#Tom Taylor’s run sucks

[pablohunie1993]

i could watch tom taylor read every single issue of hellblazer live in person and i still wouldn't believe he's read it

[gaywineauntsstuff]

Dick Grayson is my favorite lil guy

And my favorite way of consuming content of my favorite lil guy is the core 5 titans

There is also about 5 billion pieces of media where these 5 interact and some of it sucks so here I am scrapbooking canon together with glue and scissors so I can talk about how I view Dicks relationship with the other OG titans and how different these relationships are from one another while all still being boiled down to found family love

Dick & Donna: Listen. To. Me. These two aren't besties, or fav teammates or siblings. These two are the sun and earth revolving around each other except they each think the other one is the Sun. Dick Grayson and Donna Troy are the blueprint for platonic soulmates. Dick and Donna make everyone around them believe in ancient story by plato "humans once had 4 arms and legs and 2 faces and the God Zeus split them in half for their hubris and now they are destined to roam the earth forever looking for their other half". If y'all think Dick wasn't doing well after Jason died?? Donna Troys death fundamentally changed who Dick Grayson was and how he was written in teams for years. Donna Troy and Dick Grayson absolutely have debated getting platonically married (not canon but it is in my heart) and the only reason they haven't is BC if they do, Donna will kidnap Dick and never let him within 1000 feet of Bruce Wayne and Gotham.

Dick & Roy: remember how I said Dick was fucked up post Troias death in the comics? yeah? Roy Harper is the only reason he made it out of that period of his life alive. These two are like fire and Gasoline, they're quick and angry and always inexplicably near each other. They are VICIOUS with one another in a way they almost never are with anyone else. They try so hard to ruin their relationship bc implicitly they know (unless its the new 52 which I ignore for my own mental wellbeing-hey I did say this was a scrap book of canons) they'll always be there for each other. Roy Harper never misses, Dick Grayson cannot fall and yet Dick is there to hold Roy when his hand trembles and Roy is there to catch Dick when he loses his Grip.

Dick Grayson is the first person Roy calls to get Lian

Roy Harper is the designated keep Dick Grayson alive even if he has to tie the bastard up-

Dick (and wally depending on the run) help Roy with his addiction)

these two are each others roman empires

Dick & Wally: to cut back on the pretentious seriousness of this post. Every time these two are drawn together be it 80s road trips or being the most likeable part of tom Taylors run. Wally west always reads like he's about to invite Dick to swing with him and his wife. If you see them as platonic, romantic (right person wrong time is my favourite Fanon flavour but canonically I like em besties) or somewhere in between Wally West is always Dick Graysons best friend. There is something so wholesome about the fact that Wally canonically stalks checks up on Dick Grayson as much as he does his wife and twins and Dick who is a bat, notorious for expressing their love via breaking into your house and doing your casework for you. Is getting stalked checked up on by someone who loves him without it triggering his "see obviously you're not good enough they're literally babysitting you" paranoia. its like meeting your partners love language needs but its for deeply messed up individuals. They canonically call themselves best friends, and while Dick will always love Roy he always Likes being around Wally (as well as love him but that's a given)

(sidetone are you even besties if people don't think you're dating when they meet you?)

Dick & Garth: The amount of trust, love and respect that tempest holds for Nightwing melts my damn heart (but then again everything garth does melts my damn heart, baby Garth you will always be famous) they are such an underrated pairing and I love the fact that no matter the media, whether they're rivals like in the cartoons or Garth deferring to Dick as leader to the point where he disobeys aquaman (rebirth) Bc yeah THATS how much my purple eyed perfect boy trusts wing. There is always this really sweet understanding that Garth can go to Dick for advice (he asks for Donna advice in titans and advice on his relationship with Dolphin in the comics). And him and Dicks reunion post RIC? I love them sm. Its just... There was also a period of time where Garth was the only titan with sense and tbh sometimes its refreshing to see that when the rest of them (except donna she was dead at the time we never say a bad word about donna in this household) are being fucking insane

[emeryhall]

Thank you @run-for-chamo-miles for the tag!

In 2024, I posted 9 fics totaling 339,207 words, which is fucking batshit even if some of those words were written in 2023. My most popular fic in terms of kudos is arsonist Baz and firefighter Simon 🔥. But in terms of bookmarks, it's Blood Sugar Sex Moony (wolfstar), which includes my favorite bookmark ever ⬇️

Fics listed below the cut, plus a heartfelt PSA ❤️

January

Blood Sugar Sex Moony (wolfstar, E, 63.6K)

A vengeance-fueled, Buffy-inspired, 90s high school AU with a 17-person body count, featuring amazing art by @spikesteaseasalt.

A Little Bit Deadly (snowbaz, E, 48.9K)

New York City firefighter Simon Snow mistakenly downloads Grindr instead of Tinder and falls for British arsonist Baz Pitch. Featuring DEREK JETER and the most heart-warming art by @letraspal.

March

The Tale of a Magic-Sucking Hoover and a Rat-Drinking Monster (snowbaz, E, 38.7K)

Ghost mums, sentient buildings, and sex toys. Oh my!

June

Only Creatures (snowbaz, E, 88K)

Sad poet Baz Pitch and dragon camboy Simon Snow. Featuring Baz's beard, the hybrid-creatures camming site, OnlyCreatures, and a cameo by Taylor Swift, as well as absolutely gorgeous art by @artsyunderstudy.

October

Sidney Snow Grimm-Pitch (snowbaz, M, 43.7K)

My delightful collaboration with @artsyunderstudy, and a gift for @cutestkilla whose fic What's Left inspired this getting together later in life mpreg. Yes, mpreg.

whatever beats beneath (firstprince, E, 5.1K)

My foray into the RWRB fandom, when I thought I was writing an omarashi fic for a Kinktober prompt, but instead wrote an exploration of grief.

November

Pink Salt (Saltburn, E, 23.1K)

Sometimes the greatest love story is between an undead baker and the man who didn't realize he was a necromancer when he fucked his grave.

Bound Together in Five Dimensions (snowbaz, E, WIP, 4.7K and growing)

My CORB collab with @stardustasincocaine! I won't say anymore because we're posting the next chapter very, very soon ����

December

Out of the Game (firstprince, E, WIP, 23.9K and growing)

Another RWRB, this time scratching my itch to write in the detective/spy thriller genre. In the spirit of the Will Darling Adventures, and featuring truly inspired literary works by Henry, and an Alex who is perhaps not to be trusted. But then again, maybe Henry needs a little chaos in his life.

And finally, a PSA, written as much as a reminder to myself, as to anyone else who feels like their writing doesn't quite fit anywhere:

When I posted my first fanfic (wolfstar), no one read me. We’re talking like four kudos in a fandom where fics go viral. And at some point I thought, maybe I should attempt to write things that people actually want to read? 

I love writing deeply romantic stories, but I love stories like True Romance or The Shape of Water. Two people who are perfect for each other, but one is mute and the other is a fish god from Brazil. One stabs Tony Soprano in the foot with a corkscrew and the other communicates with an hallucination of Elvis. 

Finally, I found the Carry On fandom who enthusiastically embraced my Baz who excelled "at both deep-throating cock and scorching motherfuckers like a vengeance demon in floral Tom Ford." And then finally, finally, almost a year after it posted, people in the wolfstar fandom started reading Blood Sugar Sex Moony. Now, almost every day, I get kudos and (sometimes delightfully unhinged) comments on my wolfstar too. 

I don’t imagine I’ll ever be really, really popular, but I’ve found a group of readers — or they’ve found me — who appreciate the way my brain works, and little old high school me, who always believed that the best love stories are the strangest ones, knows that they are not alone. 

So my PSA to everyone out there who feels like Nora Ephron trapped in David Lynch trapped in Wes Craven — or whatever your unmarketable combo may be — keep on doing you. One day you will find your people 🩷

Also, thank you to everyone who read, kudos-ed, and commented on my fics, and a special shout out to all of the wonderful friends I've made in the Carry On fandom. Y'all have brightened my 2024.

And now, tags!

@bookish-bogwitch @monbons @roomwithanopenfire @fiend-for-culture @you-remind-me-of-the-babe

@thewholelemon @mooncello @iamamythologicalcreature @rimeswithpurple @orange-peony

@messofthejess @alexalexinii @best--dress @ileadacharmedlife @ic3que3n

@hushed-chorus @rbkzz @noblecorgi @facewithoutheart @larkral

@euripidestrousers @r33sespieces @artsyunderstudy @cutestkilla @letraspal

Plus anyone who wants to play. (I imagine this can be done for art too. Or dolls!)

[ultfreakme]

I don't know why people think Kon was supposed to be the "bisexual teen" in superfam. If the team wanted to make Kon specifically bi, they would have done so years ago and nothing is stopping them now either. What Kon has, is a bunch of stereotypes and misogynistic jokes attached to him due to the time in which his character was made, and a design based on the fashion of, again, the time he was in. Queer-coding specifically with the intent to reperesent the queer community and their experience through Kon is extremely sparse. I think it was just Travis Moore who did it. His style is not a homage to queer culture, but to punk fashion, and not in the way you're thinking. It was to differentiate him from Clark, and show his deviation as a kryptonian and as a potential Luthor. Now audience can take these thing and interpret it as queer but the DC creative team has never had the intent to make Kon the "superfam teen bisexual".

It always has, and always will be, Jon. I am bringing this up because in the name of asking for bi Kon, some biphobic and stereotypical rhetoric on bisexuality has been repeated often. Like how Jon doesn't "dress bi" enough, or how he doesn't "act bi". Jon being bi was an idea a lot of the DC creative team had after the age-up. Tom Taylor had the thought too, so he solidified it in his run. Jon is bi. Kon can be bi if you want, but that doesn't mean you get to put down Jon.

It sucks that decades-long fandom synergy has not worked or made an impact in Kon being canonized as bisexual, but propping up Kon, who is in canon a cishet character as a "queer icon" when he has done absolutely nothing, while putting down Jon whose mere presence caused political uproar for close to two years because he is bi and still continues to do so, is just weird. You don't even have to like Jon. Just don't undermine what Jon Kent is to new readers and young readers of comics.

Real representation like Jon, Jay & Nia is going to have more of an impact, and means too much, to be petty over headcanons.

[co-mixed]

The Tragedy of Robin(s)

 After catching up on the most recent Batman stories, especially Batman vs Robin by Mark Waid and Knight Terrors by Joshua Williamson, I’m seriously rethinking my whole impression of Damian Wayne. Not a secret, I’d always considered him to be a little annoying gremlin who desperately needed both affection and a serious talking-to from his parents. He also lost the parent lottery, having to be sired by the two people least capable of either.  

This whole text is pretty much my opinion based on what I’ve read so far and I haven’t by any means read everything, so feel free to disagree, but remain polite about it. 

Mommy issues 

Yes, under all of Damian’s bravado, there is an unloved child. Because it’s really easy to forget that he is just a child, despite his neverending threatening to kick everybody’s ass and often succeeding in that. 

Talia is arguably worse than Bruce. From an early age, Damian was forced to prove himself because of some made-up empire he was probably going to inherit if his mommy dearest chose one day to give up the reigns. That and showing up occasionally to remind him that he’s not good enough is all Damian is getting from her. 

That also explains the kid’s obsessive desire to inherit Batman’s cape and cowl. In Batman vs Robin, that desire gets exploited by the forces of darkness, turning the kid’s dreams into actions. Something that conscious Damian is trying to fight. 

But we aren’t here to criticize Talia’s parenting failures (she sucks), we are here to criticize Bruce’s parental failures. 

Daddy issues

From day one Bruce had no idea how to relate to his son. I’d say it wasn’t the shock of even having a biological son, as much as his incapability to care about someone more than he cares about his mission. That’s his horrific self-programming that his kids (all his kids) are fighting through. Some are more successful like Dick. And thanks to Tom Taylor for reminding us of that with every issue of his Nightwing run. But Dick actually had a loving family, so when Bruce took him in, he already had the fundamental understanding of being a good person. That’s at least partially why eventually he manages to build healthy relationships with people, even with Damian. 

Jason is more of an example of what happens after Bruce’s parenting. Bruce still can’t decide whether he was a mistake and he just trained him to be a good murderer. I’ll make it easy for him - yes, the mistake was on you, Bruce. No, it wasn’t the fact that you trained him.

But seriously, after three attempts Bruce still has no idea how to talk to a kid. 

Alfred did, and that helped Bruce’s older sons, then Dick and Alfred did what they could for Damian. Because let’s face it, after Alfred’s death, the closest thing to a parent Damian has is Dick Grayson, and he lives all the way in Blüdhaven (which is still closer than Alfred). 

Not a bat situation 

I’ve come to the conclusion that Batman knows how to communicate with Robin, so on this level his relationship with Damian seemingly works. But Bruce can’t build a normal healthy one with his son. And that sentiment was verbalized by Damian himself during the Knight Terrors event. The kid understands it, while Bruce himself does not, therein lies the tragedy.

It’s even worse when you see the numerous times Damian had supported his father as if looking for his approval. Again, he might claim he doesn’t need it, he does (thanks, Talia). 

That’s a pattern 

Batman has a serious problem with people. Batman vs Robin was a pretty clear reflection of that, especially when Bats confronted all of his former Robins (and four of his sons). His regrets regarding all of them were not without reason and it becomes clear later that all of his kids hold some resentment against him (especially Jason).

The way I see it, his favorite Robin is Tim (he makes it clear during Failsafe and the Bat-Man of Gotham) his favorite son is Dick (he was the one who managed to heal and not constantly bug Bruce about what he'd done wrong). Unfortunately for Damian, their existence will always make him feel competitive. 

Once again, that’s fully on Bruce. Not on Batman, because I think that Damian can handle not being ready to replace Batman, but on Bruce, because he doesn’t feel the love. I’m not saying Bruce doesn’t love him, but if he does, it’s in his own way and he’s not communicating it well. He always pawns Damian off on more affectionate people. 

What is love

Meanwhile, Damian truly loves his father. Enough to run around following him, sit at his bedside while he’s taking a really long nap, enough to side with him over the rest of the family (I’m still in the middle of Gotham War). That’s what children do when they want their parents’ love and attention, they try to be perfect. 

All of that makes me feel so so bad for Damian. I actually don’t hate him, even if I like to jokingly say that I do when he starts acting like a brat. But he deserves unconditional love and neither one of his parents chooses to understand that. 

For his sake, I hope he grows up and manages to grow and move past this (probably with the help of his family like Jason and Tim did during Knight Terrors). And when he’s old enough and wise enough to make his own decisions, I hope he sticks Bruce and Talia in a nasty old folks’ home.  

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

At one point in TMWWBK Alphard comments that he isn't falling for the Voldemort thing because he's too old for it, but that he would've been tricked if he had been younger. Is Alphard right about how he would be an enthusiastic Death Eater to the end if he were that age, or would he be more like Regulus?

The Man Who Would Be King by me and @therealvinelle

You know, interesting question, the answer is as with most things "yes but no". Let's dive in.

Alphard the Cynic

Alphard's extremely cynical by nature, he's just predisposed to it, and when presented anything his first instinct is usually 'doubt' and 'is this reasonable'/'prove it to me'. This is part of the reason he thinks so much about the blood purity thing/more than other characters in the story in his position. He does want to be able to say why it's correct and not just believe that he believes it because he wants to (because that would be stupid). Trouble is he only goes far enough to assure himself he's right then washes his hands of it because it's all settled now.

But some guy showing up, calling himself 'Voldemort' (that can't be his real name), who nobody seems to know, whose saying all these radical things that none of them have accomplished on their own, even though his grand enemies are just Muggle-borns who aren't scary at all, with no real concrete plans of how to do it or what things will look like after beyond "Muggle-borns gone! No Squibs! Hooray!", this guy sounds like a fraud.

When Alphard first hears of this guy, even at 15 or whatever he'd be, he'd be extremely dubious and stubbornly set in to disapprove of this guy. He immediately thinks this guy is after money and any second now they'll all be hearing "and that's why you should fund my campaign to get rid of the Muggle-borns". The more Alphard hears about his friends praising this guy, the more stubborn Alphard gets as now he hates Taylor Swift on principle.

He comes up with all sorts of reasons of why Voldemort sucks, really refining his talking points anybody asks, but half the reason he hates this guy is to just be a hater/out of pure stubbornness by this point.

"All her songs sound the same!"

Alphard the Teenager

The trouble with Alphard would be if he gets cajoled to a party/recruitment effort. He spends so much time hating on Voldemort but he hasn't listened to him/seen him once? Alphard realizes that this is true and that he'll sound much more convincing if he goes once, says he hates it, and is able to throw whatever stupid points this man makes back in his face.

Alphard agrees, determined to hate on this man so hard he'll be run out of town.

Trouble is, Tom's really well-spoken, charismatic, and so hot.

Alphard finds himself unwillingly captivated watching this guy speak even though he's saying complete nonsense. He's magnetic, his speeches have this compelling quality to them, and has Alphard mentioned he's stupid hot?

Alphard finds to his horror that instead of coming up with great talking points of "this man is so stupid, here's all the stupid things he said" he ended up drooling on his robes and forgetting his name for thirty minutes.

Alphard is probably then offered the opportunity to talk directly to this guy, friends and family inspired as Alphard hasn't softened exactly but isn't able to say anything after that very convincing speech.

This is even worse because now the man's a foot away from Alphard, even hotter up close, and paying attention to every word Alphard's saying in a way that most people really don't.

Alphard manages to splutter out the arguments he thought were very very impressive not so long ago but they come out sounding very dumb and worse the man isn't even insulted. He instead listens patiently as Alphard explains himself and (smelling fresh blood) comes up with some explanation for each of them (Alphard still wants to be dubious and his answers are weird but he's just so hot). Alphard walks away in shame, having been thoroughly humiliated, and muttering out his agreement of "sure... I'll go... next time..."

He makes himself a script, even further talking points, because this time he won't look like a fucking tool only to have the same result/worse as somehow he and Voldemort get into discussions about history/magic/the arts/books, everything Alphard's super into that everyone finds really boring but somehow this man knows all about. Worse, he clearly knows more about it than Alphard, the man seems to know fucking everything and is incredibly gifted with magic for all Alphard doesn't want to admit that.

He's even read fucking Shakespeare.

What the fuck.

Before Alphard knows it, he's just as embroiled as the rest, and while he likes to get into esoteric debates over "hey, why are our stupid property damage plans actually a good idea or not" he's a sucker just as much as the rest of them and really really really wants hot senpai to notice him.

About Regulus

The heresy of the day about Regulus is I don't think Regulus is what fandom or Harry thought he was either. (Yes, here's where I messed up remembering things). And after rereading HBP, there's updates to be made of that.

But that's a story for another day.

[hood-ex]

As someone who has been catching up on comics. I noticed a pattern with Nightwing. Every time the author changes the supporting cast gets dumped. We had the run offs and greyer Blockbuster. They don’t exist by the Ric arc even though they could be people to step up in Nightwing’s absence or grab power. Ric arc had a cast of cops and friends and Bea. Never heard from the cops again despite them being potential informants. The difference with Tom Taylor is that he’s the only one who uses old characters but he mutates them. Not sure if that’s worse but I hate the cast dumping. I fully expect never to see Bea, and the sister again. If the Sister stays someone will kills her off. Huh Taylor had a small supporting cast compared to others.

Yeah that's been a reoccurring problem with Nightwing and is one of the complaints fans have about it.

OH SHIT. Hold on. I'm sorry but this conversation just triggered something in my brain. So Guppy was in prison, right? Omg was he in the prison that Heartless liberated? Is Guppy free??

Wait let me double check... Heartless liberated Bludhaven Private Prison... and Guppy went to Bludhaven Maximum Security Prison... ugh. Damn. Different prisons.

Anyway, if they had kept Bea's normal civilian origin, I would've loved her as an informant of sorts for Nightwing since she could overhear convos at the bar and also see who certain individuals came in with. So yeah it would suck to see Bea just disappear after this, but at the same time, I don't know if I vibe with her sticking around as a pirate queen.

Melinda on the other hand, she can go. TT literally just set her up as the mayor as a way to make it easy for Dick to take down the baddies of the city. That's her purpose. Just easy gateway/easy access to certain information and such. TT hasn't bothered doing anything else with her, really. The sibling thing was just to give Dick an easy way to befriend the mayor. That's it.

But yeah, it'll be interesting to see which cast members the next writer pulls. Or who knows, maybe they'll rely more heavily on the Titans.

[thevindicativevordan]

In reference to your post on that Lex story who do you think they'll probably give action too?

Tom Taylor. His only ongoing is Tec right now, which means he has the time for it, plus he was teasing another DC project in the works with Redondo. He's got a good working relationship with head Superman editor Kaminski, Waid thinks highly of his writing, it has to be someone who is big enough to replace Waid on the book full time, and Taylor wants to write Superman. 2025 is supposedly going to have a big Superman marketing push because of the movie, and DC is going to want a big name writer on Action to take advantage. Taylor is the obvious choice to write the book, DC could even market it as the two perennial titles (Detective and Action) under one writer.

Really, who else makes sense? King wants to write Superman but has said WW will be his only ongoing for a while given his Hollywood work. Snyder has the clout to do it and would make people excited, but he's showrunning the Absolute Universe (and frankly does not care about the wider DCU outside of Gotham). Ram V is doing New Gods and a smaller side DC book. Al Ewing maybe is big enough, but his stock has taken a hit post Immortal Hulk and he's only recently arrived at DC. Not impossible DC would surprise me and put someone like Adams, Venditti, or Cantwell on the book, but I don't think it's likely. Fantasies of Fraction or KSD returning to ongoing comics with a run on Action are unlikely to materialize.

Certainly would take any of them over Taylor, but maybe it's better to let Taylor have Action now. If he takes Action, he'll be on the C book, both Williamson Superman and Aaron Absolute Superman are going to be getting more eyes. Makes him a lot easier to ignore both for me and the general audience, which is good because I have a good idea of what his run would look like: Revolutionaries, Batman sticking his cowl in, wholesome dinners on the Kent farm, Jon continuing to suck, Val-Zod showing up and getting Clark's blessing/approval, possibly making the Injustice superdaughter Lara a real thing in the mainline, and of course another fucking Injustice crossover where Clark walks around with tears in his eyes at all the horrible things his counterpart has done. Bonus points if the Loises (Earths 0 and 2) tell Murderman this isn't what Lois wanted and he hesitates for a panel before screaming he doesn't care. Not a single interesting thing will be done with either Superman himself or any of his villains, but boy will it look pretty if Redondo is drawing.

Yeah you know what, let's get this over with. Taylor's going to get one of the Superman ongoing some day anyway, give it to him now when he would be relegated to side show over taking the main book.

[punnifullife]

I’m loving the reaction from the Dickory fandom with the little Dickory crumbles we got from the recent titans run! 😂 I was not expecting Kory to cradle Dick like that but hey I’ll take whatever crumbles I can!!! 😂 😍

Im not familiar with the next Titans writer but I’m hoping they treats the Titans characters better and develop an inticing story around them. (Shamelessly would like some good Dick & Kory interactions of well 👀…like regardless of DC or Bat office opinion on them as a ship at least acknowledge they still have a relationship with one another…)

Tom Taylor clearly didn’t care much for the Titans comic line and wasted any good story and character development among the team while he was responsible for them literally 💩 on them!They were suppose the have to spotlight after the JL disbanded but literally nothing….

And yes it seems the next writer is planning on having Babs sticking around for his Nightwing run…ughhhh I’m like that one TikTok that said if I’m reading a Nightwing book than I expect Nightwing not Nightwing & Batgirl. Is Dick not allowed to carry a book on his own anymore or interaction with anyone OUTSIDE the Batfam????

yess i was not expecting the cradling either!! and then i think back to an earlier panel of her blocking some debris with her body to protect him

thats so uggghhh grrr bark bark i go crazzzy

but yeah it sucks that neither dick nor babs can like. be a thing on their own. same with kory honestly!! if they want dick and bab to be a thing, then can kory move on too??? not just be a side piece???? can she have character outside of being boobs and hot?? like i love her love for dick, but either get them together or have BOTH of them move on. it's so unfair for her. as much as i draw fanart of them and LOVE them together. i do wish every iteration of her had more agency outside of being x's love interest. i mean GOD. even the tt03 run she always "rOBIN. ROBIN ROBIN". so when we got episodes with her outside of that (like with redstar) it was nice.

[alexrusso-]

I'm reading through Kevin Smith's Green Arrow run, just finished Quiver for the first time. (Some back story: I'm trying to read all the post-Crisis Black Canary stuff I can in chronological order, and Quiver happens to be where I'm at year-wise in my Batfam read through.)

I'm kind of realizing that I... maybe don't like Ollie? I kind of hated Longbow Hunters (a hot take apparently), and I'm not a fan of him in Quiver. Both runs are considered the "best" of GA, so me being 2 for 2 in disliking them is... interesting.

I'm wondering if it's the character or the writers or maybe I only like Ollie when he's written a certain way? I vaguely remember enjoying the Rebirth run of Green Arrow (enough to finish it, but not enough to really remember it). I also remember liking Tom Taylor's take on him.

I'm definitely at a point where I don't like him and Dinah together romantically. Which kind of sucks as someone who's a Dinah fan first and foremost, because GA and Black Canary always go hand-in-hand.

[dollarbin]

Dollar Bin #11:

Graham Nash's Wild Tales

Graham Nash is the Malvolio of the Dollar Bin. In case Shakespeare's 12th Night is not instantly at your fingertips, here's the run down: Nash/Malvolio spends his existence/the play looking down on all the drunk David Crosbys/Sir Tobys around him. He thinks he's an equal to the geniuses about him (Joni Mitchell is his Viola; Neil Young his Feste) and he's a competitor with the biggest dope in history (Stephen Stills, of course / the Duke Orsino).

Malvolio winds up cross-gartered in yellow tights, sure he's the star of the play. In actuality he's the laughing stock.

Malvolio = Nash. Check them out.

But Wild Tales has more potential than anything else in Nash's oeuvre. Here's a list of why this album should not suck:

The cover photo, taken by the omnipresent Joel Bernstein, gives us hope that this is a concept record about Middle Earth with Nash playing the role of Tom Bombadil's willowy, spaced out neighbor. Look, he even has a book about Ents!

2. The back cover's art is by Joni Mitchell. She must have, inexplicably, still liked Nash on some level. And she sings on one track. Surely, this album cannot suck!

3. Ben Keith is all over this record. Keith is, of course, central to the Fellowship of the Young. He, Briggs, Poncho, Whitten and Nils helped Neil sneak in and out of Mordor time and time again. If Ben Keith plays on a Dollar Bin record, buy it.

4. Joe Yankee plays on this record. (That's Neil Young's nom de plume in the early 70's. Soon Neil would settle on Bernard Shakey instead.) Again, how can this record not be good?

5. This record is from 73. In 71, when Nash put out his first solo record, Nash had reason to think we all wanted to see him in the yellow tights. Deja Vu was fresh, Mitchell had recently tolerated him as a boyfriend and he was the only relatively handsome guy in the world's biggest band. Just check them out.

Listed left to right, there they are in 71: Neil looks like he forgot to do his middle school math homework yet again and teacher will be mad; Greg Reeves looks like he refuses to do any homework, ever; he is working up a mustache instead; Crosby stands before them all proudly, the assistant middle school Gym coach the girls all know to avoid; Stills is a mouth-breather repeating a grade: he wants to do the homework, but knows not how; Dallas Taylor still eats paste.

And then there's Nash behind them all: in 71 Graham clearly thought he was a studly chick-magnet, ready to date multiple high school cheerleaders and make them all cry; plus when he sings "very, very, very fine house" it sounds like he's actually wearing yellow tights, prancing about, praising Jove. Listening to solo music by the guy in 71 seems like a bad idea.

But by 73 Nash should have gained a little perspective. CSN&Y were toast, Mitchell and Young were making timeless music without him and even Stills refused to put his own name on Nash's records (he's listed as Harry Halex on Wild Tales: Stephen Stills not only sucks, he also can't think up fun or even pronounceable fake names. Let me suggest one for you Stephen: Richard Stroker; his friends call him Dick).

And so Nash should have approached Wild Tales like it was his Gettysburg: it was time to charge the enemy screaming, bayonet out. Nash had everything to lose, everything to gain.

Instead, the album is... okay. Side 1 starts with strong promise: Young's rhythm section regulars Johnny Barbata and Tim Drummond lay down a muddy vibe while David Lindley impersonates Neil nicely. Please inform my wife that Lindley's recent look is my new one:

The problem, frankly, is Nash's voice. He always wants us to believe Wild Tales are about to be told but he always sings like he's hawking Cinnamon Toast Crunch during Saturday morning cartoon hour. Stop sounding happy Graham! We hauled this out of the Dollar Bin because we want Acid, Booze and Ass, Needles, Guns and Grass. We do not want laughs.

Prison Song is a highlight, though. The melody swings, Lindley provides swashbuckling mandolin fills and, while I'm not convinced that all the pot dealers then in prison were assuaged by the knowledge that Graham felt for them deeply, I can get behind this song.

But Side 1 ends with two tracks that show what we are missing out on. When Ben Keith wasn't making this record in 73 he was installing street signs in Neil Young's Ditch, making Tonight's the Night. There are echoes of that effervescent vibe in the Nash songs You'll Never Be the Same and, especially, And So it Goes. Young is credited with acoustic piano on the later song, an instrument he plays plenty of on Tonight. And I'm gonna argue right here that Neil plays the electric rhythm guitar as well on this song; if it's not him, it's Ben Keith. And so, musically, the track is a big deal compared to everything else on this record.

But then there's the chorus:

Well there's one thing to try,

Everybody knows.

Music gets you high,

Everybody grows.

And so it goes.

First of all, no one wants to think about Graham sporting a boner during this, or any, song. So that growing line has got to go.

Secondly, listen to the chorus's vocals, and this song sounds like I'm Waiting For My Man rewritten as a Subway commercial. It's now entitled I'm Waiting For My Ham.

Jonathan Richman, who I love, knows better than to try to cover Leonard Cohen. I know not to attend an open casting call for SI's Swimsuit Edition.

But Nash has no idea. He thinks he can rock a two piece; he thinks he is Leonard Cohen. No wonder Neil pretends to be Joe Yankee on the credits.

The album's second side is dull and unmemorable. Joni Mitchell clearly fell asleep while waiting to be cued for her paltry vocals on Another Sleep Song. She sounds disinterested at best.

Last Spring Nash foisted himself back into our consciousness. Stories appeared in the New Yorker, NPR, all over. After Crosby's death, Nash basically insisted that Crosby's last words had been "you're my hero Graham" or something along those lines. In actuality, Crosby's thoughts on Nash for the last decade had been, basically, you ruined my life; eat a sweet one.

At the same time, Nash made a pathetic effort to jump start SN&Y by praising Stills and claiming that Crosby forgave Young at the end. In fact, Crosby had told Neil more than a few times to eat a whole bunch of sweet ones. But no dice Graham: Neil responded to Nash's press push by reuniting with Stills for a benefit show and not inviting Nash. Man, that's low, Neil. Stephen Stills sucks.

Finally, Nash gloried in those same interviews about his love life. After 40 years of marital bliss, he'd recently dumped his wife and took up with a woman younger than most of his kids. The dude is 81, six months younger than my dad.

Someone get me a woody Allen sized bucket. I'm about to throw up; it seems I drank too many Wild Tales.

[gaywineauntsstuff]

My favorite thing about reading Dicks thought process vs literally how everyone else views him.

This is the least exaggerated version of this I will willing produce.

-older gen JL: thinks wing is dependable, charming, intelligent and a great leader, impressed how much he’s grown and how well he’s done in the hero world

Heroes his age: the golden standard that everyone tries to match up to and fails at one point in their sidekick-hood before accepting yeah I’m not Dick Grayson and having him lead them in a hero team. The defacto person to look towards in a crisis situation, manages tasks efficiently and doesn’t let personal details affect him. He’s cool, calm and collected while still being the most empathetic man on the planet.

Heroes younger than him: straight up awe. if the heroes who saw his awkward teenage phase, discowing and are privy to his love life info. How do you think people who just saw ‘Mr perfect’ without any of the painful growth to get there and since about 9 billion things have happened since Dick was Robin people have too much to talk about to ever bring it up. I see their thought processes going something like this

-oh my god is that nightwing like THE nightwing like Robins big brother nightwing like the leader of the titans nightwing is he looking at me oh my god he smiled at me wtf wtf wtf until they hyperventilate

(Source how Kow talks about dick Grayson like 99% of the time- ignore all Dan Dido works )

Batkids: awe with a side of insecurity bc that’s the gold standard and how tf are you supposed to get there. Even if you’re an amazing fighter like Cass, the leadership skills, ability to talk people down, make more allies than enemies, infiltrate, lie, cheat, steal, put on a million different masks and come out whole.

How does he know what he’s doing? How does he look so calm and collected when the worlds ending

Batman and Superman (remember when they co-parented in the 60s yeah me neither): like uncomfortable amounts of pride like the type of pride that feels too big for your chest as well as implicit trust.

For B specifically Dick is his crowing achievement as Batman

VS

Dick Grayson at any given moment pre Tom Taylor run: everything is my fault, I suck at everything, I’m never good enough to stop bad things from happening to the people I love it’s all my fault and I will never be able to stop it. My life is an accidental trolly problem except I didn’t know it when I started, I didn’t mean to press any levers I didn’t know what I was doing I am a burden who must make himself useful as an apology.

Like Dick is in a constant spiral of how much he hates his limits and how he just isn’t ever going to be strong,fast,smart or good enough while everyone is staring at him with heart eyes like omg it’s nightwing <3

[bisluthq]

I don’t think T/J could’ve worked without Kimye tho because if she didn’t want to run away, he couldn’t have done a “normal” celeb coupling with her at that stage in his career. He would’ve been another Dougie, maybe even less of one because they might not have ever been spotted together.

You think so? I think we would have to know how much Taylor liked Dougie, cause that didn't seem to last long right? And with Joe, she seemed to be quite obsessed with him in the beginning. Even with all the mess in her life then, they couldn't just stay casual. And Taylor seemed to hesitate a lot because of that. So if that wasn't a problem, would they have managed to just stay casual fuck buddies or it would still lead to a relationship anyway? Maybe it would just last less I suppose, cause she wouldn't have ran to London like you say. Maybe like she says on Glitch, they would see each other when both were in town and text in the meanwhile until both found someone else that is. Given the OG timeline though, I still wonder if she would have been ok with "sharing" him if that was that case.

Maybe with or without 2016 they would always end up in a relationship one way or another, but given core personality differences and values it would never be endgame anyway

Now, I know Taylor believes in all the destiny and soulmate thing but there's different types of soulmates. You can have more than one. Not all of them are love interests and not all of them are meant to stay in your life forever. I think that's the case here, they had to meet cause they had lessons to learn with each other and when those lessons were learned they couldn't work anymore

Dougie was around for a good few months. They got together(ish) in November 2013, his camp announced they weren’t together anymore in January 2014 (basically saying a PR friendly version of Matty’s unhinged emasculated by her thing like basically they said “our boy Dougie went on some dates but decided he just wants to be friends with her”) and then in March they were spotted on a date at a Fun. concert (sitting with just Lena who was at that point with Jack) and I think they were seen again in April but I can’t remember where and I’m lazy rn. Obviously not the grandest love story of our time but 6 months with half of it seemingly hidden on purpose is really not a total nothing either like Tom Odell.

Taylor was obviously smitten with Joe from when they met but she also didn’t do terribly much about it (unless they did hook up around April 29th which like idk I sorta feel like they might’ve based on the vibes I get from the song) until after Tom and Taylor gets smitten all the time (see: Enchanted). Joe was well on his way to being a Dougie but then imo he offered what she wanted post Kimye - so a normal life - and he hadn’t lived much of an abnormal life so that seemed cool to him because he liked her and then it worked for a while but they had their share of problems (because everyone does) and they didn’t work on theirs enough and then she blew up fame wise all over again but bigger than ever (or anyone ever tbh lol) and wanted the positive attention she was getting and he was like “this wasn’t the plan??” and it sucked a lot and she felt trapped and stuck and he was distant and she reconnected with Matty and eventually we got to Joever lol.

with different timing, I don’t think they’d have gotten to 6.5 years. And the only way imo they could’ve worked forever is if 1) they sorted at least some of their problems out 2) if Taylor had indeed started to fade post Lover like she’d expected and transitioned into indie but traditional indie not Swiftie Indie like now.

[ultfreakme]

ok ok your posts about the superfam and DC are making me interested in the franchises. what would you recommend me to do in case i want to get more into it??

OH MY GOD YAY!!!! I am feeling so nervous compiling a list. I am mostly into Superfam so my recommendations will be around that. Comics are a bit of a tricky medium to get into because stories have been written for them since like, the 1940s, but there are new characters who help ease into the DC universe. It helps to read runs(usually what you call one comic book serialization)based on characters rather than titles because your fave may show up in random other places.

I'll give my journey with comics and how I got to know these characters

For superfam, starting with Jon Kent & Jay Nakamura! They're the ones I'm always posting about

Superman: Lois & Clark by Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks: backstory with Jon as a kid with Lois and Clark, if you want to know more about Lois & Clark and how Jon was raised, this one is good.

Superman (2016) by Tomasi and Gleason: Further backstory on Jon's life with Lois & Clark as a child, it's a mediocre story with a bunch of american right-wing propaganda but the Jon stories are important build up for what comes next

The Man of Steel (2018) by Bendis Issue 6: Yes, JUST issue 6.

Superman (2018) by Bendis Issue 7-10: Continuation from Man of Steel and covers what many refer to as "the jon kent age-up". This is gonna be a bit of a tedious read because the writer for this sucks at his job. But this is unfortunately essential to understanding how Jon gets to where he is.

Superman: Son of Kal-El by Tom Taylor: If you want to jump right into Jon's time as Superman and see his blooming relationship with Jay, this is the go-to. This was my first DC comic and acts really well as an introduction for new readers

Action Comics (2016): #1050 (a big thing happens wrt to Jay and Jon)

Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent by Tom Taylor: Direct sequel to SOKE

Steelworks (2023) by Michael Dorn: Has a bunch of Jay cameos

Titans Beast World Metropolis Tour (2023): An important Jon thing happens with Nia here.

Action Comics (2016): #1060 : it's a follow-up from Metropolis Tour and is in a back-up story(basically what they call a side story- you'll have to scroll down a lot to see the Jon parts of it) 10. 1. Suicide Squad: Dream Team: Neither Jay nor Jay appear here BUT it is CRUCIAL to understand the context of this story- the main character in this- Dreamer- is a friend of Jay & Jon and she does something that betrays them . You'll figure it out while you're reading the rest

Absolute Power: Ground Zero #1 (2024)- Jay-centric

If you want a more comprehensive list for Jon, @bobbinalong has made a reading list for him and it's in the blog's pinned post.

Next up is Clark Kent:

Just as an introduction I'd say:

Superman Smashes the Klan (2019) by Gene Luen Yang: It's not related to current continuity but it really endears everyone to Clark, explains what he is all about and establishes what Superman is.

Warworld Saga: It's really well-written and is part of current continuity

I've been posting often about a character called Dreamer, she is very important to the current stories with Jay and Jon, but she is also an amazing character on her own. Her introduction happens in Superman: Son of Kal El but she has her solo stories as well:

Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story (2024) by Nicole Maines: An origin story for Dreamer

If you want to catch up with the rest of Superfam and want a starting place:

Kong Kenan/Super-Man: The New Super-Man (2016) by Gene Luen Yang

Natasha Irons/Steel and Lana Lang: Superwoman (2016) by Phil Jimenez (Natasha shows up in Warworld a LOT), and Steelworks

Kara Danvers/Supergirl: Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow(2021) by Tom King

Lois Lane: Lois Lane (2019) by Greg Rucka

Not all of these are essential, characters appear in runs that I haven't specifically attached to a character as well. But if you want to catch up on my faves, these are the ones I'd recommend. As you read, you'll get to know more of the characters and you can naturally find those who interest you as well.

If you are confused, you can always ask me again, and there's a bunch of my moots who are super eager to help anyone new get into the stories and I could ask them too, or you can get in touch with them!

Happy reading!

[edtype]

Let’s Get the Story Right

Be she supervillain, outsider, or hero, Zawe is celebrated here as a Queen. Think about it. What other human do you know was debuting in a Broadway play while having her own play open simultaneously on two continents? And, yeah, after just launching a book? And don’t forget this was years after an iconic TV run in Britain. At the least, she’s earned the right to have her name spelled correctly or even misspelled consistently.

The ways Zawe’s been characterized in the press often suck. She had an “affair” and later had a baby “secretly.” Will admit being called “his [Tom Hiddleston’s] beloved” in the OK! magazine vacation story is a definite bump up from “a girl in Ibiza.” But the actual spelling of her name was lost in translation in that article and presented in two incorrect ways. Maybe forgivable from a non-English-speaking source but many English reports are also problematic.

Don’t know why accuracy is a slight expectation when across platforms, Zawe’s coverage has cringy bits. The state of journalism itself is cringy, but these days it seems stories go up without even a decent read-through. Reports basically get the Ashton-Hiddleston timeline wrong, with many articles claiming they met on Broadway, acknowledging neither the West End production nor the fact that they’d been at least acquaintances across a few prior years.

The ultimate annoyance is usually the “enter Taylor” part. It might be presented in a listing of alleged past loves or an explanation of why Tom became so private. Seriously needed every time? It’s like it’s not possible to focus on just Zawe and Tom and roll with just that—a long-standing and continuous relationship. There’s a need to break the old tropes the writing industry adheres to.

Having a baby has actually helped in that the words family and wife (even though the latter has yet to be confirmed) are coming up more. These mark a move away from cringy. Tom’s narrative should move beyond the shadows of the past—and songs about the past, as catchy as the songs may be.

Just want a woman of substance to get more of the recognition she deserves. Zawe’s own narrative is inspiring and needs to celebrated rather than diminished.

[zorilleerrant]

No, it's not a thing - at least not in comics. Comics writers aren't allowed to read fic or engage with the fandom much at all, to the point it's often detrimental to their love of the character. They generally don't know what the fanon traits are, unless it's something brought up a lot to specific people at cons, etc. - which of course would give a very flattened view of what people care about, and which is why most writers don't lend too much credence to it (for better and for worse).

What you're noticing is the tendency of new or untalented writers to pick a central trait and concentrate too much on it, and then a corresponding tendency of management/the editing team to insist that stories need to be accessible to new readers and therefore have one or a few particularly memorable traits. In the same way there's a reference sheet for art, there are reference sheets for character traits, which will generally list a handful of relevant, simplified traits, and a handful of relevant, simplified plot points. So if a writer isn't familiar with the character and doesn't care to research them, you'll end up without more nuanced references than those. (You may also end up with that if a writer, like Tom Taylor, sucks at everything.)

This is why you'll notice many runs of comics have character growth and development within that arc that's often incredibly detailed and nuanced, but has little to do with things that came before, and often aren't referenced in great detail after. This is also why standalone works often give a character a rich inner life that doesn't correspond to stories before or after, but is necessary to telling that particular story in that particular way. The writer has a story to tell, but it isn't influenced by the stories that came before, only by the cultural concept itself, or by how the character and plot archetypes of a character fit with what they have in mind.

There's also a genre difference to be aware of - most fic (and therefore most fanon) isn't strictly in the superhero/american comics genre, and is at closest pastiche, and is often a totally different genre. Romance is, of course, popular, but maximalism, stream of consciousness, slice of life, soap opera, and cozy mystery are also huge influences on the genre stylings of fic. This is true of many shorter and standalone arcs in comics, too, which is often why they seem to come out of nowhere or not fit with the rest of the narrative, often an issue in A-story/B-story formats where the stories aren't interrelated or thematically comparable. In fanon, however, there's the additional complication that it tends to be influenced by modernist and post-modernist outlooks on fiction that aren't as heavily represented in mainstream comics as a whole (although DC Black Label tends to be more similar in that regard).

There's also the curation issue - necessarily, with older works, you're much more likely to run into the ones that are better by modern metrics. While this means you'll miss out on things that have basic crafting errors or whose stories are incomplete or confusing, it also means that the older stories that are shared more often now tend to match modern perspectives on how stories should be characterized, plotted, structured, etc. Which means certain works are often centered much more than they were at the time, and considered more canon that their contemporaries. There's a corresponding nostalgia viewpoint that means audiences allow more leeway to older works, assuming they had more nuanced intent, while they think more recent works don't really know what they're doing. It's easier to do that when you can read a whole story at once rather than waiting for installments, too.

What this means is that, no, fanon is having little to no impact on canon, it's just that the process by which fanon you dislike is created and the process by which canon you dislike is created are extremely similar in both the idea-generating and writing procedure and the way they're checked for compliance with earlier installments. They also tend to be made by people with extremely similar attitudes towards the characters and the art. But in ten years, the comics that survive will be the ones that are interesting stories in their own right, not just Content and bridges between Content. The rest will be thought of as supporting canon, and it will be a lot less noticeable that it's shallowly characterized and bland. In the same way, fanfic, fanart, and other fanon that catches people's attention for high artistic and narrative value will be popularized and make its way around the fandom, and people will like it, too.