#Wildcats Trilogy

[balu8]

Cover by Jae Lee

[cryptocollectibles]

Wildcats Trilogy #1 & 2 (1993) by Image Comics

Written by Brandon Choi and Dafydd Wyn, drawn by Jae Lee.

[wonderjanga]

C.C and Marylin Headcannons

Okay, so the other day I saw someone type about their headcannons for Billy. I wanna put my head cannons for him/his parents too cause I’ve been thinking about this for a while.

So as of now, I’ve been playing a bunch of Tomb Raider games. If you’ve played or at least heard of the franchise, you’d know that Lara’s an archeologist. And guess what? C.C. and Marylin are. (Btw am I spelling her name right 😭) So, in my mind. They both grew up in England and then immigrated to the US and met in Fawcett and blah blah blah. Now to the good stuff, you know how Lara exudes utter badassery? You do? Great! So all the heinous, wild, plot armor filled things she did in the newest TR trilogy (Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider) Marylin did all of that. I’m cooking guys I swear, just trust me. Then as for C.C., in my little mind, he’s half Norse and half British. So, you know that one game where Lara wields Mjölnir? (I think it was Tomb Raider Underworld?) He did that. Guys, I swear I’m cooking.

So now, cause Billy in Marvel form looks like their Dad, and Mary in Marvel form looks like Marylin, you gotta wonder what their old archeology buddies are thinking. They’re either not surprised, or they’re like are you flipping kidding me? I can imagine one of their old buddies going up to Billy and being like:

Buddy: “C.C.! You old bastard! How have you been? How’s the wife and kid? Also, quick question, you disappeared for a couple years and didn’t bother reaching out to anyone. You good?”

Billy: *Looks around before flying off cause he has no idea who this person is (he’s too young to remember them)*

I can also imagine the JL with this, specifically Batman. He runs facial recognition on Billy and finds C.C., Bruce is like okay, cool, finally, a clue about that man’s identity, only for him to find pictures, photos, and newspapers from the 40’s and 50’s (I believe in time bubble Fawcett. The Batson’s died in 58 and Billy and Mary were 8 at the time. By the time the time bubble appeared, they would’ve been 10 or 12.) So, Bruce digs a little deeper and finds that C.C. and Marylin have killed a lot of people during their time as archeologists (and they definitely have since I based them off of Lara. Guys, Lara has killed a lot of people.) He also finds out that C.C. and Marylin are dead. So now he’s left confuzzled as to who the heck Billy and Mary are, cause they look exactly like them. Or at least Marvel does and Mary looks like a teenage Marylin, so for all Bruce knows she’s Mary Batson and Marylin is actually dead. But then that raises another question for Bruce, where is Billy? Is he Captain Marvel Jr.? They look similar, but not completely. The whole thing has left Bruce with more questions than answers. It’s also left him looking at The Captain in a newer light. He didn’t think the man had the emotional capacity to have a serious relationship. (He thought he was too childish. Not that my Marvel is, he acts more like a 20 something year old guy instead of a kid) Not only that but now he at least has confirmation that Cap is human… maybe. But I also want to look at this with other heroes! Like Wildcat (the goat) he grew up during the Great Depression and due to his slow aging he was allowed to live all the way up to now. He might’ve seen the Batsons in the paper. He might’ve also read about how their plane went down. I can imagine him being like “Hmm… You’re familiar.”

There’s also Question who I know would be driven up a wall trying to figure out who Billy is, and if not Billy, then he’s trying to figure out where Marvel’s from, cause the Living Lightning is thousands of years old. Yet, he keeps getting led back to an archeologist whose plane fell down in- *gasp* Egypt! Near Kahndaq! *Double gasp* He spirals.

Then there’s also Black Adam, who does his own research on the champion. He finds out the same thing Question did about the plane. The next day he flies over to Fawcett:

Black Adam: “You sniveling worm! What were you doing near Kahndaq?!”

Billy: “Dude, what are you talking about?!”

Black Adam: “You know what I’m talking about, Batson!”

Billy: *Gives him the most horrified look Adam had ever seen on Marvel’s face.*

Oh, and let’s not forget about Ebenezer. Imagine seeing your dead brother, or at least someone that looks like your dead brother, fly around saving people. After everything he did to Billy, I’m sure he was scared shitless(pardon my French). But what I think is worse, is that he’d constantly be waiting for Marvel to do something, only for him to do nothing and just unknowingly leave Ebenezer in suspense for every waking moment. Bonus points if Ebenezer knew about the Lara Croft behavior.

[baambastic]

Woo Be Upon Ye:

Medieval fantasy TimKon AU where Kon is a half-dragon prince of the realm who elevates commoner Tim to the Royal Guard on a whim. Also has Bart as an apprentice mage, Donna and Cassie as Themiscyran ambassadors, many of Tim’s school friends as Royal Guards, Wildcat as a mentor, the Daily Planet staff as the royal council, and more! Planned as part one of a four-part series.

Bernard Dowd vs. The World:

After hearing Tim’s many, many, many stories about his friends, Bernard realizes that almost all of Tim’s guy friends were hitting on Tim at multiple points. Failing to convince Tim of this, however, Bernard makes it his mission to obtain written testimonies from as many of said friends as he can to support his case. Such friends include Superboy, Danny Temple, Sebastian Ives, Lonnie Machin, and more.

Two for the Price of Them:

In this AU, Tim’s 100th cloning attempt is a success, and so clones of both Kon and Bart are created. Partway through the artificial aging process, however, an agent of N.O.W.H.E.R.E. (overhauled from the same metahuman-abduction organization from the New52) attacks. Tim is forced to go on the run and off the grid with the two clone babies.

The World Didn’t Stand Still:

When Kathy Branden plugs a Phantom Zone Crystal into her teleportal and visits the Phantom Zone, she comes back with a young Krytonian boy, Chris Kent, who claims to be the foster son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Effectively taking pre-boot Chris from after his debut story and transporting him into post-Rebirth continuity. Part of a planned trilogy of fics centered on Chris. Guaranteed that they will not end with Chris getting punted into the Phantom Zone for an unknown length of time.

The Dichotomy of Lor-Zod and Chris Kent:

In post-Infinite Frontiers continuity, Lor-Zod begins getting flashes of a life before his own, of a life where he was family to the loathsome Kal-El of the House of El. Lor’s father, Dru-Zod, convince Lor that his affliction must be the machinations of the Justice League’s Martian Manhunter, a psychic attack meant to weaken New Kandor for invasion. Along with Non as a chaperone, Lor-Zod goes on a quest to hunt the Martian Manhunter, though he’s really on the path to restoring his pre-boot history and identity, and all the internal conflict that comes from the contradictions between his two selves. Effectively how I would approach reconciling the current iteration of Lor-Zod with Chris Kent. Guest-starring Martian Manhunter and M’gann M’orzz.

The Cola Caper:

Upon hearing the devastating news that an embargo on the island nation of Santa Prisca will halt the distribution of Zesti Cola in the United States, Dick and Tim go on a mission to infiltrate Santa Prisca and abscond with as much Zesti as they can, and maybe even the secret recipe if they’re lucky.

Stray Little Tiger:

A Billy Batson-centric fic placed in a Stray!Tim Drake AU. Selina Kyle, on her way home from a caper, comes across a lightning-struck boy in an alley. Clearly homeless and in need of help, she decides to take the boy in until he’s healed, though the lightning seems to have severely damaged his vocal cords. She doesn’t know that this boy is Billy Batson, that he’s Captain Marvel, or that there’s something deeply wrong with the Rock of Eternity. This story is told mainly from Selina’s POV, with occasional sidetracks to Tim’s POV, but never Billy’s POV. Identity shenanigans, found family, magic problems, and more.

A Single Word Spoken:

A girl in the shape of a weapon is brought to Fawcett City, where she fulfills her purpose for the first and last time.

The girl who can no longer be a weapon hides from her wielder in an old subway and finds herself transported to a place of great magic.

There, the girl who wishes to be more than she was made to be finds a Wizard, who sees the girl for her heart and not for the blood staining her skin.

The Wizard teaches the girl a name.

Cassandra speaks her first word.

And in so doing, she speaks power.

Also featuring Cass navigating the anachronistic Fawcett City, befriending Billy Batson, codependency issues, an old man who’s also a Bengal tiger, ancient grudges, a different old man who’s barely qualified to give Cass life advice, and more.

Fake it For the Win:

While on a cruise, Tim and Kon decide to fake being married in order to compete on an onboard game show for married couples. When they actually win, though, they have no choice but to keep up the act for the rest of their trip. Fake dating to real dating, with a focus on comedy.

Crossroads of Fate and Eternity:

JLI-era fic with a couple of canon-divergent indulgences. Kent Nelson, helped by Khalid Nassour, decides to take Billy Batson under his wing as a student of the mystic arts. Magic lessons, Tower of Fate and Rock of Eternity shenanigans, Bromfield family stuff, an ancient entity and an ancient demon, philosophy, and other such tidbits.

A Little Ways Along the Family Tree:

When a villain travels through time to the future and accidentally takes Robin with him, Damian Wayne must team up with Mar’i and Jake Grayson to defeat the villain and return Damian to his proper time.

A High-Speed Romantic Tryst on an Open-Water Murder Shack:

When a couple of thugs steal a houseboat belonging to one of Tim’s marina neighbors while he and Bernard are hanging out, the two of them give chase in Tim’s own houseboat. Comedy, crack treated seriously.

[batmanego]

COLE CASH READING LIST

cole's backstory is kind of a nightmare to wade through as he has been subject to so many retcons and reboots and general fuckery, but here is a list of issues i consider to be essential in understanding his character and/or key points in his backstory, with some explanation/extrapolation added.

bolded is essentials, italicized is personal favorites. links included.

wildc.a.t.s: covert action teams: this is the og comic. not too cole-centric, but there are some important bits and pieces. wildcats trilogy and grifter (1995) are included for chronological reasons.

issue 1, issue 5, issue 8, wildcats trilogy 1, wildcats trilogy 2, wildcats trilogy 3, issue 20, grifter (1995) issue 1, issue 25, issue 31, issue 32, issue 50

grifter (1996): cole solo series. has some important things related to his past and his psyche. i really like this series. it should be noted that (SPOILERS!) cole's dad being alive is literally never acknowledged in any other cole media ever, so it's fair to say that that is not canon and jacob is still extremely dead.

issue 1, issue 2, issue 3, issue 4, issue 5. i think the rest of the comic is pretty good too but you don't have to read it.

wildcats (1999): i really, genuinely recommend reading this entire series. it is an excellent examination of the horrors of war and what it means to be a good person. it is also a buddy cop comedy about three guys trying desperately to run a company. it is very, very good, and i couldn't bring myself to narrow it down.

issue 1 is here. start with that and then read the whole comic. please also read the annual, because Holy God.

team 7 (1994): this miniseries is very short, and the whole thing is pretty essential to cole's character.

start here.

team 7: dead reckoning: see above.

start here.

point blank: takes place after/during wildcats 1999. again, a short miniseries essential to cole's character.

start here.

wildcats 3.0: god, i hate wildcats 3.0. there's some relevant cole stuff, though. tw for rape in regards to everything that wax (blue suit spooky eyes guy) has going on in issue 8.

issue 1, issue 2, issue 3, issue 4, issue 5, issue 8, issue 9

wildcats (2006): lots could be said about grant morrison and jim lee's failed one-issue venture into wildcats, but i actually think the single issue they put out is really good when it comes to characterizing cole. it is not canon even a little bit, though.

read it here.

wildcats (2008), more commonly known as wildcats: worlds end: it's... okay. it's an apocalypse narrative. we get some fun tidbits about cole and he does one important thing.

issue 1, issue 18

grifter (2011): kind of a weird take on the classic daemonite thing, but the discussion between cole and his brother is important, so i'm putting it here.

issue 3, issue 8

batman: urban legends: i think his stories in this are cute, if a little apocryphal (saying max is his older brother? for shame!). also, it is an anthology series, so you'll have to skim to find his stories.

issue 1, issue 2, issue 3, issue 4, issue 5

[vampibrainrot]

Zealot/Lady Zannah of Khera reading guide

Lady Zannah is a high-ranking member of the CODA Sisterhood, a women-only group of warriors and a very influential party in the Kheran government.

After being stranded on Earth, Zealot created her version of the CODA, training women on the kherubim ways of war and fighting. After thousands of years of having a hand in many Historical events, Zealot (and Grifter) stepped out of the shadows and joined the WildC.A.T.S, a superhero team financed by the HALO Corporation and composed of descendants of the other kherubim living on Earth, to help fight in the war against the Deamonites.

Wildstorm Universe

-WildC.A.T.S (1992) #0 - #13

-WildC.A.T.S Trilogy (1993) #1 - #3

-WildC.A.T.S sourcebook (1993)

-Shadowhawk (1992) #13

-WildC.A.T.S (1992) #14 - #17

-Stormwatch (1992) #18

-Backlash (1992) #4

-WildC.A.T.S (1992) #18 - #19

Wildstorm Rising (1995) #1

Wildstorm Universe sourcebook (1995)

WildC.A.T.S (1992) #20

Union (1993) #4

Wetworks (1994) #8

Grifter (1994) #1

Backlash (1992) #8

Stormwatch (1992) #22

Wildstorm Rising (1995) #2

Spartan: warrior spirit (1995) #1 - #4

Voodoo/Zealot: skin trade (1995) #1

Zealot (1995) #1 -#3

WildC.A.T.S (1992) #22

Grifter (1995) #7 - #8

Spawn/WildC.A.T.S (1995) #1 - #4

Fire from Heaven (1995) #1

WildC.A.T.S (1992) #28 - #29

Backlash (1992) #20

WildC.A.T.S (1992) #30

Gen13 (1995) #11

Fire from Heaven (1995) #2

Deathblow (1993) #29

Shattered Image (1996) #2 -4

WildC.A.T.S (1992) #31 -34

Mars Attack Image

Grifter (1995) #9

WildC.A.T.S (1992) #35 - #37

Grifter (1995) #10

Backlash (1992) #31

WildC.A.T.S (1992) #38 - #40

JLA/WildC.A.T.S (1997)

X-Men/WildC.A.T.S (1997) #1 - 3

Wildcore (1997) #1 -2

Gen12 (1998) #2 & #5

Wildcats/Aliens (1998)

WildC.A.T.S (1999) #1 & #4 - #5

Wildcats: Mosaic (1999)

Wildcats (1999) #22 - #23 & #27

Wildcats version 3.0 (2002) #9, #13, #15, #19 - #21, #23 - #24

Wildcats: Nemesis (2005) #1 - #9

Majestic (2005) #8 - #17

Captain Atom: Armageddon (2005) #2 - 5

Wildcats (2006) #1*

Wildcats: Armageddon (2007) #1

Wildstorm Revelations (2007) #4 - #6

- DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar (2008) #1 - #6

Number of the Beast (2008) #8

Wildcats (2008) #1

The Authority (2008) #1

Wildcats (2008) #2 - 18

The Authority (2008) #18

Wildcats (2008) #19 - #30

Prime Earth/Post Flashpoint

Deathstroke (2011) #9 - #13

Stormwatch (2011) #17 & #18

Batman: Urban Legends(2021) #4 - #6

Wildcats (2022) #1

Wildstorm 30th years anniversary (2022)

DC's Grifter got run over by a reindeer (2022) #1

Wildcats (2022) #3 -?

Recommended

The ones mentioned here are out of continuity

The Wild Storm (2017)

Superman vs Lobo (2021)

[klaineccfanficlibrary]

@fallevs asked

The car playlist put me on Now or Never from High School Musical three times. Now I don't know if I am craving to see the whole trilogy again or if I want an au Troy!Kurt and Gabriella!Blaine bonus Coach!Burt Hummel.

There are 24 HSM and Glee cross overs on FF.net - here

Otherwise, I found this on AO3

Blackbirds and Wildcats by CursedwithaFairytale

After Will Schuester is fired from WMHS, it is revealed that his replacement is none other than Ms. Allison Darbus. Ms. Darbus brings a lot of changes to the table: suddenly Rachel isn't the lead of everything, the musical is cast accordingly, and the students actually get good advice... ... Talk about culture shock...

I'm not sure it suits your exact requirements, but have fun checking! ~Jen

[moonmoonthecrabking]

fun fact: the refrain "once a spy, always a spy" in spies are forever was inspired by "once a wildcat, always a wildcat" from the high school musical trilogy!

[hsmsongtournament]

Welcome to the High School Musical Song Tournament!

For March Madness, I thought tumblr could celebrate our favorite basketball team, the East High Wildcats, by deciding on the best song from the High School Musical trilogy.

Round 1 will be starting on Tuesday, March 21st at 8pm EDT (east coast in North America for simplicity's sake for this American blogger). Please note the seeds were completely randomized.

Masterlist (all voting can be found here)

Credits:

icon

header

bracket template

randomization done by @circlejourney

[macbethz]

oh man i would love more transmetropolitan-adjacent 90s comics recs.....

omg i got you. I will be bleeding a little into the late 80s and early 2000s here (as transmetropolitan itself did with the early 2000s) but I do think they full of a similar kind of gross edginess (affectionate).

THIS GOT SO LONG SORRY I GOT EXCITED. also sorry for grammar etc i am kinda falling asleep but YAYY comics

first of all i will say MANDITORY DISCLAIMER that Warren Ellis is an awful person and you can find all his works online if you know where to look and/or used on eBay. HOWEVER he has unfortunately written some of my favorite comics, including transmet. which means of course a lot of the best transmet adjacent stuff is written by him. So some Ellis comics:

Desolation Jones: ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVES! which is unfortunately forever unfinished at 8 issues. It follows an ex-MI6 operative working as a private eye in Los Angeles, which acts as a secret prison for the discards of the intelligence community. Jones was put through the desolation test for a full year, which was a form of torture where, among other things, he was exposed to images of violence and death 24/7 without sleep, leaving him with little emotion and a very broken mind. Beautiful page composition and art. Be warned though it is just straight up unfinished

"Superhuman Trilogy": This is the name for 3 completely unrelated comics Ellis wrote that all deal with twisted takes on the creation of superheroes: Black Summer, No Hero, and Supergod. Of these I think No Hero strays a little too much into edge for the sake of it, the other two are very good and unique explorations of different aspects of the genre.

Stormwatch: Ellis' Stormwatch run is basically the lead up to the Authority. You CAN skip it and i recommend most people do because it is VERY 90s and not necessarily the good kind. but if you have a passion for 90s nonsense it is very fun and its cool to see the beginnings of the subversions of the comic industry that come to fruition in the Authority. I cannot emphasize enough that this run is fucking insane and of debatable quality. I believe his run goes from vol 1 #37 through the end of vol 2. and don't forget to pick up wildCATS/Aliens if you want to see the true craziness of 90s comics, where a cash-grab crossover is simultaneously essential to the windstorm universe. yeah they just did whatever back then

The Authority: The superhero comic that defined superhero comics for the next 2 decades. Coined the widescreen comic, unfortunately indirectly led the the creation of the MCU. Superheroes as anarchist gods. The end of the century as the end of the world. A lot of stuff that reads to modern eyes as cliche or overdone because the Authority made it so goddamn popular afterwards.

Now for some non Ellis!

If you enjoy transmet you will probably enjoy the other British Invasion writers. Basically there was a period in comics post-Alan Moore where a lot of British writers started getting hired in American comics and writing weird shit.

Sandman: I don't think I need to describe this one. A lot edgier and more directly goth subculture inspired than the netflix adaptation conveyed

Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol: What if instead of making you a superhero your "superpowers" were more like disabilities? And also you were constantly fighting the most batshit enemies possible? That is this comic. Weird, surreal, and very influenced by modern and postmodern artistic movements.

Peter Milligan's Shade, The Changing Man: imo this is such a British Invasion sleeper hit. No one talks abt this one. A being from another dimension with the power to control capital-M-Madness possesses the body of a serial killer right before he is executed on death row. He then teams up with the daughter of the serial killer's victims to stop a plague of Madness from spreading across the US called the American Scream. All about being weird, gross, and awesome.

Now, I have not read Preacher myself. HOWEVER I have seen the show and really enjoyed it. I am naturally suspicious of Garth Ennis but he is a staple of 90s edge so I feel like I have to say something. I can definitely recommend the show and have heard good things about the comic but again. It's Ennis.

Non british invasion and a little later, but I also really recommend Invincible! A lot of that same early 2000s satire and ultraviolence expanded over a MASSIVE storyline that loves superheroes as much as it parodies them

ANYWAY im probably forgetting some but i am sleepy and got excited abt this lmao. A lot of this is pretty popular so might not be anything new but i hope it helps!

[taylortruther]

i got this ask about the golden compass but i am posting it so i can put it behind a tag to help everyone avoid spoilers (since some mutuals expressed interest in reading it, specifically).

the ask:

God I read TGC when I was 13 and I wish I could experience reading it for the first time again. I was hooked since the very first scece. Something about the writing makes you feel like you're inside the book experiencing it alongside Lyra. Lyra who's one of the best heroines ever. An icon and a legend.

AND OH TONY MAKARIOS

I was shocked the first time I read it. Stared at the book for hours like 😲. I reread the series last winter and this scene is only more horrifying as an adult.

Roger's death was also shocking I didn't imagine Lord Asriel would do something like that. One of the best things in rereading it was noticing details I haven't noticed before and I wish I had these books here with me so I could look at my annotation.

I love Lyra and Iorek I love their relationship and I still think that "sivertongue" is the most badass title ever (even more badass to be recieved by a bear). I love Lee. He's such a sweetheart and he remains a loyal sweetheart till the very end.

I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the rest of trilogy! It gets so much bigger and more philosophical. When I reread it I had a hard time with TGC because I really wanted to move on to the 2nd and especially the 3rd book.

---

my answer:

agreed that pullman is an excellent writer! i'm gonna nerd out for a sec here, but he really knows how to suck you in from the first page, and the pacing of all the action, the way lyra learns information, etc. keeps you hooked. i'm so impressed by that. and i also really like how he uses parallels - for example, lyra meets iorek and pities him because he has no daemon, and soon after she finds tony makarios and sees what happens. or how she describes the bears as being at a crossroads between iorek and iofur, which they can never go back from, and soon after, lord asriel talks about how there are alternate universes where once a decision or choice has been made, it blocks out the alternative (except in another universe where those alternatives all exist.) so like, there is a world where iofur is still the king of the bears, which lyra had just been pondering while fearing for iorek's life.

and yes, i love lyra silvertongue! their relationship is so special and unique, i love it so much. and that scene where iorek tells lyra, "you tricked iofur?" and then we think iorek is about to be defeated, only for it to be a trick...! and the way lyra calls him "my dear" and helps him close his wounds. the way she says she doesn't love her father, but she loves iorek... lyra is sincerely just SO good, so fierce, a "wildcat" as pullman calls her at the beginning... i love her. i want to protect her and pan forever and i am terrified something awful will happen to him fjdaskl

super excited to start book 2 today! also if you ever want to share your annotations, i would love to hear them, seriously.

[bastardstevie]

New comedic bit idea

Pick a toxic self-appointed Alpha Male to watch a "male centric movie" (action-y shit, superheroes, horror, sci-fi, war dramas; the only movies that men watch when they're trying to prove theyre too manly for romcoms) with and then feign excitement during any scene of your choosing to enthusiastically say "This is just like High School Musical!!!" even though it clearly is Not just like High School Musical.

In order for it to work you have to really sell it, you have to be confident and steadfast in your statement. You have to act like he is the one being ridiculous for not seeing the obvious similarities between Captain America: Civil War and the predecessing High School Musical lyrical masterpiece: Stick to the Status Quo

Once your trap is set there are two (2) typical outcomes

He agrees with you (statistically unlikely but not impossible)

He disagrees with you (yesss bitch, gobble up that bait!)

If he agrees then you win. If he disagrees you also win but you have to work towards the end result which is always more rich and satisfying because then you get to ask very pointedly if he's ever even seen High School Musical. If he says "no" then you get to decide that you are more informed on the matter than he is since at least you've watched the material you're referencing.

And if he says "yes" you get to shift the topic to ask his opinions on High School Musical. "Did you love it? Have you seen the whole trilogy? Which one is your favorite?! Do you ship Chad and Ryan together? You should. How many times do you think Zeke and Sharpay hooked up? Why do you think East High School had such massive fucking posters of the Wildcats basketball team hanging in the cafeteria in High School Musical 3: Senior Year (seen in Troy Bolton's angry solo: Scream) and why was it so easy for him to rip it down? Surely it would have been secured better, right? Do you want to turn on High School Musical instead-"

Hook, line and sinker, bitches.

Go forth and cause emotional turmoil to the toxic men in your life!!! Have each other's backs!!! We're all in this together!!!!!!!!

[thoughtfulfangirling]

2023 Reads

A new year means a new book list! I don't think I can top my 2022 count, but that's okay! I'm not totally sure what my reading goals this year will actually be, but I guess I'll sort it out on the way! XD For future reads, here's my 2024 list!

Four Treasures of the Sky - Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - Frederick Douglass+

The Bear and the Nightengale - of the Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden

The Secrets We Keep - Mia Hayes

Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal - Patty Loew+

The First Sister - Linden A. Lewis^

The House of the Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury~

Fin Mac Cool - Morgan Llewlyn^

How Long 'til Black Future Month by N. K. Jemisin

Lavinia - Ursula K Le Guin^

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austin*

Black Cowboys of the Old West: True, Sensational, and Littke-Known Stories form History - Tricia Martineau Wagner+

The Mysteries of Thorn Manor - Margaret Roberson%

Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space - Amanda Leduc+

Her Majesty's Royal Coven - Juno Dawson^

She Who Became the Sun~ - Shelley Parker-Chan*

The Witch King - H.E. Edgmon^

Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree*

Mistress of the Art of Death - Ariana Franklin^

The Adventures of Amina El-Serafi - S.A. Chakraborty

Humankind: A Hopeful History - Rutger Bregman+

The Folk Keeper - Frannie Billingsly*%

Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens - (Suzy) Eddie Izzard+

Juniper & Thorn - Ava Reid

Upright Women Wanted - Sarah Gailey%

I Await the Devil's Coming - Mary MacLane+

Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut~

Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights - Molly Smith & Juno Mac+

The Woman in White - Wilke Collins^

King of Battle and Blood - Scarlett St. Clair

Sarah - J.T. LeRoy^

The City Beautiful - Aden Polydoros^

Freshwater - Akwaeke Emezi

Always the Almost - Edward Underhill

All Systems Red - Martha Wells%

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

Nevada - Imogen Binnie

A Dowry of Blood - S. T. Gibson

The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli

The Second Rebel - Linden A Lewis

Get a Life Chloe Brown - Talia Hibbert

The Hero and the Crown* - Robin McKinley

What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing - Bruce D Perry & Oprah Winfrey+^

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea - Rebecca Thorne

The Eye of the Heron - Ursula K Leguin

Artificial Condition -Martha Wells%

The Kraken's Sacrifice - Katee Robert%

Crown Duel - Sherwood Smith*

Rogue Protocol - Martha Wells%

Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self Involved Parents - Lindsay C Gibson+

Wildcat: The Untold Story of Pearl Hart, the Wild West's Most Notorious Woman Bandit - John Boessenecker+

The History of Wales - History Nerds+%

Ander & Santi Were Here - Jonny Garza Villa

The Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls^

Rosemary and Rue - Seanan McGuire^

The Gilda Stories - Jewelle Gomez

Irish Fairy and Folk Tails - Various+

The Dead and the Dark - Courtney Gould

Haunted Wisconsin - Michael Norman and Beth Scott+

The Other Black Girl - Zakiya Dalila Harris

The Ruins - Scott Smith

He Who Drowned the World - Shelley Parker-Chan

Fledgling - Octavia Butler

Vampire Forensics: Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend - Mark Collins Jenkins+

The Vampyre - John Polidori%

This is Halloween - James A Moore

Sorrowland - Rivers Soloman

The Lamb will Slaughter the Lion - Margaret Killjoy%

Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Love Her or Lose Her - Tessa Bailey^

One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston*

The Last Hero - Linden A. Lewis

Lovelight Farms - B. K. Borison

Reindeer Falls Collection: Volume One - Jana Aston

Currently reading: One Last Stop (Audiobook to help me sleep XD)

Nonfiction is annotated by + A Re-read is annotated by * A book completed from the list below is annotated by ^ A Read with Empty will be annotated by ~ A Novella %

My current, loose and not that interesting goal for this year is to really work on the books I have current access to right now... at the start of this year. Because it's a lot XD This means books currently favorite in Scribd, on my StoryGraph 'to read' pile, or a book I currently own on my shelves. Main goal is at least one of these a month.

For my own personal reference, I'm putting a list of such books below to hold myself accountable.

Edit: Now the end of 2023, and here's a breakdown of my goal to read books I already had access to at the start of 2023:

I didn't read one a month per se, but I got more than 12 done, so I call this a win. These books are:

-Can't Spell Treason Without Tea - Rebecca Thorn -The City Beautiful - Aden Polydoros -Finn Mac Cool - Morgan Llewlyn -The First Sister by Linden A Lewis (proceeded by the other two in the series) -Get a Life, Chloe Brown - Talia Hibbert -The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls -Haunted Wisconsin - Michael Norman & Beth Scott -Her Majesty's Royal Coven - Juno Dawson -I Await the Devil's Coming - Mary McClane -The Kraken's Sacrifice - Katee Robert -Lavinia - Ursula K Le Guin -Love Her or Lose Her - Tessa Bailey -Mistress of the Art of Death - Ariana Franklin -Nevada - Imogen Binnie -The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli -Rosemary and Rue - Seanan McGuire -The Ruins - Scott Smith -The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller -Sarah - J.T. LeRoy -Vampire Forensics - Mark Collins Jenkins -What Happened to You? - Oprah Winfrey -The Witch King - H. E. Edgmon -The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

The books I did not get around to reading from this list are as follows: Black Water Sister by Zen Cho; Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye (o); The Book of M by Peng Shepard (o); Charity and Sylvia by Rachel Hope Cleves (o); The Cruel Prince by Holly Black (a); The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey (s); Fallen by Lauren Kate (o); Fanny Hill by John Cleland (o); Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender (s); The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea (s); The Great Hunger by Cecil Woodham-Smith (o); Helping Her Get Free by Susan Brewster (o); The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang (s); Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (o); The Merry Spinster by Daniel Lavery (o); On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (o); The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang (s); Radiance by Grace Draven (a); Watching the Tree by Adeline Yen Mah (o); The Willows by Algernon Blackwood (s); Wings of Fire (o); Witches Steeped in Gold by Clannon Smart (o); The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid (s)

23/46 Whoa! That's exactly 50% of the books I had on my list! That's pretty cool! All in all, I consider this 2023 goal successfully done!

[kylereadscomics]

Wildstorm Comics Reading Order

So at various times over the last year I’ve been binge-reading Wildstorm comics (Jim Lee’s imprint at Image Comics, originally named Homage, and later sold to and continued at DC Comics). While I’ve been reading, I’ve been organizing them into a good, clear reading order that keeps series and stories together in chunks, but also tries to avoid spoiling anything.

This is where I’m at so far, which goes from the beginnings of the universe in 1992 to about when it was sold to (and began publishing as an imprint of) DC Comics in 1999.

1.       Team One – Team One WildCats #1-2, Team One Stormwatch #1-2

2.       WildCats – WildCats v1 #0-4, WildCats Special #1, WildCats Trilogy #1-3, WildCats v1 #5-6, Cyberforce v1 #2, WildCats v1 #7, Cyberforce v1 #3, WildCats v1 #8-9

3.       Deathblow – Dark Angel Saga – Deathblow v1 #0, Darker Image #1 (Deathblow story), Deathblow v1 #1-12

4.       Stormwatch – Stormwatch v1 #1-3, 0, 4-5, Stormwatch Special #1, Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Stormwatch story), Stormwatch v1 #6-8

5.       Union – Union v1 #1-4, 0

6.       The Kindred – Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Kindred story), The Kindred v1 #1-4

7.       Gen13 – Gen13 v1 #1-5, Gen13 #1/2 (AKA Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Gen13 story)), Gen13 v2 #0-1

8.       Deathblow v1 #13-15

9.       WildCats solos – Warblade: Endangered Species #1-4, Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Maul story), Spartan: Warrior Spirit #1-4, Zealot #1-3

10.   WildCats – Gateway – WildCats v1 #10-13, Wildstorm Chamber of Horrors, WildCats v1 #14, WildCats v1 Annual #1, Voodoo/Zealot: Skin Trade, Grifter One Shot

11.   Wetworks v1 #1-7

12.   Team Seven – Team Seven v1 #1-4, Team Seven v2 #1-3, Team Seven v3 #1-4

13.   Spawn & WildCats #1-4

14.   Stormwatch – Images of Tomorrow – Stormwatch v1 #9, 25 (yes read 25 after 9), 10-17

15.   Wildstorm! #1-3

16.   Deathblow & Wolverine #1-2

17.   Backlash #1-7

18.   Union v2 – Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Crusade story), Union v2 #1-3

19.   Wildstorm Rising Prelude – WildCats v1 #15-16, Stormwatch v1 #18-20, Stormwatch Special #2, Stormwatch v1 #21, WildCats v1 #17-19

20.   Wildstorm Rising – Wildstorm Rising #1, WildCats v1 #20, Union v2 #4, Gen13 v2 #2, Grifter v1 #1, Deathblow v1 #16, Wetworks v1 #8, Backlash v1 #8, Stormwatch v1 #22, Wildstorm Rising #2

21.   Grifter v1 #2-10

22.   Grifter & Badrock #1-2 (no conclusion)

23.   Stormwatch v1 #23-27 (yes, read 25 again here)

24.   Union v2 #5-9, Union: Final Vengeance one-shot

25.   Deathblow #17-19

26.   Cybernary – Deathblow v1 #1-4 (Cybernary backups), Cybernary v1 #1-5

27.   Brass v1 #1-3

28.   Gen13 – Lynch #1, Gen13 v2 #3-7, Gen13/The Maxx, Gen13: The Unreal World, Spider-Man/Gen13, Gen13: Ordinary Heroes #1-2, Gen13: Rave, Gen13 Zine

29.   Wetworks v1 #9-15

30.   Stormwatch v1 #28-34

31.   WildCats v1 #21-28

32.   Grifter v2 #1-7

33.   Backlash v1 #9-14

34.   Brothers-in-Arms – Deathblow v1 #20-21, Gen13 v1 #8-9, Deathblow v1 #22-23, Backlash v1 #15-18, Deathblow v1 #24-25

35.   Fire From Heaven – Fire From Heaven #1/2, Sword of Damocles #1, Sigma #1, Deathblow v1 #26, Fire From Heaven #1, Backlash v1 #19, Gen13 v2 #10, Wetworks v1 #16, Stormwatch v1 #35, Sigma #2, WildCats v1 #29, Deathblow v1 #27, Gen13 v2 #11, Backlash v1 #20, Wetworks v1 #17, Stormwatch v1 #36, WildCats v1 #30, Sigma #3, Sword of Damocles #2, Fire From Heaven #2, Deathblow #28-29

36.   WildCats v1 #31-36

37.   Grifter v2 #8-14

38.   WildCats v1 #37-50

39.   Voodoo – Dancing in the Dark #1-4

40.   Savant Garde #1-7, WildCats: Savant Garde Fan Edition #1-3

41.   Gen12 #1-5

42.   Allegra #1-4

43.   Hazard #1-7

44.   Black Ops #1-5

45.   Grifter/Shi #1-2

46.   Grifter and the Mask #1-2

47.   Shattered Image #1-4

48.   WildCats/X-Men: The Golden Age, WildCats/X-Men: The Silver Age, WildCats/X-Men: The Modern Age, WildCats/X-Men: The Dark Age, JLA/WildCats

49.   Wildstorm Spotlight #1-3

50.   Stormwatch – Change or Die – Wildstorm! #4, Stormwatch v1 #37-47, Wildstorm Spotlight #4, Stormwatch v1 #48-50

51.   Gen13 v2 #12, 13A-13C, 14-15, Wildstorm Halloween: Trilogy of Terror #1

52.   Wetworks v1 #18-35

53.   DV8 v1 #1-4, ½, 5-8, DV8: Rave

54.   DV8 vs. Black Ops #1-3

55.   DV8 v1 #9-13

56.   Gen13 Interactive #1-3

57.   Gen13 Bootleg – Gen13/Generation X, Gen13 Bootleg #1-18, Generation X/Gen13, Gen13 Yearbook 1997

58.   Gen13 v2 #16-17, Gen13 3D Special #1, Gen13 v2 #18-25, Gen13 Bootleg Annual #1, Gen13 Bootleg #20

59.   Gen13/Monkeyman & O’Brien #1-2

60.   Backlash v1 #21-24, Backlash & Spider-Man #1-2, Backlash v1 #25-32

61.   Wildcore – Wildcore Preview, Wildcore v1 #1-10

62.   Phantom Guard #0-6

63.   Wetworks v1 #36-43

64.   DV8 – DV8 Annual 1998, DV8 Preview, DV8 v1 #14-23

65.   Gen13 v2 #26-29, Gen13 Bootleg #19, Gen13 v2 #30-35

66.   Slipstream – DV8 v1 #24-25, Gen13 Annual #2, DV8 Annual 1999

67.   Gen13 v2 #36-41

68.   DV8 v1 #0, 26-32

69.   Stormwatch v2 #1-10, WildCats/Aliens #1, Stormwatch v2 #11

[shelbbswrites]

Out of all the minor characters in the HSM trilogy EJ reminds me the most of Jimmie Zara from HSM3. Both Jimmie and EJ’s nicknames are “Rocket-Man.” Both Jimmie and EJ are athletes. Both Jimmie and EJ have an obsession with Troy Bolton. Jimmie is more obsessed with the real person while EJ is more obsessed with the fictional character. Both Jimmie and EJ were Troy Bolton’s understudy one point. Both Jimmie and EJ are played by an actor named “Matt.” Jimmie was played by Matt Prokop in HSM3.

EJ and Jimmie Zara have superficial similarities (The Rocket Man commonality has always felt like a fun Easter egg to me), but the characters couldn't be more different.

Jimmie is a fun foil for Troy Bolton, but that's where my interest in the character lives and dies. He delivers some funny moments, and there's something to be said about the Wildcats' impact on the school that now basketball players from a younger year are starting to become interested in theater, if (familiarly) reluctantly at first.

Regardless, Jimmie isn't as complex as EJ. But that's okay. He's not supposed to be in HSM 3.

EJ has had three seasons of impressive character development. Jimmie gets a few minutes in the final movie of a beloved franchise. They're just not all that comparable.

[stanisacoolname]

GO WILDCATS! The trilogy who made me discover musicals and I'm sill super happy to see Zac Efron in other movies 🎤

Troy and Gabriella from High School Musical