#Mr Harley Quin

[my-52-weeks-with-christie]

[v-thinks-on]

At centre stage stands Harlequin patterned in diamonds like panes of glass stained in brilliant hues, a dark mask over his eyes, and baton in hand. His gestures are broad; wave of stick, turn of head, pirouette of legs. Yet, his movement is fleet, dodging and taunting the bumbling Pierrot, and dancing with the lovely Columbine.

With his baton, he transforms the scene from parlour to avenue to sprightly woods, and the players from maids and gentlemen to lords and ladies or even to birds and beasts. He traipses through walls and weaves in and out of sight in impossible leaps and bounds.

Yet, for all his trickery, his face remains impassive, except perhaps a knowing look in his shadowed eyes. Each movement is deliberate without hesitation, each step lighter than air. He is a man of mystery, yet in familiar form. His lips hide countless secrets, yet he will never say a word.

(Read More on AO3)

[origami-trust]

get yourself a mysterious man in motley who shows up to guide you to romantic mysteries that need solving Rereading some Agatha Christie and I was really struck by the intensity of this conversation - Mr. Quin is such a unique character in Christie's work. Her detectives are wonderful characters that answer questions. Mr. Quin...is a wonderful character that raises a lot of questions!

[sugaroto]

I was reading a book called short stories by Agatha Christie in the bus and im not sure why but I felt inspired to draw this scene

"Mr. Satterthwaite have gone back through the gate. He was now walking towards where the scarecrow was burning. Behind it the sun was setting. The sunset was special that night. It's colors were lighting the atmosphere all around it, lighting the burning scarecrow."

[leoalvarez-clowncarcommittee]

Sprite Objectification Poll Round 2

[quotesfromall]

Mr. Sattherwaite was never quite sure what took him to stay with the Denmans. They were not of his kind - that is to say, they belonged neither to the great world, nor to the more interesting artistic circles. They were Philistines, and dull Philistines at that. Mr.Sattherwaite had met them first at Biarritz, had accepted an invitation to stay with them, had come, had been bored, and strangely enough had come again and yet again.

Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Mr.Quin

[fictional-detective-tournament]

List of accepted characters:

This will be updated as I review submissions.

Lord El Melloi II/Waver Velvet from the Fate series

Ranpo Edogawa from Bungo Stray Dogs

Atsushi Nakajima from Bungo Stray Dogs

Osamu Dazai from Bungo Stray Dogs

Doppo Kunikida from Bungo Stray Dogs

Kenji Miyazawa from Bungo Stray Dogs

Junichiro Tanizaki from Bungo Stray Dogs

Kyoka Izumi from Bungo Stray Dogs

Akiko Yosano from Bungo Stray Dogs

Yukito Ayatsuji from Bungo Stray Dogs: Another Story

Ryuu Amakusa from Tantei Gakuen Q

Kyuu Renjo from Tantei Gakuen Q

Megumi Minami from Tantei Gakuen Q

Kintarou Tooyama from Tantei Gakuen Q

Kazuma Narusawa from Tantei Gakuen Q

Lady Love Dies from Paradise Killer

Shinichi Kudo/Conan Edogawa from Detective Conan

Shenanigan Swift from The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels

Phenomena Swift from The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels

Erf from The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels

Tsukauchi Naomasa from Boku no Hero Academia

Carlton Lassiter from Psych

Juliet O'Hara from Psych

Damien Darkblood from Invincible (The TV adaptation)

Shawn Spencer from Psych

Nick Valentine from Fallout 4

Will Graham from Hannibal

Goro Akechi from Persona 5

Neal Caffrey from White Collar

Erin Lindsay from Chicago PD

Aniq Adjaye from The Afterparty

Detective Danner from The Afterparty

Hank Voight from Chicago PD

Antonio Dawson from Chicago PD

Bruce Wayne/Batman from DC Comics

Tim Drake from DC Comics

Julia Argent from Carmen Sandiego

Alvin Olinsky from Chicago PD

Chase Devineaux from Carmen Sandiego

Shikanoin Heizou from Genshin Impact

Beverly Katz from Hannibal

Sam Vimes from Discworld

Herlock Sholmes from The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

Columbo from Columbo

Hercule Poirot from the Hercule Poirot series

Dick Gumshoe from Ace Attorney

Jay Halstead from Chicago PD

Kim Burgess from Chicago PD

Kevin Atwater from Chicago PD

Adam Ruzek from Chicago PD

Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg from the Commissaire Adamsberg series

Sean Roman from Chicago PD

Llewellyn Watts from Murdoch Mysteries

Sheldon Jin from Chicago PD

Parker Pyne from Parker Pyne Investigates

Karen Vick from Psych

Keith Mars from Veronica Mars

Harley Quin from The Mysterious Mr. Quinn

Ariadne Oliver from the works of Agatha Christie

Burton Guster from Psych

James Gordon from DC Comics

Veronica Mars from Veronica Mars

Nancy Drew from Nancy Drew

Henry Spencer from Psych

Vinnie Van Lowe from Veronica Mars

Chloe Decker from Lucifer

Dan Espinoza from Lucifer

Peter Burke from White Collar

Clinton Jones from White Collar

Reese Hughes from White Collar

Verges from Much Ado About Nothing

Auguste Dupin from the Dark Tales series

Blue from Blue’s Clues

Françoise Dupont from Fantômette

Renee Montoya from DC Comics

Kostas Charitos from the Kostas Charitos Series

Gertrude Loveday from the Ryder and Loveday series

Phryne Fisher from Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

Raquel Murillo from Money Heist

Miss Jane Marple from the works of Agatha Christie

Javert from Les Misérables

Inspector Gadget from Inspector Gadget

Patrick Jane from Mentalist

Daisy Day from Anansi Boys

Joss Carter from Person of Interest

Arthur Lester from Malevolent

Sherlock Holmes from Sherlock Holmes

Juno Steel from the Penumbral Podcast

Lilly Rush from Cold Case

Sherlock Holmes from the Beekeeper’s Picnic

Koichi Zenigata from Lupin III

Loki from Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok

Hildibrand Manderville from Final Fantasy XIV

Shotaro Hidari from Kamen Rider W

Terezi Pyrope from Homestuck

Hershel Layton from the Professor Layton series

Shuichi Saihara from Danganronpa

Miles "Tails" Prower from The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

Kyoko Kirigiri from Danganronpa

Adrian Monk from Monk

Nightbeat from Transformers

L from Death Note

Dale Vandermeer from the Rusty Lake series

Yuma Kokohead from Master Detective Archives: Raincode

Vivia Twilight from Master Detective Archives: Raincode

Saguru Hakuba from Magic Kaito

Benoit Blanc from the Knives Out series

Inspector Cabanela from Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Phoenix Wright from Ace Attorney

Nagito Komaeda from Danganronpa

Looker from Pokemon

Kaname Date from AI: The Somnium Files

Makoto Naegi from Danganronpa

Heiji Hattori from Detective Conan

Masumi Sera from Detective Conan

Little Red Riding Hood from Once Upon a Crime

Enola Holmes from Enola Holmes

Detective Pikachu from Detective Pikachu

Tom Barnaby from Midsomer Murders

Riz Gukgak from Fantasy High

Seiji Nanatsuki from Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit

Shiori Ichinose from Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit

Makoto Date from Yakuza

Richard Castle from Castle

Nick Burkhardt from Grimm

Dr Temperance Brennan from Bones

Catherine Chandler from Beauty and the Beast

Sokka from Avatar: the Last Airbender

Yagami Takayuki from Judgement

Workaholic Detective from Process of Elimination

Stone from City of Angels

Angus McDonald from The Adventure Zone

Gina Lestrade from The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

Bobby Bronson from Roar

Cellbit from QSMP

Hunch Curios from Mentopolis

Hazel Wong from Murder Most Unladylike

Frog Detective from the Frog Detective Series

Victorique de Blois from Gosick

Gabriel Utterson from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Sherlock Holmes from BBC Sherlock

Jacques Clouseau from Pink Panther

Olivia Dunham from Fringe

Joseph Rouletabille from the Rouletabille series

Daisy Wells from Murder Most Unladylike

Pippa Fitz-Amobi from A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series

Lisbeth Salander from the Millennium series

Wato Hojo from Process of Elimination

Ideal Detective from Process of Elimination

Renegade Detective from Process of Elimination

Techie Detective from Process of Elimination

Bookworm Detective from Process of Elimination

Posh Detective from Process of Elimination

Doleful Detective from Process of Elimination

Gourmet Detective from Process of Elimination

Rowdy Detective from Process of Elimination

Mystic Detective from Process of Elimination

Downtown Detective from Process of Elimination

Armor Detective from Process of Elimination

Halara Nightmare from Master Detective Archives: Raincode

Mashita Satoru from Spirit Hunter: Death Mark

Dogberry from Much Ado About Nothing

Shi Qiang from The Three Body Problem

Azuma Tsuyuri from Clock Over Orquesta

Cherry Ames from the Cherry Ames series

Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown from the Encyclopedia Brown series

Lobster Cop from the Frog Detective Series

Sandra the Fairytale Detective from Sandra the Fairytale Detective

Geronimo Stilton from the Geronimo Stilton series

Paul Prospero from The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Elijah Baley from the Robot series

Dirk Gently from Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Suiri from Pop'n Music Lapistoria

Joan Watson from Elementary

Roquier from Puyo Puyo Quest

Holly Short from Artemis Fowl

Jo Martinez from Forever

Alex Parrish from Quantico

Cristóbal Cuevas from Cable Girls

Oskar Rheinhart from Vienna Blood

Emily Prentiss from Criminal Minds

Jane Doe from Blindspot

Dick Grayson from DC Comics

Ziva David from NCIS

Nell Jones from NCIS: Los Angeles

Lou Ransone from 9-1-1

Megan Hunt from Body of Proof

Cal Lightman from Lie to Me

Carrie Wells from Unforgettable

Spy Rise from Skylanders: SWAP Force

Flavia de Luce from the Flavia de Luce series

Camille Bordey from Death in Paradise

Florence Cassel from Death in Paradise

Jessica Jones from Jessica Jones

Charlie Eppes from Numb3rs

Elizabeth Keen from The Blacklist

James Hathaway from Lewis

Vern Loomis from Why Women Kill

Erika Furudo from Umineko

Sissel from Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Lafcadio Boone from The Sexy Brutale

Lynne from Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Mabel Mora from Only Murders in the Building

Oliver Putnam from Only Murders in the Building

Charles Haden Savage from Only Murders in the Building

Jowd from Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Scooby Doo from Scooby Doo

Daphne from Scooby Doo

Fred from Scooby Doo

Velma from Scooby Doo

Shaggy from Scooby Doo

Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4

Fenton Hardy from the Hardy Boys

Ema Skye from Ace Attorney

Natsuko Aki from Re: Cutie Honey

Naomi Misora from Death Note

Sakurako Kujou from Beautiful Bones -Sakurako's Investigation-

MaoMao from the Apothecary Diaries

Vic Sage/The Question from DC Comics

Detective Chimp from DC Comics

Madame Vastra from Doctor Who

Terry from Rune Factory 5

Cecil from Rune Factory 5

Chromedome from Transformers

Xie Lian from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Phosphophyllite from Houseki no Kuni

Sam Spud from Between the Lions

Dana Scully from the X-Files

Fox Mulder from the X-Files

Sherlock Holmes from Elementary

Barbie from the Detective Barbie series

Bill Stork from Hoodwinked

Nicky Flippers from Hoodwinked

Hercule Poirot from Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple

Ross Sylibus from Armitage III

Kansuke Yamato from Detective Conan

Kirill Vrubel from Double Decker! Doug & Kirill

Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation

Spencer Reed from Criminal Minds

Harrier Du Bois from Disco Elysium

Mário Fofoca from Elas Por Elas

Roxy Hunter from the Roxy Hunter series

Dr. Thomas Silkstone from the Dr. Thomas Silkstone series

Endeavour Morse from the Endeavor series

Vera Stanhope from Vera

Kristin Sims from the Brokenwood Mysteries

Brenda Johnson from The Closer

Rex from Hudson and Rex

Alec Hardy from Broadchurch

Billie Webber from Unit 42

Hannah Zeiler from Murder by the Lake

Sherlock Holmes from Moriarty the Patriot

Helena Wayne from DC Comics

Angel from Angel: The Series and Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Nick Knight from Forever Knight

Navia from Genshin Impact

Luo Wenzhou from Mo Du

Brother Cadfael from the Brother Cadfael Chronicles

Miss Maud Silver from the Miss Silver series

Fei Du from Mo Du

Mitsuko Hoshino from My Dear Detective: Mitsuko's Case Files

Saku Yoshida from My Dear Detective: Mitsuko's Case Files

Jake Peralta from Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Steven Stone from Pokémon

Anthony Lockwood from Lockwood and Co.

Thea Stilton from the Thea Stilton series

Saito Yakumo from Psychic Detective Yakumo

Dipper Pines from Gravity Falls

Pennington from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote

Tetsuo Tsutsumi from Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo

Jun Erio from Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo

Richter Kai from Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo

Abe Lincoln from Who Killed Markiplier?

Steve Carella from the 87th Precinct Series

C. Auguste Dupin from the works of Edgar Allen Poe

Gesicht from Pluto

[raiquen]

Book Review: Three Blind Mice, Agatha Christie

My Review in a Tweet:

Agatha Christie's stories are a little cheesy, but despite that, they remain charming and puzzling, encouraging the reader to decipher for himself who's the culprit. This book in particular reunites delightful investigators: Poirot, Mrs Marple, Harley Quin and Sergeant Trotter.

My Full Review:

This book is another "first" for me, as my only contact with Agatha Christie's works was through the movie adaptations with Kenneth Branagh as the famous detective Hercule Poirot.

Imagine my delighted surprise when I realized the first story on this book was no other than the play in "See How They Run" (2022), another wonderful and funny whodunnit.

Since I'm not british, I don't know the tune for "Three Blind Mice", but the author was able to communicate the silliness of the murderer and the unnerving nature of all children lullabies, no matter where they are from.

The misteries in the book rely heavily on the dialogues and interviews from the investigator to the suspects, leaving descriptions of characters and places very short and a little dry.

The mysteries themselves are quite entertaining, only a couple of them were "predictable" (which I can tell if it is a good point for Agatha, for laying out the clues for the reader, or for me, being "smart enough" to solve the mystery before the reveal). Some of them felt a little rushed or solved out of nowhere, but those were only a few.

This is what I would call a nice summer reading: short stories, easy to pick up and to put down once you finish a mystery, engaging and entertaining.

8/10

My Other 2024 Readings.

[readingoals]

Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag (2024)

I know I'm a bit late with this but I figured I might as well still do it 🤷‍♀️I wasn't tagged but hey if you also haven't done it and want to consider this a tag, feel free lmao

This is hard to narrow down because I've read some absolute crackers and nothing is like super standing out from the rest. Maybe The Next Big Thing by James Colley just for how fun and Aussie it was, or maybe Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie because it was a clever mystery with some really great Poirot/Hastings banter.

Another toughie because though I've not read many sequels, the ones I have picked up have all be great. Recently I caught up on the last two The Adventure Zone graphic novels and god I just love that series so much. I loved the podcast and I think they're done a great job of adapting them.

Also right up there are Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson and The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling, both of which I adored.

I've surprisingly not re-read all that many books this year (yet anyway, there's a couple I wouldn't mind getting to). So I think it has to be The Shadow of the Wind. That's been one of my fave books for years now and it had been a while since I last picked it up so it was so great to revisit it again.

As it has been for the last few years, the genre I've been reading most is mystery. Most of those are Agatha Christie's since I try and read one a month.

Oh theres a few of these. A Botanical Daughter was probably my most anticipated release of the year but it took aaaggggesss for me to get my hands on a copy because the place i pre-ordered it from went into voluntary administration so my copy was never shipped. I mean I probably wasn't going to read it until October anyway but while waiting for it to arrive I also read some reviews that said it kind of missed the mark so I'm a little less excited now. The other book I still havent got around to picking up is Kill Your Husband by Jack Heath even though I was really excited for it too. And then there's also Clairmont by Lesley McDowell which I hadn't known was coming out but I saw in store and immediately bought and then also didn't read it.

Definitely Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio. I think Ben Aaranovitch also has something new coming around September but I'll admit I'm a little behind on all of the rivers of london novellas and stuff. The Benjamin Stevenson has a Christmas book coming and I think the next book in the Ex Hex series is also due out and I'll probably pick it up pretty quick.

Hopeless Aromantic. Huge disappointment. I was really interested in a queer nonfic book that focused on aromanticism rather than asexuality and it just missed the mark by so much. It was poorly researched and cobbled together and frankly not worth anyone's time.

The Mysterious Mr Quin by Agatha Christie. I've read a few of her short story collections before so I went in expecting the usual sort of thing and it definitely felt like it was going along similar lines to start. But it got weird. In a good way. It feels as if the stories flirt with fantasy elements, and the last one even crosses over maybe? almost? Mr Harley Quin came off as kind of creepy too. It was definitely not quite like her usual stuff and I really really enjoyed it.

I've read from I think 9 or 10 authors that were new to me and yet I'm not really sure how to answer this, no one super stands out. Maybe Erin Sterling? I've read two of her romances this year (tho does she really count since it's the pen name for rachel hawkins and i've read one of her mysteries?), the book I read from James Colley was also really good and I'd probably pick up whatever he wrote next, so maybe him? From a nonfic author, Carnage by Mark Dapin (an Aussie true crime book) was very interesting and I liked he way he handled such difficult topics, so maybe him?

Probably Alex Easton from the T Kingfisher novellas?

I don't think anything I've read this year has really made me cry. I thought Loveless might but it didn't this time around. I guess I did get a bit blurry eyed during The Adventure Zone: Eleventh Hour graphic novel and same with Carnage, but not full tears.

Oh, so many lmao. The TAZ graphic novels, Ghosts: The Button House Archives, The Thread That Binds, Everyone On This Train is a Suspect, Cain's Jawbone (happy that I got it solved though I never got confirmation I was right lmao).

Okay this one is easy. My Folio Society edition of The Shadow of the Wind. Also, since I answered this last year I've also got the Folio Society edition of Frankenstein and I know I got it last year but I couldn't not mention it.

I also found some of Georgette Heyer's mysteries in a great edition at the lifeline book fest

I have 6 more Agatha Christie books to read (I'm partway through one of them now). Then there's also the copy of Northanger Abbey that Lauren annotated for Christmas last year, that'll be coming up soon, and whatever book we decide to annotate and swap for this years present. I'd like to spend October reading at least a couple of Frankenstein/Mary Shelley inspired books so I'll probs try and get to A Botanical Daughter then, maybe Clairmont and maybe Chicano Frankenstein or any of the others I have. I'd also really like to get to Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies but I'm saving it for like the end of the year when it's summer.

[my-52-weeks-with-christie]

[mysteriousmrquinbrainrot]

Not Mr. Satterthwaite thinking Mr. Quin has an attractive back in the Harley Quin Tea Set💀💀

[gamesception]

Sception Reads Cass Cain #4

Azrael: Agent of the Bat, #56-57 written by Dennis O'Neil, pencils by Roger Robinson

Last Time we had an issue with not much to say about Cass specifically, other than that she had a cute moment with Azrael. I mentioned it was a shame she didn't have more interaction with him in her own series, but in the /early/ early days, before her series even started, she did show up in Azrael's book a few times. I also said Jean-Paul had largely moved past his edge-lord roots, but while he's less edgy than in the Knightfall/Knightsend period his gimmick is still more edge-lordy than I remembered.

Cass did appear in some other books between these two issues, but these together make up a single story, and I have more or less the same things to say about Cass's appearance in both, so we're going to lump them together.

Anywhere, there's our girl. As usual, her costume's cool and spooky.

As I've already gone on about elsewhere at length though, without Scott's habit of cheating by just drawing Cass's eyes and facial expressions through it, the fully covering mask renders Cass faceless and expressionless. Combine that with her inability to speak and many comic artists lacking Scott's skill at conveying emotion through body language - instead going for these relatively stock poses... and yeah. It's not that this art is bad or anything, it's perfectly serviceable comic book art and writing. But Cass's character design and gimmicks just don't play well in that context, which was a problem with those elements of her concept.

Anyway, grumpy ole' Batman wants Azrael and Cass to take out some crime guy, Nick Scratch, who has supply stashes of guns, ammunition, and medical supplies. Fair enough. Dr. Thompkins wants them to do it without hurting anyone, but she usually doesn't get her way in these books. Iirc Thompkins is a DCAU original who got transplanted into the main comic continuity, along with fan favorite Harley Quin, Mr. Freeze's sympathetic backstory, etc. So much good material came from the Bruce Tim animated show.

Jean explains his gimmick to Cass, who kind of non-reacts to it. But I had kind of forgotten what his deal was at this point, so I guess that's convenient. Jean was raised/indoctrinated by a crazy assassin cult… actually there's some almost sorta parallels with Cass - though much closer to what her backstory would become post reboot. It's almost like there was some thought put into teaming these two particular bat folks up, at least a little. Shame they're not really taking advantage of that with their silent shadow depiction of our girl. Anyway, due to brainwashing Jean fights good but isn't very nice when he wears his costume.

They head to Scratch's place, Cass knocking out the guard out front so Jean can get in without putting on his suit, but then she kind of disappears from the rest of the issue.

The crime guy turns out to be ridiculous. And we're supposed to believe this guy gathered a cult of like hundreds of people. And they're not just here for the guns and medicine?

What are you idiots talking about, Nick Scratch is a bigger clown than the local supervillain who is a literal clown.

Jean-Paul gets recognized by a mook he and Cass beat up earlier in the issue, and part one ends here without Cass showing back up.

...

Issue 57 picks back up with Valley tricking Scratch into not killing him right away, instead killing him at a gathering the next day in public, and, importantly for Jean-Paul's gimmick, in costume.

Anyway, that night Cass reappears, steals most of Scratch's guns without being seen, goes to free Jean-Paul but he tells her to wait. The next day Scratch puts him in his costume, tries to get his followers to stone him since they're now out of guns, but Azrael's in costume now so he dodges the bricks and busts out of his bindings. Batgirl appears to beat up the few armed guards that are left while Azrael beats up Scratch and the book ends with them getting the med supplies to Dr. Thompkins.

All fine and good and standard, not too much to say about the issue overall, other than…

Some of these faces are AMAZING.

As for Cass...

Having Cass disarm the gang without being noticed was a nice touch, but in terms of our Girl she's pretty much playing the silent ninja trope, basically Batman's enforcer on the scene. In this book she's an extension of Bruce's will, keeping tabs on Valley and the Scratch situation alike. Her stealth and combat ability gets highlighted - some of her action panels are pretty great.

The problem is that she doesn't really come across as much of a character in her own right. Cassandra the teenage girl - sometimes goofy, sometimes defiant, sometimes unsure - just isn't here.

And speaking of unsure - why is she Batman's enforcer, when Bruce himself has known her for like a day? Even having saved Gordon, even with Barbara's endorsement, Batman should be keeping a close eye on her at this point, not trusting her to keep an eye on others. It doesn't help that the way the artist draws her she looks more like an adult rather than a teenager. Too tall, insufficiently gangly. More Bat-woman than Bat-Girl, as though it were still Helena in the costume rather than Cass. It comes down to generic comic book 'this is how I draw woman' stuff - not awful by those low standards, certainly not for the 90s, but lacking in individuality and expression. We're going to see much worse before we get to her solo title, though, so maybe I shouldn't be complaining here.

Again, though, as I've said too many times now, this is not primarily the fault of the A:AotB creatives. Cass's costume design was neat conceptually, and fire in Scott's hands, but fails to get her character and emotions across in the hands and styles of most other artists. In a collaborative/studio/factory format like mainstream superhero books where characters are going to show up in other titles by other creative teams, if a design only works in the hands of one particular artist then it needs another revision. Likewise for the silent protagonist gimmick.

The fact that Cass worked so much worse as a guest in other books may have contributed to her relative lack of crossover appearances compared to other bat characters, which may in turn have led to the eventual editorial decision to turn her into a villain, to see if she might have broader utility as a character that way, and that's the decision that ruined her character for so long.

But that's getting way ahead of ourselves.

[biboocat]

I loved The History of Pendennis, Book 1. This is Thackeray’s semi-autobiographical Bildungsroman. As in Vanity Fair we have Thackeray’s assured and playful voice (occasionally speaking directly to the reader) describing various follies of human nature, but Thackeray’s personality is more directly present in this work. Pendennis brings to mind a better known contemporaneous Bildungsroman, David Copperfield, for comparison. In Dickens’ work we admire its endearing protagonist, the innocent humor, and its fairy tale like quality. In The History of Pendennis the protagonist is more flawed and foolish, there is more cynicism, and the humor is more often sarcastic or tongue in cheek. I find this work funnier, more true to life, and more adult. More than the plot or characters, I treasure Thackeray’s entertaining company and his penchant for skewering pomposity. I’m glad to have Book 2 yet to enjoy.

Some Victorian expressions and words:

Sate = sat

Fain = adj. pleased or willing under the circumstances; adv. with pleasure; gladly

Hard by = next to

By and by = eventually

Signify = to have significance

Excerpts:

I never knew a man to die of love certainly, but I have known a twelve stone man go down to nine stone five under a disappointing passion, so that pretty nearly a quarter of him may be said to have perished: and that is no small portion.

Up to this time, the old county families had been rather shy of our friends of Clavering Park. The Fogeys of Drumington; the Squares of Tozely Park; the Wellbores of the Barrow &c.😂

I doubt whether the wisest of us know what our own motives are, and whether some of the actions of which we are the very proudest will not surprise us when we trace them, as we shall one day, to their source.

He was so poor that he couldn’t afford to know a poor man.

We admit into our aristocracy merit of every kind, and that the lowliest-born man, if he but deserve it, may wear the robes of a peer, and sit alongside of a Cavendish or a Stanley: so it ought to be the boast of our good society, that haughty though it be, naturally jealous of its privileges, and careful who shall be admitted into its circle, yet if an individual be but rich enough, all barriers are instantly removed, and he or she is welcomed, as from his wealth he merits to be. This fact shows our British independence and honest feeling – our higher orders are not such mere haughty aristocrats as the ignorant represent them: on the contrary, if a man have money they will hold out their hands to him, eat his dinners, dance at his balls, marry his daughters, or give their own lovely girls to his sons, as affably as your common roturier would do.

A London drawing room fitted up without regard to expense, is surely one of the noblest and most curious sights of the present day. The Romans of the Lower Empire, the dear Marchionesses and countesses of Louis XV., could scarcely have had a finer taste than our modern folks exhibit; and everybody who saw Lady Clavering’s reception rooms were forced to confess that they were most elegant; and that the prettiest rooms in London – Lady Harley Quin’s, Lady Hanway Wardour’s, or Mrs. Hodge-Podgson’s own, the great Railroad Croesus’ wife, were not fitted up with a more consummate “chastity.”

[merveloyd]

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Quine Harley wanted to give back to the community that helped her through so many hardships, so she put her degree to use and started offering complimentary therapy to anyone who needed it on the weekends. Her most recent client was odd to say the least, how he always wore that mask, how he always asked about patient confidentiality, how he only introduce himself as 'Joker', how long it took for him to open up, it was all very intriguing to Quine. Eventuality he started speaking casually with her and she realized how funny he was! One thing led to another and they decided to go out for coffee. A couple dates later she opened up about her family troubles, how her brother had died in prison a couple months ago.

One day he took her to an abandoned mall, he told her it was a special place but she didn't expect it too look like a city, he led her through the mall until he was stopped by someone who started arguing how he didn't want to bring her into this before stopping when he saw her, it was her brother, they don't know how long they hugged each other. Later they started catching up, he explained how they needed a doctor but how they couldn't really pay her, she accepted, Joker started speaking more openly to her after that about what he did, how he was always under threat by insane villains, Quine stopped him and asked him to clarify. He talked about their elaborate schemes, how deranged they were while she thought about how they showed such obvious signs, how they needed serious help, how she could maybe help them and how the least she could do was try. He was surprised by her but joyfully agreed to make her a costume, she was kinda excited for this, after all, she loved clown since she was young.

She wants to let the villains and goons heal and hopefully make allies, let them spill their anxieties and worries to The Harmless Harlequin.

Grey Bruce was eternally grateful for Mr. Bruce's generosity, he was so lucky to have been picked out of all the children from the orphanage, he overheard the children words laced with pity how he was a 'tax write-off' but what did they know? He was sure that under his uncaring exterior Wayne was a kind man at heart. Mr. Bruce was quite the busy man, Grey rarely saw him around the mansion, anytime he needed something one of the many butlers would provide, they were all named Alfred for some reason that he didn't quite get. It took a couple of months before he found Mr. Bruce in a strange cavern bellow the mansion, he was half wearing a bat costume and looked shocked to see him.

He revealed his secret persona of The Madbat to Grey, how he offered vicious criminals a change to reform themselves and contribute something of value to society at large, how the public perception of him was a necessary evil so he wouldn't be unnecessarily idolized, how the damage he caused was only necessary to stop even greater damage and how he wanted Grey to join him. Grey was amazed, here was a great opportunity to prove his worth to him! Mr. Bruce entrusted him with a suit of armor that has been in his family for generations, Grey thought for a moment that it looked similar to the dozens of armors lining the halls but he dismissed that thought as Mr. Bruce entrusted him with his loyal bodyguards. The armor was clunky so Grey decided to modify it, he took inspiration from the bird watching he used to do with his folks back at the circus, he treasured every memory he had of them.

You can count on Madbat's right hand Crimson Shrike to take care of the vicious criminals of the night.

the sidekicks

[lavozs]

Cuentos completos, de Agatha Christie

Los cuentos de Mr. Quin.

En la Hostería del Bufón (At the “Bells and Motley”).

El señor Satterthwaite, tras un día de contratiempos y un tercer pinchazo en su coche, se ve obligado a esperar en el pueblo de Kirtlington Mallet mientras su chófer arregla el vehículo. A regañadientes, acepta la sugerencia de su chófer de pasar el tiempo en una posada local llamada "La hostería del Bufón". Al llegar, el dueño le menciona que hay un único huésped, llamado Quin, y el señor Satterthwaite, emocionado, reconoce el nombre de su amigo, Harley Quin. Sorprendido y feliz por la coincidencia, se encuentra con Quin y se sienta a conversar con él, agradeciendo la suerte de este inesperado encuentro.

[richardgarfinkle]

Agatha Christie and the Mysterious Mr. Quin

Along with her most famous detectives, Hercule Poirot and (Miss) Jane Marple, Agatha Christie wrote stories starring several less well-known detectives. One such set of short stories deserves more attention than it’s usually given because of the character(s) of the detective(s) and the sometimes explicit supernatural elements in the stories.

The mysteries themselves are never supernatural. They always have human causes and solutions. The supernatural is in the detective(s) and in the impetus for the solving of the crimes.

The main detective / viewpoint character is Mr. Satterthwaite, who is a man in his 60s. A self-described observer of life, he enjoys drama but does not take part. He is insightful. He makes friends easily. He is a connoisseur of various arts. He knows everyone (if one defines everyone as upper- and middle-class Europeans in the early to mid 20th century). He travels widely and he understands people and their motivations. When introduced he sees himself as a member of the audience of humanity, not a participant in it.

Mr. Satterthwaite is queer-coded. Agatha Christie was very bad at queer coding. Her gay male characters are stereotypes and considered untrustworthy. Her lesbian characters are the the “we’re roommates” kind of lesbians, usually with a stereotypical pairing. She had one lesbian-coded murderer who was pretty creepy.

Mr. Satterthwaite is described as having a strong feminine spirit within him and as knowing more about women and what they do than is good for any man to know. He had a few romances when young which did not go anywhere but provide vital clues in at least one mystery. He would not be easy to classify by our evolving sense of queerness, largely because Agatha Christie didn’t really understand any of it.

Mr. Satterthwaite’s passive audience character changes whenever he is in the presence of his friend, Mr. Harley Quin.

This Harley Quin does not have a hammer and doesn’t do crime. He shows up occasionally and is always an English gentleman. He has no fixed abode. “He comes and goes.” When he shows up he asks pointed questions and proposes different perspectives on things.

In his first story Mr. Quin opines that it is easier to solve a crime by looking at it backwards in historical context. In one story it is proposed that one should imagine oneself one hundred years in the future, in 2025, looking back at the events of the tale from that distant unknown era.

Mr. Quin never solves the crimes. He inspires Mr. Satterthwaite, whose passive audiencing transforms into active on-stage detecting. Without Mr. Quin, Mr. Satterthwaite is an observer but not a detective. But without Mr. Satterthwaite, Mr. Quin isn’t a detective either. Only together in their roles as inspired and inspirer can they solve and prevent crimes.

In most of the stories Mr. Satterthwaite credits Mr. Quin with solving the mystery and Mr. Quin always credits Mr. Satterthwaite.

The one other factor that is common to nearly all these short stories is that if the crime is not solved some young couple will not be able to get or stay together.

After a few stories it becomes quite blatant that Mr. Harley Quin is the Harlequin of the Commedia Del’Arte as a supernatural being. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin

The theme of life as drama is made more blatant and the utility for a detective of seeing that view gives Mr. Satterthwaite a preternatural sense for when something dramatic is going to happen. The presence of Mr. Quin makes this definite. Mr. Satterthwaite in the later stories is able to use this dramatic awareness to prevent murders from happening.

The supernatural elements are almost always oblique and indefinite, except for one story.

In “The Bird with the Broken Wing” Mr. Satterthwaite has turned down an invitation to visit a particular place. Instead, he is staying at a house party where some of the guests pull out an Ouija board and proceed to ask questions. They find that a spirit has a message for Mr. Satterthwaite. When asked who the message is from the board spells out Quin and the message is the name of the place Mr. Satterthwaite had decided not to go to. He changes his mind and prevents a tragedy.

The question of whether Agatha Christie’s mysteries take place in one or several worlds can be answered by crossovers. The mysteries above definitely take place in the same world as Poirot because Mr. Satterthwaite is a supporting character in the Poirot mystery “Three Act Tragedy”. Mr. Quin does not appear in this book so Mr. Satterthwaite is not a detective. There is a running gag in the book that he keeps trying to tell Poirot about his own detecting adventures, but keeps being interrupted.

The question of whether this overlaps with Miss Marple depends on whether there are more than one Chief Constable named Colonel Melrose. The Agatha Christie Wiki insists that the two Colonels Melrose are distinct characters, but they’re very alike. Colonel Melrose shows up in the Poirot novel “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”, the Miss Marple novel “Sleeping Murder” and the Mr. Satterthwaite and Mr. Quin short story “The Love Detectives.”

Agatha Christie seems to have had an interesting attitude to these stories and to Harlequin. She dedicated the collection, “The Mysterious Mr, Quin” to “Harlequin The Invisible” as if these stories were in some different category in her own mind from the rest of her works. They have their own unique perspective and aesthetics while still being mysteries that play fair with the audience. The supernatural is always inspiration, never explanation. They deserve a look from those interested in Mysteries.