chance, and when he sees her, he destroys her, out of sheer boredom. Like this gull."  This immediately reminded me of jon's rabbit story and some of the movies on the s4 list . Like in forrest gump- Jenny (who is poor) was se*ually ab*sed as a very young girl by her father. As a child she runs away into a field-away from her alcoholic father yelling at her -there she prays that she can "be a bird so I can fly far far away" .

Jenny as an adult struggles with this unresolved trauma- being with ab*sive partners, doing dr*gs, and having su*cidal thoughts . She as an adult when contemplating su*icide, jokes 'you think i can fly like a bird ?' while looking down at a bridge.God-i'm worried about jonathan (Jenny was also a musician sort of like jon). In another s4 movie example ' mystic river ' :(in the 80s) a preteen baseball playing boy is r*ped by men in the woods. He later says he wishes he could become an undead monster to not feel the pain of that experience - cause quote " if I'm not human anymore maybe the pain will stop" (Will) . slightly off topic but he also has another personality, imagines a alternate word that dissappears when he turns his head. And as a less direct animal parallel to the play - the boy from the film also imagined his perpetrators as monsters and wolves to cope.In 'getout' the photographer character sees a dead deer in the woods and it represents a parent/his own childhood tra*ma relating to his past. similarly in 'prince of tides' the 2 siblings as kids were ra*ed by men. The older brother remembered it and the younger sibling developed DID (so didn't remember but she would draw wolves- as the perpetrators/villains in her picture stories she created . In the film they also had an ab*sive dad and were very poor. She also tried k*ling herself multiple times-but started to get better after remembering the source of her pain and trauma.  There is also the theme of multiple attempted su*cides in the play- and the play ends with yet another attempt- and the audience is left unaware of the artist's fate at the end of the play.

The tempest (Shakespeare)

Prospereo - (the perceived antagonist) is a wizard with monstrous looks, storm powers , and ability to create monster-dogs

He wants revenge on a man who tried ra*ing his family member & revenge on his other family member who wronged him years ago. I mean... pretty much my did theory.But in the end.Prospero decides to show his enemies the mercy that they did not show him twelve years earlier. He tells Ariel to bring the men to him, he will restore their sanity and then renounce magic forever.Prospero breaks the spell that the men are under .

Diary of a scoundrel (Alexander Ostrovsky-Russian)

-  I suppose this could loosely relate to Jonathan? Glumov, is a young man from an impoverished family lacking status seeking entrance into society's pampered class. A 19th-century Russian scoundrel must scheme his way out of his meager life in a small apartment -whatever it takes.He has a quick mind and some talent for seeing through the hypocrisies of people around him ( Jonathan does make a lot of social critiques about society). That gives him some advantages. A tale of one man's mission to finagle his way into upper-class society and find a cushy job. Set in 1874, this social comedy follows Glumov, a Russian youth who begins his ambitious ascent to social esteem. He progresses by wit, guile and rhetoric. Pitting one stupid person against another, he soon gains his ends. To reach these goals, Glumov will lie, flatter, and cater to the vanities of the wealthy. Unable to contain his disgust with his victims, Glumov decides to relieve his unvoiced satirical comments by recording his schemes in a diary. But he is tripped up by his uncle's wife, to whom he has made passionate love on his way to success. At the end of the play, his diary is stolen and his duplicity exposed, but he can nevertheless suceeds. The author is much more critical about the high society itself than about the main character, so the play keeps attracting generations of directors by opening possibilities for political criticism while also avoiding naming names of the current rulers.The play's aim was to overthrow bourgeois tradition and establish a class-conscious art called eccentricism giving a deliberately comic portrayal of reality.

I suppose I notice some possible commonalities-  besides s3 critiquing the wealthy/capitalism in comedic ways . jonathan since s1 has worried about his family's finances / had some resentment toward the rich . In some of the s4 movies ‘orphan’ & ‘ girl interrupted’ someone reads their diary out loud to get at them (in girl interrupted the winona character’s diary even had critiques of her new friends).  Alot of movies also have someone (usually a teen/young adult) making a documentary about their life -which could narratively replace said diary? A few movies have a poor guy adjusting to snobby rich social circles (or being poor and then getting money)- titanic, kingsmen, karate kid, the craft , godfather,  wardogs,into the spiderverse,flashdance, and many others . And movies like wardogs has a poor-young-character do shady things to finacially support his family . There’s also that whole uncle’s wife thing- which makes me uncomfortable for obvious reasons (but I’m just thinking of Lonnie’s creepy gf who was into him). A few movies had the guy’s step mom innappropriately hit on him- orange county & you got mail. And him trying to avoid her advances. Or...not to mention ... it may be a problematic coincidence /trope. But in enter the void -the guy who needs to finacially support his sibling/ does dr*gs -hooks up with his dr*g dealing friend’s married mom (who would give him money).  Or in gilbert grape- the poor teen-who has to finacially support his siblings/single mom-has his endgame relationship be a girl his own age. But before that he h*oked up with a married woman -who would give him money. Don’s plum -young film guy-propositioned by older female film director (for dream job). Not even mentioning the other films that have the guy hooking up with toxic older women (like ‘the graduate’). Or analyze this-where the therapist accuses him of having an Oedipus complex (not touching that one... but the guy in ‘enter the void’ a 100% had one). It’s possible those movies were just- inspo for s3?  A coincidence? Or s3 was foreshadowing for this in s4- but unlike s3 it will accurately be played as wrong  and a sign of Jonathan recreating past tra*ma caused by Lonnie (cough like the photos) /being desperate for money. And not played ‘comedically’ like how it mostly was in s3. But shown as self destructive  (for Jon) and immoral on the Woman’s end. Like... Billy and Jon are character foils. Both are older siblings into rock music, with ab*sive dads who shoved them into walls. Both lose it (and beat steve to a pulp when Steve accidentally triggers their daddy issues). In s3 it’s established womanizer Billy has mommy issues, than he tries ho*king up with someone his mom’s age, and the characters ref ‘back to the future ‘ and Steve incorrectly says it’s about “alex p keaton trying to bang his mom.” This could illustrate his subconscious issues with parental figures/adults cause of Lonnie’s  possible past se*ual ab*se . One film the friend even says to the guy “you don’t have friends!” guy b: i have friends! him:  no you have acquaintances! ADMIT IT! YOU’RE AFRAID OF MEN!I mean-Jonathan liked Nancy- but he initially hooked up with her cause he wanted to prove he didn’t have ‘trust issues’ from his dad. Also it’s prob a bit of a reach (and maybe a coincidence)- but the fact Murray in the same breath compares Steve (Nancy’s then bf) and Lonnie  ... uh... if you think too long about it ... it’s very sinister .  Especially because in s3: muray tells Joyce  that despite her wanting to be with a nice guy, she’s curious about “the brute” Hopper despite him reminding her of a past “bad relationship”(aka Lonnie). Like- yeah connect some dots.  Quite a few films (other than forrest gump) also have the character who (as a kid) was  r*ped by their dad/parent-  begin to do dr*gs/be pr*miscuous as adults since they never learned to properly cope with their trauma (’girl with the dragon tattoo’,  ‘black swan’, and ‘magnolia’). Unfortunately the whole relative doing such things to kid-relatives is in at least 30+ movies. 

Personally, i would be MUCH happier if Jon had a age appropriate romance- and had not a single creepy adult near him. A few movies actually imply Lonnie gets yet another ‘new model’  replacing his gf in her 20s with a new gf- who is ‘barely l*gal” and just turned 18. so there’s that possibility as well- that she’s jonathan’s age.I just want Jonathan-happy &safe. GOD. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?

[recentanimenews]

ESSAY: How Does My Hero Academia Fit Into Global Superhero Culture?

  In 1989, Batman became the first film to make over $40 million in its opening weekend. In 2002, Spider-Man became the first film to make over $100 million in its opening weekend. In 2007, Spider-Man 3 hit over $150 million. In 2012, The Avengers nabbed over $200 million. And in 2019, Avengers: Endgame got over $350 million. Despite the fact that there have been concerns over “superhero movie fatigue” for literal decades now, it’s a genre that shows no signs of slowing down. As its universes expand on streaming services like Disney+, it’s apparent the age of the cinematic hero might be an indefinitely lengthy one. 

  As Marvel Comics luminary Stan Lee once said: “The pleasure of reading a story and wondering what will come next for the hero is a pleasure that has lasted for centuries and, I think, will always be with us.” In that quote, it seems our destiny is almost sealed — we crave heroes and we crave their stories and we crave their sequels. 

  This is the environment in which My Hero Academia was born.

    My Hero Academia is, first and foremost, a superhero story. One could argue that most narratives of its ilk are superhero tales — anime like Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, and others are full of good guys shutting down malicious attempts at local or world domination — but My Hero Academia embraces the iconography, both thematic and physical, of the superhero in a way that many other stories don’t. In fact, it might be one of the purest explorations of that kind of universe ever in fiction. It’s a world where heroism is practically currency, where roughly 80 percent of the earth’s population is imbued with some kind of inherent genetic power. 

  Populating your superhero story with powerful people instead of going the typical cinematic route of having one or two supernatural characters with a supporting cast of everyday folk might have been subversive 20 years ago. But in the age of the Avengers, where multiple heroes cross in and out of each other's storylines and the narrative objective was to eventually wrangle them all in one mega-movie, My Hero Academia fits comfortably. That doesn’t render it as uninteresting, though. Instead, rather than build to the issues that will inevitably crop up in a world full of Supermen, these themes are inherent in the story.

    As such, most of the plotlines have to do with the idea of rampant heroism and the backlash that it would create. Plenty of superhero films address this (multiple Batman movies make the case that if there were no Batman there would be no Joker), but in My Hero Academia it is a constant struggle. Overhaul, wearing a variation of a 17th-century plague doctor mask, looks at these “Quirks” as if they’re a disease. Stain is against superheroes using their status for fame. Tomura Shigaraki wishes to destroy society as we know it, hating its values and its borderline divine treatment of figures like All-Might. These patterns are not just repeated in My Hero Academia, but inevitable. They are anime embodiments of that “superhero fatigue” article I shared above, except in this case they hurt and destroy in their attempts to find an alternative to the super status quo, rather than write essays in The New York Times.

  It’s certainly an enthralling formula, though: My Hero Academia continues to be a best seller and has won numerous awards. Its anime has been similarly well-received. Despite the fact that superhero films very rarely have the same box office prominence in Japan as they do in America, My Hero Academia has been able to make an impact. That might be because, at its core, My Hero Academia adapts the ethos found in a hero that many Japanese creators really do enjoy: Spider-Man.

    Kohei Horikoshi, My Hero Academia’s creator, loves Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films. Creator of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Hirohiko Araki gushed over his love of Spider-Man 2 to director Sam Raimi during an interview. Yusuke Murata, illustrator of One-Punch Man, has done some absolutely amazing work when it comes to posters for Peter Parker’s cinematic adventures. Hideo Kojima, a video game designer whose creations are absolutely inspired by anime, called Into The Spider-Verse a “great masterpiece” and was “moved” by Spider-Man 2. After it became the best-selling game to be developed in the West but funded by Sony since 1998, Japanese game developers voted Marvel’s Spider-Man as their 2018 game of the year. So why the embrace of this particular character? 

  Journalist Kuremasa Uno told the Japanese site Business+IT that it’s because Japanese youth are more accustomed to embracing younger heroes. Since so much of Spider-Man’s Hollywood journey deals with him experiencing problems as a teenager and young adult, he fits in among the protagonists of series like Gundam or Naruto. Hideo Kojima even told Famitsu that Spider-Man is “similar to Japanese heroes,” as he has “worries.” 

    The aspect of youth is particularly interesting, as it’s what often renders heroes like Spider-Man to be the most relatable of all of their peers and rivals. In the comic book world, age tends to warp characters, turning them into beacons of impossible standards rather than troubled everymen. We have little in common with the hulking, aging Batman snapping bones in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. We are enthralled with the story on a narrative level. Even the legendary curmudgeon of the comic book industry, the supremely talented Alan Moore, found The Dark Knight Returns fascinating because it gave a hero a chance to end, rather than cycle through an eternal series of escapades. If you know Moore’s stance on heroes, that’s high praise, but it’s hard to connect with him no matter how cool he looks taking down the Mutant Leader.

  In youth we find common ground. We all grow up, and for the most part, we all experience that mix of angst, desperation, and uncertainty that comes with finding yourself on a bullet train to adulthood. In my interview with Matt Alt, author of Pure Invention: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered The World, the writer/historian affirmed these feelings as especially true in anime: “It doesn’t look at adolescence as a lesser form of adulthood and it doesn’t condescend to the young people experiencing problems.” That is true of My Hero Academia, which treats Midoriya’s teenage problems as valid and worth concern, and is also true to Stan Lee’s affinity for Spider-Man: “He’s the one who’s most like me — nothing ever turns out 100 percent OK; he’s got a lot of problems and he does things wrong, and I can relate to that.”

    So perhaps it is in collecting a cast of characters that, like Spider-Man, are all dealing with youthful problems that Horikoshi found the fantastic formula for My Hero Academia. It’s a world with teachers and Pro Heroes, but there is no real equivalent of a Justice League, no impenetrable class of demi-gods to impart moral lessons on not just younger heroes but the world at large.

  Instead, much like in real-life youth, the characters of My Hero Academia and the class of 1A must discover those lessons for themselves. With that, the reasons for the aforementioned creators’ adoration of films like the Spider-Man trilogy and Into the Spider-Verse seemingly become more clear. Though these films feature a ... ummm ... supportive supporting cast, the integrity must come from the hero alone in the end, no matter how tough their obstacles become. You are born with Quirks, but how you choose to implement them for the good of mankind is up to you. Great power, great responsibility, etc.

    My Hero Academia and Spider-Man are not a 1:1 comparison as, again, the basics of its world and the attributes of its cast fit it more firmly with late-term Avengers films where dozens of heroes interact in a spectacle created by the sheer existence of their number. My Hero Academia rarely feels as lonely as Spider-Man tends to be. But in capturing the relatable qualities of adolescence and focusing on the “quirks” of what is essentially high school life, it does manage to hit some of the same high notes, notes that I imagine contributed greatly to its popularity.

  Does that mean All-Might is an Uncle Ben character, with his “Now it’s your turn” point to Midoriya serving a similar purpose to the “Great responsibility” speech? Eh, a little bit. But in relating it to the superhero genre that currently forms an entertainment monolith around the world, especially when it has to do with the character of Spider-Man, we start to unlock some of the reasons why My Hero Academia has been such a powerhouse series over the past few years. You can see just as much of Midoriya in Peter Parker as you can in guys like Naruto or Asta — characters that aren’t relatable simply because they’re young, but because we connect to their experiences of youth, experiences that are somehow both deeply specific and also beautifully universal.

      Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features.

By: Daniel Dockery

[penzyroamin]

Hi I know it’s been a bit but I’m the confused bi anon. I really really appreciated your response and it wasn’t too long. You made me feel a lot better. I was wondering if you could maybe suggest some books, tv, movies with bi female characters. Thanks soo much for the entire last response . You are absolutely incredible and so sweet. This means more to me than you could ever know❤️

of course!! i’m glad that my first response helped <3

disclaimer of course: i’m not bi! so i’m not an Authoritative Source on bi rep and what people want to see more of. i do actively seek out stuff about lgbtq+ characters, specifically girls and women, so i have some recs! however, i’ll also be adding some things that some bi folks i know have recommended because while lesbians and bi women have a lot in common, these are at the end of the day representing them, not me :)

extra-super favorites will be bolded! i’m putting this under a read more because... i read a lot of books. and recommended a lot of them.

books:

her royal highness by rachel hawkins-- this book is a pretty easy read-- don’t expect any massive revelations about life from it, and you’ll have a good time!!! essentially, a bi texan girl named millie, after having her heart broken by her friend-turned-sort-of-gf, goes to boarding school in scotland and ends up rooming with the princess, flora. if this sounds outrageous and sappy, that’s because it is! and i love it! sexuality isn’t a BIG part of this book, but it’s discussed, and it’s just a generally fun enemies-to-lovers story about a bi aspiring geologist and a no-fucks-to-give lesbian princess and them falling in love!

fried green tomatoes at the whistle stop cafe by fannie flagg-- hello this is actually my favorite book! unlike hrh it is... a LOT to read. it essentially follows 2 stories-- one about a housewife named evelyn and her friendship with an old woman named ninny threadgoode who she meets at the old folks home her mother-in-law stays at, and the other about the stories ninny tells her about her sister-in-law idgie and her partner, ruth. the book was published in 1987, and ruth and idgie’s story is set during the great depression, so they aren’t actively labeled as lesbian or bi, but it’s made obvious enough through coding and the fact that ruth has relationships with men prior to idgie while idgie spends her entire childhood pining after ruth. both storylines are fantastic-- they have a lot to say about the lives of southern women in the 30s and 80s, and about race relations at both periods. i’ll warn you that there are depictions of extreme racism and of abuse, but it handles both delicately. it’s a critical piece of southern literature, and a landmark for lgbtq+ storytelling. as a bonus, my copy has a bunch of great recipes in the back, so if you read it you might chance upon an edition with those in it. if you like poignant period pieces about wlw relationships, women losing their damn minds, and abusive men getting what they deserve, this is the book for you! you will sob. this is a fair warning.

you should see me in a crown by leah johnson-- i haven’t personally read this one, but i’ve heard great things about it from everyone i know who has! an anxious black bi girl in indiana has to win prom queen at her mostly-white school in order to get enough scholarship money to go to the college of her dreams, but ends up falling for mack, another girl running for queen. 

@landlessbud wanted me to shout out red, white, and royal blue by casey mcquinston-- you’ve almost definitely heard about it before (first son and prince of wales, enemies-to-lovers with a side dish of political drama), and it is primarily about a mlm romance, but nora is a fabulously fun bi girl side character and there’s a lot of great stuff about figuring out your sexuality in it.

leah on the offbeat by becky albertalli-- i’ve read a lot of complex thoughts on this book, and mine are... i like it! it’s flawed, sure, and i wish it had handled a few things a little better, but you know what? it’s cute as fuck! leah is a fat bi drummer, and she’s super cool! abby is a great love interest, and she goes through a whole bi realization throughout the book. all in all, it’s just a fun wlw high school romcom with a couple solid dramatic beats and a lot of goofball shenanigans. also, if you were an american girl kid??? one scene in this book will make the entire experience worth it for you.

harley quinn: breaking glass by mariko tamaki and steve pugh-- hey, we’re in graphic novel territory now! this book is RAD. a really neat look at gentrification, community solidarity, giving people what they deserve, and fantastic lgbtq+ found families. teenage harleen quinzel is taken in by a group of drag queens, and is caught between two sort-of love interests-- mysterious vigilante the joker and classmate and community activist ivy-- and the different forms of protest and resistance they represent. the art here is STUNNING, and it’s a great read!

laura dean keeps breaking up with me, by the great mariko tamaki with art by rosemary valero-o’connell-- the vast majority of the characters are lgbt, with a lesbian main character, and the supporting cast including a bi nonbinary character, a bi girl character, and two mlm characters! this is mostly a piece about modern lgbtq+ teenagers and the way toxic relationships take over our lives. it’s one of the most cathartic things i’ve read in a LONG time, and especially if you’re at a point where your sexuality feels kind of vague, this is a great read because it embraces that vagueness by not needing to clearly label the characters and celebrates whatever point of clarity the characters are at. probably some of the most gorgeous art i’ve ever seen in a book, with a beautiful black-white-and-pink color scheme and a really neat approach to visual storytelling.

movies:

i don’t watch many movies, because i get bored really quickly hskdhskhds. but the movies i DO watch are usually gay!

wowie zowie its fried green tomatoes again!-- fannie flagg came back to adapt this into a film and HOT DAMN is it just as good. the plot is primarily the same, with some stuff obviously cut or trimmed to make it a two hour movie instead of a 450 page books fhsjdhsjhds. mary-louise parker plays ruth!!! it got a GLAAD award and an oscar nomination, and god it’s good. there are a couple scenes in here that i think are going to be in my mind until the day i die. the level of pure butch energy that idgie radiates in this film is a one-hit k.o. and it KILLS me.

birds of prey-- listen. this is not a profound movie. harley’s bisexuality isn’t emphasized, and romance is basically nonexistent in this movie. there is some... quite graphic violence. that said, this movie is so fucking fun. it’s mostly just a bunch of women fucking up everyone who crosses them while margot robbie gives a gleeful performance that you can just TELL she enjoyed the fuck out of. the last 20-30 minutes of this movie are the absolute best part, with a long sequence that kind of reinvented what an action/superhero movie could be for me. again, bisexuality isn’t a massive part of this-- it’s mentioned, and then harley just continues on in her gloriously campy outfits and breaks peoples’ knees. again, i CANNOT overemphasize just how fucking good the last 20-30 minutes are. this movie knows what it is and it embraces it. also, women beating people up in costumes that don’t horrifyingly objectify them is always a plus!

imagine me & you-- i’d be remiss if i didn’t mention this one, considering it’s probably one of the most iconic wlw romcoms. a woman named rachel, while at her own wedding, meets a florist named luce, and they fall in love. it’s a very sweet look at questioning your sexuality when you were already secure in it, and rachel’s husband wins “most genuinely understanding guy in a wlw movie” award. it has a lovely happy ending, and articles have been written about the importance of rachel being a bi character who a) gets a happy ending and b) isn’t shamed for figuring out her sexuality later on or slutshamed. this is just... a sweet movie. it’s the romcom a lot of us need in our lives. also, a LOT of floral imagery.

tv shows:

ok, i’ve got a confession. i reaaaaaaally don’t watch much tv. seriously, the only shows i’ve watched a substantial amount of recently have been parks and rec, schitt’s creek, the good place, and gilmore girls. i have a really REALLY short attention span.

that said, eleanor from the good place is bisexual!! the good place is a really wild ride, it’s half afterlife comedy half philosophical musing, and it will almost certainly make you gasp, laugh, think, and also probably cry. also, eleanor is just buckets of fun and she, like many of us, is often blown away by tahani (jameela jamil) and her beauty.

ummm shows i haven’t watched entirely or at all but that have bi women in them and seem pretty good: black lightning, sex education, jane the virgin, arrow. 

if you haven’t already watched it, do not believe what people are going to tell you about watching glee. it will drag you into a pit of despair and white men rapping, and it’s quite biphobic to top it all off.

i hope you enjoy at least some of these!! i tried to include some of my own favs and some that were pointed out to me, so i hope that at least a couple connect with you and make you feel better. again, the bolded ones are my 100% favorites. i love you and i’m glad you reached out again!!! feel free to send some more asks later on <3

[sanrionharbor-blog]

Everything I Can Reasonably Surmise About the GOT Finale

Disclaimer: Discussion of leaks, casting, and fantheorying follows. I neither completely trust nor distrust the leaks. Many of the leaks have ended up coming true, but I sincerely doubt that they are all 100% true. I’ll wager 90% true, but would love to be wrong. Some of the leaks for 8x05 sounded worse out of context (imo they’re still pretty bad--but, for example, the bells didn’t make Dany go mad they just represented a decision she was about to make--according to commentary it was the sight of the Red Keep and what it represented to Dany that pushed her off the edge, but--). 

Anyhow, let’s jump into it:

What They Have To Squeeze In the 80 Minute Time Slot

-Tyrion’s reaction to Jaime and Cersei’s deaths

-Davos’ reaction to Daenerys

-Tyrion’s reaction to Daenerys

-Jon’s reaction to Daenerys

-Arya’s reaction to Daenerys

-Something with Sansa (I really would not be surprised if this Mad!Dany demanded a trial, or said something sinister to Jon about Sansa--but Sansa is weeks away and I can’t see them rushing up there to take care of a hasty trial anytime soon)

-Daenerys’ reaction to Tyrion’s actions 

-Brienne’s reaction to Jaime’s fate

-Whatever the heck Dany’s armies are going to do after Dany’s fate is decided 

-Bronn (dunno what interesting thing he could do though--gosh, his whole sub-plot this season really was a throwaway huh...) (Please don’t give him High Garden)

-Bran (man I wish being a Three-Eyed Raven meant more to the showrunners --the amount of lore-related plots we could have had)

-Samwell (he’ll probably just be a cameo, sadly)

-Gendry (whether he takes Storm’s End or not, reunites with Arya or not)

-Epilogue for all surviving characters

Who We Haven’t Seen Yet

The leaks haven’t mentioned characters that have been confirmed with cast listings:

Edmure Tully

Robin Arryn

The New Prince of Dorne

Could they simply be cameos? Possibly. But the leak that mentions a council consisting of Bronn just sounds...look, I can’t put it past the showrunners, but if there IS a council, my money is on Tully and/or the Prince of Dorne being included over Bronn. 

The Fate of Tyrion

If the leaks are to be believed, Tyrion will be put on trial, probably survive (I’m actually 76% sure he’ll survive), and then become part of some sort of ruling council. I think his ending could have been so much more, but they dumbed down his character arc and watered down his character so much I just can’t see them pulling off anything more nuanced than that. The best I can hope for is a thematically satisfying marriage with Sansa, or hints at their being together--and I truly mean that from both a shipping AND non-shipping perspective. Having a Stark and Lannister willingly come together, having two characters who have long dreamed of romance and suffered from abusive relationships, wow, it would just be--it would actually be something of lasting substance I could take away from this show. 

Until then, there’s always the books. 

The Fate of Jon & Dany

I will be the first to admit--I can’t believe that the Dany Going Mad arc actually made me...well, I never really supported Dany, but wow did I emphasize with her in this season. I think she’s going to experience a descent arc in the books too, but I think it will be a heckuva a lot more complex, Shakespearian, well-earned, and dare-I-say human in the books. 

That said, I’m almost 100% sure Dany will die. The only other scenario I could see...geez, I dunno, losing her last dragon and going into exile? A death could at least be poetic, thematic. It’s possible they’ll give her a spark of humanity before that. It’s too bad we’ll never get her reaction to the old dragon skulls or other haunts of the Red Keep, since they were destroyed. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed her in a vision with Khal Drogo and her son--harking back to her vision of the Iron Throne covered in ash, a throne she never touches whilst she goes through another door and towards her family.

Jon will probably kill her. Man, I feel bad for Jon. I feel bad for Kit Harington. He did NOT have to be this sidelined and one-dimensional of a character. Why on earth did D&D take “good guys will always be duped by their good intentions” away from Ned’s death, and then apply that to Jon and Tyrion? Ned meant so much more than that. Jon was supposed to be Ned 2.0, in my opinion, and Tyrion is probably meant to be Tywin 2.0.--but when I say 2.0, I really mean “what those characters SHOULD/COULD have been.” Taking the best elements, learning from their mistakes, and, while making new mistakes, striving to incorporate all of the foils and flaws and make the best of it. 

Which is a theme at the heart of GRRM’s books. Making the best of our own vice and virtue, no matter the personal cost. 

The Fate of Jaime

Look, I don’t want to get everyone’s hopes up. Jaime’s dead, right? 

The only reason I bring that up as a question is because they supposedly filmed on location for Brienne’s homeland and supposedly Coster-Waldau was seen there and supposedly Coster-Waldau was paid to appear in all six episodes. 

It would be somewhat cheap to bring back Jaime Lannister back from two stabs and the entire crushing weight of the Red Keep. 

No, it really wouldn’t make sense. Doesn’t mean they might not pull that out of the hat though. I don’t know why, but because I see a 2% chance of silly plot armor plot twist, I’ll include this. 

Bran As King?

I know, I know, it’s a lackluster ending. I can sorta see the in-universe logic here, though, and I can point out at least a few inklings of foreshadowing that Season 8 has given us thus far:

If the Bran as King is true, I think THIS was the point of Tyrion and Bran having two significantly framed scenes together this season. 

Tyrion will be one of the key players deciding on who takes the throne after, I only assume, Dany is taken out. Tyrion now knows Bran’s entire story. He’s vouched for Bran and cared for him since he was a boy--telling him that his life would not be limited by his disability, for the most part. He made him a saddle to help him continue living his life. He took the time to see Bran as a human being--something even Bran himself is incapable of these days. Then, they had their second chat, after the Long Night.

I think they’re going to establish that Bran having an insane amount of knowledge/the literal memory of all of Westeros + he can’t desire anything (good or bad) + he doesn’t want to rule (WHY DOES THIS MAKE A GREAT CRITERIA) = best choice. Which, um, again still leaves us with the heir-to-the-throne situation. 

On the plus side, if Bran were king, even if he had no heirs, it would still guarantee a Stark to inherit the throne. Specifically, Sansa’s child, because of her place in the family tree. Which means it only makes more sense for Sansa to get married/implications of being married, but see below for my thoughts on that. 

Of course, the other possibility is they introduce a quasi-Republic system or slap a little Magna Carta on the side. 

Or the leak is wrong. Time will tell. 

Romance

I actually don’t have a hard time believing that Arya and Gendry will reunite. They’ve at least set up Arya’s character for a moment like that: Arya, finally given permission via the Hound to turn back from a life of vengeance, Arya who inexplicably survived an entire city falling to pieces around her, Arya who also witnessed the horror that Daenerys released in a supposed rage of “this is what happens to people who mess with my family.” Yeah. I could see Arya now running to embrace life head-on and she and Gendry being the ones to continue on the Stark line. 

BUT. 

That doesn’t mean that Arya should be the only Stark who gets an S.O. and a new lease on life and the ability to carry on the Stark line. 

The possibility of platonic Sanrion is strong. The possibility of romantic Sanrion is just that--a possibility. Again, I simply can’t trust the showrunners to follow up on their extremely vague hints regarding Sansa and Tyrion. 

But it’s like Peter Dinklage once said: when it comes to Sansa and Tyrion, “...there’s just something you can’t put your finger on about them.”

The leaks say that Sansa rules Winterfell alone. Nope, I don’t agree with that as a satisfactory conclusion to her arc. Doesn’t mean it won’t be portrayed that way, but I have no trouble believing she’ll have a much richer ending in the books. Ned himself said she would be with someone kind, gentle, and strong. Yes, Sansa is strong on her own. But ‘aloneness’ goes against the Stark motto: the pack survives. 

Sansa and Tyrion make sense on MULTIPLE levels, but frankly I don’t expect levels from GOT. I don’t even feel anti towards D&D: I’m simply unhappy, disappointed, and yes, still holding out for at least some sense of closure from the finale. If they manage to pull Sanrion through, I would be happy not just from a rose-glasses perspective of a shipper--it would be something that thematically makes sense and fulfills so many parallels:

The War of the Roses parallel (uniting two warring families together)

The Florian & Jonquil parallel (a story from the ASOIAF universe; some have thought this applied to Sandor, a knight, or to Sansa’s misplaced trust in Dontos, a fool. But Tyrion embodies the archetypes of the knight and the fool and rescues Sansa time and time again; he is also, like Florian, not stereotypically handsome)

The Beauty & the Beast parallel (Martin has only explicitly stated that Braime are supposed to be a Beauty & the Beast story, but with Tyrion being a Lannister bro as well and also having toxic love vs. healthy love as one of his struggles, I see no problem in Jaime and Tyrion both sharing a twist on this trope)

Simply the fact that both characters are intellectual politicians who were able to make the best of an awful situation and vouch for one another when they didn’t have to. 

She could provide the heir that will inherit after Bran (if Bran becomes king) [theoretically, if we assume that Sansa does not get married and that Arya and Gendry have kids, Arya’s kids could still inherit, but, um, whatever I like Sansa’s kids inheriting mmkay].

Anyhow, that’s all I’ve got for now!

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: Michael Shea, Hugh Cave, Walking Dead

Comic Books (Paint Monk): If you think I worship at the proverbial altar of Roy Thomas when it comes to Conan comic books, you’re right. I do. But it’s not undeserved. Not only was Thomas the man who worked to bring Conan to Marvel, but he also took his time with character research, developing all the nuances of the Cimmerian and making sure the Hyborian Age was portrayed by the most capable artistic staff the House of Ideas could muster (within budget, of course)! He scripted the initial run of Conan for the first 115 issues.

  Sales (Cirsova): I don’t know that I’ve mentioned it here, but we have made some of the Wild Stars backstock available via our Amazon store. We had several damaged copies when trying to fulfill our crowdfunds–these have been made available at 1/2 SRP. I’ll note that while a few of these were pretty mangled, most of them were dents, dings and corner creases. While these would’ve been unacceptable to send to backers or for retail shelves [especially for comic folks], these are perfectly good readable copies if you want Wild Stars at a lower buy-in.

  Zombies (Everyday Should be Tuesday):  I have long been a fan of the comics and watcher of the show, but I haven’t yet dived into any of The Walking Dead novels.  But with an impending trip to China and a good experience with Chu’s Lives of Tao books, Typhoon was the perfect book to start with.  Chu takes the action across the Pacific, telling a story set after the zombie apocalypse hit China.  If you think walkers are bad, wait until there are 700 million of them.

  Publishing (Kairos): If you travel in the circles where this blog is read, you already know that yesterday Amazon nuked preorders for Jon Del Arroz’s and Declan Finn’s latest books. Amazon shut down Jon Del Arroz’s Glorified novel along with Declan Finn’s Deus Vult novel from publisher Silver Empire.  Publisher Russell Newquist was informed that both books, which were scheduled to be released on November 1st, were removed from Amazon and Kindle.

    Fantasy (Misha Burnett): I have been thinking a lot about Fantasy, and specifically about fantastic settings–settings in which the fantastic elements are integral to the world. And frankly, I’m not interested in writing stories set in some vaguely Central European kingdom in the First Millenium AD. The Tolkien/D&D/Swords & Sorcery kind of setting is one that I don’t really relate to. I’ve never ridden a horse or herded a sheep.  I’ve never been in an actual stone castle, never fought using a sword or a mace, never fired a bow, and sitting around a campfire is something I do before I go inside and sleep in a real damned bed.

  Science Fiction (Futurism.com): In 1982, director Ridley Scott graced the world with “Blade Runner,” the cult-favorite sci-fi film noir that painted a stunning picture of a bleak, distant future: November 2019. Since that starts, well, today, let’s compare our current timeline to the one in “Blade Runner.” Just please don’t bring back those insufferable jokes about hoverboards that flooded the internet in 2015 when we hit the futuristic date that Marty McFly traveled to “Back To The Future Part II.”

  Authors (DMR Books): Dr. Timothy Willocks was born in Cheshire, England, to a working-class family. He graduated from the University College Hospital Medical School, whereupon he began practicing medicine. He did some time as an intern in a trauma ward before specializing in the treatment of drug addiction. Tim eventually grew tired of the stress and hassles involved with practicing medicine and turned to writing. Willocks’ first published novel was the noir thriller, Bad City Blues. His next novel, Green River Rising, was optioned by Hollywood.

  Warhammer (Track of Words): In this instalment I spoke to legendary Black Library author CL Werner about his new Warhammer Horror novel Castle of Blood, which is available to order now in hardback, ebook and audiobook formats. It’s the first full-on horror novel released for Age of Sigmar, and promises to be very interesting indeed! Let’s get straight to the questions and Clint’s answers, to find out more.

  Gaming (Dungeon Fantastic): GURPS DF has copper pieces ($1), silver pieces ($4) and gold pieces ($80). DF Felltower has its own devalued set. AD&D has copper, silver, electrum, gold, platinum, Rolemaster has coins from bronze to gold going by tens, and Dragonlance even has steel pieces (Hah*). Generally, though, those coins are the same everywhere. It’s rare for places to have extra coins.

  Fiction (Mystery File): THEODORE STURGEON “The Ultimate Egoist.” Short story. First published in Unknown, February 1941. Collected in Without Sorcery (Prime Press, hardcover, 1949) and The Golden Helix (Dell, paperback, 1980; Carroll & Graf, paperback, 1989), among others. Reprinted in Human?, edited by Judith Merrill (Lion #205, paperback, 1954).    I suppose everyone, at one time or another, has had the following fantasy: that the world you see, and the objects in it, could disappear if you simply decided that they no longer existed. That the facade of life revolves around you and you only. You don’t even have to admit it. I know you have.

Halloween (Jon Mollison): Tomorrow night marks the one celebration that traditionally brings neighbors together to celebrate as a community.  Yes, we all grumble about early Christmas decorations and wish each other Happy New Year at parties, but Halloween is the one where you go out and meet your neighbors and share in a communal love of the macabre and candy and making little kids smile.

Fiction (Adventures Fantastic): He That Hath Wings” is one of Hamilton’s best works, so I was surprised to find that it hasn’t been reprinted very often.  Fortunately, The Best of Edmond Hamilton is in print, although the cover illustration of the current edition (see below) isn’t nearly as good. Just so you know, I’m going to discuss this story in detail, so expect spoilers. The story concerns a boy, David Rand, whose parents were caught in what is only described as an electrical explosion, but they were exposed to some unidentified form of radiation.  David’s father dies before his is born, and his mother dies a few hours after his birth.

Men’s Adventure Magazines (Mens Pulp Mags): Bob Deis and Wyatt Doyle — the editors and publishers of THE MEN’S ADVENTURE LIBRARY series — will have their latest book, POLLEN’S ACTION, at this year’s PulpFest. It collects the cream of the Samson Pollen’s high-octane action paintings for the men’s adventure magazines. They’ll also have a limited number of copies of EVA: MEN’S ADVENTURE SUPERMODEL. These are being produced exclusively for members of PulpFest. This special edition — predating the title’s wide release by several months — will look at actress, pin-up model, and men’s adventure magazine artist’s model Eva Lynd.

Comic Books (John C. Wright): Feserm or, rather, the scoundrel JBS Haldane, defines the terms fantasy and imagination incorrectly, even misleadingly, but the point still stands. I propose a clearer definition: One is mere wish fulfillment that excludes consequences and context, and hence is outside the moral order. The suave British spy who nonchalantly seduces any gorgeous woman seen, yet without fathering any bastards or breaking any hearts, is an example.

Fiction (Paperback Warrior): The character of Modesty Blaise was conceived as a comic strip in 1963 by British writer Peter O’Donnell. The success of the strip landed O’Donnell a film deal, and he wrote an early draft of the screenplay starring his sexy, female spy for a movie that was eventually released in 1966. A year before the movie’s release, O’Donnell adapted his unproduced screenplay into the first of 11 Modesty Blaise paperback novels in this highly-regarded series.

Fiction (DMR Books): It is in Michael Shea’s Nifft the Lean where the author really shines in the way of crafting some amazing and unique dark fantasy. While using a familiar Dying Earth type of setting, and a style of prose that one might compare to Clark Ashton Smith or Fritz Leiber at times, it is the inventiveness of the plots that set the stories apart. Although Shea continued the Nifft series later in his career, the original saga published in the 1982 DAW collection consisted of four main tales.

Pulp (Mystery File): Private eyes in detective fiction are as often as not hard drinkers, and some of them are awfully good at it. But few of them are as good at it as was Peter Kane. There isn’t a single minute in “The Late Mr. Smythe” in which he isn’t totally sozzled. I can’t believe that anyone could go through life the same way he does, in three stages: drunk, drunker, and completely plastered.

Greyhawk (Boggswood): A few posts back, I posted an Apocalypse map of Blackmoor showing what Greyhawks’ Blackmoor should look like with the towns and rivers properly placed.  The map you see here is the one I used to site those locations.

Fiction (Black Gate): Bad guy, villain, evildoer, crook, criminal, and gangster. Fiction has a love affair with these characters ranging from low-level sneak thieves to wizards intent on destroying all life on Earth. In many cases, the villain is the driving force behind the tale. Where would fiction be without Lady MacBeth, Grendel’s Mother, Long John Silver, or Count Dracula? Though the villain is often the impetus, they rarely hold the place of protagonist in novels until recent times. A few famous characters did achieve notoriety, influencing fiction to this day.

Sensor Sweep: Michael Shea, Hugh Cave, Walking Dead published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[comic-watch]

An inside look at the Key Collector Comics mobile app, one of the most innovative tools to be introduced for comic fans, collectors, retailers, and industry professionals, to-date!  Founder, Nick Coglianese,  gives us a peek inside, plus details regarding the recent partnership with Valiant Comics, and the confirmation of  partnership with Coffin Comics and the biggest update yet!

‘The Origin of a Better Comic Book Collecting Experience Starts Here!’

Key Collector Comics hosts over 7,000 key issue comic books extracted from the Golden Age of the 1930’s to today.  The Key Collector Comics Database© is a concise and comprehensive resource that isolates issues of significance from the clutter of uneventful comics.

Additionally, the Key Collector Comics mobile app is equipped with a simplified price guide to help you make informed purchases without being an expert in grading the condition of a comic.

Having the ability to catalog the issues you own and create a wish list of the issues you want makes the Key Collector Comics app the only thing you need to build a legendary collection.

‘The Man Behind Key Collector Comics, LLC, Founder – Nick Coglianese’

This is how the Key Collector Comics app is described on the Key Collector Comics website,  and due to my personal experience with the application, easily locating key issues, such as the first appearances of Moon Knight and Gwenom, for example, I found the Key Collector app extremely useful.

I decided to seek out the man behind the application and found myself speaking with its founder, Nick Coglianese, and after using Key Collector, being totally blown away by its functionality, and ease of use, I knew I had stumbled upon something that added value to my life, my collection, and it is totally free!  I thought it selfish to keep it to myself, thus finding it necessary to share our conversations with comic fans and industry professionals!

I asked Nick to tell me about himself and what led to the mobile app, and what follows is the story behind Key Collector Comics.

Nick:  “I’ve been collecting comics since 1989.  Like all kids, I’d imagine superheroes appealed to me, but it was when Tim Burton’s Batman came out in 1989, when I got really hooked.  It’s probably the same thing happening today to hundreds of thousands of kids which is why Key Collector Comics is so important, to give them a guide through 80+ years of comic book history.  I remember having the novel adaptation of the movie and reading through it two or three times.   Actually, it was before the movie even came out.  The trailer and commercials resonated so deeply with me, I didn’t even need to see the film, although I did, and loved it as much as I thought I would.  From there, I remember getting two graphic novels,  Batman Greatest Stories Ever Told and Joker Greatest Stories Ever Told, and it never abated.  I still have the same hobby as a 39 year old man that I did as an 11 year old boy.” Nick continues, “Unfortunately, I haven’t picked up a comic for the past two years, ever since I began building the database.  Funny thing is, I thought the database would take about 3 months and I’d be finished…here I am two years later and I’m still adding to it.  I don’t mean I worked on it here and there, over a two year period, I mean, not only have I not picked up a comic, but I haven’t turned on a television, or watched a movie!  People think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not.  I’d like to start hunting down books again but in the meantime, it’s really great to connect with people on social media and see what they’ve found with the app.  Honestly, it’s like collecting vicariously.  I truly get a lot of joy from seeing what my app is doing for collectors.”

‘The Conception of Key Collector Comics!’

CW: Nick spent two years completing the initial Key Collector Comics app, but it’s constantly growing, which means it is never really ‘complete’, as you are constantly updating the application with new key issues, but where did this idea come from?

Nick:  “I was always on the hunt for comics:  antique stores, flea markets, garage sales.  One day, I stopped into a used book store in downtown Milwaukee I had never been to before.  I didn’t even know if they sold comics, but the first thing that caught my eye was X-Men #221, 1ST appearance of Mr. Sinister for $1.00!  After returning a few more times and seeing fresh inventory, I asked if he had a decent amount of stock in the backroom.  He did not,  actually he had an entire basement filled with 30,000 comics at an off-site warehouse!”

“So I did what any comic collector would do and begged this stranger to bring me to this off-site warehouse, lead me into the basement, and request that he not kill me at any point during the process.”

“Truthfully it took a lot of time, going into the store, hanging out and establishing trust.  Turns out, we got along really well.  He’s a good and honest person and I find it easy to relate to people like that.  After a few months, we came to an agreement on how to split the profits of key issues I found, post to eBay, and sell.  He didn’t know much about which comics were worth selling, so I became valuable to him.”

“BUT, as much as I thought I knew, there was A LOT I didn’t know:  Sally Forth #4 – $100?!  Scud #1?! I had never heard of those books before, but discovered they were valuable based on a hunch, so I knew there had to be more gems that I couldn’t distinguish from the rocks.  I spent most of my free time, over an entire summer, down in that basement, which got tiresome after awhile, but I had an agreement with the owner and wanted to make sure that the trust this guy, who was now my friend, put into me, had a good result.  I found myself wishing there was a book, some resource that had JUST the key issues, ONLY the valuable stuff, without the clutter of hundreds of entries.  I hated searching each issue individually.  I just wanted to FLIP and SCROLL.  The whole situation got more mundane and I just wasn’t enjoying it anymore.  I figured I couldn’t be the only person who was in the same situation and might be turned off to collecting because of it.  So it just kind of hit me one day to create the database and put it on an app for total convenience.”

In case you are new to comic collecting or just not familiar with the term ‘Key Issue‘, the description per Key Collector Comics is:

What is a Key? First appearances, early appearances, origin stories, iconic cover art, classic stories and many other categories could be considered a “key issue”.  The truth is, it is up to each individual collector to determine what a key comic book is based on their own preferences.  Key Collector Comics mobile app offers a variety of different categories of key issues in order to be an effective sidekick for every collector.

‘The Functionality of the mobile Key Collector Comics App’ 

CW: This sounds like a dream come true, but I had to ask Nick to elaborate on how exactly the Key Collector App works? Nick:  “The app has 3 main search functions:  Search by Title – while you’re flipping through a series of multiple issues and if something on the screen matches something in the box, you found yourself a key issue.  For example, between the Amazing Spider-Man #316 (1st cover appearance of Venom) and #344 (1st cameo of Cletus Kasady who becomes Carnage), there are no issues listed because not much happens that we still see the repercussions of today, therefore the app will not have any issues listed.  Collectors can assume that these are $1 books and consider that in the valuation of a collection.  Some people like to catalog every single book they own but it’s time consuming, so why not just catalog the comics that matter?”

“Search by Character – reveals the history of any of the thousands of characters in the database, from 1st appearance, to where they are today and the milestones that happened in-between, to define who they are.  For example, Wolverine, with Key Collector Comics, you’ll know when his berserker rage was first introduced to the mythos, when he was first called Logan, his first fight with Sabretooth, and the first time the words “I’m the best there is at what I do” appeared on the page.”

“Finally, Browse by Category – is really more for fun than anything, but also for the newest users who want to find a recommended classic story-line or want to see 100 Iconic Superhero Covers.  There are currently 75 or so categories to browse by.  Admittedly, I’ve been so overwhelmed by the response to the app that I haven’t been able to give that browse option the attention it deserves, but I will very soon.  For now, in that section, you can also see what new keys are added on a weekly, sometimes even a daily basis.” “Collectors can also catalog the issues they own and assign a grade to it and also build a wish list for what they want which is hugely important because if you’re like me, anytime I go to a convention or walk into my LCS, I go brain-dead. [This resonates so much with me, as when I come upon a treasure trove of comics, all of the sudden, I can’t think of anything I’m looking for and the Key Collector app has saved me in these situations!] The wish list will provide a reminder for the issues fans will want to seek out specifically before they browse.  The beauty of it all is that its all bundled together in one app.  In the past, you’d open your notes app to look at your wishlist, then you might check eBay pricing, or maybe you’d google a character to find out their 1st appearance,  and then you’d catalog whatever you may have purchased.  That’s 4 apps you have to open, and now, you open Key Collector Comics and everything you need is available to you, in an intuitive interface that requires zero learning curve.”

‘Key Collector Comics Partners With Valiant Entertainment’

  CW: On December 13th, Valiant Comics announced a partnership with Key Collector Comics, how did this happen?

Nick:  “I was able to secure a table at the NYCC last minute.  Someone had dropped out, and I dropped in.  I barely had anything as far as promotional materials go.  A couple computer screens on a loop and some fliers.  Needless to say, getting people’s attention was a struggle, but Dinesh*, being the kind-of-guy he is, inquisitive, passionate about the industry, humble – walked the aisles, shopped for comics and eventually came across my booth.  Again it was bare-bones and I didn’t fault anyone for whizzing by me, but Dinesh asked ‘What do you have here?’  I gave him the extended explanation, just like you’re getting, and he immediately grasped the concept, knew what the intention was, and wanted to see it succeed, because as he perfectly stated, ‘This is really good for the industry!’.  I was thrilled, he said exactly what I was thinking, validating what my intention was for building the app and being at the NYCC.”

“We had a few conversations in the weeks that followed.  I presented the Valiant Key Issue portal that connects fans directly into the dynamic universe of Valiant (which I can honestly say has the most creative stories, the diverse universe and incredibly beautiful art of any books that are on the market) and Dinesh accepted.  They help me with exposure and credibility while I familiarize the growing legion of Key Collector Comics members with the Valiant books in a non-invasive way.”

*Dinesh Shamdasani is the current CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Valiant Entertainment, and one of the most creative, ingenious marketing and creative minds in the comic industry.

According to Valiant Comics Media release,

Valiant Entertainment is proud to announce that it has joined forces with Key Collector Comics – currently available for iOS and Android – for their first official publisher partnership!  The free-to-download mobile app aims to make collecting the most seminal single issues from across the renowned publisher’s 25-year history easier than ever before with a complete list of Valiant’s biggest and most sought-after milestones!

Using the dedicated first-of-its-kind “Valiant Keys” button on the homepage of the mobile app, fans and collectors can access an extensive database full of information and pricing data for more than 100+ significant comic book issues published by Valiant, including first appearances, origin stories, gold issues, iconic cover art, rare variants, and more:

Harbinger #0 (1992) Pink Variant – a highly sought-after mailaway issue revealing the origin of the Renegades!

Eternal Warrior #4 (1994) – featuring the first cameo appearance by Bloodshot!

Quantum & Woody #3 (1997) – featuring the first appearance of Vincent Van Goat (aka “The Goat”)!

X-O Manowar#1 (2017) Brushed Metal Variant – Valiant’s first brushed metal variant cover printed via a special process on an actual brushed aluminum metal sheet!

Eternity #1 (2017) Massafera Variant – a rare 1:40 wraparound variant cover introducing the complete cast of the visionary new series by Matt Kindt and Trevor Hairsine, featuring fully painted cover art by Felipe Massafera!

Plus dozens more!

The Key Collector Comics app is a concise and comprehensive resource that isolates issues of significance from the clutter of uneventful comics.  It features information regarding over 7,000 key issue comic books, as well as a simplified price guide, robust search filters, and a cataloging system to determine the value of your own collection.

  CW: You mentioned a new partnership with Coffin Comics along with a new update to the Key Collector app? How did this come about?

Nick:  “My brother-in-law is in a band called The Rosedales.  They’re like a Rockabilly Monster band like the Monkees meet the Munsters.  The bassist and lead vocalist in the band is friends with Brian* out in Arizona.  That was sort of the connection that allowed me to be heard by a very busy, very savvy individual in the comic book industry.  Brian, like Dinesh, has been very gracious with his time and helped me understand things about the app and about the business that would’ve taken me years to come upon.  Also, both creators see the value in the app and what it means to the future of the comic book industry.  Embracing new collectors and innovation, technologically and new concepts, are the lifeblood of any business that seeks to have a place for itself in the future.  Comics are no different, but the secondary market collectible arena has been static with advancements, which is why the app is garnering the praise and attention it deserves.”

*Brian Pulido, is the former president of Chaos! Comics, announcing in late 2014, upon reaching an agreement with Avatar Press, he would be to taking sole ownership of the character, Lady Death, former publishing home of Pulido’s Lady Death since 2005.  Concurrently, Brian launched a new publishing entity, Coffin Comics, for all future Lady Death titles, as well as a new supernatural universe, in which Lady Death will play a major role going forward in 2015. 

A note to readers,  I was unaware that I had the first appearance of Lady Death, who first appeared in Evil Ernie #1 in December 1991, until I used the Key Collector app!

‘The Key Collector Comics Update’

CW: The Key Collector app update you mentioned, can you tell readers what they can expect?

Nick:  “With the next update, Key Collector Comics’ biggest update since launching October 2017 at the NYCC, I’m giving fans what they asked for!”:

Full expansion of the grading scale!

The ability to designate if your comic is slabbed or not, signed or restored!

Collectors can enter notes and take photos of the comics they own!

They can enter the price they paid for the comic and see what the current net worth is for their full collection and each issue individually!

There will also be an option to collapse the cover images, for quicker scrolling through a title if, let’s say, someone might be trying to flip through a lot of books at once!

Collectors can also enter their own value for the book they are entering into their inventory!

“As always there will be more key issues added to the database as they come out on the market.  The beauty of the app is that you don’t have to update it to download these new issues.  The changes are instantaneously retrieved from the server on the next query from the app.  In other words, I plug the comic into the database and its available to be seen, so that no collector will be in the dark about what’s new and hot.”

‘The Future of Key Collector Comics’

CW: What’s next for Key Collector Comics?   Can you mention any future plans for the app going forward?

Nick:  I have so many ideas that I would love to discuss, but to keep things exciting, I have to reveal them the closer I get.  There will be a Variant Cover portal added shortly that will allow access to a database specific to those books.  Since there are so many variant covers and so few in distribution, I want to maintain the initial concept of the app, which is to help identify keys quickly and efficiently.  Keys that are more likely available to be found.  Yet, I understand the importance and desire of variants to be included.   Also, a Creator search option has been in the plans since day one, so that functionality will be built out shortly.  Beyond that, I can sum it all up like so:  the Key Collector Comics mobile app is built by a collector, for collectors, therefore my intention is to make it the only resource necessary to obtain the comics collectors are passionate about owning.  I will maintain the integrity of the app in the way I would want it to exist as an end user, which means – no invasive ads and no freemium charges to unlock promised or already given features.  My Golden Rule in every decision I make regarding the app is asking myself, “would I be happy with this if I were on the other end?”  If the answer is no, I do what needs to be done to make it “yes”!

I would like to first, tell Nick “thank you” for taking the time out of his busy schedule to discuss the Key Collector Comics app with Comic-Watch, and I would invite him to keep us posted as updates are made to the app going forward!  As an avid comic collector myself, I find the Key Collector Comic app absolutely amazing, and I recommend it to everyone I come across on social media and at my local comic shop!  Please Download the app and share this article with as many as possible, as this gem, the Key Collector Comics app, is just waiting to make your comic collecting experience easier, more enjoyable, and provide you with a resource that meets all your needs, all in one place!

You can download Key Collector Comics mobile app at Key Collector Comics! It’s also available for download at

Google

Itunes

Follow the Key Collector Comics App on Instagram, on Twitter and Like on Facebook!

Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook! Follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

                                                            .

                      Have you used Key Collector Comics app? Download and share your experiences! #comicwatch An inside look at the Key Collector Comics mobile app, one of the most innovative tools to be introduced for comic fans, collectors, retailers, and industry professionals, to-date!