#Kirby’s Novel Notes

[trubbishrubbish]

One day, Novoselic Twitter will be blowing up when they see a random photo of their fair and beautiful princess giving a deep passionate kiss to a purple haired, disheveled looking girl with an unusually large tongue.

[what-is-love-babey-dont-hurt-me]

He would not go there.

[kachikirby]

Kirby: Mysterious Incident on the Pupupu Train! - Chapter 1: The Railroad King Has Arrived!

One Day, Bandanna Waddle Dee rushed into King Dedede’s office (or what he called his nap room).

“Great King! Great King! You have a visitor!”

As he always did when he awakened, Dedede yawned as he spoke.

“A visitor? There aren’t any visitors scheduled for today. They’re awfully brazen to come here without an appointment. Kick ‘em out!”

“But they said they wanted to speak to your highness no matter what...”

“For the love of-! I don’t know who they are or where they’re from...”

“He said his name was the Railroad King. Apparently, he wants to speak to you about railroads.”

“...what? A king?”

Dedede was intrigued. The self-proclaimed ruler of Dream Land was weak to the word “king”.

“If a king says that they want to meet with me, then there’s no reason to send him away.”

“Yeah...”

“Let’s go meet them.”

Dedede eagerly put on a new gown and headed to the guest’s waiting room.

~~~~~~~~

It was an elegantly dressed gentleman who bowed his head graciously. He was small in stature, but rotund and had a fine mustache. His eyes looked gentle, but were also sharp.

“It’s an honor to meet you, King Dedede. My name is York.”

“There’s no need to be so formal! The both of us are kings! Don’t be so shy!”

Dedede said in high spirits. At this, York laughed.

“Oh, no. I might be called the Railroad King, but that is only a nickname. I’m not a real king, like your majesty.”

“...a nickname?”

“Correct. I was called that because I own railroads all across the galaxy.”

“...what?”

Now knowing that this wasn’t a real king, Dedede gained a bored expression.

“So? What does a fake king want with me?”

Despite being called fake, York did not become angry. On the contrary, he was smiling more and more.

“I have a request regarding a railroad.”

“A railroad...”

“Correct. I would like to ask for permission to construct a magnificent galactic railway, the Pupupu Train, to connect Dream Land to the resort planet, Baspa.”

“...Baspa?”

Dedede leaned forward.

“Do you know about it, your highness?”

“Of course! It’s that big-name planet with a ton of gorgeous hotels and restaurants with all of the best cooks, right?”

“That’s correct. But that’s not all. Baspa has many beautiful lakes, forests, seas, and spacious hot springs. It’s the best place you can go on vacation...”

“I don’t care about the lakes and forests! There are a lot of those in Dream Land, too! The most important thing is food! Gorgeous food is the only thing that’s befitting for me!”

“If that’s so, then I’m sure your highness will be satisfied.”

York narrowed his eyes.

“Baspa has Japanese food, western food, Chinese food, and desert, all made by top-notch chefs. Everyone will put their skills to great use to welcome your highness.”

“I see. It lives up to its reputation.”

King Dedede said with a face that seemed to melt away.

“I’ve always wanted to go there, but I gave up because it was too far away. If we have a railroad, it’ll be a straight line from Dream Land to Baspa!”

“Correct. The company train is equipped with a dining room, cozy bedrooms, and is gorgeous. It promises comfy travels befitting of your highness.”

“I love it! Start on construction right away!”

With that, Dedede and York firmly shook hands.

~~~~~~~~

After York left, Bandana Waddle Dee returned to Dedede’s side and spoke to him with worry.

“Your highness, that king of the railroad is...”

“Yup! He may not be a real king, but he sure does give you what you want. I think he really is gonna build a railroad connecting Dream Land to Baspa.”

“Yes, he explained it to us as well. It seems he didn’t just invite you, but us as well.”

“Oh, is that so? Well, I need someone to take care of me, you know!”

Dedede laughed in a carefree way, but Bandana had a sullen expression.

“Not only that, but it seems that a lot of the residents of Dream Land were invited for the commemorative opening of the Pupupu Train...”

“Hoho? That York guy’s really generous.”

“Isn’t that a bit too good...?”

Upon finally noticing Bandana’s expression, King Dedede asked.

“What do you mean? Why do you look so glum?”

“I’m worried. I heard that traveling by train is a very luxurious and difficult thing to do. And yet, a lot of residents were invited... doesn’t that mean that York is planning something?”

“Of course he has a plan! He’s eager to please my great self! The idea of entertaining me is all he can think about! Because of that, he wants to try that by inviting my subjects and the residents!”

“Is... that right...?”

Upon seeing how depressed Bandana looked, Dedede became sullen.

“What? You look bored even though you’re going on a wonderful vacation. If you don’t want to come, you can be the caretaker for the castle. I’ll take the other Waddle Dees with me!”

Bandana raised his face and replied with a panicked tone.

“N-no! I’m sorry, I’m going! I want to go!”

“Hmph. You should’ve said that from the beginning. Make sure to get ready for the trip. I’m gonna need a change of clothes, and a lot of ‘em. It’s a resort planet, so only the most gorgeous fashion is going to fit there! Since there’s hot springs, I’m gonna need a yukata, too. And of course I can’t forget my swimsuit, sunglasses, and swim ring!”

“Y-yes, your highness!”

Bandana bowed his head and rushed out of the room.

~~~~~~~~

The news of the Pupupu Train was a big fuss for the Waddle Dees.

“Hooray! We’re also invited!”

“I’m really happy! I’ve never been on a train before!”

“It’s my first time, too. I wonder what train travel is like.”

“I’m looking forward to it! That’s right! I’ll make a travel itinerary and decide on the plans in detail!”

When the excited Waddle Dees saw Bandana returning from the king’s room, they looked puzzled.

“Ah, Bandana-senpai...”

“Is something wrong? Why do you look so down...?”

The Waddle Dees started to look worried.

“Did something happen? By any chance, were you scolded by his highness...?”

“N-no! Not at all!”

Bandana raised his head with a bright smile.

“I can’t help but look forward to it. Now, let’s all start preparing for the trip!”

“Yes, sir!”

Bandana turned his back to everyone and thought.

The railroad king York looked like a calm and classy gentleman, but that doesn’t mean it was his true nature. He was concerned about the look in his eyes. It was the eyes of someone who was plotting something. To begin with, anyone who visited King Dedede often had a wicked scheme beneath their affable demeanor. They try to deceive and take advantage of the king or they try to invade Dream Land...

“His highness is kind, so he’s quick to believe in others. I have to be strong...”

Bandana uttered seemingly to himself while clenching his fist.

~~~~~~~~

The rumors about the Pupupu Train spread throughout Dream Land. The residents were, of course, delighted. No matter where anyone looked, it was the only thing being talked about. Even so, none of them has ever ridden a train before and that was why they let their imaginations run wild as they talked. Even today, some residents chatter wildly as they gathered in the plaza.

“So it’s a long thing you ride in, right? Then it’s gotta wriggle around like a snake!” Burning Leo said.

“How do you ride on top of a snake? Won’t you just fall off?” Chilly said worriedly.

Knuckle Joe laughed. “You don’t ride on top of it! You ride inside it like a car!”

“A long car that wriggles? What a strange vehicle!”

At that moment, Kirby and Waddle Dee appeared in the plaza. They were all standing in a line with long ropes in their hands. Kirby was in the front, and Bandana Waddle Dee was in the back.

“Choo choooooo! Next stop, the plaza!” Kirby shouted and their feet stopped moving.

“Please watch your step while getting off! We will be departing momentarily!” Bandana said.

“...what are you all doing?” Burning Leo called out, to which Kirby answered back.

“We’re playing train!”

“Huh...?”

“We’re practicing for when we ride the Pupupu Train.”

Burning Leo and the others looked at each other.

“Do you guys even know what a train looks like?” Knuckle Joe asked.

“I know! It’s a long car that runs on top of rails and has dining rooms and beds inside!”

“...huh!?”

Everyone was surprised by Kirby’s immediate answer.

“Why would you know something like that?!”

“No way! Kirby, have you ridden a train before?!”

“Nope! I haven’t! But Waddle Dee told me about it!”

“We’ve received pamphlets from the Railroad King York. It has a lot of information about the Pupupu Train that’s currently under construction.” Bandana said.

“Pamphlet?” Chilly asked.

“If you have something nice like that, then let us see it!”

“Of course. I’ll make copies to hand out to everyone. Gather everyone at Castle Dedede!”

“All right!” Burning Leo jumped up with all his might.

“We’ll let everyone know! I’m itching to know more about the Pupupu Train ASAP!” Knuckle Joe said with a smile.

Then he and the others ran off in whatever direction they pleased.

~~~~~~~~

The citizens of Dreamland rushed to Castle Dedede in excitement. There, the Waddle Dees copied the pamphlets and handed them out. Everyone was delighted to see the illustration of the train for the first time.

“Wow! The guest rooms have a big bed and sofa! It’s like a hotel!”

“It runs through the galaxy at tremendous speeds and can reach the planet Baspa in a week!”

In the group of gathered citizens, Chef Kawasaki was also there.

“Are you gonna ride the train, too?” Kirby asked.

“I’ve been specially invited to take care of the dining car.” Kawasaki said proudly.

“Huh!? Then I’ll be able to eat your cooking on the Pupupu Train?”

“Yes! I’ll be making breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and midnight snacks! I’ll be preparing many gorgeous menus, so look forward to it!”

“Uwaaaah! Hurray!”

Kirby was so happy that he somersaulted.

“Now that everyone is here, here, let's decide on the room assignments.” Bandana said.

“Room assignments?”

“There are several private rooms on the Pupupu Train. King Dedede will have his own room and the ten of us Waddle Dees will have our own room, but everyone else should decide who should room with who.” Everyone looked at each other. Then Chilly spoke. “I don’t want to be in a room with Burning Leo. He’ll make the room so hot that I’ll melt.”

“I don’t want to room with Chilly either.” Burning Leo responded. “If I do it, I’m gonna catch a cold! Hothead, wanna share a room with me?”

“Sounds good.” Hothead replied, blowing a small flame from his mouth with a “po”.

“It’ll be fun with Burning Leo. The two of us will make the “Hot-Blooded Fire Room”!”

“Then it’s been decided!”

Burning Leo and Hothead made a triumphant pose.

Then Pengi spoke. “I’ll stay with Chilly. Our room will be the “Freezing Ice Room”.”

“Waah! Sounds good! I’ll look forward to it, Pengi!” Chilly was also very happy by it.

“I’ll be fine staying in a room with Walky!” Kirby said happily.

“...huh?” Walky looked puzzled. “W-why? What are you planning, Kirby?”

“I’m not planning anything. I just think we both are similar to each other.”

“Like what?”

“We’re good at singing!” Kirby said confidently.  “Our room can be the “Captivating Singer Room”! Let’s sing lots of fun songs!”

“...HUH?!”

Walky recoiled.

Everyone around them was disturbed. They all deeply knew the destructive power of Kirby’s singing.

“Kirby says some scary things...”

“If he sings, the whole train will be destroyed!”

“We have to stop him...!”

While everyone else turned pale, Bonkers was the one who stepped forward. Rabble-rousing and quarrelsome, Bonkers is feared by the residents. Everyone held their breath wondering what he would say. He glared at Kirby and said “Oi, Kirby, stop it.”

“Huh?”

“Why don’t you... you...” Bonkers then said with a determined expression. “Room with me.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I want to share a room with you. You mind?”

“Is that so?” Embarrassed, Kirby then spun around on one leg. “I didn’t know you liked me so much!”

“Y-yeah.”

“If you say so, fine. I’ll room with you. Sorry, Walky, I know you’re disappointed...”

“N-no! Not at all! Don’t worry about it!” Walky replied in a loud voice.

Everyone around them gave appreciative glances towards Bonkers and whispered among each other.

“We’re saved!”

“Thank you, Bonkers! We owe you!”

“I thought he was a violent and scary guy, but when the time comes, we can count on him!”

The other citizens also smoothly decided on their room assignments.

With everyone's expectations rising, the construction of Pupu Train proceeded and the day of completion came on schedule.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Table of Contents

Next Chapter

[trubbishrubbish]

Here’s one that will massively deviate from everyone else. I don’t believe what Chiaki says here at the end of the first trial is possiable.

Byakuya seeing where Teruteru was? I don’t buy it.

1. It’s night vision, not X-Ray. Byakuya would have been looking at a green floor. He could only see Teruteru between the gaps in the floorboard but the gaps are very narrow which would make trying to discern anything between then very difficult. Plus the huge rug in the middle of the room covered a lot of the gaps which would further make spotting Teruteru even harder.

2. Teruteru’s path to the spot is very short. It’s literally a straight shot from the storage room to under the table, and he was likely moving quickly so he could get into position before Nagito would get there. Byakuya would have a very small window of time to see Teruteru and even then, as soon as he puts on the goggles he would first look around the room itself to see if anyone is acting suspicious before looking down at the floor.

3. From where Byakuya was standing as soon as the lights went out he would not have any angle to see Teruteru. The rug and narrow floorboard gaps would block his sightlines. Even if he was standing right up to the table, Teruteru is under the table so his view of that part of the floor is obscured. He’d have to be under the table and looking down to see him but at that point, Byakuya’s focus would not be looking at the floor, it would be at Nagito and the knife. Pushing Nagito out of the way and grabbing the knife is far more important.

That’s why I think it was impossible for Byakuya to see Teruteru and also why him getting killed by Teruteru was something he didn’t expect.

Here's a fun game: What does Kodaka himself deem to be canon in the Danganronpa series that you absolutely REFUSE to accept as canon?

EDIT: This post was NOT made with the intention of hating or disrespecting Kodaka and the Danganronpa series, so please refrain from that kind of talk. This post was made just out of curiosity to see what choices of the series that people personally disagreed with (because no franchise is completely perfect).

P.S: For those who are replying that the entire series sucks... then why are you even here?

[yourobedientserpent]

Athelind Long's Superhero Chronology

Cross-Published from my Blogspot blog, Kirby Dots & Ditko Ribbons. INTRODUCTION  There's a tendency to divide the different eras of comic book superheroes into "Golden," "Silver", and "Modern," with occasional, tentative attempts to parcel off the Bronze Age, as well.

Let's just say that this lacks nuance. The Superhero Genre has gone through a lot of trends and phases and distinctive cultures over the years, and lumping almost half of its history into some concept of "The Modern Age" is just phoning it in. 

Some notes: 

This is not quite the same as the ages of COMICS, though there's similar nomenclature, largely because comics history tends to focus on the superhero genre even when it tries not to. This is about SUPERHEROES, in more than just a single medium; the "Ages" only indirectly impact other genres. 

All dates are approximate. 

There's plenty of overlap between Silver/Bronze, Bronze/Iron, and Iron/Aluminum, but when I started looking a keystone events, I was astonished by how neatly everything fell into 15-year chunks! 

THE CHRONOLOGY

Prelude (1830s-1938): The dawn of mass-produced popular culture: penny dreadfuls, dime novels, pulp magazines, newspaper comic strips. Folk heroes and detectives start sharing the pages with costumed adventurers, some with peak-human or superhuman abilities. Professor Challenger, Sherlock Holmes, The Nyctalope, The Shadow, Doc Savage. 

Golden Age (1938-1953): Begins with Superman, of course; ends with Post-War Superhero Implosion and Frederic Wertham's anti-comics crusade. The JSA stopped appearing in All-Star Comics in 1951. Fawcett stopped publishing Captain Marvel in 1953. 

Interregnum (1950ish-1960ish): A lot of historians make much of the gap between the Golden and Silver Ages, but, in retrospect, it's surprisingly brief. Superheroes never really go away, but they are de-emphasized in favor of other genres in comics, including horror, romance, and science fiction. Even at DC, other than Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, superheroes are relegated to back-up stories in anthology titles. Still, The Adventures of Superman with George Reeves remained popular throughout this period. 

Silver Age (1954-1970): The Reign of the Comics Code Authority (est. 1954). Really starts to roll with the demise of EC Comics and the reboot of The Flash; peaks with the "camp" craze popularized by the 1966 Batman TV series; ends when Kirby Moves to DC and Marvel publishes the Spider-Man Drug Stories without the Code Stamp. Early on, formerly-anonymous creators start getting openly credited on the title pages of their stories; this starts at Marvel, but DC eventually follows suit. 

Bronze Age (1971-1985): Begins with O'Neil and Adams revamping Batman and Green Lantern; Ends with the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Both DC and Marvel start paying closer attention to continuity and "relevance", and the most successful titles are the ones that most fully embrace an ongoing serial storyline (Legion of Super-Heroes, X-Men, The New Teen Titans). The specialty comic book shop starts becoming more common at the beginning of the era, and the closing years of the era herald a growing Creator's Rights movement, the birth of the Direct Market -- and the dawn of the independent publishers. 

Iron Age (1986-2000): Begins with Deconstruction: Elementals, The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, and the Wild Cards "mosaic novel" series. Ends with Reconstruction: Morrison's JLA, among others. Dominated by a determined effort to Take Superhero Comics Seriously. The Big Two kill off or "reinvent" goofy, campy Silver Age characters. DC tries very hard to bring coherency and consistency to its new, Post-Crisis timeline. Several independent publishers try cold-starting superhero "universes" of their own; most of them fail, but a lucky few manage to sell their characters to the Big Two (Ultraverse, Wildstorm). 

Aluminum Age (2000-2015): When Everything is Recycled. Marvel starts the Ultimate Universe. DC resurrects Silver Age characters who got killed off in the Bronze and Iron Age. The Comics Code finally dies in 2011. DC does a succession of "sequels" to Crisis on Infinite Earths: Identity Crisis (2004), Infinite Crisis (2005-2006), and the deceptively-named Final Crisis (2008), culminating in another Hard Reboot with the New 52 in 2011. Marvel does its own version of Crisis with the Multiverse Incursion story arc in New Avengers from 2013-2015. "Decompression" and "writing for the trade" become common as trade-paperback collections become more economically important than the traditional monthly comic magazines ("floppies"). 

Digital Age (2015-Current): Superhero not only become mainstream, but actually dominate movies and TV for several years -- this starts in the Aluminum Age, with the MCU in 2008, but is solidly codified by the debut of Arrow in 2015 and an explosion of weekly prime-time superhero shows that lasts almost a decade.

Comments are welcome, but be civil! This is intended to provoke conversations, not fights.

[medusamagic]

So you want to know more about Big Barda

As Tumblr's resident expert on all things Barda, and as Kelly Thompson's Birds of Prey run brings far more attention to the character, I figured it was high time someone stepped in and gave the tumblr world a primer on DC's biggest and boldest heroine.

The Basics:

Introduced in Mister Miracle #4 by Jack Kirby, Big Barda was once the leader of Apokolips' premier death squad, the Female Furies. Trained from birth for a life of violence by Granny Goodness, Barda spent the first 250 years of her life as a living weapon. This all changed when she met Scott Free, a gentle Parademon-in-training with a mysterious past and a knack for escapes. Eventually, she and Scott both escaped to Earth, where they fell in love with both the Earth and each other. She's a lover, she's a fighter, she's a Pokémon card expert, but most of all, SHE BIG.

Barda's signature defining attribute is her raw strength. Her raw muscle allows her to keep up with heavy hitters like Wonder Woman. This isn't to suggest that she's a simple-minded brute, however-- Barda has centuries of military experience under her belt as leader of the Female Furies. She's mastered multiple weapons, including spears, swords, and her signature Mega-Rod.

Below are some reading recommendations for anyone interested in Big Barda:

Essential Runs:

Mister Miracle Vol. 1 #4-18 by Jack Kirby (1971-1974)

This was the run that introduced the world to Big Barda, as well as the Female Furies. If you want to know the basics of Barda, there's no better place to start. This run is collected in a trade, as well as a part in The Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1.

(NOTE: Even though Barda doesn't appear until issue #4, I suggest you start with Issue #1. It'll help you get acquainted with the rest of the mythos.)

Justice League International #14-24 by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis (1988-1989)

Big Barda was on the JLI! She plays off the other characters as well as ever, and a lot of what's great about her in Jack Kirby's original run is still here! Definitely check this one out if you want to see her in another team setting. This has been collected in this omnibus.

(NOTE: Once again, I recommend you start from issue #1.)

Popular Runs:

Mister Miracle Vol. 4 #1-12 by Tom King and Mitch Gerads (2017-2018)

Yeah, I know.

Listen, Tom King is a writer with... idiosyncrasies to put it nicely. The characters in the periphery of his stories tend to act really out of character, and his dialogue can be clunky at times. That being said, The Scott/Barda dynamic in this book is excellent, and this book has some of the best art that the Fourth World has seen since the 80s. The series has been collected in a trade.

(NOTE: Did you know that the CIA has over 2003 files on Tom King? Look up "Tom King CIA 2003" for more info!)

Mister Miracle: The Great Escape by Varian Johnson and Daniel Isles (2022)

If you're at all interested in the idea of a Young Adult reimagining of Mister Miracle and Big Barda's origin story with an all-black cast, this book was made for you. It's a bit heavy on the YA tropes, but the Scott/Barda dynamic is really solid. It was released as a standalone graphic novel.

Birds of Prey Vol. 5 #1-??? by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero (2023-)

Admit it, this is the reason you're here. The Cassandra Cain & Big Barda is so instantly iconic, I'm surprised no writer has paired them up sooner. It also helps that this book has the single best Barda look since Jack Kirby's original run. Plus, she gets to throw down with Wonder Woman! What's not to love? This run is still ongoing, but the first 6 issues should be getting a trade pretty soon.

(NOTE: I started writing this before BOP #8 dropped, I had no idea about that thing that happens in the newest issue.)

Stories to Avoid:

Action Comics #592-593 by John Byrne (1987)

This is not a comic book-- it's an infohazard designed to cause pain and suffering to anyone who knows of its existence. Its premise is vile and disrespectful on the surface, and it becomes more insidious when you learn the context of its creation. This pair of issues is profoundly evil, rivaling even Avengers #200 in terms of loathsomeness.

For those who dare to investigate this, Content Warnings for rape, mind control, and human trafficking.

Anyway, let's end on something a bit lighter, shall we?

Remember that Mister Miracle YA graphic novel I mentioned earlier? Barda is getting a graphic novel of her own this summer! It's not out at the time of writing, but the preview pages look promising!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that introduction to one of my favorite superheroes ever. Please get back to me on this, I have no one else to talk to about Fourth World stuff.

[tapwater118]

pinned post jumpscare blauughh

pronouns.cc | strawpage

hiya i’m flower!

i'm plural i think. i (the host) also go by golf ball, GB, box, gaty, maddie, tap water, tap, captain coinpin (<- silly), etc. queer person on the internet with too many names, check

collectively tap/tap water, she/they, 22 y.o. (individual names/pronouns can be found in the pronouns.cc)

fictkin with a bunch of weird blorbos (if you couldn’t tell from the first part) and a-ok with doubles! friends from across the multiverse

i like various things and then will proceed to draw them. big fat bfdi/osc special interest mostly (i am a huge multishipper (based) btw so erm yeah)

feel free to use my art and such as pfps/banners/whatever, just give credit pls

let the record show that i am bad at using social media so uh i am probably a terrible mutual sorry in advance

also if i like over explain something to you please do not take it as a slight against you, i am just autistic (as if it wasn’t obvious)

if ya wanna know more, feel free to shoot up the ask box or dms, i love answering questions. i also like taking requests over asks! just note that it may be some time before i get around to your request

(regarding dms, please come in with something more than ‘hi’. i’m not comfortable initiating conversation with someone im not familiar with.)

(also don’t flirt with me. you don’t have a rat’s chance)

strawpage stuff and other incoherent ramblings are over at @taps-other-blog so look there!

also pleeease tag fireafy neg around me ty. im not even really attached to that ship its just neg about it can really put me in a bad mental state for some unknown and probably dumb reason

if you ship and/or support adult/minor, incest, zoo, etc get tf away from me ewwwwww nasty

also no label discourse if you partake in that i am blowing you up with my mind

things you’ll probably see me blabber about/draw at some point:

object shows (particularly bfdi, but i also fw inanimate insanity, hfjone, boto, animatic battle, tr125, orb, tnm, burner, object kerfuffle, love of the s*n, ppt2, itft, ee, and others im probably forgetting) (oh and idfb fear garden tee hee)

mario

kirby

pikmin

undertale/deltarune

pizza tower

fnf

homestuck

fnaf

petscop

horror stuff in general

regretevator

to be expanded once i remember more stuff

(art may be suggestively crude in humor but never nsfw)

(also if you ask i can always add tags to stuff if you have something in particular you want to mute, i dont mind)

i am working on some cool projects i think you should check them out because they are cool:

Occasionally Coinpin: hosted over at @occasionallycoinpin. posting coinpin, occasionally (the main reason you don’t see coinpin content here all that often)

Book Askblog: hosted at @twotonedhardcover, where i pretend to be a gay little novel for shits and giggles

Battle for Hopes and Dreams: a bfdi x undertale au that puts the characters of bfdi in the world of undertale. tagged as “#battle for hopes and dreams”

Competition for Fantasy Retreat: a bfdi swap au that swaps characters’ compositions and parts of their personalities. tagged as “#competition for fantasy retreat”

BfDI 1990: an unfiction reimagining of bfdi as an NES game from 1990. tagged as “#BfDI1990” (unreality content warning for this). please note that this is NOT an ARG, there is no game or puzzle to be solved, it is simply unfiction

Tap’s BFDI D-Side: a bfdi d-side take, where characters’ designs and personalities are remixed for something new and refreshing! (based on fnf d-sides obviously) tagged as “#tap’s bfdi d side”

BFDI Redux: a hypothetical bfdi season 6, featuring many of the tpot rejects as well as underutilized veterans. tagged as “#bfdi redux”

OSC horror content: i like turning the silly blorbos into fucked up evil creatures. general tag is “#FLApasta” but each story has its own separate tag (general content warning for these)

other tags i’ll use frequently i think:

“#asks” all the crud that ends up in my inbox and also some very nice things. it is a mystery

“#yap fest” for general inane ramblings. i say some very stupid things

“#ultra yap fest” for long posts, including rants and character analyses

“#slop tier post” art and other things that are generally below a certain threshold of quality i hold for myself. i’m probably too harsh on myself but oh well

“#word salad yummy yummy” fanfic stuff. im on ao3 and wattpad if ya didnt know

“#top tier post” “#all the day every day” “#one for the ages” posts that i really really like. usually from moots

“#literally me” fictkin id posts. you get it. no you don’t. i don't get it either

“#oiny” wife

list of Friends :D

@booktaggy

@bottle-ditzy

@depraced

@lemonxlimee

@l1ghtbulb

@novaazurite

@ohmysheetmetal

@onion-makes-stimboards

@sourscheming

@therandomcreechur

@twig-gy

[fujoshiribbon]

what exactly is the lore on the kirbyverse fairies?

A very good question! :]

Within the Kirby series, fairies are a species of aliens introduced in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. We don’t know much about them! Which is a shame, considering I’ve been mildly obsessed with them (and particularly Ribbon) since since I was a kid.

They’re native to the planet Ripple Star, and ruled over by a Fairy Queen with no official name. All the fairies we see on Ripple Star in 64 are fairly small and childlike (and given Ribbon’s officially a child around Kirby’s age, it’s safe to assume the ones we see are also probably kids?) with the exception of the Queen herself, who has taller, more human-like proportions.

All of them wear skirts / dresses and are visibly feminine in appearance, so it’s possible they’re either an all-female species or merely strike a human viewer as visually feminine regardless of sex, along the lines of fantasy elves - I’m inclined toward the latter interpretation, but your mileage may vary!

The eponymous Crystal is referred to in the K64 manual as “the fairies’ secret treasure”, an artifact of great power and mystique. When Dark Matter’s legions invade Ripple Star, the crystal is entrusted to Ribbon - why her in particular? We don’t know, but it’s certainly fun to speculate! The manual goes on to note that Ribbon knows “dreadful things will come to pass” if Dark Matter gains control of the Crystal’s power, which indicates it’s something they’re after.

Outside of K64, as far as fairies go, there’s also Elline (deuteragonist of the spinoff, Kirby & the Rainbow Curse) and Pirka (a character original to the light novels who isn’t canon to the games but whom I nonetheless love very much). Some theorize the People of the Sky from TDX may also be related to fairies!

There exists concept art of Ribbon eating a bug, which could indicate that fairies are insectivorous to some extent, although it’s also possible that most fairies don’t do that and Ribbon is just a freak.

tl;dr i really like the ripple star fairies and i hope we get to see them take a major role again within a future game!

[trubbishrubbish]

Honestly, Shinigami’s jealousy of Kurumi in chapter 2 was a funny and a good way to show that she cares about Yuma. The writers just needed to lessen the amount of times she called Yuma a pervert for disguising as the girls because he clearly isn’t and he needs the disguise for the investigation.

And maybe at the end of the chapter, Yuma asks why Shinigami is acting so hostile and she finally says it’s because she’s jealous of Kurumi. Not just because of her kind and energetic personality but because she’s a living creature that can physically interact with Yuma while Shinigami can’t. And Shinigami is angry that as a death god, she’s jealous of a girl that’s still in high school.

Yuma reassures her that he would never just abandon his partner for someone else so suddenly and that he still appreciates her being there for him as support and a trusted friend.

Shinigami feels a little better after he said that but she wishes she could hold Yuma’s hand anytime and not while they are focused in progressing in a mystery labyrinth.

[trubbishrubbish]

Archival recordings of the killing game. Since the whole thing was broadcasted on every TV in the world it’s very likely that recordings of it from viewers were made.

In a mini theater a 1-2 hour documentary goes over the events of the killing game in a summarized version.

Makoto’s speech and the defeat of Junko would be a very important clip that is played uninterrupted in full.

What if a memorial museum is constructed after the Tragedy, and what do you think you will see if you enter it?

A Monokuma head in a glass cage with the front face removed, exposing its inner workings?

An art exhibition presenting the story of the Tragedy, right from the beginning to the end, with paintings, sculptures, and more?

Statues of the famous survivors?

A bright red door that leads to an exact replica of the room where the class trials were held, complete with holograms of the students and Monokuma?

A wall covered with hundreds of snapshots taken by Mahiru (when she was a Remnant) that portray the horrors of the Tragedy?

A room dedicated to displaying the artwork created during the Tragedy?

A room honouring the victims with photos and photos of them covering the walls? Maybe showcasing some of their belongings too in glass cages?

Very interesting to think about!

[official-magolor-archive]

Archival 17, 22nd of November 2023

Artwork of Ultra Sword Kirby unleashing an attack on Traitor Magolor, similar to the button-mashing scene from the equivalent fight in Kirby's Return to Dream Land and its Deluxe remake. This is featured in the Kirby of the Stars light novel series book based on Kirby's Return to Dream Land, named "Kirby of the Stars- The Starcutter and the Lying Wizard" which is also known as "Kirby of the Stars: Lor Starcutter and a Magician of Falsehood" (April 2022). Note: The title of the light novel is only available in Japanese and I am therefore using the titles seen in a well-known fan translation and another from Wikirby, as they will be the titles most people know it as.

[racefortheironthrone]

Why has the American comics industry been so adverse to unionization? I've been reading through the Comics Broke Me hashtag on Twitter and I've realized how difficult it's been to even get meager compensation for work that provides the backbone for billion dollar smash hits.

I would highly recommend Abraham Josephine Riesman's biography of Stan Lee, True Believer, both as an excellent portrait of the man himself and how his industry changed across the decades. (Bell and Vassallo's Secret History of Marvel is also quite good on the early history of the company.)

When the comics industry emerged out of the pulp and magazine industry in the 30s, it was not the "backbone for billion dollar smash hits" that it is today - it was a low-rent, fly-by-night industry that was associated with pornography and organized crime. Notably, it was also an low-cost industry that sold a very cheap product (the original 10-cent comic was about $1.80 in today's money) to children. More on this in a bit.

Even when it suddenly experienced a sudden increase in popularity with Action Comics #1, everyone in the industry thought that it was a passing fad that would be temporary - and so there was less resistance to the work-for-hire system that bosses like Martin Goodman used to keep their costs down. Not no resistance - as Riesman notes, Jack Kirby and Joe Simon got pissed when Goodman started stiffing them on the profit-sharing from Captain America, so they started moonlighting at D.C, Stan Lee found out and snitched on them to his cousin-in-law/boss, and that led to them getting fired - but less.

However, there was another reason why it was hard to start a union in the comics industry, which is that a lot of comics creators were vaguely ashamed or embarrasse to be associated with it. Even before Wertham and the moral panic of the 1950s, comics were (as I've noted above) seen as a bit scuzzy, a form of disposable crass commercial entertainment aimed at an undiscerning audience of children, and certainly not respectable Real Art. While they were trying for their big break into the more prestigious worlds of fine art or literary fiction, writers and artists viewed their work in the comics industry as a day job that was best kept a bit under wraps - hence why Stanley Lieber only used the nom-de-plume Stan Lee for the comics, because he wanted to keep his then-real name for the career in novel-writing that he wanted to have.

Moreover, there was a particular ethnic angle to this distancing. As I've written a bit about before, there was a tendency among Jewish creators of this generation to keep Judaism subtextual and to change their names to keep their own Judaism subtextual - hence Stanley Lieber taking on a more gentile-sounding name, hence even a proud and pugnacious Jewish man like Jacob Kurtzberg choosing to go by Jack Kirby. Partly, this was done as a means of achieving economic opportunity in a society that wasn't exactly welcoming to creators with Jewish surnames. (Hence the line in the West Wing about Toby Ziegler going by Toby Ritchie when he worked as a telemarketer.) This is another reason why these Jewish creators were working in comics in the first place, because the "Mad Men" who ran the advertizing industry wouldn't hire them.

But partly it was done to avoid becoming a shanda fur die goyim - a Yiddish expression that means "a shame in front of the gentiles" - by associating the Jewish community with a (heavily Jewish) industry that was viewed as little more elevated than the schmatta trade in comparison to the prestigious world of art and literature. It's an old story - literally, it's the plot of The Jazz Singer, the first talkie about a Jewish entertainer (in blackface, unfortunately) and his conflict and eventual reconciliation with his more traditional family.

After comics went through its first big boom in WWII and then survived the crash in the 50s and saw the second big boom in the 60s, a lot of creators realized that the handshake work-for-hire deals that they had started with had screwed them out of a lot of money. This started some very high profile long-running lawsuits, as first Siegel and Shuster and later Kirby and Ditko sought to get a portion of the rights to the characters they had created. (Some of these lawsuits settled only a few days ago, and some are still ongoing.)

As Riesman explains, the Copyright Act of 1976 created an opening for comics creators by requiring that there be a written agreement between a work-for-hire creator and their employer establishing the transfer of copyright. This created an existential crisis for the Big Two comics companies, and the new Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter immediately tried to get his creators to sign one-page contracts transferring their rights. Hotshot artist Neal Adams urged creators to not sign the contract and invited them to a meeting at his place to discuss forming a union. Shooter retaliated by threatening to black ball anyone who joined Adams' organization - and this blatant violation of U.S labor law cowed comics creators into signing the contracts and signing away their rights and the drive to unionize comics died the same way a lot of union drives die.

Things have gotten a bit better in recent decades - the 90s comics boom and the departure of the Image guys improved the situation for creators' rights somewhat due to competitive pressure, but there are still significant problems when it comes to comics creators' access to health care, pensions, and other benefits. There have been some recent union wins - the Comic Book Workers United organized Image Comics - but these tend to be unions of staff workers rather than creators. There is the Cartoonists' Co-op, which is looking to move in the direction of acting like a union but is a very nascent organization that's a long way away from that yet. And it remains galling that the most that creators see from the billions made by Disney and Warner Brothers Discovery are $5,000 checks dispensed to keep them quiet.

It's not going to get better until writers and artists unionize.

[mspopstar]

Welcome to the MS Pop Star Ask Blog!

This is a ask blog for the various titular characters of Dream Land in a loose yet-simple mspaint style.

“The setting takes place in a continuous consistent 'after' the most recent game release. This setting takes place in a modified mix of the Game-verse and Novel-verse. Almost everyone from the games are here to answer questuons and by everyone, I mean everyone. (i.e. Galacta Knight and President Max Profit Haltmann) The dead are now alive, though possibly not well. Not necessarily in Dream Land though. So come, come and send some asks to this 923kb land!”

Keep Reading For More Information

Questions will be answered directly by a character while others will be treated as a prompt. Note, this askblog is more gag-ish in nature than anything so not everything depicted is my honest and true interpretation and head-canon of a character or thing. A lot of it has exaggerations for the sake of humor.

Rules

Please be sure to follow these!

Please keep your questions Kirby related unless it's a direct question to the mod of this here ask blog.

No NSFW or gore related questions. There may be violence depicted on this blog but it will never be anything serious. NSFW will never be allowed on this blog. Even if shipping comes into play or if you direct the question at a adult character such as Meta Knight, Kirby, Susie, or Taranza.

I do not have intentions to have pairings be apart of the general universe at the current moment. While shipping isn't forbidden on this blog, please do not get your hopes up for certain pairings to appear or get upset if a pairing you dislike does appear. Shipping will be a option once I've reach enough asks answered and even then, it will be a poll whether such content will even occur on this blog.

No spamming. If you ask a question once, only ask it once. If you spam a question it will not be answered and I will delete it.

Please be patient! I made this blog out of my love of Kirby, to creatively think more, and to draw more often for myself and others! I may not get to every question as quick as you'd like.

No OC related asks. This is a mostly canon focused blog. I also worry about accidentally portraying an OC incorrectly and offending others because of it so I want to put it out there I do not accept asks with OCs in them. If you want a specific interaction and want to actively interact with the characters yourself, such asks will be done using "Anon Waddle Dee".

Any and all images on this blog are free to share and use for non-commercial purposes. Meaning, it's fine to share this art, use it, if you want to put my art on a shirt for personal use that is fine too!

If you have any questions, concerns, or you just want to chat please go shoot me a message at @capicola323427

META AND WORLD-BUILDING INFORMATION

This is just general information about the ask blog's universe! This can update so check back every now and then!

Pop Star and other planets are interconnected in various ways for communication and importing/exporting of goods, through differing levels of technology and means.

Some planets are barren and underdeveloped, such as Planet Floria. Other planets are booming giga-cities like Planet Mecheye.

Technological developments depend on the planet and what is imported from other planets, however, Pop Star generally technology up to a rudimentary working internet but not everyone uses it.

"World Ending" characters like Dark Matter or Fecto Elfilis are able to be asked asks, but it isn't like they're free to walk about. Like Zero & Dark Matter are biding time in the recesses of a barren planet on the outskirts of Gamble Galaxy! I will try my best to create a reasonable explanation for those sorts of things if asked, so please be patient!

Not every character is at Pop Star, Dream Land!

[desultory-novice]

Nintendo Dream May 2023

Return to Dream Land DX Interview w/ the Staff

[Note: This was 8 pages long. I bought it the moment I could and wrote down/quickly summarized everything I could find that was of interest while reading through it. I didn’t even edit it or spellcheck it ^^ It’s not a full translation, there could be some bits I misinterpreted, and there’s some technical stuff about the development and staff that I left untouched, but this should be all the good stuff!]

---

They spent a long time debating whether the game (in Japanese) should still be called "Kirby Wii" but decided that since it WAS "Kirby Wii" it should keep the name.

They originally thought of giving RtDL a title like the novel version had.

Giving the characters the outlines took a hefty amount of processing power.

Even among the staff, RtDL is considered the origin point of modern Kirby.

Kumazaki's keyword to the staff was "nostalgia filter" - to not just remake the game as is, but to add enough features that it was even better than how people remembered the original.

They didn't force themselves to release all three games (Forgotten Land, Dream Buffet, DX) for the 30th anniversary, but they considered being able to do so ideal. As such, they began working on it while FL was still in development.

As to the borders, they knew it was difficult to introduce a new visual element to a series midway through, but they regretted how easy it was to loose sight of the characters in Star Allies, which is why they added them in. That and the fact that it make the characters look more like they were artwork, as well as fitting in with RtDL's naturally more fantastic and cartoony look, which also helped visually distinguish it from SA that used a lot of similar looking locales to RtDL

As for Dedede's redesign, they mention that he's partly redesigned to best represent what he's used for in each game. In TDX, he was an enemy and an ally, so he was meant to look cool. In Star Allies, he was friendly and a bit goofy. In FL, he was designed to fit with the look of the Beast Pack. DX's Dedede is meant to kind of mix FL and Star Allies, partly because FL Dedede became so popular and had such recognition. (They also note that, regrettably, RtDL's original Dedede had to have his body made smaller because of bounding box issues.) They weren't able to make him the "large and in charge" powerful type they wanted before now.

All the voices were rerecorded for this game, including the masks.

In regards to the opening animation, they talk about how there was no specific situation in mind, but note that Waddle Dee looks like he was sent flying. The reason is because Waddle Dees were still considered generic enemies at that point, and so it made sense that something had sent this random Waddle Dee flying off, which is why it happened. (They also note that because of the timing, it looks like Meta Knight was the one responsible, but it's just a random enemy thing.)

"Helper Magolor" started out from the idea that Watanabe and Tanifuji both had young kids and they wanted a game that their children could play, without sacrificing the depth that veteran gamers enjoy. Kirby is made as an entry game for gamers of all levels, and they feel they opened it up to even more players with this. Really young kids, and people who aren't good at action games but want to enjoy the story. (They were a little surprised at how much the little kids struggled with FL's 3D action elements. While it's natural for us to use inhale and then swallow for a copy ability, little kids and gaming newcomers would forget about that, thus, the auto-copy feature.)

It made sense to make Magolor the helper because he was the key character in the story, and that it would seem he was giving you assistance for you helping him fix his ship.

They debated between some 60 different ideas for new copy abilities before settling on the two that they did. The deciding factor was abilities that seemed like they would belong in Kirby but also be fresh and new.

"Festival" is back not just because it's an anniversary game, but because it fit the feeling of a 4-player adventure. (And also, with Helper Magolor on, it gives a way to increase Magolor's presence in the game.)

They mention that Kumazaki rewrote all the ability descriptions and added all the pause screen lore. That they did like the figure-based methods of lore in FL but wanted to stick with the classic style for RtDL DX. (Also, Watanabe mentions that Kumazaki is a very fast writer. What Watanabe would've taken a day, Kumazaki finished in only an hour. Maybe even faster than than that, Watanabe adds!)

Originally, they only planned for about 40 dress-up masks. Then Kumazaki decided to ask for 86, mostly to please the fans. They choose things that would be easiest, such as characters who already had a 3D model, characters that would make fans the happiest to see, or characters who were simple to make. They chose masks instead of just making them playable because they didn't want to disrupt the setting of RtDL. (And also, because souvenirs like that are a staple of theme parks.)

One question is "Why did Magolor build Magoland in Dream Land?" (For those wondering if it was really in Dream Land or not. Kumazaki answers that you  have to understand Magolor's character. He's someone that loves making things and also loves surprising people. When the idea of turning the sub-games to attractions came up, and which Kirby universe character would be responsible, it just had to be Magolor who made them. Magolor has become a character that's really easy to involve in the series. "If something is making something particularly entertaining in the Kirby series, it's Magolor's turn," says Kumazaki. "Magolor has both magic and technological abilities, which he uses to make things with."

As for the "when" and "where" of Magoland, Kumazaki notes you can kind of get the real picture if you play the game till the very end, but if you're not too concerned with the details, it's okay to just think "So, he made an amusement park at some point!" That said, he implies it supposed to be a bit of a mystery/a bit up in the air. Did he want to make something Kirby and the others would enjoy after all his experiences with them? It's up to the player's interpretation.

The possibility of putting Magolor on the original box art existed, but since he was "just a one game character in a series of games" they left him off to focus on the four person appeal of the original game. But Magolor appeared in more and more things and became popular enough that he finally earned his place on the box art.

Kumazaki mentions that every character starts out as an unknown. Even mega popular characters like Meta Knight were once just a lone boss in a "new" game. His becoming a major player thanks to "Revenge of Meta Knight" and being a character who fulfills an important role helped him to become more recognizable. Magolor has stopped being one of these "newcomer" characters and evolved into his own fully-fledged character with this game.

Kumazaki confirms that in general there's not a straight, forward-flowing timeline in Kirby as much as there is a series of loose connections. And that in-between events, the characters are generally imagined to be living peaceful, ordinary lives - just like in the opening movie. "There, Kirby has a cake and is being chased by Dedede. There were all sorts of fights before then. And maybe King Dedede was causing trouble again and Kirby had to stop him and that led to them running off with the cake...The details are left up to the imagination."

The interviewer mentions that competing over cake makes it seem like it's continuing off of Squeak Squad. Kumazaki notes that though Kirby and Dedede fight with each other, generally speaking, they get along well. As far as the relationships with the characters and how they interact, Kumazaki says, "there are times where, if the Halberd becomes necessary for a game, it's more natural to just make it the Halberd than to have a brand new unknown battleship appear out of nowhere."

"We don't have a story/timeline" he quotes himself, while noting that the truths that have spread among the players as well as the relationships between the characters and their quirks have to be preserved to a certain degree or it's like you're meeting a new cast each time. So they DO keep certain truths and relationships in mind as they make the series. Sometimes this means putting the role of the "bad guy" on King Dedede, but that doesn't change the fact that he and Kirby are "rivals." (But that he will occasionally be unfair too...) That's a fairly recent, "unchanging fact" of the Kirby world. They mention that even Bandanna Waddle Dee goes from being Dedede's vassal to a friend of the group. though recently he's been recognized more and more as "one of the group."

Meta Knight is the same as Dedede. He's someone who will fight Kirby if circumstances call for it. Like how here, in the opening, he's calmly reading a book in between his sword-training, but he pauses to see if Dedede is causing trouble, or if something threatens the peace of Dream Land.

Kumazaki says, noting the inclusion of Magolor's theme park in this game technically makes RtDL DX an alternate universe to the original RtDL. But the information you learn after 100%ing the game challenges the idea of a single flow of time. With the existence of "Another Dimension" that can cross over both space and time, players are free to see that the passage of time does not lead to one single result. That should also help explain why Kirby and the others are able to warp between Magoland, which exists in its own faraway universe, to the main game.

He adds that this is mostly for people who are concerned about the fact that main mode Magolor is depressed about his ship but Magoland Magolor is happily running his theme park.

There's also a note at the end that Landia was named "Landia" instead of something like "Dark Dragon" to make it seem more natural that they could become an ally. They were also designed to look like they could be friendly. (There's also a comment - not from the dev staff - in the "Games Magolor has been in" page that "Magolor uses the same sword as Kirby! Proof that they're friends?!)

Finally....

THE INTERVIEW WILL CONTINUE NEXT MONTH! (Where they'll discuss more about Merry Magoland and the Magolor Epilogue!! Also, Kumazaki will be looking back over the 30 years of Kirby!)

[owls-gamblegalaxy]

Kirby: Sever Evil with a Slash in a Flash!

“A topknot adorned swordsman Kirby is front and center this time!

The lord of Dream Castle, Rokuemon, is using the secret sword technique scroll, the ‘Split Second Scroll’, for evil deeds to his heart’s content.

What’s more, actor Elfilin of the traveling entertainment group, the Animal Troupe, Boss Dedede, Tenugui Waddle Dee, and sweets merchant Magolor join in on the great hectic chaos too!?

Based on the hit sub-game ‘Samurai Kirby’, a story set in another world, different from the usual Dream Land, hits the shelves!!”

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Notes:

Special thanks to Aurora/FullTimeUFO for letting me use her translation of this novel's title. (https://twitter.com/FullTimeUFO/status/1613745210735067140)

As this is very Japanese immersed novel, there may be a lot of terms western readers might not be familiar with. I've decided to keep many of them as-is rather than localizing them to something more western (tenugui for example has stayed as-is). To compensate, all chapters with potentially unfamiliar terms will have a Chapter Glossary linked at the beginning of their posts, listing words and their definitions in order of appearance in that chapter. This is separate from the translator's notes. They're not required for reading, but I recommend checking them out. Especially the first one, since it will set up terms that appear for the rest of the novel.

This novel is set in Edo period Japan (or at least its equivalent) as shown by Boss Dedede being a type of Edo period police officer, the prominence of karakuri (mechanical) puppets, which were at the height of their popularity during the Edo period, and the prominence of edomoji on signs throughout this novel, among other things.

Translator's notes:

Bandana Waddle Dee has been renamed to Tenugui Waddle Dee this novel because he wears a tenugui (japanese hand towel) over his head instead of a bandana.

In the table of contents image, Chef Kawasaki is selling yakisoba for 50 point stars and Magolor is selling candy apples for 300.

Note that any location that starts with the word "dream" was originally called "Pupupu". For example, "Dream Town" was "Pupupu Town". I've changed all of them to "dream" to keep with official english localizations.

[positivelybeastly]

A Completely Unbiased and Totally Comprehensive Beast Reading List, Pt. 1

As a member of the first class of X-Men, the intelligently gifted Dr. Hank McCoy has been fighting for the peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans for most of his life, under the tutelage of Professor Xavier. Born with an enhanced physique, strength, and muscular structure, he has adopted the name Beast.

Well, hello there, friends! Welcome to a completely unbiased, totally comprehensive, not at all too long reading list that aims to show you the story of everyone's favourite Beast, from start to finish!

Origins

As one of the original X-Men, Beast features in almost every issue of the very first iteration of the team - but to put it bluntly, 60s X-Men sucks, and I want you to enjoy this character, so we're going to start with some aggressive curation.

X-Men Origins: Beast, by Mike Carey - a solo story that retells Hank's origins, including his pre-X-Men life, and an insight into his mindset, his relationship with humanity, and his first meeting with the X-Men. It also happens to have some rather lovely art, and a fantastic last page spread that expresses a lot of what makes Hank a brilliant character. X-Men: First Class, by Jeff Parker - a collection of mini-series that fill in the gaps between stories in the original run of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's X-Men, this run is extremely readable, and does a very good job of forming a cohesive characterisation of both Hank, the X-Men, and, particularly, Professor Xavier. You do not need to have any former knowledge of anything X-Men to read this run. Issues of Particular Note: (2006) #8; the meeting of Hank and Gorilla Man, who have a cute dynamic, and if you like Gorilla Man, you should read Agents of Atlas by Parker as well. (2007) #4; the foundation of Hank's friendship with Bobby Drake, aka Iceman. These two were thick as thieves all the way up until the late 00s. Giant-Sized Special; a collection of short fun little stories with varying art styles, featuring Hank on small solo adventures or in duos with the other X-Men. Finals #2; Hank deciding to leave the X-Men, and become his own man.

X-Men: Season One by Dennis Hopeless is a standalone graphic novel that aims to retell the early days of the X-Men from the perspective of Jean Grey, and features Hank fairly prominently. If you want to be more up to code on early X-Men history without dealing with issues of the 60s run, this would be a good place to do it.

And of course, Uncanny X-Men vol. 1. While I would not advise reading this run in its entirety, dipping your toe in to get some appreciation for what 60s comics were like and how far we've come isn't an awful idea. Issues of Particular Note: #7 Hank is momentarily abducted by a beatnik foot cult. No notes, this is just a funny situation that Hank ends up in. #8; one of the first instances of anti-mutant hysteria in an X-Men book, the first time Hank left the X-Men, and also the origin of his short career as a professional wrestler. #47; Hank and Bobby go on a double date with their girlfriends and get interrupted by superhero shenanigans.

Grey

With Hank having now left the X-Men, he has a rendezvous with destiny, and while this is going to be a very short period on our reading list, it's a very formative one for young Hank.

Amazing Adventures #11-17, by Gerry Conway, Steve Englehart, and Arnold Drake. Honestly, just read this entire run - you basically get a very well contained story that delves into Hank at a very young age, and while this may be a series from the 1970s, it's actually surprisingly modern in its approach to Hank as a character. It's also interesting to see the introduction of a more horror/wolfman aspect to Hank's character, which is largely due to the contemporary popularity of Werewolf-by-Night. It all caps off with issue #17, which collects a number of back-up stories that originally came from Uncanny X-Men, that tell Hank's origin in its uncondensed form. If you started with Carey's Origins book, these story beats will be very familiar, but it's interesting to see what parts were cut and which were preserved.

A companion story that goes back and revisits this very interesting period of Hank's life can be found in X-Men Unlimited vol. 2 #10, as one of the two stories contained there. Sliding somewhere in between issues of Amazing Adventures, it provides a modern emotional context for Hank's transformation, and I feel obliged to warn you that this is a very heavy story. If stories about depression, radiation sickness, or familial death are triggering for you, approach with caution.

Avengers

As you may have noticed, Hank has now changed from grey to his more familiar blue! This is due to printing limitations of the time, where attempts to render black or grey often ended up producing a shade that looked closer to blue. But enough of that malarkey, let's talk about everyone's favourite Bouncing Baby Blue Beast!

Avengers vol. 1, by . . . so many writers, but the most significant include Jim Shooter, Gerry Conway, Steve Englehart, David Michelinie, Bill Mantlo, etc. As the first X-Man to cross teams, Hank made history, and he quickly settled in nicely to the bitchy, high octane, absolutely bonkers world of 70s Marvel. Among other things, this is where he forms lifelong friendships with Carol Danvers, Steve Rogers, and, perhaps most importantly, Simon Williams. Honestly, this entire run has its ups and downs, but I'd recommend reading it from start to finish, just because it's fun, and Hank is so much fun in it. If you're more used to buzzkill Beast from the modern era, you'll be shocked at just how much of a kind-hearted goof he is here. Although, maybe skip the Korvac Saga. Issues of Particular Note: #137, which features Hank's initial tryout for the Avengers, with some story beats that will have particular resonance if you read Amazing Adventures or X-Men Unlimited, recommended above. #141, which sees the beginning of the origins of Patsy Walker, who you might know better as Hellcat, and who will become an important part of our story later. #148, which sees Hank embrace his disguise gimmick - while pretty much abandoned from this point on, it was arguably never going to get better than the trick he pulls here. Avengers Annual #6, which sees the origins of Hank and Simon's wonder-ful relationship. Whether you read them as friends or more, it really is a ton of fun to see just how quickly they glom onto each other as partners. #160 digs a little deeper into Hank's dynamic on the Avengers, and, if you aren't doing a full readthrough, this provides an interesting perspective on what Hank brings to the team, which is paid off in #163 and #164. Can you guess what it is? Yep . . . sex symbol. This is the origin of Hank McCoy, original mutant fuck machine, baybeeee. #171 sees Hank speaking Latin, being kind of a shit to Ms. Marvel, and being called a slut by Thor, which is kind of amazing, tbh. But Hank then proceeds to disappear for a bit, dodging the really rather awful Korvac Saga, so if you want to read more about our boy, you can jump right ahead to #178, where they make up for his brief absence by psychologically torturing him! Yeah! Love it! Next big issue of note is #188, where the Avengers get political, Hank gets to hold Ms. Marvel's laser gatling gun backpack, and press his nose against a plane window like a small child (it's better than I'm making it sound)! #194 has Hank at his best, to be quite honest, and is an all around nice little slice of life, quiet issue for the Avengers, for those of you who miss such things in comics. #206 features Hank speaking every language he knows for an entire issue, on . . . well, honestly, not even a dare, he just does it. #209, meanwhile is . . . heavy. Trigger warnings for the Shoah, the Holocaust, concentration camps, and a lot of dark subject matter, but it does showcase Hank at arguably his most heroic and his most tender. And then, finally, we reach the end of Hank's tenure with the Avengers, at #211, where . . . well, honestly? He leaves because his boyfriend is leaving. There's no other way to interpret it, that's just the text. He'll of course join the Avengers again, and is always active as a reservist, but for now, he's to move on to greener, more defensive pastures. In between these appearances, it's also worth checking out the absolutely iconic Dark Phoenix Saga. If you think you know this story from the adaptations in X-Men 3 or Dark Phoenix, trust me, you don't - this is the real story, as it should always have been. Hank only joins in on the story in the last third, but if you ever doubted his commitment to the X-Men, his friends, or the ideals of justice, look no further. And guess what, it's just a damned good story, starting at Uncanny X-Men #129 and going on to #138.

Hank also makes guest appearances in Uncanny X-Men #111 to #114, where he first properly meets the second generation of X-Men, though as you'll see, it's far from the most orderly or normal of introductions. For those of you who don't know about Chris Claremont and his predilections, you will learn - great writer, absolutely fundamental to the X-Men, but . . . hoo boy.

That's what I've got for you for the moment! I will be adding the next sections as separate posts, so that this doesn't get too long - feel free to check back here, or just keep your eyes peeled in the Hank McCoy tag, so that you don't miss the next section, as we move into the 80s proper! Also, I may be adding new issues here and there, as I remember things, so check back if you want to hear more about Beast's early years!

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